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

Finally realizing he was wrong? Cao Deming, whose head was already held high, raised it even higher.

Turning around, and seeing Wang Chengpeng's bewildered expression, he declared his victory:

"What? You finally realize you were wrong?"

"Although you are arrogant and conceited, I am, after all, a teacher of high moral character. As long as you sincerely apologize and describe your mistakes in more than five hundred words, I will forgive you."

Cao Deming is not an easy person to talk to; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he's a bit of a nitpicker.

If it weren't for the fact that he still needed to use Wang Chengpeng's abilities to increase his own merits, he wouldn't have let Wang Chengpeng off so easily.

However, Wang Chengpeng, upon hearing his words, showed no intention of admitting his mistake. Instead, he opened his mouth and uttered another set of extremely cruel words:

"Since Principal Cao looks down on the villagers of Wangjia Village so much, then there is naturally no need for me to insist on occupying the title of a student of No. 1 Middle School."

"I will go to the principal of No. 2 Middle School to discuss the transfer of student status. I hope Principal Cao will cooperate at that time."

At this point, Wang Chengpeng pretended to be troubled and said:

"Actually, I didn't want to go through all that trouble, but Principal Cao really looks down on me, so there's nothing I can do about it."

"Alright, Principal Cao, I've said everything I needed to say. You may leave now."

At this point, Wang Chengpeng simply waved his hand, making a gesture as if shooing away a fly.

Cao Deming is really acting innocent after getting the benefit. He clearly took a huge advantage from Wang Chengpeng, yet he keeps talking about how he wants to control Wang Chengpeng.

Wang Chengpeng didn't tolerate him and directly used his last trump card, which was to change his student status.

Changing schools temporarily might be a troublesome matter, but Wang Chengpeng believed that as long as he expressed his willingness to transfer his school registration to the principal of No. 2 Middle School, the principal would definitely be able to clear the obstacles on the way.

After all, not everyone is a fool who would willingly offend people and push away the honors they have already gained.

If No. 2 Middle School doesn't work, Wang Chengpeng will go to schools in the city; surely one of them will be willing to help him.

Upon hearing Wang Chengpeng's words, Cao Deming's face turned green, and he roared:

"you dare!"

"Your student status is with our No. 1 High School, and no one is allowed to transfer it."

Looking at Cao Deming's blustering yet cowardly demeanor, Wang Fucheng chuckled and said:
“Principal Cao, I think your memory seems a little bad.”

"Didn't you just say you didn't welcome the villagers of Wangjia Village to study at your No. 1 Middle School?"

“Not only us, but also so many villagers outside can testify.”

"Since you don't welcome him, why are you so fixated on Comrade Wang's student status?"

At this point, Wang Fucheng looked at Wang Chengpeng with a sincere expression and said:

"Comrade Wang, if you need us to come forward and testify, I believe everyone will be happy to help you with this."

As soon as he finished speaking, countless villagers outside echoed his sentiments.

Cao Deming's roar was so loud that even those watching from outside could hear it clearly.

This was no small matter; it was a matter of great importance concerning the reputation of the entire Wangjia Village, and the villagers were happy to help with this small favor.

Not only that, they felt that wasn't enough, and someone shouted "Get out of Wangjia Village!" Soon, similar shouts echoed everywhere.

Caught up in the shouts of "Get out of Wangjia Village!" and with Wang Fucheng's gaze becoming increasingly hostile,

Although Cao Deming had a thousand words he wanted to say, he ultimately didn't dare to utter any harsh words. He only muttered, "You don't have the ability to transfer school records," and then he and Zhou Lijun slunk away.

Judging from their disheveled figures, it was as if they were being chased by vicious dogs, and they almost tripped and fell because they bumped into a stone on the side of the road.

Watching the two clueless people leave, Wang Fucheng waved outside and said:
"The excitement is over, everyone can go home now."

Seeing that most of the people had left, Wang Fucheng put on an embarrassed expression and apologized to Wang Chengpeng:
“Good nephew, I was wrong in this matter. I didn’t realize that these two people had something wrong with their brains before leading them here.”

"When they contacted me, they only said they wanted to reward you, and I initially thought it was a good thing..."

Wang Chengpeng smiled and said:
"Uncle, this is not your fault. After all, these hypocritical people are the best at pretending."

