CHAPTER 570: CHAPTER 563: SCAMMING THE TIAN FAMILY

The accident site was on a main road halfway from Mijia Town to Yuequan Village, right over a steep slope. Cycling uphill was very strenuous, but it was effortless to ride downhill.

When Sisi and Tian Xinhua arrived at the scene around a bit past noon, as Tian Manjin mentioned, the accident had occurred around ten in the morning. The scene was cordoned off, with a police car parked by the roadside, and several traffic police were inspecting the site and taking notes.

Tian Mantong was also at the scene, looking very serious. He nodded to Sisi and her husband. A driver in his forties, standing beside Tian Mantong with a pained expression, kept saying, "Boss, I didn’t violate any traffic rules, they came out of nowhere, and I hit the brakes as soon as I saw them."

It seemed the driver was also terrified. Tian Mantong reassuringly patted the driver’s shoulder and asked him to rest in a shady spot. The driver was pale from shock combined with the hot weather, looking quite pitiful.

Sisi gave the driver a bottle of essential balm and suggested he apply some on his temples to refresh himself; the driver smiled gratefully at Sisi.

The truck was parked on the slope, with two long trails of blood, red and white, behind it. Flies buzzed around, and about ten meters from the vehicle lay two bodies—a large one and a smaller one—covered with white cloth by the police, presenting a harrowing sight.

Zhong Yuying knelt beside the bodies, wailing and hoarse from crying. Many people around showed sympathy, feeling sorry for the woman who suddenly lost her husband and daughter.

Zhong Hongying and Zhong Zhiying also arrived, along with the couple Zhong Shancai. Seeing Sisi and the others, they came over to greet them, their faces slightly embarrassed, probably because they also felt Zhong Yuying was shameless for asking for one hundred thousand yuan.

"Mantong, I really don’t know what to say about Yuying; don’t take it too hard."

Zhong Shancai was at a loss for words for his niece too. Although losing her husband and child was tragic, it wasn’t the Tian Family’s fault. Everyone saw clearly—it was Huang Debiao who rode into traffic, and the driver was not at fault at all.

But Yuying was audacious, demanding one hundred thousand yuan right off the bat, just as greedy as her parents, alas!

Tian Mantong chuckled, "No worries, everything will follow the regulations strictly. If it’s our responsibility, we won’t skimp a dime; if not, we won’t pay a cent extra."

In fact, upon hearing the news, Tian Mantong and Wang Qiuyang had discussed offering thirty thousand yuan to Zhong Yuying. Although it wasn’t their fault, they were from the same village after all, and the presence of such a young child made it pitiful, so they thought of it as paying for peace of mind.

But Zhong Yuying’s demand for one hundred thousand yuan was excessive, stating she wouldn’t settle for less. If the Tian Family refused, she threatened to take the bodies to make a scene at their house.

That made Tian Mantong furious, and he didn’t mention the money anymore but called the police, deciding to handle it officially.

Tian Xinhua went over to greet the commanding officer and even took out some cigarettes to offer the policemen, striking up a conversation.

The mayor of Sui City was somewhat acquainted with Tian Xinhua, promoting the same faction, but Tian Xinhua wasn’t planning on using that connection. After all, it was just a traffic accident with a clear responsible party, and there was no need to involve such a high-ranking official.

Sisi glanced over at Zhong Yuying, noticing her despondent demeanor, and couldn’t help but scoff. She really didn’t see such deep affection from Zhong Yuying for her husband and daughter, especially since she seemed quite repulsed by them just yesterday.

Could it be an act to garner sympathy from the crowd and the police, hoping that her brother-in-law would offer more money?

Actually, the accident was very clear, and the responsibility was entirely on Huang Debiao. According to witnesses, Huang Debiao suddenly lost control of his bike while going downhill, charging quickly downwards. Being relatively short, he couldn’t reach the ground with his feet. Panic-stricken and failing to turn towards the roadside, he unfortunately crashed into a truck in the middle.

"The bicycle had been used for a long time. The steel wire connecting the brakes was severely worn. When the deceased braked urgently while going downhill, it suddenly broke, leading to the failure of the brakes, and the deceased couldn’t control the speed of the bike. Combined with the psychological tension, this tragic incident occurred," the police explained the cause of the accident.

The bicycle lay overturned next to the corpse, severely deformed, looking indeed quite worn out.

"How could the brakes fail like that? I rode it just yesterday and it worked fine," Zhong Zhiying, an honest middle-aged woman, said after hearing the police, feeling somewhat incredulous.

"I also rode it yesterday, and it was indeed responsive."

Zhong Hongying added, feeling a trace of fear at the same time. Yesterday afternoon, she rode this bike back to her mother’s house and then came back. She used this very road, thinking, if the brakes had failed while she was riding, wouldn’t she be the one lying on the ground now?

The more Zhong Hongying thought about it, the more frightened she became, breaking out in cold sweat even under the blazing sun, she couldn’t help but rub her arms.

"Yu Ying, weren’t you supposed to return to Shanghai today? How come Debiao suddenly went to take Yuanyuan to town by bike?" Zhong Zhiying asked.

"Yuanyuan was feeling a bit unwell this morning. Debiao took her to the town health clinic to get some medicine, planning to return to Shanghai in the afternoon," Zhong Yuying said through tears.

"Wasn’t she fine yesterday? How come she felt unwell today?" Zhong Hongying interrupted.

She looked at Zhong Yuying and felt extremely annoyed inside. When your niece was alive, you didn’t seem to care much about her, and now you cry for whom to see?

"Yuanyuan had a high fever this morning," explained Zhong Yuying.

"Then why go to the town health clinic? Uncle Shaobai’s clinic could have provided the medicine, and you know that," Zhong Hongying couldn’t help but give her a sideways glance.

Zhong Yuying cried again, "I asked Debiao to get medicine from Uncle Shaobai’s clinic, but he insisted that the village clinic was no good, insisting on going to a formal health clinic, oh, it’s all my fault, I should have stopped Debiao, I caused the deaths of Debiao and Yuanyuan!"

After saying this, Zhong Yuying cried uncontrollably again, stirring some bystanders to also wipe away tears, feeling that Zhong Yuying’s plight was indeed too pitiful.

Beside her, Sisi, who had been listening to the three sisters of Zhong Yuying talking, felt something was off and couldn’t help saying to Tian Xinhua beside her: "Brother Xin Hua, I feel something’s not right."

Tian Xinhua pinched his brows. He and Sisi shared the same concern, a kind of intuition, feeling that everything was too coincidental.

Zhong Zhiying and Zhong Hongying rode without incident, but Huang Debiao’s bike just happened to malfunction, and his daughter just happened to have a fever today, then chose not to go to the local clinic, but instead made a trip to the distant town clinic, which doesn’t make sense!

Most importantly, as a mother, why didn’t Zhong Yuying accompany them to the hospital, letting a sick little girl sit alone at the front of the bike, wasn’t she worried that the child could not endure it?