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

Chapter 218 The truth comes out
Seeing Wang Wen's subtle actions, Wang Chengpeng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

For him now, things that can be solved with money are the simplest.

He casually tore open the envelope, revealing the banknotes inside, and muttered:

"This saves us the trouble of giving a red envelope."

Wang Chengpeng moved very slowly, slowly enough for Wang Wen to see roughly how much money he had.

The red envelope was much thicker than Wang Wen had imagined; it was filled with rather large denominations of banknotes.

Conservatively estimated, this stack of money contains at least fifty dollars.

That's fifty yuan; you can't earn it back without delivering dozens of babies.

Now, Wang Wen only needs to tell Wang Chengpeng some small things he knows to easily earn back this money, which is a huge profit.

Before Wang Wen could make up her mind, her eyes widened in surprise.

Because she actually saw Wang Chengpeng grab her money and stuff it into his own pocket.

Not only that, Wang Chengpeng even made a move to take her money and leave.

I can't leave, and if I do leave, I can't take my money with me.

Ultimately, money blinded him, and Wang Wen couldn't resist. Just as Wang Chengpeng was about to step out of his house, he called out to him loudly, saying:

"Xiao Peng, how could I possibly know about the things that happened in the previous generation?"

"However, I do have a story here, I wonder if you'd be interested in hearing it."

Almost instantly understanding Wang Wen's meaning, Wang Chengpeng turned around and said with a smile:
"Stories? I love listening to stories the most."

After saying that, Wang Chengpeng sat down opposite Wang Wen again. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, he took out the pile of money again and casually placed it on the table.

With his right hand pressing down on the money, Wang Chengpeng urged, "Aunt Wang, please tell us your story."

"If your story is captivating enough, I might be able to forget some things and take them with me."

With things having progressed to this point, the two of them were practically in sync.

Clearing his throat with a cough, Wang Wen smiled and said:
"Look how coincidental this is, it just so happens that I love telling stories the most."

"I remember it was a stormy night when a midwife accepted a job and hurriedly left."

"The job of a midwife is, to put it nicely, to guide life; to put it bluntly, it's just doing manual labor."

"Not only is it a thankless task, but if you encounter a stingy host, you might not even get a tip."

Even so, the midwife still did her job conscientiously in helping people give birth.

"But the baby was breech, and despite the midwife's efforts, the baby still couldn't be delivered, and even the mother had some difficulty breathing."

"Since this is a matter of life and death, the midwife dared not be negligent and recommended that the family send the woman to the village clinic."

"Not to mention that some medicinal herbs can help with childbirth, it is more appropriate to use them in a clinic to save a woman's life."

"The man also loved the woman very much. Heeding the midwife's advice, he immediately called a few young men to take the woman to the nearest clinic."

"Pregnant women are easily frightened during heavy rain, and it is very normal for this to cause premature birth or delivery."

"It was quite a coincidence that day; when we brought the woman to the clinic, there was another woman giving birth inside."

"Compared to the women, that woman was in a much worse state. Not only was she alone, but she also seemed to be having a difficult childbirth, which could be fatal."

At this point, Wang Wen paused, glanced at the money on the table, and then continued:
"Difficult childbirth is quite common; often it's just a matter of saving the mother or the baby."

"Faced with the same problem, women and married women make completely opposite choices."

"Both men and women choose to save the mother, but the woman chooses to save the child."

At this point, Wang Wen's expression also turned somewhat wistful, as if he too had been moved by the woman's determination to protect her child. He paused for a moment before continuing:

"The rest is much simpler. Once a choice is made, many targeted measures can be used directly."

"If you seek benevolence, you will obtain benevolence; if you seek life, you will obtain life."

"In the end, the woman survived, and the woman's child survived."

"Since the woman is not from this village, it is unlikely that we can contact her family again, so the child's fate has become a problem."

"The woman had just lost her own child, and after discussing it with the man, they decided to adopt the child, and publicly stated that the woman had died in childbirth with her child."

At this point, Wang Wen's expression also turned somewhat wistful, and he said:
"They are both women, facing the same situation, but made completely opposite choices. It's still a bit sad to think about it now."

