Chapter 137 Giving someone face but not daring to retaliate
Gao Jianchuan and Wenli did not come to pick up the goods the next day.
Wen Xiuyun and Yu Fugui didn't know what was going on either. When they chatted with Bai Lu, Bai Lu only said that perhaps the journey was too far and they needed to think about it some more.
During the time they worked together selling roasted chestnuts, Wen Xiuyun got to know Bailu quite well. Bailu always spoke tactfully and never said anything unpleasant.
Gao Jianchuan and Wenli stayed to chat yesterday, but didn't take any goods; there must be something fishy going on.
Bai Lu didn't say anything, trying to downplay the issue and let it go, mostly to save face for her and Yu Fugui.
After setting up their stall at the market, Wen Xiuyun said to Yu Fugui, "Don't introduce people you don't know well in the future. If a deal is reached, that's fine, but if it doesn't work out and you try to anger Bailu, our cooperation will be affected."
Yu Fugui nodded with a sullen face: "I didn't expect Gao Jianchuan and Wenli to be two-faced. I know they have big appetites, but before we came, they kept saying that they would first cooperate to sell roasted chestnuts and see how the market was. If it was good, they would continue to sell and expand the market. If it wasn't good, they would just give up. They didn't have any other ideas."
Wen Xiuyun recalled a friend mentioning Gao Jianchuan and Wen Li's rise to wealth, and shook her head: "The fruit we sell is just ordinary, nothing rare, it's sold everywhere, it wouldn't catch Gao Jianchuan and Wen Li's eye."
“If we were selling roasted chestnuts, Gao Jianchuan and Wenli definitely wouldn’t be so easy to talk to.”
“Back when the jujubes had just been planted on the mountain in Li Fengjuan’s hometown, Gao Jianchuan and Wen Li went to their village to discuss cooperation, and they proposed that the jujubes could only be sold to their family.”
"Later, because Gao Jianchuan and Wenli didn't find enough sales channels, the jujubes on the mountain were almost ripe and rotten, and no one came to continue buying them. The villagers had to elect representatives to go to the outer city to find other merchants to sell to, and the blocked prices finally surfaced. Those villagers originally thought they had made a lot of money, but when they compared the prices offered by other merchants and did the final calculation, they found that they had not only not made money but had actually lost money."
Yu Fugui frowned: "So it seems that when Gao Jianchuan and Wenli came to our village to buy peaches, they had this idea in their words. At that time, we went out to sell fruit. Later, when we heard from the neighbors that the village chief said that you and I were also selling fruit, they didn't mention it again."
"I just listened casually at the time and didn't take it seriously. I never imagined that they had already done things like monopolizing the market."
Yu Fugui only met Gao Jianchuan in recent years and was unaware of his past deeds.
Everyone has a fruit shop in Pingcheng, but theirs might be a chain store, while his is just a single shop.
The shop owners who knew each other would occasionally discuss business strategies. Gao Jianchuan was brought in by another shop owner. They didn't know him well, but what he said made some sense, so they chatted together.
"Fortunately, Bai Lu wasn't stupid and wasn't fooled by short-term gains into selling the roasted chestnuts."
“Bai Lu is not stupid at all, she’s very smart.” Wen Xiuyun couldn’t help but praise her, even though she was still a little scared: “If anyone was too slow to understand and thought we were in cahoots with Gao Jianchuan, we would be out of a job.”
Yu Fugui nodded in agreement, saying that when doing business, you should work with people like Bai Lu to avoid trouble.
This noon I picked garlic sprouts to stir-fry with cured duck meat and spicy crucian carp... On White Dew, I went to the vegetable garden to water the vegetables and picked a big bunch of garlic sprouts, greens, and peppers, which I then washed in a basin in the front yard.
While I was washing, there was a knock on the door.
As soon as the door opened, Chen Chunli, heavily pregnant, stormed in, shouting angrily.
"Chen Dafu!"
"Chen Dafu, get out here! You've been gone all day, so you came to Bailu to sell chestnuts, didn't you!"
"Don't think I don't know. I heard people on the street say yesterday that you rode your motorcycle to Xiao Cheng's house early this morning with a big basket tied to the back. You must have come to get chestnuts from Bai Lu to sell. Chen Dafu, you spineless coward, get out here! I'll beat you to death!"
The shrew's roar reached outside, and passing neighbors couldn't help but look over, only to see Bai Lu smile and greet them before closing the door.
They were all neighbors, so it wasn't appropriate for them to eavesdrop. The neighbors took a look and left.
Hearing the door close, Chen Chunli turned around and glared at Bai Lu: "Why did you close the door! Open the door!"
"Does opening the door make you look bad?"
Bai Lu said coldly, "Would you rather embarrass Wang Hao and Xiao Cheng and ruin their reputations?"
Chen Chunli retorted angrily, "What nonsense are you spouting? How is it shameful for me to come looking for someone!"
"Did Chen Dafu get his roasted chestnuts from you to sell? You bastard Bai Lu, trying to sow discord, huh? You're so good at giving others easy opportunities but not your own people!"
"Don't you know why I won't cooperate with you?"
Bai Lu's eyes, devoid of their usual gentleness, were now filled with coldness: "Now, do you want to cooperate with me, or do I have to beg you to cooperate? Have you figured out your place? You've repeatedly provoked me with harsh words. What kind of attitude is this? If I treated you like this, would you cooperate with me?"
"Xiao Cheng just went on a long trip yesterday, and you come to my house looking for a man today? What, are you going to spread rumors again, making people misunderstand that I'm promiscuous and hooking up with other men? Are you going to tarnish the reputation that our family has worked so hard to restore?"
Chen Chunli was so frightened by Bai Lu's cold tone and stern, unsmiling face that she couldn't speak.
The imposing manner with which he had just yelled at Chen Dafu was completely gone.
As Bai Lu pressed closer and closer, I retreated to the front gate, my back pressed against the cold wooden door.
Hearing Bai Lu's reprimand, word by word, Chen Chunli felt annoyed and opened her mouth to say something in rebuttal.
After a long pause, he could only manage to stammer out one sentence: "What does it matter to me what others think! They can say whatever they want, so why don't you go and beat them up!"
"Do you really have to tear off the mask of civility, ruin the brotherhood between Wang Hao and Xiao Cheng, and make things difficult for them?" Bai Lu's tone was icy cold.
Her face was beautiful yet cold, her figure slender yet imposing, as she approached the door step by step.
Wang Hao, who had rushed over after receiving the news, intending to stop Chen Chunli from causing trouble and assaulting people, stopped abruptly upon hearing Bai Lu's words, just as he reached out to push the door open.
Chen Chunli had never seen Bai Lu like this before; her imposing presence rivaled that of Xiao Cheng, leaving Chen Chunli speechless.
I wanted to open the door and leave, but the bolt was already in place.
Bai Lu had already arrived in front of her and sneered, "Scared already? When you were making such a scene just now, weren't you scared? Didn't you think about the consequences?"
"Who says I'm afraid? I'm not afraid of you! Who do you think you are!" Chen Chunli slammed her hand on the door, her voice deep and heavy but not loud, which seemed more like a bluff.
Bai Lu remained calm and composed, her aura overwhelming her: "And who do you think you are?"
"The only thing you've relied on to get away unscathed after repeatedly throwing tantrums and spreading rumors is the child Wang Hao is carrying in your belly, not you, Chen Chunli. Do you think everyone is afraid of you and wouldn't dare to lay a hand on you?"
(End of this chapter)
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