pjbooks Chapter 82 Man and Dog United 1
Chapter 82 Man and Dog United 1
Did I say that? Did you hear me?
Seeing that this "Ma Liu" was being unreasonable, Tang Huaiyi sneered, "Just tell me straight, what exactly do you want?"
"I don't want to do anything, I just can't stand this," said Ma Liu, the fat man in the floral shirt. "I can give up this deal today, but you must—"
"Are you not interested in doing business, or do you want me to leave the silver dollars with you and apologize to you?"
Tang Huaiyi interrupted Ma Liu, asking with a cold laugh amidst the barking of the dogs.
He realized that this fat man wanted all the benefits and fame, but didn't want to give anything in return.
Ma Liu tilted his head: "Your method is barely acceptable."
"But you have to promise me that no matter what business you do in the future, you won't say a single bad word about me..."
"Idiot."
Tang Huaiyi uttered two words indifferently, saying to the Li Xiufang and Li Xiujuan sisters, "Let's go, let this idiot keep dreaming."
"You dare to curse me? You little bastard, don't go, wait for me—"
Tang Huaiyi, Li Xiufang, and Li Xiujuan ignored him and walked straight out.
The dog barked wildly at them from behind, and the fat man, Ma Liu, joined in the shouting and cursing. For a moment, man and dog became one, attracting the attention of the neighbors who all peeked out to see what was happening.
"Ma Liu, what are you yelling about in the middle of the day?"
"Can't we just let people eat in peace?"
Someone spoke up and rebuked.
Tang Huaiyi hadn't planned to leave, but when he turned around and saw Boss Hao, with a scar on his eyebrow and a thin build, open the shop door and look out, he called out "Boss Hao" and went over.
Boss Hao nodded to Tang Huaiyi, then glared at Ma Liu, who was barking wildly with his dog, "Ma Liu, what are you yelling about? Even if a deal falls through, we can still be friends. Haven't I taught you that before?"
Upon hearing this, Ma Liu remained silent, only giving him a smug sidelong glance before retreating back into the shop. The dog gradually quieted down as well.
Old man, you taught me, but I'm much more successful than you now!
If you don't cheat people here or there, you'll be broke sooner or later!
Seeing that the man and dog had fallen silent, Tang Huaiyi walked towards Boss Hao's shop: "Boss Hao, why aren't you open today?"
"I was just about to sell you the silver dollars. Since you weren't here, I went to ask around. Who knew I'd run into such an unreasonable person?"
"Ma Liu isn't being unreasonable, he's just playing hard to get." Boss Hao raised his hand, gesturing for Tang Huaiyi to come into the shop. "As the saying goes, 'Teach your apprentice and you'll starve yourself.' I'm not as good at reading people as he is. There are some deals he dares to do, but I wouldn't."
Tang Huaiyi then laughed and said, "Boss Hao, you haven't taught your apprentice well."
"It depends on the person. Some people are teachable, and some are not," said Boss Hao, gesturing for Tang Huaiyi to take out some silver dollars. "Let me see your silver dollars. We'll have to close the shop soon."
"Why do we still have to close it?" Tang Huaiyi asked.
"I just acquired an old painting, and I need to take good care of it to prevent it from being ruined by me. I haven't finished cleaning it yet," said Boss Hao.
Tang Huaiyi didn't ask any more questions and handed the six silver dollars to Boss Hao.
Boss Hao picked up his magnifying glass and examined it himself: "This one, poor quality, eight yuan. This one, not bad, nine yuan... um, this one, ten yuan..."
Six silver dollars are nothing special. Four dollars sell for ten dollars, one dollar sells for nine dollars, and one dollar sells for eight dollars. That's fifty-seven dollars.
After receiving the money, Tang Huaiyi led Li Xiufang and Li Xiujuan out of the alley.
As they walked, they came to the dog again. Li Xiufang glared at it and said angrily, "I thought we made a profit of forty-five yuan, but he made more than ten yuan off us! And he still has the nerve to yell at us!"
"This is only possible because we're in a county, where we know no one!"
"Otherwise, I'd block his door and yell at him!"
"Sister Xiufang, you can even block the door and yell in the street?" Tang Huaiyi said with a smile.
Li Xiufang's face immediately turned red, and she asked in a low voice, "I learned it from the women in the village."
"Do you think it's bad? If you think it's bad, I'll never scold you again."
Tang Huaiyi is an educated man; he probably looks down on what these rural women do.
"It's not so bad. If you really get taken advantage of, you'll at least curse a bit, right?" Tang Huaiyi said with a smile. "Like that fat guy who was causing trouble earlier. He thought we looked easy to bully, so he tried to pick a fight with us. Didn't I curse him out too?"
Li Xiufang nodded vigorously and whispered "Mmm".
He has a nicer way of speaking.
"Erni, are you feeling better? Were you scared?" Li Xiufang asked Li Xiujuan again.
Li Xiujuan nodded: "No."
That dog was indeed quite scary, but when she thought of Tang Huaiyi ahead, she felt she had to help him, so it wasn't so scary anymore.
The three of them walked out of the alley and left the market, and soon arrived at the school gate.
"Tang Huaiyi, Erni, you two go inside and study..." Li Xiufang said, "I won't be coming this week since the corn harvest is almost here."
As she spoke, she took out two warm eggs from her bosom and handed them to Tang Huaiyi: "There's no way I can go to the duck eggs anymore. The duck farmers follow me to the pond, and there are people watching me. I can't go into the water to touch the duck eggs."
"These two eggs were laid by our hen; you two should take some to nourish yourselves."
"That won't do, you should take it back..." Tang Huaiyi immediately pushed it back, "The eggs at home are very precious, Uncle Li will definitely not agree if you take them out."
"It's alright, he doesn't care if there are a couple more or a few less. Besides, you saw it last time, he also cares about his son-in-law." Li Xiufang said, handing over the eggs again. "I've already boiled the eggs, so it's not good to keep them. You guys eat them quickly."
Unable to refuse, Tang Huaiyi eventually accepted the two eggs.
"Sister Xiufang, if you need money anywhere, just tell me. As you can see, I still have some money on me. Let's help each other out whenever we can."
"I don't want money. I don't need anything, not even meals or chores at home," Li Xiufang said.
"Then I have to thank Sister Xiufang. She always brings me delicious food whenever she comes."
"It's nothing, just bring whatever you have. I should thank you though, the floral dress you bought me is really nice..."
As the two were talking, Li Xiufang wanted to leave, but she was a little reluctant to take the first step.
After thinking for a moment, he changed the subject: "How did you and Erni do on the exam this time?"
"It's alright. The results for Chinese, Math, and English were released today. I'm first in my class, and Li Xiujuan is second."
Li Xiufang exclaimed in surprise, "Really?"
"real."
"That's great! You two can both go to university now..."
"Sister Xiufang, this is different from the college entrance exam; the questions are much simpler," Tang Huaiyi said. "It's not obvious yet."
"That's good enough! That's good enough!"
Li Xiufang said happily, "When I get home and tell my dad, he'll definitely be happy too."
"Isn't it much better than having both my daughter and son-in-law get into university, compared to them both staying in the countryside?"
He waved happily, glanced at Tang Huaiyi, his heart filled with joy, and left the county town with the new clothes Tang Huaiyi had bought for him, heading back to Lijia Gou.