After driving Yan Jiefang away, Xu Fugui had no choice but to continue selecting a son-in-law to live with his wife's family. However, after searching for ten days to half a month, he hadn't found a single decent one.

No normal man would want to become a live-in son-in-law. The Xu family is in dire straits right now; unless they're starving, who would want to become a live-in son-in-law?

Since he couldn't find any normal ones, Xu Fugui could only look for those that were as normal as possible. After searching high and low, he could only find one foot, which had some problems.

Zhang Cheng's willingness to become a son-in-law in the Xu family was a last resort. Due to polio, his right leg was somewhat impaired. The family had seven sons in total, a heavy burden, and three had starved to death a couple of years prior.

Zhang Cheng, 23, is the second son in his family. His parents are old, he has no skills, and he is also physically disabled, so Zhang Cheng had no choice but to become a live-in son-in-law.

Becoming a live-in son-in-law means my son will have to take my wife's surname, but it's still better than being a bachelor my whole life. My parents are old and can't help me at all, and with four brothers living together, it's not even convenient for me to turn over in bed.

Since marrying into the Xu family, Zhang Cheng's situation has improved somewhat for his brothers. He has been quite diligent since then. Even though Xu Xiaoling was somewhat unwilling, she had no choice but to marry Zhang Cheng.

In this era, the parents' opinions are almost synonymous with the children's. Since the marriage, the Xu family has gained another man, but their situation has not improved in any way.

If Zhang Cheng had a skill, he might have been able to support the Xu family. But Zhang Cheng had no skill, and being a cripple, he couldn't earn much money at all, and instead, he was constantly dragging the Xu family down.

Seeing his family's situation worsen day by day, Xu Fugui had no choice but to turn to Wei Hua. Wei Hua was the only person Xu Fugui could think of who could help his family.

"Hua Zi, our two families have had a pretty good relationship over the years. Could you do Uncle Xu a favor? My son, Da Mao, is still bedridden. And none of our family members have a stable job. Could you help me think of a way to find someone in our family a job?"

"Xu Fugui, although we have no grudges between us, if you don't believe me, go ask your Xu Damao what happened in the last incident?"

“Tell him that there are no secrets in this world. Huaide’s men have already confessed everything. Xu Damao crossed out my name and filled in his own.”

"I don't think I've ever offended your Xu family. How could your Xu family do such a thing? After what we've done, do you think I would still help your family?"

Upon hearing Wei Hua's words, Xu Fugui was stunned, as if struck by lightning.

He had originally hoped to get some help by leveraging his relationship with Wei Hua, but he never expected his son to do something like this.

Knowing his son as he did, Xu Fugui was certain his son was capable of such a thing. It perfectly matched his son's past behavior.

Although the deed was done, it absolutely cannot be admitted. Once admitted, the Xu family's reputation would be completely ruined. Nobody likes someone who secretly plots against them. Besides, the Xu family and the Wei family used to have a good relationship.

Once we admit this, our relationship with the Wei family will be broken. The two families might even become enemies. You also know that Wei Hua has a bright future. Making enemies for your own family at this time is definitely not a wise move.

“Hua Zi, this is absolutely malicious slander. You and Da Mao are such good friends, how could Da Mao do such a thing? In the entire courtyard, you are the only person Da Mao can talk to. You are Da Mao’s only friend. Even if Da Mao attacks others, he would never attack you.”

"Xu Fugui, you shouldn't be talking here. I consider Xu Damao a friend, but Xu Damao doesn't consider me a friend. Do you need me to bring over other people's testimonies for you to see?"

"If you don't want people to know, then don't do it in the first place. If I hadn't happened to be giving a report at the Ministry of Metallurgy, I wouldn't have seen this document. The Minister of Metallurgy wouldn't be targeting your son, would he?"

After Wei Hua finished speaking, he didn't give Xu Fugui a chance to speak at all, turned around and went back to his own home, closing the door behind him.

Given Wei Hua's attitude, Xu Fugui could only leave in disappointment. Upon returning home, he immediately slapped Xu Damao across the face.

"You bastard! Did you do something to betray Weihua? Did you cross out Weihua's name and replace it with your own?"

