The Happy Farmer Wanderer-Chapter 104 Trading Harm for Stability_1

Li Qing woke up in the hospital with only Brother Gong by his side.

"Not dead, just got about a dozen stitches!"

Seeing Li Qing awake, this usually reticent man jested.

"Earlier on, I really felt like I was about to give up the ghost there, but luckily, I made it back." Li Qing shook his head and smiled bitterly.

He looked at his wounds; his waist and almost the whole of his left arm were wrapped in gauze.

"The injuries are minor, but there are quite a few of them—seven cuts in total."

Brother Gong stretched out his fingers and gestured a seven, then cursed indignantly, "I *ucking only dare to carry a knife for show, to scare people. I never expected they’d actually have the guts to use it."

"That bunch of little bastards, they’re the most destabilizing troublemakers in society, not knowing how to hold back at all when they lash out."

"How’s Hu Youyu?" Li Qing asked.

This was his main concern now.

"He’s in." Brother Gong said in a muffled voice, "After causing such a big mess, if he didn’t go in, there’d be no justice."

"Armed assembly and brawling, causing injury, involvement with criminal forces, not sure how many years they’ll give him, but at least a year or two. If he’s involved in other stuff, then he could be looking at seven or eight years."

"Oh, right, there might be police coming to see you later. Say what you should honestly, and don’t say a word about what you shouldn’t."

Li Qing nodded, finally feeling a bit more at ease.

Even if it’s just a year or two, Hu Youyu should learn his lesson.

At least, for now, the problem was thoroughly solved.

"Can I walk now?" Li Qing tested his feeling and, apart from some pain, it seemed his movements were not affected.

"You can go if you want, just come back on time for dressing changes. I’ll go handle the paperwork for you," Brother Gong said.

"Then I’ll have to trouble Brother Gong," Li Qing said politely.

Brother Gong shook his head and smiled, "Looking at the young ones today and then at you, suddenly you’re quite pleasing to the eye. Lü Zong had already made arrangements, it’s no trouble at all."

"You rest here for now, I’ll take you back once I’m done with the paperwork."

Li Qing couldn’t help but smile wryly.

He suddenly realized that this stolid brute had always had a stern face on, as if he had been displeased with him.

No sooner had Brother Gong left than two policemen walked into the ward.

"Are you Li Qing?" asked a young policeman who looked to be about thirty.

Li Qing nodded.

"Tell us about what happened today. How did it start?" the policeman asked again.

As he spoke, another, even younger, policeman behind him had already started taking notes.

Li Qing recounted the entire incident from beginning to end, leaving out not a single word that he shouldn’t mention.

"Hu Youyu and Li Gun are suspected of organizing criminal forces, gathering to provoke trouble, maliciously injuring people, and inciting juvenile crime. The case is very serious," the young policeman said gravely. "If you have any other material that could serve as evidence, you can submit it to us."

Listening to the long list of charges, Li Qing felt even more assured.

Only, he had overlooked this matter today.

"Officer..."

Li Qing had barely begun speaking when the police officer’s eyelids flicked up and he asked, "Do I look like an uncle to you?"

Li Qing: ...

What should he call him then?

For a moment, it even baffled Li Qing, unsure how to address him.

So he simply didn’t use any title and asked directly, "I want to know, about how many years could Hu Youyu get sentenced?"

"The specific sentencing will definitely depend on the court, but for the several crimes Hu Youyu and Li Gun have committed, around five years. You just mentioned he’s also suspected of forcibly occupying villagers’ land, malicious contracting. If these can be proven true, he’d face an additional one to two years, plus a varying amount of fines," the young police officer said with a smile.

"Five years..."

Li Qing’s heart jolted fiercely.

Five years was enough time to change a lot of things.

"That’s the situation. Just sign here," the young police officer said, passing the notes he had taken to Li Qing.

Li Qing gave it a cursory glance and quickly signed his name at the bottom.

With that, the matter was at least temporarily settled.

The only thing Li Qing felt somewhat bad about was Hu Wei.

But there was no helping it; Hu Wei couldn’t change Hu Youyu’s mind, and Li Qing couldn’t just sit back and do nothing.

After the police left, Brother Gong drove Li Qing back to the village in his car.

The evening sunset was just hanging over the mountaintop, bathing the entire village in a golden glow.

Despite his injuries, Li Qing, filled with a great mood, saw his childhood home with much more beauty.

"You should recover well, I’ll be heading back now," Brother Gong said upon reaching the door.

"Brother Gong, wait a minute!"

Li Qing called out, went into the house, and handed Brother Gong a thousand yuan, "I’m not sure how much was spent at the hospital, take this money, Brother Gong."

"This is more than enough; I won’t be coy," Brother Gong said without any bashfulness, pocketing the money.. He waved his hand and said, "I’m off."

Li Qing watched Brother Gong leave and then turned back into the house.

Taking a cushion, he placed it on the stone steps of the main hall and rested for a while. It took some time for his mind to calm down as a lot had happened that day, leaving him somewhat dazed.

Thinking back on it, it felt very surreal.

Suddenly, there were footsteps outside. Han Mei, wearing a dress, and Tian Yue’e came in together.

"Ah!"

Seeing Li Qing wrapped up like a mummy, sitting dumbfounded on the stone steps, Han Mei cried out in shock, her hand flew to her mouth, and tears instantly started swirling in her eyes.

Seeing this, Li Qing carefully sat up, "Sister-in-law, I’m fine. It just looks worse than it is."

"This is your idea of ’fine’? What would it take for you to think something’s wrong?" Han Mei ran over quickly, her tears flowing endlessly like a breached dam.

She reached out, wanting to examine Li Qing’s injuries, but hesitated to touch.

"Sister-in-law, it’s really not that serious, they’re all minor injuries, otherwise the hospital wouldn’t have let me come home," Li Qing said gently, wiping away Han Mei’s tears, "Stop crying now, please."

"Didn’t you say you knew people? That you had a way? Why did it end up like this? What if something had happened to you, what would I do? What would Yue’er do?" Han Mei asked, her lips pressed tight, her tears flowing unstoppably. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

Li Qing stretched out his good right arm and gently embraced Han Mei, "Sister-in-law, the matter is resolved now."