Wang Ningkai and his father did not tell Madam Li that the apartment had sold for one hundred and fifty thousand yuan less than they had expected. There was no point. Things were no longer as they had been before yesterday. Even if Old Madam Wang went to Wang Cheng’s house and threatened to kill herself again, Wang Cheng could simply wait until the day was over and then refuse to deal with them. By that time, Wang Ningkai and his father might already be on their way to prison.
The next step was to complete the property transfer. The paperwork had to be processed in the city, so Wang Cheng had Bodyguard A drive them there. He also called Zhang Wu and asked for a favor.
The transfer procedure was somewhat troublesome, involving various fees. Wang Cheng paid the expenses that the buyer was responsible for, while Wang Ningkai and his father had to cover the others themselves.
With Zhang Wu’s help, they went straight to submitting their documents when they arrived at the relevant office. They then visited several more departments. After more than three hours, the apartment was finally registered under Wang Cheng’s name.
As they stared at the thin property booklet, Wang Ningkai and his father felt miserable. Their names should have been written inside, but now it belonged to Wang Cheng. Who would have imagined that they, once so prosperous and impressive in the village, would be reduced to selling their apartment to repay debts?
Although Wang Cheng had paid eight hundred and fifty thousand yuan, the amount the two men actually received was smaller. Once their share of the fees was deducted, they had only a little over eight hundred thousand left. Both were thoroughly discouraged.
Upon returning to Guanjia Village, Wang Ningkai and his father first repaid the five hundred thousand they owed Jiang Jiarong. They recovered their contract and finally avoided the immediate danger of imprisonment.
The money left over was distributed to the workers waiting outside. As the banknotes were handed out, the remaining two hundred thousand disappeared in the blink of an eye. Madam Li and Old Madam Wang could not bear to watch any longer and retreated indoors.
The workers finally received their wages and left satisfied.
Wang Ningkai and his father returned inside. The living room was utterly quiet. Nobody spoke.
Wang Xiaoyan hid upstairs and did not dare come down. Her pregnancy was already showing. The child would be the first member of the Wang family’s fourth generation. Although nobody in her husband’s family liked her, she was carrying a descendant of their bloodline. Old Madam Wang wanted to hold a great-grandchild, so ordinarily she did no more than scold Wang Xiaoyan now and then.
“Ningkai, don’t lose heart. We’ve paid back seven hundred thousand, but we still have several hundred thousand left. As long as we keep that money, we’ll have another chance. With your abilities, you can definitely succeed. We’ll show those people that the Wang family isn’t finished!” Madam Li tried to comfort her dejected son.
Wang Ningkai was not comforted in the slightest. He snapped irritably, “What several hundred thousand? Property prices dropped days ago. Wang Cheng would only pay eight hundred and fifty thousand for the apartment!”
“How dare that little brat Wang Cheng!” Madam Li exclaimed in shock.
Wang Ningkai sneered. “Why wouldn’t he dare? He’s rich now, so he acts like he owns the world. He doesn’t take our family seriously at all. Dad and I practically begged him, but he didn’t budge. He knew we couldn’t find another buyer, so he pushed the price down as far as he could. Even if the apartment had lost value, there’s no way it dropped a hundred and fifty thousand all at once. He knew we had to agree.”
Madam Li grew furious. Without thinking, she blurted out, “No! We can’t let him take advantage of us like this. We have to get that money back!”
“Get it back? Why would he give you money for nothing? The apartment’s already registered in his name.” Wang Ningkai wanted the money too, but he knew it was impossible. Wang Cheng would never let himself be taken for a fool.
“He won’t give it to us, perhaps, but his parents might. Wang Cheng can’t stay in Guanjia Village forever. Once he leaves, we’ll go to his parents and demand an explanation.” Just thinking about the missing hundred and fifty thousand made Madam Li’s heart ache. First they had lost two hundred thousand, and now another hundred and fifty thousand had been squeezed out of them. Why was their family so unlucky? If not for Wang Cheng, how could they have ended up like this?
“My daughter-in-law is right. We can’t let Third Brother’s family get away with this,” Old Madam Wang agreed. She was just as angry as Madam Li, though she had become rather wary of Wang Cheng.
* * *
Meanwhile, Wang Cheng was reporting the results of the battle to his parents.
Both were delighted to hear the matter had been settled. Mama Wang asked, “By the way, son, how did you manage to get Mom away from our front door?”
“I just made sure she had plenty to eat and drink. Whenever she pretended to be crazy or injured, I had someone take her to the clinic. When she realized her tricks wouldn’t work on me, she finally went home.” Wang Cheng’s explanation was part truth and part fiction. “There’s something else. Eldest Uncle and my cousin cheated a businessman out of five hundred thousand yuan. Today that businessman found them and threatened to report them to the police unless they repaid him. They were afraid of prison, so they finally agreed to sell the apartment and settle their debts.”
