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

Chapter 189 Idle Talk on the Fields
Even though Zhou Xia was already furious with Wang Chengpeng, he didn't forget to carefully examine the IOU that Wang Chengpeng handed over.

Just kidding, this is something he spent over a thousand yuan to redeem. If it's fake, he'll really be too ashamed to bother Wang Chengpeng again.

After looking at it, touching it, and even sniffing it, Zhou Xia finally accepted the IOU and the money with satisfaction.

However, just as he was about to leave, Wang Chengpeng called out to him, saying:
"Wait a minute, there's one more thing I haven't finished."

Under Zhou Xia's almost fiery gaze, Wang Chengpeng smiled and said:
"Since I've taken such a large sum of money from you, it really wouldn't be right not to give me some kind of receipt."

"Here's what we'll do. I'll give you a receipt, and you can keep it. That will settle things between us."

Is there such a good thing?

Zhou Xia's eyes lit up; he hadn't expected Wang Chengpeng to actually offer up his weakness.

Without a receipt, he would need to find a lot of evidence to deal with Wang Chengpeng.

But things are different now. The receipt written by Wang Chengpeng himself is irrefutable evidence, evidence he can't deny no matter what.

He had already obtained irrefutable evidence of his promiscuous relationships, making him virtually invincible.

Thinking this way, Zhou Xia's expression finally improved, and he said:
"Hurry up and write, write well, I'll be waiting for you at the door."

Indeed, he should write it properly. Wang Chengpeng gave a cryptic smile and returned to his study.

He had already prepared a receipt for Zhou Xia, but the receipt was obviously too normal and didn't match the arrogant Zhou Xia, so Wang Chengpeng decided to add some more spice.

With that in mind, Wang Chengpeng picked up his pen and began to write.

"Receipt

I received 1,339 yuan from Comrade Zhou Xia today. In appreciation of Comrade Zhou Xia's hard work, I am giving him 1 yuan as a tip.

Wang Chengpeng

July 12th"

After pressing his fingerprint again, Wang Chengpeng stepped out of the study and handed the receipt to Zhou Xia.

When Zhou Xia first heard that Wang Chengpeng was foolish enough to ask her for a receipt, she was undoubtedly happy.

However, upon seeing such a receipt, his expression was more disgusted than if he had swallowed a fly.

But he couldn't possibly refuse the receipt, so he could only silently curse Wang Chengpeng ten thousand times in his heart before riding his bicycle with the IOU and the receipt.

At the same time, he secretly vowed that when they met again, he would show Wang Chengpeng what a true difference between heaven and earth was!

Watching Zhou Xia's disheveled departure, Wang Chengpeng shook his head slightly, thinking to himself that Zhou Xia was still too young and couldn't keep his composure.

Unlike himself, who remained calm and collected despite being repeatedly humiliated and framed by the other party.

After taking the backpack full of cash into the study and carefully keeping the cash safe, Wang Chengpeng returned to the study.

Going to find Wang Fucheng now is clearly too hasty; it's better to wait until after delivering the food to his parents.

It's lunchtime now, and small groups of people are gathered on the ridges of the fields, chatting about everyday things while they eat.

Looking at Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua, who were still working hard, Aunt Wu muttered:

“I said to the Wang couple, you two are very good at working, but you also need to pay attention to the education of the next generation.”

“You work hard outside while your son enjoys a life of luxury at home. How can you do such a rebellious thing?”

"Do you think Xiaopeng didn't work hard enough? Otherwise, how could he have lost his job so easily?"

"Why don't you go and talk to him on his behalf? Maybe you can still salvage this hard-won job."

There are basically no secrets in the village, and the fact that Wang Chengpeng had taken many days off had already spread.

At first, Wang Chengpeng used the excuse of helping Ji Yongyue to make excuses, but after falling out with Fang Weimin, he became a complete vagrant.

In this situation, simply persuading Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua to let Wang Chengpeng stop staying at home and go out to find work clearly shows that Wang Chengpeng's previous good reputation played a key role.

Little did Aunt Wu know that Wang Chengpeng wasn't fired for not working hard enough, but rather because he thought Fang Weimin was too incompetent and didn't want to work with him anymore.

