dmims Chapter 61 Deceiving the Customer
Chapter 61 Deceiving the Customer
Xiao Wei shook his head and said, "I'm a reasonable person. My buddy here doesn't know anything about this. If he burns this, I'll buy it. But boss, your price is a bit too high. How about this, I'll give you eighty, okay?"
The shop owner shook his head and said, "That's the price. I didn't force him to do it; if he burns it, he has to buy it. Let's be reasonable, okay?"
Luo Qinghe chimed in, "What's wrong, boss? Can't I even touch or try the things you're selling?"
The shop owner nodded and said, "Sure, did I say anything before you tried it? You have to buy it after you try it. You just spent half a day on it and then left? Are you kidding me?"
Xiao Wei took out a hundred yuan from his pocket, threw it on the stall, and said, "Alright, here's the money, keep the change. There's no point in arguing."
The shopkeeper reached out, took the money, and put it into his bag, saying, "Not enough, you're two hundred short. Let me tell you, this lighter of mine is an import. I'm giving you a discount even at three hundred."
Xiao Wei ignored him and turned to the others, saying, "Let's go, the clothes seem to be up ahead."
As everyone turned to leave, the boss pointed at Xiaowei and said, "Hey, are you trying to rob me? You think you can just leave without paying?"
Xiao Wei turned to the boss and said, "Boss, are you kidding me? Are you trying to rob me? I'll give you a hundred, what more do you want?"
Xiao Hong was a little worried, so she tugged at Xiao Wei's clothes from behind. Xiao Wei turned his head to look at Xiao Hong, shook his head, and then turned to look at the boss.
The shopkeeper pulled a cigarette from his pocket, grabbed a lighter from the stall, lit it, took a puff, put one foot on the stool, and pointed at Xiao Wei with the finger holding the cigarette, saying, "Don't try to act tough here, you hear me? Go find out who I am. I've been around Taiyuan Street for over ten years, what haven't I seen? Trying to act tough with me?"
A few men gathered around; they were all street vendors here, helping each other out, having a drink afterwards. You never see street vendors with thugs; that's just in the movies. Everyone here was unemployed and from poor families. Of course, after a few years, if you're hardworking, you'll make it big and definitely richer than the average working-class family.
"What's wrong? Taking things without paying? Where did you get this arrogant attitude from?"
"What are you bastard for? Just beat him up."
"Hurry up and take the money and get out of here. What are you doing in Fengtian, you out-of-towner? Got reimbursed if you lose money here?"
Xiao Wei was amused and annoyed. He glanced back at Chen Hui and Xia Maosheng and said, "I didn't expect to run into you, Big Brother. Damn, I was thinking of just paying some money and that would be enough, but I've been ripped off. What do we do?"
Chen Hui laughed and said, "You're just asking for money, what a load of rubbish! Give me some cheap stuff, how much did you just give him? A hundred, huh? Damn." He squeezed between Li Guangzhao and Yang Changjiu to the front of the stall, looked at it, and then reached out and took four lighters, giving one to each of Yang Tiebin, Li Guangzhao, and Yang Changjiu, saying, "A hundred yuan for five, no one loses out."
He turned to the stall owner and said, "You've been hanging around Taiyuan Street for over ten years, huh? Isn't your sloppy, rotten appearance something? You're just a pain in the neck, damn it." He waved to Xiao Wei and said, "Alright, let's go. What's the point of arguing with him? We're just wasting our time."
The shopkeeper froze, hesitated for a moment, then grabbed an iron pipe from his stall and banged it against the edge, saying, "You little brat, trying to scam me? Trying to rob me? Let's see how you get out of Taiyuan Street today."
Chen Hui turned around and cursed, "Fuck your mother. Do you want to quit? Come on, if you don't want to work here, just say so. You're giving me too much credit."
Someone nearby chimed in, "What's going on here? What's all the fuss about? What are you supporting?"
