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

Chapter 228 Shen Wei, the Idea King

Knock, knock, knock—the rhythmic knocking sounded again, and Zhang the Matchmaker's familiar voice came from outside:

"Xia Zhiqing, is it convenient for this old woman to come in and sit for a while today?"

Xia Mingyue, who was reading a book, was stunned and didn't understand why Zhang the matchmaker would come to her.

Considering that nothing happened when she let Zhang the matchmaker in last time, Xia Mingyue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately let her in anyway.

As soon as they entered Xia Mingyue's room, Zhang the matchmaker got straight to the point:
"Sigh, these are really troublesome times lately."

"First, Comrade Wang's job was taken away by his cousin for some unknown reason, and now rumors about Comrade Wang are spreading for some unknown reason."

"I don't know which idiot came up with this rumor, and I can't believe that anyone would believe it."

As one of the witnesses, Zhang the matchmaker naturally knew the truth of the matter and felt some sympathy for Wang Chengpeng's unfair treatment.

Unfortunately, this matter is somewhat strange, as the parties involved all say it's not true and urge everyone not to believe it.

Yet, everyone seemed to be bewitched, blindly believing in this story, which was quite absurd.

Listening to Zhang Jincui's account, Xia Mingyue looked puzzled and said:

“Matchmaker Zhang, I have heard some of these things, but I don’t know why you would bring them up with me for no reason.”

Zhang Jincui sighed and said, "I came here just to tell you not to believe these rumors."

"Wang Chengpeng is an outstanding kid. He is not only tall and handsome with a wealthy family background, but he is also very capable."

"If you miss out on such a good person because of a little prejudice, you will definitely regret it for the rest of your life."

"At the same time, I think this is a very good opportunity. Comrade Wang needs comfort right now."

"If you were to start a relationship with him now, there would be an extremely high chance that it would work out."

"Xia, you just tell me, do you believe in Comrade Wang or not?"

Without hesitation, Xia Mingyue nodded and said:

"I have complete faith in Comrade Wang's character; he would never do such a thing."

Although I didn't have many opportunities to interact with Wang Chengpeng, the two were friends who connected through books.
Xia Mingyue had some understanding of Wang Chengpeng's character, so she naturally couldn't believe such nonsense about how he would treat Liu Yanran.

Just as Zhang Jincui was overjoyed, thinking that the matter could be accomplished, Xia Mingyue said unhurriedly:
"But while I believe it, I still have no intention of dating Comrade Wang."

"To be honest, my family situation is a bit special, and it's really not suitable for me to date Comrade Wang. In the end, it might just be a burden to him."

With a sigh, Zhang Jincui continued to persuade him, "Comrade Wang is so outstanding, why would he care about such trivial matters?"

"However, relationships are ultimately about mutual consent, so you should think it over carefully."

Shaking her head, Zhang Jincui left Xia Mingyue's place.

She thought this was an opportunity, but she didn't expect to fail again.

……

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, several days have passed.

After finishing his meal, Wang Tieshan's expression relaxed considerably, and he couldn't help but give Wang Chengpeng a thumbs-up, saying:

"Son, you really have a way with things. The best way to deal with rumors is to ignore them."

"Although people still have some opinions about you, at least this matter has been suppressed and will no longer cause trouble like before."

"After all, without evidence, this matter will eventually have to be dropped."

"After a few more days, once everyone has completely forgotten about it, you will be able to find a good marriage."

Calm down? Having tasted success, how could Liu Yanran possibly let this matter calm down?

Wang Chengpeng chuckled and said, "Of course."

"Some people get more enthusiastic the more you pay attention to them, but if you ignore them, nothing happens."

"Mom and Dad, you can focus on your work at the sugar factory. If you have any questions, just ask me. We can live our lives just fine and don't need to pay any attention to what these people think."

Nodding as if he understood but not quite, Wang Tieshan said:

"Okay, let's do it your way. I'm sure there won't be any problems."

Indeed, just as Wang Chengpeng said, although the storm has subsided, those who have tasted the benefits are unwilling to let the storm die down so easily.

Liu Yanran was resting at home during her pregnancy, but she kept a close eye on the rumors.