"Let's just let this matter rest. Since his school doesn't welcome us, there's no need for us to go out of our way to get involved."

"If you're not busy, go back and get back to work. I have to go out again later."

Wang Fucheng could easily understand Wang Chengpeng's obvious order to leave. Unlike Cao Deming and Zhou Lijun, he was not oblivious to his own shortcomings. He immediately said that he had things to do at the brigade, finished his tea, and hurriedly left.

After Wang Fucheng left, Wang Chengpeng told Wang Meiyan and then rode his bicycle out the door.

On the other side, Cao Deming, who had left earlier, was getting angrier and angrier, to the point of being furious.

He was a cadre from the city; how could he possibly endure such humiliation in a village? He was absolutely furious.

However, the most fatal thing was that Zhou Lijun asked him a very crucial question at this moment:

"Principal Cao, how should this matter be resolved?"

Looking at the prizes that hadn't been handed out yet in the back of the car, a hint of regret flashed in Zhou Lijun's eyes, and he continued to ask:
"That's what everyone in Wangjia Village is saying, and Wang Chengpeng himself disagrees. So, should we report on our school producing the top scorer in the college entrance examination or not?"

How could Zhou Lijun not regret it?
He had enjoyed throwing a tantrum before, but the thought of losing this immense wealth filled him with regret.

The fact that our school produced the top scorer in the province, something that brings honor to the school and enhances our own achievements, cannot be reported. This is worse than killing him.

With a cold snort, Cao Deming said with great dissatisfaction:
"Xiao Zhou, I think you're really too incompetent for this task. How could we not report on such a good thing?"

Hearing this, Zhou Lijun seemed somewhat perplexed and said:
"But...but that peasant said he'd report us to the education bureau if we spread rumors."

"And Wang Chengpeng himself has never talked to us about this matter, yet he keeps clamoring to transfer his student status."

Cao Deming glared at Zhou Lijun with annoyance, then patted Zhou Lijun on the shoulder and said:

“Xiao Zhou, you’re still too young.” “So what if Wang Chengpeng is foolish and unwilling to cooperate with our work? We’ve already collected enough outstanding stories in the village to write an excellent report.”

"So what if he didn't communicate with us? You can just make up some content. Do I need to teach you something so simple?"

"As for their disagreement, when have we ever needed the consent of these peasants to do things?"

"What does reporting on them have to do with them?"

"As for their threats, that's just ridiculous."

"As long as it's true that Wang Chengpeng is the top scorer in the college entrance examination, and the results are reported, who cares about the clamor of these clowns?"

"As for Wang Chengpeng's words, they are even more ridiculous. Transferring school registration? Without my consent, how could he really transfer his school registration? It's simply laughable."

Upon hearing Cao Deming's guidance, Zhou Lijun immediately beamed with joy. Who could say that this didn't make sense?
After laughing for a while, his expression became hesitant again, and he looked to Cao Deming for advice:

“Principal Cao is right, that’s exactly how it works.”

"How should we write the report about Wang Chengpeng? Should we write something positive, or just write something simple and straightforward and call it a day?"

"Of course we should write well!" Cao Deming said matter-of-factly. "After all, he is this year's top scorer in the college entrance examination and has a bright future. Even if we have any opinions, we should keep them to ourselves."

"Besides, smearing him won't do us any good. Not only will we fail to achieve anything, but it will also make it easy for the higher-ups to discover our shady dealings."

"You not only have to write well, but you also have to exaggerate, and exaggerate beautifully."

Zhou Lijun: ...? ? ?
The thought of Wang Chengpeng's harsh rebuke of the two of them, followed by his own attempt to praise him, made Zhou Lijun feel disgusted, as if he had swallowed a fly.

Although disgusting, Zhou Lijun was never one to care about saving face, so he immediately agreed.
"Principal Cao, I will report according to your instructions and make sure this matter is handled perfectly."

It was at this moment that he suddenly realized something: from beginning to end, it seemed that they were the ones asking for favors, not the other way around.

They benefited from Wang Chengpeng's influence; even after being rebuked, they still had to shamelessly continue reporting, whereas before they had such an arrogant demeanor.

