Chapter 251: 252 just for making money
The woman was trying to cause a scene, screaming exaggeratedly.
But Gong Daoyang didn't fall for her act. He directly grabbed the woman by the collar and hauled her to her feet, while Liu Gong, behind her, seized her shoulders.
"AHHHH~~~ Help! The police are arresting people! Why are you arresting me? Let me go!"
Gong Daoyang sneered, "On what grounds? You know perfectly well yourself. You'll explain everything clearly at the station." He then looked at Liu Gong. "Take her to the car and bring her back to the station for a thorough interrogation."
Liu Gong paid no mind to the woman's theatrics and, gripping her arm, dragged her to the police car outside.
After Liu Gong left, Gong Daoyang spoke to the frightened villagers, "This family is suspected of collaborating with these scammers to deceive you all. I'll take them back and investigate thoroughly. You all carry on with your business. Those who need to receive money, come and get it."
"Collaborating to scam us?"
"I knew it! She's just a shill! Why else would she buy four boxes in such a hurry without even asking properly?"
"I thought so too, that's why I didn't buy anything. She's usually so frugal, but today she shelled out that 8,000 yuan so readily. It would be strange if there wasn't something fishy going on."
"Her father-in-law usually loves to join in the fun, but he went to the city before dawn today. It must have been to avoid suspicion..."
Gong Daoyang's words somewhat reassured the terrified villagers and also sparked their hindsight, as they each began to recount their own supposed foresight.
Seeing this, Gong Daoyang was no longer worried and walked over to Du Heng.
"Brother, thank you for your help today."
"Don't mention it, Gong. I was also doing it for my own sake."
Once again, Gong Daoyang patted Du Heng on the shoulder. "Let's not overdo the pleasantries. I owe you one, and we'll catch up properly another time. I have to report this to the higher-ups, so I can't chat any longer."
Du Heng nodded. "You go ahead and get busy. I have things to attend to as well."
He had heard Liu Gong's words very clearly. The other teams were definitely in other districts or villages. With Gong Daoyang's success here, they would undoubtedly round up all these scammers in one fell swoop.
After saying their goodbyes, Du Heng called for the Pharmacy Doctor to leave with him. There was nothing left for them to do here.
However, Liu Gong's earlier words cast a shadow over Du Heng's heart.
Because among those colluding with these people to sell the medicine were not only village heads but also some village doctors; he just didn't know how many.
Under the current circumstances, Du Heng couldn't inquire directly and could only wait for the results of the police station's investigation.
So, while driving, Du Heng's mood was quite somber.
The Pharmacy Doctor felt much the same, but he was more puzzled.
"Dean, those who colluded were all village heads or village doctors—they're considered prominent figures in their villages. And they all come from the same village, where they'll inevitably see each other. Why would they do such a thing? And I just heard that the money wasn't much, just two to three thousand yuan. The most anyone got was only 6,000 yuan. There's no need to resort to this, is there?"
Du Heng composed himself and said quietly, "Several thousand yuan may not seem like much to you. For them, risking public condemnation to earn that bit of money… it might be equivalent to your monthly salary, or perhaps even less. But what you don't know is that in this mountainous area of Central Lake, farmers toiling in the fields for an entire year might only earn that much, or possibly even less. For example, my older brother and his wife, after deducting 3,000 yuan for fertilizer, made a total of only 1,300 yuan from their fields last year. So, tell me, if instead of toiling away, you could earn several thousand yuan in a day just by being the first to buy something—without even using your own money—wouldn't you do it?"
"But... but... now that they've been exposed like this, how can they continue to live in the village?"
Du Heng chuckled. "You're talking about them being exposed. But what if they weren't? They'd have made several thousand yuan for nothing. Why wouldn't they do it?"
"I mean, what if they are found out, like now?"
"They'll handle it as it comes."
The Pharmacy Doctor frowned. "But how could they go on living in the village?"
"Heh. This is the countryside. They live in their own independent courtyards, have their own land. What's there to prevent them from getting by?"
"But isn't it awkward?"
"They go to work in the fields early in the morning and return home in the evening. They close their main gate, eat dinner, and watch TV. Whether they feel awkward or not, how does that concern others?"
Du Heng glanced out the car window and said lightly, "Here, the land is vast, and the population is sparse. If they stick to their own fields, they hardly meet anyone. And even if they are discovered, at worst, they can just claim they themselves were deceived, and the matter will eventually blow over. They're all neighbors, or even descendants of the same ancestors. It's not like anyone's going to kill them over it, are they? Besides, as you just said, these people are either village heads or village doctors. Do you think a solitary household, or someone from an outside family, could hold such positions in the village?"
The Pharmacy Doctor was a genuine city dweller and didn't understand such rural intricacies. Only after hearing Du Heng's rough explanation did he begin to get a vague impression.
"Since it's as you said, Dean, the village doctors involved shouldn't be in too much trouble. So why are you still worried?"
"I'm not worried about whether they'll be in trouble, but rather about their attitude in doing this."
Du Heng slowed the car slightly and said with a touch of melancholy, "Our people here, under normal circumstances, won't go to big hospitals unless their illness is unbearable or they're near death. They mostly make do with treatment at the village clinics. You could say that the village doctors in these clinics are the first line of defense protecting these folks. If they were a little more responsible, earning money while also giving patients reasonable advice, that would be better. It would prevent minor illnesses from becoming major, and major illnesses from becoming critical. But if these people become solely focused on making money and start to treat their patients' conditions perfunctorily, that's not a good thing for the villagers."
The Pharmacy Doctor fell silent.
People see things from different standpoints; their perspectives and attitudes when considering issues can be worlds apart.
After a long moment, he suddenly asked, "Dean, when we go to the other village clinics later, should we ask about what happened?"
Du Heng shook his head firmly. "Don't ask, and don't say anything. We'll wait for news from the police station on this matter. Our task today is simply to inspect the medicine-related issues at the village clinics. If we find substandard medicine ingredients, we remind them to dispose of them as soon as possible."
"What if they ignore us? We don't have the authority to punish them."
"Then we'll leave them be. On Monday, I'll report this to the Bureau. The Bureau and the Food and Drug Supervision Department will have ways to deal with it. At that point, they can fend for themselves."
The Pharmacy Doctor nodded, largely agreeing with Du Heng. "You're right. We didn't report it beforehand, and we've gone out of our way to visit and remind them. If they don't appreciate it, there's not much more we can do."