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

Chapter 265 Unspeakable
Standing by the stove, Wang Chengpeng seemed to be possessed by a culinary god, and even his aura became sharp.

Heat the wok, pour in the few pieces of pork fat that were reserved beforehand, and stir-fry them quickly. Soon, glistening oil seeps out.

Aunt Zhao's family was quite poor; apart from a little salt, there was nothing else to be seen as a seasoning.

However, this was no challenge for Wang Chengpeng. Taking advantage of the fact that the pot was already moistened by the pork, he quickly put all the sliced ​​meat into the pot and started stir-frying it.

Under his miraculous skill, the slices of meat not only did not stick together at all, but also transformed into fluttering butterflies, dancing in the air.

Sizzle,

Under the influence of high temperature, the aroma of the meat slices was quickly released, filling the air with fragrance, making Aunt Zhao, who was standing nearby, drool.

She hadn't eaten meat in a long time, let alone this stir-fried pork slices that looked so delicious.

Feeling that the heat was just right, Wang Chengpeng grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it evenly around the pan, then stirred it a couple more times before taking it out of the pan.

Looking at the bowl of stir-fried pork slices in front of her, which looked and smelled delicious, Aunt Zhao asked with some surprise:
"Xiao Wang, could it be that you work in a state-run restaurant? You have such excellent cooking skills."

With a shy smile, Wang Chengpeng said, "With my skill level, how could I possibly become a chef in a state-run restaurant? I just make dishes haphazardly, which are barely edible."

"When we eat later, Aunt Zhao, please don't mind that I wasted such good ingredients."

Some of the dishes looked delicious, so Aunt Zhao immediately and enthusiastically served them out, saying:

"Xiao Wang, I originally said I'd treat you to dinner, but in the end you had to pay. I'm really sorry."

"When we eat, I'll tell my family about your search for your relatives and see if they remember anything."

"Don't let my mother's age fool you, her memory is exceptional."

"She went out to visit friends this morning, and she should be back around that time."

Just as Aunt Zhao finished speaking, a dissatisfied grumbling came from outside the door:
"Zhao Xiufen, you're such a spendthrift, actually messing around with meat at home."

"I could smell that fragrance from more than ten meters away."

"Don't you dare sneak a bite. We'll eat together after everyone in the family is here."

Thump, thump, thump—that's the sound of a cane striking the ground.

Then came an elderly woman with a full head of white hair, who was none other than Zhao Xiufen's mother-in-law, Liu Guixiang.

Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng, Liu Guixiang was visibly taken aback and said:
"Xiufang, who is this young comrade?"

If she hadn't felt that her daughter-in-law was simply not good enough for Wang Chengpeng, she would have almost thought that the two of them were having an affair in broad daylight at home.

Fearing that Liu Guixiang might misunderstand, Zhao Xiufen immediately explained the situation.

In the end, Zhao Xiufen complained with dissatisfaction:

"Mom, am I the kind of person who wastes money?"

"These pork pieces were all brought by Xiao Wang, and he insisted on cooking them."

"Mother, you have the best memory. After eating Xiao Wang's food, you have to help him remember who Zhao Yuju is."

"I feel like this name is familiar, but I just can't remember it right now."

Seeing that Zhao Xiufen hadn't squandered money, Liu Guixiang's expression softened considerably. However, when she heard the name Zhao Yuju, her expression changed noticeably for a moment.

Although she concealed it quickly, Wang Chengpeng, with his keen senses, still noticed and immediately pressed her for an answer:

"Grandma Liu, you seem to know about my grandmother Zhao Yuju."

“It wasn’t easy for me to come all this way, so please tell me so that I can have an explanation for my search for my relatives.”

Liu Guixiang glanced at Wang Chengpeng, then at the generous plate of stir-fried meat on the table. After hesitating for a moment, she finally spoke, saying:

"If Zhao Yuju is in her sixties or seventies, then I would recognize her."

After considering Zhao Yuju's age, which matched what Liu Guixiang had said, Wang Chengpeng said:

My grandmother happens to be this age.

"Grandma Liu, if you know anything, please be sure to tell me."

"I will remember your kindness and will definitely repay it."

With a sigh, Liu Guixiang said, "Never mind, Zhao Yuju's matter isn't really a secret. Although not many people in the village know about it, there are still some."

"It's not that I don't want to tell you, but it's just that things about her are a bit difficult to talk about."

