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

Chapter 225: Hard to eat soft food
This idea was extremely terrifying, and Zhou Xia ultimately gave up because of his familial ties.

Anyway, he had already sent Liu Yanran away, so she wouldn't bother him for a while.

In that case, it might be better to keep the child, which would be a kind of insurance policy for yourself.

Besides, there are no methods like paternity testing available now, at least not for ordinary people. So, what you say in the end is up to you.

Moreover, Shen Wei is no pushover, and given that he is already impotent, it's even less likely that he would abandon his child.

They are a legally married couple, and I am just a complete stranger. When the time comes, it will be obvious to the public who they will believe.
Thinking this, Zhou Xia rubbed his temples and sat down.

He felt that he had a lot of worries lately, and they kept coming one after another.

Although he had already gotten rid of Liu Yanran, he still had another extremely fatal problem to solve, which was the five hundred yuan he owed Wang Chengpeng.

The IOU was signed in the presence of the police, so even if he wanted to renege, there was nothing he could do.

If he doesn't want to go to jail, the best way is to pay back the money as soon as possible.

Looking at his wallet, which had become even emptier after being exploited by Liu Yanran, Zhou Xia felt somewhat desperate.

How can I get out of my current predicament?
In a daze, a slightly bloated face appeared in Zhou Xia's mind. This person was none other than Li Dan, Zhou Xia's blind date from last time, who was the daughter of a leader of the Revolutionary Committee.

In those days, the Revolutionary Committee was considered an extremely powerful department, and Li Dan was naturally very popular.

However, although Li Dan was not short, he was extremely gluttonous, and coupled with his wealthy family background, he grew into a very fat man, which was rare in this era.

While being able to eat well is a blessing, most people are not fortunate enough to enjoy too much of this blessing.

Li Dan was very satisfied with the handsome Zhou Xia during their last blind date, but Zhou Xia thought she was too fat, so she politely expressed her rejection to the matchmaker afterward.

There's no way Zhou Xia could possibly be interested in a woman who doesn't fit his aesthetic standards!
However, Zhou Xia changed his mind after only a short time. Under Liu Yanran's exploitation and burdened by Wang Chengpeng's debts, he also had a wicked idea.

Or how about we pretend to be friends with Li Dan and then swindle some money from her?

These naive women are the easiest to fool.

Especially because of her obesity, Li Dan has been the subject of much controversy since childhood.

If Zhou Xia only showed her a little bit of care, wouldn't money be a piece of cake?
Thinking this way, Zhou Xia felt that he could no longer continue to degenerate, so he immediately got up, asked for leave, and hurriedly ran to find the matchmaker who had introduced him to Li Dan.

Seeing Zhou Xia return, Matchmaker Li was somewhat surprised and asked:
"Hey, isn't this Comrade Zhou? What brings you here?"

"You probably still want me to introduce you to someone, but there aren't many people who are a good match for you."

At this point, Matchmaker Li snorted disdainfully in her heart.

This week, Xia is a prime example of someone who dreams big.

They demand that their partner be young and beautiful, from a wealthy family, and even an only child.
Don't you even look at him? Aside from being slightly handsome, he's not worthy of someone like that.

They're not blind. If they had those qualities, they could easily find any kind of partner they wanted.

In the eyes of truly wealthy people, Zhou Xia's job as the head of the purchasing office was barely acceptable.

Unaware that Matchmaker Li had already mentally mocked him a hundred and eighty times, Zhou Xia shamelessly said:

"Matchmaker Li, my requirements are indeed high, but aren't my own conditions also quite good?"

“Look at my family’s three generations of poor peasant background, it’s all red and righteous.”

"Look at my height and looks, I doubt any girl would dislike me."

"Alright, keep an eye out for people who meet my requirements. I came to see you today for another matter."

Do you remember Li Dan, whom you introduced me to last time?

While telling me to keep an eye out for someone who meets his requirements, he was also asking me about another girl. Even the matchmaker, Li, couldn't stand this kind of scumbag.

However, she couldn't possibly sacrifice money for morality, so she immediately put on a smiling face and said:
"What? Comrade Zhou, have you taken a fancy to Comrade Li?"

“Aside from a few minor flaws, Comrade Li is a good match for you in terms of both family background and education.”

"If you're planning to get to know her again, I can arrange for you to meet again."

