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

Chapter 318 Regret
Wang Hai was also completely baffled by this matter, since there was no way there could be any evidence for such an old story.

In a daze, he suddenly remembered what Wang Chengpeng had told him before he left: if he needed evidence, he should go to him.

Considering that Wang Chengpeng was capable enough to set up such a terrible trap, it was impossible for Zhao Yuju to escape, so he immediately had the idea of ​​coming over to inquire.

Without giving a direct answer, Wang Chengpeng got up and went back to his room, where he soon took out a tape recorder and started playing it.

The tape recorder was cleverly hidden, very close to Zhao Yuju's location, so the recording quality was excellent, capturing the entire conversation between the three of them clearly.

Hearing Zhao Yuju's outrageous remarks again, Wang Chengpeng remained completely unmoved this time, because he knew that Zhao Yuju would soon face her own trial.

“This cassette tape is a backup. You can take it as evidence and it should bring Zhao Yuju to justice.”

Past experiences taught Wang Chengpeng to keep a backup plan, but he felt that nothing would go wrong this time, so he didn't hide the fact that the tape was a backup.

Taking the cassette tape from Wang Chengpeng, Wang Hai finally breathed a sigh of relief and praised him:

"Comrade Wang, I knew I would have made the right choice by coming to you."

"To be honest, I think it's a waste of your talents to stay at home. If you were to become a police officer, you would definitely be able to bring criminals to justice."

With a helpless smile, Wang Chengpeng said, "Being a policeman isn't something I can just decide to do."

"Alright, Captain Wang, once you get the tape, go do what you need to do. There's no need to waste your time here with me."

Faced with Wang Chengpeng's ruthless order to leave, Wang Hai was speechless.

He was the militia captain of Wangjia Village, someone countless people fawned over. How could Wang Chengpeng treat him like a nobody?

Unfortunately, he had no choice but to put on a smiling face, after all, he knew Wang Chengpeng's extraordinary abilities.

If you accidentally offend him, you'll definitely be in deep trouble.

As Wang Chengpeng had predicted, with the recording as key evidence, Zhao Yuju soon faced a real trial.

Because the incident was so egregious and aroused public outrage, the matter was handled very quickly. Zhao Yuju was soon taken to the shooting range, ending her wicked life.

Despite her seemingly invincible age, it ultimately failed to save her in the slightest, and she had to swallow the bitter fruit of her own actions.

Zhao Yuju died, but what happened after her death became a troublesome matter.

When Wang Degong received the notification from the police station to claim the body, he nearly beat the person responsible for delivering the message out, cursing loudly:
"You actually want me to collect that shameless woman's corpse? What are you really up to?"

"She doesn't deserve to be on our Wang family's land. Whoever wants to collect her corpse can do so."

Left with no other choice, the messenger had to go to Wang Jinshan.

No matter what, Wang Jinshan is Zhao Yuju's biological son.

Furthermore, given that Zhao Yuju had always treated Wang Jinshan's family very well, it was perfectly reasonable for him to collect the body.

The messenger was still verbally abused, and Wang Jinshan's curses were no quieter than Wang Degong's:

“I don’t have such a shameless mother. I am a member of the Wang family, and I will always be a member of the Wang family. I have nothing to do with her.”

Wang Jinshan wasn't stupid either; after his background was exposed, his situation became awkward.

Unlike the Wang Chengpeng family, who had an excellent reputation in the village, it's now questionable whether he even has the right to bear the surname Wang.

In particular, Wang Degong has already moved to Wang Yinshan's house, making his attitude very clear.

In order to justify his refusal to leave, Wang Jinshan could only cling to Wang Degong, constantly referring to himself as Wang Degong's eldest son.

In this situation, he would have to sever all ties with Zhao Yuju, so how could he possibly collect her body?
His choice was perfectly reasonable in terms of interests, but many things in this world are not simply about interests.

Even if he manages to get away with it this way, he'll inevitably be vilified for the rest of his life, and his descendants will never be able to hold their heads high for generations.

In the end, Wang Yinshan bore the brunt of it all. He simply couldn't bring himself to leave his mother's body exposed in the wilderness. After much persuasion, he finally convinced Wang Degong to retrieve Zhao Yuju's body.

Although the body was recovered, such a shameless person who messed around was not qualified to be buried in the Wang family's ancestral tomb.

In the end, they found a relatively scenic, desolate place, erected a simple monument, buried it, and thus hastily concluded the matter.

Although Zhao Yuju was extremely vicious, the debt is settled with death. As time goes by, as long as certain people don't deliberately cause trouble, this storm that once shocked the entire Wangjia Village will gradually subside with the passage of time.

