The businessman’s name was Jiang Jiarong. Unlike Wang Ningkai and his father’s usual business partners, he was not truly an experienced businessman. He had only recently entered the industry and had come to Shanhai City with a million yuan, hoping to make his fortune. Instead, he happened to encounter Wang Ningkai and his father just as they desperately needed money.
When the two men discovered that Jiang Jiarong had a million yuan to his name and that their company was about to collapse, they began to scheme. They hoped to use Jiang Jiarong to get through the bankruptcy crisis. They talked him into a deal and even found people to vouch for it. Thoroughly deceived, Jiang Jiarong agreed to work with them and transferred five hundred thousand yuan.
At first, Wang Ningkai and his father planned to use that order to save the business. Within two days, however, they realized it would not work. They shut the company down and fled.
Jiang Jiarong noticed nothing wrong at first. He continued contacting them by phone, and the two men, terrified of being exposed, fed him an elaborate lie. Jiang Jiarong was foolish enough to believe them without checking. By the time he sensed something was wrong, the company offices were empty. Only then did he realize he had been swindled.
The cheated businessman was beside himself with anxiety. He even returned to the company building again and again, hoping he might catch the pair there. Naturally, he had no luck.
Zhang Wu instructed his people to approach Jiang Jiarong and say they knew Wang Ningkai and his father. If he wanted his money back, he could cooperate with them, and they would guarantee he recovered it.
After being cheated once, Jiang Jiarong had become much more suspicious. But he knew nothing of the father and son’s whereabouts, and whether these strangers were telling the truth or not, he had no better option. He decided to trust them for the time being. Perhaps things would finally turn around.
That afternoon, Wang Ningkai and his father returned at last, driving the car they had been unwilling to sell. Before long, however, a furious roar suddenly erupted from their house. The neighbors jumped. It was followed by banging and crashing, and then what sounded like an endless stream of curses.
The neighbors had no idea what was happening and could not resist coming outside to look. Just as one peered toward the house, a woman’s piercing scream made them jump. The voice was unmistakably that of Wang Ningkai’s wife, Wang Xiaoyan. She seemed to be crying, “It wasn’t me! I don’t know anything!” and other such things.
Madam Li and Old Madam Wang could be heard in the background accusing her. They seemed to be saying that she had been the only person home that morning, so if she had not stolen it, who had?
Stolen what?
The neighbor strained to listen and finally caught a few scattered words: something about a safe, a hundred thousand, or perhaps several hundred thousand yuan. Possessing a lively imagination, the neighbor quickly pieced the fragments together. Could it be that a large sum of money had been stolen from their house? But that made no sense. Hadn’t this family claimed to be penniless? They had been trying to borrow money from Wang Hongxin for days. How could they have so much cash sitting around to be stolen? Unless they had been lying?
Having learned such a juicy secret, the neighbor immediately hurried off to share it.
Inside the house, Wang Ningkai’s family were still arguing about who had stolen the two hundred thousand yuan from their safe.
They all considered Wang Xiaoyan a possible culprit, but on reflection it seemed unlikely. For one thing, only Wang Ningkai and his father knew how to open the safe. For another, the money might have disappeared yesterday or the day before. If Wang Xiaoyan had really taken it, she would probably have fled by now.
The family refused to accept that an outsider had robbed them. There were no surveillance cameras in the village, so the chances of recovering the money were slim. Worse, they could not afford to publicize the loss. As it turned out, however, their secret was about to get out anyway. With two hundred thousand gone, they no longer had much choice about dealing with Wang Cheng.
Still, they were unwilling to lose the money without making a sound, so they came up with a compromise.
They would claim, for example, that they had borrowed the two hundred thousand from someone elsewhere and that it had only arrived that afternoon. They had put it in the safe, and shortly afterward it was stolen. They would ask the police to catch the thief as quickly as possible.
Ten minutes later, Madam Li went to the police station to report the theft, while Wang Ningkai and his father went to see Wang Cheng.
Wang Cheng had just finished listening to Bodyguard A’s latest gossip when Bodyguard B came in to tell him that Wang Ningkai and his father wanted to see him. Knowing that the real show was about to begin, Wang Cheng told Bodyguard B to let them in.
The two men had long since lost their former swagger. They looked like complete failures now, and these two failures had even committed a crime.
“Eldest Uncle, Elder Cousin, it certainly isn’t easy to arrange a meeting with the two of you.” Wang Cheng rested his hands on the sofa arms and tipped his head back slightly to look at them. His mocking expression matched the sarcasm in his voice.
Wang Ningkai felt bitter as he looked at Wang Cheng, whose bearing had clearly changed. They had not seen him for several months. Wang Ningkai knew his cousin had risen high in the world, becoming someone the rest of them could only look up to. Seeing it with his own eyes, however, still filled him with jealousy.
