The Secret Realm of Time, His and Her Life Through the Changes

Chapter 199 Grandma's Arrangements

Zhou Xidi slowly walked to the center of the hall. Despite her petite stature, she stood ramrod straight. After surveying everyone present, she slowly began to speak: "I have decided to sell this house. With my personal savings, I have raised a total of 2.2 million yuan. I plan to donate this money to the families of the two deceased students, Zhou Fang and Yang Man—Ban Ning and Qiu Chunliang—one million yuan to each family."

Upon hearing this, everyone present widened their eyes in shock, speechless with astonishment.

With tears in her eyes and a sob in her voice, Zhou Yanruo cried out, "Grandma, if you sell the house, where will you live from now on?"

Zhou Xidi gently waved her hand, signaling Zhou Yanruo to calm down, then turned her gaze to the families of the deceased students and continued, "This money is a gift, not compensation. I firmly believe that my son and daughter-in-law are the most professional and responsible scientists, and they would never do anything irresponsible. Since they had this teacher-student relationship with the students and unfortunately passed away in an accident, I hope to take good care of the students' families on their behalf, so as to comfort their souls in heaven."

The young woman holding her child stood up emotionally, sobbing uncontrollably, "This is not fair! My son Banning was about to receive his doctorate next month, and he had already found a job. Suddenly, he's gone. Our child is so young. How are we, a widow and orphan, going to live?"

One of the burly men immediately became displeased upon hearing this and shouted gruffly, "What do you mean by this? If your family wants a larger share, then my family should get a smaller share?"

The old woman quickly explained, "That's definitely not what she meant. Look, Mrs. Zhou just said there's 2.2 million, and she plans to give each of our families one million. What about the remaining 200,000? We have children in our families, so we should get 1.2 million. It's not like we're trying to steal your family's one million."

The burly man chuckled coldly and said arrogantly, "You wish! If we're going to divide it, it should be split in half. Each of us should get 1.1 million. That's fair."

Another old woman chimed in, "That's right, that's right, it's all a human life! Your family has children and descendants, but my Chunliang is unlucky, he died before he could get married..." Before she could finish speaking, she began to open her mouth wide and wail loudly.

Yan Shao couldn't stand it any longer and shouted, "Have you all made enough of a scene?!"

Vice Principal Chang said angrily, "Ban Ning and Qiu Chunliang are both extremely outstanding students. As their family members, don't you feel ashamed for doing this?"

Zhou Xidi didn't even glance at the troublemakers. She had said what she needed to say and disdained further entanglement with them. She walked up to Vice Principal Chang and the other two leaders, her lips trembling slightly, and said, "I need your help. My proposal is to proceed through a donation process. Could you please help us with the notarization? I will deposit the funds into the school's designated account, and then the school will transfer them to the families of the deceased students. Is that acceptable?"

After exchanging opinions in hushed tones with the other two school leaders who had come with him, Vice Principal Chang replied, "Auntie, we initially believe that this plan is feasible, but we still need to go back and give a detailed report to our superiors on how to implement it."

“However,” Vice Principal Chang hesitated for a moment, then continued, “would you like to reconsider? After all, this is not a small amount of money.”

Another female leader, who hadn't spoken since entering, introduced herself: "Hello, sir. I am Zhang Ling, a representative from Tsinghua and Peking Universities."

Zhou Xidi greeted him politely, "Hello, Leader Zhang."

Zhang Ling said, "Before I came here, I had already been notified by the school that our school had started the application process for the compensation, and it was being submitted at the highest level. At the same time, the student unions and alumni associations of Tsinghua and Peking Universities have also launched fundraising campaigns, and I believe these measures will be able to raise a considerable amount of funds."

She glanced at the family members who had been wailing loudly just moments before; now they had all quieted down and were listening intently to the conversation.

Zhang Ling continued, "We all deeply respected Professor Zhou and Professor Yang. We already feel incredibly guilty for not being able to take good care of their families after their passing. How could we possibly ask you to sell the house as well?"

Zhou Xidi said gratefully, "Thank you for your consideration for us, the leaders. Money is just an external thing; compared to life, it is nothing. If this money can really help them, it will be a way to make amends for Zhou Fang and Yang Man, so that they can leave in peace."

Yan Shao couldn't help but speak up: "The accident is still under investigation. Professor Yang has not wronged anyone. If the experiment is successful and the paper is published smoothly, it will be the most brilliant achievement on the doctoral students' resumes..." As he spoke, he glared fiercely at the burly man who had just clashed with him.

Zhou Xidi interrupted him and said gently, "Good boy, let's not talk about it anymore. I have a favor to ask. Let's talk privately after we've dealt with the current matter."

Then, Zhou Xidi turned to the leaders and said, "Let's decide on this. Consider it a token of our appreciation."

Vice Principal Chang exchanged glances with the other two school leaders, then loudly addressed the family members, "You should all leave here. We'll talk at the school tomorrow. Don't harass them anymore, or we will call the police."

The family members who were causing trouble gathered together and discussed in hushed tones for a while. Perhaps they were frightened by the threat of calling the police, or perhaps they felt that if they continued to make trouble, things might change and they would not get the money. So they left obediently.

Vice Principal Chang held Zhou Xidi's hand and said gently, "After we finalize the plan tomorrow, I will come to your residence to inform you. Please rest well and take good care of your health."

Zhou Xidi nodded to express her gratitude and asked with concern, "I heard that a student rushed to the scene of the accident and was burned while trying to put out the fire. Is his condition serious?"

Vice Principal Chang replied, "Yes, he is a student of our school named Zhang Qian. He just graduated this year and stayed on as a school janitor, where he was assigned to work in Professor Zhou's laboratory. He was seriously injured, mainly on his face and hands. Fortunately, he is not in life-threatening condition, and the school has applied for a 'Heroic Act' award for him."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Xidi pondered for a moment and said, "The injury is on the face, and subsequent treatment will definitely require skin grafts and plastic surgery, which will be very expensive. Alas, he's so young, and he's suffering so much. It would be a disaster for any family to encounter something like this." She paused, as if she had made a decision, and continued, "I've decided to donate 100,000 yuan to Zhang Qian as his burn and plastic surgery treatment expenses."

Vice Principal Chang's eyes reddened, and his voice choked with emotion: "No, you've already..."

Zhou Xidi waved her hand gently, interrupting her: "That's enough, I won't say anymore."