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

Chapter 200 Ignorance of good and evil
Kong Xiu's apology was not only devoid of any sincerity, but it didn't even qualify as perfunctory.

At this point, even the onlookers couldn't stand it anymore.

By spreading rumors about Wang Chengpeng to other villages with just a few words, Kong Xiu has gone a bit too far.

However, the decision-making power ultimately rests with Wang Chengpeng, the person involved. If Wang Chengpeng insists on letting Kong Xiu go, there's not much they can say.

Moderate forgiveness will only make people think Wang Chengpeng is kind, but excessive forgiveness will only make them think Wang Chengpeng is weak and easy to bully.

However, just when everyone thought the dust had settled and everything was about to end, Wang Chengpeng called out to Kong Xiu, saying:

"Aunt Kong, it wouldn't be right for you to leave like this."

"I'll say it again: you'd better apologize properly to appease everyone's gossip."

Wang Chengpeng deliberately emphasized the word "good" to imply that Kong Xiu should be more sensible.

Little did she know that Kong Xiu was completely ungrateful. Faced with Wang Chengpeng's obstruction, she directly glared at him and said:

"Gossip? Who the hell dares to talk behind my back? I'll tear their mouths apart."

"Xiao Peng, I've already apologized, but you still want to stop me. That's going a bit too far."

After saying that, Kong Xiu turned around and left, completely ignoring Wang Chengpeng.

Faced with Kong Xiu's shameless behavior, Wang Chengpeng shook his head slightly and said to the two policemen beside him:

"Officer, I'm so sorry to have made you laugh. It's unbelievable that you would witness such a horrific case of spreading rumors as soon as you arrive in our village."

"I believe the police officers will never tolerate crime, so I'll leave the rest to you two officers."

Just kidding, Kong Xiu is really taking Wang Chengpeng too lightly.

Since she refused Wang Chengpeng's offer, she would have to beg him for a second chance.

Faced with Wang Chengpeng's decisiveness, Luo Haochuan smiled and said:
"No trouble at all, not at all. Isn't this a result delivered right to our doorstep?"

"Since it's on the way, we'll accept any credit as long as it's a contribution."

"You must be exhausted after a long night. You should go back now, and we will take care of the rest for you."

"After all, 'enforcing the law fairly and serving the people with enthusiasm' is simply our duty."

After saying that, Luo Haochuan took the silver bracelet and rushed towards Kong Xiu.

Kong Xiu was just an ordinary rural woman, so how could she possibly be a match for Luo Haochuan, a seasoned policeman?

By the time Kong Xiu realized what was happening, she was already wearing a gleaming silver bracelet, which was quite beautiful.

Before she could react, she heard Luo Haochuan's extremely serious voice say:

"This lady is suspected of maliciously spreading rumors and slandering others. Please come with us."

Kong Xiu, dumbfounded, screamed in alarm: "What rumors and slander? That's completely untrue!"

"Besides, Wang Chengpeng, the person involved, has forgiven me, so what right do you have to arrest me?"

Thinking of this, Kong Xiu began to search for Wang Chengpeng's figure in the crowd, but only saw Wang Chengpeng's departing back.

At this opportune moment, Luo Haochuan spoke up, "Comrade Kong, forgive my poor hearing, but from the moment I spoke until now, I don't seem to have heard Comrade Wang say anything about forgiving you."

"Alright, if you don't want to be punished even more for resisting law enforcement, you'd better come with us."

It was the same familiar motorcycle, the same familiar rhythm, but this time the person taken away was not Wang Chengpeng, but Kong Xiu, who had been spreading rumors and causing trouble.

Her expression was far more interesting than when Wang Chengpeng left.

……

Despite Zhu Hong's advance warning, Wang Meiyan still exclaimed with delight upon seeing Wang Chengpeng, saying:
"Brother, you're really back. It seems that Zhu Hong, that big liar, wasn't lying to me after all."

After saying this, Wang Meiyan looked suspiciously at Wang Chengpeng, but found nothing. She immediately wailed:

"Brother, why didn't you bring me anything back from the city? Am I still your cutest little sister?"

Looking helplessly at Wang Meiyan's shameless behavior, Wang Chengpeng said:

"I'm not going to Shanghe City for fun this time; I have extremely important business to attend to. How could I possibly have time to buy you anything?"

