Chapter 868

Liang Qingyuan was so angry that he ran to the home of Wan Furong's son-in-law and scolded him severely, saying that he shouldn't have told him about this. After he found out, he went outside and blabbered, unable to control his mouth, causing him, Liang Qingyuan, to be disciplined. Since he, Liang Qingyuan, was having a hard time, he wouldn't let the Wan family have an easy time either.

The news Su Xinghui heard these past few days made him very satisfied with the progress of the matter. Such pressure, even if the Wan family was unreasonable, wasn't so easy to bear, especially since the economic pressure was truly too great. A single cent can stump a hero, let alone the fact that the Wan family members weren't heroes.

According to what Zhang Kaishan told Su Xinghui over the phone, in the past two days, residents of Zhuangyuan Lane had already gone to the county government to ask if the previously promised conditions were still valid. The county government working group said they were, and two households signed contracts with the county government on the spot, preparing to move out.

This news made Su Xinghui very happy. This was equivalent to having a breakthrough, which exerted even greater psychological pressure on the Wan family and other residents.

On Saturday, just as Su Xinghui arrived at the office and processed some documents, he heard Liu Yongjun calling him from outside: "Town Mayor, someone is looking for you!"

Su Xinghui stood up and said, "Who is it? Come in."

Liu Yongjun brought two people in. Su Xinghui took one look and saw it was Wan Furong and Wan Xinhua. Su Xinghui smiled and said, "Old Man Wan and Brother Wan are here. Sit down quickly."

The two sat down on the sofa somewhat awkwardly. Liu Yongjun poured each of them a cup of tea and then went out.

Su Xinghui said, "Old Man Wan, how did you find me here today?"

Wan Furong said, "I didn't expect it, but you're really a Town Mayor at such a young age!"

Su Xinghui smiled faintly. "Just luck."

Wan Furong picked up his teacup, took a sip, and hesitated to speak. Su Xinghui said, "Old Man Wan, if you have anything to say, just say it."

Wan Furong no longer had the arrogance he had a few days ago. In fact, his arrogance might have just been a hard shell, covering up his weakness and powerlessness inside.

He was now just a person at the very bottom of society, with no money and no power. What capital did he have to be arrogant? His arrogance was actually just the quills on a hedgehog. When a hedgehog encounters danger, it curls into a ball, facing people with sharp quills.

But his hard shell and sharp quills had been beaten down by Su Xinghui over the past few days, exposing all his weakness.

Wan Furong said somewhat timidly, "Town Mayor Su, can you make the decision regarding our family's matter?"

Su Xinghui smiled and nodded. "As long as your demands are reasonable, I think I should be able to make the decision."

Wan Furong said, "Then we won't make such high demands. How about a compensation of thirty thousand yuan? We don't want the house, but Xinhua still needs to be allowed to go back to work."

Su Xinghui shook his head. "Compensating with a house is impossible. We have to be reasonable, right? After all, the house you're living in now isn't yours; it's the Hou family's. That's the principle everywhere in the world. I think the conditions given by the county government are already generous enough. As for Brother Wan's job, that's no problem. Once you return the house to others, the issue of integrity will no longer exist, and he will naturally be able to go back to work."

Wan Furong pleaded, "Town Mayor Su, look at my family's situation. It's truly too difficult. Our Steel Pipe Factory's performance is poor, and they haven't paid wages for more than half a year. My family's Xinguo hasn't been able to set up his breakfast stall, and now Xinhua has no job. How is this family supposed to live? We're asking for thirty thousand yuan; this demand really isn't high."

Su Xinghui shook his head. "It really won't work, Old Man Wan. Regardless of whether the demand is high or not, we cannot agree to unreasonable demands. Otherwise, if we give you thirty thousand yuan and others find out, what will we do if they all want this money?"

Wan Furong said, "Town Mayor Su, don't worry. Once we get this thirty thousand yuan, we definitely won't tell anyone else."

Su Xinghui said, "Even if you don't tell others, this matter can't be handled this way. Furthermore, paper can't wrap up fire! But I can promise you that we will do our best to help with your family's difficulties."

Wan Xinhua said, "Town Mayor Su, my family is really in a difficult situation now, and we really need this money. My mom is sick and needs to be hospitalized."

Su Xinghui couldn't help but ask, "Your mom is sick? What happened?"