Hearing what the matchmaker Li said, Zhou Xia quickly waved his hand and said:
"You're kidding, Comrade Li and I are incompatible according to our birth charts, how could we possibly be together?"

You're asking me about her even though your horoscopes don't match?
With a face full of doubt, Matchmaker Li asked:

"Then I'm a little confused. Comrade Zhou, what do you mean?"

With a serious expression, Zhou Xia said:
"Although it's impossible for me to be with Comrade Li, I'd still like to make this clear to her in person."

"I will bring a gift when I meet her, please be sure to let me know so I can see her one more time."

Upon hearing about the gift, Matchmaker Li instantly understood Zhou Xia's meaning. She felt contempt in her heart and cursed inwardly, "What a freeloader!" But she agreed without hesitation.

She's just a matchmaker; why should she interfere so much when both parties agree?
Seeing this, Zhou Xia nodded with great satisfaction, then took out a dime and handed it over, saying:

"Thank you for your help, Matchmaker Li. Consider this penny a token of your appreciation."

Matchmaker Li: ...? ??
Stingy and mean!

Fortunately, Li Dan also cared about Zhou Xia. If she exaggerated how hard she had worked to persuade Zhou Xia to agree to meet her, she would definitely receive a considerable reward.

Thinking this, Matchmaker Li's expression softened slightly, and she said:
"I'll discuss it with Comrade Li right away. If he agrees, I'll let you know the agreed time immediately."

Nodding in satisfaction, Zhou Xia got up and left.

His time is precious; he can't afford to waste it on something like this.

Little did he know that as he walked away, the matchmaker, Li, spat and shouted angrily:

"What a piece of trash! Living off a woman like this is truly shameless to the extreme."

……

On the other hand, with the dozen or so yuan she had managed to get from Zhou Xia, Liu Yanran became increasingly angry.

This small amount of money wasn't even enough for her round-trip travel expenses.

Every time I went to Zhou Xia, I could get twenty or thirty yuan. Besides, I already said that I probably wouldn't go to see him for a long time after this.

It was precisely because of Zhou Xia's generous help that the Liu family, despite none of them working hard, were still able to buy such a luxury item as a bicycle.

As she thought about it, Liu Yanran felt a surge of hatred and cursed, "Wang Chengpeng, I'll make you pay!"

"If you had just obediently set off at the agreed time, none of this trouble would have happened."

"I only got a little closer to Xia Ge, and you're so jealous that you want to break up with me."

"Fine, let's break up. I, Liu Yanran, don't care about you. But why are you asking us for so much money as compensation?"

"You've been able to claim the title of my fiancé for so long; you're the one who took advantage of me." "If you hadn't interfered and shamelessly extorted so much money from us, how could Brother Xia not have the money to give me?"

"At that time, I can just find an excuse to marry Shen Wei and easily fall into Xia Ge's arms and live the life of a rich lady in the city."

How could Shen Wei not harbor resentment towards Liu Yanran, the woman who ruined his life's happiness? Naturally, he wouldn't treat her well.

Kong Xiu, on the other hand, pretended to be ignorant, knowing full well that Liu Yanran was a slut, but chose to endure it for the sake of her son.

As for Liu Yanran, all I can say is that I'm watching her, but I can't offer her much help.

Shen Dong was slightly better at dealing with Liu Yanran; at least he did a good job of putting on a good show, leaving no room for criticism.

As for Zhou Erhua and Liu Dongran?
They were only thinking about how much their daughter could squeeze out of the Shen family and Zhou Xia, and they didn't care about Liu Yanran's life or death at all.

Under these circumstances, coupled with her pregnancy, Liu Yanran unsurprisingly became a resentful woman confined to her chambers.

Today's events acted as a fuse, completely igniting Liu Yanran's emotions.

She grew increasingly resentful as she spoke, until finally she bit her lip until a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth.

Wang Chengpeng, I'm going to make you pay!

With this belief, Liu Yanran returned to the Shen family.

As soon as Liu Yanran entered the Shen family home, she saw Shen Wei lying on the bed doing nothing.

Shen Weiming is clearly a young man, perfectly capable, yet he lies at home doing nothing. This infuriated Liu Yanran, who immediately roared:

"Shen Wei, look at your pathetic state, you have no ambition at all."

"Can't you help your parents with some chores so they can have an easier time?"

"Do you really intend to live off your parents for the rest of your life?"

