A shrill voice came from not far away. Tan Wang swayed as he walked over, a gloating smile on his face. He had noticed Xu Kuo's movements long ago and was now coming over to "check on" him.
"What's wrong? Can't accept defeat and planning to renege on your debt?" Tan Wang walked up to Xu Kuo, looked him up and down, and said with a tone full of sarcasm, "With your few pieces of lousy land, what can you possibly grow now? By the time your vegetables grow, it will be too late!"
He secretly gloated. This Xu Kuo really wouldn't admit defeat until he was faced with the ultimate challenge; he was determined to cause trouble. Once he was completely desperate, let's see how he could possibly fight him!
"Xu Kuo, let me tell you, if you kneel down and beg me now, I'll be magnanimous and pretend the bet never happened, how about that?" Tan Wang crossed his arms, looking like he was offering a handout.
Xu Kuo snorted coldly, not even lifting his eyelids: "Get lost."
One word, concise and clear, yet like a slap in the face, struck Tan Wang hard across the cheek.
Tan Wang's smile froze instantly, replaced by a grimace. He hadn't expected Xu Kuo to dare speak to him like that!
"Xu Kuo! You son of a bitch, don't push your luck!" Tan Wang roared, his voice echoing across the fields. "Who do you think you are? I can make sure you can't make a living in the market, and I can make sure you can't stay in this village either!"
"Really?" Xu Kuo finally raised his head. "Tan Wang, have you forgotten who instigated Zhang Guifang to ruin my vegetable garden and even injure someone?"
Xu Kuo's voice wasn't loud, but it made Tan Wang feel uneasy.
Tan Wang's expression changed slightly, his eyes flickering, clearly Xu Kuo had hit the nail on the head. But he quickly regained his composure, sneering, "Do you have any evidence? If not, don't make baseless accusations!"
He secretly rejoiced, thankful that he had acted cautiously and hadn't left any evidence against him. Even if Xu Kuo found out, what could he do? He couldn't do anything to him!
"Trash, what can you do to me? Come and hit me, come and kill me to avenge your vegetable patch!" Tan Wang mocked arrogantly, his face full of disdain. He refused to believe that Xu Kuo would dare to lay a finger on him!
Xu Kuo didn't speak, but just stared at Tan Wang quietly, his eyes growing colder and colder.
Tan Wang felt a chill run down his spine under Xu Kuo's gaze. But he forced himself to remain calm and said, "What, you're scared now? You're a coward? I knew it, you're just a useless piece of trash!"
After saying that, Tan Wang turned and left. He didn't want to waste any more words with Xu Kuo, because he was quite certain that Xu Kuo had no way to retaliate against him.
Xu Kuo watched Tan Wang's departing figure and couldn't help but laugh. He certainly had ways to deal with Tan Wang, and soon, Tan Wang would pay the price for his actions!
The next day, Xu Kuo took Niu Erbao to the vegetable market and returned to his original stall.
"Hey, isn't this Xu Kuo? What, you dare to come back?"
Tan Wang's voice came from the side, laced with sarcasm. He was gathered with several men who had been assigned to Xu Kuo's stall earlier, and they immediately perked up when they saw Xu Kuo.
Several men joined in the jeering, their faces etched with schadenfreude. They couldn't believe Xu Kuo had the nerve to come back; wasn't he just inviting humiliation?
"Hmph, he just got lucky. Does he really think he's so great?" Tan Wang sneered, speaking disdainfully. He thought that Xu Kuo was able to get his stall back simply because he was lucky, or because something went wrong on Zhou Changke's side.
Shi Jixing stood to the side, his face grim. He hadn't expected Xu Kuo to actually get the stall back! This had made him lose face in front of Zhou Changke.
"Xu Kuo, hurry up and pack your things, don't delay everyone's business!" Shi Jixing urged impatiently.
Xu Kuo, however, acted as if he hadn't heard, slowly tidying up his things, showing no intention of paying any attention to Shi Jixing.
"Xu Kuo, what do you mean by this?" Shi Jixing was furious upon seeing this. "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me?"
People around stopped what they were doing and looked over curiously, wanting to see what Xu Kuo was up to.
Xu Kuo finally raised his head, glanced at Shi Jixing, and said calmly, "I quit."
"What?" Shi Jixing thought he had misheard. "Say it again?"
“I said, I’m quitting.” Xu Kuo repeated calmly, “This lousy place, let whoever wants to stay stay, I’m not staying.”
Everyone was stunned. No one expected Xu Kuo to say such a thing. This was a stall he had worked so hard to get back; how could he just quit like that?
"Xu Kuo, what... what do you mean by this?" Shi Jixing was also dumbfounded. He couldn't understand what Xu Kuo was trying to do at all.
Xu Kuo pointed at Tan Wang: "This man is disgusting. I don't want to be in the same place as him."
One sentence made Tan Wang's face turn a deep shade of liver. He never expected Xu Kuo to say such a thing in front of so many people!
"Xu Kuo! What the hell are you spouting!" Tan Wang roared, his voice hoarse. "Who do you think you are? How dare you look down on me?"
Xu Kuo completely ignored Tan Wang's clamor and just looked at Shi Jixing: "Deputy Secretary Shi, you decide what to do. Anyway, only one of us can stay, me or him."
Shi Jixing was completely dumbfounded.
"Xu Kuo, don't go too far!" Shi Jixing said through gritted teeth, barely suppressing his anger. "This market isn't yours to control; you don't have the final say!"
"Oh?" Xu Kuo sneered. "So you mean I should get lost?"
Shi Jixing nodded without hesitation: "That's right! Get out of here! You're not welcome here!" He had already made up his mind; even if Zhou Changke blamed him, he would have something to say. It was Xu Kuo's own choice not to stay; it had nothing to do with him!
Upon seeing this, Tan Wang burst into triumphant laughter: "Hahaha! Xu Kuo, did you hear that? Deputy Secretary Shi told you to get lost! What are you standing there for? Get out of here!"
He secretly rejoiced. This Xu Kuo really brought this upon himself; he deserved to die! Now, let's see how he can fight against me!
Xu Kuo did not slink away as Tan Wang had imagined. Instead, he sneered, "Shi Jixing, you will regret this."
Shi Jixing scoffed dismissively, "Regret? What do I have to regret? Even if I haven't made any money this month, I can still manage! After a while, when everyone gets tired of your fish, they'll naturally come back to buy groceries! At that time, you can beg me, but I won't let you come back!"
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