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

Chapter 268 A Fickle and Treacherous Person
Just when Wang Chengpeng thought Wang Degong would readily agree, he slowly spoke:

"Although your grandfather is old and has become an old man that everyone dislikes, he is still the head of this family."

"Take this money. Even if it's not for the bracelet, it's a token of my appreciation."

"I was blind and ignorant when we divided the family property last time, and I didn't see the situation clearly at all, which is why your family suffered."

"This money is rightfully yours!"

Looking at the old man in front of me, I saw that his eyes were clear, with a hint of excitement in them.

Wang Chengpeng could tell that this was Wang Degong's true thought, not just a show.

After all, Zhao Yuju and her group wouldn't even do a show for five yuan, let alone a show for two hundred yuan.

However, Wang Chengpeng still firmly refused at this point:
“Grandpa, if our family were living in poverty and unable to take care of ourselves, I certainly wouldn’t refuse this money.”

"But our family is doing quite well now. My parents have become workers and have a livelihood."

"Under these circumstances, how could I possibly want your money?"

"At worst, you can just consider this money as something I've already taken, and returning it to you as a token of our family's filial piety."

When the topic of the workers' jobs came up, Wang Degong's eyes became cloudy again.

He hadn't forgotten that he was also one of the accomplices in forcibly seizing Wang Chengpeng's job.

With a trembling voice, Wang Degong said, "I'm sorry about the work."

Wang Degong tried to make a promise, but found that he simply didn't have the ability to do so.

Shaking his head slightly, Wang Chengpeng said with a smile, "Grandpa, don't say I'm sorry. After all, I think this job is a great deal."

"It was only because my grandfather understood that our family was struggling that he agreed to the request."

"Alright, it's not too late now. I have some things to take care of at home, so I'll head back first."

"Grandpa, you should rest well. I'll come to see you again when I have time."

Seeing that the topic seemed set to go on and on, Wang Chengpeng took the initiative to ask to leave.

Little did he know that his use of "my home" would further hurt Wang Degong.

With a sigh, Wang Degong waved his hand, indicating that Wang Chengpeng could leave.

Watching Wang Chengpeng's departing figure, Wang Degong murmured to himself:
"It's such a tragedy that such a good family has ended up falling apart like this."

"I was so stupid. If I had noticed their signs earlier, maybe this family wouldn't have ended up like this."

But it's too late for Wang Degong to regret it now. He was the one who ruined the lives of his two most filial sons, leaving only Wang Jinshan, that scoundrel.

Without comparison, there is no harm; the more the family split up, the more he could appreciate the goodness of Wang Yinshan and Wang Tieshan.

Just as Wang Chengpeng stepped out of the main house, he was stopped by Wang Chun'an, who eagerly asked:

"Cousin, how's the situation going?"

"You can rest assured when I handle things; there's absolutely no chance of anything going wrong."

He took out twenty-five yuan that he had prepared beforehand and handed it over, saying with a smile:
"My cousin is really capable; he helped me a lot with ease."

“I told my grandfather about this, and he said he would help me take charge and investigate the specific situation.”

"Ownership of the bracelet will be decided once the situation is clear."

Wang Chun'an quickly put away the remaining payment given by Wang Chengpeng, his eyes dark and unreadable, and said:
"That's wonderful! Congratulations, cousin, on getting your wish."

"By the way, cousin, I have something to do, so I won't see you off yet. We can chat again next time."

Without waiting for Wang Chengpeng's response, Wang Chun'an vanished without a trace, leaving Wang Chengpeng shaking his head and thinking to himself that his cousin was really a bit unreliable.

However, both sides are two families, and they are not related by blood. The other party can do things for money, which is Wang Chengpeng's highest requirement for him.

With that thought in mind, Wang Chengpeng walked straight out of the Wang family's old house.

When he went out, Zhao Yuju was still there, and Wang Chengpeng greeted her with a smile:
"Grandma, I'll come see you again next time."

With a disgruntled snort, Zhao Yuju muttered, "Who cares if you come to see me?"

Then, as if remembering something, he said:
"Remember to bring more things next time you come; what you brought isn't even enough to fill our teeth."

This kind of behavior is a perfect example of wanting both ways.

