"I'll stay for two months, then I'll move out when school starts," Wang Peng said.

“Then come stay at my house. It’s convenient for selling watermelons! It’s just me and my grandson at home, and there’s room available,” Du Geda said upon hearing this.

"Thank you, Mr. Du. Here's the rent. How much?" Wang Peng opened his wallet.

“I don’t want rent. You can tutor my grandson when you have time, how about that?” Du Geda revealed a sly look. “In the high school entrance exam rankings, you are number one, and my Xiaolei is number 238.”

"Okay, let's help each other and make progress together." Wang Peng thought for a moment and agreed to his suggestion. Learning from each other would lead to mutual progress, and it was a natural thing to do.

...

He finished speaking.

The two packed up and left the melon field to return to Duzhuang. About half an hour later, they arrived at a courtyard house.

"Lei Zi, someone's here! This is Wang Peng, the top scorer in the high school entrance exam." Du Geda called out as he entered the courtyard.

A boy looked up, carrying his books, and walked to the door. He looked at Wang Peng's face and asked, "You're Wang Peng, the one who came in first place?"

He is Du Lei, with acne-covered face, fuzzy lips, and a voice that is still going through puberty.

Wang Peng's head was buzzing. This was his coworker and brother from his previous life. The two of them had worked together on construction sites for ten years.

He knew that Du Lei was from Ping'an County, and that his hometown was also south of the railway, but he didn't know that his grandfather's name was Du Geda.

"My name is Du Lei, and I attend Duzhuang Junior High School." He extended his right hand. "Let's shake hands and get to know each other."

"Brother Lei, I've heard so much about you. Your classmates all say you're a good student and a great basketball player; you're the starting point guard on your school team." Wang Peng smiled and shook hands with him.

"Who told you that?" Du Lei grinned. "Actually, my basketball skills are just average; I'm just playing for fun."

"Brother Peng, your name is well-known. Everyone in our school knows you. You always get first place in every exam."

Du Lei said, "You have always been my role model. Our teachers always use you to inspire us."

The atmosphere instantly became harmonious, and Du Lei instantly became Wang Peng's little fanboy. It's normal for the top scorer in the high school entrance exam to be worshipped by students.

"You two can learn from each other and make progress together." Du Geda was very happy and took out the keys from his pocket. "Xiao Peng, come with me to look at houses."

"Looking at houses? What do you mean?" Du Lei asked his grandfather.

Du Geda laughed and said, "Your brother Peng will stay at our house for a few days and help us sell watermelons. You two brothers can get to know each other better."

...

Wang Peng followed Du Geda to the neighboring courtyard and settled down there.

After Du Geda left, he went to the kitchen to boil water to prepare for a bath.

He was in a good mood because he had a place to temporarily shelter from the wind and rain.

At that moment, Du Lei appeared at the door, holding three packets of instant noodles.

"Brother Peng hasn't eaten yet, right? Here, have some." Du Lei placed three packets of instant noodles on the stove.

Wang Peng laughed, "Brother Lei, don't be so polite. I feel like I'm a big star and you're my die-hard fan."

Du Lei shook his head. "I just think you're amazing. Not only are you good at studying, but you're also good at business."

A few days ago, I went to the market with my grandpa to sell melons, and I was too embarrassed to talk to anyone.

"Haha!" Wang Peng laughed at him. "You can't do it like this. You need to build up your courage. I'm going to sell watermelons at the textile factory's residential compound tomorrow. Do you want to come with me?"

Du Lei gave a thumbs up, "I treated you to instant noodles so we could work together to build up your courage. Remember to call me tomorrow, let's go sell melons together."

...

Wangcun.

The Wang family.

"Are you sure your older brother sold watermelons? Made over a hundred yuan? And then bought beef for himself?" Wang Song asked with a stern face.

Wang Song, Li Guifen, Wang Cheng, and Wang Zhen all stared at Wang Xia.

That's beef! We might have a bite during Chinese New Year just to satisfy our cravings.

“Dad, it’s definitely him. She’s the one who hit me in the face.” Wang Xia pointed to her swollen face.

When she returned from the pig market today, she didn't immediately reveal Wang Peng's whereabouts. She planned to go to Wang Peng again tomorrow to demand hush money, vowing not to give up until she got the money.

But Li Shufen suddenly asked her to go to her maternal grandmother's house the next day to get garlic sprouts, leaving her no time to extort Wang Peng anymore.

Not wanting to let Wang Peng, who had slapped her, get away with it, she revealed his whereabouts.

"That's strange." Wang Song frowned. "None of our relatives grow watermelons, so where did he get the money to start a business?"

“Big brother has changed. He used to always share the good food with us.” Fourth sister Wang Zhen couldn’t help but swallow her saliva when she thought of the beef, and the cornbread in her hand suddenly lost its appeal.

"He must have stolen money from home." Li Guifen gritted her teeth. "Old Wang, let's go to the pig market tomorrow and ambush him. We have to get the money back."

“My brother has probably been feeling really down lately, it’s normal for him to vent. Dad, Mom, please don’t be angry with him,” Wang Cheng gently comforted his parents.

Then he changed the subject, "But no matter what, you can't steal money from your family to start a business. Why can't you discuss things with your family?"

Wang Song nodded. "Go to sleep after you finish eating. I'll go to the pig market to ambush him tomorrow."

"Dad," Wang Xia said, covering her face, "my face hurts so much from my older brother's beating that I won't be able to cook tomorrow."

"Siya, you'll cook tomorrow," Li Guifen instructed Wang Zhen directly.

"Mom, I'm the youngest in the family, I don't want to cook," Wang Zhen immediately objected.

"You think you can just quit like that? Who do you think you are?" Li Guifang slammed her hand on the table. "Your third sister has done a great service, what service have you done?"

In the dead of night, Wang Song and Li Guifen were too excited to sleep.

"Old Wang, how much money did that unfilial son steal from our family?" Li Guifen asked through gritted teeth.

"At least twenty yuan." Wang Song lied casually, turning his back to Li Guifen.

He kept all the family's money, and he remembered every single penny.

No money was missing; Wang Peng didn't steal any money from his family, but that's not important.

"That unfilial son dares to steal so much money! Does he even want our family to survive?" Li Guifen gritted her teeth. "We'll ambush him tomorrow and get all his money back!"

Wang Song scratched his head and remained silent.

A few minutes later, Li Guifen said again, "Old Wang, let's get the money and buy two bolts of good cloth first. My pants have faded, let's make a new set of clothes."

"Hmm," Wang Song licked his lips, "Let's buy two more bottles of wine and two pounds of meat. We haven't eaten meat at home for over a month, and our mouths are so bland."

...