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

It took Cao Deming and Zhou Lijun two whole days, during which they barely slept, only managing to take a short nap when they couldn't stay awake any longer, before they finally completed a sufficiently excellent document.

But when Cao Deming excitedly delivered the materials to the newspaper office, he only received a cold reply:

“We will not accept this poor imitation or plagiarized reporting material. Principal Cao, please leave.”

The editor's words startled Cao Deming, his eyes widening in disbelief. He began to loudly defend himself:

"Editor, is there some misunderstanding between us in this matter?"

"This material was written by me and Xiao Zhou, word by word, carefully considered. How could it be considered plagiarism?"

“Take another good look at this; this report is simply the best thing I’ve ever written in my life.”

Too lazy to watch Cao Deming's clumsy acting, the editor simply threw yesterday's newspaper at him, pointing to the article written by Wang Chengpeng and saying:

"Open your eyes and read this article carefully, then tell me if what I just said is correct!"

As an editor, he hated shameless plagiarists like Cao Deming the most, so his attitude towards him became terrible.

Following the editor's instructions, Cao Deming began to examine the report written by Wang Chengpeng.

Brilliant, brilliant, and absolutely brilliant!

The content is almost identical to what I wrote, only ten times more exciting. No wonder the editor treated me so badly.

Cao Deming's face turned pale instantly, and the report he had been holding tightly in his hand fell limply to the ground.

He really couldn't understand how this had happened; his own writing had been labeled as blatant plagiarism.

Undeterred, Cao Deming grabbed the editor's sleeve and asked, unwilling to give up:

Who sent this report?

"Plagiarism? His reporting materials are the plagiarism."

"Putting everything else aside, this Comrade Wang Chengpeng is a student at our school, and he has absolutely no relation to him."

Seeing Cao Deming still clumsily trying to cover up his crimes, the editor's disgust deepened, and he said bluntly:

"Cao Deming, you're supposed to be a teacher, so please have some shame."

Do you really think our newspaper will just accept anything of dubious origin?

"When the other party submitted this report, they also submitted Comrade Wang Chengpeng's student registration information."

At this point, the editor unceremoniously waved the item in front of Cao Deming and said:

"Take a look at this student registration information, is it fake?"

"I didn't expose you to save face for you, but who knew you would be so disrespectful to your elders, utterly shameless."

"Alright, our newspaper doesn't welcome incorrigible plagiarists. You can leave now, and we won't welcome you back in the future either."

The editor's words practically sealed the fate of Cao Deming's collaboration with the newspaper, effectively cutting off any possibility of him pursuing a career in media.

This was clearly a very serious consequence, but Cao Deming didn't care at all, because his mind was completely filled with what he had just seen—

Wang Chengpeng from No. 2 Middle School!

Isn't Wang Chengpeng a student at our No. 1 Middle School? How did he suddenly become a student at No. 2 Middle School?
Only then did Cao Deming belatedly realize that this was the first college entrance examination after its resumption, and many things were not yet perfect.

Although Wang Chengpeng used the name of their No. 1 High School to take the exam, strictly speaking, he was not a student of their No. 1 High School at all.

With proper handling and Wang Chengpeng's assistance, registering for student status ahead of time is not difficult at all.

After figuring all this out, Cao Deming's face grew even paler.
In a daze, he seemed to recall what Wang Chengpeng had said when he told him to leave—

"If even you, the principal, only have this kind of quality, then the teaching quality of No. 1 High School can't be that good either. We don't even want to go there!"

Only then did he belatedly realize that he was always the one asking Wang Chengpeng for help; he was the one who benefited from Wang Chengpeng's influence.

However, he failed to see the bigger picture and squandered this immense fortune on No. 2 Middle School.

Thinking back to his words before leaving that Wang Chengpeng would definitely regret it, Cao Deming felt utterly ridiculous, like a fool.

Regret, so much regret!

Cao Deming was filled with regret, tears streaming down his face, but he still couldn't change the fact that the top scorer in the college entrance examination had slipped through his fingers.

Furthermore, with newspapers supporting No. 2 Middle School, there was no way he could win against Tao Zhiyuan in this matter.

