Chapter 137: Attitude is Everything

Zhang Shui-long was standing close and, caught completely off guard, was struck across the shoulder by the broom.

The other merchants inside the supply and marketing cooperative hurriedly retreated to a safe distance at the sight.

"Are you out of your mind?"

After rubbing his sore shoulder, Zhang Shui-long asked with a mixture of pain and annoyance.

Although he knew that Xiao Li had been spoiled rotten by Xiao Dao-de since childhood and had developed an arrogant and domineering personality, beating him openly in front of so many people was simply too outrageous!

Xiao Yang was equally puzzled. Since doing business in the market relied entirely on solidarity among everyone, this kind of internal fighting was definitely not a good sign.

However, he knew that Xiao Li was not crazy; there had to be a very important reason behind her actions.

After letting the other merchants outside enter the cooperative, he quickly bolted the heavy front doors.

Seeing this, Xiao Li stopped thrashing the merchants with the broom, but she glared at them angrily, placing her hands on her hips. "Out of my mind? Hmph! You are the ones out of your mind, aren't you?"

"How do you explain that?" Zhang Shui-long asked immediately.

The other merchants looked equally astonished.

To say they were out of their mind was simply impossible, because at this very moment they were wide awake and clear-headed! Otherwise, they wouldn't have come to the supply and marketing cooperative in a group, expecting Xiao Li to take the lead and make trouble for Liu Xing.

"Heh... How do you explain it?" Xiao Li sneered. "If you were the ones running the market management, and you couldn't even collect enough money for meals in a month, what would you think?"

She understood the management model of the market administration, and she knew even better that its fundamental flaws were caused by the lawless behavior of her father and certain other merchants. That was why she made such a statement.

Seeing that all the merchants were choked with silence and unable to utter a word, Xiao Li softened her tone slightly, though it remained icy cold, and her anger had not diminished. "Listen to me. In the past, my father shielded you, and I didn't want to meddle in or understand anything that violated the rules. But starting from today, do me a favor and use your brains to run your businesses honestly and lawfully, all right?"

"Go take a look at other townships and towns. Find me a single market administration that doesn't collect temporary stall fees and electricity fees!"

At this, swept over by emotion and memories of the 'good old days' her father Xiao Dao-de enjoyed at the cooperative, Xiao Li couldn't help choking up with sobs. "And yet you actually took this as a reason filled with righteous indignation to start a rebellion and stir up trouble. Isn't that laughable?"

"I'm asking you, isn't that laughable?"

Xiao Li shouted hysterically, tears streaming rapidly down her cheeks. "Not only do you still lack any self-awareness, but you even want to drag my father down with you. Is it just because my father has the supply and marketing cooperative as a powerful backer?"

"Could it..."

"Isn't that the case?"

Zhang Shui-long asked timidly.

The other merchants were also filled with doubt.

After all, in their hearts, Xiao Dao-de was an omnipotent 'god'.

No matter what problem arose, as long as Xiao Dao-de handled it with a little bit of maneuvering, everything would turn out successfully.

And now, this Xiao Li was actually telling them not to drag Xiao Dao-de down into the water. What on earth did that mean?

"Not your head! Don't you idiots know that my father has been arrested?" Xiao Li's emotions completely collapsed at that moment, and thoroughly so. "If the supply and marketing cooperative were truly almighty, why hasn't he been released by now?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire supply and marketing cooperative fell into a dead silence, so quiet that the dropping of a pin could be heard.

None of the merchants spoke. Some of them, having caught the hidden meaning behind Xiao Li's words, stood frozen in their tracks, dumbfounded.

After all, they weren't fools; Xiao Li had no reason to lie at a time like this.

In the past, whenever Xiao Dao-de was taken away by the police officers from the Donghe Police Substation due to business irregularities, Xiao Li wouldn't pay it any mind at all. Everyone knew it was merely a formality; the officers at the Donghe Police Substation never dared to do anything to anyone from the supply and marketing cooperative.

However, this time...

Although Xiao Dao-de had been arrested as usual, Xiao Li had cried completely out of character.

What did this indicate? It indicated that when abnormal things happened, demons were surely at work.

If this Xiao Dao-de wanted to be released, it was likely going to be very difficult.