Upon learning that Wang Degong had become increasingly thin and bedridden due to the blows of a series of truths, Wang Tieshan's expression grew even more worried.

Seeing his father's hesitant expression, wanting to visit but also conflicted, Wang Chengpeng knew he was considering his family's opinion.

Although Wang Chengpeng's actions were more than enough to repay the debt of gratitude Wang Degong had once shown him, some things are not simply a matter of one minus one equaling zero.

As Wang Chengpeng once said, if you calculate things so clearly, then it becomes business, not family.

The reason he argued so clearly with Wang Degong was simply because he didn't want to be morally blackmailed by the other party and do things that crossed his bottom line without restraint.

Thinking of this, Wang Chengpeng took the initiative to approach Wang Tieshan and talk about the matter:

"Dad, you can go visit Grandpa if you want, right?"

"I've said it before: the reason I've divided things so clearly is not because I intend to completely sever this family bond, but because I don't want to be constantly controlled by things from the past."

A hint of surprise flashed in Wang Tieshan's eyes as he confirmed again:

"Xiao Peng, are you really not bothered by this?"

Shaking his head, Wang Chengpeng said earnestly:
"Actually, I also wanted to go and see how Grandpa was doing, but I was a little embarrassed."

"If you want to go too, Dad, then we'll invite Mom and Xiaoyan to go together."

Upon hearing that Wang Chengpeng shared the same idea, Wang Tieshan grinned from ear to ear and said:

"It's good that you think the same way."

"Then let me go to the market to buy some things, and then I'll go visit Dad tomorrow?"

At this point, Wang Tieshan paused, then reversed his decision:
"How about now?"

"I'll go to town right away to buy some things to take to visit Dad."

Seeing Wang Tieshan's anxious look, Wang Chengpeng offered a suggestion, saying:

"How about we do it now? We don't need to go to the market to buy things. We have plenty of things at home, so we can just take them from home."

"Bring some more money..."

“My second uncle’s house was built with borrowed money and he still has a lot of debt. Grandpa’s living conditions over there probably aren’t very good. We should help him out as much as we can.”

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's understanding words, Wang Tieshan's smile grew even brighter, and he said:

"Yes, let's go now, and bring some more money."

"Xiaopeng, get ready quickly, I'll come and get you later." Looking at his father's expectant gaze, Wang Chengpeng sighed, thinking to himself that this might be the best solution to the problem.

If things are done too cruelly, Mother will be alright, but this matter will likely become a lifelong regret for Father.

Even if he were to be reborn, he would still be willing to protect his father's smile.

As Wang Chengpeng said, since his family's conditions improved, they have never lacked rare things like rice, flour, and oil, and they never need to go to town to buy them.

After a quick preparation, the family hurriedly went to where Wang Yinshan was currently living.

Although Wang Yinshan lived not far from Wang Chengpeng's house, his house was not as luxurious as Wang Chengpeng's; it was just a decent brick and tile house.

The three main rooms face south, with the white of fresh lime still showing on the brick walls. The roof is neatly covered with dark gray machine-made tiles, and two strings of golden corn and red peppers hang under the eaves, exuding a festive atmosphere.

The courtyard was paved with a flat, rammed earth floor, and a simple livestock shed was built on the west side, where some chickens and ducks were kept free-range.

On the east side is a newly built kitchen, with wisps of smoke still rising from the chimney.

New couplets were pasted on the door frame of the main room, and the door curtain was newly sewn from blue cloth with simple embroidery patterns on it.

Hearing the commotion, Wang Yinshan hurriedly came out. His trousers, which were faded from washing, still had mud spots on the cuffs, indicating that he was working.

Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng and his family, he paused for a moment, then jogged forward, awkwardly wiping his rough hands on his clothes.
"Oh dear! The third brother's family is here! Come in, come in!"

Looking at the large and small bags the group was carrying, Wang Yinshan grinned and said:

"You're here, why did you bring so much stuff?"

At this point, he turned and shouted loudly into the house:
"Xiufang! Quickly brew that packet of jasmine tea under the cabinet, the third brother's family is here!"

As he spoke, the wrinkles around Wang Yinshan's eyes revealed joy, yet also a hint of cautious flattery, as he rubbed his hands together repeatedly.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have gone and bought half a pound of meat first..."

How could Wang Yinshan not be enthusiastic towards Wang Tieshan's family?
Putting aside Wang Chengpeng's abilities, just look at this decent house in front of him. If it weren't for Wang Chengpeng's help, he really wouldn't be able to live in such a big house.

