Peng Fei began a fierce fight with the Li family father and son.
Years of labor had given him great strength, and being young, he held his own against three opponents, even bloodying the second son of the Li family.
Old Man Li was furious. Relying on his nephew's connections in the local police force, he had Peng Fei arrested, while his own son was hospitalized.
It was merely a superficial wound, but the son insisted he had a concussion and refused to leave the hospital.
He demanded either 20,000 yuan from the Peng family to settle the matter, or Peng Fei would go to jail.
Suddenly, Peng Fei's mother felt the sky was falling.
The 18,000 yuan from selling Zhan Jingchun's belongings had been returned, and now they were in debt by another 20,000 yuan.
Twenty thousand yuan – how could she, a rural woman who relied on the land and the weather, save that much in three to five years?
But if they didn't pay, the Li family was wealthy and influential, and they couldn't fight them. They couldn't just watch Peng Fei go to prison.
She was so angry she felt half-dead. They begged from neighbors and borrowed from friends, and after two days of frantic effort, they had only managed to scrape together 5,000 yuan.
While she was in despair at home, Wang Kang's family also ran into trouble.
Unexpectedly, just two days after Zhan Jingchun left, outsiders arrived in the village, directly asking for Wang Kang's home and demanding Zhang Wei be handed over.
It turned out that after Zhan Jingchun left, she had contacted Zhang Wei's family. Her father and brother, along with various relatives, had come looking for her.
Everyone in the village gathered to defend them, blocking the outsiders.
Wang Kang even covered Zhang Wei's mouth, locked her up, and hid her in the cellar.
Zhang Wei's father had no choice but to call the police. However, for such deeply ingrained customs, the local police simply wouldn't intervene.
Using the excuse of it being a domestic dispute, they made a perfunctory visit and left.
Zhang Wei's father was furious. He argued and cursed with the villagers, but after a day of commotion, nothing was resolved. He could only find a website reporter to film a video, hoping to exert pressure.
The village was in an uproar, with everyone cursing Peng Fei for finding a jinx of a wife, not only bringing disaster upon his own family but also ruining others.
Facing internal and external crises, Peng Fei's mother collapsed in the house from sheer anger.
Fangfang had no choice but to go to town to the police station and ask to see her brother, explaining the situation.
Peng Fei hadn't expected that because of him, Wang Kang's family would also fall into such a predicament, and now his mother was in mortal danger…
Even though he had a backbone and didn't want to apologize to Old Man Li, he had no choice but to endure it now.
He applied for mediation. Old Man Li, smugly, made him sign an IOU for 20,000 yuan in front of everyone, and then kowtow three times before he would be released.
Peng Fei gritted his teeth and kowtowed, and signed the IOU.
Emerging from the station, he saw his gaunt and pitiful sister waiting by the entrance. He felt utterly pathetic.
He was too ashamed to face his mother, let alone Wang Kang, and didn't want to go back.
"Didn't you say Mom borrowed 5,000 yuan to save me? Take that money and treat her first."
"When she gets better, you go back to school. Listen to me, you must not drop out, study hard. Otherwise, it will be too late. I won't recognize you as my sister if you don't."
"I'm going to work. I won't be back for now. Tell Mom not to worry about me. I'll write to you when I'm settled."
Fangfang hadn't expected the family to be in such a mess, and now he wanted to go out to work!
"Where are you going to work? What about Mom if you leave?"
"Mom can get through this. If I stay home doing nothing and earning no money, it will only make her feel worse. The family will depend on you from now on, Fangfang. Be good, and please, please study hard. I'll send you money in a few days. Help me talk to Mom, tell her not to overthink things, okay?"
Influenced by Zhan Jingchun, Fangfang yearned for the outside world, believing that as long as she went out, she could earn money, so she supported her brother.
Moreover, the family was heavily in debt, so what else could they do but go out?
"I had all the money with me when I left this morning, but I didn't dare to spend a penny. You'll need money for your trip, right? Take some, however much you need."
Peng Fei didn't know how far Nancheng was or how much the travel expenses would be, but he estimated 500 yuan would be enough, so he took five notes.
After another round of goodbyes between the siblings, he went to the train station.
It was his first time entering a train station. He bought a standing ticket and after two days and two nights of travel, he finally arrived in Nancheng.
Before entering Nancheng, he had heard Zhan Jingchun describe countless times how wonderful and prosperous the outside world was, and how open people's minds were.
But it was just listening; he didn't feel much.
It wasn't until he truly walked in, saw so many young, beautiful men and women, walls so clean they reflected shadows, bustling streets, towering buildings, and dazzling lights, that he realized the vast gulf between him and Zhan Jingchun.
Before, he was like a stubborn frog at the bottom of a well, while Zhan Jingchun was a wild goose flying from south to north. He couldn't imagine how broad the goose's horizons were.
At this moment, he felt truly and utterly inferior.
Let alone not being able to find Zhan Jingchun at all, even if she stood before him, with his shabby appearance, he wouldn't have the courage to approach her.
Peng Fei didn't know where to go. Nancheng was terrifyingly large, and there wasn't a single person he knew.
He didn't know where to look for work, where to stay, and he didn't dare to speak to anyone. He wandered aimlessly on the streets for half a day, his throat dry. Only when he saw a cleaner sitting on the roadside resting did he feel like he had found a kindred spirit and leaned next to him.
The old cleaner took a sip of his tea and glanced at the young man beside him.
Seeing his dark skin and rustic clothing, he immediately recognized him as someone from the mountains and initiated a conversation.
"Came to the city to work?"
Even the old cleaner spoke fluent Mandarin, which made Peng Fei feel even more awkward.
He stammered in Mandarin, "Yes."
"Where are you from?"
He stated his hometown address. Coincidentally, the old cleaner was from a neighboring province and had been sweeping the streets in Nancheng for nearly ten years.
"My hometown is still the same, undeveloped for ten years, pitifully poor. I'd rather sweep the streets here than go back. Unlike you, you're young, with many opportunities. As long as you dare to venture out, you'll succeed sooner or later."
Peng Fei felt embarrassed to reply. After a pause, he asked the old man if they were hiring street sweepers.
The old man was startled.
"You're so young, strong, and good-looking. Why would you want to sweep streets? This is work for old folks like us."
"With your strength, you could find a factory job and easily earn several thousand yuan a month."
"Then, uncle, can you tell me where to find factories?"
"You child, you don't even know where to look for work? First time here? Don't you have any fellow villagers?"
Peng Fei said no.
"Then why did you come to Nancheng?"
He replied, "To find someone. But I haven't found them yet, and I'm out of money, so I have to find a job first."