The woman, with a gossipy tone, almost couldn't wait to recount the Wang family's experiences over the years.
"That man, don't let his current appearance fool you, oh my, let me tell you, he used to be really fierce."
“They used to have an eldest son who was very smart. I’ve been buying vegetables here since this market was first built, for over 20 years. I’ve watched their children grow up.”
"Their eldest son is so short..."
The woman gestured to her knees: "He's so small, maybe three or four years old. He's already helping his dad sell fish. He's such a little guy, he doesn't even need a calculator. He's incredibly fast at calculating, and his mind is so sharp. I've never seen such a smart child."
“Such a smart child, if he were my child, I would be overjoyed.” The old woman’s expression was exaggerated, and she pointed her finger at the man who was bowing even lower with disdain: “He simply stopped letting the child go to school. Can’t you believe it? Such a smart child, instead of nurturing him properly, he’s made to sell fish. I’ve never seen such a stupid and wicked father.”
Another older woman nearby weighed the fish and chimed in, "Yes, I heard they even forgot to send their kids to elementary school."
The vegetable vendor, sitting a row away, strained to look up and said, "It was only after I spoke that he remembered his child needed to go to school."
The other stall owners who were nearby started talking amongst themselves:
“They sent him there but didn’t care about him. He got first place in math but didn’t praise him. Instead, he beat him until he was unrecognizable.”
"Later I saw that the child was badly beaten and didn't dare to speak, like a frightened little mouse, what a pity..."
"Who said that? I think that kid is smart. He got the top score in the college entrance exam, didn't he?"
"What's the use of becoming the top scholar? With a father like that, you'll still be driven to your death."
The older woman winked at Ruan Bei, whose lips were pursed and whose face was pale: "Did you hear that? What a tragedy! A perfectly good child, driven to his death by him, how pitiful!"
"We've all watched that child grow up, so if we can't do anything else, we won't buy their fish anymore," the woman said indignantly.
Ruan Bei didn't know what to say, so he pointed to the other stall owners and asked, "What about them..."
"Hey, same here. They've spent a lot of time with that kid, and the kid still has to call them uncles and elders when they meet. These people are just standing up for that kid. Anyway, as long as they don't buy fish from the Wang family, they won't care who they buy from."
Ruan Bei glanced at Wang Zha's father, who didn't seem like the type to swallow his anger: "Didn't he resist?"
“Of course we did.” Before the old lady could finish speaking, Boss Zhao interrupted, “That bastard poisoned our fishpond and killed all our fish. We ganged up on him and beat him up. We even knocked out two of his teeth.”
"Didn't he call the police?" Qin Gu asked.
Mr. Zhao said, "Why call the police? He's an unregistered resident at the police station. He drove my eldest son to his death before, and he even went to the school to cause trouble. That's why the police took him away. Besides, he poisoned our fish pond. If this really gets out of hand, he can forget about running his fish stall."
The farmers' market management had long wanted to find an excuse to kick them out.
Ruan Bei remained silent for a moment. In any case, these people had vented Wang Bufan's anger.
"Then what's the point of keeping his fish stall there... since there's no business."
“You little rascal, you’re thinking quite a lot.” Boss Zhao laughed. “How much can we make just from these individual customers? We also deliver fish to various restaurants. If they lower the price a bit, there will always be restaurants that will buy it. We can’t go to their restaurants and cause trouble; we’re not in the right.”
"He used to have two big fish stalls, look at him now, ha."
When Ruan Bei looked, it was true. The stall owners on both sides had even encroached on part of the space of Wang's fish stall, and Wang's father didn't dare to say anything.
"People shouldn't do bad things. If you do something wrong, you'll definitely get your comeuppance." Boss Zhao said leisurely while scaling fish. "That guy surnamed Wang forced his sensible, obedient, smart and filial eldest son to his death. Didn't he just bring in a devil in the world?"
The words were a bit unclear. Just as Ruan Bei was about to ask for more details, a group of children rushed in from outside. They were all boys around ten years old, about half a year old, and they rushed over in a large group.
The group of children stopped in front of Wang's fish stall. The tallest boy in the group casually reached out to Wang's father and said, "Dad, give me some money."
Wang Zha Die said with a dark face, "I just received fifty yesterday, why do you want more?"
The boy frowned and yelled, "What can fifty yuan do? It's not even enough for each of my brothers to buy an ice cream."
Wang Zha's face darkened even more: "Don't they have parents? Why should you spend money on them? Whose children are they? I'm going to find their family!"
Upon hearing this, the group of boys immediately started making a fuss. Two of the taller, stronger boys, their faces full of resentment, shoved Wang's youngest son: "Wang Feifan, you're the one who invited us, it's not like we're asking you for it. If you can't afford it, then don't invite us. What's the point of calling your parents? You tattletale, go play by yourself!"
"Exactly! You tattletale, the son of a murderer, who wants to play with you!"
"Go away, go away, ignore him. He's all talk and no action, a fake generous guy who's incredibly stingy."
"Who are you calling a murderer!" Wang Zha's father roared, and the boys scattered and ran away, disappearing in the blink of an eye.
Wang Feifan stomped his feet angrily: "What are you doing? It's all your fault! They won't play with me anymore. What's wrong with treating my classmates to ice cream? How can you be so stingy? It's so embarrassing!"
"You're just a little kid, what do you know about shame?" Wang Zha's father was not at all as tyrannical towards his youngest son as he was towards Wang Bufan.
"Dad is giving you ten yuan. Use it yourself. Don't be silly and give it to strangers."