Lifting the meat he was carrying, Wang Tieshan said somewhat embarrassedly:
"Second brother, there's no need to go to so much trouble. We brought some meat with us, you can just take it and use it."

"We came here mainly to see Dad, but we don't know if it's convenient for us."

When everything was brought to the forefront, especially after the fig leaf of blood ties was completely torn away, Wang Tieshan's situation became somewhat awkward.

He might be willing to acknowledge this family bond, but the other person might not be.

Wang Yinshan's hand, which was holding the meat, froze in mid-air. His face was full of surprise as he asked:

"Third son, what's inconvenient about you coming to see your father?"

"Father is inside. He would be very happy to know that you have come to see him."

"Our house isn't as big as yours, so please don't be disgusted when you go inside."

Seeing that Wang Yinshan wasn't being distant, Wang Tieshan breathed a slight sigh of relief and said with a smile:
"How could that be?"

"It's all something you earned through your hard work, Second Brother. How could I have the right to complain?"

After placing their belongings in the kitchen, Wang Tieshan and his family walked into Wang Yinshan's main room.

inside the house,

Upon learning of their arrival, Sun Xiufang was making tea, while Wang Dani and Wang Erni eagerly pulled them to sit down.

Everything seemed to have changed, yet it also seemed to have remained the same. The atmosphere was much more harmonious than Wang Tieshan had imagined before he arrived.

Just as the group was chatting idly in the main room, the familiar sound of a cane rang out, followed by a trembling voice:

"Iron Mountain? Is Iron Mountain here?"

The person who came was naturally Wang Degong, but he didn't look too good. His once straight back was now hunched over like a fully drawn bow, and he had to pant heavily with every step he took.

His once ruddy face is now sallow and withered, his eye sockets are deeply sunken, and his cloudy eyes are bloodshot.

His once meticulously combed white hair was now standing on end in a mess, and the stubble on his chin was uneven, clearly indicating that he hadn't groomed it in a long time.

He was wearing a yellowed undershirt that hung loosely on his thin shoulders, with a few medicine stains on the hem.

The most horrifying thing is that the hands that used to be able to crack walnuts with their bare hands are now swollen and bony, with bulging veins and the right hand holding the cane is still trembling slightly uncontrollably.

With Wang Degong's arrival, a strong smell of Chinese medicine wafted over, suggesting that he had been drinking Chinese medicine for quite some time.

"Tieshan? Is Tieshan back?"

Wang Degong's hoarse voice sounded like sandpaper scraping across a table, but his dim eyes lit up instantly when he saw Wang Tieshan's family.

"Oh, Dad, why are you up?"

The moment Sun Xiufang saw Wang Degong walk out on his own, she screamed and rushed forward to support the trembling old man in front of her, only to find that someone was faster than her and directly supported Wang Degong, who had just stepped out of the room.

The person who helped Wang Degong up was naturally Wang Tieshan. He had heard that Wang Degong was sleeping, so he didn't disturb him. But he didn't expect that Wang Degong would come looking for him by following Wang Tieshan's voice.

Looking at the drastically changed Wang Degong, Wang Tieshan's eyes reddened, his throat bobbed a few times, and a thousand words surged in his chest, finally turning into a trembling call:

"Father, you've suffered so much."

The word "father" was uttered with a deep and heavy tone, as if it were drawn from the depths of the heart, carrying pent-up longing and heartache.

When Wang Degong heard the long-lost word "Father," his cloudy eyes suddenly lit up, as if a clear spring had suddenly gushed forth from a dried-up well.

He tremblingly reached out his withered hand and grabbed Wang Tieshan's arm, his nails almost digging into the flesh, but then quickly let go as if afraid of hurting his son.

"Good! Good! Good!"

The old man called out three times, each call louder than the last. His hunched back straightened slightly, and a flush of excitement rose on his sallow face.

"Tieshan, you're still as good as ever."

At this point, Wang Degong's voice suddenly choked up, and his hands, covered with age spots, trembled uncontrollably.

"Your father made a mistake, but I didn't expect you to still acknowledge my senile old age."

As he spoke, tears streamed down his wrinkled face, mingling with snot and smearing onto his gray stubble.

Those once sharp and shrewd eyes were now filled with regret, and her gaze darted away from the few people who dared not come to visit her.
He just stared intently at a certain spot on the ground, as if it were inscribed with the mistakes he had made.

Seeing him like this, Wang Tieshan felt a pang of sorrow in his heart and quickly helped him to the main seat: "Father, please sit down and talk."

After the old man was seated, he said in a low voice, "This is not your fault, it's all your fault."

(End of this chapter)