Chen Changyuan felt warm in his heart, but he deliberately joked: "Your steamed bread is so hard that it can hit someone. I'm afraid I can't chew it."
"You have to chew it even if you can't!"
Old Yuan glared at him and said, "When you go to the county tomorrow, don't just focus on selling herbs. You won't starve yourself to death."
He paused, then lowered his voice, "I heard that Wang Fugui has been very close to Zhou Dazhu these past few days. I'm afraid he's up to something bad. You better be careful."
Chen Changyuan's eyes darkened, and the steamed bread in his hand made a crackling sound.
He sneered, "What else can they come up with? That loser Zhou Dazhu is only good at talking. If Wang Fugui dares to do anything bad, I'll make him pay for it."
He said this harshly, but his tone revealed confidence.
Lao Yuantou nodded, turned around and left without further persuasion.
Chen Changyuan looked down at the steamed bread in his hand and took a big bite. It was so hard that his teeth almost broke, but he chewed it with relish.
Tomorrow, he will let those people in the county see that he, Chen Changyuan, is not someone to be trifled with.
The next morning, just after daybreak, Chen Changyuan set off carrying several bundles of samples.
Several helpers from the village followed him, all of them with excited faces, as if they were going to a war.
He picked out the best of Bupleurum, Angelica and Dendrobium officinale, intending to show off his skills at the registration ceremony for the exchange meeting.
As the sun rose halfway up the sky, Chen Changyuan rushed into the county with a group of people.
The exchange venue was packed with people, with shouts and bargaining sounds everywhere, and the grassy smell of medicinal herbs mixed with the odor of sweat hit the face.
He squinted his eyes and glanced around, thinking about where to set up the stall.
Unexpectedly, Wang Fugui's smiling face suddenly emerged from the crowd, followed by Zhou Dazhuo, that second-rate guy.
"Hey, Chen Changyuan is here!"
Wang Fugui stepped forward and patted his shoulder with frightening force. "What good stuff did you bring? Don't try to fool people with some rubbish again."
A venomous gleam flashed across his smiling face.
"Oh."
Chen Changyuan shook off his hand. "Village Chief Wang, you're joking. Wouldn't it be clear if we just put the goods on display? And what are you and Zhou Dazhu doing hanging around here?"
He deliberately emphasized the three words "Zhou Dazhui" and saw that the guy's face turned blue. He opened his mouth to say something, but was glared back by Wang Fugui.
"Hey, Xiao Chen, why are you so angry?"
Wang Fugui laughed, "We are from the same village, how could I harm you? This is a good opportunity, you have to bring honor to Qingshui Village!"
Full of hypocritical compliments.
Suddenly the crowd became agitated, and several vendors with foreign accents squeezed over, holding a few bundles of dried bupleurum in their hands.
"Hey, isn't this from Qingshui Village? Tsk tsk, the quality is too bad!"
A skinny guy yelled at the top of his lungs, "I have something better here. It's ten times better than this, and it's cheaper!"
Chen Changyuan frowned and immediately smelled something wrong.
How could the Bupleurum chinense that he carefully selected be so bad?
Looking down, it was clear that the vendors were selling fake goods mixed with weeds.
Turning around, I saw Wang Fugui winking at Zhou Dazhui, both of them with smug smiles on their faces.
Chen Changyuan's heart skipped a beat and he understood that these bastards wanted to destroy his place!
"Okay, Wang Fugui, you're really good."
Chen Changyuan gritted his teeth, "Playing such a shady trick in public, aren't you afraid of retribution?"
He snatched the Bupleurum from the thin man's hand, broke it open and saw that it was indeed a piece of rotten stuff mixed with hay. He was so angry that he almost threw it in Wang Fugui's face.
Wang Fugui, however, remained calm and acted innocent. "Hey, Chen Changyuan, please don't wrongly accuse a good person. How would I know where this thing came from? If you have the guts, show us the real thing instead of just yelling here."
As soon as he said this, the foreign vendors immediately started to make a fuss, and the onlookers began to whisper, their eyes full of suspicion.
Chen Changyuan clenched his fists, wishing he could punch that smiling face, but he knew that now was not the time to get angry.
He took a deep breath, turned around and shouted to the helper, "Put out our samples and let these bastards open their eyes and take a good look!"
Several helpers deftly placed the seedlings of Bupleurum, Angelica and Dendrobium on the stall. When the fresh and juicy quality of the seeds was revealed, the surroundings suddenly became quiet for a moment, and then became a scene of excitement.
"This Bupleurum root is as thick as an arm. How can it be compared to the fake ones?"
"And this Dendrobium officinale, look at its leaves, so tender you can squeeze out water!"
The onlookers were talking about it in a flurry, and the faces of several vendors from other places suddenly turned green. They stammered and tried to find an excuse to slip away.
Wang Fugui and Zhou Dazhu stood aside, their smiles gone. Zhou Dazhu wanted to open his mouth to argue, but was glared at by Wang Fugui.
At this moment, a middle-aged man in a gray Zhongshan suit squeezed into the crowd. He was not tall, but his eyes were as sharp as a knife.
He walked to Chen Changyuan's stall, looked down at the pile of Dendrobium officinale seedlings, and nodded: "This stuff is good, where did you get it?"
His tone was flat, but when the people around him heard him speak, they immediately quieted down, even the foreign vendors shrank their necks.
Chen Changyuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly replied, "I grew it myself, in the back hills of Qingshui Village."
He glanced at the man and felt that he looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen him.
The man hummed, turned, and said to the crowd, "I'm Zhang Qinghai from the County Pharmaceutical Company. I guarantee the quality of this batch of goods. If anyone dares to pass off inferior goods as good ones here, don't blame me for being rude."
When he said this, everyone around him was stunned. The foreign vendors were so scared that their legs went weak and they ran away in the crowd in shame.
The smile on Wang Fugui's face froze completely, the corners of his mouth twitched, and he wanted to say something but didn't dare to utter a word.
Zhou Dazhu couldn't help but mutter, "Director Zhang, aren't you being partial?"
Before he could finish his words, Wang Fugui kicked him in the calf, causing him to cry out in pain.
Zhang Qinghai ignored them and turned to Chen Changyuan, saying, "Your Dendrobium officinale seedlings are quite interesting. I'll show them to everyone during the exhibition later. I think they can fetch a good price."
After saying that, he patted Chen Changyuan on the shoulder and turned away.
Chen Changyuan felt warm in his heart, knowing that this time he had found his chance.
He sneered at Wang Fugui, "Village Chief Wang, what do you think? Want to play another game?"
Wang Fugui said nothing, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot, and he pulled Zhou Dazhu out of the crowd.
When it came to the display, Chen Changyuan personally went on stage holding the pot of Dendrobium officinale seedlings.
As soon as he stood there, everyone stared at the goods in his hand. The lush green leaves were dazzling in the sunlight.
The people below were talking about it, and a few guys who looked like big bosses had already started to touch their wallets.
Chen Changyuan cleared his throat and was about to start his introduction when he heard a sharp female voice from the audience: "Who would buy this crap? It's just a pile of grass!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
