Tan Wang snorted coldly, his eyes and brows full of disdain: "What, Xu Kuo, can't stand to see others do well? You can sell, but I can't?"
"These dishes... are Master's!" Niu Erbao suddenly exclaimed, his voice trembling slightly.
Tan Wang's expression changed instantly, panic creeping onto his brow. He shouted angrily, "Niu Erbao, you little brat, don't talk nonsense! You're slandering me!"
Xu Kuo's doubts deepened, and he turned to Niu Erbao with a questioning look in his eyes.
Niu Erbao hurriedly pointed to a particularly eye-catching cabbage on Tan Wang's stall, his voice urgent: "Master, look at that cabbage! Yesterday I fertilized the field, and I used up all the fertilizer on that one patch. I even made a mark on the leaves of that cabbage so I could fertilize it again today!"
Upon hearing this, Tan Wang's heart skipped a beat. He instinctively reached out to cover the cabbage, shouting in a fierce but weak voice, "You...you're talking nonsense! Stop slandering people!"
Xu Kuo was filled with rage, but looking around, he found no concrete evidence.
Just then, customers began to arrive one after another, creating a bustling and lively scene. Xu Kuo had no choice but to temporarily suppress his anger and urge Niu Erbao to quickly set up a stall to sell vegetables.
Seeing that Xu Kuo didn't pursue the matter further, Tan Wang secretly breathed a sigh of relief and grew bolder. He started shouting at the top of his lungs, "Fresh vegetables! Just picked from the field, cheap sale!"
Quite a few customers who couldn't get their hands on vegetables from Xu Kuo's stall were attracted by Tan Wang's shouts, and curiously gathered around, picking and choosing before taking out their money to buy.
Before long, Tan Wang's vegetables were completely sold out, and Xu Kuo's vegetables were also sold out, making the entire market more lively than usual.
Seeing this, Xu Kuo was filled with rage, but he had no evidence.
Tan Wang laughed triumphantly, his laughter filled with sarcasm: "Hahaha, Xu Kuo, you piece of trash! You think you can fight me? Who do you think you are? If you beg me, maybe I can let you in and reserve a spot."
Xu Kuo was so angry he was itching to get his teeth together, but there was nothing he could do. He could only pack his things with Niu Erbao and leave in a huff.
Once Xu Kuo was out of sight, Tan Wang immediately scurried off to find Shi Jixing.
"Secretary Shi, this is great news!" Tan Wang entered the room beaming, embellishing the story of what happened at the market entrance that day. "That kid Xu Kuo was furious, but he couldn't do anything about it!"
Upon hearing this, Shi Jixing was overjoyed and patted Tan Wang on the shoulder, laughing loudly: "Good! Good! Good! Tan Wang, you've done a great job! Here's what we'll do: I'll approve a few more stalls for you. Let's work hard and drive Xu Kuo out of the market completely!"
Meanwhile, Xu Kuo returned to the village, increasingly angry, unable to swallow his anger. He called Niu Erbao over and solemnly instructed him, "Erbao, you'll have to work hard tonight. Go to the fields and keep watch, don't let that thief steal the vegetables again!"
As night fell, Niu Erbao, holding a stick, squatted down beside Xu Kuo's farmland.
Tan Wang crept stealthily to the edge of the ground and immediately spotted Niu Erbao crouching in the shadows. He was so frightened that he shuddered and his daring to steal back disappeared.
He thought to himself: Xu Kuo really was on guard against this! Luckily, the vegetables I stole yesterday were enough to sell for a few days, so I'll let him off the hook tonight!
Niu Erbao stayed up all night in the field, his eyes bloodshot, but he didn't even see a trace of Tan Wang. Waves of drowsiness washed over him, and despite his efforts to stay awake, he couldn't help but doze off.
The next morning, Niu Erbao dragged his tired body to the entrance of the vegetable market, only to find that Tan Wang was still selling vegetables there, and the vegetables were still so fresh and juicy!
"Xu Kuo, Niu Erbao, you two idiots! I already told you these are my own dishes, you must have been on night watch, hahaha." Seeing Niu Erbao's exhausted appearance, Tan Wang became even more smug and laughed unrestrainedly.
Xu Kuo stood to the side, his face ashen. He knew that keeping watch was useless; Tan Wang probably had other ways to get the vegetables!
What can we do? We can't just stand by and watch him continue to be so arrogant, can we? Xu Kuo clenched his fists tightly.
Suddenly, Xu Kuo's brows relaxed, and he had an idea.
Back in the village, Niu Erbao followed closely behind Xu Kuo, looking anxious. "Master, what... what should we do? That Tan Wang is a real scoundrel. He's obviously stealing our vegetables, and he's so arrogant!"
Xu Kuo didn't stop, turned to look at Niu Erbao, and smiled, "Hmph, he steals? Let him steal as much as he wants!"
Niu Erbao stood there, scratching his head, his face full of confusion: "Huh? Master, what... what do you mean? Are we just going to let him steal like this?"
"Go and buy more daffodils," Xu Kuo said without turning his head.
"Daffodils?" Niu Erbao was even more confused. "Master, why are you buying daffodils at this crucial moment? Can you eat them or sell them?"
Xu Kuo stopped and turned around, lowering his voice to explain, "You silly boy, daffodils and chives look so alike! Especially the leaves, you can't tell them apart if you don't look closely! Isn't chives the best-selling item at Tan Wang's stall?"
Niu Erbao suddenly realized, slapped his thigh, and jumped up excitedly: "Wow! Master, that's a brilliant idea! Absolutely brilliant! I'll go buy some right now! Let Tan Wang steal a bunch of daffodils to sell as chives! Let's see how smug he can be then!"
Xu Kuo watched Niu Erbao's departing figure, his eyes gleaming. Trying to fight me? You're still too green!
As evening fell, the setting sun painted the sky a golden-red hue. Xu Kuo and Niu Erbao were busy in the field, cutting fresh leeks one stalk at a time and neatly stacking them to one side. Afterward, the two carefully planted the daffodils they had bought, one by one, in the empty space where the leeks had just been harvested.
As night fell, all around was quiet, with only the chirping of insects rising and falling.
Tan Wang's figure appeared furtively at the edge of Xu Kuo's vegetable garden. He looked around and, seeing no one, was overjoyed. Like a cat stealing cream, he tiptoed into the garden.
"Hehe, Xu Kuo, you idiot, you think you can fight me? Today I'll make sure you lose everything!" Tan Wang laughed smugly, and by the dim moonlight, he began to frantically harvest the "leeks" (victims).
Because the chives sold during the day were incredibly popular and many customers praised them highly, Tan Wang became even more determined to continue stealing vegetables.
He specifically targeted the best-growing leeks, cutting off large handfuls at a time, happily calculating tomorrow's profits.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Xu Kuo and Niu Erbao arrived at the entrance of the vegetable market.
Sure enough, Tan Wang had already set up his stall early, and today his chives were particularly eye-catching, a large, lush green expanse that looked especially tempting. Shi Jixing was also standing to the side, the two of them chatting and laughing smugly.
Xu Kuo and Niu Erbao exchanged a glance, barely suppressing their laughter. They had deliberately not brought any leeks to sell today, just to give Tan Wang more screen time.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
