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

Chapter 224 What I Want is Attitude
Go take care of my father, who is in the prime of his life?
But Liu Chunhua's earnest expression made Wang Chengpeng unable to suppress a smile, and he said:
"Mother, aren't you mistaken? Shouldn't it be Father taking care of me?"

Liu Chunhua gave Wang Chengpeng a disapproving look and said:
“Your dad is honest and simple. He’s always the one being bullied. If you ask him to take care of you, you two will both be bullied at the factory.”

"On the contrary, you have the most clever ideas, so you definitely won't let your dad suffer."

Suffer?

The sugar factory manager is my inside man; who would let you two suffer losses?

Of course, Wang Chengpeng wouldn't reveal such explosive content; he simply nodded and said:
"Who says I can't help you when I'm not at the factory?"

"If anyone bullies you, just tell me. We live nearby, and I'll come right over to stand up for you."

After being teased by Wang Chengpeng, the worry in Liu Chunhua's eyes dissipated considerably, and she said:
"My son is really capable. I'm really waiting for you to stand up for me."

Wang Chengpeng nodded vigorously and said, "Definitely, definitely."

"However, I think Mother's worries are completely unnecessary. Since you were able to pass the recruitment test, it naturally means that you have the ability to do this job."

"Besides, your test scores are all quite good, easily ranking in the upper-middle range among everyone."

"If even you are so worried, how are other people supposed to live their lives?"

At this point, Wang Chengpeng couldn't help but crack another joke, saying:

"Even if you can't learn it, it doesn't matter. Your son is a top student, the one who ranked first in the recruitment test."

"When you come back to me, I'll tutor you privately for free, okay?"

Hearing Wang Chengpeng's teasing, Liu Chunhua said irritably:
"That involves sugar-making technology and operating equipment in a sugar factory. How can someone like you, who has never even seen the equipment, teach us?"

"But you're right. I, Liu Chunhua, don't think I'm any worse than anyone else. There's no reason why I can't do what others can do."

"I will definitely work hard then and try to win the title of Advanced Worker to broaden your horizons."

……

Amidst laughter and joy, Wang Chengpeng's family's life gradually got back on track this summer, embarking on a path completely opposite to that of their previous life.

Although the principle of sugar production from beets is simple, it is not easy to produce high-quality white sugar that can be sold at a high price.

In addition, the sugar factory also needed to train its workers to operate the equipment designed by Wang Chengpeng, so it was natural to train them before the sugar beets ripened.

That's why Wang Chengpeng had the scene where he discussed training matters with Liu Chunhua earlier.

It must be said that Wang Chengpeng's choice of location as a homestead for building a house was quite excellent.

The sugar factory had only just been built and hadn't even started production yet, so naturally it couldn't have any supporting facilities.

The only difference between working in a sugar factory and working in the fields is perhaps the nature of the work.

However, everyone was confident, especially after seeing the produced sugar. They were even more certain that the village's sugar factory would be able to make money.

It is precisely because of the lack of supporting facilities that people still have to have their families deliver food if they want to eat, and they still have to go back to their own homes if they want to stay overnight.

That's why the Wang family, who lived nearby, became the most convenient place.

As time went by, the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination drew closer, and Wang Chengpeng threw himself into even more intense study.

But the wind wouldn't stop even if the tree wanted to be still. Wang Chengpeng wanted to find peace and not provoke others, but they had no intention of letting him go.

Especially Liu Yanran, after discovering that Wang Chengpeng had completely lost any leverage over her, became even more arrogant.

Since losing Song Wenxin's protection, Zhou Xia, although still the director of the purchasing office, has experienced a sharp decline in her standard of living.

Many people who usually respected him now treated him like a plague, causing Zhou Xia great distress.

Coupled with economic difficulties, Zhou Xia's life was extremely miserable.

After all, it is easy to go from frugality to luxury, but it is difficult to go from luxury to frugality.

Zhou Xia's salary wasn't low, and the factory's benefits were decent, but compared to the Song family, it was like comparing heaven and earth.

Having always been a spendthrift, it must have been incredibly painful for him to try to be frugal now.

In addition, he emptied his savings to repay the more than 1,000 yuan he owed Wang Chengpeng. He didn't have much savings to begin with, and he also owed Wang Chengpeng several hundred yuan in mediation fees.

