Back to 1984: Earning Money, Raising Kids, and Keeping the Household Busy

Chapter 69 Let's make things clear

Tears welled up in Chen Wenjun's eyes. He glanced at Liu Yaya's radiant smile and couldn't help but smile. "And Yaya, you don't have to worry about her being abused by the Liu family anymore in this lifetime."

The two looked at each other and smiled.

When Lin Qingxiang and his son came back to continue working, they were overjoyed to find that there was a smooth dirt road in Nanyu.

You have to know that they also have to walk back and forth on this road to get to work. Before, it was full of potholes, and they twisted their ankles a lot. It was even inconvenient to push a cart. Now it's much simpler, and they can keep up with the speed of getting things done.

This joy made everyone work even more enthusiastically.

Chen Wenjun gave Lin Qingxiang some instructions and then went out.

They encountered Chen Yongding's fishing boat as soon as they rowed near the port.

This time, Chen Yongding didn't call out to him. Instead, he brought his boat over, threw down the bamboo pole, and jumped onto Chen Wenjun's boat. His face was solemn. "Do you know about Zheng Aqiang having his legs broken?"

Chen Wenjun honestly shook his head.

Chen Yongding immediately became anxious, "That good-for-nothing is now saying everywhere that you ruined him so badly, and that you should support him for the rest of his life, and that everyone should seek justice for him. Since it has nothing to do with you, then quickly explain it to everyone."

Chen Wenjun's face darkened, he nodded, turned around and followed Chen Yongding toward the port.

Early in the morning, many Tanka people had not yet left. When they saw Chen Wenjun coming, they all went to their own decks to watch the excitement.

Chen Wenjun and Chen Yongding boarded Zheng Aqiang's boat together.

Chen Yongding said impatiently, "Aqiang, I've brought Wenjun here. Let's talk things out face to face."

"What are you talking about! It was Chen Wenjun who ruined me so badly! He must take responsibility!" Zheng Aqiang's resentful voice came from the cabin, but there was no response.

Everyone was looking at Chen Wenjun.

Chen Wenjun sneered twice, "You owed Gao Lei five hundred yuan, and you made up an IOU for me owing you money to fool him, even saying that I owed you a thousand yuan. Gao Lei saw through it, and that's why you're in this situation today. You deserve it!"

"What? Five hundred yuan? Has he gone mad? How could he owe so much money?" Zhou Shuifang came out of her cabin in shock, and even Grandpa Chen, who usually didn't meddle in other people's business, popped up.

"Wenjun, you said he fabricated an IOU and made you pay off his debts?" Grandpa Chen asked with a serious expression.

Gambling is one thing, but framing others is another.

"No, I didn't! He's lying to you!" Zheng Aqiang was very agitated, but he only dared to shout from inside the cabin.

Chen Wenjun, however, remained calm. "Gao Lei brought some people to cause me trouble, demanding a thousand yuan from me. He even put the IOU in front of me. He wanted to confront me, so I wrote my name down for him to see, but the handwriting didn't match at all. Gao Lei then took me to find Zheng Aqiang. Before they even questioned him, he confessed on his own and begged me to help him again. Grandpa, you know I bought land and built a house. Any spare money I had went into buying materials. The house needs to be built intermittently. How could I possibly have money to help him? Let alone a gambling debt of five hundred yuan."

I refused, and he called me heartless and ungrateful. Also, ever since he came to borrow money from me and I refused, he's been eyeing my house. Recently, he's been knocking on my door several times while no one's on my boat to steal things. I set a trap, and he injured his eye, which finally stopped him.”

"Hiss!" Everyone stared in shock, their eyes widening as they began to criticize Zheng Aqiang.

Grandpa Chen was furious, his chest heaving with rage, and he cursed, "No wonder your parents and brothers don't want you, and even your wife ran away with the kids! You deserve it! Why didn't Gao Lei just beat you to death and give you peace and quiet!"

The Tanka people have a deep-seated fear of their own people stealing from each other. In the past, anyone caught stealing would be severely beaten. Zheng Aqiang not only stole, but he stole several times.

After scolding Zheng Aqiang, Grandpa Chen turned to Chen Wenjun and began to berate him, "Now that you've grown up, you're not only buying land and building houses, but you also don't say anything about your house being burgled. What if Zheng Aqiang tries to steal from you but then steals from someone else? Can you guard against others? Can you guard against everyone else?"

Chen Wenjun's expression wasn't good either. "Grandpa, I didn't want to completely fall out with him. Besides, I didn't know it was him who stole my things the first time. I only guessed it was because I found bloodstains the second time, and then A-Qiang's wife came to borrow money."

I thought he'd learned his lesson after all that and wouldn't do it again, but who knew he'd turn out to steal instead of steal. If I'd known he'd become this rotten, I would have made a huge scene no matter what.

It was only then that everyone remembered the relationship between Chen Wenjun and Zheng Aqiang. If these things hadn't happened, the two would have been practically like brothers, so it was understandable that Chen Wenjun would cover for Zheng Aqiang.

Upon hearing this, Grandpa Chen's expression softened considerably, before he frowned and asked, "What do we do now? His parents, brothers, wife, and children have all run away, and his leg was broken. How are they going to live from now on?"

Despite his anger and resentment, Grandpa Chen couldn't bring himself to stand by and watch someone die.

Chen Wenjun understood what Grandpa Chen meant, and immediately lowered his eyes, speaking indifferently, "Grandpa, Zheng Aqiang knocked me unconscious in the alley with a stick in order to get money from me, and stole the few dozen yuan I had worked so hard to earn. He also threatened Ping An, making Ping An speak well of him in front of me. If Ping An hadn't confessed to me, I would have thought that Ping An really liked his Uncle Aqiang."

This is the same scumbag who bullied me and my son. I even borrowed so much money from him. Over the years, it's added up to more than a hundred. I don't plan to ask him for the money back, but I also won't care about his life or death anymore.

If there's nothing else, I'll be going now; I need to hurry to sell the fish!

Everyone watched as Chen Wenjun resolutely left, unable to react for a moment. In their minds, Chen Wenjun was a quiet, kind-hearted man with little presence. When did an honest man become so assertive?
Since Chen Wenjun doesn't care, they're even less likely to care.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, they quickly rowed away from the harbor.

Seeing that everyone had left, Chen Yongding also wanted to leave. "Dad, I'm going boating."

Grandpa Chen stood on the deck in silence for a long time.

After the ship left the port, Zhou Shuifang muttered, "Wenjun used to be so close to Aqiang, I thought he would at least lend a hand, but he left so decisively! It seems he has really changed his nature and is more ruthless than before."

Grandpa Chen sighed and shook his head. "Ping An is Wen Jun's lifeline. If it weren't for Ping An, he wouldn't be living such a hard life. What did A Qiang do wrong? He actually threatened Ping An and even let Wen Jun find out. No wonder Wen Jun can't forgive him!"
"Sigh! Yongding and I still have to work on the boats, and you have a lot of things to do too. No one can take care of him. He'll probably starve to death."

(End of this chapter)