In other words, Wang Chengpeng fired Fang Weimin.

Although they didn't know the inside story, Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua would definitely blindly defend Wang Chengpeng, and immediately said:

"Aunt Wu, do you think you can just take any job you want in the city?"

"Xiao Peng is already incredibly lucky to have been able to work in the city for so long; there's no way he could possibly find a job again."

"As for doing things? Although Xiaopeng stays at home, that doesn't mean he hasn't done anything."

"You have no idea, he's busier than us parents."

What Liu Chunhua said was completely true, but Aunt Wu clearly didn't quite believe it.

However, she couldn't directly contradict him, so she could only feign ignorance and say:
"Busy at home? What could that be?"

"He can't be busy improving the reputation of Wangjia Village, can he? Could that be more important than farming?"

"Let me tell you, this is the most crucial stage for Wangjia Village. Only by performing well will you have a chance to work in the sugar factory."

"It's fine if you two don't catch them normally, but you can't let go when it's time to catch them."

"Many young people were perfectly fine before, but because their parents neglected to discipline them, they ended up as idle loafers on the streets."

Aunt Wu's words weren't entirely gossip; to those unaware of the situation, they were actually very well-intentioned advice.

Although he didn't know what his son was busy with at home, Wang Tieshan blindly trusted Wang Chengpeng and said:
"As long as my son does what he thinks is important, we will fully support him."

"There are many paths in this world. Maybe he can be better than us older generation?"

Although Wang Tieshan said he didn't care, after hearing certain things repeatedly, he couldn't help but waver a little.

However, when facing others, he would naturally not do anything to slander his own son.

Just as Aunt Wu was about to say something, she heard a familiar bicycle bell ring in her ear.

At present, not many families in Wangjia Village own bicycles, and even fewer have bicycles with such a clear and melodious bell.

Turning around, she indeed saw Wang Chengpeng's figure. She immediately stopped talking and walked to the side on her own.

There are some things that are fine to say to Wang Chengpeng's parents, but it's not appropriate to say them in front of Wang Chengpeng, a younger generation.

After carefully arranging the food, Wang Chengpeng, full of curiosity, asked:

"Father, Mother, what's wrong with you two? You look so worried."

"What are you sad about? I have some really great news to tell you."

“Didn’t Zhou Xia say he was coming to see me today? We already met this morning.”

"Things went very smoothly. After a very friendly exchange, we settled the payment and goods directly."

"You should know what this means; it's a lot..."

There were still some outsiders in the field, and Wang Chengpeng couldn't be too blunt about some things, but he was sure his parents would understand. However, while they understood, there was no sign of joy on their faces.

Finally, Wang Tieshan spoke first: "Son, did you remember what I told you last night?"

"Don't be stingy at crucial moments; act when the time is right."

Although Wang Tieshan was an honest man, when it came to his son's future, they dared not be ambiguous in the slightest and were even willing to take crooked paths.

Liu Chunhua then added, "Xiao Peng, don't be reluctant to part with him."

"Good steel should be used where it's needed most; once you've spent some money, you'll find it was really worth it."

“Take the sewing machine you bought me, for example, it’s really good.”

"Look at the clothes you're wearing. If it weren't for this sewing machine, you probably wouldn't even be able to put them on."

"Not only new clothes, but also the mending of old clothes all rely on this sewing machine."

"Haven't you always told me to spend money when I should, use it when I should, and earn it when I should? You can't be careless when it comes to your own affairs."

Well, I'm using my own reasoning to educate myself.

Wang Chengpeng, feeling both amused and exasperated, could only agree readily, "Dad, Mom, didn't I say I would go?"

"Don't worry, I won't miss any opportunity as long as it exists."

"But we can't make the decision on this matter. Whether it succeeds or not depends on what Captain Wang says."

Although she was somewhat anxious, Liu Chunhua knew that what Wang Chengpeng said made sense, so she didn't say much more, but repeatedly told Wang Chengpeng not to be stingy.

The lunch was extremely long. After being criticized and denounced for a long time, Wang Chengpeng finally regained his freedom.

After buying some decent gifts in the village, Wang Chengpeng rode his bicycle to Wang Fucheng's house.

It’s different in the past.