Suddenly, as if he had just remembered something, he abruptly wiped his nose and muttered:
"No, I can't keep going down this path of depravity. I have things I absolutely have to do."

"Many people did well on this exam. Even without Wang Chengpeng, our No. 1 High School has many other excellent students."

"Student registration, academic records, I must go back and get this sorted out immediately."

Ignoring the fact that he hadn't slept for two nights, Cao Deming, as if injected with adrenaline, rode his bicycle straight to school.

Little did he know that an even crueler reality awaited him; some things were already destined when he made those outrageous remarks in Wangjia Village!

……

Meanwhile, Wang Chengpeng, who was resting at home, also welcomed a guest.

Although he is now a technician in the factory, this kind of technical job doesn't actually have any requirements regarding working hours as long as you can solve technical problems at critical moments.

You shouldn't even expect to see any of the factory's technicians, because seeing Wang Chengpeng means there's a problem at the factory.

After ensuring that the process of brewing wine from beet pulp was on track, Wang Chengpeng rarely visited the Dapeng Sugar Factory and instead focused on his research at home.

He even had a new set of blueprints already prepared in his bookcase—blueprints that could add motors to the factory's hand-cranked equipment, turning it into electrically driven semi-automated equipment.

Keep in mind that this was in 1977, and to be able to manufacture such equipment was truly remarkable.

Just as Wang Chengpeng was looking down at his book, a commotion suddenly broke out outside. Looking out the window, he saw two familiar faces: Wang Fucheng and his son Wang Yong.

Not only did he come, but Wang Yong was also carrying two boxes whose contents were unknown. He walked into Wang Chengpeng's house and headed straight for the main room.

After putting the box down, Wang Yong clapped his hands awkwardly and said to Wang Chengpeng with a smile:
"Master, it's been a long time. Your disciple has brought you a small gift."

Perhaps exhausted from moving things, Wang Fucheng unceremoniously grabbed the water glass on the table and immediately gulped it down. Finally, he let out a long sigh and exclaimed in admiration:

"My nephew's house is really nice. It's not only bright and clean, but even the tea is sweeter than in other places."

Wang Chengpeng: ...? ? ?
Clearing his throat to ease his embarrassment, Wang Chengpeng sat down directly opposite Wang Fucheng and got straight to the point:
"Uncle is a very busy man, and he usually doesn't come unless he has something important to say, let alone this time when he brought such a big gift."

“We’re all family, Uncle, there’s no need for you to hide anything. Just tell me if you need any help.”

Wang Chengpeng has excellent eyesight and immediately spotted the word "television" printed on the packaging box.

Judging from the size, it should have been considered a relatively large 14-inch TV at that time.

The other box likely contains an antenna capable of receiving signals, which is considered a supporting component for the television set.

Although the television was expensive, we accepted it without any intention of refusing.

He was just looking for an excuse to buy this nice thing for his home, and the fact that Wang Fucheng and Wang Yong delivered the television at this time was exactly what he wanted.

Moreover, seeing the appearance of Wang Fucheng and Wang Yong, he knew that this television set was not so easy to take back, and he had to persuade them to help out.

Wang Fucheng, whose purpose had been directly exposed by Wang Chengpeng, coughed lightly, trying to ease the embarrassment on his face.

Even though he was thick-skinned and would come to Wang Chengpeng for help every day, he still felt a little embarrassed.

After thinking for a moment, he finally decided to take a roundabout approach and not directly state his purpose:
"Hey, nephew, I'm here mainly because there's something I want to ask you."

"The sales of Dapeng white sugar have been booming lately. I heard that someone placed an advertisement for it in the newspaper. Do you have any leads?"

Although the report was slightly embellished, it couldn't fool those who knew the author.

Moreover, much of the reporting material used in this was copied from a notebook provided by Wang Fucheng.

With this in mind, Wang Chengpeng didn't bother to hide it and directly agreed to the matter:
"This matter does indeed have something to do with me."

"Didn't Cao Deming come to our Wangjia Village and spout nonsense last time? I figure we definitely can't let him get away with this."

