"That's right! It's outrageous!"
"We thought he was a good person!"
"A person like that is a menace to the village!"
Immediately, public sentiment was agitated, and accusations and curses surged toward Xu Kuo like a tidal wave.
Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun exchanged a glance, their eyes gleaming with smug satisfaction. The plan was progressing perfectly!
Xu Jianjun jumped out, pointed at Xu Kuo's nose, and arrogantly shouted, "Xu Kuo! You scourge! Get out of Kaoshantun right now! Our village doesn't welcome black-hearted merchants like you who sell poisonous vegetables!"
"Yes! Get out!"
"Get out of Kaoshantun!"
"We can't let him hurt anyone else!"
The villagers, stirred up by the situation, joined in and became agitated, determined to drive Xu Kuo away.
Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun were overjoyed.
If we just drive Xu Kuo away, his warehouse, overflowing with grain and valuables, will become ownerless, right? Then…
"Shut up, all of you!"
At the very top of this noisy and chaotic scene, Xu Kuo suddenly shouted!
The crowd was intimidated by his imposing manner and subconsciously stopped shouting, but their gazes toward him were still filled with anger and contempt.
Xu Jianguo was also taken aback by Xu Kuo's imposing manner, but he quickly realized that he now had the upper hand! He immediately stiffened his neck and cursed even more arrogantly.
"Hey! Xu Kuo! You poisonous vegetable seller, you still dare to be arrogant? You're about to die and you still dare to be cocky! I think you don't even know how to spell the word 'death'!"
Xu Kuo completely ignored his shouts, his gaze sweeping over Li Laosi and Wang Mazi, who were "in agony" on the ground, and then glancing at Aunt Zhang, who was "weak and powerless" leaning against the cart. A cold sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Alright, that's enough of the show," Xu Kuo's voice, tinged with amusement, reached everyone's ears clearly. "Get up, everyone, the ground is cold."
"Huh?" Xu Jianguo laughed as if he'd heard the funniest joke in the world, pointing at Xu Kuo and sneering, "Are you fucking scared out of your wits? Who do you think you are? A god? You think they'll come up just because you say a word? You're ridiculously stupid! Everyone, look! This is drug trafficking..."
Before he could finish speaking, his words were suddenly stuck in his throat.
Because, in the next moment—
Li Laosi, who had been rolling and groaning on the ground, nimbly sprang to his feet and dusted himself off.
Wang Mazi, who was curled up in a ball, stretched, stood up, and even moved his neck.
Aunt Zhang, who was leaning against the car and looked like she was on the verge of death, straightened up and cleared her throat with a strong voice.
The three of them showed no trace of their previous agony. They were all in high spirits, with rosy complexions, and even a slightly embarrassed smile.
The entire scene instantly fell into a deathly silence.
The villagers who had gathered around were all dumbfounded. What the hell was going on?!
The smiles on the faces of the Xu brothers, Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun, who had just been smug and confident of victory, instantly froze, and the color drained from their faces at a visible speed, replaced by fear and panic!
How...how did they get up?!
That's impossible!
That's absolutely impossible!
The two brothers' hearts pounded wildly, and an ominous premonition instantly enveloped them.
At this moment, both of them turned ashen-faced, trembled violently, and large beads of cold sweat poured down their foreheads, soaking their temples.
How could this happen?! That's not how the script was written!
Shouldn't they have "poisoned" him, causing public outrage, completely discrediting Xu Kuo, and then driving him out of the village?!
Why? !
“These gentlemen and aunties are in very good health,” Xu Kuo’s voice was not loud, but it carried clearly throughout the room. “They did not eat my food, nor were they poisoned.”
His gaze shifted to the three villagers who stood up, looking somewhat bewildered: "I found them yesterday and paid them to put on this show."
"What?!"
"Acting? Hired to do it?"
"Xu Kuo, what... what are you doing?"
The villagers who had been watching were completely dumbfounded, their minds reeling. Just moments ago they thought Xu Kuo was selling poisonous vegetables and were furious, wanting to drive him away, but the next second they were told it was all an act? What was the point?
"What are you doing?" Xu Kuo sneered, glancing at Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun, whose faces had turned deathly pale. "Because, just yesterday morning, I discovered that the vegetables I was preparing to sell today had actually been poisoned!"
These words caused another uproar in the crowd!
"What? Someone really poisoned it?"
"My God! That's so vicious!"
"Who did this?!"
“I disposed of those poisoned vegetables a long time ago, and the ones I’m selling now are absolutely fine. But I can’t swallow this! I want to see which heartless bastard tried to harm me with such despicable means!”
Xu Kuo paused, his gaze locking onto Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun like a hawk's, his tone suddenly turning icy: "So, I decided to play along and have you all cooperate in this charade. I just want to ask..."
Xu Kuo took a step forward, his powerful aura making the two brothers almost unable to breathe.
"Xu Jianguo! Xu Jianjun!" he demanded, enunciating each word clearly. "My food is fine, and these actors didn't eat it! So tell me, how did these 'friends' you brought here get sick from 'eating' my food?!"
This question struck like a thunderbolt!
All the villagers' eyes immediately focused on Xu Jianguo and Xu Jianjun's pale faces.
Yes! There was nothing wrong with Xu Kuo's food, and the actors didn't actually eat it. So what about Xu Jianguo and his friends who keep saying they got poisoned after eating Xu Kuo's food?
The truth is now crystal clear!
"I...we..." Xu Jianguo's lips trembled, his eyes darting around in a panic. He didn't dare look at Xu Kuo, let alone the angry villagers around him.
Xu Jianjun was so frightened that his legs went weak, and he stammered, "But...maybe they...they ate something else...yes! They must have eaten something unclean! It has nothing to do with...it has nothing to do with Xu Kuo's food!"
Who would believe such a weak and feeble excuse?
"Bullshit!" One of the villagers, who had been most swayed earlier, finally realized what was happening and pointed at Xu Jianjun's nose, cursing, "That's not what you said just now! You insisted that he ate Xu Kuo's food! You two damned bastards! You actually slandered your own brother!"
"How shameless! They even harm their own family!"
"You heartless, rotten bastard!"
"We were almost fooled by you! We even wrongly accused Xu Kuo!"
"Pah! That's fucking disgusting!"
The villagers' anger was even more intense than when they had confronted Xu Kuo! They could be deceived, but they could not tolerate such a despicable and shameless framing that distorted the truth, especially since it involved deceiving them.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
