Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Taken Away by the Comrades from the Police Station Chapter 203: Chapter 203: Taken Away by the Comrades from the Police Station The key to the office drawer at the brigade department was only held by him and Secretary Zhang Dezhen, and now he was afraid Luo Qiao would think they did it on purpose.
The brigade leader looked at Secretary Zhang Dezhen and asked, “What about the money?”
Secretary Zhang Dezhen said, “We’ll advance it from the brigade’s funds for now, and I’ll deduct it from my family���s year-end bonus later.”
The brigade leader quickly wrote the introduction letter, advanced fifty yuan from the accountant, and asked the Women’s Director to accompany Luo Qiao to the city for a visit.
They took the afternoon bus, and nowadays people wouldn’t go to the hospital for a check-up unless it was a serious illness. At the hospital, after registering, Luo Qiao asked the Women’s Director to sit and wait for her on the chairs in the corridor.
It was only the Women’s Director’s second time in the city, and she was not familiar with the hospital, so she obediently sat in the corridor and waited.
Initially, the doctor examined Luo Qiao’s external injuries and was ready to prescribe some medication and be done with it, but Luo Qiao expressed a desire for a comprehensive examination, which made the doctor somewhat unhappy.
Luo Qiao did not hide anything, she recounted the day’s events. The female doctor, upon hearing her story, looked at her with sympathy and immediately wrote her an order for tests, telling her to go pay and get examined.
Back then, medical check-ups were not as complex as in later times. After a simple examination, a few medicines were prescribed, wrapped in paper, costing a little over six yuan. After the ordeal, they finally got on the bus back to the village.
Upon their return, there were still people at the brigade department. Seeing the Women’s Director and Luo Qiao, the brigade leader asked, “How did it go?”
The Women’s Director handed over the diagnosis report, which read: multiple soft tissue contusions, mild concussion, recommended hospital treatment.
The Women’s Director said, “Luo Qiao is sensible, after knowing she didn’t have any major issues internally, she didn’t want to waste money on an unwarranted hospital stay. So she hurried me to catch the bus back with her.”
The brigade leader and the village committee members all said Luo Qiao was sensible, trying to save money for Secretary Zhang Dezhen’s family.
The Women’s Director asked, “Why haven’t I seen Secretary Zhang Dezhen?”
Everyone looked uncomfortable upon hearing this. It turned out that Zhang Qiaoyan, seeing that the situation was going poorly, had fled. But she was just a young girl, where could she run to? She thought of seeking refuge at her grandmother’s house to lay low for a while.
At the time, she figured since Luo Qiao hadn’t been seriously hurt, her father was the Secretary, and at worst he’d just compensate Luo Qiao. But this was clearly a case of intentional harm; it wouldn’t be possible to minimize the severity of the incident.
She was thinking too simplistically!
The police gave Secretary Zhang Dezhen some face and allowed him to bring his daughter back himself. When they found Zhang Qiaoyan at her grandfather’s house, she refused to return with her father, accusing him of being an official-addict, willing to trade his daughter for the position of Village Secretary.
Upon hearing this, Secretary Zhang Dezhen flew into a rage and struck Zhang Qiaoyan in front of her grandparents’ family. In an attempt to protect her granddaughter, Zhang Qiaoyan’s grandmother was accidentally pushed by Zhang Dezheng and got injured, and was now in the hospital.
The Women’s Director asked, “What about Zhang Qiaoyan?”
Secretary Zhang Dezhen sighed and said, “The comrades from the police station took her away.”
The accountant by their side said, “Such a promising child, she must have gone mad, not only hurting herself but also bringing trouble to her family and relatives.”
Luo Qiao, standing off to the side, heard this and thought, “Jealousy can be deadly; her heart has become twisted. She can’t handle much, can she? If you’re narrow-minded, who can you blame?”
So she said, “I’m still not feeling well, I’ll head back first.”
The people in the room then realized, and the brigade leader quickly said, “Go back and rest. You don’t need to overthink this; you are the victim. Qiaoyan brought this on herself—who told her to be so petty.”
Luo Qiao nodded to the people in the room as a form of greeting, then turned and left the brigade department.