Chapter 884
Undercurrents
The three brothers, Xiao Tao, Xiao Wen, and Xiao Wu, waited at the health center for about an hour before the test results came out.
Zhou Xueqiang suffered a laceration to his scalp from a blunt force trauma, requiring stitches. He also sustained a mild concussion and varying degrees of soft tissue contusions.
Overall, the injury can only be barely classified as a minor injury, far from even a slight injury.
Xiaowen remembered the follow-up arrangements Yuefeng had told him, took the money to pay the hospital deposit, and then the three brothers planned to leave first.
After all, the other party is not seriously ill and is conscious. Once they have been admitted to the hospital and settled into a ward, they can call the nurses to take care of them if needed. There is no point in Xiaowen and the others staying here any longer.
The three brothers had just finished their business and stepped out of the township clinic when they saw more than a dozen members of the Zhou family, looking quite imposing, rushing over after receiving the news.
Leading the group was Zhou Yuansen, who was in his fifties, followed by his eldest son, Zhou Xuejun, and several of his uncles and brothers. These were members of the Zhou family who had heard the village loudspeaker announcement but had not responded to the village committee's call to participate in the autumn harvest protection campaign.
Seeing the Zhou family enter the clinic from a distance, Xiaowen had a sudden thought and said to Xiaowu and Xiaotao, "The Zhou family is here. Let's not fight them, get in the car and get out of here!"
Xiao Tao also saw that the Zhou family had come looking for him, and thought that another fight was about to break out. He was slightly puzzled when he heard Xiao Wen's opinion.
"Run? The three of us can take care of a dozen or so of them. We have the advantage! What are we afraid of?" Xiao Tao said, somewhat eager to try.
"The important thing is to get down to business! If this gets out of hand, it'll be hard to explain to our brother! We'll have to turn ourselves in!" Xiaowen wisely reminded him.
The words "I'm going to turn myself in" instantly calmed Xiao Tao down a lot.
The three brothers had already gotten into a fight, which meant they had a grudge against Zhou Xueqiang's family. If they were to fight a third time now, even if they won, it wouldn't mean much and would only hinder their plan to turn themselves in.
"Damn it! This is so frustrating! Let's run!"
Xiao Tao spat and jumped into the passenger seat, ready to escape.
Xiaowen twisted the throttle a few times, and the motorcycle sped towards the gate.
"It's Zhang Xiaowen and Xiao Tao! Don't let them get away!" Zhou Yuansen recognized the three brothers and called out, ready to come up and avenge his son.
Unfortunately, they had no weapons and were only using a few borrowed bicycles for transportation, making it impossible for them to catch up with the military three-wheeled motorcycles.
Watching helplessly as the assailant rode away on his bicycle, Zhou Yuansen angrily chased after him for about a hundred meters before giving up and turning back, panting heavily.
"Damn it, they got away, but they can't hide forever. We'll go to the commune to complain when it's light. I don't believe they can cover up everything!"
"Uncle, let's go check on Daqiang's injuries first. We can talk about everything else when it gets light!"
"go!"
……
The group entered the night duty room, and after a brief inquiry, they went to Zhou Xueqiang's room, where he was already on an anti-inflammatory IV drip.
At this moment, Zhou Xueqiang looked rather pathetic after being beaten twice.
The gash on his head, caused by being hit with a stick, was stitched up, bandaged with sterile gauze, and covered with a mesh bag to prevent it from falling off.
Over this period of time, the area around the eyebrows, eyes, and face has become swollen.
His eyes were squinted into slits, his mouth was like a sausage, and his clothes were covered in dust from being kicked when he fell to the ground. Clear footprints could be seen on his chest and back.
"Daqiang, how are you?"
Seeing his second son's miserable state, Zhou Yuansen couldn't help but lean forward and ask him what was wrong.
Zhou Xueqiang struggled to open his eyes a crack and glanced at his father and other relatives who had come to visit. He then tried to sound pitiful by speaking with some difficulty: "Dad, Big Brother! This matter can't be left like this. Get revenge for me!"
"Yue Feng, that smiling tiger, ordered Xiao Tao and the Zhang brothers to beat me up. I'm in pain all over now, my head is spinning, and I get dizzy with the slightest movement!"
“I heard from your second uncle that you went up the mountain to protect the autumn crops and caused trouble for the farm protection team.”
What exactly happened? Are we in the right? If we are, your older brother, your uncles, and your other relatives definitely won't let this go!
Even if Yue Feng becomes the village secretary, he can't touch the Zhou family!
Zhou Xueqiang said with difficulty, "I was just teasing San Dan and made a bet with him that a stone couldn't break a firecracker fuse. But San Dan was a bit reckless and actually tried it, lighting the white firecracker prematurely!"
The main force of Yue Feng's hunting team was affected by the sound of firecrackers, and that's my fault!
