Chapter 51: Repaid in Double
The village chief couldn’t be bothered with her. He turned and saw Doctor Lu, carrying his medicine box, squeezing through the crowd. He had clearly run all the way, as his head was covered in sweat.
"You’re finally here! Quick, quick, come take a look at Zhao Lan. Her hand seems even more swollen than yesterday."
Doctor Lu said, catching his breath, "I just came from the Hu family. Old Hu’s hand is broken too. I applied medicine and bandaged it for him, which is why I was delayed for a while."
Hu Feng had originally planned to go back and check, but after hearing what Doctor Lu said, he turned back around and continued to stand beside Bai Zhi. Although there wasn’t much he could do right now, being there was better than not being there.
Nearby, Mrs. Bai rushed in front of Doctor Lu and yelled, "Treat my Dazhu first! That bitch Zhao Lan is tough as nails; she won’t die. My Dazhu is hurt much worse than her."
Doctor Lu frowned, his eyes sweeping over Bai Dazhu. He snapped, "Anyone with eyes can see who’s more seriously injured! You old hag, how could you say something so wicked?"
Old Mrs. Bai was already distressed about the silver. Now that Doctor Lu had called her wicked, she flew into a rage and shrieked, "How dare you insult me? A person like you is fit to be a doctor? Get out! We don’t need your treatment."
When Liu heard this, she was terrified. She quickly let go of her husband’s arm and rushed forward, saying, "Mother, what are you talking about? Dazhu is this badly injured. If we don’t treat him, what will we do if he becomes crippled?"
Of course, Mrs. Bai didn’t want her son to become a cripple either. ’But how much would the treatment cost? Yesterday, it cost two taels of silver just to bandage one of Zhao Lan’s hands. Today, Dazhu has injured both of his. That’ll be at least four taels, won’t it? Four taels of silver! How long would it take me to save up that much?’
Old Mrs. Bai’s eyes darted toward Hu Feng, an idea instantly forming in her mind. She hurriedly wailed to the village chief, "Village Chief, you saw it too! My Dazhu was injured by Hu Feng! Now that Dazhu needs treatment, Hu Feng has to pay for it! You must stand up for us!"
The village chief glanced sideways at Hu Feng. "Did you injure Bai Dazhu?"
Hu Feng nodded, his expression indifferent. "I did it. He injured my father first. I was just giving him an eye for an eye. My father didn’t ask them for money for his treatment, so we’re even. We don’t owe each other anything."
The village chief laughed inwardly but didn’t let it show on his face. He looked at Old Mrs. Bai with a stern expression. "Did a member of the Bai family injure Hu Changlin?"
Old Mrs. Bai gritted her teeth and shook her head decisively. "No. We didn’t hit Hu Changlin. He fell and injured himself."
Just then, a villager from the crowd who had witnessed the whole thing shouted, "Old woman, you’d better speak with a conscience! We all saw what happened with our own eyes. It was clearly your Dazhu who injured Old Hu. How can you deny it now?"
Old Mrs. Bai was so angry she pointed at the man and cursed, "You goddamn bastard! This is Bai Family business! It’s none of your damn business! Who asked you to butt in? Get lost! All of you, get lost!"
The village chief’s face darkened. "So many people saw you injure him, and you still dare to deny it?"
Old Mrs. Bai’s face went from red to white, then to a wonderful shade of greenish-purple. She craned her neck and said, "Yes, that’s right! My Dazhu injured Hu Changlin’s arm. But Dazhu only injured one of his arms, while Hu Feng injured both of Dazhu’s arms! How are we supposed to settle that?"
Hu Feng’s cold, sharp gaze slowly swept over Old Mrs. Bai. He spoke, word by word, "I don’t bother anyone who doesn’t bother me. But if someone bothers me, I’ll pay them back double."