NOVPUB
Chapter 466: Chapter 456 Encountering a Ruffian
With the experience of the first day, Shen Yunfang decided not to let everyone go to the market so early for the second day of the stall setup. Being early was useless, without people, they would just be freezing there, so she adjusted the stall setup time to nine in the morning.
Furthermore, she had Liu Jianjun take Shitou to deliver the two honeycomb briquette stoves over first, and then Shitou kept watch while Liu Jianjun returned with the tricycle to load up the goods, followed by Shen Yunfang and Shuanzi joining them.
By the time Shen Yunfang and the others had set up the stall, it was nearly ten o’clock.
When there were no customers around, the group warmed themselves around the two stoves. When customers did come, they went to serve them. It wasn’t as tough as the first day.
At noon, Li Xianglian came with several lunchboxes to deliver their meals.
"How’s it going, how much have you sold today?" Li Xianglian had been at home in the morning taking care of the children and cooking, her mind preoccupied with how things were going here.
Mu Huazhen was a police officer, and couldn’t possibly take days off work to stay at home and look after the children and cook every day, so after discussing, they decided to have Li Xianglian stay at home in the morning and deliver the cooked lunch to everyone afterward.
The children at home were sensible, with Jiajia able to look after Pangpang and Manman, so the most important task for Li Xianglian was to prepare this lunchtime meal.
Li Xianglian didn’t want to stay at home, always hoping to come over and help; Shen Yunfang would have liked to stay at home, but under the current circumstances, she was the main seller and couldn’t step back just yet.
"Better than yesterday. Sold twelve pairs," Shuanzi eagerly answered first, his voice laced with pride.
"Really? That’s wonderful." Li Xianglian was delighted to hear that business was better than the day before.
The group placed the lunchboxes on the stoves to heat them up, and when they opened them, they could enjoy a hot, satisfying meal.
After the meal, Li Xianglian didn’t leave but stayed to watch the stall with them.
The afternoon crowd was larger than in the morning, but there were also plenty of idlers and troublemakers around.
Just after one o’clock in the afternoon, Shen Yunfang had just sold two pairs of couplets when she saw two men swaggering towards her from a distance.
Two young men approached, their carefree demeanor hinting they were up to no good.
They stopped in front of the stall.
"Wow, I didn’t expect to find a stall selling Spring Festival couplets here. Just the thing, with the New Year coming and no couplets up at home yet. Let’s join the fun and pick out a pair to bring back some good fortune for next year," the slightly shorter man said to the taller one beside him.
Customers are to be welcomed, and although Shen Yunfang could tell the two men weren’t seriously intending to buy anything, in business, you have to serve all kinds, so she greeted them.
"Gentlemen, please have a look. Our couplets are the latest, and you won’t find duplicates anywhere in the Capital," Shen Yunfang said with a feigned smile, playing the role of the hospitable vendor.
"Sure, this lady knows how to do business. Then I’ll pick two pairs," the short man signaled the taller one with a look, then stepped onto the plastic tarp, not the worst of it, as his big foot was actually standing on a stack of Spring Festival couplets. As if oblivious, he intended to step further in.
Shen Yunfang watched coldly, recognizing that these two men were looking for trouble, probably trying to intimidate them to extort some money.
But Liu’s family members behind her couldn’t see their intent. When they saw a man stepping on their family’s couplets, they became anxious.
Shuanzi reacted the fastest. He shouted immediately, "Hey, what are you doing? Why are you stepping on our couplets?"
The man behaved as if he hadn’t heard and kept walking over the couplets.
Shen Yunfang quickly grabbed Shuanzi and Shitou who were about to rush over and whispered something into their ears, then watched as the two boys turned and ran. Shen Yunfang turned back and used her expression to reassure Liu Jianjun and Li Xianglian, indicating for them to just watch and not to get involved.
The two men thought Shen Yunfang was scared off by their act, reveling in their perceived victory.
The shorter man walked to the last row and pointed at a couplet, saying, "Hmm, this one is good, I’ll take this."
Shen Yunfang put on a smile, followed him to pick up the couplet he had pointed to, rolled it with hemp rope, and handed it over, "Comrade, you have good taste indeed. This is the most splendid couplet we’ve got. Here you go."
The taller man raised an eyebrow, seeing how Shen Yunfang didn’t even ask for money, thinking they had intimidated these country bumpkins, so he became even more arrogant.
"Wait a sec, I also like this one, and this one, this one, plus that over there, oh my, they all look good to me. You know what, just pack one of everything for me." The tall man pointed here and there in front of the stall, eventually demanding a set of everything.
Liu Jianjun, who was standing behind, clenched his fists, realizing they were dealing with gangster bullies. Back in his hometown, when encountering such people, ordinary folks would avoid clashing with them; after all, one was a lone wolf, while one had a family and business to think of. If these thugs were truly angered and retaliated against one’s family, the regret would be immense. Hence, most people would opt for peace and accept their bad luck.
However, having just heard these two wanting to take away one of everything, which was no small amount, if actually given to them, the loss for them would be substantial, as their family hadn’t even sold that much in two days of business.
The smile faded from Shen Yunfang’s face as she simply watched them coldly.
The shorter man also returned, and the two thugs came together, their faces lighting up with brighter smiles as they saw Shen Yunfang and the others did not respond.
"What’s up, didn’t hear what your brother said? Let me tell you, we cover this area. If you want to keep selling here, we can work together. Otherwise..." He left the threat unsaid, but the meaning was clear to everyone.
"How exactly do you want to cooperate?" Shen Yunfang asked.
"Hehe, big sister, I feel we have a connection. How about this? My brother and I will cover you, take seventy percent, not too much, huh?" the tall man said shamelessly.
"Haha," Shen Yunfang laughed, but it was a laugh filled with anger. These two were truly shameless.
"Looks like big sister has no objections, so let’s make money in peace, shall we?" the tall man mistook Shen Yunfang’s laugh as acquiescence.
"I would like to make money in peace, but you’ve posed quite a dilemma for me. It’s really troubling," Shen Yunfang shook her head, "How about this? Meeting you today must be fate. The couplet in your hand is my gift to you. I won’t take a penny for it, and then we’ll each go our separate ways. How does that sound?"
Which meant to take the benefit and get lost quickly.
The two men understood, and the smiles on their faces disappeared instantly, turning into a grim glare at Shen Yunfang.
Li Xianglian and Liu Jianjun saw that the situation was not good and quickly stepped forward a few paces to protect Shen Yunfang.
"Humph, you don’t appreciate what is given to you," the tall man scoffed coldly.
Shen Yunfang was touched by the protection of Sister Li and her husband, but realized they were ill-equipped to handle this situation. So she patted Li Xianglian’s shoulder, signaling them not to worry.
"As for who has a face or not, that depends on whether you have one," Shen Yunfang retorted sarcastically.
"Hmph, since you have no shame, then don’t blame us for being impolite." The shorter man smirked, stepping forward to grab the plastic sheet, ready to pull it up.
Liu Jianjun saw this and quickly intervened, "What are you doing?"
Li Xianglian also rushed forward to help.
What was originally a verbal confrontation looked like it was about to escalate into physical conflict.
Worried that Liu Jianjun and Li Xianglian would be at a disadvantage, Shen Yunfang also stepped forward, and just as she saw the shorter man swing a fist towards Li Xianglian, without thinking, she kicked out. Her foot hit the shorter man’s buttocks, sending him flying two meters away to land prone.
Silence fell upon the scene.
