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

Chapter 51 Borrowing Cars Everywhere
These days, borrowing a bicycle isn't easy; it's about as difficult as borrowing a car from someone today.

Only people with very close relationships would be willing to lend money, which is another reason why Wang Chengpeng was so grateful to Wang Zidong.

Wang Chengpeng can use their family's bicycle whenever he wants, almost as conveniently as using his own.

Soon Wang Chengpeng reached the nearest neighbor's house, glanced at the bicycle parked in the yard, and asked for help:

"Uncle Qiu, are you home?"

"My uncle needs to borrow a bicycle for a while. Could you lend him your bicycle temporarily?"

As Wang Chengpeng inquired, an elderly man who seemed to be in relatively good spirits soon came out. He was none other than Qiu Zhisheng, Wang Chengpeng's neighbor.

It's currently the busy farming season, and during this time, most of those who can stay at home are elderly people and children.

Qiu Zhisheng glanced at Wang Chengpeng, then looked behind him, and said:
"Xiaopeng, I'll lend you this bicycle because of the dinner your family treated us to last time."

“But you’re not using it yourself, you’re lending it to your uncle.”

"How can something as important as borrowing a bicycle be done when the person involved isn't even here?"

"Wang Jinshan has really become quite capable. He doesn't step forward himself when something happens, but instead uses a young junior as a pawn."

"I'm making this clear today: he can borrow the bicycle, but he has to come in person to borrow it!"

As one of the first people in the village to own a bicycle, Wang Jinshan was often asked to borrow one.

However, Wang Jinshan's bicycle was not so easy to borrow. He wouldn't lend it out unless you had a good relationship with him or offered him a generous bribe.

That is why his relationship with the villagers was not as friendly as it seemed on the surface.

It's obvious that Qiu Zhisheng is one of the people who doesn't get along with Wang Jinshan, which is why he insists that he will only lend the bicycle if Wang Jinshan comes in person.

After all, Wang Jinshan's family already owned bicycles, so this was a rare opportunity to openly and legitimately avenge the past.

If Wang Jinshan really dares to borrow the bicycle, he will inevitably be teased by Qiu Zhisheng to his face.

However, Qiu Zhisheng was ultimately willing to lend the money, which was far better than the numerous difficulties Wang Jinshan had previously made things difficult for him.

Not lending it? That suits me perfectly!

Wang Chengpeng was worried about how to stall for time, but unexpectedly, Wang Jinshan's terrible reputation gave him another advantage.

Though inwardly pleased, Wang Chengpeng outwardly wore a worried expression and said:

"Uncle Qiu, this is an emergency. Can't you just lend me your bicycle?"

Looking at Wang Chengpeng's pleading eyes, Qiu Zhisheng thought to himself, what a good kid he is, how did he end up being used as a pawn by Wang Jinshan?

Qiu Zhisheng paused, his hand gripping his cane, and was about to agree, his heart softening. But to his surprise, Wang Chengpeng's expression changed, and he said:
"Since Uncle Qiu has his own difficulties, I naturally can't force him to."

"Uncle Qiu, I have something urgent to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer. I'll be leaving now."

Under Qiu Zhisheng's watchful eye, Wang Chengpeng, drenched in sweat, hurried off to the next house.

Seeing this, he felt guilty and thought to himself that he was so old and still had to hold a grudge against Wang Jinshan. In the end, it was Wang Chengpeng, the younger generation, who was in a difficult position.

Unfortunately, perhaps because they were too far apart, Wang Chengpeng seemed not to hear his plea at all and quickly disappeared, making Qiu Zhisheng wonder if he had gone a little too far.

Wang Chengpeng naturally heard Qiu Zhisheng's plea to stay, but for the sake of the plot, he pretended to be deaf. What followed seemed like a recurring cycle; Wang Chengpeng had seriously underestimated Wang Jinshan's reputation in the village.

If Wang Chengpeng had said that he wanted to borrow the bicycle, these elderly men would have lent it to him without even asking a single question.

But as soon as they mentioned that the bicycle was borrowed for Wang Jinshan, their attitude changed instantly, and they became very impolite.

After going around in circles, Wang Chengpeng eventually ended up at Wang Zidong's house.

Although Wang Chengpeng was familiar with Wang Zidong's family, and even knew where Wang Zidong kept his bicycle keys, he still had to ask Wang Zidong's family before he could borrow the bicycle.

Upon seeing Wang Jianhua, Wang Wangzidong's grandfather, Wang Chengpeng greeted him familiarly and repeated his previous remarks.

After hesitating for a long time, Wang Jianhua finally agreed to lend the bicycle out of respect for Wang Chengpeng.

However, he added at the end, "If Wang Jinshan damages my bicycle, he has to pay for it back."

If someone damages another person's property, they should naturally compensate for it. Even if Wang Jinshan tries to renege on his promise and refuses to pay, Wang Chengpeng will still do so.

After nodding in agreement, Wang Chengpeng didn't waste any more time and rode his bicycle back.

When Wang Chengpeng returned to his own yard, there were far fewer onlookers around.

After all, everyone has their own things to do, and it's impossible for them to just sit here and watch the show all day with nothing to do.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead, Wang Chengpeng took the initiative and said, "Uncle, I've finally managed to borrow this bicycle back for you."

"Although some nearby families have bicycles, they are unwilling to lend them to me."

"After running around for a long time, only Zi Dong's family was willing to lend me the money."

"Don't you have things to do? You'd better hurry up, or it will be too late."

Without mentioning the reason why he couldn't borrow a bicycle, or even Wang Jianhua's warning, Wang Chengpeng was seen by everyone as a perfect junior, a junior who thought of his elders.

Seeing Wang Chengpeng return, Wang Jinshan felt as if he had seen a savior. He quickly walked over, muttering discontentedly:
"Nephew, do you have a problem with your uncle? It takes so long to borrow a bicycle."

"If I went to borrow it myself, I'm afraid I could get the bicycle in less than ten minutes."

It's no wonder Wang Jinshan complained; the wait for Wang Chengpeng to return was extremely difficult for him.

He was being criticized by a crowd of onlookers and felt like every day was an eternity. If he hadn't been afraid of being gossiped about, he would have almost run away.

Fortunately, although Wang Chengpeng's speed was a bit slow, it was still within an acceptable range.

Thinking this, he immediately decided to ride the bicycle that Wang Chengpeng had gone to great lengths to borrow and leave this troublesome place as soon as possible.

From today's events, he also realized that Wang Chengpeng, though seemingly harmless, was actually no pushover at all.

If he tries to take anything from Wang Chengpeng's house again, he'd better think twice about the consequences.

However, just as Wang Jinshan was about to be freed and leave, a very familiar voice came from afar, saying:
"Dad, I heard you wanted a bicycle, so I brought the one from home right away."

"Why did you leave your own bicycle at home and go outside to borrow one?"

(End of this chapter)