His parents were shocked. “Really? How could they cheat someone out of five hundred thousand? That’s a huge amount of money!”
“I suppose they saw an opportunity and gave in to greed. They were desperate for money at the time. Actually, Eldest Uncle and Cousin should count themselves lucky the businessman didn’t report them immediately. Otherwise, the police would have been the ones arriving at their door.”
Zhang Wu had told Wang Cheng that Jiang Jiarong was preparing to go to the police when his men found him. If both men who supported the household were jailed, the women left behind, all accustomed to being served, would plunge the Wang family into chaos.
Wang Cheng could originally have stood aside and let everything happen. But Old Madam Wang and her husband would almost certainly have latched onto Papa Wang afterward. That was why Wang Cheng had instructed Zhang Wu to stop Jiang Jiarong from reporting them immediately.
“What wickedness. I hope this teaches them a lesson. How can anyone spend stolen money with a clear conscience?” Papa Wang sighed.
“Dad, Mom, why don’t you stay there another couple of days?” Wang Cheng suggested.
“Why?”
“Although the immediate problem is solved, I’m afraid they won’t give up. Once I leave, they might start harassing you again. You have no idea how unreasonable that old woman is. There’s no telling what she might do.”
Papa Wang sighed helplessly. “But she’s still my mother.”
He understood that all too well.
Not for much longer, Wang Cheng thought. He had already sent someone to investigate the truth of what happened more than fifty years ago. He was certain now that Papa Wang was not Old Madam Wang’s biological son.
In the end, his parents decided to come home that afternoon. Whether or not Old Madam Wang tried to cause trouble again, they could not simply abandon everything at home. Mama Wang still needed to tend the vegetable patch, the chickens, and the miniature pigs.
Guanjia Village returned to peace. No one suspected it might be the calm before another storm.
Papa Wang and Mama Wang finally arrived home a little after two that afternoon.
Wang Cheng was preparing to go out. Before leaving, he found an excuse to tell his parents to stay indoors as much as possible. Otherwise, they might run into his eldest uncle’s family. The relatives were holding a grudge, and there was no telling what they might do.
Papa Wang and Mama Wang knew his eldest brother and sister-in-law very well. Since their son sounded so serious, they agreed. They did not have much to occupy them anyway. Mama Wang did not need to visit the jam factory, and the medicinal herbs on North Mountain had been harvested the previous month. Papa Wang was free as well.
Reassured, Wang Cheng left for Dongwang Group to meet Zhang Wu.
Zhang Wu had not disappointed him in managing Dongwang Group. Not only had he kept the company running smoothly, he had quietly helped Wang Cheng acquire more shares. Wang Cheng now held more than forty percent of the company even without Director Liu’s support. With a little more effort, Dongwang Group would eventually belong to him in every meaningful sense.
The faction loyal to the Sun family, however, had been making trouble for Zhang Wu all along, and matters had worsened recently. Apparently Sun Jian had been sentenced. From Sun Degang’s point of view, his only son had ended up in prison, ruining all his hopes for the future. He believed Wang Cheng bore much of the responsibility. Now he was lashing out at Zhang Wu without regard for the group’s interests. But would Sun Degang truly sacrifice Dongwang Group merely because his son had gone to prison? Zhang Wu did not believe it.
Important company documents had been disappearing frequently of late. Various signs pointed to someone among the senior management, but the executives were protecting one another. Although Zhang Wu had a good idea who was responsible, he could find no evidence. He did not have many trustworthy people in the company, which was why he wanted to discuss the problem with Wang Cheng.
“I had someone try to break into their computers,” Zhang Wu said. “But their defenses are very sophisticated. There’s a real computer expert watching over them, and that person is extremely skilled. My man couldn’t beat him.”
“A computer expert?” Those words immediately reminded Wang Cheng of David. He was a computer expert too, and Chu Yifeng had once said he was no ordinary one. “Hang on. I know someone who’s a hacker. He might be able to do what we need.”
“That would be wonderful,” Zhang Wu replied.
Wang Cheng took out his phone and called David. When David heard that it involved the field he excelled in, he agreed readily. They would have to find another time, though, because he was at work. Wang Cheng arranged a time with him.
Zhang Wu handed over the leads and documents he had gathered, and the two discussed them for a while.
Suddenly an idea struck Zhang Wu. “Young Master Zhou, perhaps we could use this opportunity to acquire more shares. We might even put an end to the problem once and for all.”
“How?”
“The company appears stable at the moment, but all these recent incidents have everyone on edge. Two days ago, I heard rumors that the share price might fall. And I suspect Sun Degang may be planning something bigger soon.”
Wang Cheng immediately understood. It really was an excellent opportunity. “I see what you mean. Let’s wait for David’s findings first. He might uncover information we don’t know about yet.”
“All right. I’ll await your good news, Young Master Zhou.”