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

Chapter 3 Brothers
As Wang Chengpeng practiced skipping stones, time quietly slipped away. The sun had already set, leaving only a wisp of sunset glow hanging on the horizon.

Looking back, a lean figure was looking at him with admiration. Who else could it be but Wang Zidong?
Wang Zidong is Wang Chengpeng's childhood friend, and the two have a very good relationship.

In his previous life, Wang Chengpeng was trapped by the Liu family, and it was thanks to Wang Zidong's help that he was able to raise his son under those circumstances.

Little did he know that the child he had raised with such care and love was nothing but an ingrate.

After learning that his biological father, Zhou Xia, was a wealthy boss, he did not hesitate at all, changed his surname, and severed his father-son relationship with him.

He died alone, depressed, in the old Wang family mansion.

Not wanting to discourage Wang Zidong, who was struggling to even drift four times in a row, Wang Chengpeng said with a smile, "Just lucky, just lucky."

"Maybe today is the perfect day for skipping stones, which is why I got lucky."

Is the weather nice enough for skipping stones today?
Wang Zidong's eyes lit up, and he grabbed a handful of stones and started skipping them across the water.

However, things didn't go as planned. The stones that were so lively in Wang Chengpeng's hands were like sick cats in Wang Zidong's hands, struggling to skip three or four stones before falling weakly into the river.

Enraged, Wang Zidong dumped the remaining stones into the river and muttered in a low voice:
"Children's tricks are really not fit for high society."

However, the resentment in his eyes betrayed him, proving that his mood was far from as calm as it appeared.

With a smirk, Wang Chengpeng quickly changed the subject, saying, "Dongzi, what brings you here today? Shouldn't you be in the fields earning work points at this hour?"

Reminded by Wang Chengpeng, Wang Zidong slapped his forehead and said with annoyance, "Pengzi, you interrupted me and I almost forgot about the important matter."

"I came here to find out about my good brother's marriage. So, how did your discussion with Lord Liu go?"

Mimicking the affectionate expression from his memory, Wang Chengpeng feigned ecstatic joy and said:

"They've agreed. The Liu family has agreed."

"The problem is that they want three turns and one sound (referring to a radio, a watch, and a microphone) plus a dowry of 500 yuan, which is really difficult to handle."

"However, I promised Liu Yanran that I would find a way to raise the betrothal gifts and marry her in a grand and glorious manner."

As he said this, Wang Chengpeng's eyes sparkled, as if he had already begun to imagine the wonderful times he would spend with Liu Yanran in the future.

agreed?
For a moment, Wang Zidong didn't know whether he should be happy or sad for Wang Chengpeng.

Based on his experience, Liu Yanran was definitely a huge pitfall, a complete disaster, but since he liked his brother, he could only offer his blessings.

Thinking of this, Wang Zidong took a paper bag, still warm from his body, from his inner pocket and handed it to Wang Chengpeng, saying:

"It's good that you agreed. It fulfills your lifelong wish. Now everyone in the Wang family knows that you like Liu Yanran."

"It's just that the bride price is a bit too high. People who don't know the situation might think that Liu Yanran is a full-time employee of some large company."

"Pengzi, here's a hundred yuan. Take it; it's just a small token of my brother's help."

One hundred dollars?
In an era when a family of three can live comfortably on ten or twenty yuan, one hundred yuan can be considered a huge sum of money.

Many people usually only see food and rarely see money or coupons; even a penny is extremely precious.

However, even under these circumstances, Wang Zidong was able to casually slip the money into Wang Chengpeng's hand, demonstrating the depth of their brotherly bond.

He must have begged his family for a long time to get this money.

He didn't even say "borrow," he just simply said, "You take it."

However, Wang Zidong, who was loyal to his friends, was betrayed when he was doing business with someone, and was burdened with heavy debts that he could never recover from.

Looking again at Wang Zidong's face, which seemed to say "I'll take care of everything," Wang Chengpeng made up his mind that this time he would definitely lead his good brother onto a bright future.