To verify his inner suspicions, Zhang Shui-long recovered his wits and asked Xiao Li in a low voice, "Is the offense your father committed this time pretty serious? If it's not that big of a deal, I can ask my uncle to step in and put in a good word."

This remark was obviously an attempt to fish for information from Xiao Li; actually stepping in to help was completely out of the question.

Xiao Li was no fool; she realized what he was doing after a brief pause, but instead of getting angry, she reached up to wipe the tears from the corners of her eyes. "It's not big in terms of scale, but he was caught red-handed dealing in dozens of tons of counterfeit fertilizer. Furthermore, thirty-seven leading cadres of the supply and marketing cooperative have been implicated. Director Geng committed suicide in fear of crime last night. As for my father... the best possible outcome for him is spending the rest of his life behind bars, and the worst..."

Looking at Zhang Shui-long and the other merchants, Xiao Li raised her hand and made a bitter, mocking gesture simulating a gun pointing at a target. "The worst outcome is that he will most likely be executed by a firing squad!"

"W-What?" Hearing this, Zhang Shui-long was so terrified that cold sweat poured down his forehead.

Some of the more timid merchants turned pale and began to tremble visibly.

The reason for such a reaction was that in the past, they had colluded with Xiao Dao-de in the market, doing no shortage of illicit buying and selling. Now that Xiao Dao-de was in deep trouble, they undoubtedly could not escape culpability.

If Xiao Dao-de tried to save his own skin by selling them out, the consequences could well be imagined.

Therefore, these merchants no longer showed any of their previous haughtiness or arrogance. Instead, they were filled with panic and lingering fear, dreading that the police officers from the Donghe Police Substation might show up at any moment to arrest them.

If something like that truly happened, none of them would be able to escape.

Seeing that everyone was panic-stricken, Zhang Shui-long forced a smile and asked Xiao Li, "Then what should we do now? We certainly can't just sit here and wait to die, can we?"

"That's what I've been thinking too," the short, stout merchant chimed in.

The other merchants also snapped back to their senses and looked at Xiao Li expectantly.

After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. As Xiao Dao-de's daughter, Xiao Li surely must have thought of a countermeasure, or even an escape route, by now.

"What else can we do? Until the day the verdict on my father's arrest comes down, we can only wait. Remember this: do not do anything futile, because this time the leadership from above is making a genuine move against the supply and marketing cooperative. It is definitely not like the past when it was all thunder and no rain," Xiao Li sighed deeply. "You all better leave now! I don't want anyone to see me hanging out with a bunch of shameless people like you."

"Right! Right! Get out of here right now!" Xiao Yang hurriedly unlocked and opened the doors of the supply and marketing cooperative.

"Then what about Liu Xing trying to collect temporary stall fees and electricity fees from us? How are we supposed to handle that?" Zhang Shui-long voiced the question lingering in his mind.

The other merchants also stared anxiously at Xiao Li.

In the past, whenever anything happened in the market, Xiao Dao-de had always taken the lead.

Although they hadn't been arrested this time, the need for leadership remained unchanged. Therefore, before leaving, they had to hear Xiao Li's opinion.

"Are you guys idiots?" Xiao Li snapped angrily when she heard this. "Right now in the market, if we can solve a problem with money, is that even a problem? Besides, this Liu Xing putting up notices to collect temporary stall fees and electricity fees is entirely justified."

"Now that he has made it clear through an official notice, he is actually giving us a way out to save face, understand?" Pausing for a moment, Xiao Li added another sentence.

"Understood, understood." Hearing this, Zhang Shui-long felt as if he had been struck by a sudden flash of enlightenment. He cupped his hands toward Xiao Li and hurriedly bolted out of the supply and marketing cooperative.

The other merchants quickly followed behind him.

However, quite a few of them didn't return to the large sheds; instead, they ran straight toward Liu Xing's shoe store.

Xiao Yang, who was busy closing the doors again, witnessed this scene and quickly asked Xiao Li, "What are these people going to find Liu Xing for at a time like this?"

"What else could they do? Obediently pay the temporary stall fees and electricity fees, of course!" Xiao Li replied helplessly, gazing out the window at the scenery outside. "We have to go find Liu Xing ourselves too, otherwise we won't even be able to run any business in this supply and marketing cooperative from now on."