Under multiple blows, Zhou Xia found himself in dire poverty.

Zhou Xia is destitute, and naturally some people will be affected.

The Liu family may appear glamorous, but in reality, they don't have much earning power. The reason they live so comfortably is largely due to Zhou Xia's secret support.

Otherwise, with such a small family, how could they possibly have earned such a good life?

Now that Zhou Xia is poor and divorced, he naturally doesn't treat Liu Yanran as well as before.

He didn't even bother to give Liu Yanran a perfunctory response, let alone money.

After practicing Tai Chi a few times, Liu Yanran, heavily pregnant, finally snapped and roared in Zhou Xia's office:

"Zhou Xia, are you even a man?"

“I’m carrying your child, and I’m here with a big belly to see you, and you’re trying to fool me with this kind of excuse.”

“If you don’t want this son anymore, just say so. I don’t need to make things so difficult for myself.”

Counting the days, Liu Yanran's baby was already six or seven months along, which was quite obvious.

That's why it's extremely difficult to avoid the Shen family and make a trip to the city.

However, even after she had gone through so much trouble to get there, Zhou Xia only intended to dismiss her with some verbal promises. How could Liu Yanran tolerate that?

If it weren't for Zhou Xia's money, how could she have kept this child who was tormenting her until now?

It has to be said that Liu Yanran really deserved to suffer. The Shen family is not the same as the Wang family, and Shen Wei is not the same as Wang Chengpeng in her previous life. Their care for Liu Yanran was just so-so.

This resulted in Liu Yanran not only lacking the strength of her previous life, but also appearing somewhat thin.

After roaring, Liu Yanran stared intently into Zhou Xia's eyes, as if she had already completely dominated him.

She knew Zhou Xia's weakness: she valued the child in her womb the most.

Every time she mentions wanting to abort the child, he will give in to her, no matter how unreasonable her request is.

However, it was precisely in the face of Liu Yanran's coercion that Zhou Xia showed remarkable resilience this time, saying:

"Want it? Whoever wants it can have it."

"Liu Yanran, what gives you the right to claim that the child in your womb is mine?"

"Not to mention Wang Chengpeng, who is far away, there's also Shen Wei, and it's really not certain whether the child in your belly is mine."

Hearing Zhou Xia's words, Liu Yanran looked incredulous and said:

"How could you say that to me? Don't you know whether the child in my belly is yours or not?" "If it weren't for wanting to keep this child and find a father for our child, how could I have married that good-for-nothing Shen Wei?"

"I made such a huge sacrifice for our children, and now you're turning your back on me?"

"Fine, if you dare to do the first thing, then don't blame me for doing the fifteenth."

“I’m going to go to the Revolutionary Committee right now and let them see how our Director Zhou really plays with women’s feelings.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Liu Yanran rushed out without a second thought, only to be stopped by Zhou Xia, who was terrified and roared at her:
"Are you crazy? How dare you go to the Revolutionary Committee and say such a thing?"

"I don't know if I'll die, but you're definitely going to die."

If this gets out, Liu Yanran will be in trouble herself.

That is precisely why Zhou Xia was not afraid at all.
In his view, he only wanted to cut ties with Liu Yanran, and the two of them should not have fallen to the point of wanting to die together.

Unfortunately, he seemed to have underestimated Liu Yanran's madness.

Judging from Liu Yanran's demeanor just now, she didn't seem to be joking at all.

With a cold snort, Liu Yanran mocked:

"So what if it's two lives lost? Do you think I, Liu Yanran, am afraid?"

"Hey Zhou, let me tell you, if you don't give me an explanation for this, I'm not done with you."

What a madwoman! How could I have ever fallen for this crazy woman?

Feeling like he wanted to slap himself, Zhou Xia said with a headache:

"Yanran, don't be impulsive. I was just joking with you."

"I even divorced Song Wenxin for you, so how could my feelings for you be fake?"

"But you don't know this, it's not that I don't want to give you money, it's just that I really don't have any right now."

At this point, Zhou Xia gave a wronged look and said:

"After divorcing that bitch Song Wenxin, all I can rely on is my salary, and my income has dropped significantly."