Wang Chengpeng did not refuse Wang Zidong's kindness, but instead put the paper bag into his pocket and said:
"Dongzi, don't worry, I will pay you back the money right away, with interest."

Wang Chengpeng really needs start-up capital right now, and he will naturally pay it back tenfold or a hundredfold in the future.

Unexpectedly, Wang Zidong stopped him as he tried to slip the money in, and complained irritably:

"Pengzi, you'll suffer a great loss if you trust people so much." "You didn't even count the money. What if I gave you worthless paper? Would you really accept it?"

"Come on, count the money, is it correct?"

After saying that, he actually counted the loose change in the paper bag three times in front of Wang Chengpeng, and only after confirming that the amount was correct did he stuff it into Wang Chengpeng's arms.

Then Wang Zidong felt a pang of self-reproach and said with regret:
"I knew the Liu family would ask for an exorbitant amount, but I didn't expect them to be so arrogant."

"Unfortunately, my resources are limited, and I can only come up with that much money for now."

"But don't worry, I'll try my best to help you raise some more, at least another fifty yuan."

"You don't need to rush to pay me back. Just remember to lend a hand to your brother when you have money in the future."

Silently remembering this kindness, all my words ultimately boiled down to a simple "I understand."

Taking a deep breath, Wang Chengpeng looked towards home again, vowing that this time he would never let himself become a burden to his family and friends again.

Tonight's family meeting?
I will use my own strength to change everything!
A few sweet potatoes, a few cornbread buns, some pickled vegetables, and a small pot of porridge made from a mixture of cornmeal and sorghum flour—this was the dinner for the Wang family of more than ten people.

Not only is it simple, but it also contains no meat at all, and it's even limited in quantity.

In this era, even having enough to eat is a luxury, let alone eating well, which is almost impossible.

Only Zheng Yafang, who was pregnant at the time, was able to enjoy special treatment, receiving an extra boiled egg to supplement her nutrition.

However, this seemingly fair distribution plan hides a huge shady scheme behind it.

The best evidence is that, despite eating the same food, my uncle's family is much more robust than the other two families.

Grandma may seem thrifty and hardworking, but in reality, she is extremely biased towards her eldest uncle's family.

Not only did they send all sorts of good things to my uncle's house, but they also often cooked special meals for my uncle's family.

The smear of oil on Uncle Wang Jinshan's lips, which he hadn't had time to wipe clean, was irrefutable proof that they had given him special treatment again today.

That's why my uncle's family had very little interest in the coarse food in front of them.

They always use the excuse of doing what's best for everyone to share their share of food with others, but in reality, they're already full and don't even look at the coarse grains in front of them.

However, it was precisely this simple trick that completely fooled Wang Chengpeng in his previous life, making Wang Chengpeng sigh that he was really easy to deceive in his past life.

Fortunately, he has been reborn and returned, and no demon or monster can hide from him now.

Perhaps because they already knew about the Liu family's exorbitant demands, the atmosphere at dinner tonight was particularly oppressive.

Everyone buried themselves in their food, without making any unnecessary movements.

Wang Chengpeng grabbed half a steamed bun in front of him, chewed it briefly, and found it both astringent and hard, making it difficult to swallow.

He didn't care at all, and despite his discomfort, he quickly finished the half-eaten cornbread with the porridge and pickled vegetables.

Being pretentious and not eating will only make you hungry.

Complain about the food? Then work even harder to improve your family's living conditions!
As the last person put down their chopsticks, Grandma began to give instructions, saying:

"Eldest daughter, second daughter, and third daughter, you three clean up the house."

"Eldest son, second son, third son, all the people in charge of your families, come over for a family meeting."

The eldest daughter, the second daughter, and the third daughter are naturally the second uncle's two daughters and Wang Chengpeng's younger sister, Wang Meiyan.

As for family meetings, they were a method used in this era to discuss important family matters, and generally only the head of the household was qualified to participate.

Since the main topic of discussion was Wang Chengpeng's marriage, he and Liu Chunhua were exceptionally granted the right to attend the meeting.

(End of this chapter)