Chapter 52: He is Failing Fast

Wang Defa paused upon hearing this.
"Director Wang, you are being too impatient.
No matter what, we must wait until the patient arrives at the hospital, is wheeled into the operating room, and then wait another eight to ten minutes before we can declare him in critical condition and notify the family.
Once the family arrives, we then inform them of brain death, have them sign the consent form, and immediately begin the surgery.
Right now, the patient hasn't even reached the hospital yet, and you want to notify the family. Once someone investigates later, the whole thing will fall apart."

Wang Yue wore an impatient expression.
"I know Li Qi's family situation very well. His mother has passed away, and his father is spineless and stays out of everything.
His eldest brother is completely obsessed with money and would sell anything for cash.
Knowing there are twenty thousand yuan to be grabbed, he won't hesitate for a single second and will sign directly.
To put it bluntly, for the sake of twenty thousand yuan, even if we told him Li Qi still had a chance of being saved, he would still impatiently sign to give up treatment.
My son has been lying in the hospital for so long, and every minute of delay makes him suffer for another minute.
Can you understand a mother's feelings?
If it weren't for that heartless bastard Li Qi and his endless delays, my son's surgery would have been finished long ago.
I can't wait another minute. Call Li Peng immediately."

Wang Defa sighed inwardly, thinking that this Wang Yue was truly a lunatic.
Yet, because the matter of his illegitimate son going abroad was held in her hands, he could not afford to offend her.
He had no choice but to instruct his secretary to contact the Niuxin Town Central School and find Li Peng.
After a little while, the secretary returned and reported, "I called and asked, but Li Peng is not at school."

Wang Defa and Wang Yue looked at each other in dismay. Wang Yue instantly flew into a rage.
"That damned scoundrel! Not staying properly at school on a workday, whose whore's bed has he crawled into?
Not a single person in that entire family of dogs is fit to be called human!
I'll fucking curse every last ancestor in the Li family..."

Wang Defa scratched his ear.
Why did this Director Wang throw a tantrum just like a shrew from her hometown village, lacking any class whatsoever?
Li Manjiang also wore a bitter expression. Since Wang Yue was cursing all the way up the Old Li family tree, he was bound to take some collateral damage.
Still, he kept his mouth shut.
Once she finished cursing Li Peng, she wouldn't curse me anymore, right?

It wasn't until Wang Yue finished her outburst that the secretary cautiously spoke up.
"People at the school have already gone to Li Peng's house to call for him, and they said they'll arrange a car to send him over immediately."

Wang Defa affectionately wrapped his arm around the little secretary's waist, escorted her to the door, and casually gave her backside a pat.
"Off you go, nothing more for you to do. Wait for me this afternoon."

The secretary cast a seductive, sideways glance at him. Wang Defa felt deeply gratified and a sudden wave of heat surged through his chest.
This little girl was even two years younger than his own daughter; she was simply irresistible.

At that moment, Li Peng was at home. Before him were Du Li and her parents, Du Shuangquan and Cai Jiamei.

Cai Jiamei was crying so hard she could barely catch her breath.
"I don't know which godforsaken pest is spouting nonsense and framing your younger brother.
Our Du Ming is such a good boy, honest and obedient since he was little, praised by all the neighbors in the street.
How could he possibly do anything bad?
Someone must have stabbed him in the back and framed him.
Li Peng, you're an official in the town. Do you know any cadres at the police station? Please beg them to let my son go.
That boy is timid; being locked up in the detention center, won't he just be bullied to death?"

Li Peng stammered submissively, "The police station has procedures for investigating cases. Don't worry, Mom. If Du Ming has done nothing wrong, he'll surely be released in a couple of days."

Du Li jumped up as high as she could.
"My ass!
That's easy for you to say, since it's not your brother locked up in the detention center.
Released in a couple of days?
On what grounds did they arrest my brother?
Can the police station just go around arresting good people arbitrarily?
Get out there and find someone right now. My brother has to be released today!
Otherwise, I'll go make a scene at the police station. On what grounds did they arrest my brother? My brother didn't steal or rob anything, what are they trying to do?"

