Chapter 88

Chapter 88

As soon as they arrived in the county, Wang Shoucheng became even more nervous.

He regretted his decision and wished he had brought his wife instead, since she was already aware of the situation.

"Old Wang, this way." Yang Chenggong led Wang Shoucheng to a house made of blue bricks. This used to be the residence of a wealthy family in the county, but now it was divided among several households.

The original large courtyard had been partitioned into smaller courtyards.

Yesterday, he had come here to make furniture for one of these households, as they were getting ready to bring a new bride home.

They wanted an entire set of furniture.

This family had some savings, so they could afford it.

As soon as he entered the courtyard, he ran into someone.

"Uncle Yang!" Zhang Panhe recognized Yang Chenggong immediately and greeted him enthusiastically.

Seeing Wang Shoucheng beside Yang Chenggong, Zhang Panhe thought to himself that this must be the man Wang Ge mentioned—the father who abandoned him.

He had seen heartless people before, but never anyone quite like this.

Wang Ge had saved his life, and he was determined to help with this matter.

With that thought, Zhang Panhe pointed at Wang Shoucheng and said to Yang Chenggong, "Uncle Yang, is this the man you mentioned who went to the provincial capital, Níng County?"

"Yes, that's right, it's my old friend. He agreed to come and listen to what you have to say. Can you help connect us?" Yang Chenggong pushed Wang Shoucheng forward.

Wang Shoucheng was so nervous that he could barely speak, only nodding vigorously.

"Sure thing. When you mentioned it yesterday, I kept my two brothers here just for this. Uncle Wang, why don't you come with me? If you can provide any clues, there will be benefits. Actually, a couple of days ago, some people came here and talked to them about something.

I think they might be close to finding the person.

However... they didn't seem very happy, and their search has been slow."

Zhang Panhe spoke casually, appearing to be a chatterbox.

Wang Shoucheng listened carefully to his words.

Not very happy?

Could it be that they didn't want to find the person?

No, it wasn't certain yet that they were looking for Wang Qinghe.

Soon, Wang Shoucheng followed them into the house, which was a bit dimly lit.

Two men were sitting on stools, whispering to each other.

"It's been so many years, and now they want to dig it up again."

"Don't complain. In my opinion, if we find them, we should get a good payoff. That way, we won't offend anyone."

Their conversation was vague, leaving others unsure of what was really going on.

But Wang Shoucheng felt a surge of excitement. The two men who took their child away back then must be relatives of the child's parents. Now that the family had become successful, those helping them certainly didn't want to offend anyone.

Thinking about this, Wang Shoucheng felt a bit better.

"Brothers, this is the person we talked about yesterday. I've brought him here. Take your time talking, but don't scare him; we're all honest folks." With that, Zhang Panhe left the room.

The two men in the room had also been invited over and had rehearsed their lines all night.

Now, they could recite them fluently and were starting to get into character.

One of the men, who had mentioned getting a payoff, looked at Wang Shoucheng and asked, "Have you been to Níng County? In the spring twenty-four years ago, were you near Kang Ci Hospital? It's the largest hospital in Níng County."

Wang Shoucheng's heart raced.

Wasn't this exactly what he was looking for?

Wasn't this Wang Qinghe?

Wang Shoucheng shook his head vigorously. "I... I haven't..."

"What do you mean by 'haven't'? Let me tell you, we came here because we had information. Wang Shoucheng, after your family returned from fleeing, you suddenly had an older son. Everyone in your village says you treated that son poorly.

His age matches what we heard."

The man's tone was sinister.

Wang Shoucheng's heart pounded faster. "No, I know nothing."

"Your child, we heard, was born prematurely. What a coincidence. Let me tell you, regardless of whether it's you or not, if we report it, you'll suffer. At that point... Old Niu, it's him. I don't like him, so he'll suffer." The other man chimed in.

If Wang Shoucheng was too sure, he wouldn't dare admit it or offer money.

They needed to make it clear that they were here to extort him. If he didn't pay, they would report it.

They wanted to scare Wang Shoucheng but give him a way out—pay to avoid disaster.

"I agree, Old Zhou, your idea is good," the first speaker said.

Hearing this, Wang Shoucheng burst into tears. "You're bullying me! I know nothing. My son is mine and my wife's."

"I don't care. I'm going to tell them that, and whether it's true or not is none of our business. But your family will suffer. Don't blame anyone else; blame this mess."

Who made us come to this godforsaken place with all this resentment? You just accept it."

Old Niu, who had spoken first, sneered again as he stood up, towering and burly.

This made Wang Shoucheng feel instantly smaller in stature.

Besides, they couldn't really escalate this. If it came to that, everything would be ruined.

Thinking this, Wang Shoucheng sobbed, his nose running and tears streaming: "No, my whole family is made up of honest people. How could we handle this? If you really feel unhappy about coming here, how about I buy you something?"

"Buy us something? Are you trying to send us away like beggars? Four thousand yuan. If you're not willing, we'll report it, and your family will suffer along with you."

Old Niu laughed coldly.

Wang Shoucheng nearly fainted from the shock of four thousand yuan: "What? How much?"

Four thousand—his family had saved that much over so many years!

Did these people know how much money that was? Did they treat it like it was nothing?

"What are you yelling about? Hurry up, we want it today. If you don't have the money, we'll go back and report it. I see you're not being honest, old man. Who knows, maybe your child... Never mind, even if it's not true, if we can't find them, we'll say it's your family, and that will be that." Old Niu glared at him.

"It's absolutely not true! You're framing us!" Wang Shoucheng felt utterly unlucky. He had wanted to bribe them, but instead, he encountered two scoundrels.

The worst part was that their threat might not work on others, but it worked perfectly on him!

He was truly out of luck!

"I know, we're framing you. Pay up to avoid trouble, or we'll report it." Old Zhou spoke like a smiling tiger, and those few words erased any lingering doubts in Wang Shoucheng's mind.

These two weren't looking for someone in Níng County; they were looking for a sucker in Níng County, and he had walked right into it!

It was all his wife's fault for not using her head and reminding him that something was amiss.

"Before tonight, you must give us the money, or we won't wait for you." Seeing him silent, Old Niu added fuel to the fire.