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

Chapter 37 Learning to Cook
There are advantages to coming clean. With Wang Tieshan's support, Wang Chengpeng no longer needed to hide anything. After finishing his meal, he could go straight back to his room to work, giving him more time than usual.

Although she was somewhat baffled by her husband's behavior, Liu Chunhua ultimately expressed her support and did not question it.

After returning to his room, Wang Chengpeng resumed repairing the electric fan.

He still has plenty of time today, and he's determined to have a showdown with this electric fan!

……

While Wang Chengpeng was engrossed in repairing the electric fan, Xia Mingyue was not idle either. She brought a pound of pork to Aunt Zhao's house.

Without beating around the bush, she went straight to the point and expressed her desire to learn how to cook to Aunt Zhao.

However, it was precisely this idea of ​​hers that startled Aunt Zhao. She looked Xia Mingyue up and down before teasing her:
"Oh, Xia has a boyfriend now, and she's even thinking about learning to cook."

"But you should think it through carefully. Don't let love cloud your judgment and trap yourself in the countryside for the rest of your life."

Even if you're truly attracted to someone, you should think carefully about whether that person is worth all the effort you put in.

Although they had been sent to the countryside, everyone in the village knew that these educated youth were actually different from them.

They are all city dwellers; they can't stay in the village forever.

There were also educated youth who chose to stay for true love, but Aunt Zhao was not optimistic about their future.

When the honeymoon phase of a relationship ends and life is reduced to the mundane realities of daily life, how can these educated youth from the city possibly cope?

Hearing Aunt Zhao's blunt words, Xia Mingyue blushed, a rare occurrence for her, and said:

"Aunt Zhao, don't misunderstand. There's no such thing as dating.

"A comrade treated me to a meal but refused to accept my money, so I figured I could only reciprocate by treating him to a meal as well."

Having astutely seized upon the flaw in Xia Mingyue's words, Aunt Zhao said with amusement:
"Why would a comrade invite you to dinner for no reason? Why don't I ever have such good fortune?"

"Don't blame Aunt Zhao for scolding you. Girls should be careful to protect themselves when they're out. Don't let someone fool you with just one meal."

This matter is very complicated. Xia Mingyue knew that no matter what she said, she would only make things worse, so she could only give up and helplessly say:

"Aunt Zhao, don't tease me. Things aren't as you imagine."

"It's getting late, you should hurry up and teach me how to cook."

"It doesn't have to be delicious, as long as it's not bad."

"Consider the remaining meat as payment for teaching me how to cook."

Taking the meat that Xia Mingyue brought, Aunt Zhao said irritably, "Xia, it's fine to come, but you also brought so much meat."

"Alright, your aunt won't accept your meat for nothing. I'll teach you everything I know, and I'll make sure you can win your lover's heart through his stomach!"

Xia Mingyue: ...? ? ?
She felt she couldn't get over this hurdle; the helplessness of not being able to directly delve into Aunt Zhao's mind with her pen to change her strange ideas was driving her crazy.

As for Aunt Zhao's last words, Xia Mingyue chose to ignore them.

She would occasionally come to Aunt Zhao's house for a meal, but the food was only so-so and couldn't compare to the food Wang Chengpeng brought.

So all she asked for was to be able to eat.

Of course, this was Xia Mingyue's thought before she knew that all those delicious dishes were made by Wang Chengpeng.

If she had known this, she probably would never have dared to serve Wang Chengpeng such ordinary dishes.

……

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wang Chengpeng looked at the newly renovated electric fan in front of him and smiled knowingly.

Although he had been busy for almost the entire night, his efforts were not in vain; he had basically fixed the electric fan. Unfortunately, Wang Chengpeng's house didn't have electricity, so he couldn't directly test his repair results.

Whether it's fixed or not, he'll have to wait until he tries it in town to find out.

There's no time like the present, so Wang Chengpeng decided to go to town tomorrow.

With several days of preparation, Ji Yongyue is sure to give himself a huge surprise this time.

That way, I can also take care of buying a bicycle myself.
For someone like Wang Chengpeng who needs to frequently travel to and from town, and whose belongings are quite private, not having his own bicycle is really inconvenient.

What kind of bicycle should I buy? What brand should I get?

In those days, buying a bicycle was essentially the same as buying a luxury car in later generations.

With his dreams of cycling in mind, Wang Chengpeng drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he rode his brand-new bicycle through the countryside, feeling incredibly content!

……

"Son, go ahead and don't worry. I'll help you get leave from the production team."

This is another benefit of Wang Chengpeng's confrontation: instead of asking too many questions, Wang Tieshan wholeheartedly supports his leave application.

However, just as Wang Chengpeng went to borrow a bicycle, he was caught red-handed by Wang Zidong.

At this moment, Wang Zidong was no longer the energetic young man he once was. His face was ravaged, as if he had just experienced some kind of human suffering.

Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng, Wang Zidong felt as if he had seen a savior and shouted:
"Pengzi, you've come at the right time. I have a lot of questions I want to ask you."

Why does Xiaoming alternate between uniform linear motion and uniformly accelerated linear motion when he walks?

"In this situation, what speed does Li, who starts half an hour later, need to catch up with Ming at a constant speed?"

"If a building block is placed on a 45° slope, what is the minimum amount of force required to prevent it from sliding down?"

"Soda bubbles because it contains carbonic acid, so why does soda taste sweet instead of sour?"

"..."

Wang Chengpeng: ...? ? ?
Poor Wang Chengpeng was held captive by Wang Zidong for several seconds, standing there dumbfounded.

After Wang Zidong decided to study, Wang Chengpeng didn't waste any time and directly handed him his junior and senior high school textbooks, telling him to review them on his own first and ask him questions if he encountered any problems.

The two days of calm led Wang Chengpeng to mistakenly believe that Wang Zidong's learning progress was good and that he had not encountered any problems.

Little did they know that the problems wouldn't decrease, but would only accumulate, eventually turning into a barrage of bullets that struck them in their present state.

With an awkward smile, Wang Chengpeng said, "Dongzi, I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."

"I need to go to town right now, so I don't have time to answer your question."

"How about this, wait a moment, and I'll answer your questions tonight when I get back."

Wang Chengpeng is quite busy during the day, but he has some free time in the evening, so this arrangement of time is more reasonable.

To everyone's surprise, Wang Zidong directly rejected Wang Chengpeng's suggestion, saying, "No, that won't do!"

“I’ll go with you. You can answer my questions during the free time on the way.”

"If these questions occupy my mind, I'm afraid I won't even be able to swing a hoe."

"Just yesterday, I almost hurt myself."

(End of this chapter)