The things Wang Chengpeng brought were a token of filial piety for his grandparents, and had absolutely nothing to do with Wang Jinshan's family. He had no obligation to support this family of bloodsuckers.

Only Zhao Yuju

Wang Chengpeng wasn't annoyed; he just smiled and said, "I'll definitely do it next time."

He then got on his bicycle and hurriedly left the Wang family's old house.

Having learned from her previous experience, although Zhao Yuju was somewhat tempted to get her hands on Wang Chengpeng's bicycle, she ultimately didn't dare to make a move, thus avoiding any further complications.

Little did Wang Chengpeng know that less than ten minutes after he left, Wang Chun'an came out of the house, ran to Zhao Yuju in a fawning manner, and said:
"Grandma, I have something important to tell you."

"Just now, when I was taking my cousin inside, I thought I heard him talking to my grandfather about something related to the bracelet through the door."

"I just listened casually at the time, and I didn't know the specifics of the situation."

"But I think Grandma already knows about this, so I came here specifically to tell you."

bracelet?

Upon hearing this keyword, Zhao Yuju's expression immediately turned strange.

What could two grown men like Wang Degong and Wang Chengpeng be discussing about bracelets? This matter must be related to her.

Suddenly, as if she remembered something, she didn't care about Wang Chun'an's previous actions and hurriedly ran back to the inner room.

Perhaps influenced by Wang Chengpeng, Wang Degong was not in the inner room at this time, but went out to relax.

Ignoring everything else, Zhao Yuju rushed under the bed to search for the wooden box containing the bracelet.

After seeing that the wooden box was intact and the bracelet was still unharmed after opening it with the key, she finally breathed a slight sigh of relief and murmured:

"Thankfully, it was just a false alarm."

"If Wang Degong really finds out about this bracelet, it will be a huge problem."

However, just as she was about to put the wooden box back in its place, she suddenly woke up and murmured:

"No, better safe than sorry."

"I need to hide this bracelet somewhere else to avoid any mistakes." With that thought, Zhao Yuju glanced around the inner room, stuffed the wooden box into another hidden place, and then breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied.

Little did she know that her extremely safe move was witnessed by an eye outside the window.

Wang Chun'an had his reasons for doing so.

The simplest plan is to resell the bracelet's location, making money off Wang Chengpeng more than once.

Another thought was that since the bracelet was already in Zhao Yuju's hands, it belonged to her family, and they couldn't let Wang Chengpeng trick them into taking it back.

As for who the bracelet originally belonged to, he didn't care at all.

Such behavior truly befits a fickle and petty person.

Fortunately, Wang Chengpeng didn't have high expectations of Wang Chun'an and had already taken precautions against him. He used a trick to successfully retrieve the bracelet first.

The remaining newly made bracelet was not his grandmother's keepsake, so it wasn't something that Wang Chengpeng's family couldn't part with. Even if it were lost, the loss to Wang Chengpeng wouldn't be significant.

Moreover, Wang Chengpeng had a backup plan. The gold shop he went to was the largest state-owned gold shop in town, and people who wanted to sell their goods for money usually went there.

Wang Chengpeng had a plan, and told Manager Zhou that if anyone came to sell the bracelet, they should keep it and not deal with it, as he was willing to pay a high price to buy it back.

If Zhao Yuju truly harbors evil intentions and plans to do something to the bracelet, she will face imprisonment.

Blocking this road made things much easier. As long as the items were still in the Wang family's old house, Wang Chengpeng had a million ways to get them back.

But that's a story for another time. Wang Chengpeng was in a great mood after finishing his business and was on his way home.

Perhaps because the training was already in place, or perhaps to prepare for the opening ceremony of the Dapeng Sugar Factory tomorrow, the factory gave everyone a rare day off, and my parents were resting at home.

Having grown accustomed to Wang Chengpeng's early departures and late returns, Wang Meiyan asked in surprise when she saw him come home so early:
"Brother, why are you back so soon?"

"You went to town, why didn't you bring me anything? You're so stingy."

Wang Meiyan's complaint had barely finished when Liu Chunhua interrupted her, saying:
"Xiao Yan, you're not a child anymore, be a little more sensible."

“Your brother is going there to take care of business, not to have fun. So his priority is business. Bringing a lot of stuff would just be a hassle.”

