Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 1 Rebirth 1977
“Wang Chengpeng, prepare three watches and one radio and five hundred yuan as a bride price, and I will reluctantly marry my daughter to you.”

"If you can't even meet this small request, how can we feel comfortable entrusting Yanran to you?"

In a daze, a sharp sound startled Wang Chengpeng from his stupor, causing him to involuntarily look in front of him.

A haughty middle-aged woman was calmly watching Wang Chengpeng, her ferocious expression suggesting she could transform into a monster and devour him at any moment.

Beside her was a pretty young woman who was looking at Wang Chengpeng expectantly, urging him to quickly agree to the small condition her mother had just made.

On the other side, an old man was looking down intently at the empty table in front of him, as if there was something of utmost importance on it.

However, his darting eyes betrayed him; his attention was clearly not on the table, but on Wang Chengpeng, who was standing in front of him looking somewhat hurried.

Looking at the incredibly familiar scene before him, Wang Chengpeng was somewhat stunned. Had he been reborn, reborn back to the time when he went to the Liu family to discuss the bride price?
October 1977, 3!
The date displayed on an old-fashioned tear-off calendar confirmed Wang Chengpeng's suspicions about the current time—a day that would change his life forever.

Seeing that Wang Chengpeng still seemed hesitant, Liu Yanran repeated the words that Wang Chengpeng remembered so well:

"Cheng Peng, hurry up and agree! If I hadn't begged my parents for ages, they wouldn't have agreed so easily."

"They don't really want a lot of dowry, they just want your attitude."

"Is our relationship really worth less than this little bit of material stuff?"

After saying that, Liu Yanran suddenly burst into tears, her tears falling like rain.

In his past life, Wang Chengpeng witnessed this scene and, feeling sorry for Liu Yanran, agreed to such an extravagant dowry without hesitation.

Looking back now, he finds it all utterly ridiculous.

He feels sorry for Liu Yanran, but who feels sorry for him?
Two months premature, the 8-pound son was the big gift Liu Yanran gave to Wang Chengpeng.

It's laughable that my past self couldn't see clearly and believed the nonsense that I had taken too good care of Liu Yanran and caused her to be overnourished.

Just then, Liu Yanran's mother, Zhou Erhua, also chimed in, coldly scoffing:

"You are truly blessed to be able to marry my youngest daughter with such a small dowry."

"If you really feel it's too much to ask, then let's just drop this matter."

"It's no exaggeration to say that the number of men who want to marry Yanran could stretch from our doorstep to the village entrance."

"Among them are many outstanding city people. It is only because you and Yanran are truly in love that I reluctantly agreed to this marriage."

Liu Dongran, who had remained calm and collected beside him, also spoke up at this moment:

"Xiao Wang, I'm not trying to criticize you, but as a man, if you don't even have this much responsibility, how can I entrust Yanran to you?"

The thought that such an obvious act could still move him so deeply because of Liu's parents' understanding and compassion...

Wang Chengpeng felt that his past self was really stupid.

To put it nicely, it's for true love; to put it bluntly, it's just being taken advantage of.

What they call a good thing? A good thing to be a sucker!
Liu Yanran died in childbirth, but she left behind a posthumous child.

To raise her son, she even gave up the university she had worked so hard to get into, which was the only chance she could have changed her family's fate at the time.

Not only that, but the son she raised with such hardship turned out to be an ungrateful wretch.

When his biological father, Zhou Xia, came to him with a paternity test, the ungrateful wretch severed ties with him simply because Zhou Xia was rich.

He was left alone and, unable to bear the successive blows, died in despair.

Now Wang Chengpeng realized that the Liu family probably already knew about Zhou Xia's existence.

It was precisely because the Liu family constantly instilled in their child the idea that he was a good-for-nothing and his biological father, Zhou Xia, was a hero that he so decisively betrayed him. He, the one who took over the family, had been working tirelessly to support them, aging prematurely like an old man at a young age, and instead of receiving a kind word, he was deliberately and maliciously slandered behind his back by the Liu family.

Thinking of how he had been such a sucker in his past life, Wang Chengpeng involuntarily clenched his right fist.

Having been given a second chance at life, I will not only refuse to be a sucker again, but I will also make these evil people suffer the consequences of their actions.

Thinking of this, Wang Chengpeng's expression immediately turned aggrieved, and he said:
"Yanran, Uncle, Aunt."

"Of course I know that marrying Yanran is an incredibly rare opportunity, but as you all know, my family's situation is just too..."

Although he knew the truth perfectly well, Wang Chengpeng did not directly refuse.

Firstly, this doesn't fit the image of him loving Liu Yanran to the point of obsession in his past life, and it would easily arouse suspicion from those who know him well.

Secondly, if I don't keep Liu Yanran hanging, how can I completely prevent the other party from finding another sucker, and how can I make them receive real punishment?

Although Liu's parents were arrogant, they were right about one thing: Liu Yanran did have many suitors.

Faced with Wang Chengpeng's hesitation, Huang Erhua instantly raised her voice eight octaves and screamed:

"Wang Chengpeng, you bastard! You won't even agree to this small dowry that my Yanran is asking for, and you still have the nerve to haggle?"

"I'm making this clear today: the three turns and one ring, and the five hundred yuan, not a penny less."

Feeling guilty, Liu Yanran disregarded her tears and stammered:
"Mother, Cheng Peng, let's talk things over. Don't get angry."

"Cheng Peng, put your hand on your heart and tell me, is the dowry I'm asking for too much?"

"Is your love for me not even worth this small dowry?"

Wow, that's amazing!
He could marry a decent girl from the city with good conditions, let alone a slut like Liu Yanran.

Moreover, the other party didn't mention the dowry at all, which seems to indicate that they plan to provide three quilts as part of the dowry, just like in the previous life, commonly known as three "quilts".

Faced with the Liu family's relentless pressure, Wang Chengpeng looked troubled and said:
"Yanran, my love for you far exceeds this dowry."

"But I can't make the decision on this matter entirely; I need to go home and discuss it with my parents."

"Uncle, Aunt, Yanran, don't worry. Even if I have to cry, make a scene, or threaten suicide, I will make sure my family raises enough for the bride price so I can marry Yanran in style."

Perhaps because Wang Chengpeng's past deep love for Liu Yanran was so deeply ingrained in people's minds, the Liu family of three did not doubt Wang Chengpeng's words at all.

He immediately urged Wang Chengpeng to go home quickly and force his parents to pay the bride price for him.

Wang Chengpeng nodded in agreement, but in his heart he was thinking about how to make them suffer the consequences of their own actions.

Walking along the familiar yet unfamiliar country lanes, breathing in the fresh air, a determined glint flashed in Wang Chengpeng's eyes.

In this lifetime, I must change the tragic fate of my entire family!

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng quickened his pace and soon arrived in front of a very familiar house.

The large wooden house in front of us is the Wang family's house, where sixteen members of the Wang family live.

Grandparents, the eldest uncle's family of five, the second uncle's family of five, and Wang Chengpeng's family of four.

Although it was crowded, it was quite normal in this day and age.

In his previous life, Wang Chengpeng died in this very house, filled with melancholy, and he had extremely complex and contradictory feelings towards it.

He secretly thought that perhaps he should start changing his fate by leaving this house.

(End of this chapter)