"Perhaps because this incident greatly shocked the midwife, she often talked about it, and her daughter also learned about it."

At this point, Wang Wen stared intently at Wang Chengpeng's hand, his meaning self-evident.

Under Wang Wen's watchful gaze, Wang Chengpeng simply pushed the money towards Wang Wen, thus completing the transaction tacitly.

However, Wang Chengpeng showed no sign of leaving. Instead, he asked another question:
"Are you sure the woman really died in childbirth?"

Is adopting a child always a woman's decision?

It's no wonder Wang Chengpeng asked this question; Zhao Yuju doesn't seem like the type to have such overflowing maternal love that she would adopt someone else's child.

Judging from her decisive choice to save the mother without hesitation, the child definitely didn't hold that much weight in her eyes.

Of course, the most direct evidence is the existence of Wang Yinshan.

Unlike Wang Tieshan, who was not Zhao Yuju's biological son, Wang Yinshan was born without any accidents and was Zhao Yuju's biological son.

However, after Wang Tieshan separated from the family and left, Wang Yinshan immediately became the next target for exploitation.
Even Zhao Yuju wasn't necessarily that good to Wang Yinshan; her only treasure was Wang Jinshan.

Given this situation, it's absolutely unbelievable that Wang Chengpeng would believe Zhao Yuju would be so overwhelmed with maternal love as to adopt a stranger's child.

Of course, if Wang Tieshan really survived because of Zhao Yuju's momentary lapse in judgment, Wang Chengpeng might treat her a little better in the future.

No matter how bad she is now, she cannot hide the fact that she once saved Wang Tieshan and allowed this helpless child to live.

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Wang Wen's hand, which was holding the money, trembled involuntarily. He then quickly grabbed the money back, saying:

"Xiaopeng, how could you have such a strange idea?"

“A story is just a story, and the details are only mentioned briefly. Perhaps no one but the parties involved will know the truth.”

This time, Wang Wen spoke with complete candor, clearly not lying.

After hesitating for a moment, Wang Chengpeng said to Wang Wen, "Aunt Wang, thank you for your story. I have benefited a lot from it." "If you have a good memory and remember any details about this story, please be sure to tell me. Of course, I won't let you make a wasted trip."

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng say that he wouldn't let Wang Wen make a wasted trip, Wang Wen began to ponder.

Despite racking her brains, she still had no clue whatsoever and could only awkwardly say to Wang Chengpeng:

"I can't think of any more details about this story right now."

"I'll think about it again later. If I gain any other insights, I'll let you know."

"Oh, right, I have something to do. I see you're busy too, so I won't keep you for dinner."

It was a clear invitation to leave, and Wang Chengpeng naturally wouldn't make a fool of himself by staying.

All he can confirm now is that his biological grandmother is someone else, and he can even label her as someone of unknown origin. Apart from that, he has no other clues.

Shaking his head slightly, Wang Chengpeng thought to himself that the past was indeed difficult to uncover.

However, judging from the fact that the grandmother was able to appear in Wangjia Village, she should be just an ordinary pregnant woman from a nearby village.

After all, there was no such thing as "educated youth going to the countryside" back then, so it was impossible for city dwellers to come to the countryside.

Visiting relatives, or just passing through? The exact reason remains unknown.

In short, she came to Wangjia Village by chance and rested there.

Although he had obtained a lot of information, Wang Chengpeng still hadn't gotten the information he truly wanted.

With that in mind, he decided to go to Ding Kaiyuan's house again.

Wang Chengpeng might be able to find some more clues from the person who was responsible for taking Zhao Yuju to the clinic back then.

If all else fails, it would be acceptable if we could find some key figures and gradually unravel the truth step by step.

It seemed that Song Sanya had already told Ding Kaiyuan about Wang Chengpeng, so he wasn't surprised at all by Wang Chengpeng's arrival.

However, judging from his wary eyes, he seemed to be somewhat resistant to Wang Chengpeng.

They had barely met when Ding Kaiyuan, carrying the gift Wang Chengpeng had given him, said:
"Take these things back with you. Just treat those old women's words as a joke, but don't believe them blindly."