"If you really want to hear it, you'd better be prepared, because things may not be as wonderful as you imagine."

Prepared? Well, I'm far too prepared.

A glint of information flashed in Wang Chengpeng's eyes, and he said with a smile, "Grandma Liu, please speak freely. I was prepared."

"No matter what my grandmother's past was like, she is still my grandmother, and I can accept that."

Liu Guixiang looked at Wang Chengpeng with great satisfaction and praised him:

"Zhao Yuju herself isn't much, but she did give birth to a pretty good grandson."

"I'm just curious, where did she get the courage to ask her descendants to come and find her relatives after doing such a terrible thing?"

At this point, Liu Guixiang paused and said, "Xiao Wang, I think you must also be curious about why your grandmother married so far away and never came back to Zhao Family Village."

At this point, Liu Guixiang snorted coldly and said:
"It's all because she did something terribly wrong back then, even ruining the reputation of our Zhao Family Village and becoming infamous throughout the surrounding area."

"It's just that Wangjia Village is far away and no one knew about Zhao Yuju's good reputation, otherwise she might not have been able to get married."

Hearing this, Wang Chengpeng asked with some curiosity, "What exactly did my grandmother do back then to end up being so hated by everyone?"

With a disdainful sneer, Liu Guixiang said, "What else could it be? Of course, it's messing around with men and women."

"Her parents were furious and said they would kick Zhao Yuju out of the house."

"It's just that she ran away quickly back then, otherwise she probably would have been dragged to be drowned in a pig cage."

"Zhao Yuju herself is not bad, but she just fell in love with a playboy in the city and they got together."

"In the end, they just packed their bags and left, but she ruined her reputation and became the laughingstock of the surrounding area."

"But she kept saying that the other person had some kind of hardship and would definitely come back to her."

"It's ridiculous. Why didn't she try harder? Why did she rush to marry an honest man?"

At this point, Liu Guixiang realized that she might have been a little too agitated, and immediately apologized to Wang Chengpeng, saying:
"Xiao Wang, I'm really sorry, I wasn't targeting you, it's just that what I just said is true."

Zhao Yuju was not Wang Chengpeng's biological grandmother, and her reputation was none of Wang Chengpeng's business.

"Grandma Liu, I know it's not your fault. You're just a bit too quick to condemn evil."

“My grandmother was in the wrong back then, and she even damaged the reputation of the entire Zhao family village. This is the punishment she deserves.”

"I'm just curious, what was that young master's name back then?" "And what was it about him that made my grandmother so infatuated?"

With a self-deprecating laugh, Liu Guixiang said, "Xiao Wang, you are a reasonable person after all."

“What’s past is past, and I didn’t really want to say more. I only chimed in because you seem like a good person.”

At this point, Liu Guixiang seemed to be reminiscing about the past, her eyes filled with longing as she said:

"You might not know the answer to this if you ask others, after all, that young master only stayed in Zhao Family Village for less than half a month."

"It's funny to think about it now. I was one of his suitors back then, but I realized something was wrong and that's why I stopped pursuing him."

"His name is very ordinary, just two simple characters—Guo Wei."

"But he was extremely skillful; sending flowers, writing letters, and using sweet words were all second nature to him."

“We country girls have never seen the methods of city people. Many people fell into the trap back then, and your grandmother Zhao Yuju was the worst among them.”

"..."

After rambling on and on, Liu Guixiang finally gave a general account of Guo Wei's methods.

Perhaps she wasn't so rational back then, and she was still resentful about Guo Wei's departure, otherwise she wouldn't have remembered these details so clearly.

Wang Chengpeng's good memory allowed him to recall these details roughly, and his intuition told him that these things might be the key to breaking the deadlock.

Finally, Liu Guixiang realized what was happening and said self-deprecatingly:

"I'm really getting old; I've been rambling on and on for so long."

"It's only because Xiao Wang is polite, otherwise he might not have been willing to listen to all my nonsense."

“Zhao Yuju’s house is easy to find. It’s just two houses to the right after you go out of our house.”

"However, I think you've definitely made a wasted trip this time. Zhao Yuju was expelled from the list back then, and now she wants to come back to claim her family. That's simply impossible."

"It's just a pity for Xiao Wang. He came all this way, only to end up with nothing."

It was at this moment that the rest of Zhao Xiufen's family returned, interrupting the conversation at just the right time.

