Chapter 67: Are stalls not allowed?
The people living at Old Zhao's house got up very early today, and everyone had the same dark circles under their eyes.
It's obvious that he didn't sleep well.
"Haa~"
Fan Xiaoxiao yawned, forcing herself to perk up a bit.
"Let's go, we have a lot to do today. The merchant ship will stay for three days."
Braving the morning mist, the group went out. The market was eerily deserted as ever. Fan Xiaoxiao and her companions ran into Hou San on the street. He looked at the desolate street with a sinister expression. When he saw Fan Xiaoxiao and her group, he smirked and asked, "Oh, Madam Fan, you're up so early? Are you going to set up a stall?"
"Good morning, Third Master Hou! We're not going to set up a stall, just to stroll around the market. We've been here for so long, but haven't had a proper look around yet."
Fan Xiaoxiao wore a genuine smile, and Hou San couldn't detect a single flaw. He frowned and glanced behind Fan Xiaoxiao and the others.
"Oh, where's Old Zhao? Isn't he out setting up his stall?"
As usual, Old Zhao and his fellow vendors should have arrived at the market long ago. But when he arrived today, there wasn't a single vendor in sight. This made him inexplicably uneasy, as if something big was about to happen.
"Grandpa Zhao's frames were all bought by the Ji family yesterday, so Grandpa is at home weaving frames."
Xiao Bao's childish voice sounded very crisp and clear, and Hou San couldn't find anything wrong with it.
He glanced at the group of people in front of him, and for some reason, he felt that they were hiding something from him.
Under his scrutinizing gaze, Fan Xiaoxiao tugged at the frame on her back, grinned, and looked at him with an innocent expression: "Third Master Hou? If there's nothing else, let's go to the market first!"
Hou San's expression shifted several times, but he ultimately let them pass. However, Fan Xiaoxiao had only taken a few steps when Hou San suddenly remembered something. He turned around abruptly and said in a slow, deliberate tone.
"Wait a minute."
Fan Xiaoxiao and the others paused, and Uncle Wang's brows furrowed. He glanced at Fan Xiaoxiao, who gave him a look that said "stay calm" before turning away.
"What's wrong, Third Master Hou? Is there anything else you need to tell me?"
Hou San's small mustache twitched slightly, and he squinted his small eyes. He brought his face closer, his voice like a venomous snake, cold and chilling: "I forgot to ask you the other day, madam, are those walnuts really your family heirlooms?"
As he said this, Hou San's gaze was fixed intently on Fan Xiaoxiao's face.
He found it all too inexplicable, and after his fight with Zhu Er yesterday, he was now certain that the walnuts weren't sold by that pig-headed Zhu Er. So who was it then?
After much thought, besides him and Zhu Er, the only other people who knew about that thing were this family.
The Fan family gave him those walnuts so readily back then, they didn't seem to care much. And recently, his conflict with Zhu Er is more or less related to those walnuts.
Thinking of this, Hou San's eyes grew even more malevolent.
Feeling the gaze fixed on her head like a venomous snake's tongue, Fan Xiaoxiao's long eyelashes trembled slightly.
Just as Hou San's doubts were growing stronger, a soft laugh escaped from her lips: "Heh, Third Master Hou is joking. How can that item still be considered our family heirloom? The walnuts were already given to Third Master and Second Master Zhu in front of Chen Ergou, so they can no longer be called our family's property."
Hou San frowned, remembering that Chen Ergou was indeed there that day, but he had heard that Chen Ergou had been seriously ill these past few days.
Just as the two sides were deadlocked, Zhu Er suddenly appeared out of nowhere. He rushed in front of them, grabbed Hou San, and roared furiously, "Hou San! Are you fucking crazy?! You're not letting them set up their stalls today! Damn it! If you want to die, don't drag me down with you!"
This sudden turn of events startled Madam Fan, who immediately stepped forward and pulled Fan Xiaoxiao behind her, away from the two people who had suddenly become hostile.
