The noisy crowd instantly fell silent, and everyone turned to look at Shi Jixing, who was standing on the outer edge with an angry expression.
Seeing that it was finally quiet, Shi Jixing used all his strength to push through the crowd in front of him and squeeze in step by step.
The vendors in the market finally had a chance to peek out and see what was happening.
Xu Kuo was standing next to the vegetable cart, holding a bag and filling it with vegetables. Opposite him stood a ragged old man who kept thanking Xu Kuo.
Shi Jixing rushed over, snatched the bag of vegetables from the old man's hand, and threw it on the ground with a "thud," scattering fresh vegetables all over the ground.
"Well, Xu Kuo! Where the hell did you get these vegetables? Are they even legitimate? Selling vegetables here like this, what if you ruin the reputation of our market?"
Xu Kuo's face instantly turned cold, and he stared sharply at Shi Jixing: "What do you want to do?"
Shi Jixing snorted coldly and raised his chin: "What do I want to do? I'd like to ask you the same thing! Where did you get this dish from?"
"I grew them myself." Xu Kuo's voice was calm, but it carried an undeniable power.
"You grew these yourself? You're talking nonsense!" Shi Jixing didn't believe it at all. "You've only been growing vegetables for a few days. What could you possibly grow? I bet these vegetables are of dubious origin! They're probably just rotten leaves that've been sprayed with chemicals to make them look so fresh!"
"That's right! Everyone needs to keep their eyes open! Don't let this kid fool you!" Shi Jixing looked around, trying to incite the crowd.
"You're talking nonsense!" An older woman who had just bought groceries couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to retort loudly, "I just bought Xu Kuo's vegetables, they're very fresh! Much better than those wilted ones in your market!"
"You...you're in cahoots with him, aren't you?" Tan Wang immediately jumped in to support Xu Kuo when he saw someone speaking up for him.
“Who’s with him? I just can’t stand you heartless merchants who bully people!” the woman retorted defiantly.
Xu Kuo coldly glanced at Shi Jixing and Tan Wang: "You want to see, right? Let me show you!"
He casually picked up a cabbage, broke off a leaf, then picked up a tomato and squeezed it with his hand.
Shi Jixing and Tan Wang were dumbfounded.
This...this food is amazing! It's several times better than theirs!
Tan Wang was unwilling to give up and shouted defiantly, "So what if your vegetables are good? They'll definitely be ridiculously expensive! All the vegetables in our market are on sale right now! They're much cheaper than his!" He thought that as long as the price was low, he could attract customers.
But he didn't expect that his words would instead provoke public outrage.
"Pah! You have the nerve to talk about discounts? Your vegetables are all wilted, and you're still charging so much!"
"Exactly! Xu Kuo's dishes are not only fresh, but also reasonably priced! He even gave this old man so many dishes for free just now!"
"You heartless merchants, all you know how to do is rip people off! Compared to Xu Kuo, you're nothing but trash!"
The customers, one after another, gave Shi Jixing and Tan Wang a thorough dressing-down.
Xu Kuo's good deed had completely won everyone's trust, while Shi Jixing and Tan Wang's slander had made everyone extremely disgusted with them.
"Apologize! You must apologize to Xu Kuo!"
"Yes! Apologize! Otherwise, we'll never come to your lousy vegetable market again!"
A roar erupted from the crowd, each one louder than the last.
The old man, trembling, picked up the vegetables that Shi Jixing had thrown away from the ground and patted off the dust with a pained expression.
He raised his head, looked at Shi Jixing and Tan Wang, and said in a hoarse but firm voice, "You...you have to apologize to the young man! Otherwise...otherwise I'll go to the county committee and report you!"
"You old fool, you don't know what's good for you, do you? I told you to go sue, so go ahead, what are you pretending for here!" Shi Jixing glared at him.
He shoved the old man aside, pointed at Xu Kuo's nose and yelled, "And you, Xu, listen up! Pack your junk and get out of here, don't get in my way!"
Xu Kuo snorted coldly, not bothering to pay him any attention.
Shi Jixing felt as if he had punched cotton, and the anger in his heart flared up instantly. Just as he was about to lash out, he noticed that the surrounding customers were glaring at him angrily and slowly closing in on him.
Shi Jixing's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. He then realized the enormous hornet's nest he had stirred up.
"Go, go quickly!" Tan Wang was so frightened that his legs went weak. He grabbed Shi Jixing's arm and scrambled out of the way.
The two fled the crowd in a sorry state, like rats crossing the street.
"Hey, Secretary Shi, what... what happened?" Several vendors who had set up stalls in the market saw Shi Jixing come out looking disheveled and immediately surrounded him, asking all sorts of questions.
Shi Jixing, panting heavily, recounted what had just happened, embellishing the story. At the end, he spat angrily, "Damn it, I never expected that kid surnamed Xu would actually be so capable. He actually managed to grow vegetables in a month!"
The vendors looked at each other, their faces filled with shock.
They originally thought that Xu Kuo was just a hothead who was just fooling around by going to the village to grow vegetables.
But who would have thought that this kid actually managed to grow the vegetables, and grow them so well!
"So what if he grows them? How much can he grow in a month?" Shi Jixing said through gritted teeth. "At most, it'll only last a few days. Once he sells all his vegetables, won't he have to obediently leave? At that time, won't this vegetable market be ours?"
Hearing this, the vendors felt a little better.
Yes, even if Xu Kuo could grow vegetables, how many could he grow?
Once he sells out his vegetables, won't he still have to rely on these old vendors?
Thinking of this, the vendors' mood improved, and they returned to their stalls to continue hawking their vegetables.
However, in their hearts, they all felt a touch of jealousy towards Xu Kuo.
...
Outside the market, Xu Kuo quickly sold out all the vegetables he had brought.
He packed another bag of vegetables for the old man, filling it to the brim, even more than the previous bag.
"Grandpa, please take these dishes and enjoy them at your leisure." Xu Kuo handed the dishes to the old man.
The old man looked at the heavy load of vegetables in his hands, his eyes welling up with tears: "Young man, you are such a good person... but you have offended Shi Jixing, he will definitely not let you off the hook... or should I go to the town committee to report him!"
Xu Kuo shook his head. The town committee didn't care about such things. Even if the old man went, he would probably be dismissed with a few words: "Grandpa, don't go. It's no use. You're too old to worry about such things."
After seeing the old man off, Xu Kuo and Niu Erbao pushed their empty vegetable cart back to the village.
The two didn't see the old man's moved gaze behind them; the old man was very determined and walked in one direction.
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