The person primarily responsible for this is Sandan; at most, I was just joking!
I didn't provoke Xiao Tao, but he beat me up as soon as we met!
Later, I got really angry and started saying that Yue Feng was so powerful because he became the secretary through nepotism, and then the two Zhang brothers took sticks and beat me!
I didn't provoke them; they were just acting as thugs for Yue Feng to bully me!
"You heard Yue Feng order people to beat you up?"
"Yes, it was him who called!"
"This isn't over. Tomorrow morning, I'll take some people to the police station. If the police station doesn't care, I'll go to the commune. I refuse to believe that the government can ignore someone being beaten like this!"
After listening to his son's account of the events, Zhou Yuansen immediately made a decision.
……
On the other side, as Yue Feng was leading the remaining men to process the wild boar meat that was almost finished, Wang Xiaonian came over with his hands tucked in.
"Secretary Yue, I have something to tell you!"
Yue Feng glanced at Wang Xiaonian, knowing that this guy was definitely not looking for him for casual conversation. He nodded, turned around, and went back into the village office's meeting room.
"I just saw Zhou Yuansen take his eldest son and a lot of his uncles and brothers to the clinic! Zhou Rui went to report it!"
After entering the room, Wang Xiaonian didn't waste any time and went straight to the point, stating the information he had.
Yue Feng was slightly taken aback: "Okay, I understand! Thank you for bringing me the news!"
Seeing Yue Feng's calm tone, Wang Xiaonian continued, "This matter could be a big deal or a small deal. If they call the police or cause trouble at the commune, it could easily confuse right and wrong! Brother Feng, you need to be prepared!"
"Okay, thank you! I know what to do next!"
Seeing Yue Feng's unusual composure, Wang Xiaonian nodded with a hint of disappointment: "Then I'll be going now. Let me know if you need anything!"
"it is good!"
Yue Feng nodded and watched Wang Xiaonian leave.
Even after becoming the village secretary, Yue Feng didn't only have enemies. After gaining the status of a village official, most of the villagers, who were originally relatively neutral, chose to maintain a good relationship with him.
Take Wang Xiaonian for example. His previous cooperation with Yue Feng was limited to selling information about various prey in exchange for rewards or meat, a clean deal with no debts between them.
Now that Yue Feng has become the Party Secretary, Wang Xiaonian's reaction has clearly changed. Many times, even if Yue Feng offers him a reward, he refuses it.
Coming to deliver the message at this critical juncture is definitely an act of goodwill towards Yue Feng. Yue Feng has already spoken with his father-in-law and has made up his mind, so he naturally won't panic too much.
Now we're just waiting for Xiao Tao and the others to come back. After a quick discussion, we can resolve the issue of the physical altercation and eliminate any negative impact beforehand.
Yue Feng was quite familiar with the fighting capabilities of Xiao Tao and his two brothers. Without using firearms, the three of them could easily handle ten or eight ordinary villagers. Therefore, when he heard that Zhou Yuansen had taken people to the clinic, Yue Feng was not overly worried.
Of course, this lack of worry is relative; the degree of mental stability continues to fluctuate downwards over time.
It was almost 5 a.m., and Xiao Tao and his two brothers still hadn't returned. Yue Feng started to panic.
They were just taking the wounded to the clinic for examination and treatment, not trying to kill them. By now, the hospitalization procedures should have been completed.
Could it be that the three brothers have really gotten into trouble? Could they have gotten into another fight with the Zhou family?
Thinking of this, fearing something might happen, Yue Feng greeted Brother Zhao Hongbo and asked him to keep an eye on the meat at home. He then rode another motorcycle straight to the clinic.
Throughout the journey, Yue Feng was a little uneasy, fearing that the three brothers might suffer another loss.
There were no pedestrians on the road in the middle of the night, so he twisted the throttle almost to the floor, and the motorcycle sped away at high speed.
When they arrived at the clinic, Yue Feng walked around outside and looked around. His anxiety eased considerably.
There were no motorcycles in the yard, which means the three brothers were probably not at the clinic.
After getting out of the car, Yue Feng pushed open the door and went to his duty station. The on-duty doctor, who had finished his work and had nothing else to do, was dozing off behind his workstation. Hearing footsteps coming in, he looked up and rubbed his sleepy eyes.
"Hello, I have something to ask you! What's the condition of the young wounded man who was brought in around midnight? Are the people who brought him still at our clinic?" Yue Feng asked very politely.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"I am Yue Feng, the village secretary of Xing'an Village. The injured and those who brought people here are all villagers from our village. Please tell me about the situation!" Yue Feng continued to ask patiently.
The doctor on duty told Yue Feng, "The person who brought the injured person stayed at the hospital for a little over an hour before leaving! The injured person has been admitted to the hospital and is in room 208!"
