Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 436 Donation
"whee……"

"Pfft!"

"Mimi, what are you doing?"

"That's hilarious! Wait, let me take a picture!"

"Get out!"

The last sentence was spoken by Lin Ge. Although he had expected this scene while squatting on top of the donation box, the laughter of these bastards watching still annoyed him greatly.

But there's no other way! This was Nie Guoqiang's request, or rather suggestion, last night: we can still try to raise funds.

Only through this method could the police station make a small donation to Wei Lijia on behalf of the unit. The real purpose wasn't to demand a specific amount from officers through the donation box, or even to establish a minimum donation amount.

The donation box at Lin Ge's feet serves only as proof, facilitating the police station's accounting. Of course, officers within the station can also donate voluntarily, but there's no requirement for them to do so.

"Mimi, you really have turned into a lucky cat!"

Zhang Ke chuckled as he walked around the courtyard. Seeing the cat crouching at the entrance of the service hall, he couldn't help but chuckle. However, just as Lin Ge was about to pounce and extend his claws, he quickly scanned the QR code on the donation box with his phone, donated two hundred yuan, and showed it to Lin Ge.

Lin Ge's anger immediately subsided.

"You have the right to donate, don't laugh at me for being a lucky cat. You can even treat me like Hello Kitty without any problem!"

Lin Ge stared shamelessly at Zhang Ke, hoping he would donate more. Unfortunately, Zhang Ke had no intention of being a philanthropist. He donated a little out of respect for Mimi, then waved goodbye and went back to work.

With Zhang Ke taking the lead, the other workers who came to work also stepped forward one after another.

Some donated tens of yuan, others a hundred, and Lin Ge accepted them all with a smile. Only Zhao Zhigang, who was yawning as he left work, actually pulled a coin out of his pocket and stuffed it into the donation box, which made Lin Ge so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at him.

"What can I do? I don't have any money. I've only been a full-fledged officer for a few days now. My meager salary as an auxiliary police officer wasn't nearly enough. Anyway, a token donation will do. Our police station doesn't have a tradition of forced donations. Haha~"

Zhao Zhigang yawned again, he was really exhausted from last night.

I don't know what happened yesterday, but the police calls kept coming in all night. In addition to the two cases mentioned earlier, there was a couple arguing, a child disturbing the peace in the middle of the night, and a caller at six o'clock in the morning reporting that an elderly person in their family had gone missing.

Although they were all minor cases, they were all successfully solved and not left to the day shift staff. But Zhao Zhigang didn't close his eyes at all that night, and now he had dark circles under his eyes and was walking unsteadily.

"Mimi, is this person who needs to show love and care a good friend of yours?"

Li Yiduo walked over and paused beside the donation box. He carefully read the donation details written and printed by Nie Guoqiang, then looked up at Lin Ge with curiosity.

Lin Ge thought for a moment and shook his head.

When it comes to charitable acts, just do your part; there's no need to make exceptions based on relationships. Even if Lin Ge knew Li Yiduo was wealthy, he didn't feel entitled to demand that Li donate to strangers.

"Oh!"

Li Yiduo nodded knowingly and, like Zhang Ke, scanned the code and donated two hundred yuan.

Actually, donations are quite common at police stations. Whenever a school or community initiates a donation project, they inevitably have to come to the local police station to inform them. And these are things that can't be refused; everyone is used to going through this formality.

One hundred or two hundred at a time, ten times that adds up to one thousand or two thousand. Over a year or two, that's not a small amount for a police officer's salary. But what can you do when you're a police officer? You have to do your duty.

This is also why Lin Ge doesn't plan to hold a fundraising event at the police station; in reality, everyone has their own difficulties.

As the morning meeting began, everyone at the police station had already walked past the donation box and offered their donations. Lin Ge yawned, intending to call it a day; he was already quite satisfied with the several thousand yuan he had collected this time.

But at that moment, everyone who had finished their morning meeting outside suddenly swarmed over again.

"Mimi, I heard you donated 30,000?"

Jiang Yiyi spoke first, her expression one of utter disbelief.

"Really? Mimi, is it that extravagant?"

Zhu Jun also leaned over and stared at Lin Ge's big face, seemingly wondering if the cat had been replaced by someone else.

