Chapter 495: Two Choices
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Gu Qingluan remained calm as she said, “Right now, you have two choices: one is to let the doctors here examine you, and the other is to endure the situation here.”
The crowd was momentarily stunned.
In fact, most of those who were causing a commotion hadn’t consumed the porridge yet, and those suffering from stomachaches and diarrhea had little energy to create a fuss. Some of the more seriously affected individuals were curled up on the ground.
However, Gu Qingluan’s people didn’t attempt to provide assistance.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to help, but getting close would lead to confrontations.
When the incident occurred earlier, Gu Xiaonan had rushed to help, but because everyone was highly emotional, they turned hostile towards those attempting to provide medical aid.
People gave Gu Xiaonan a pass due to his young age, but the adult doctors weren’t as fortunate, with two of them sporting bruises on their faces.
“If you’d like to visit the free clinic, you can. Otherwise, you’re free to seek medical assistance elsewhere. Don’t miss the chance to save lives. The Jun Residence is right here, and there are others around. We have no intention of running away. Even if we wished to depart, no matter how many of you remain here, you wouldn’t be able to prevent us!”
Feng Tianlan was the one who said those words to everyone earlier.
However, since they didn’t recognize him and had witnessed his ambiguous relationship with Gu Qingluan not long ago, nobody believed him.
Upon hearing Gu Qingluan’s words, the impoverished individuals hesitated for a moment.
Some chose to stay, while others decided to seek help from other doctors.
The majority chose to stay. After all, they were all destitute people who couldn’t afford medical care. Most of the time, they endured their ailments, and those who stayed behind with food poisoning believed in their own good fortune, thinking that they could pull through.
Gu Qingluan didn’t interfere with their choices and allowed several doctors to treat those who remained with food poisoning.
Then, her gaze landed on a young man standing in front. “Where is your sister?”
“Here!”
The crowd immediately made way.
A young girl in tattered clothing, her figure frail, lay motionless on the ground.
Her small face was waxen and tinged with a sickly pallor. Her lips were purple, and there was a white stain at the corner of her mouth, likely dried foam from poisoning.
With a single glance, Gu Qingluan knew that the little girl had already passed away.
The young man glared at her with hatred, his gaze fierce. “You poisoned my sister. What else is there to say?”
Gu Qingluan remained silent and walked directly toward the young girl.
As she passed, people instinctively made way for her.
Upon reaching the young girl, Gu Qingluan wanted to examine her specific symptoms.
The young man immediately shouted, “Don’t touch my sister!”
He rushed forward to stop her.
The arcane power barrier surrounding Gu Qingluan blocked him.
She looked at him with her deep black eyes, as calm as an ancient pond, without a hint of fear or hesitation. “Don’t you want to catch the real culprit?” The young man was taken aback. “Aren’t you all the culprits? Don’t try to deceive me!”
“Why would I harm you?”
“Your intention might not have been to harm, but it was your decision to buy subpar ingredients to save money that harmed everyone!”
Of course, she had no reason to harm a group of poor people, but it was true that the porridge they distributed had issues. Even if it wasn’t intentional, it couldn’t change the outcome.
“This is truly heartless. We may be poor, but we are still human beings. While you rich people feast on delicacies, you feed us spoiled rice. Do you think we have iron stomachs?”
“If you can’t bear to spend, then don’t pretend to be generous. You want a good reputation, but you’re unwilling to spend money. It seems like she’s taken all the benefits for herself.”
Whispers spread around them.
Feng Tianlan’s voice echoed in Gu Qingluan’s mind: “I checked just now, and there was indeed a pot of porridge that had gone moldy, but we’re not sure if the porridge they consumed was also contaminated.”
Hearing this, Gu Qingluan stared at the young man intently. “How are you so sure it was spoiled ingredients?”
The young man replied, “We just checked. The porridge in the pot was cooked with moldy rice, and it was masked by other ingredients. None of us noticed it before we got poisoned.”
Gu Qingluan narrowed her eyes and asked cryptically, “Are you absolutely certain it was caused by mold?”
“What else could it be?” The young man asked angrily, “Why you questioning? Do you think we would poison ourselves?”