"So I contacted a few friends directly and transferred my files and student status to No. 1 Middle School."

At this point, Wang Chengpeng spread his hands, saying somewhat helplessly:

"As you know, students with good grades always get preferential treatment."

"Although Principal Tao of No. 2 Middle School agreed to accept our files and student status, he put forward a condition: that I should be interviewed."

"I figured this would also nip the possibility of Cao Deming plagiarizing our work in the bud, so I agreed."

"This is a great opportunity to report it. Wouldn't it be a waste not to take this chance to promote our village?"

"After thinking it over, we realized that Wangjia Village didn't have anything good to promote, so we ended up mentioning the Dapeng white sugar. We didn't expect it to be so effective."

Wang Fucheng/Wang Yong: ...? ? ?
They said they didn't know, since they were never good students.

Wang Fucheng had hardly ever attended school and eventually managed to acquire some education through self-study.

Scratching his head, Wang Yong felt an itch as if countless ants were crawling all over his heart; he really wanted to know how that report was written.

After all, a simple advertisement simply cannot achieve the effect of making Dapeng white sugar a hit just by mentioning it.

It's a pity that the newspaper seemed to sell exceptionally well that day, and the newspaper didn't plan to reprint it, so they have no way of knowing what the article actually said in the short term.

However, one thing is certain: Wang Chengpeng definitely played a part in this.

Chao Wangfucheng gave a thumbs up, and Wang Yong thought to himself that old foxes are indeed wiser; his father had immediately given the correct answer to a question that he couldn't understand no matter what he did.

At this point, Wang Yong pulled out his prepared speech and said:

"Master, you're a technician in the factory, not someone who's responsible for advertising for the factory."

"Besides, the advertising was so effective this time, the factory can't let you suffer a loss. Consider the things we brought earlier as the advertising fee."

Upon hearing Wang Yong's words, Wang Chengpeng couldn't help but chuckle and commented:
"You just said this was a gift for us when we met, how did it turn into advertising fees?"

Scratching his head sheepishly, Wang Yong chuckled and began to explain:
"Master, you're still the same as always, so serious about everything."

"That antenna was a gift from me when we first met, and that TV set was the advertising fee from the factory. They don't conflict, they don't conflict..."

A hint of surprise flashed in Wang Chengpeng's eyes. He thought to himself that Wang Yong had become quite clever since they last met, and immediately teased him:
"Well, it seems that if I hadn't helped with the advertising, the advertising fee would have been raised back."

Seeing Wang Yong's eyes widen in surprise at Wang Chengpeng's words, Wang Fucheng immediately tried to smooth things over:

"Good nephew, don't bully your apprentice. That's not what he meant."

"If we weren't certain that you were the one who placed the ad, would this thing have been brought straight to your house?"

"Asking just now was just a formality; your answer won't make any difference."

"After all, everyone knows that you are the only one in our Wangjia Village who is truly capable. Others would not even be able to think of such a good idea, let alone do it."

"By the way, after asking about the important matters, there's something else I'd like to ask you."

Upon hearing Wang Fucheng's words, Wang Chengpeng, who had just been lifted high, also took a deep breath, because he knew that the seemingly trivial matter Wang Fucheng was about to mention was the real purpose of his trip.

Thinking that he hadn't encountered any difficulties recently, Wang Chengpeng, though puzzled, perked up his ears to listen.

Seeing that Wang Chengpeng had no objections, Wang Fucheng then slowly began to explain his difficulties:
“Good nephew, you are incredibly capable. Even a small favor for the sugar factory could be a chance for you to rise to prominence.”

"It's just... it's just that you're taking too big a step, and those of us who aren't capable can't keep up!"

"Looking at the orders pouring into the factory like snowflakes, we are happy but also worried."

“Our Dapeng Sugar Factory is just a small workshop, how can we handle so many orders?”

"Not only the raw materials for sugar production, but also the efficiency of the factory workers is completely out of control."

"What I want to ask you now is, as the factory's technician, what do you think about whether we should accept these orders or not?"

Judging from Wang Fucheng's face, which was furrowed with worry, this was clearly a major problem troubling him. (End of Chapter)