"Don't be sad. After the exam results are officially released, I'll definitely take you to the city and treat you to something nice."

Children are so easy to coax. Wang Meiyan, who had just been gloomy, brightened up immediately after hearing Wang Chengpeng's promise and exclaimed:

"Long live my brother!"

……

As usual, a big meal was prepared, supposedly to welcome Wang Chengpeng back and wash away any bad luck. The family seemed quite happy and joyful.

However, the atmosphere at the Shen family home was somewhat oppressive. Kong Xiu's arrest by the police was like a blow to the Shen family.

Especially Liu Yanran, whose face was ashen and completely devoid of color.

It wasn't that she particularly liked her mother-in-law or was anxious about Kong Xiu's arrest; it was simply because she was worried about Zhou Xia.

Since Zhou Xia failed to get back the money that Wang Chengpeng had extorted from him, it means that their wishful thinking did not work.

If anyone is destined to suffer in this incident, it certainly won't be Wang Chengpeng, who has already returned safely; it's more likely to be Zhou Xia, whose situation remains unclear.

Fortunately, the fact that Kong Xiu had been arrested served as a pretext, which prevented Liu Yanran's reaction from being so abnormal. Otherwise, the Shen family would have noticed something amiss long ago.

No matter how hard Shen Wei racked his brains, he still couldn't come up with a single solution, and could only mutter to himself:
"What should we do? What should we do about this?"

"Why was my mother arrested? She didn't do anything wrong!"

"What rumors and slander? It was just a joke between neighbors. These police officers are really making a mountain out of a molehill."

Looking at Shen Wei with disappointment, Shen Dong, the father, thought to himself that it was truly a misfortune for the family to have produced such a good-for-nothing.

Unfortunately, Shen Wei was the only son in the Shen family, so even if he was brought to tears by his stupidity, they could only swallow their anger and suffer in silence.

Shen Dong, after all, was somewhat knowledgeable and a sensible man. He sighed and said:

"The one who tied the knot must untie it; we still need to find Wang Chengpeng to resolve this matter." "Don't worry, I'll take some gifts and go see him. He won't completely disregard me, after all, I am, after all, his elder."

"Besides, Wang Chengpeng had initially agreed to the apology proposal. It was your mother who was too stupid and didn't seize the opportunity, which led to the current situation."

Seeing that Shen Dong had given his decision and provided a solution, Shen Wei immediately said with delight:

"Father, what you said is also targeted."

"Then you should quickly prepare the gifts and go to Wang Chengpeng to plead for leniency, and make sure this matter is resolved properly."

You, a son, are actually arranging things for your father?
Muttering to himself, "What a misfortune for our family," Shen Dong knew he couldn't count on Shen Wei, so he casually picked up some gifts and headed towards the Liu family's house.

His home was quite a distance from Wang Chengpeng's home. He was afraid that his old bones wouldn't be able to keep up if he didn't borrow a bicycle from Liu's house first.

Fortunately, the Liu family still cared about their daughter and eventually lent the bicycle to Shen Dong, which prevented Shen Dong from being in too much pain.

Looking at the locked gate, Shen Dong raised his hand, wanting to knock, but felt too embarrassed to do so.

He's an elder; it's incredibly shameful for him to go to a junior's house to apologize.

However, Shen Dong underestimated Wang Chengpeng's guard strength. The sudden barking of dogs made him realize that he had already been discovered, so he could only awkwardly knock on the courtyard gate and shout:
"Is Wang Chengpeng home? I need to talk to you about something."

If you want to find me, just find me. There's no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

After speaking up to dissuade the crowd from responding, Wang Chengpeng continued, "..."
"My hearing is a bit poor, so I can't hear some very faint sounds clearly."

"Let's eat first, let's eat first."

Wang Chengpeng wasn't so clueless as to not know what was important when Shen Dong interrupted his family's reunion dinner.

Even so, the whole family was affected, and they ate much faster.

There were knocks on the door, barks from the dog, and shouts, but there was no response from inside the house, which made Shen Dong increasingly embarrassed.

If he hadn't needed someone's help, he probably wouldn't have had the nerve to stay here for even a second longer.

After knocking for another ten minutes, Shen Dong finally saw the door open and Wang Chengpeng's familiar figure appear in his expectant gaze.