Li Peng thought to himself, *You only act tough with me. If you're so fierce, why don't you go yell at the entrance of the police station?*
*See if they don't detain you.*
Yet he didn't dare say that out loud and had to placate her instead.
"Don't get anxious. We don't even know what's going on yet, we have to figure it out first."

The old man Du Shuangquan glanced at Li Peng sideways with his triangular eyes and said, "I heard from Goldlock at Second Uncle's place that the Public Security Bureau has this thing called bail pending trial.
If you pay some money, you can bail someone out first.
You two scrape together some money and get your brother out first.
Once he's locked up inside, they get to say whatever they want. Even if you're innocent, they'll end up finding you guilty later."

Hearing this, Du Li grew even more furious.
"Li Peng, get home right now and make your dad and your younger brother hand over the money!
Those two shameless wretches, on what grounds did they snatch our family's 1,700 yuan in savings?
I should have gone to the police station back then and reported them for robbery, had them all thrown in the slammer!
And just two days ago, the mine gave Li Qi a reward of ten thousand yuan.
You're going to bring that back too.
Even if it bankrupts me, I have to ransom my brother out.
Let me make it clear to you, Li Peng, this time it's to save my brother. If your family refuses to cough up the money, I'm not letting you hear the end of it!"

Hearing this, Cai Jiamei trembled all over with rage.
"Daughter, what's going on?
Your family's 1,700 yuan was snatched by the Old Li family?
Why didn't you say so earlier?
Is the Old Li family at their wits' end or just utterly shameless? How dare they rob their own children's money?"

Du Shuangquan was equally indignant.
"What kind of nonsense is this?
Your brother is about to get married, and he's in dire need of money right now. Why didn't you bring that much money back home immediately?"

As he spoke, growing more furious by the second, he delivered a sharp slap across Du Li's face.
"You good-for-nothing piece of trash, how could you let people rob you of so much money?"

Though Du Li was struck so hard by her father that her nose and mouth bled, she didn't dare talk back and instead turned her ferocity entirely onto Li Peng.
"Get back to your dad's place right now and get the money! The 1,700 from last time, and the ten thousand from this time—bring every single cent back to me.
If even a single fen is missing, don't ever set foot in this house again!"

Du Shuangquan and Cai Jiamei chimed in with continuous urging.
"Li Peng, your Old Li family has really gone too far this time.
Hurry up and get that money back to bail out Du Ming, pay for his bride price, buy a house, and get him a wife.
Everyone's waiting to use that money.
Why is your family like this?
Are you afraid the money will grow mold if you keep it at home? An old bachelor keeping two foolish sons with that much cash in their hands—how can anyone feel at ease?
Go get it back right now for my son to use."

Li Peng clicked his jaw, not knowing what else to say. Pushed aside by Du Li, he walked out of the door with a crestfallen expression.

Du Ming had been arrested last night, and the elderly couple had rushed over to his place crying early this morning. He hadn't even had a bite of breakfast yet, and instead, he had gotten a thorough scolding.
His hatred toward his own family and Li Qi reached its absolute peak.
"It's all Dad and the third brother's fault. Why did they have to push me like this?
Clearly there's money at home, yet they refused to take it out to buy me a diploma.
Is that something a human being would do?"

He thought to himself about how he would go home and demand the money. Over ten thousand yuan—that was more than enough to buy his own diploma, and the rest could be given to Du Li so she could go rescue Du Ming.
From then on, his family could return to being warm and harmonious.
If he lived well, wouldn't his dad be happy too? Wouldn't his mother's spirit in heaven feel comforted as well?
It was clearly a win-win situation for everyone, so why did his family insist on going against him?
When he went back, he truly needed to have a good talk with his dad and the third brother, to teach them how to conduct themselves.

Just as he was thinking this, a teacher from the school suddenly came running over in a panic.
"Director Li, this is terrible! Your younger brother Li Qi was hit by a car, and it doesn't look good.
He's at the 203 Hospital right now, you'd better go take a look!"