Chapter 569: Philanthropy
Chapter 569: Philanthropy
Lu Jiaxin didn't bring much money back to her hometown, and she had promised to make donations, so she asked Zhang Sining to come and pay for them. For the renovation of the ancestral hall, she gave the full amount of 100,000 yuan directly to her seventh great-uncle, with Lu Dabro overseeing the project. As for the road construction, she transferred one million out of the promised two million, and would give the remaining one million depending on the progress of the work. She also added a condition that the road to Lu's New Village must be repaired as well.
It was easy to handle the first two matters, but there was a problem with building the school. Zhang Sining called Lu Jiaxin and said, "Boss, I've inquired, and Feng County is prone to earthquakes. According to your requirements, it will take a long time to build a three-story classroom building. It's already mid-July, and at this rate, the middle school students won't be able to move into their new classrooms before the start of the new term."
Following Lu Jiaxin's instructions, the village primary school next to Lu's Village was to be built alongside the town's middle school. The primary school had a smaller scope of work and could be completed in a month and a half, but the middle school needed to build classrooms and dormitories as many students lived far away and had to board. This meant that it might not be completed before the start of the new term.
Lu Jiaxin hadn't considered the issue of earthquakes, but after thinking about it, she said, "Don't build a multi-story building for the primary school, just make it a single-story structure. There's plenty of vacant land around the village school that can be utilized. As for the middle school, the plan for a three-story classroom and teaching building must be adhered to. If there's a problem, they should seek assistance from the government and let them figure out a solution."
Subsequently, Zhang Sining also brought up the matter of sponsoring underprivileged students. Lu Jiaxin instructed her to assess the two candidates recommended by Lu Dabro, and if they were suitable, Lu Dabro could hand over the responsibility to them. As for Lu Dabro himself, he would oversee the two candidates he had recommended.
Zhang Sining said, "I've looked into these two individuals, and they are both upright and well-regarded. However, one of them, Ding Jiang, has a wife who has been ill for many years and requires long-term medication. Do you think it's appropriate for him to handle the sponsorship of underprivileged students?"
Lu Jiaxin understood the implication of her words and replied, "It's fine. My uncle will still be in charge of the money, and these two will just be his assistants. We will also need to send people to visit the homes of the sponsored students in the future."
It was impossible to visit the homes of all the sponsored students, but by doing so selectively, it would serve as a warning to those with ulterior motives. Everyone had greed, but some could control it while others might let it get the better of them.
Seeing that Lu Jiaxin had considered everything so thoroughly, Zhang Sining didn't say anything more.
Not long after Lu Jiaxin's instructions, the construction of the village primary school began. Lu Erbo even made a special trip to see it and felt very disheartened afterward.
Lu Erbo found Lu Dabro and said, "Big brother, what is that girl thinking? She's spending money to build schools and roads, but we elders don't get any benefit from it."
Lu Jiayao strongly agreed with this statement, as his family and the second wife's family hadn't gained anything.
Lu Dabro took a puff on his cigarette and blew out a ring of smoke before asking, "How do you want to benefit from it? Do you want Jiaxin to give you tens of thousands of yuan as well?"
Lu Erbo unabashedly said, "He spent two million yuan to build a road. Giving me tens of thousands of yuan wouldn't be too much! Besides, Jia Zong and Jia Yao are struggling. They don't even make 20,000 yuan a year."
Lu Dabro was so angry that he started scolding him, "What are you worth? You want Jiaxin to give you tens of thousands of yuan to spend. This money is for sponsoring those children's education, and they will be grateful for it. The money for road construction will also be praised by the surrounding villages. If you were given the money, you wouldn't only be ungrateful, but you'd also complain that Jiaxin gave you too little."
He was so angry that his spit flew onto Lu Erbo's face.
If it had been any other time and he had seen Lu Dabro so angry, Lu Erbo would have cowered, but today he felt resentful. "Big brother, it's clearly Lu Jiaxin who's being unreasonable. She's willing to spend money on strangers but refuses to help her elders and brothers.