Everyone was initially surprised by the sudden appearance of stir-fried meat on the table, but then they were delighted and quickly began to eat it happily.

That's stir-fried meat, a delicacy only available during the Chinese New Year.

The children in the family ate with shining eyes, thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Having completed his journey through Zhao Family Village, Wang Chengpeng has now found all the clues and has a general idea of ​​what happened back then.

However, due to the passage of time, it is difficult to find the key figures and evidence. Perhaps he can only uncover the truth by taking a different approach.

Wang Chengpeng declined Aunt Zhao's offer to take him to Zhao Yuju's hometown to meet her relatives. He left behind the gifts he had brought to cover up his visit, along with some money, before riding his bicycle away.

The trip went more smoothly than he had imagined. The next test would be his ability to connect all the clues together with a single thread.

After riding for another two or three hours, Wang Chengpeng finally made it back before it got completely dark.

Before even reaching the courtyard gate, Wang Chengpeng sensed that the courtyard seemed unusually lively today.

The occasional barking of dogs made the house seem especially lively.

Upon opening the courtyard gate, Wang Chengpeng indeed saw a familiar figure working in the woodshed. Who else could it be but Zhu Hong, whom he hadn't seen in a long time?
Thanks to the money Wang Chengpeng gave him before leaving, Zhu Hong, despite having wasted his time traveling, did not appear to have lost any weight.

The moment Zhu Hong saw Wang Chengpeng, he greeted him warmly, his face beaming with praise, as if he had done something very proud of himself.

Wang Chengpeng, being cooperative, immediately inquired about the Liu family's situation, saying:

"Zhu Hong, how's your surveillance of the Liu family going?"

"You've returned in just a few days, so they probably haven't gone very far."

This seems to be a matter of course, since Liu Dongran couldn't really go too far with Liu Yanran, who was pregnant.

As expected, Zhu Hong's observations quickly confirmed Wang Chengpeng's guess.

Zhu Hong said with a smile, "Brother Wang was right. They really didn't go very far."

"After arriving at Zhoujia Village on the side, they found an empty house that no one lived in and settled down temporarily."

"Just to be on the safe side, I stayed in Zhoujia Village for another day. Seeing that they really didn't intend to leave, I came back to inform Brother Wang."

Zhoujia Village? That seems to be the hometown of Liu Yanran's mother, Zhou Erhua, which is to be expected.

Wang Chengpeng nodded and said, "Zhu Hong, you did a very good job this time."

"You've finally come back, why don't you rest for a couple of days first, instead of thinking about doing things right away."

Zhu Hong brandished the axe, indicating he had plenty of strength, before saying nonchalantly:
"I'm full of energy. If you don't let me do anything, then I'll really feel uncomfortable."

"Brother Wang, you go ahead and do your work. I'll rest when I'm tired."

Seeing this, Wang Chengpeng simply shook his head slightly and did not continue to persuade him.

That's just Zhu Hong's personality. What he says is definitely not just polite talk; it's his true thought.

He'll naturally rest when he's tired; forcing him to rest will only make him feel uncomfortable.

However, now that Liu Yanran's whereabouts have been obtained, it's time to meet with Shen Wei.

The wicked need the wicked to torment them. It's not convenient for him to go and cause trouble for Liu Yanran. It would be better to let Shen Wei out so they can torment each other.

Although the case regarding Liu Yanran's promiscuous relationships has been overturned, Wang Chengpeng felt that letting her be shot was too lenient.

Often, death is the end of everything, while living is the real suffering.

It's time to let Liu Yanran experience the pain she suffered in her previous life, the pain of being worse than dead.

With that thought in mind, Wang Chengpeng walked straight into the hall.

At that moment, the whole family was gathered around the radio listening to a program, and they had all come together.

Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng return, Liu Chunhua immediately asked with concern:

"Xiao Peng, how's the matter going?"

"You're always running around, and I get really anxious when I don't see you."

Wang Tieshan glared at Liu Chunhua with annoyance and said:
“It’s because your son is capable that he’s always out there. Don’t talk nonsense.”

"Xiaopeng, if you need anything, just do it. Don't worry about us."

"With a job at the sugar factory, your parents are finally not a burden to you anymore, which is something to be proud of."

"By the way, the sugar beets are almost ripe. Captain Wang said there will be an opening ceremony the day after tomorrow, and then the sugar factory will officially start operations. He asked me to ask if you have time to go."

(End of this chapter)