Wan Xinhua told him the ins and outs. It turned out that the weather had been getting colder these days, and Wan Furong's wife was already physically weak and had caught a cold, suddenly falling ill in bed and needing hospitalization. But the Wan family now had no source of income, so how could they afford to be hospitalized? Wan Xinhua had spent all the wages he received when he was fired, and his mother's illness hadn't improved much.

The Wan family looked everywhere to borrow money from neighbors and relatives, but they weren't well-liked, and few people were willing to lend them money. Originally, his son-in-law's family was in decent condition, but his son-in-law was very dissatisfied with Wan Furong's spreading the news everywhere that the Hou family was returning, because this matter caused him to offend Liang Qingyuan, so he also refused to take out much money.

Now Wan Xinhua's mother could only lie at home, taking some traditional Chinese medicine, and seeing her condition becoming serious, the Wan family could be said to be at a dead end.

Although Wan Furong was a bastard, there was one thing about him that was not bad: he was very good to his family, especially this wife who had been with him for decades and hadn't despised him even when he was this poor. No matter what, he had to save his wife.

Wan Furong knew that going to the county government working group now wouldn't be of any use. He felt that finding Su Xinghui would be useful, all because of the words Su Xinghui said when he left their house that day—that if they came to their senses, they should come find him. Therefore, he came to find Su Xinghui with his eldest son today.

Su Xinghui asked, "How much money do you need for your mom's hospitalization?"

Wan Xinhua said, "I don't know yet. Anyway, to be hospitalized, we first need to pay a deposit of one thousand yuan, and I don't know how much more will be needed later."

Su Xinghui said, "How about this: I'll call my dad today. My dad is the Vice President of the People's Hospital and also an expert in internal medicine. Let your mom be admitted first, and let my dad treat your mom's illness. Your mom's illness will definitely be cured. Leave the unpaid medical expenses for now; if it really doesn't work, I'll pay for it."

Wan Furong and Wan Xinhua were overjoyed. They looked at each other and thanked Su Xinghui profusely. Su Xinghui waved his hand. "Don't thank me. Go back quickly and treat your mother's illness."

Wan Furong said, "Town Mayor Su, what about our relocation matter? Are we still talking about it today?"

Su Xinghui said, "Now it's a matter of life and death. Let's put the relocation matter aside for now. But I'll say it again: the county government absolutely cannot agree to the unreasonable demands you've proposed. The county government's conditions are already the most generous. Once you've cured the patient's illness, we'll come back and talk slowly. You're not in a hurry, and neither are we."

Wan Furong, no matter how much of a bastard he was, couldn't help but be moved. He had come today prepared, ready for Su Xinghui to blackmail him using his wife's situation. But Su Xinghui didn't do that at all; instead, he let them treat the illness first, and the medical expenses could even be owed. For him to be able to do this was truly not easy.

This wasn't the time to talk either, as Wan Furong was anxious to rush back and send his wife to the hospital. He stood up and said, "Town Mayor Su, then I'll go home first and send her mother to the hospital. We'll talk about anything else next time we meet."

Su Xinghui nodded. "Okay, you go back first, and I'll call my dad right now to let him know. When you get to the People's Hospital, just say you're looking for Vice President Su Wenjun."

Wan Furong left with Wan Xinhua. After they left, Su Xinghui called Su Wenjun and told him about the Wan family's situation, asking him to admit the patient first and let the medical expenses be owed for now, and if it really didn't work, he would think of a way.

Su Wenjun was a doctor with superb medical skills and noble medical ethics. Even if Su Xinghui hadn't said he would think of a way for the medical expenses, upon encountering a patient with such a difficult family situation, he would have admitted the patient first anyway.

Therefore, hearing his son's words, he agreed without hesitation to admit the patient first, and the medical expenses would be put on the account.

With this matter settled, Su Xinghui felt relieved. He certainly knew that if he had used this as a condition just now, it was very likely that the Wan family would have agreed to relocate on the spot. But if he had done that, it would have violated his principles of conduct. To blackmail others using such a matter—what would that make him?

Even if this matter ultimately couldn't persuade the Wan family to relocate, Su Xinghui couldn't do that.

That afternoon, Su Xinghui told Qi Jian and returned to Shangjun County town once again. ===== CHAPTER 870 =====