With the opening of the sugar factory, Wang Fucheng's home, which used to be rarely visited, has now become a bustling place.

Even from a great distance, Wang Chengpeng could still see several people loitering around Wang Fucheng's house, seemingly having something important to discuss with him.

Judging from the large bags and bundles they carried, it was obvious what they wanted to discuss with Wang Fucheng.

From a distance, those waiting in front of Wang Fucheng's house, seeing Wang Chengpeng riding a bicycle, didn't hold back and started talking loudly about it.

"Tsk tsk tsk, another like-minded person has arrived."

"It's a pity that Captain Wang doesn't plan to meet with anyone. He'll probably end up like us, working for nothing."

"Let me see the gifts he brought. These are just cheap little things. Wang Fucheng probably wouldn't even bother to look at them."

"That's right. Everyone who comes here comes with enough sincerity. How could they be as perfunctory as him?"

"I have some inside information. It's said that Captain Wang's son, Wang Zhong, is going to be promoted and become a policeman in town soon."

"This is incredible, truly incredible! The Wang family is about to soar to new heights!"

"I don't know what kind of luck the Wang family has had to encounter so many good things in a row. Why is it that our family doesn't have such luck?"

"Don't even think about it. It would be a blessing if we could just find a good job at the sugar factory."

"I never even dared to dream of working in the city, let alone such a good job."

……

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Wang Chengpeng drew ever closer to Wang Fucheng's house.

Wang Chengpeng glanced at the gossiping crowd with surprise and even spotted a familiar face – who else could it be but Shen Wei's mother?
Without even greeting them, Wang Chengpeng pushed through the crowd and went straight to Wang Fucheng's door, knocking and saying:

"Uncle, Aunt, are you home?"

"I need to speak with you about something. May I come in?"

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Shen's mother, Kong Xiu, almost burst out laughing, muttering softly:

"Returning them 'uncle' and 'aunt'? They really know how to make up relatives randomly."

"This is Wangjia Village. Everyone with the surname Wang is related to someone else. This young Wang really doesn't understand his own place."

"Just wait, absolutely no one here will pay any attention to him."

Kong Xiu's words undoubtedly expressed the sentiments of everyone, and they all nodded in agreement.

They didn't warn him, just watched Wang Chengpeng with amusement, ready to see how he would make a fool of himself.

squeak...

Unexpectedly, the door that everyone had been waiting for was opened immediately after Wang Chengpeng shouted.

Just as everyone was exclaiming, "This is definitely a coincidence," Cheng Xiuying's head peeked out from the room.

The moment Cheng Xiuying saw Wang Chengpeng, a look of surprise flashed across her face, and she warmly welcomed him inside.

While holding Wang Chengpeng's hand, Cheng Xiuying complained:

"Xiaopeng, you're not only coming, but you also brought a gift."

"The timing is perfect. Why don't you stay for dinner? I'll cook you a big meal."

"..."

As the door closed, Cheng Xiuying's voice gradually faded from everyone's ears.

Even so, those few words were enough to explain a lot.

Especially since it's only just past lunchtime, the fact that Cheng Xiuying invited Wang Chengpeng to stay for dinner shows how much she values ​​him.

Immediately, all sorts of speculations arose, including some extremely malicious ones, which suggested that the people were jealous of Wang Chengpeng.

They can accept that everyone is waiting outside and being turned away.

They couldn't stand seeing them turned away at the door, but Wang Chengpeng was welcomed in so warmly by Cheng Xiuying.

If they weren't so afraid to offend her, they would have even questioned Cheng Xiuying about why she was treating them so differently.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the ability, and in the end, they could only watch with envy as Wang Chengpeng entered the room.

Kong Xiu, in particular, stubbornly insisted, "Having some family ties is indeed advantageous."

"After all, he's been called uncle and aunt, so it's only right and proper to let him in for a seat."

"As for the polite words exchanged at meals, just listen to them and don't take them too seriously, or you'll offend someone terribly."

When Kong Xiu said that the grapes were sour because she couldn't have them, everyone nodded in agreement.

However, just as they were making all sorts of criticisms and speculations, the door creaked open again, revealing Wang Zhong's ashen face.

(End of this chapter)