After Kong Xiushen returned, Liu Yanran couldn't wait to ask, "..."

"Brother Shen, what's the situation with the rumors? Have they spread to other villages? Have they had a significant impact on Wang Chengpeng?"

Sighing, Shen Wei said, "The Wang family is cunning. Apart from contacting you once at the beginning, they have basically never responded again."

"This led to the isolation of the other workers in the factory, and the rumors eventually died down and stopped spreading."

Upon hearing Shen Wei's reply, Liu Yanran's face instantly turned ashen.

She risked her reputation to spread rumors about Wang Chengpeng, but she never expected it to end like this.

For a moment, she even felt like a stupid pig who would shoot himself in the foot.

If Wang Chengpeng is alright, then what about the sacrifices she made?
Shen Wei was also unwilling to give up; he really loved the pace of the first few days.

Seeing Wang Chengpeng's parents humiliated gave them just as much pleasure as seeing Wang Chengpeng suffer a humiliation.

After all, a son's debts are the father's responsibility, and the sins committed by Wang Chengpeng should naturally be repaid by his parents.

But as the rumors cooled down, Shen Wei could no longer find that feeling.

Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua are indeed isolated, but how much better off can they be?

Thanks to Kong Xiu's way of offending people, most of the people in the factory had some grudges against the Shen family and ignored him.

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Wei came up with another terrible idea, saying:

"Yanran, how about we turn this fake relationship into a real one?"

"As long as you step forward and identify Wang Chengpeng, it will be a piece of cake to accuse him of having illicit relationships with women."

Upon hearing Shen Wei's terrible idea, Liu Yanran screamed in alarm, saying:
"Shen Wei, you've gone mad."

"Having affairs with women? While Wang Chengpeng is being punished, do you think I'm going to get away with it?"

"That's a serious crime that could get you shot at! How could you come up with such a crazy idea?" It's no wonder Liu Yanran was so agitated; having illicit relationships is a super serious crime in this era.

Despite Liu Yanran's reprimand, Shen Wei showed no embarrassment and continued to persuade her:
"Of course I know that accusing someone of having illicit relationships is very risky, but aren't you a victim? Victims are always innocent."

"Then you can just say that Wang Chengpeng raped you, and the Liu family will choose to break off the engagement. That will settle the matter, and only Wang Chengpeng will be sent to be shot."

"As for evidence, your big belly is the evidence."

“Our Wang family has been serving you the best food and drink, which has led to the child developing very quickly, and it will be very obvious in a short time.”

"If you just throw the dirty water from your unborn child onto Wang Chengpeng, he'll be badly injured even if he doesn't die."

"Of course, things shouldn't have escalated to this point. I have another good idea, I don't know if you want to hear it."

Although Shen Wei's idea was somewhat absurd, upon closer examination, it actually made some sense.

Yes, Liu Yanran only needs to pretend to be a victim to escape legal punishment, and then the only one who will be hurt will be Wang Chengpeng.

It was precisely because Shen Wei's idea worked that Liu Yanran became curious and asked:

"And what is your other idea?"

Shen Wei smiled and said, "Although the method just now could have killed Wang Chengpeng without a burial place, it also carried some great risks."

"It will have a huge impact not only on your reputation, but also on mine."

"After all, people will think that the child in your belly is Wang Chengpeng's child, which sounds incredibly disgusting."

"Besides that, I have another way that has the best of both worlds."

"This will both protect your reputation, Yanran, and allow us to profit from it."

At this point, Shen Wei deliberately paused and said:

"What do you think about us threatening Wang Chengpeng with this matter to get money?"

"If we can get three or five hundred yuan from them, our Shen family's life will be much better."

As she listened to Shen Wei's story, Liu Yanran's eyes lit up.

Yes, killing Wang Chengpeng would only give her a chance to vent her anger, but it wouldn't actually do her any good.

However, by using this incident as leverage to blackmail Wang Chengpeng for compensation, she could not only gain significant benefits but also humiliate him, making it a win-win situation.

Don't be fooled by how well the Wang family is doing now; isn't it all because they extorted a thousand or two yuan from me?

