Fortunately, after so many days, the case finally ca to a smooth conclusion. The court delivered the appropriate judgnts for everyone involved. Those who provided evidence that they were not personally involved in the cyberbullying were acquitted. For those who couldn’t prove their innocence, most were given suspended sentences. A very small number, a handful of self-proclaid ’masterminds,’ attempted to evade punishnt and would have to wait for further investigation and trial. The case had essentially settled.
When the two walked out of the court, they found the family mbers of the defendants gathered outside, each one tense and staring fixedly at the court’s main entrance. Upon seeing their children, they rushed up to them, crying tears of joy.
"Mom, I’ve been sentenced to probation! The lawyer said I don’t have to go to jail."
"Grandpa, I’ll never dare to do it again."
"Child, let’s go ho. Rember this lesson and be a good person from now on."
"It’s fine as long as you’re alright. Let’s go, we’re going ho."
...
The defendants embraced their relatives, words failing them. Many, feeling the relief of surviving a calamity, left the court one after another.
Eventually, after many days, the crowd at the bustling entrance of the court gradually dispersed, leaving the area much emptier. Seeing this, Qin Mu didn’t linger and took Zhang Qingyuan back to the nursing ho.
「At eight o’clock in the evening.」
Qin Mu dropped Zhang Qingyuan off at the nursing ho and went straight ho. This ti, however, Zhang Qingyuan didn’t just fall into bed. Instead, he went straight to Feng Cuihua. The two of them got together, picked up a small notebook, and began to calculate how much compensation they had received.
Now that all the judgnts had been handed down, everyone who had cyberbullied him had been ordered to pay compensation. The amounts ranged between 2,000 and 5,000 yuan, all in whole thousands, making it easier to calculate. While the couple was tallying up the compensation, Li Weiguo, Song Tiancheng, and others, having heard the news, gathered at their door, their faces etched with undisguised envy.
Half an hour later, Zhang Qingyuan and Feng Cuihua finally finished calculating the total compensation, confirming the amount was correct. They both wore expressions of utter shock.
"Old Zhang, how much is it? It must be in the tens of millions this ti, right?"
"Co on, out with it! Don’t keep us in suspense. I’ve never seen so much money in my life."
"What’s with that expression? Surely it’s not less than ten million, is it?"
"Regardless, now we can buy several houses in Jin City!"
...
Li Weiguo, Song Tiancheng, and the others looked at Zhang Qingyuan, all eager to know how much of a ’small profit’ he had made this ti.
Zhang Qingyuan put on a pensive look, gazed at the crowd, and heaved a sigh. After a long pause, he said casually, "Oh, not that much. Just thirty-nine million."
As soon as he spoke, Li Weiguo and the other elders’ eyes widened, and they gasped.
Thirty-nine million!
This was an amount they had never dared to dream of in their entire lives! If spread over a hundred years, that would be like earning 390,000 a year.
"Old Zhang, you’re being too modest! And you call that ’not much’?"
"I thought you hadn’t received much compensation! We owe a lot to Xiao Qin this ti; you really must thank him properly."
"Exactly! If Xiao Qin hadn’t advanced the legal fees, you wouldn’t have received a single cent of this compensation!"
"Ah, Old Zhang must have saved the world in his past life. I wonder when it’ll be my turn to be cyberbullied."
...
Li Weiguo and the others sighed endlessly, their faces practically screaming, I want to be cyberbullied too! Zhang Qingyuan’s experience had given them a new aspiration: a new thod to get rich overnight.
Of course, they first needed enough capital to sue the cyberbullies. Suing just one or two people would only yield minimal compensation and wouldn’t have a significant impact. The main reason Zhang Qingyuan had struck it rich was the sheer number of defendants involved: 15,000 of them! If each paid just 1,000 yuan, that would already be fifteen million!
Hearing everyone’s comnts, Zhang Qingyuan nodded seriously. "We’ve already discussed it. We’re going to give Xiao Qin the nine million—the ’loose change’—as a thank-you fee."
At their age, money wasn’t their primary concern. They were willing to give away nine million just like that. As they saw it, they might never even spend the remaining thirty million in their lifeti.
"Nine million in ’loose change’? Old Zhang, you’re really talking big these days! Careful you don’t sprain your tongue."
"It’s infuriating to compare! Rember that dog we passed the other day? It ran straight to Old Zhang and didn’t even glance at !"
"That’s alright. A fortune teller once told I was a late bloor, destined for wealth in my old age. Seeing Old Zhang’s luck, I feel sure it’ll be my turn next."
"What’s being a millionaire? Next ti, I’ll be a billionaire!"
...
Looking at Zhang Qingyuan, the wealthiest man in the nursing ho, it was impossible for the others not to feel a twinge of envy. But no one harbored any true jealousy. Having reached their age, they accepted their lot in life; what was ant to be would be, and what wasn’t, wouldn’t. They were at peace with it. However, Zhang Qingyuan’s constant, gleeful showing off did make their teeth itch with frustration at tis.
And so, spurred on by Zhang Qingyuan’s windfall, many of the elderly returned to their rooms and indulged in dreams of overnight wealth. So even began burning incense and praying, hoping the vast online community would ’bless’ them with a round of cyberbullying.
「anwhile.」
「In the nursing ho’s deputy director’s office.」
Wan Zhongyuan was staring at his computer screen, looking at the series of electronic verdict docunts that the court had sent to the nursing ho’s email.
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