Mr. Zhao tapped the table. "Give me three days."

Old Master Chen coughed a few times, "What?"

"Yes, and also, the two-year profit-sharing agreement I mentioned has ended this year, so our contract has come to a close."

"No, cough cough, what do you know, little kid? I've lived for a long time, what haven't I experienced? There must be something wrong here, don't take the risk, at worst we can just stop making vegetable sheds."

Grandpa Chen excitedly threw off the covers and was about to get off the kang (heated brick bed), but Zhao Xiaoyue stopped him in time.

"It's alright, I said three days and I meant three days. No matter what the result is, you mustn't get too excited."

Zhao Xiaoyue got up and left with Situ Ming.

Even when Grandpa Chen called out, he couldn't stop.

What are you planning to do?

We came by the main road, but we're going back by the field ridges.

Walking along the empty field ridges, Situ Ming tried to take Zhao Xiaoyue's hand and distract her with words.

Zhao Xiaoyue's fingers were intertwined, and she was about to say something when she heard the question. She then told the person next to her her plan.

"Do you believe that everything in this was done by Chen Da's family?"

Situ Ming didn't care who did it; all he knew was that the little woman's hands were soft, unlike someone who had practiced martial arts for many years.

I haven't had a chance to kiss her for several days, and I really miss it.

His gaze unconsciously fell on her small, parting lips; they were very alluring, but…

"Chen Da's maternal relatives are not as friendly as they appear on the surface. How should I put it, there's a term called 'wasp stinger,' and they are the kind of people who are like cotton wool with hidden needles. If you're not careful, they will pierce your skin."

Zhao Xiaoyue shook her head. "Among Grandpa Chen's family, Chen Yeye has the most arrogant temper. He is not the kind of person who is cunning and deceitful. An upright person will usually feel that others are just like him when faced with hypocrisy.

"Ugh!"

The man, with a serious expression, seized the opportunity and kissed Balabala's little mouth. Although he was still not satisfied, he stopped there.

"Hmm, I think your analysis is very accurate. Oh, I'm sorry, seeing how logically you spoke, I couldn't help but kiss you."

He innocently pretended to be listening very attentively.

Zhao Xiaoyue blinked, then pursed her lips and glanced at the man with superb acting skills.

"Let others grab you and call you a hooligan."

Situ Ming clenched her hands and put them in her down jacket pocket, only saying, "Boyfriend." The little woman blushed and her heart pounded.

The fourth day of the Lunar New Year

If Zhao Xiaoyue says three days, then it's definitely three days.

Just as she suspected, it was Chen Da's maternal family who were behind it.

Chen Da's maternal family name is Gao. Old Master Chen is more than a decade older than his wife, so the Gao family openly and secretly look down on Old Master Chen.

Moreover, Madam Chen died in childbirth when she gave birth to Chen Er.

The old man did not go back, but instead raised his two sons to adulthood.

The year after the Chen family's vegetable stall prospered, they approached the Gao family to join them. Initially, the two families split the profits roughly 30/70, with the Gao family claiming a smaller share but a 30% cut. At first, the Gao family didn't think much of it, wondering how much profit a vegetable stall could possibly generate.

However, starting in the third year, the demand from restaurants and supply and marketing cooperatives increased, and the overall consumption level rose. The Chen family also cultivated various winter vegetables, and major restaurants, supply and marketing cooperatives, supermarkets and small shops all rushed to order vegetables from the Gao family, especially during festivals, when the supply could not meet the demand.

The Gao family was envious of the more than 5,000 yuan in net profit from just one vegetable shed. The Gao family had several sons, among whom the eldest son was the most successful in the county town.

He treated all the shop owners, restaurant managers, and supply and marketing cooperative supervisors he knew to meals, implying that he wanted to limit the sales volume of Chen's vegetable stall.

If he were to deliver the vegetables, everything would go smoothly; but if Chen Er were to deliver the vegetables, he would make excuses, obstruct, and be picky.

In short, the Gao family wanted to take kickbacks.

In modern terms, this means that middlemen make a profit from the price difference, and this difference is not just ordinary.

Furthermore, people have eyes. Seeing that the Chen family's vegetable stall was thriving and profitable, some farmers in the surrounding area began to follow suit.

Therefore, Chen's vegetable stall encountered a crisis in its sixth year.

This is just how ordinary people are. Without changing their mindset, a new thing can only be novel for a year or two at most, and some things won't even stay novel for a year or two before many imitators appear. It's like a book; the original may not even be finished before a pirated copy appears.

Can you say those people are wrong?

Anyway, no patent was applied for!

On the third day, Zhao Xiaoyue recounted everything to Old Master Chen.

Old Master Chen remained silent for a long time.

Perhaps most people find it hard to believe.

When he married Gao, he was already in his mid-thirties, while his wife was just over twenty.

Actually, he traded a load of wheat for his wife, but unexpectedly, she passed away after giving birth to their second child. She wasn't even taken to the hospital in time.

Thinking of this, Old Master Chen sighed, "Oh, Little Sun, thank you for running around. Actually, I owe the Gao family. This is how I repay their kindness."

Zhao Xiaoyue took a sip of tea. "What do you plan to do?"

Old Master Chen gave a bitter smile. "What else can we do? This person can't do anything wrong, otherwise a ghost will definitely come knocking on the door in the middle of the night."

Chen Da was a little sad. Their mother had passed away early, and they had thought that everyone could make money together. They never expected that it would be their own people who would harm their family.

From that moment on, the Chen family and the Gao family severed all ties and never had any contact again.

Zhao Xiaoyue didn't understand what Old Master Chen meant by those words. It was truly a coincidence that she knew a high price didn't mean anything good.

There was more than one conflict with the Gao family. When she was little, she heard the old men and women say that this person in the Gao family was no good, and that person was no good. She wondered why they were no good.

As a result, Grandma Wu from Dawang Village once said: "The Gao family has a serious problem with favoring sons over daughters. Any baby girl born into the Gao family who is good-looking will be kept by the family, but most of them will be thrown into the baby girl tower to fend for themselves. Their mothers have no right to care for them. By the time they find out, the child is already dead or has been eaten by something."

Grandma Wu added meaningfully, "Little Sun, remember this: never judge a book by its cover. A stone may look smooth on the surface, but it might be hiding something inside."

Well--

In any case, Grandma Wu's assessment of the Gao family could be summed up in the words "human-faced beasts".

As for why Old Master Chen wouldn't understand the ins and outs, Mr. Zhao guessed that Old Master Chen might know, but out of consideration for his wife, he chose to turn a blind eye.

Her deal with Old Master Chen is now over. As for how things will develop from here on out, Old Master Chen probably has his own plans, so I won't interfere any further.

The first month of the lunar calendar is over, and it's time for school to start; she should go back home now.

Before leaving, Zhao's parents called Zhao Xiaoyue into the house because they had discovered something in the past few days.

Zhao Xiaoyue was laughing and joking at first, but when her father asked, "Are you dating Xiaoming?", she immediately stopped laughing.