"Xiao Yan, don't bother your brother so much. I'll buy you whatever you want to eat next time I go to town."

After her family's financial situation improved, Liu Chunhua spoke with much more confidence, and at least she no longer lived a life of poverty as before.

However, this is all thanks to Wang Chengpeng. If he hadn't taken the initiative to cultivate his family's spending awareness, they would probably still only be thinking about saving money.

Saving money for their son's wedding, saving money for their daughter's dowry, saving money to make life better—that's how selfless parents are in giving to their children—at least that's how Wang Chengpeng's parents are.

Wang Meiyan mischievously stuck out her tongue and hummed:

"If you don't want it, then don't. I'm the most obedient and well-behaved person, and I won't cause any trouble for the family."

With the improvement in her diet, Wang Meiyan, who was originally thin and bony, has gradually become fuller and even slightly plump.

Her chubby little face, paired with her big, watery eyes, made her look incredibly adorable.

With a smile, Wang Chengpeng said, "I'll bring you something nice next time I have time."

"But school starts soon, so you'd better pay attention to your studies."

"Don't just focus on having fun and forget all the knowledge points, then you'll cry if you don't do well on the exam."

Wang Meiyan only remembered that she had something important to do, such as going to school, after being reminded by Wang Chengpeng, and her eyes immediately dimmed.

However, she immediately snorted defiantly and said:
"I would never do poorly on the test, nor would I ever cry."

"Keep these things for me first, and give them to me as a reward after I get first place in the exam. That's what I deserve."

"Okay, then let's do it your way." As he spoke, Wang Chengpeng took a wooden box out of his pocket.

As the wooden box was opened, a rather antique-looking bracelet immediately came into view.
Its appearance was exactly the same as the sketches that Wang Chengpeng had drawn before.

Wang Chengpeng handed the wooden box to Wang Tieshan and said in a deep voice:
"Father, I have successfully retrieved the bracelet unharmed."

Although the bracelet is of great significance to Wang Chengpeng's family, he felt it would be best to give it to his father.

Although Wang Chengpeng and Wang Meiyan lived a miserable life, they were loved by their parents and were not lacking in affection.

Liu Chunhua was similar; her family was neither good nor bad, at least they were fair.

Only her own father, Wang Tieshan, had been harshly criticized by Zhao Yuju since childhood and had never experienced maternal love. He needed this bracelet as a comfort.

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Wang Tieshan was instinctively stunned, especially when he clearly saw the appearance of the bracelet, his eyes became even more dazed.

In fact, Wang Tieshan was far from as calm as he appeared.

Ever since he learned about his origins, he has woken up countless times in his dreams, imagining what kind of person his biological mother was.

He had no memories of the past, so he could only rely on his meager memories to sketch out his biological mother, and in the end, all he got was a vague figure.

Looking at the completely unfamiliar bracelet in front of him, he suddenly had an inspiration, as if he saw a kind woman wearing it and smiling at him.

This great mother, who was willing to give up her own life to save Wang Tieshan, seemed to become more three-dimensional at this moment.

Wang Tieshan's hand trembled slightly as he slowly reached out and gently touched the bracelet, as if he could feel his mother's warmth in doing so.

This bracelet has no temperature, yet it feels like scorching magma.

His thoughts raced like a runaway horse.

Once, on a quiet night, he gazed at the night sky alone, his longing growing wildly like weeds, yet finding nowhere to rest.

Now, this bracelet is like a key, unlocking a long-sealed door deep within his heart.

He seemed to see his mother sitting in the yard on a warm afternoon, the sunlight shining on her, outlining a soft halo around her.

She wore the bracelet, busily mending his clothes with her hands, a gentle smile on her face.

When he fell and got hurt, his mother's distressed and anxious eyes, and her warm embrace, seemed like they were still yesterday.

Just as he had fantasized countless times about Zhao Yuju doing things for him...

Tears welled up uncontrollably and dripped onto the bracelet, leaving a sorrowful stain.

After a moment, Wang Tieshan seemed to understand, wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, and said:

"Son, thank you."

"But I can't be too selfish. This bracelet is the most precious treasure of our entire Wang family, and it should be owned by us all."

(End of this chapter)