The stall owner pointed an iron pipe at Xiaowei and Chen Hui and said, "These damn thugs, I don't know where they came from, came here to scam me. They took my lighter and tried to leave without paying. Remember that guy? He came and caused trouble a couple of days ago, isn't he from Tieling? They've brought people here to cause trouble, haven't they?"
Chen Hui kicked his stall, which was just a few iron pipes propped up with a thin wooden board on top. The kick almost caused it to collapse, and the things on the stall fell to the ground with a whoosh. Fortunately, Chen Hui kicked it from the outside, so the things fell inside.
"You're still pushing your luck, aren't you? You still want to do this? My brother didn't pay you! What was that hundred yuan you took? It was just paper!"
Someone nearby said, "One hundred dollars? Is that US dollars? Hurry up and pay up, or no one is leaving." Chen Hui turned his head and looked over. The person who spoke had a buzz cut and a crooked tiger tattooed on his arm. This kind of tattoo was quite popular in Northeast China at the time. It was made by binding three sewing needles together with ink.
Chen Hui pointed at the man with the buzz cut and said to Xiao Wei, "He's at the third stall over there, the one selling socks. Go smash it up. You think you can take on trouble? Then you can quit too. You son of a bitch, every time you cause trouble, I'll smash it up." A woman next to him grabbed the man with the buzz cut and dragged him away, cursing as she went, "Go home. What business is it of yours to get involved? Is drinking a few mouthfuls of cat piss worth risking your life for?" She pulled the man with the buzz cut back.
"What's all this commotion about? Why are you all gathered around here? Go back to your own stalls, get out of here. Huang Laoliu, what's going on? What's all this noise about?" A voice rang out from outside the crowd, where a considerable number of people had already gathered to watch the spectacle.
An old man in his fifties walked over with a serious expression, followed by two young men, looking all high and mighty.
Stall owner Huang Laoliu slammed the iron pipe he was holding onto his stall, pointed at Xiao Wei and Chen Hui, and said, "Chief Qin, these out-of-town lads took my stuff without paying and even tried to smash my stall. How could I stay silent? Everyone's here to help me out, otherwise they would have run away long ago. Thanks everyone, go back now. Thanks for your help. Now that Chief Qin is here, I'm not afraid anymore. Everyone go about your business. Thanks, I'll treat you all to drinks tomorrow."
Qin walked up to the stall and looked at it. Chen Hui's kick had messed up the stall, with some items falling to the ground, leaving the stall in a mess, looking exactly like it had been smashed.
After looking at it, Qin asked Huang Laoliu, "What did they take from you?"
"Five lighters, all in good condition, I wasn't lying, was I?" Huang Laoliu asked Xiaowei.
Director Qin asked, "How much is it? In total?"
Huang Laoliu said, "The two best ones are 300 each, and the other three are 220 each. Ask everyone, I didn't ask for more. They're all imported, a total of 1220. And they just threw 100 yuan at me and tried to leave. Director Qin, do you think I can do that? I, Huang Laoliu, am usually such an honest person, aren't I?"
Qin turned to look at Xiaowei and Chen Hui and asked, "Did you take your things?"
Xiao Wei said, "I took it."
Director Qin asked, "How many?"
Xiao Wei thought for a moment and said, "Five." He took one, and Chen Hui took four, so it was indeed five.
Director Qin said, "Give me the money and get the hell out of here. Don't you dare come here again. If you piss me off, I'll put you all in jail. You bunch of thugs, don't you even know where you are?"
Xiao Wei was stunned for a moment. Chen Hui pulled Xiao Wei behind him and asked, "Who are you? What are you doing here?"
Qin looked at Chen Hui and said, "I'm from the Market Management Office. My surname is Qin, and I'm the director. I'm in charge of this market. What's up?"
Upon hearing that it was from the Market Management Office, and that it was the director, Xiao Wei's group, including Chen Hui, Xia Maosheng, and Yang Tiebin, all shrank back a bit. Sister Jin and Li Na, however, didn't seem scared and stood by watching.