Once Wang Daliang and Wang Li finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.
Neither Wang Dazhu and his wife, nor Mu Xueqing, nor Shen Wei expressed any opinion or view.
In fact, none of these four people gave Wang Daliang's family of three a single friendly look; their attitudes were utterly cold and indifferent.
If it weren't for their long-standing kinship and very good relationship, Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing—mother-in-law and daughter-in-law—would likely have cursed Wang Daliang's family right out of the house.
Yes, this was the truth, because the two women were extremely unhappy, their faces so gloomy they looked as if they were about to drip water.
Mainly regarding the matter of Shi Qinghe's injuries, Wang An's family had discussed it yesterday, and everyone was aware of the situation.
Whether it was Wang Dazhu and his wife or Mu Xueqing, none of them agreed with Wang An stepping forward to take the heat for Shi Qinghe.
There was no helping it; although Wang Xiaofeng's family had indeed suffered because of it, as Wang An's family, they certainly didn't want him to put himself in danger.
Now, hearing that more than half the men of Shima Village had been beaten by the people from the coal mine, and that many were injured, it was enough to prove that this coal mine was a damn dragon's den!
Just how many knives, guns, and cannons must there be inside that coal mine?
No matter how impressive Wang An was, he absolutely could not fight the entire staff of a coal mine!
Yet Wang Daliang's family of three had the nerve to come over first thing in the morning and start rambling on and on without end.
The intent of the three was obvious: they wanted Wang An to use his connections to vent their frustrations, primarily to get the medical expenses for Wang Daliang's eldest son-in-law, Comrade Shi Qinghe.
Therefore, it would be strange if Liu Guilan and Mu Xueqing gave them a friendly face.
Liu Guilan didn't want her son to come to harm, and Mu Xueqing didn't want her husband to risk his life.
This was reasonable! Perfectly reasonable!
Shen Wei and Huang Li went to clear the dishes. Wang An looked around at the people in the room, focusing on the expressions of his parents and wife, before asking in a deep voice
"How much has my second brother-in-law spent from the time he was hospitalized until now?"
Wang Daliang sighed, his face full of bitterness as he said
"Sigh, over 4,000 has been spent. The doctor says it'll take another three or two thousand, and that even three or two thousand might not be enough."
Subconsciously, Wang An asked again
"So you mean, to get my brother-in-law completely patched up, it'll cost roughly 8,000 yuan in total?"
8,000 yuan in 1983 was a considerably massive sum for ordinary people.
If calculated based on the official wages of that time compared to the future, 8,000 yuan then was roughly equivalent to over 1.6 million in the future.
Wang Daliang nodded, saying quite helplessly
"That's right. If 8,000 yuan is enough, that'll be lucky."
Wang An nodded and said nonchalantly
"Alright, I'll look for some people and see how I can get my brother-in-law's treatment costs recovered. Otherwise, how are they supposed to pay back that much money!"
As soon as Wang An finished, Liu Guilan suddenly said with a look of disapproval
"Half the people of Shima Village went over there and were beaten into that miserable state; what use are you? You can't go."
After Liu Guilan spoke, Mu Xueqing's eyebrows shot up and her almond eyes widened. She said very unhappily
"Mom is right. Xiao An, you can't go. No matter how well you can fight, can you fight the people of an entire coal mine? Are you going there to seek death?"
Turning around, Mu Xueqing stared at Wang Daliang and his wife with fire in her eyes, her tone extremely dissatisfied
"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, I'm not trying to be rude, but you can't find my Xiao An for the good things, so why tell us about this mess? What can we do? Are we supposed to go risk our lives against them?
Damn it, I've had enough of listening to you babble first thing in the morning. What do we owe you? If you want to risk your lives, go yourselves. It's not like your family has no men; why are you always looking to us? We aren't going."
Truth be told, Mu Xueqing's mouth was not inferior to Liu Guilan's at all; they were equally talkative and equally formidable.
It was just that a long period of comfortable and happy living had completely suppressed her shrewish and temperamental side.
Mainly, aside from the occasional annoyance of Wang An chatting with other women, Mu Xueqing's life was smooth in every other aspect, leaving her no opportunity to be shrewish.
And it had to be admitted that these words were only appropriate coming from Mu Xueqing as the daughter-in-law; if Wang Dazhu and his wife had said them, it would have been truly inappropriate.
After Mu Xueqing finished, the entire living room became deathly silent, to the point where one could have heard a pin drop.
After a long while, Wang Dazhu sighed and said to Wang Daliang and his wife
"Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law, I don't blame Xueqing for speaking to you like that. It's just 8,000 yuan; it's not like your family can't afford it. Just give it to Qinghe and be done with it!"
"To be honest, Xiao An is well-connected in the county city, but using connections requires trading favors."
"Not to look far, just take that time we caught the wild sheep. Out of two huge wild sheep, our family only kept 20 odd pounds of mutton and 3 pounds of sheep blood. And then there's the velvet antler and deer blood—look at all those Sika deer we have; we draw a lot of blood every time and make plenty of deer blood powder. In the end, how much did our own family keep? Wasn't it all given away?"
Hearing this, Wang Daliang felt awkward, and his voice trembled as he said
"We know all this, but we just can't swallow this grudge. The night before I went to the hospital, I saw Qinghe's miserable state, and then no one cared. Xiaofeng did nothing but cry. I asked Xiaofeng, and just to treat Qinghe's injuries, they've already spent over 1,500 yuan. Hearing this, as a father, my heart just feels wrong."
As he spoke, the middle-aged man's eyes turned red, and tears began to flow.
After Wang Daliang finished, Second Aunt Yao Ping said with a sob in her voice
"We aren't afraid to spend the money, it's just that we can't swallow this grudge. To think a perfectly healthy person was ruined like that for no reason. The doctor said that even if Qinghe is patched up, he'll be a cripple for the rest of his life. Xiaofeng isn't even 30 yet; what will she do for the rest of her life... waaaaah..."
As she spoke, Second Aunt Yao Ping covered her face and wailed, sobbing uncontrollably with tears streaming down.
In truth, anyone who understood the situation could empathize with the current mood of Wang Daliang and his wife.
This feeling of being stifled, oppressed, cowardly, and powerless was truly unbearable.
But as parents, they lacked the ability to seek justice and restitution for their child; perhaps this was what they truly couldn't stand, and the reason they were shamelessly begging Wang An for help.