"How dare you scold me?!"
Without another word, Lu Dabro picked up his shoe and struck him with it. Lu Erbo, seeing the situation turn sour, quickly ran outside, but in his haste, he tripped and fell, knocking himself unconscious.
Despite his annoyance at Lu Erbo's foolishness, Lu Dabro was still worried and immediately called for someone to send him to the hospital.
Lu Erbo regained consciousness halfway there but, thinking about the persistent pain in his arm lately, he remained lying down. Once they arrived at the hospital and Lu Dabro had paid the fees, he asked the doctors to give him a full body checkup. Unexpectedly, the checkup revealed a problem.
The doctor said he had an issue with his stomach, but the county hospital couldn't pinpoint the exact problem and recommended he go to the provincial hospital for further examination.
Upon hearing this, Lu Dabro wasted no time and immediately took him to the provincial hospital for a checkup.
One day, after Jiaxin had finished work, the butler said to her: "Boss, I just received a call from someone claiming to be your second aunt. She said your second uncle has stomach cancer."
Lu Jiaxin's heart skipped a beat. Stomach cancer? In her past life, she had also suffered from stomach cancer, and by the time it was discovered, it was already too late. She decided to get a full body checkup on Sunday to put her mind at ease.
Seeing that she wasn't responding, the butler didn't dare to prompt her and simply stood there waiting for her.
Lu Jiaxin snapped back to reality and said, "Aside from my first uncle, first cousin, and Shanzi's couple's numbers, hang up on all other calls."
This meant that the butler didn't need to relay the content of the calls to her. Her patience with the Lu family had worn thin, and she no longer wanted to involve herself in their affairs.
The next day, the second aunt called again, and the butler politely said, "If your husband is sick, take him to the doctor. My boss isn't a doctor, so calling her won't help."
Of course, the second aunt knew that Lu Jiaxin wasn't a doctor, but she was wealthy. Before she could finish her sentence, the second aunt hung up the phone. Helpless, she could only return to the hospital with red-rimmed eyes.
The Jiaxin's cousin-in-law saw the distress on her face and knew something was wrong. However, this was within her expectations. Ever since they had schemed against her cousin for the house, they hadn't gained any benefits. Now that her father-in-law was sick and they wanted Jiaxin to pay for his treatment, it was impossible. Nonetheless, she pretended to be oblivious.
Lu Jiaxin's second aunt said to her cousin-in-law, "The doctor said your father-in-law's condition must be treated with surgery, or the cancer will spread, and he will die. Give me all the money you have, and I'll go pay the hospital fees."
The cousin-in-law took out eighty yuan and said, "This is all our savings."
Lu Jiaxin's second aunt flew into a rage and scolded her cousin-in-law relentlessly. She accused her of being heartless and not caring about her father-in-law's life. However, before she could finish venting, the cousin-in-law walked away with a dark expression.
Upon returning to the ward, Lu Dabro asked, "Where's Jiaxin's cousin-in-law?"
"I asked her to take out money for your treatment, but she only gave me eighty yuan, claiming that it was all they had. Jiaxin's cousin-in-law works outside and earns over a hundred yuan a month. In these three years, they must have saved at least three to four thousand yuan. Giving us only eighty yuan is like treating us like beggars!"
Lu Dabro said, "We can't expect Jiaxin's cousin to cover all the medical expenses. He has four children to feed! For these fees, he can figure it out with Jiajie. If it's not enough, they can borrow from Jia Yao and the others."
"But he's not in Si Jiucheng. How can we ask him for medical expenses?" said the second aunt. She dared not mention calling Jiaxin, afraid of being scolded.
Lu Dabro thought for a moment and said, "This illness should be treated at the Si Jiucheng Hospital. I just called Jiaguang and asked him to arrange someone at the hospital. Once that's done, you can go to Si Jiucheng."
(End of Chapter)
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