Chapter 90: Setting up a stall and being attacked by thugs
After returning home, he gave the purse to Su Tai and said, "According to the rules of previous years, there will be a small market in the town on the evening of the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. Most of the things that were not sold out at the big market will be sold at the small market, and the price will be cheaper. You can order some firecrackers at that time, and we will sell all the goods."
Su Tai didn't understand what was going on. "I rarely see you so angry. What's wrong?"
Shen Yi panted angrily and hammered the table, “Manager Li of the Jixiang Inn set off a fireworks display that night, which alarmed the county magistrate. All other towns in Zhaohua County know that someone in Dahe Town is selling fireworks.
As a result, some people got a batch of fireworks and firecrackers to sell in Moshi Town these days, saying that they were the ones selling fireworks and firecrackers in Dahe Town. One firecracker was fifty cents, and a bucket of fireworks was five taels. They also said that this was the price before. A woman gritted her teeth and bought a firecracker, but it turned out to be a dud and couldn't be set off at all. She went to find the seller, but the other party refused to admit it and said that the woman had deliberately cheated him.
Those who bought firecrackers were also cautious. A few families tried to set off one, but half of them didn't go off. Everyone came to them in a group to seek justice. Guess what they said?"
"What do you mean?" Su Tai was anxious and angry, and leaned forward.
Shen Yi slammed the table and said angrily: "They actually said they were relatives of Mr. Ma. Let those people take it easy."
"Hiss!" Su Tai gasped, "You're threatening me now! The town officials don't care?"
Chen Yi sighed, "How can we manage it? This kind of thing is hard to prove, and who would be willing to spend so much money to buy fireworks and firecrackers to set off blindly! Moreover, the town official is the son-in-law of Mr. Ma. No matter how they are related, it is always not good to openly embarrass his father-in-law, right? But they can't pretend to be us. We must go to the small fair on the 29th of the twelfth lunar month to vent our anger for those people who have been deceived."
"Okay! You go find my father and the village chief first, and ask them to come over to support us, so that we won't be bullied by the other side!" Su Tai was really worried about Shen Yi.
Shen Yi also knew that he couldn't show off at this time, so he took his things to Dongmen Village the next day.
He first went to find Su Chunlin, and then went to Song Yongnian's house to sit for a while.
The twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The young couple set out before dawn, and when they arrived at Moshi Town, they hadn't seen any other stalls selling firecrackers.
Not long after the two of them set up the stall, someone came over and asked, "Fireworks? Where did you get them?"
Seeing that the other party was not friendly, Shen Yi protected Su Tai behind him and asked, "Do you want to buy it?"
"I'm asking you where the goods come from, don't you understand?" Zhao Qiang suddenly raised his voice and patted the stall in an imposing manner.
Shen Yi narrowed his eyes, his face stern, “It has nothing to do with you.”
"What? What did you say?" Zhao Qiang scratched his ears in disbelief and laughed wildly, "Did I hear it right? How can you set up a stall here without knowing who I am, Master Zhao? Who gave you the courage!"
Shen Yi raised his eyebrows, "Master Zhao? Compared to the town official, who is older?"
Zhao Qiang was so angry that he spat a mouthful of thick phlegm on the ground. "Boy, you are still too young to use the town official to pressure me! I, Master Zhao, have many backers behind me!"
"Is that mountain so blind that you can rely on it?" A contemptuous and teasing voice came from behind Zhao Qiang.
"You are looking for death!" Zhao Qiang turned his head suddenly, only to see Su Changfu leading a group of villagers from Dongmen Village staring at him hungrily.
His expression changed instantly, and he pointed at them and shouted calmly, "What do you want to do? Rebellion? Be careful or I'll report you to the town magistrate!"
Su Changfu twitched his lips sarcastically, "Didn't you just ignore the town magistrate? Why are you suddenly talking about the town magistrate now? How about I ask the town magistrate to talk to you?"
"You guys just wait for me!" Zhao Qiang said harshly and ran away with a gloomy face.
Su Changfu then stepped forward and patted Shen Yi's shoulder soothingly, "Don't worry, we are here today, no one can do anything to you!"
"Uncle Su, thank you so much! Those who came to help today will each take a string of firecrackers back home later. It's free," Shen Yi said to the villagers of Dongmen Village in a hoarse voice.
Everyone was pleasantly surprised and worked even harder to help get drinks.
As soon as the villagers of Sangjia Village entered the town, they found a group of people surrounding a stall. They put out the fireworks and firecrackers and shouted for a long time, but no one asked the price.
"What's going on?" Sang Xingchang frowned and looked around. "Where's Zhao Qiang? Didn't Sang Yong say that he had asked Zhao Qiang to clear the place in advance? We are the only one selling firecrackers today."
Sang Xingwang also felt that something was wrong, "Did those people make too much noise last time?"
"Impossible! No matter how much those people make a fuss, there will still be people coming to buy from us, right?" Sang Xingchang's face turned green as he tried to squeeze into the stall opposite to take a look. However, his efforts for a long time were in vain. He was so angry that he turned around and went to find Zhao Qiang.
After a while, he finally caught Zhao Qiang eating noodle soup on the street. "You really made me look for you!"
Zhao Qiang looked up and glanced at Sang Xingchang, and before he could speak, he said, "The other party came prepared, and they kept saying they were the town officials. They weren't afraid at all. My tricks are useless. You should go to Mayor Sang and find a solution. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. If you can't sell all the fireworks today, you'll have nothing to lose!"
Sang Xingchang's face changed drastically. He could no longer sit still and rushed to Ma's house.
Sang Yong and his son Sang Rong were waiting for news at the Ma Mansion, preparing to divide the money, but they did not expect that the one who arrived was the flustered Sang Xingchang.
"I asked you to sell firecrackers, why are you running here instead of just guarding the stall?" Sang Yong scolded in dissatisfaction.
The previous marriage with the Su family caused all his family assets to be stolen, and after half a year of struggle, it still came to nothing. If his son had not married his niece, their family would have been left with nothing.
This time, he used a lot of tricks to get his brother-in-law, Mr. Ma, to help him import a large number of fireworks and firecrackers, hoping to make a fortune during the New Year.
At such a critical moment, how could the people under my command hold us back?
Sang Xingchang was so anxious that he kept jumping up and down, "Oh my! Village chief, you are still so calm at this time! A group of people selling fireworks and firecrackers came to the street. They are not afraid of Zhao Qiang at all. They even carried out the town official. They are so numerous and powerful that we can't do anything to them!
People all go to them to buy firecrackers, no one comes to see our stuff!"
“How is that possible!” Sang Yong’s face changed drastically, and he hurriedly took Sang Rong to the street. After seeing the booming business across the street, he was so angry that he rushed in without caring about anything. “Get out of here, their firecrackers are problematic, don’t buy them! Don’t buy them!”
After he shouted like that, the people actually made way for him.
Sang Yong walked forward aggressively, only to find that the stall owner was an old acquaintance.
It is said that enemies become particularly jealous when they meet. Sang Yong wanted to tear the Su Changfu brothers apart on the spot. "Okay! I thought it was someone who dared to go against me, but I didn't expect it to be a bunch of shameless dogs like you!"
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