Thinking of this, Zhou Lijun breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Wang Chengpeng was just an ordinary rural man, and they couldn't cause any trouble for him. Otherwise, this matter would have been quite troublesome.

It was a false alarm; I was almost scared by those country bumpkins.

Even if Wang Chengpeng becomes successful and wealthy, it will be many years after he graduates from university—he can't cause any trouble in front of me now.

Although the process was somewhat tortuous, this matter was destined to end with my successful completion of the mission, regardless of Wang Chengpeng's will.

Zhou Lijun, full of confidence, was unaware that shortly after they left, Wang Chengpeng also set off on his bicycle.

Wang Chengpeng's goal was clear: to deal with his student status issue in accordance with the tough words he had previously made.

After all, he already has a reputation for arrogance and conceit, so he can't afford to be labeled as untrustworthy as well.

The brown paper bag he carried in his car pocket was his source of confidence.
Because it was the first college entrance examination after its resumption, and because the management of archives at that time was already very chaotic, many of them were even supplemented later.

This means that although Wang Chengpeng took the college entrance examination under the name of No. 1 High School, his file was actually still with him, leaving him with a lot of room for manipulation. It's just unknown which school will receive this enormous wealth.

Wang Chengpeng rode his bicycle very fast, and soon arrived at the only other school in Hetian Town—the No. 2 Middle School.

Since it was during the winter break, there were hardly any people at the school, except for some teachers who were busy with matters related to the college entrance examination.

After all, the college entrance examination is no small matter, and schools also need to see if they can achieve some results.

Meanwhile, Tao Zhiyuan, the principal of No. 2 Middle School, was also busy at the school.

Unlike Cao Deming, who was riding high on success, Tao Zhiyuan looked utterly dejected.

At that time, let alone getting into a key undergraduate university, even getting into a regular university or junior college was extremely rare. Moreover, No. 2 Middle School was not a famous school, and its educational level could only be considered average.

Even so, upon hearing his subordinate's report, Tao Zhiyuan remained stunned, saying in disbelief:

"What? Not a single one? That's a really bad result."

"It doesn't matter if everyone's grades are bad, but it's said that No. 1 Middle School did very well in the exam. So, in comparison, wouldn't No. 2 Middle School seem very incompetent?"

At this point, Tao Zhiyuan anxiously tugged at his hair, making his already balding forehead even shinier.

Given the current trend, it's very difficult to say whether he can keep his job as principal.

Just when Tao Zhiyuan was in a state of utter panic, Zhuang Liang, the security guard in charge of guarding the gate, rushed in in a great hurry:

"Principal Tao, there's a student-looking person at the gate who says he has something important to discuss with you. I don't know if you'd like to see him."

"By the way, the other party claimed to be Wang Chengpeng, and said that as long as you find out who this year's top scorer in the college entrance examination is, he will definitely not refuse to meet him."

Zhuang Liang wasn't stupid; he wouldn't just let anyone into the school.

However, Wang Chengpeng was clearly not an ordinary person. In particular, his expression was so confident when he said that Tao Zhiyuan would definitely meet him that Zhuang Liang was unsure about the other party's background.

Not daring to drive him away, Zhuang Liang ultimately chose a compromise: he would have Wang Chengpeng wait at the school gate while he went in to talk to Tao Zhiyuan.

Upon hearing Zhuang Liang's report, Tao Zhiyuan subconsciously frowned—

Who is Wang Chengpeng? He doesn't know him at all. He's probably just some opportunist trying to take shortcuts. He'll just get rid of him.

Just as he was about to have Zhuang Liang drive Wang Chengpeng away, he remembered the second sentence of Zhuang Liang's report—"Let's see who the top scorer in the college entrance examination is."

Like Cao Deming, Tao Zhiyuan never thought that his small town could produce a top scorer in the college entrance examination, so he didn't pay any attention to who this year's top scorer was. He just vaguely felt that the name Wang Chengpeng sounded familiar.

With the idea of ​​trying anything as a last resort, Tao Zhiyuan hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to give it a try, as Wang Chengpeng had suggested.

Little did he know that it was precisely this seemingly superfluous action that brought him immense wealth.

To his surprise, he discovered a familiar name prominently listed on this year's exam rankings—Wang Chengpeng! (End of Chapter)