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The fruit lady smiled broadly and said cheerfully, "Haha, if you call me 'Big Sister,' I'll take care of you, little brother. You took care of that black dog, so you've made your mark at the market. No one will dare to cause trouble now. Don't worry, just set up your stall and sell."
Zhao Feng replied, "Thanks, Big Sister. I'm closing up for today. See you tomorrow."
The fruit lady laughed, "Come early tomorrow. The morning market is busiest around six or seven. Bring more stock."
Zhao Feng rode his tricycle and quickly left the morning market with Zhou Qingmei, heading back home.
Zhou Qingmei, still feeling a bit scared, recounted the trouble they had encountered at the market to Zhao Changhe, who had just gotten up.
Zhao Changhe was shocked, asking, "You little rascal, you were too rough, didn't you worry about hurting him? Our family can't afford medical bills."
Zhao Feng responded with a sigh, "I only used the iron chain to scare him a bit. He just got a few surface injuries, nothing serious."
Zhao Changhe replied sternly, "That still isn't acceptable. Don't go back to the market tomorrow. It's too dangerous."
Zhao Feng reassured him, "It's fine. I'll go with my mom. She'll bring more baskets of eggs; the stock is too low today."
Zhou Qingmei, recovering from the shock, took out a pile of bills and tossed them onto the coffee table, sitting down on the sofa to count the money. She excitedly said, "On the first day setting up the stall, we made 980 yuan! Mom is going to get rich, and tomorrow we'll bring more stock."
Zhao Changhe exclaimed, "No way, you made that much? How many kilos of eggs did you sell?"
Zhou Qingmei replied, "About 200 kilos. We still have some stock at home, so we'll sell all of it tomorrow."
Zhao Changhe added, "I'll go with you tomorrow. Don't let Xiao Feng get into trouble again."
Zhao Feng felt speechless, realizing that his dad was all about money. Once he saw his mom making money, he was eager to go check it out himself.
Zhou Qingmei handed a hundred yuan bill to Zhao Feng, saying, "You should catch up on your sleep. Go play with Xiao Pang in the afternoon and treat him to a meal. Don't always let him treat you; it's a bit embarrassing."
"Got it, I'll go nap."
Zhao Feng waved his hand and wearily headed back to his room. He had gotten up at three in the morning, skipped breakfast to go to the market, and had fought with someone. His physical energy was drained, so he needed a good nap.
The couple sat on the sofa, counted the money again, and talked happily. Selling eggs at the morning market was surprisingly profitable, and if they could keep selling, they wouldn't have to worry about Zhao Feng's tuition.
Later that afternoon.
Zhao Feng went to play PS soccer with Xiao Pang, and then they went to Da Pai Dang for barbecue. By evening, he returned home.
The next morning.
At around three in the morning, Zhao Changhe rode his tricycle, with Zhou Qingmei and six boxes of eggs, heading for the morning market stall.
Zhou Qingmei asked, "Why didn't you wake up Xiao Feng?"
Zhao Changhe replied, "I'm going with you, let him sleep in a bit. He hasn't had a chance to sleep in since before the college entrance exams."
Zhou Qingmei reminded him, "Our farm eggs sell well. What if someone causes trouble?"
Zhao Changhe replied confidently, "I'm from the blacksmithing trade. Even if I run into tough problems, I can handle them."
Zhou Qingmei scoffed, "Hmph, who doesn't know you're an honest man, the punching bag at your work. You've never been in a fight."
Zhao Changhe awkwardly said, "I have skills, okay? If I didn't, how could a beauty like you have fallen for me?"
Zhou Qingmei blushed and said, "It's because you're reliable, strong, and handsome."
Zhao Changhe grinned, "I'm glad you know. I can handle two guys by myself."
The tricycle slowly made its way to the morning market, with Zhao Changhe bragging all the way. When they arrived at the stall, he proudly set up the eggs for sale.
Zhou Qingmei set up the price sign and sat down at the stall, but she quickly realized that no one was coming to buy. She immediately figured out that yesterday's business had been good because Zhao Feng had been yelling to attract customers. She reminded Zhao Changhe, "Hey, you should shout too."
Zhao Changhe, confused, looked around and said weakly, "How do I shout?"
Zhou Qingmei sighed, looking at her husband with frustration. She muttered, "Xiao Feng shouted yesterday, and business was great. The eggs sold out before seven. You need to shout!"
Zhao Changhe put his hands on his face in frustration, muttering, "I've never sold eggs before, how do I shout?"
The fruit lady from the stall next door came over, grinning, "Little sister is here early, but business doesn't seem that good."
Zhou Qingmei awkwardly replied, "My husband doesn't know how to shout."
The fruit lady glanced at Zhao Changhe, who looked like an honest man, and laughed, "Your son knows how to shout. He shouts with so much energy. Why didn't he come to set up the stall today?"
Zhou Qingmei replied, "He woke up too early, I didn't call him."
The fruit lady said, "That's not right. Business relies on having a good crowd. Your sales today are definitely going to be bad."
Zhao Changhe, annoyed, said, "Who says I don't know how to shout? I'll shout now."
"Eggs!"
"Eggs!"
"Three and a half yuan per jin, cheap sale!"
The fruit lady chuckled and went back to her stall. She picked up a loudspeaker and began shouting at the top of her lungs.
"From the south, from the north, smokers, drinkers, and wanderers, come buy some fruit! Imported fruit sale! European mangoes, American snake apples, Southeast Asian coconuts, Xinjiang melons, Yang Guifei's red lychees... Come take a look!"
Zhao Changhe was crushed by the fruit lady's loud shouts. It was like a huge hit to his pride. He stood there speechless, looking at her in disbelief, and weakly said, "Meizi, I think I don't know how to shout. I'll wake up Xiao Feng."
Zhou Qingmei sighed and said, "You said you were skilled. You're a former blacksmith, but you can't even shout."
Zhao Changhe scratched his head in frustration, giving an awkward laugh. "This is the first time I've set up a stall. Looks like I overestimated myself."
Time passed quickly, and before long, it was past six o'clock.
Zhou Qingmei's business was sluggish, only selling one box of eggs. She was managing just fine on her own, but seeing Zhao Changhe sitting by the tricycle, smoking, made her angry.
At this rate, they'd only sell one more box of eggs. The remaining four boxes would have to be taken home. The business was much worse than yesterday.
Zhao Changhe was completely unaware that his status in Zhou Qingmei's eyes was rapidly falling.
The large, dark-skinned man with a bandaged forehead swaggered toward the stall. It was the black dog from yesterday who had been beaten up by Zhao Feng.
The black dog wasn't alone. He was flanked by two troublemakers—Huang Mao and Hong Mao. They had flashy haircuts, clearly a couple of thugs.
"You damn woman, business seems good, huh? Pay for my medical bills!"
The black dog shouted viciously, his face bruised and swollen, with a bandage wrapped around his forehead. He was furious and loudly demanded compensation for his medical bills, looking for revenge after being beaten by Zhao Feng the previous day. He had brought two friends to help him out. After waiting by the side for an hour, he realized Zhao Feng wasn't there, so he decided to cause trouble for Zhou Qingmei.
"You... why are you causing trouble again?"
Zhou Qingmei stuttered, her face changing color as she realized trouble was brewing.
Zhao Changhe, putting out his cigarette, stood tall and blocked Zhou Qingmei, coldly saying, "Kid, yesterday you came to my stall with fake money and caused trouble."
The black dog tilted his head, glaring at Zhao Changhe with a fierce expression, and shouted, "Old man, call your son out, and pay my medical bills!"