At six o'clock in the evening, in the rented farmhouse.
After a day of business, Zhang Wei and his parents returned to their rented house for dinner.
The meal was quite meager: a plate of vegetables, a bowl of potatoes, and the rest was just rice.
Cheng Lin sighed, "Sigh! We only sold this little rice; how can we cover our expenses?"
Zhang Wei comforted his mother, saying, "It will get better."
After a day of selling rice, the three of them were in a bad mood for a simple reason: the business was poor. They had only sold one hundred twenty pounds of rice throughout the day, earning twelve yuan, barely enough for a day's expenses. When the electrical repairman, Xiao Wang, was packing up, he shot them a mocking glance.
Noticing the lack of sales, Zhang Wei began to think about why their business was struggling. Logically, the Sunlight City neighborhood had decent foot traffic, especially during off-peak hours. He understood that foot traffic was usually assessed based on off-peak hours, but he found it strange that there was decent foot traffic yet poor sales. Was there something unusual?
Three days passed, and at the entrance of Sunlight City neighborhood…
"Hey, little guy, your name is Xiao Wei, right? I heard your parents call you that," said the female tailor.
Zhang Wei had just returned from the restroom and glanced at her indifferently, replying, "Yeah."
The female tailor was in her thirties and somewhat attractive. Zhang Wei had seen her husband a few times; he seemed to be a lazy, aimless person. Zhang Wei's attitude toward her was shaped by the fact that a few days ago, she had gossiped with Xiao Wang, saying that Zhang Wei's family would soon fail in business and leave. Zhang Wei found it amusing; even if their business failed, it was better than her foolishly supporting a man, right?
Just yesterday morning, her husband came to ask for money, and when she refused, he slapped her. Yet that evening, when her husband came to help her pack up, she was smiling like a flower again. How pathetic could a person be?
"I'm telling you, you should get your parents to leave early. There's a vegetable market nearby; your family won't be able to compete," the female tailor said. On the surface, she seemed to be looking out for Zhang Wei's family, but in reality, she wanted to see him get scolded by his parents for saying such things, which would amuse her.
In her view, what child would dare to meddle in adult matters, especially during tough times? There was a good chance the adults would take out their frustrations on the child, as it was quite common for adults to hit children when they were in a bad mood. There's a saying: "On cloudy days, it's just as well to hit the kids when there's nothing else to do," which clearly shows that children had no rights.
Zhang Wei replied, "So what?" Despite his indifferent tone, he felt a spark of realization. He vaguely understood why their business was poor; he just needed to find out where that vegetable market was. He would ask later.
The female tailor looked at him and said, "There are two rice vendors in the market whose business is thriving. It's going to be tough for your family to establish itself here. Trust me, tell your parents what I said; I'm just looking out for you!"
Although Zhang Wei sensed her ill intentions, he couldn't confront her at the moment, so he just casually responded and walked back to the rice stall.
**At Noon**
His mother went back to cook, and a woman came over to buy fifty pounds of rice. His father cheerfully went to deliver the rice, reminding Zhang Wei to keep an eye on the stall and not let anyone take anything.
After observing for a whole morning, Zhang Wei had already figured out where the vegetable market was: it was right across the river from the neighborhood. To get there, one had to take a long detour, as the bridge over the river was quite far.
Based on his experience as an investment consultant, Zhang Wei realized that their poor business wasn't due to being too close to the vegetable market; rather, it was because they were too far away. Although there was decent foot traffic during off-peak hours, people were usually in a hurry to go out, and when they returned, they would be carrying vegetables. Clearly, they had gone to the vegetable market to buy vegetables and would buy rice along with it. When they got home, they wouldn't want to buy rice anymore. Occasionally, they might buy ten or twenty pounds, which would give Zhang
He turned the situation upside down with a string of accusations, portraying Zhang Wei as a gluttonous little thief who stole candy. The reason for this, of course, was that Zhang Wei had interrupted him while he was trying to steal rice. Xiao Wang sneered inwardly, thinking, how could a mere child be his opponent?
Zhang Aiguo rushed over angrily, ready to hit his son, shouting, "How did I teach you? Don't do evil, no matter how small! How could you steal candy?"
Seeing that his father misunderstood the situation, Zhang Wei quickly replied, "I didn't lie! He was about to steal rice, and I caught him! I didn't steal his candy; Grandpa Yang and the tailor aunt both saw it. If you don't believe me, you can ask them!"
Xiao Wang didn't expect Zhang Wei to articulate his points so clearly. He smiled at the female tailor, saying, "Did you see me stealing rice?"
The female tailor shook her head and coldly sneered, "Clearly, this little brat was the one stealing candy!"
"Old Yang, did you see me stealing rice?" Xiao Wang threatened, glaring at Old Yang and emphasizing, "You must be honest!"
Old Yang hesitated, wanting to say something but ultimately sighed and shook his head.
Zhang Wei glared at him, furious that Xiao Wang could twist the truth so shamelessly!
Xiao Wang shouted again, "Little Zhang, I'm not saying this to insult you, but with the way you're raising your son, you'll end up teaching him to go to jail! You might as well stop selling rice and go back home to educate your son!"
Zhang Wei retorted coldly, "Aren't you afraid of getting beaten one day for twisting the truth like this?"
The two of them exchanged accusations of theft, and Zhang Aiguo, furious, grabbed his son, ready to hit him. Fortunately, at that moment, Cheng Lin rushed over and managed to hold back the enraged Zhang Aiguo.
Zhang Wei then showed his parents his dirty clothes from the fall. After a brief discussion, his parents believed him and were angry that their five-year-old son was watching the stall while Xiao Wang had the audacity to steal rice. They could tolerate that, but to steal rice and then turn around and bite back? How could such scum exist?
Once Zhang Aiguo understood what was happening, he wanted to confront Xiao Wang.
Zhang Wei held his father back, knowing that confronting someone like Xiao Wang would only lead to more trouble. It would be better to think about how to improve their business.
However, Zhang Wei didn't want to let it go just like that. They had no enmity, but he couldn't let his father go and hit someone, especially since they were in unfamiliar territory. What if they ended up in trouble? Yelling at him? That seemed unnecessary; judging by the earlier scene, Xiao Wang definitely had the temperament of a ruffian, and it was uncertain if they could even out-argue him.
But there was still a way!
Wasn't the female tailor also siding with Xiao Wang?
Alright, they would deal with both of them together!
Zhang Wei had already thought of a plan. The female tailor's husband was a social drifter, right? Such men are usually very possessive of their women because they rely on them for their livelihood. If they lost their women, they would likely have trouble even meeting their basic needs.
Zhang Wei had seen plenty of this kind of person. Since Xiao Wang and the female tailor were slandering him, he would use their own tactics against them!