After they left, a large group of relatives arrived, caused a disturbance for a while, and were also driven away!
"What's the situation with the wounded? Are their injuries serious?" Yue Feng continued to ask.
"The injuries aren't serious. He got stitches on his head, and the rest are just soft tissue contusions! He must have been in a fight. These kinds of injuries will heal in a few days with some anti-inflammatory medication, at most ten days to two weeks! No bones or tendons were broken!"
"Okay, thank you!" Yue Feng nodded his thanks after listening, then turned and left.
Xiao Tao had no direct conflict with the Zhou family. Now that he has left, I wonder if he went home or did something else.
In short, as long as he didn't suffer losses from continuing to fight with the Zhou family, Yue Feng could accept any other situation.
When Yue Feng rode his bike back home, he went for a walk around the new house and found that the three brothers had not returned.
Yue Feng was a little confused. The three of them usually handled the things they arranged quite well and rarely made mistakes. What were they doing today?
Based on Yue Feng and his father-in-law's expectations and their understanding of Uncle Hat, they estimated that the Zhou family would arrive after Yue Feng went to work in the morning.
Now, if the three brothers don't turn themselves in beforehand, Yue Feng will be in a bit of a passive position.
Just as Yue Feng was thinking this, he suddenly slapped his forehead: "Damn! These guys, did they take it upon themselves to turn themselves in without consulting me?!"
Xiao Tao, a simple-minded and physically strong emotional creature, would never have thought of this.
However, Xiaowen, who is usually very meticulous in his thinking and considers things very thoroughly, also accompanied them.
What Xiao Tao might not consider, Xiao Wen might. If the three brothers put their heads together, they might not even need to consult Yue Feng; they could just turn themselves in and take the blame.
Knowing his brothers-in-arms well, Yue Feng knew that as long as they were good to him, the three of them would do this without batting an eye.
Thinking of this, Yue Feng slammed on the brakes to stop the motorcycle, then turned and headed towards the town's police station.
When they arrived at the police station, sure enough, the military-plated three-wheeled motorcycle with military license plates was parked neatly in the parking space in the yard.
Seeing this, Yue Feng felt a warmth in his heart.
"Damn it! These guys!"
Yue Feng took a deep breath, muttered a curse under his breath, parked his motorcycle, and strode into the police station's duty room.
Yue Feng has cultivated his network of connections in his small neighborhood for so long that he has long been familiar with the township government, the armed forces department, and the police station.
During holidays and festivals, the leaders would visit each other, and they would also maintain necessary contact whenever there was a suitable opportunity. For minor matters, a simple greeting was enough. These local tyrants all knew that Yue Feng had a powerful background and influence, so they gave him a lot of face.
Yue Feng strode into the duty room and saw his old acquaintance, Instructor Li, yawning as he collected statements from Xiao Tao and the others.
Good heavens, the three of them, Xiao Tao and his brother, were all smoking, puffing away and laughing, showing no sign of seriousness whatsoever.
As for his old acquaintance, Instructor Lao Li, he also looked helpless.
Yue Feng walked to the door and knocked.
Upon hearing the sound, Lao Li and Xiao Tao immediately turned their heads to look at the door.
Upon recognizing Yue Feng as the visitor, Old Li immediately put down his pen and stood up.
Yue Feng pushed open the door and entered the room.
"Brother Li, I'm busy!"
Old Li looked at Yue Feng with suspicion: "Secretary Yue, what's wrong with your brothers? Didn't they just get into a fight with the villagers over some minor conflict?"
"They weren't carrying any illegal weapons, and there were no serious injuries. The other party didn't call the police either. I tried to reason with them, but they insisted on turning themselves in!"
Yue Feng scratched his head: "This is a long story, too! Since you're here, let's take a statement!"
"If I need to stay at the institute for two days, then I'll stay for two days! Just please take good care of me!"
"Really tight-lipped?"
Old Li was a little surprised to hear Yue Feng's words. Yue Feng was usually very attentive to his brothers and was known for being protective of them.
In situations like this, as long as no one is injured and no aggrieved party is holding a grudge, Old Li doesn't even need to speak to the top leader; he can simply make the decision to open a back door and pretend nothing happened.
"Just a few symbolic days of detention! Some troublemakers in the village were not in compliance with the village committee's management, and my brothers got angry and started a fight! I've only been a full-fledged official for less than a year, so the situation is a bit sensitive!" Yue Feng explained, scratching his head.
Old Li nodded after listening: "Okay, I got it! Don't worry about it. These guys can stay with me for a couple of days. You can handle everything else. If you need any help, just let me know!"
Yue Feng replied, "Okay! I'll say a few words to my brother and the others!"
After saying that, Yue Feng walked over to Xiao Tao and the others. (End of Chapter)