"Tsk tsk! They actually lost to a cat?"

Zhang Ke stood a short distance away, arms crossed, looking utterly speechless. Good grief, that was a resounding slap in the face to all of us!

Donations and such, they actually lost to a cat?

"Looks like something happened to Mimi's friend! No wonder it was so well-behaved this time and didn't run around. But Director Nie must know about this, right?"

Yan Ziming guessed.

"You're really willing to do that!"

Zhang Yong squeezed in with a grin and pressed one hand hard on Lin Ge's head.

"Holy crap, what are you guys doing here?"

Lin Ge widened his eyes as he dodged Zhang Yong's sneak attack, then looked speechlessly at the bastards watching the spectacle. Soon after, he spotted Li Siyu at the back of the crowd, looking embarrassed and apologizing to him with her hands clasped together.

Although Li Siyu was on the night shift yesterday, she still had to attend the morning meeting and hand over her work to her colleagues after work. As a result, in that short time, she blurted out that Lin Ge had donated almost all of his salary.

'drop!'

Li Yiduo silently approached and scanned the QR code on the donation box again. He quickly entered the number, glanced at Lin Ge, then gave Lin Ge a disdainful look and turned to walk away.

"You're really rich!"

Seeing Li Yiduo donate an additional 30,000 yuan, Lin Ge was speechless. He didn't know what Li Yiduo was arguing about, or what the point was of him arguing with a cat about winning or losing a donation.

You're insane!

Lin Ge stared at Li Yiduo's retreating figure in bewilderment. Just then, Zhang Ke stepped forward and scanned the code. He also successfully transferred 30,000 yuan, giving Lin Ge a defiant look before arrogantly turning and walking away.

Look! A mere police station has two nouveau riche hiding there!

Lin Ge was even more speechless.

Seeing the others exchanging glances and stepping forward one by one with their phones, Lin Ge panicked and quickly jumped down to block the QR code. These colleagues were all from ordinary families, unlike Zhang Ke and Li Yiduo who didn't care about money, so there was no need for them to argue about winning or losing in this matter.

The reason Lin Ge was unwilling to donate was because he was afraid of this situation: people would donate out of respect for him, and although they might not say it outright, they would still have their own thoughts. Money doesn't fall from the sky, so there's really no need for it.

Therefore, no matter what Jiang Yiyi and the others said, Lin Ge resolutely refused their request to donate a second time.

After a few back-and-forth exchanges, seeing that Lin Ge was determined to refuse, everyone gave up. Of course, no matter what, everyone still remembered the boy named Wei Li, thinking that if they ran into him someday, they would lend a hand if needed, just to do their part.

……

Iron Man Nie Guoqiang didn't get off work until 11:30 a.m. Lin Ge had originally thought he would personally deliver the donation to Wei Li or Wei Yixiao, but unexpectedly, Nie Guoqiang entrusted the task to Zheng Mingxing. Zheng Mingxing, being cautious, didn't immediately set off with the donation of 125,000 yuan. Instead, he first called the Baimiao Police Station to inquire about the situation. After confirming Wei Yixiao's family circumstances, the cause and outcome of the accident, and the Wei family's current situation, he called the city's central hospital to inquire about Wei Yixiao's condition. Only then did he call Lin Ge, who had managed to get two hours of sleep but was still drowsy, and together they set off in the car.

"The hospital staff said that Wei Yixiao has been transferred from the ICU to the observation ward. If the observation results are normal, she can be transferred to a regular ward in the next two days."

Zheng Mingxing's words relieved Lin Ge.

Regardless of Wei Yixiao's current situation, at least he has survived. No matter how bad the future of Wei Li's family may be, they will not lose their pillar of support, and Wei Li will not become an orphan without his parents.

Of course, they will have to face the long-term effects and disfigurement themselves.

"The vast majority of the money we brought will be transferred to the hospital. The medical expenses for Wei Yixiao's emergency treatment and ICU observation over the past few days have been substantial. The 50,000 yuan that the bus company helped pay was used up on the second day. As for his family, they only paid a 1,000 yuan prepayment at the beginning and haven't paid a single penny since. The hospital shouldn't bear the entire loss, and at least they shouldn't refuse to pay when they have the money."