"I'm going to invite them! I've already talked to them!" Wang Feifan's face flushed red as he glared at his father. "Everyone knows how shameful it is! Aren't you ashamed when people call you a murderer? You're the one who's ashamed, and you want me to be ashamed too!"
Wang Zha's father was so angry that he felt dizzy. He raised his hand to slap him, saying, "What nonsense are you spouting, you little brat!"
Wang Feifan was very slippery. He immediately went around to the back of the fish pond to hide from his father and said defiantly, "I'm not lying. You're the one who drove my brother to his death. I saw it. You all beat him up, stripped him of his clothes and asked him for money, and chased him out. That's when my brother jumped off the building."
He said, "Don't think I don't remember just because I'm young. I remember it very clearly. Go ahead and hit me. If you dare to hit me, I'll jump off the building. I'll jump off our balcony and make sure you don't get a single penny. And no one will take care of you in your old age!"
Wang Zha's father almost fainted; his hand holding the wallet was shaking as if he had Parkinson's disease.
Wang Feifan had angered his father so much, yet he showed no remorse or guilt whatsoever. Taking advantage of his father's momentary daze, he rushed forward and snatched his wallet.
"Come back!" Wang Zha's father chased after him, veins bulging on his forehead. He still had several thousand yuan in his wallet, the money the restaurant had paid him for selling fish that morning.
The market was crowded, and he almost bumped into two teenagers buying fish next to him. The tall, aloof teenager gave him a cold look and then shielded the other one tightly.
Wang Zha's father was focused on recovering his stolen wallet and didn't bother with them much. Normally, he would have definitely taken the opportunity to cause trouble, but these two little brats were so happy to hear Zhao talking badly about him.
But he didn't have time for that now; money was the most important thing. Wang Zha Die, with his back hunched, ran past the two of them.
Ruan Bei glanced at Qin Gu, who nodded slightly. Ruan Bei lowered his voice and asked, "How many?"
Qin Gu made a three-finger gesture, and Ruan Bei gave him a thumbs up: "Amazing." That hand speed is incredible.
It's not appropriate to chase after them now. These talismans aren't like eye-opening talismans or thunder talismans, which take effect immediately. Ruan Bei, wanting to go all out, turned around and looked at the fish in the fishpond: "Would you like some boiled fish?"
Mr. Zhao immediately chimed in, "Boiled fish? Then grass carp or black carp will do. Look at my fish, they're so lively and fresh."
Qin Gu frowned: "I don't know how to cook it." He wasn't good at cooking fish.
"It's okay, take it to my dad's. It's almost lunchtime, let's mooch a meal there." Ruan Bei was even less likely to accept, as he was the worst cook in his family. However, he was always lucky with food, as his family of three plus Qin Gu fed him.
"Boss, weigh out a black carp, a slightly larger one." Black carp has fewer bones than grass carp, making it more enjoyable to eat.
"Okay, is this one okay?"
"Okay, this one will do."
Boss Zhao weighed a big black fish for him. While waiting for the fish to be cleaned, a young man pushing a cart came in and said to Boss Zhao, "Brother Zhao, still selling fish? Did you know there was a car accident outside?"
"A car accident? Who is it? What kind of car accident could happen here?" There is a lot of traffic here, and large trucks transporting goods have to slow down. There are quite a few bumps and scrapes, so car accidents are really rare.
"That old Wang next door," the young man said gleefully, "He was chasing his son and almost crashed into the front of a big truck. The driver swerved to avoid him and smashed a small truckload of tomatoes next to him."
As a result, this unlucky fellow also tried to dodge, but ended up knocking over the egg delivery tricycle, and the falling tricycle crushed his leg.
Boss Zhao's mouth dropped open in astonishment: "This...this is terrible..."
The young man chuckled, "These days, truck drivers, tomato deliverymen, and egg sellers all demand compensation from him. Old Wang is covered in eggs and tomatoes; he could be fried right in a pan."
He spoke humorously, which amused the surrounding stall owners. One of them asked, "And then?"
The young man said, "He's unwilling to pay. Everyone knows him. He's so ruthless. He'd even drive his own son to the brink of death. Expecting him to pay up? Dream on!"
He complained of leg pain and wanted to go to the hospital, but the hospitals wouldn't let him go, afraid he'd run away and refuse to pay his bills.
“That makes sense. If we let him go, he’ll definitely renege on his debt.” Just then, the person involved was brought back under guard.
They couldn't keep blocking the intersection, but Wang Zha Die refused to pay compensation. The victim got anxious, so several strong men dragged him back and went to catch his fish to settle the debt.
Wang Zha's father seemed to have really injured his leg, limping as he tried to stop them, but how could he stop them? They were demanding compensation, but he didn't want to, and even if he did, he had no money; his wallet had been snatched by his son.
Ruan Bei watched as the entire pond was emptied of fish, along with the boxes containing the fish and everything else that could be carried away. Even the knife used to butcher the fish was stolen by someone.
"This...it works so quickly?" He looked at Qin Gu in surprise. Was the bad luck charm really that effective?
"They must have been having a run of bad luck all along," Qin Gu said softly. When one's luck is at its lowest, the talisman for bad luck is particularly effective and works quickly.
The already deserted stall became even deserted. Before, there was no one around, but now even the smell of fish is gone. The stall is empty and looks like a abandoned one.
Wang Zha Die sat slumped behind the fishpond, now only filled with water, his gray hair disheveled, one leg twisted unnaturally, his whole being blank and desperate.
No one went up to him to show concern, and whispers could be heard from the surroundings, with the word "retribution" appearing most frequently.
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