Wang Chengpeng's intuition told him that there must be something seriously wrong with the truth of the matter, otherwise Ding Kaiyuan would never have been so resistant to him.

After all, based on the information obtained from Wang Wen, there was really nothing that Ding Kaiyuan should be wary of.

In an instant, Wang Chengpeng thought of a possibility and immediately had an idea.

I've really found the right person this time. Now let's see if I have the ability to pry the truth out of Ding Kaiyuan.

Thinking this, Wang Chengpeng revealed an innocent smile and said:

"Uncle Ding, I'm just here to ask you something. If you have nothing to hide, why are you so resistant to me?"

"I'm not afraid to tell you the truth, I just came from Aunt Wang Wen's place, and I know more than you can imagine."

He pushed the gift back, and not only that, Wang Chengpeng added another hundred yuan, saying:
"You already know whether I'm sincere or not."

"I'm not here today to hold anyone accountable; I simply want to confirm what happened back then."

"Uncle Ding, if you have time, why don't we talk alone? It would be better than making this a public spectacle."

confirm?

Ding Kaiyuan frowned, keenly noticing the unusual wording in Wang Chengpeng's speech.

If it's just confirmation, doesn't that mean Wang Chengpeng already knows the truth?

Ding Kaiyuan glanced at Wang Chengpeng with a mixture of emotions, trying to glean some clues from that young and immature face.

However, he failed. Wang Chengpeng's expression remained calm, showing no sign of lying.

Now that he knew the subtle, unconscious movements people make when they lie, Wang Chengpeng could naturally take targeted measures to cover them up.

In addition to the results of his usual martial arts training, he was perfectly capable of making it impossible for Ding Kaiyuan to detect any clues.

Not only did he not back down at all, but he also met Ding Kaiyuan's gaze, which made Ding Kaiyuan feel a little guilty.

Just as Ding Kaiyuan was hesitating, unsure whether he should tell Wang Chengpeng about it, Song Sanya chimed in, saying:
“Old Ding, Comrade Wang is the son of the person involved. He has the right to know the truth.”

"Besides, you've been feeling down about this all these years, so it's a good thing for you to say it sooner rather than later."

Looking at the gift Wang Chengpeng brought, Song Sanya beamed and said:

"Besides, Comrade Wang is so sincere, how could you not tell him the truth?"

"If you don't think about yourself, at least think about your family."

"My daughter has been clamoring for meat. If it weren't for waiting for you to come back and make a decision, I'm afraid I would have already turned this meat into food."

"You're quite the tight-lipped one, keeping those people's secrets very well."

"But those people don't treat us well at all. They don't offer us any benefits, and they don't even help us out normally."

“Especially Wang Jinshan, every time I asked him to borrow a bicycle, he would try to make things difficult for me.”

"If it weren't for the fact that no one else in the village had a bicycle at the time, I really wouldn't have bothered with that family."

"On the contrary, Chunhua is a very kind person. Last time I asked to borrow her sewing machine, she didn't think it was expensive at all and lent it to me without saying a word."

"They didn't even charge for the online services, saying that people from the same village should help each other."

"Can you really bear to watch such a good family be morally blackmailed by bad people and end up living a miserable life?"

Silently giving Wang Jinshan a thumbs up, Wang Chengpeng thought to himself that many things are just a matter of time before retribution.

No one could have imagined that some seemingly insignificant trivial matters would come in handy at this crucial moment, becoming the last straw that broke Ding Kaiyuan's nerves.

Looking at Wang Chengpeng's sincere face, and then at Song Sanya who cared about him, Ding Kaiyuan finally sighed and said:
"Okay, let's go over and talk."

"It's finally time to untie this knot in my heart that has been weighing on my mind. Otherwise, I'm afraid I'll be buried with this secret."

After changing to a more private room, Ding Kaiyuan got straight to the point:
"Tell me what Wang Wendu said to you."

"I'll add some things you don't know based on what I've seen and heard."

"The secret I've kept for so many years is finally about to be revealed, and I feel strangely relieved."

(End of this chapter)