Zheng Mingxing spoke casually as he drove.

He explained in great detail, taking into full account both the good and evil in human nature. Or rather, every police officer has encountered all sorts of people and won't necessarily show 100% pity just because you're in trouble. Furthermore, many times, people in need take the kindness of others and the hospital's compassion for granted, and it's not the first time someone has embezzled a single penny of donations and refused to repay the debt. And this time, the police station's donation was almost entirely out of consideration for Mimi. Zheng Mingxing didn't want Mimi's kindness to become a joke, even if the Wei family might indeed need a lot of money elsewhere to maintain their livelihoods.

After saying that, he turned his head and glanced at Lin Ge while waiting for the traffic light to turn green.

The cat squinted and remained motionless, only its tail swaying gently. This attitude relieved Zheng Mingxing, who knew that Mimi was thinking rather than angry. In his experience, Mimi wouldn't be so obedient when she was being willful.

"What are you looking at!"

Lin Ge gave Zheng Mingxing an impatient look.

Did this guy think he'd be angry? Or dissatisfied with how the donation was being used? Impossible! A donation represents one's goodwill, and as long as it's used appropriately, Lingo won't have any objections.

The money owed to the hospital should be repaid; it's a matter of course and there's nothing to fuss about.

With this in mind, the police car drove to the parking lot of the Central Hospital. After getting out of the car, Zheng Mingxing first took Lin Ge to the hospital's administrative office, and then someone from there led him to the hospital's payment counter. After finding Wei Yixiao's name, they helped him pay the outstanding debt of 100,000 yuan.

After receiving the receipt from the payment counter and thanking the government affairs office for their help, Zheng Mingxing took Lin Ge directly to the general surgery department on the twelfth floor. After asking the nurses, they arrived at the special observation room next to the nurses' station.

Unlike the ICU, the observation room, while also equipped with many medical devices, allows family members to help and doesn't completely prevent visitors. Of course, staying inside for extended periods or making loud noises is definitely not allowed; the head nurse will sternly ask you to leave.

When Lin Ge and Zheng Mingxing entered, Wei Li's grandmother was sitting on a small stool next to him, wiping away tears. Her cane was resting on the foot of the hospital bed, and Wei Yixiao on the bed was covered with a lot of testing equipment, and his eyes were closed, so he didn't seem to be awake yet.

"hiss……"

Upon seeing Wei Yixiao, Lin Ge couldn't help but gasp. The extent of the burns all over his body was horrific; his exposed upper body and head were almost entirely wrapped tightly in a special kind of bandage. Even the few patches of skin that were exposed were bright red, as if they had been roasted. Lin Ge even smelled a strange odor in the room—a smell he couldn't quite place, like the aroma of meat—which made him feel nauseous while simultaneously intensifying his sympathy for Wei Yixiao's condition.

"You are……"

Grandma Wei didn't recognize Zheng Mingxing and was taken aback when she saw him come in. Then, seeing Lin Ge behind Zheng Mingxing, she swallowed back what she was about to say.

"Hello, I'm Zheng Mingxing, a police officer from Zhanghe Police Station. You probably recognize this person, right? She's our police cat, Mimi! We're here because Mimi learned about your family's situation and, feeling very sorry for you, she organized a fundraising event at the police station..."

Zheng Mingxing smiled slightly and explained his purpose to the old lady of the Wei family. He clearly saw that when she heard the words "fundraising," the old lady's eyes suddenly lit up.

"Thank you! Thank you so much! I'm really... so grateful to so many people... This morning, several classmates came early to take my son, Weili, to school. I heard they're also kids from the Zhanghe Police Station. Really, thank you so much..."

The old lady stood up shakily, grasped Zheng Mingxing's hand, and thanked him repeatedly.

Zheng Mingxing was quite adept at this kind of thing. He stepped forward, patted the old lady on the shoulder, and helped her sit down again. Then he took out a piece of paper and a receipt from his pocket and said, "It's all things we should do. After all, such a big thing has happened to your family. It's only right and proper to help in any way we can. Oh, by the way, this is the donation details, and also the receipt for part of the medical expenses. As for the rest of the money, can you transfer it to me via my phone?"

