readytorunbook Chapter 127 The Aftermath of the Captain's Family
Chapter 127 The Aftermath of the Captain's Family
Feng Qingqing and Hu Fangming stood and listened for a while, and roughly understood what had happened. Without lingering any longer, they pushed the cart back to the clinic.
After seeing off the many commune members who had come to inquire about the brigade leader's family situation, Zhang Xiumei returned to the brigade office with Liu Hezhi, the brigade accountant.
Back in her office, Zhang Xiumei plopped down in her chair and sighed deeply. Liu Hezhi, noticing her odd expression, tentatively asked:
"Director Zhang, what's going on? Didn't the captain wake up? Has something else happened?"
As fellow brigade cadres, Zhang Xiumei didn't hide much from Liu Hezhi, and said to him with a somewhat helpless expression:
"Accountant Liu, I think the brigade leader's house..."
She had initially thought of asking if the brigade leader's family was possessed or had offended some deity, but as a brigade cadre, she knew she couldn't say such things now. She paused, considered her words carefully, and then continued:
"The brigade leader's family has been having some bad luck lately..."
As a colleague who had worked with her for many years, Liu Hezhi noticed something amiss in Zhang Xiumei's behavior. He sat up straight, his face serious, and asked:
"Director Zhang, as cadres in the brigade, you can't hide anything from me. If anything goes wrong, we'd better make plans in advance."
Zhang Xiumei scoffed inwardly. This guy was really shrewd. She hadn't even said anything yet, and he had already figured it out. But there was no need to hide it. Rather than offending him by hiding it for two days, it was better to make things clear now and get the better of him. She knew that Liu Hezhi had a lot on his mind, but he couldn't make a move because the previous captain had done a good job.
Although Zhang Xiumei was prepared to reveal some information to him, she did not intend to tell him everything. She only hesitated before speaking:
"Accountant Liu, what I'm about to say is just my personal speculation. If it's wrong, just take it with a grain of salt."
Liu Hezhi was a smart man, and upon hearing Zhang Xiumei's words, he quickly replied:
"I know that, Director Zhang. Don't you know me? You can rest assured."
Zhang Xiumei then spoke with a worried expression:
"After the brigade leader was sent to the commune hospital this morning, what I told the commune members earlier was correct. Because the toxic substances had been in their bodies for too long, although the brigade leader and his wife had been revived, their physical condition..."
She paused, then shook her head slightly. Liu Hezhi already had a general idea of the situation.
Zhang Xiumei continued to explain:
"It's hard to say whether the captain can recover to his previous physical condition."
Although she said it was hard to say, Liu Hezhi believed that the brigade leader's health must have collapsed after this incident, but he knew that Zhang Xiumei couldn't say it like that.
At this moment, Liu Hezhi was secretly itching to do something and had some ideas.
As a woman and the village's women's director, Zhang Xiumei didn't have any particular opinion on who should be the brigade leader. Just now, to be on the safe side, she didn't tell Liu Hezhi explicitly, but as far as she knew from the doctor, the brigade leader's family of three had all been seriously injured by this incident, and it would be very difficult for them to recover to their previous physical condition.
Zhang Xiumei then thought of Xiong Baoguo, the youngest son of the brigade leader, sighed again, and shook her head. Liu Hezhi was secretly pleased to see her shake her head and quickly continued to ask:
"What's wrong, Director Zhang? Is there anything else?"
Zhang Xiumei didn't feel the need to keep this a secret.
This led to the story of Xiong Baoguo, the youngest son of the brigade leader. When he was being carried off the oxcart by medical staff from the commune hospital, for some unknown reason, he suffered a fracture in his other leg, which was already broken in one leg.
Although several hours had passed, Zhang Xiumei's expression still showed disbelief and shock when she recalled what had happened. Liu Hezhi, who was listening attentively, also looked surprised and said:
"Could it be that the medical staff made a mistake or that there was a serious collision?"
The brigade leader's youngest son was in his early twenties, a time of youthful vigor. He couldn't believe that a few minor bumps and scrapes had caused him to fracture another bone. Then he heard Zhang Xiumei explain, somewhat reluctantly:
"At that time, I knew that the medical staff from the commune hospital nearby knew that the person was unconscious, but they didn't exert much force, and it took four people to lift him..."
Zhang Xiumei didn't know how to explain it at this point, which was why she had wondered if the brigade leader's family had offended someone, and so many unfortunate things had happened.
It was getting late. Zhang Xiumei had already explained everything to Liu Hezhi. Exhausted from a busy day, she said goodbye to Liu Hezhi and went home.
Feng Qingqing and Hu Fangming pushed the cart back to the clinic. After pushing the sweet potatoes into the yard, they discussed it and decided to dig a pit in the corner of the yard and bury the sweet potatoes in it to prevent them from freezing in the cold winter.
The two immediately took out their tools. Because Feng Qingqing was strong, she was the main person to dig the hole, while Hu Fangming was the assistant, responsible for spreading some of the soil that Feng Qingqing dug out in the yard and transporting the rest outside the yard.
More than an hour later, the two dug a simple pit and sorted through the 200-odd kilograms of sweet potatoes, putting the intact ones into the pit and leaving the bruised or scratched ones outside.
After everything was done, it was getting late, so the two of them started making dinner. Dinner was simple: they made a mixed grain sweet potato porridge with the sweet potatoes that had just been brought back, and served it with the pickled vegetables they had stir-fried at noon.
Although the sweet potatoes weren't red-fleshed, they were still sweet, soft, and delicious.
After finishing their meal, the two of them worked together to clean the kitchen inside and out. Hu Fangming then said goodbye to Feng Qingqing and returned to the educated youth compound.
After Hu Fangming left, Feng Qingqing continued to sort through the herbs she had dried earlier. She worked for almost an hour before sitting down to rest for a while. But before she could rest for long, she heard a commotion outside.
She glanced at the sky outside; it was completely dark, but it wasn't late yet, probably around six o'clock. She wondered what was going on outside, but judging from the direction of the noise, it seemed to be coming from the brigade office not far from her.
Feng Qingqing heard the sound from afar, which seemed to be those educated youth from the educated youth compound. He felt a chill in his heart and quickly got up and walked out of the house.
Upon arriving at the courtyard, she noticed the sound growing clearer. Stepping out of the gate and looking around, she saw someone heading straight for her clinic from a distance. Feng Qingqing, with her excellent eyesight, recognized the figure as Hu Fangming, who had just returned from her clinic not long ago.