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

Chapter 116 Threat
Shen Wei was barely wrapped in a quilt and carried out of the bridal chamber. After being dressed, it was time to take him to the hospital.

However, they encountered a problem at this point: getting the patient to the hospital required transportation.

Having just offended everyone who came to the banquet, where am I supposed to borrow a bicycle now?

Sighing, Zhou Erhua realized that her daughter Liu Yanran was ultimately at fault and stepped forward, offering to lend out her own bicycle.

However, the thought of her bicycle once tripping Shen Wei in this state made her feel disgusted.

I figured that once the bicycle was returned, I should immediately find a place to clean it thoroughly and then use willow branches to whip it to get rid of any bad luck.

……

Leaving aside the fact that Shen Wei had already been sent to the hospital on the first day due to Liu Yanran's influence, Wang Chengpeng led Zhou Xia back to his own courtyard.

However, just as Zhou Xia was about to go in, Wang Chengpeng stopped him and said:
"Give me the money, and I'll go home right away to find the IOU for you."

Zhou Xia clearly had other plans, and immediately said with a stern face, "Nowhere is there a rule like paying first."

"If you're worried I'll renege on the debt, you can go and get the IOU first, and we'll settle the payment and goods on the spot."

Shaking his head slightly, Wang Chengpeng said, "I didn't keep this IOU at home; I kept it in a very safe place."

"I'm not in the mood to help you get the money unless you give it to me first."

"If you really don't want to take back the Liu family's IOU, that's fine too. I've given you a year, enough time for you to think it through."

"It's just one percent interest, a pittance, I'm sure Comrade Zhou won't mind."

Zhou Xia frowned slightly, not expecting Wang Chengpeng to be so stubborn and unreasonable; he was really too ungrateful.

Unfortunately, he was outmatched by the circumstances. No matter how powerful or influential he was, he had to back down before he could get the IOU back.

Taking a deep breath to calm his restless heart, Zhou Xia took out two hundred yuan and handed it to Wang Chengpeng.

Not only that, he also put on a smile and said, "Young man, it was my fault in this matter; I didn't consider things thoroughly enough."

"Go get the IOU, I'll wait for you to come back here."

After counting the money, it was indeed two hundred yuan. Without hesitation, Wang Chengpeng turned around and walked towards the back.

Under Zhou Xia's watchful eye, he didn't go home. Instead, he slipped through the back door and went somewhere else.

After wandering around for another ten minutes, looking left and right, Wang Chengpeng finally returned to his own yard.

It wasn't that he was overly cautious or careful; it was simply because one can never be too careful.

That was an IOU for over a thousand yuan, enough for Zhou Xia to take the risk.

If one is too careless and leaves it at home, or even if Zhou Xia discovers it and steals the IOU, that's a small matter; the real problem is that it could lead to trouble for one's family.

Most importantly, Wang Chengpeng can now be considered a trained martial artist, albeit barely.

His martial arts instincts told him that someone was watching his movements from a distance.

After seeing the IOU from the Liu family that he had received and verifying that it was correct, Zhou Xia carefully put it into his pocket.

Without a trace of joy on his face, Zhou Xia left behind only two cryptic sentences before departing:
"Keep the other IOU safe, I will come to redeem it on time."

"Also, don't do things you shouldn't do, or you won't be able to bear the consequences."

This is practically a blatant threat!

Watching Zhou Xia's arrogant departure, Wang Chengpeng thought to himself that there were some things he absolutely had to do. Otherwise, if he were truly targeted by such a venomous snake, he would never have a peaceful day again.

I'll go to Shanghe City first thing tomorrow morning to see if I can get in touch with Song Wenxin.

He didn't necessarily want Zhou Xia to pay him back the 1,200 yuan; he believed Song Wenxin would be very willing to spend a lot of money to buy such crucial information.

At this moment, Zhou Xia had already turned to a relatively secluded spot in Wangjia Village, where he was talking to a few people, completely unaware that his actions had just dug his own grave.

Hearing his subordinate's report, Zhou Xia's brows furrowed deeply, and he burst into a tirade:

"What? You bunch of good-for-nothings can't even handle something this simple?"

"And he's agile? How agile can he be all by himself?"

Undoubtedly, Zhou Xia's plan to have someone tail Wang Chengpeng and retrieve the IOU through unconventional means failed.

Given Wang Chengpeng's skills, even if you were watching him face-to-face, you might not be able to detect his movements, let alone just watching him from a distance.

With a sigh, Zhou Xia's tone softened considerably, and he said:
"Keep an eye on him. If you notice anything unusual about Wang Chengpeng, report it to me immediately."

"Don't worry, you'll get your share of the benefits."

After saying that, he reluctantly took out five yuan to appease the people he had just scolded.

It's only five yuan; he wouldn't normally even give it a second glance.

Unfortunately, the situation is different now. His money has been squeezed dry by Liu Yanran and Wang Chengpeng, so he needs to be careful with his spending.

Although he was powerful and influential, Wangjia Village was too far away. In order to prevent Wang Chengpeng from noticing anything amiss and choosing to fight to the death, he could only hire some people from the same village to keep watch.

However, Zhou Xia didn't know that he had no right to make Wang Chengpeng perish together with him.

……

Time passed even faster than Wang Chengpeng had imagined, and soon it was the next day, April 9th.

Early in the morning, after a quick breakfast at home, Wang Chengpeng rode his bicycle out the door.

After dropping off the repaired goods at a scrap metal recycling station, Wang Chengpeng went all out and headed to Shanghe City.

As for home, there was naturally another extremely important matter that Wang Tieshan needed to handle: signing the homestead agreement.

The agreed-upon 240 square meters had increased to 300 square meters, which felt like a dream to Wang Tieshan.

Even after seeing the notice posted on the bulletin board, he still couldn't quite believe it; he couldn't believe that his family had actually been approved for such a large plot of land.

Upon arriving at the village office, even through the thick walls, Wang Tieshan could hear the commotion coming from inside, as if the village officials were arguing about something.

Listen closely, and you can vaguely hear words like "reckless", "beetroot", and "give an explanation".

"I can't afford to offend them, I can't afford to offend them," Wang Tieshan silently took a few steps back and strolled around the village office courtyard.

Although signing the homestead contract is important, he's not stupid. Rushing in at this time would obviously be asking for trouble.

Whether it was Wang Tieshan's bad luck or good luck, he didn't have to wait long. Soon, he saw the village chief, Song Zhiyuan, angrily walking out of the village office, seemingly angry about something.

Just as Wang Tieshan was feeling that his timing was somewhat off and was planning to come another day, he heard a warm greeting:

"Tieshan, you're here about the homestead, right? Come in quickly, this agreement is waiting for you to sign."

(End of this chapter)