Shen Wei glared at Liu Yanran with dissatisfaction and muttered:
"You ignorant woman, how dare you try to tell me what to do?"

“I’m a sugar factory worker now, why would I go to the fields or do any other work?”

"With the wages I earn at the sugar factory, you can all live a life of luxury by following me, right?"

Suppressing her anger, Liu Yanran continued to lecture Shen Wei, saying:
"Okay, the work at the sugar factory is important."

"Now is a crucial time for training at the sugar factory. How is your training going?"

"If you don't study hard and don't master the production technology, you might get fired from the sugar factory if something goes wrong."

"After all, this sugar factory is a village-run factory, not a secure job like those in the city."

As if to hide his guilty conscience, Shen Wei immediately turned to the side and said:

"Making sugar is such a simple thing, how could someone as smart as me not be able to learn it?"

“I learned very well in the factory, and I won’t have any problems. Maybe I can even bring back a production pacesetter award.”

Shen Wei was clearly bragging. He needed to donate money to get a job, and he couldn't possibly know much about sugar production, otherwise he wouldn't lack the courage to even give it a try.

However, sugar production is not a very complicated process, and most of the equipment designed by Wang Chengpeng is also very simple and easy to operate.

As long as Shen learns from his shame and strives to improve, he will at least be able to manage the work at the sugar factory, if not do exceptionally well.

However, Shen Wei was overly ambitious and had little interest in studying.

Not only that, he also looked down on the workers who were trying to learn, thinking to himself that it was such a simple thing, so why was there any need to learn it?

He could not possibly say such things to Liu Yanran, so he could only give her a perfunctory answer.

Liu Yanran wasn't really that concerned about Shen Wei. After hearing that there was no problem, she quickly felt relieved.

As if on purpose, yet also unintentionally, Liu Yanran asked casually:

"Did you see Wang Chengpeng at the sugar factory?"

Speaking of Wang Chengpeng, Shen Weike was no longer sleepy. He sat up abruptly and said:

"I didn't see that idiot. Apparently, he felt he wasn't capable enough and gave the job to his cousin."

"He's so stupid to give such a great job to his cousin. He's incredibly foolish."

Shen Wei probably never imagined that Wang Chengpeng would completely disregard the job he dreamed of.

Hearing Shen Wei's words, Liu Yanran looked surprised and said:

"He didn't go to work at the sugar factory?"

Hearing Liu Yanran's words of concern for Wang Chengpeng, Shen Wei suddenly felt a pang of jealousy, feeling like he was being cuckolded, and snorted coldly:
"You dare to show concern for other men in front of your husband? You really need to be taught a lesson."

An unnamed fire rose from his chest and quickly spread throughout Shen Wei's entire body.

Unfortunately, his tools of the crime were immobile, so no matter how big the fire he started, he couldn't vent his anger and could only burn his own body.

Seeing that Shen had misunderstood and was even showing signs of losing his temper, Liu Yanran immediately put on a fawning smile and said:

"Brother Shen, don't misunderstand. This Wang Chengpeng is my enemy. When I asked him, it was definitely not because I had any ambiguous relationship with him."

"This guy broke off the engagement for no reason and humiliated me like this, how could I possibly have any goodwill towards him?"

"The reason I asked that was because I wanted to know if you had any ideas on how to deal with him."

"But he's not at the sugar factory right now, so even if you wanted to trip him up, you couldn't. You'll have to think of another way."

At this point, Liu Yanran had a flash of inspiration and said:
"By the way, his parents both work at the sugar factory. You can easily scam them and make them lose their jobs, right?"

Seeing Liu Yanran's expectant gaze, Shen Wei subconsciously shrank back.

Thanks to Kong Xiu's hard work and his own reckless behavior, he was one of the most disliked people in the sugar factory.

Coupled with his usual arrogant demeanor, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that he's universally hated.

In this situation, it would be almost impossible for him to frame others while fighting against two opponents.

But how could he possibly show weakness in front of Liu Yanran? He immediately explained:

"The factory is very strict, and since there's no actual operation yet, there's basically no chance."

"Dealing with them is no good, but dealing with Wang Chengpeng is a piece of cake, isn't it?"

"As long as you are willing to cooperate, I guarantee that Wang Chengpeng's reputation will soon be ruined throughout the entire Wangjia Village."

(End of this chapter)