"Under normal circumstances, it's alright. After all, I'm a director, so I can still save some of my salary."

"But have you forgotten the IOU I signed at your house last time? That was a debt I had to pay off with borrowed money."

"I've used all my money, except for living expenses, to pay off my debts. Where would I get the money to give you?"

It has to be said that Zhou Xia does have the qualities of someone who lives off a woman; he's shameless enough.

This kind of shameless, opportunistic behavior is truly disgusting.

After he dodged her question, Liu Yanran's expression softened somewhat, and she said:
“I’m not a materialistic woman, and I don’t necessarily need money. What I value is your attitude.”

"Especially since you can't take out all your anger on me, after all, this has nothing to do with me."

Upon hearing Liu Yanran's words, Zhou Xia subconsciously pursed his lips. What kind of attitude was that? Wasn't that the attitude of offering money?

And this matter has absolutely nothing to do with Liu Yanran. If she hadn't kept asking me to go over for the appointment, why would I have been so eager to go over for a secret rendezvous?

If he didn't go on secret rendezvous, how could he have been caught by Wang Chengpeng?

Zhou Xia knew he couldn't argue with Wang Chengpeng at this point, so he could only explain in a low voice:

“Wang Chengpeng is really despicable. If I hadn’t been coerced by him, none of this would have happened.”

“I had tried to find someone to retrieve the IOU through other channels, but he was as cunning as a snake and didn’t reveal the slightest flaw.”

"If it weren't for my status, I would really like to have someone kill him directly."

At this point, Zhou Xia reached into his extremely empty wallet, took out three yuan, and handed it to Liu Yanran, saying:

"Yanran, of course I love you and the child in your belly."

"I'm really struggling financially right now, so this is all the money I can give you for now."

"You know this is my living expenses for one or two months, so you'd better use it sparingly."

Without hesitation, she snatched the money, and Liu Yanran said with a smile:
"Brother Xia, I knew you've always been good to me."

"But look at my belly, it's gotten so big now, I'm afraid I won't be able to come see you for a while."

"So you should probably give a little more, since the expenses of raising a child will be the biggest part of the future."

Seeing that Liu Yanran was so sexually unsatisfied, Zhou Xia felt a headache coming on and said:
"You know my situation, I really don't have much money left."

"Besides, didn't you find a sucker to help raise your child? You shouldn't be under much pressure."

Seeing that Liu Yanran was about to change her expression, Zhou Xia quickly changed his tune:
"But you are, after all, the person I love most, and the child in your womb is mine. As the father, I can't just not show my appreciation."

"Here's ten yuan for you. Use it to buy some good food and supplement your nutrition."

Normally, Liu Yanran would definitely not care about such a small amount of money.

However, Zhou Xia also mentioned the difficulties, and she knew how to restrain herself, understanding the principle of slow and steady progress. She immediately smiled and said:
"Brother Xia, of course I know your heart."

“Now is the most difficult time for you, and I’m not an unreasonable woman, so of course I’ll get through this with you.”

"But this money is, after all, a token of your kindness towards my daughter and me. How could I possibly let you down?"

After saying that, Liu Yanran unceremoniously put the money away again, then kissed Zhou Xia on the cheek before gracefully walking out, saying:

"Brother Xia, I'm leaving now."

"You have important things to do, so I certainly won't be so tactless as to bother you here."

"After the baby is born, I'll bring him over to see you, his biological father."

Looking at Liu Yanran's graceful back, Zhou Xia felt his head was about to explode.

When he had money, he could indulge Liu Yanran's temper and was happy to spend money to enjoy the feeling of being embraced by a beauty.

But now he has no money, and he feels that Liu Yanran and the child in her womb are an extremely huge burden to him.

In other words, when Zhou Xia was rich, Liu Yanran was like a little bird clinging to him, but when he was poor, she was a big troublemaker.

Or should we find someone to get rid of Liu Yanran's baby?

This was considered an attempt to destroy the evidence, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Having both fertility and money, and now that Song Wenxin is no longer obstructing him, there's really no need for him to hang himself on Liu Yanran, this village woman.

A terrifying idea was brewing in Zhou Xia's mind, constantly absorbing his evil thoughts and growing stronger.

(End of this chapter)