Everyone who knew Wang Cheng’s background wished his astonishing good fortune could have happened to them instead. Wang Ningkai was no exception.
Afraid something might go wrong if they delayed, Wang Hongwei sat down and got straight to the point. “Wang Cheng, your eldest uncle only just learned that your grandmother has been making trouble for your family. We were wrong to put you and your parents through this. I apologize on her behalf. She’s elderly and became confused for a moment, so please…”
“Wait. My surname is Zhou now. Besides, Old Madam Wang isn’t my grandmother. My grandmother passed away some time ago. But don’t worry. I won’t hold a grudge against an old woman.” Wang Cheng cut him off.
Wang Hongwei no longer knew what expression to wear.
Knowing Wang Cheng was no longer someone to trifle with, Wang Ningkai spoke up. “Wang Cheng, my father and I came to discuss the loan. Mom told us about your conditions. We agree to…”
“Hold on.” Wang Cheng interrupted them once again.
A flash of irritation crossed Wang Ningkai’s face. “What now?” he asked, his tone less than pleased.
Wang Cheng did not mind. He shifted into a more comfortable position. “I just heard something rather interesting. Perhaps neither of you knows about it yet.”
“What interesting thing?”
“I heard a thief broke into your home and stole several hundred thousand yuan.” Wang Cheng’s words landed like a thunderbolt.
Wang Ningkai and his father were so startled they nearly asked how he knew. Wang Hongwei recovered quickly, however, and immediately denied it. “Impossible.”
Wang Cheng sneered. “Why impossible? Several people say they heard a commotion coming from your house not long ago and that someone was shouting about several hundred thousand disappearing from the safe. They can’t all have imagined the same thing. So let me ask: if your family already had money, why did you lie to my parents and tell them you had none? I’m beginning to suspect your intentions.”
The two had never imagined anyone would overhear them, let alone that the story would spread so quickly. Fortunately, they had prepared an excuse. Wang Ningkai immediately repeated the explanation they had agreed upon.
Wang Cheng mocked him. “That’s the first time I’ve heard of someone sending several hundred thousand yuan home like that.”
It was indeed the weakest part of their story. Sending a few thousand yuan might be believable, but several hundred thousand? Weren’t they worried it would go missing along the way? Even the adults around them did not believe it. Most assumed the money had been in the safe all along.
In the end, Wang Cheng used this incident as his reason to refuse the loan.
The two men had no choice but to leave with their tails between their legs.
When Madam Li returned home, she looked somewhat disheveled too. She had heard the rumors, and the pointing fingers along the way had been mortifying. She had not forgotten the suspicious looks the police gave her either.
Old Madam Wang spent a full ten minutes cursing the neighbors who had spread the news. She deliberately shouted loudly enough for them to hear, even hurling crude curses about their sons being born without backsides. The neighbors certainly heard her. Some had wondered whether they might have misunderstood the commotion, but after that abuse they felt no guilt whatsoever.
That evening, Papa Wang called Wang Cheng.
He and Mama Wang had agreed to stay temporarily in Chengping for a couple of days and leave the matter to their son, but they could not help worrying.
Wang Cheng did not tell them any of the more alarming truths. He simply assured them the matter would be resolved soon, and they should relax where they were. He promised that in two days, Old Madam Wang and his eldest uncle’s family would no longer come harassing them.
Hearing the confidence in his son’s voice, Papa Wang chose to believe him.
At the end of the call, Wang Cheng casually asked, “By the way, Dad, do you remember which villagers in their seventies and eighties were close to the two Wang elders before Wangjia Village was dissolved?”
“Of course I do. Why do you ask?” Papa Wang sounded surprised.
“No particular reason. I was just curious. Tell me about them.” Wang Cheng did not even bother making up an excuse. He felt his father would learn the truth sooner or later, and his honest nature meant he was unlikely to grow suspicious just because of a few questions.
“The people closest to your grandpa and grandma were your grandpa’s old card-playing friends. There was Second Grandpa Wang next door, and Grandpa Zhang. Oh, and the old village chief of Wangjia Village was very friendly with your grandfather. Unfortunately, Old Village Chief Wang has already passed away.” Papa Wang grew nostalgic. Life had not been as prosperous then, but there had been many happy moments. “I still remember how kind Old Village Chief Wang was to me when I was little. He was always giving me something nice to eat.”
Because he was not favored at home, Papa Wang had grown up without the toys and treats other children enjoyed. His two brothers had things that he never received. Old Village Chief Wang could not bear to see it and often gave him little treats. Later his brothers discovered this and told their mother. She beat Papa Wang, forbade him from accepting anything from other people ever again, and locked him up. When the village chief found out, he scolded her. Papa Wang never learned what the old man had said, but afterward his mother stopped locking him up. He had always been grateful to the old village chief.
Papa Wang went on reminiscing without realizing that his son’s attention had wandered.