1259 Where’s the Money?
The old man couldn’t help but look delighted. Excitement instantly filled his expressionless face. “Really? They agreed to reconcile?”
Wang Yunzhong nodded. “Let’s talk inside. It’s cold outside!”
“Yes!” The old man quickly answered and entered the house with Wang Yunzhong.
The old lady was cooking dinner in the kitchen. When she heard the door open outside, she couldn’t help but poke her head out and say to Wang Yunzhong, “I heard your car engine turn off a long time ago. Why did you only enter the house now?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the old lady felt that something was wrong, especially the smile on the old man’s face.
Stunned, the old lady asked suspiciously, “What’s wrong? What’s there to be happy about?”
Without waiting for Wang Yunzhong to speak, the old man beat him to it. “The police station called Yunzhong just now. They said that the other party agreed to reconcile.”
“What?” The old lady was delighted. She rubbed her hand on her apron and walked out. “Really?”
Seeing that the two elders were so happy, Wang Yunzhong heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. Although Wang Yunfa’s rotten matter was a headache, when he heard they could reconcile, he was as happy as if it was the new year.
“That’s right. Officer Wang called me and asked us to talk at nine in the morning tomorrow,” Wang Yunzhong said.
The old lady asked, “Where are we going to talk?”
The old man also looked at Wang Yunzhong. Wang Yunzhong was stunned. He didn’t seem to tell him where to talk just now.
“It should be in the hospital. Anyway, it s the hospital or the police station. I’ll ask Officer Wang tomorrow morning,” Wang Yunzhong said casually.
As soon as he finished speaking, he looked at the second floor. Seeing that Xu Qianqian was silent, he pulled the two elders to sit on the sofa.
“What’s wrong again?” the old lady asked carefully.
Wang Yunzhong said, “Officer Wang asked us to discuss an acceptable settlement amount in advance. He’s probably afraid that the other party will ask us to name a price tomorrow, so we have to discuss it in advance. When the time comes, appear with a better attitude tomorrow.”
“Ah? Wasn’t the other party supposed to name a price?” The old lady was a little confused. They were the party who would lose money, so how could they ask them to name a price?
“Isn’t this just in case? Even if the other party offers a price, we have to have a psychological stand. At that time, there has to be a bottom line. We can’t possibly give them a million yuan if they ask for it, right?” Wang Yunzhong said.
Of course, a million yuan was just a metaphor. It was impossible to ask for a million yuan for such a thing. He had killed no one!
The old lady nodded as if she understood. The old man looked at Wang Yunzhong and said, “We have no experience in such things. How much do you think is appropriate?”
“We have to give them however much they want. Otherwise, Yunfa won’t be able to come out!” the old lady said.
Wang Yunzhong calmed down and thought about it. If he had to go to jail for more than a year, thirty to fifty thousand yuan was not enough. This matter had to be at least a hundred thousand yuan, and it did not include medical fees. It was just a simple settlement fee.
“I think it should be about two hundred thousand yuan,” Wang Yunzhong analyzed objectively.
“That much?” The old lady was shocked and subconsciously asked when she heard two hundred thousand yuan.
Wang Yunzhong nodded. “We’ve already given fifty thousand yuan for the medical fees. We don’t know if it’s enough. Since the other party agreed to reconcile, they must want money. In that case, thirty to fifty thousand yuan is meaningless. The other party will probably ask for at least a hundred thousand yuan.”
“Yunzhong is right,” The old man agreed. “Two hundred thousand yuan is about there. Let’s be mentally prepared and let Li Xia go with the bankbook.”
The old lady’s heart ached for the money, but her heart ached for her son even more. She could only nod.
Fortunately, she had given Wang Yunfa and his wife five hundred thousand yuan before. After opening that vegetable stall, there was still a lot of money left. At least, no one else needed to help with this matter. Otherwise, even Wang Yunzhong would have to consider it if he had to take out two hundred thousand yuan at once.
Not that he could not fork out the money, but it mainly depended on who he lent it to. It was easy for Wang Yunfa to borrow money but difficult to return it. He was just afraid that if he lent it to him, he could not return it!
“Don’t let Qianqian know about this,” Wang Yunzhong didn’t forget to remind her in the end.
“We can’t hide it. When Yunfa comes out, she’ll naturally know,” the old lady said.
Wang Yunzhong frowned and looked at the old lady. “How would she have time to care about Yunfa? As long as we don’t mention it at home, how would she know? Anyway, if we can, just don’t say it. She’s pregnant now, and there are many problems. When the time comes, she’ll chase after me and ask if I gave them the money!”
“Got it. Mom won’t say it!” The old lady nodded, but in the next second, she jumped up from the sofa and ran towards the kitchen. “Oh, I forgot about the egg soup for Qianqian!”
The next morning, Wang Yunzhong called Officer Wang again. The place where they were going to reconcile was at the hospital, in the same ward as before.
At half-past eight, Wang Yunzhong met Li Xia with the two elders at the hospital entrance.
As soon as they met, the old lady asked, “Xia, did you bring your bankbook?”
Li Xia had a difficult expression on her face. One could not tell that she was happy because the two sides wanted to reconcile. When she heard the old lady’s words, she shook her head.
Everyone was stunned. Wang Yunzhong said with a cold expression, “Sister-in-law, didn’t I ask you to bring the bankbook? We’re here to reconcile. If you didn’t bring the money, do you think they would agree to let him go?”
“I…” Li Xia wanted to say something but hesitated. Her expression was extremely ugly. Obviously, she was hiding something.
The old lady was a smart person and saw through Li Xia’s thoughts at a glance. She immediately asked sternly, “Xia, tell me the truth. Where did the money go?!”
Li Xia’s mouth moved, but in the end, she told them the truth. “I lent it to my brother.”
“What?!” The old lady felt her eyes blur when she heard that. She almost fainted!
Wang Yunzhong quickly went forward to support the old lady. Then, he looked at Li Xia and said, “Sister-in-law, this is not a joke. Yunfa is waiting for this money to save his life. If you don’t take out the money, he will go to jail!”
Li Xia was also terrified now. Hearing Wang Yunzhong’s words, she wanted to cry but had no tears. “I know, but my brother said that he took the money to pay for goods. He can’t return it now, so he has no choice!”
“We took that money out of our retirement money to supplement the two of you!” The old lady stomped her feet in anger, but Li Xia was pregnant so she could not hit her. The old lady’s face turned red. “It’s five hundred thousand yuan, but you’re using it to supplement your brother?”
“My brother needed money urgently. He said that he would return it to me before the new year. No one expected something to happen to Yunfa,” Li Xia cried.
The old man remained silent with a cold expression. Wang Yunzhong looked at the time. It was already the agreed time, so they couldn’t be late. He said, “Alright, go in first. We’ll talk about the money after we’re done talking!”
