CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: I’M GOING TO SUE HER FOR INTENTIONAL INJURY!

The educated youths looked at Xu Qinghuan with some hostility in their eyes; no matter what happened, hitting someone was wrong!

Xu Qinghuan didn’t stop her and let her go out with her swollen face.

Soon, the brigade leader was called in, along with his wife, as the matter involved a female educated youth, which might not be convenient for him to handle alone.

"What happened?" The brigade leader was impatient; these new arrivals hadn’t settled in yet, and already there was trouble. It was clear the brigade would be lively in the future.

Every day, laboring in production is exhausting enough, and now there are these trivial matters to deal with, with stomachs not even full and constant anger—who would willingly do this?

Kong Lijuan lifted her swollen face and cried to the brigade leader, "Xu Qinghuan hit me. I didn’t know the kang table was hers. If she had told me, I would have returned it, but she beat me like this!"

The brigade leader looked at Xu Qinghuan with a complicated expression. Someone had contacted him before this educated youth arrived; her father was a martyr, and her mother remarried early. He was asked to take special care of this child—who would have thought she was so troublesome!

Xu Qinghuan didn’t make things difficult for the brigade leader. "I did hit her, but she struck first."

She stepped towards the brigade leader’s wife. "Auntie, please help me with a physical examination. I want to file a report with the police for intentional assault!"

"You’re lying; I didn’t touch you!" Kong Lijuan said, recalling her recent actions, her expression becoming unnatural, her eyes avoiding contact, clearly guilty in the eyes of everyone.

The brigade leader’s wife instantly disliked this educated youth but was more sympathetic to Xu Qinghuan, who, although assertive, was straight to the point. "Xu, where are you injured?"

Xu Qinghuan touched her abdomen and thigh. "Just now, Kong, seeing me absent, grabbed my newly bought kang cabinet. When I wanted it back, she didn’t want to give it, directly hitting me with the cabinet, injuring my body and leg. Auntie, please look at it and let everyone understand—it wasn’t me who struck first. I’m in too much pain; I was merely defending myself!"

"Huanhuan, is the injury serious?" Qiao Xinyu was furious, glaring at Kong Lijuan.

"How serious can it be? She did it on purpose. I just pushed the cabinet, and how was I supposed to know it would hurt her?" Kong Lijuan defended herself, tears welling up, crying pitifully.

The brigade leader was also angry; the complainant was you, yet the troublemaker was still you. "Serious or not, let’s have my wife look at it first."

After this, he exited the female educated youths’ room.

The brigade leader’s wife closed the door, Xu Qinghuan turned her back to the others, pulled up her clothes, and lowered her outer pants.

With just a glance, the brigade leader’s wife’s heart twisted painfully. The girl’s skin was truly exquisite, delicate as condensed fat, fair as jade, but this perfect and flawless skin was bruised in two places. Her abdomen was bruised by the edge of the kang cabinet, and her thigh was bruised by the kang table’s leg, extremely shocking.

"Good heavens, you should go to the clinic!" The brigade leader’s wife pressed gently, and Xu Qinghuan deliberately grimaced in pain, hissing.

"Auntie, my abdomen hurts severely; I probably need to go to the county for an X-ray. Also, my leg—I’m worried about a fracture."

With each word Xu Qinghuan said, Kong Lijuan’s face turned one shade paler.

After Xu Qinghuan tidied up her clothes, the brigade leader’s wife opened the door, telling her husband, "The injury is too severe; it’s terrifying to see. I think we need to go to a big hospital to check, in case internal or bone injuries occur."

Everyone was surprised by the situation and instantly changed their perception of Xu Qinghuan. At this moment, their gaze toward Kong Lijuan became hostile.

To injure someone to this extent and still complain—how vicious could she be!

Xu Qinghuan said, "Brigade leader, my newly bought kang cabinet is also broken. I don’t want much—just for the cabinet and my injuries, I want Kong to compensate me one hundred yuan, or else I will have no choice but to report it to the police. My injuries are sufficient to qualify for intentional injury charges!"

Most people in those days were unaware of the law. Xu Qinghuan’s words were logical, and her attitude was resolute, so everyone believed her.

Including Kong Lijuan.

The brigade leader’s wife added, "That’s right, the injury is too severe. A girl’s body is delicate, and without proper medical care, it’s truly a blessing."

Qiao Xinyu, having just seen Xu Qinghuan’s injuries, was heartbroken, and cried, "Too excessive! Robbing others and then reasoning with it, arriving only to be injured like this—is this educated youth point a den of thieves?"

Kong Lijuan’s face alternated between blue and white. "I wasn’t intentional!"

Yu Xiaomin angrily said, "I see you’ve gotten used to bullying people; you cursed people on the train. Huanhuan’s father is a martyr, yet you said he was cursed to death by Huanhuan.

Just arriving at the educated youth point, you stealing is already wrong, and purposeful injury—I think there’s a problem with your thinking!"

Everyone was stunned; was there really such a thing?

Chen Dewen timely added, "Indeed, at that time, I was there. When Xu’s father sacrificed himself, he was a regimental commander, saving more than thirty soldiers under him, sacrificing himself; yet she said Xu’s father was cursed to death by her. I think her feudal thinking is serious and needs reform!"

He and Xu Qinghuan were classmates; the original Xu didn’t know him, but Xu’s father’s heroic deeds were told by a teacher in class back then, and he had remembered it ever since.

Everyone gasped!

The brigade leader already understood; no wonder before this girl arrived, someone had contacted him. Fourteen years ago, those saved by her father should be doing well now, right?

Looking after a martyr’s orphan was just a convenient task.

Xu Qinghuan had wanted to use this opportunity to suggest not living at the educated youth point, but with so many people present, if the housing issue wasn’t resolved, it would trouble the authorities. Her lips moved, but she swallowed her words.

The Qi Replenishing Pill she took contained many precious herbs, improving her constitution. Her skin was tender like a baby’s, and equally delicate, bruising easily with the slightest bump.

Xu Qinghuan did get hit, but it wasn’t that painful; she had quickly relieved the force, but the marks on her body were quite unsightly.

The sight of beautiful things being destroyed was very impactful, which was why the brigade leader’s wife was so distressed.

"I have no money—I don’t have that much money!" Kong Lijuan had only brought two hundred yuan from home; asking her to take out one hundred was like asking for her life.

"No money? Then I’ll report it to the police!" Xu Qinghuan said, "Actually, I’m inclined to report it to the police, but considering the reputation of the brigade, once it reaches the police, people might think our brigade has bad conduct, affecting our chances of being evaluated as an advanced brigade in the future.

I’m not doing this for your hundred yuan."

The audience instantly opposed reporting it to the police and voiced their support for Xu Qinghuan.

The educated youth point also didn’t want it reported to the police, as it would affect them too. Many still wanted to make a good impression and hoped to be recommended for the Worker Peasant Soldier University, or that city jobs would prioritize them.

"No money? Then provide collateral, why cause a disturbance if you don’t have money?"

"Brigade leader, if she refuses to compensate, send her back to the educated youth office and get a better one!"

"Right, causing trouble and injury upon arrival—how did they send us someone like this?"

...

Seeing the rising public anger, if money wasn’t paid, she might be sent back to the educated youth office, then to an even harsher place.

"I’ll pay; I’ll pay, isn’t that enough?" Kong Lijuan reluctantly pulled out ten yuan bills from her pocket and handed them to Xu Qinghuan, crying as if her parents had died.