"Wei Hua is one of your few friends, and his future is limitless. How could you do such a stupid thing?"

"Even if you're going to do it, you should at least do it discreetly. Now look what's happened, we don't even have anyone to help us anymore. What are we supposed to do now?"

Hearing his father's words, Xu Damao was stunned. He had thought no one knew about this, but unexpectedly, Wei Hua had found out. Only now did Xu Damao understand why Wei Hua hadn't even looked at him after he was injured.

“Dad, I’m doing this to climb the corporate ladder. There are only a few senior positions in the steel rolling mill. Weihua and I are both at the division-level. If Weihua gets an award, he’ll definitely be the one promoted later.”

"You're the one who taught me the saying 'Every man for himself.' Wei Hua is my biggest rival. If I don't resort to underhanded tactics, do you really think I can defeat Wei Hua?"

"I wish I had a good father and a good uncle. If I had a background like Wei Hua's, I wouldn't need to resort to these petty tricks."

“He himself said he had no interest in a career in government. Since he doesn’t want to take this path, what’s wrong with me fighting for it? He doesn’t want to advance, but I do. I’m not content with mediocrity. I need that outstanding individual award to boost my chances.”

"Why does he have such good resources but not use them, while I have to rack my brains for this? He just has a better background than me. If he hadn't gotten lucky, I would definitely be better than him. I'm just jealous of him, I just hate him. Why can he get everything, while I can't get what I want no matter how hard I try?"

“If I had his connections, I would have climbed up to him by now. Why would I be lying in bed like a piece of trash like this?”

Hearing his son's words, Xu Fugui didn't know what to say. "Man dies for wealth, birds die for food"—this is an age-old truth. To reach the top, you must climb on the shoulders of others.

If it were him, he probably would have done the same thing. After learning the whole story, Xu Fugui patted his son on the shoulder and then touched his face.

“Da Mao, Dad understands how you feel. If it were Dad, I'm afraid I would have done the same. You must apologize to Wei Hua for this. You probably know our family's situation right now. If we can't get Wei Hua's forgiveness, he won't help us.”

“He’s a workshop foreman, after all. If he’s willing to help, he should be able to arrange a job for your brother-in-law. Even if it’s not a good job, our family will still have hope of surviving.”

Hearing his father's words, Xu Damao nodded. He knew that his family had become like this because of him.

"Dad, bring our wheelchair over. I'll go apologize to Weihua right now and ask for his forgiveness so he can help Zhang Cheng."

Upon hearing Xu Damao's words, Xu Fugui pushed over the homemade wheelchair, then lifted Xu Damao onto a stool and pushed him to Wei Hua's house.

Upon arriving at Wei Hua's house, Xu Damao struggled to stand up from his wheelchair. Then he slowly crawled onto the ground, eventually kneeling down before reaching Wei Hua's doorstep.

Xu Damao knew that admitting a mistake required a sincere attitude. Only in this way could he gain Wei Hua's forgiveness.

“Hua Zi, I know I wronged you last time. I shouldn’t have crossed out your name and put mine on top. I only did it because I knew you didn’t want to go down this path.”

"If I had known you would mind this much, I should have told you beforehand. The reason I didn't say anything was because I was afraid it would affect our relationship. I have always considered you my best friend, Xu Damao, without exception."

If Wei Hua hadn't learned about the conversation between the father and son through his spatial abilities, he might have actually believed Xu Damao's words.

“Xu Damao, don’t say any more of this. It’s all in the past. I’m sorry I can’t do anything about what your father said. You know my way of doing things. I just want to live my life peacefully and don’t want to get involved in any messy things. So I’m not favored by the factory director and deputy director, and I simply don’t have the ability to arrange a job for your brother-in-law.”

"I've always been completely open and honest with my friends. But I also know that once someone is unfaithful, they'll never be trusted again."

After speaking, Wei Hua slammed the door shut, completely ignoring what Xu Damao was saying outside. Wei Hua wasn't some saint; betrayal only happens once or countless times, without explanation.

Xu Damao, who had been kneeling on the ground for several minutes, finally couldn't hold on any longer. After his father helped him up, he left the court, but he had also come to hate Wei Hua completely.