Wang Chengpeng glanced at Shen Dong with feigned surprise and said, "There really was someone knocking on the door. It's just that our walls are so soundproof that we couldn't hear it clearly for a moment."

"Uncle Shen, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting outside for so long."

Faced with Wang Chengpeng's insincere apology, Shen Dong dared not show the slightest anger.

Now it was him who needed Wang Chengpeng's help, not the other way around, so he could only force a smile and say:
"I just arrived, and I'm sorry I disturbed my nephew's rest."

"I wonder if my nephew is available now? Let's talk in private."

Faced with Shen Dong's request to speak privately, Wang Chengpeng showed no intention of opening the courtyard gate, saying:
"My family is the only household here, so it's the same to talk about anything here."

Sighing, Shen Dong marveled at Kong Xiu's remarkable ability to cause trouble, to the point that he couldn't even get through the door.

Shen Dong slipped the gifts he had brought through the crack in the courtyard gate and said with a smile:
“What my nephew said makes sense. We can talk about things here just as well, and it will save us a lot of time.”

At this point, Shen Dong bowed directly to Wang Chengpeng and said:
"I've come here today mainly to apologize to you on behalf of my ignorant wife. I only hope that you, my nephew, will be magnanimous and forgive her ignorance this time."

Despite Shen Dong's earnest words, Wang Chengpeng remained unmoved. If apologies were enough, what would be the point of having police?
Wang Chengpeng shook his head slightly, his expression somewhat helpless, and said:
"Uncle, you haven't done anything wrong, so why do you need to apologize to me?"

"If Aunt Kong really realizes that she did something wrong, then please ask her to come and apologize to me in person."

“I’m not an unreasonable person. If Aunt Kong really realizes her mistake and sincerely apologizes to me, then this matter is actually a small thing.”

Wang Chengpeng deliberately emphasized the word "true" several times, and the meaning behind it is self-evident.

If Kong Xiu intends to continue with her previous perfunctory approach, it's best for her not to speak, as Wang Chengpeng won't accept it anyway.

Nodding awkwardly, Shen Dong said with a forced smile, "My wife has made such a big mistake, so of course she should apologize."

"But nephew, you have to give Aunt Kong a chance to apologize. She's still locked up in the police station, how can she come out and apologize to you?"

With a smile, Wang Chengpeng said, "Uncle, you're wronging me by saying that."

"With so many people watching at the village entrance today, how could I not have given Aunt Kong a chance to apologize?"

"But she didn't seem to realize her mistake and didn't apologize to me at all."

"In that case, I have no choice but to ask the police for help and use legal means to protect my rights."

"I heard that my bad reputation has spread to the next village. Luckily, I didn't pass through the next village on my way back today, otherwise I was afraid I would have been pelted with rotten eggs and vegetable leaves."

Kong Xiu, that fool, really can't see the situation at all.

Given today's situation, wouldn't a simple apology have been enough? Why escalate things to this point?

Sighing, Shen Dong continued to persuade him:

“Good nephew, I know that your Aunt Kong did a good job in this matter.”

"Don't worry, she has definitely realized her mistake now. As long as you are willing to write a letter of forgiveness, I will bring her here to apologize to you even if I have to take her by force."

Seeing the amused look in Wang Chengpeng's eyes, Shen Dong gritted his teeth and added, "..."

A sincere apology.

Wang Chengpeng nodded slightly, his expression softening somewhat, and said:
"If I had known this, why did I do it in the first place?"

"Since Aunt Kong has realized her mistake, I can give her a chance to make amends."

"A private apology is unnecessary. Why not borrow the loudspeaker in the village office building and apologize in front of the whole village?"

"If Aunt Kong is indeed so sincere, then I might be able to forgive her."

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Shen Dong was stunned.

Apologizing in front of the whole village using the village loudspeaker—what's the difference between that and killing Kong Xiu?
But thinking about the consequences of not apologizing, the possibility of ending up with a criminal record, Shen Dong could only grit his teeth and agree, saying:

“Alright, as long as you, nephew, are willing to forgive your old woman, she can apologize in front of the whole village.”

"But this loudspeaker belongs to the village and can only be used for major events, because it's probably impossible to borrow it for something so trivial."

(End of this chapter)