If I could earn a thousand or two thousand yuan myself, I could live a much better life.

Thinking this, Liu Yanran said, "Your idea is indeed very good."

"But who should do this?"

The thought of Wang Chengpeng's merciless wooden stick and iron feet made Shen Wei instinctively shudder.

Only those who have experienced it firsthand know that Wang Chengpeng is not as kind and approachable as he seems.

If the other party gets angry and attacks me, wouldn't I suffer severe physical pain?
No, I can't do this myself.

Thinking this, Shen Wei chuckled and said, "Yanran, this is ultimately a matter between you and Wang Chengpeng."

"If you, the party involved, don't come forward, how can Wang Chengpeng believe you're really going to sue him?"

After saying this, Shen Wei subconsciously shrank back. He knew how unreasonable his words were and was afraid of being met with Liu Yanran's wrath.

However, this time Liu Yanran did not refuse at all. Instead, she sweetly said:
“Brother Shen, you’re right. I’ll handle this. We must make sure Wang Chengpeng compensates us three hundred yuan.”

"This matter should be done sooner rather than later; I'll go now."

At this point, Liu Yanran touched her large pregnant belly and then went straight out the door.

Her eagerness wasn't for anything good; it was simply because she had no intention of extorting just 300 yuan from Wang Chengpeng.

You should know that Wang Chengpeng had extorted one or two thousand yuan from her before, so if he wanted to extort money from her in return, it naturally couldn't be less than two thousand yuan.

However, if this matter is told to Shen Wei, or if it is done in Shen Wei's name, then wouldn't the two thousand yuan become the Shen family's property, and have almost nothing to do with Liu Yanran?

A married daughter-in-law is like water spilled from a bowl; once married, she is gone.
Under normal circumstances, Liu Yanran would not have any objection to the Shen family doing that, after all, they are already family, so who else would take the money if not the Shen family?

However, Liu Yanran had no sense of belonging to the Shen family at all; she simply regarded it as a parasitic family that helped raise her children.

She was constantly searching for evidence to divorce Shen Wei, and as soon as the time was right, she would not hesitate to present this evidence to him and divorce him.

That's why she couldn't possibly stand by and watch such a large sum of money, money earned through her own sacrifice and hard work, be taken away by the Shen family.

That's why she decided to take the initiative to handle the matter.

At that time, she only needs to have Wang Chengpeng write two IOUs, one for three hundred yuan, as a token for the Shen family to see.

The other one was an IOU for two thousand yuan, which was the money that truly belonged to Liu Yanran.

With this in mind, Liu Yanran's thoughts became increasingly active.

Despite being heavily pregnant, she moved with incredible speed and quickly found a bicycle at the Liu family's house, then rode towards the Wang family's house.

……

In the courtyard, Wang Chengpeng was practicing boxing.

As his boxing skills became more refined, Wang Chengpeng's fighting ability also became increasingly formidable, enabling him to easily perform feats like breaking bricks with his bare hands, much like a qigong master.

Moreover, Wang Chengpeng's body gradually became stronger through exercise. Although he looked well-proportioned and even a bit thin, he was actually full of muscles and looked extremely powerful.

Unfortunately, Wang Chengpeng was extremely careful to hide his true nature, and apart from his family, only An Qiuyun had occasionally seen his true face.

The others, however, had the privilege of not witnessing Wang Chengpeng's physique.

After all, the family has three guard dogs with a keen sense of smell. After being trained by Zhu Hong, they can warn strangers from a distance.

Wang Wang Wang! ! !
Just as Wang Chengpeng was practicing his boxing with great enthusiasm, Da Jin was the first to sound the alarm, which meant that a stranger had probably visited the Wang family.

Although a sugar factory was built nearby, the Wang family still lived in a remote corner of Wangjia Village, with no neighbors nearby and naturally no one would visit them.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wang Chengpeng got up and went back to his room. If someone really was looking for him, the others would definitely call him.

However, before Wang Chengpeng could return to the house, a familiar scream rang out from outside the door:
"You damned dogs, stay away from me! If you harm my child, even a hundred of your dog lives wouldn't be enough to pay for it!"

(End of this chapter)