"Medical expenses?"

The old lady's voice suddenly changed.

"Yes! I paid 100,000 yuan for your medical expenses, and I also applied to the hospital leadership for a reduction in fees and hardship allowance for you. After that, it shouldn't be too much. After all, it's not good for the hospital to keep chasing you for payment, right?"

Zheng Mingxing remained calm, unlike Lin Ge who frowned. Seeing the old lady's agitation, he continued, "As for the remaining 25,000 yuan, would you like it paid via Alipay or WeChat? Or perhaps, transferred to your son?"

"Just give it to me! Please give it to me! Thank you so much, kind people. But... why didn't you tell me before paying the hospital bill? Sigh! We have so many other expenses in our family!"

The old lady kept rambling on, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied with Zheng Mingxing's unauthorized decision. But in the end, seeing Zheng Mingxing transfer 25,000 yuan into her WeChat account, the old lady still showed a happy smile.

"Hehe... I'm relieved that the money was handed over to you smoothly, and I haven't let down the trust of everyone at the police station. But, ma'am, since it's a donation, could you please write me a receipt?"

Zheng Mingxing smiled and pulled another piece of paper from his pocket. It was a printed receipt, only needing the recipient's signature.

"125,000 yuan?"

The old woman slowly read through the receipt, her eyelids twitching slightly at the final amount. But the man was a policeman, and her family did indeed owe the hospital money. Plus, he had said he'd helped her apply for a reduction or subsidy from the hospital, so she wouldn't need to spend much more money in the future. She convinced herself to hold back. She obediently signed the receipt, then shoved the paper into Zheng Mingxing's hand with a little force, turning to look at her son without saying a word.

"Then you're busy, we'll be going now."

Zheng Mingxing wasn't angry. After all, nobody's a saint these days, and it's normal to have some selfish motives. Seeing 120,000 shrink to 20,000 would make anyone uncomfortable. It's understandable; as a policeman, he's used to these kinds of things.

Looking again at Mimi, who was peering around at the door, Zheng Mingxing added, "Oh, by the way, the one who donated the most this time was Mimi, the police cat from our police station. She donated 30,000 yuan! In the end, because the amount was too scattered, some people donated a few hundred yuan to round it up."

"Hey? Didn't you pay for the rounding up? Besides me, Li Yiduo, and Zhang Ke, you paid the most."

Lin Ge looked up in surprise.

"This cat?"

The old lady paused for a moment, then quickly took out the donation list she was clutching and crumpling in her hands to take a look. What she saw truly surprised her; four donations of 30,000 yuan each were particularly eye-catching. One was from the Zhanghe Police Station, another from a policeman named Li Yiduo, and the third from a man named Zhang Ke. And at the very top of the list was a name: 'Mimi'. This cat had donated 31,049 yuan, a number definitely rounded up.

"A cat can be this rich?"

A hint of surprise and a faint trace of envy flashed in the old lady's eyes.

But she only thought about it in her heart. She thanked Zheng Mingxing and Lin Ge again, carefully stood up, and was helped back down by Zheng Mingxing.

"There's one more thing I'd like to discuss with you, Auntie. It's a bit inconvenient for your son Weili to go to school right now, isn't it? I'm thinking of talking to the nearby Youcheng Elementary School and considering having Weili temporarily attend classes there for the time being, so he doesn't have to travel for several hours every day, which is too dangerous, right? What do you think of this? If you have no objections, I'll go and help you with it right away."

Zheng Mingxing's words stunned the old lady once again.

She looked up at Zheng Mingxing in disbelief, completely baffled as to why this man was so good to her family. Not only did he donate so much money, but he also worried about Wei Li's studies and life. Why did he do so much?
"Could it be because of this cat again?"

The old lady looked at Lin Ge again and realized for the first time just how lucky Wei Yixiao was to have brought the cat home that day.

She was also secretly relieved that she hadn't done anything to the cat that day, otherwise, how could she have had such good luck today?

"Okay! Thank you, officer!"

This time, the old lady finally had no other thoughts and only offered a sincere thank you.

She even tremblingly tried to kneel down before Zheng Mingxing and Lin Ge, but Zheng Mingxing quickly helped her up.

(End of this chapter)