Hou San was clearly startled by Zhu Er's sudden appearance. He shoved Zhu Er aside and roared, "Are you fucking crazy?! When did I ever stop them from setting up stalls today?! I should be asking you that! You damn fool! Don't you know what's important?!"
Zhu Er was pushed and stumbled, barely managing to stand up with his round and clumsy body.
"Am I crazy? Damn it, if you hadn't stopped those vendors from setting up stalls, the market would be completely empty right now!"
Zhu Er shouted those last words with a hint of hysteria.
Hou San was stunned by his imposing manner and it took him a while to realize what the other person was talking about. His expression suddenly became somewhat strange.
"Not you?"
Zhu Er gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching: "Damn it! What do you mean it wasn't me! Let me tell you, Hou San! If there weren't any merchants, the people from the boat would never have entered the town! Then, not only you will have to face the mayor's wrath! Don't forget! Your Hou family also has my Zhu family, the Huang family, and several other shops! Let's see how you explain this to everyone!"
Hou San naturally understood this principle well, and he shook off Zhu Er's hand.
"That wasn't me! Instead of finding a solution, you come here to harass me. You're just a pig-brain! We all agreed that as long as the caravan buys something, we'll get a reduction in town taxes! How could it be affected!"
"Ha! It won't be affected? Then go and see if any caravans have come down today!"
Hou San was startled, then shook off Zhu Er's hold and hurried towards the market. Zhu Er spat, his eyes sweeping fiercely over Fan Xiaoxiao and the others, before following after him.
Fan Xiaoxiao was not intimidated by his gaze at all. She tugged at Fan Shi beside her, her face full of eager anticipation, as if she wanted to watch the show.
"Let's go, let's go take a look."
The market wasn't far away; it was just a short walk. Just as Zhu Er had said, the market, which used to be packed with people, was strangely deserted today, not even a mouse in sight.
Zhu Er ground his back teeth, his eyes glaring at Hou San with a venomous glint in them: "Fight! Fight! Fight! All you ever do is fight with me! Now look what you've got! Let's see how you're going to handle this!"
Hou San was ignited by his words and was about to explode when he noticed a large crowd gathering in front of the Linjiang Tower not far away. The two of them froze, forgetting their bickering, and quickly walked over.
"Make way! What are you all doing here?!"
Zhu Er's massive size had its advantages; he single-handedly cleared a path ahead, making it easier for Fan Xiaoxiao and the others to follow him and squeeze in.
"Hey! Snowball Shark Fin Soup! Don't miss it! Today's new dish is only sixteen coins!"
At the entrance of Linjiang Tower, Manager Ji, along with three other managers, was all smiles as they told the passersby about the new dishes that had been served that day. Behind them, a number of waiters were carrying a pot of steaming hot meatballs out, almost bumping into Zhu Er, who was blocking the entrance.
This startled the men, who quickly stopped and greeted Zhu Er.
"Good morning, Master Zhu!"
"Manager Ji, what are you trying to do?"
Zhu Er glanced at the pot the waiter was carrying, his small eyes filled with an ambiguous light.
"Oh, Master Zhu, Master Hou, you two have come at the perfect time. We're heading to the docks to set up our stall. We just happened to be there to pay today's rent to you both!"
Without waiting for Zhu Er and Hou San to react, Steward Ji pulled out today's rent from his pocket and handed it to them in front of everyone. Caught off guard, Zhu Er was confused about the Ji family's tricks. Shop owners didn't usually have to pay market rent! Why was his family suddenly paying rent?
Besides, the Linjiang Tower isn't far from the dock. Zhu Er and Hou San, forgetting their past grudges, exchanged a glance, sensing something amiss in each other's eyes. Zhu Er stepped forward and immediately stopped Steward Ji.
"Manager Ji, don't rush to set up your stall. Did we say we agreed to let you go?"
The workers who were about to carry the pots out froze on the spot, and even Manager Ji's expression froze for a moment.
"Second Master Zhu, what do you mean by this?"
"What we mean is, we don't want you to set up a stall."
(End of this chapter)
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