This was by no means alarmism, because if Liu Xing decided to hold onto the cooperative's vulnerable faults and refuse to let go, once things blew up, the trouble would be immense.

"If you want to go, go yourself. I certainly don't want to go," Xiao Yang said, recalling his previous attempt to make trouble for Liu Xing, and quickly issued a warning.

"You managed to turn a fine supply and marketing cooperative into this mess, and you expect me to rely on you?" Xiao Li rolled her eyes at Xiao Yang, let out a soft sigh, and retreated to her living quarters.

When she came back out, she had changed into a pretty floral print dress and was wearing a pair of high-heeled sandals she had bought from Liu Xing's shoe store.

Xiao Yang stared at her so fixedly that he couldn't tear his eyes away. When he finally recovered his senses, he blurted out, "Are you really going to see Liu Xing?"

"What else do you suggest we do?" Xiao Li retorted.

"This..." Xiao Yang had no answer.

Given the current circumstances, he truly had no way of dealing with Liu Xing either.

Who could blame anyone else when the supply and marketing cooperative had committed such egregious faults and had become a thorn in the side of the higher-ups?

"If you have no solutions, keep your mouth shut." Xiao Li cast another disdainful glance at Xiao Yang, pushed open the doors of the cooperative, and walked toward the shoe store.

...

At the entrance of the shoe store.

Liu Xing, Guazi, Lanlan, and Liu Dongju's family were sitting under the pomelo tree eating lunch.

Just as they were eating heartily, Zhao Liang's anxious voice rang out from the street on the right: "Boss, you're still in the mood to eat?! Hurry up and go hide in the back mountain."

"Yeah! The notice you told me to post yesterday has caused a huge problem. All the merchants in the market have gathered together and are planning to team up with Xiao Yang from the supply and marketing cooperative to make trouble for you!" This was Gouzi's voice, carrying a crying tone and utter helplessness.

Zhao Gou added at that moment, "If you don't want to hide, that's fine too. I can take on ten people by myself, but I won't be able to hold out if there are any more than that."

"What are the three of you afraid of? Since I dared to tell you to post those notices, I naturally have a countermeasure ready." Looking at Zhao Gou, Zhao Liang, and Gouzi walking up the street, Liu Xing shook his head repeatedly.

Right now, he was only afraid that the merchants wouldn't come looking for trouble; if they did come knocking on his door, he could settle old and new scores all at once!

"That's right, in broad daylight, who dares to cause trouble?" Zhao Dongkui chimed in. "Judging by the three of you, you haven't eaten yet either. Why don't you pull up a chair and join us?"

"What mood do I have to eat right now?! Dongkui, didn't you hear the meaning behind my words?" Zhao Gou threw his hands up in exasperation.

Zhao Liang and Gouzi also wore expressions of deep worry.

"So what if I heard clearly? Can it change anything?" Zhao Dongkui smiled. "Right now we should trust Liu Xing instead of panicking and losing our footing."

The reason for his such confidence was that Liu Xing wasn't even afraid of Xiao Dao-de; would he possibly be afraid of Xiao Yang and the other merchants?

Everyone knew very well about the various malpractices in the market, but what was lacking was someone who dared to step forward and change them.

Now that Liu Xing had finally taken this step, he naturally wanted to give him his full backing.

Of course, the fact that Bureau Chief Wu, Xie the Bald, and others were backing Liu Xing was also part of the reason.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have spoken like that; he would have grabbed Liu Dongju and Liu Xing and run away long ago.

Hearing Zhao Dongkui speak like this, Zhao Gou was stunned for a moment, but didn't ask any further questions. Instead, he let out a sigh of relief and walked into the kitchen.

When he came out, the large rice bowl in his hand was piled high to the brim.

Little Dot saw this sight, tilted her tiny head, and piped up in her childish voice, "Uncle, can you be a bit more polite? There's only one bowl of rice left in our pot, and I haven't even eaten my fill yet!"

"Hahaha..." Zhao Gou burst into loud laughter.

If he were to try to be polite at Zhao Dongkui's house, he wouldn't be Zhao Gou anymore.

Liu Xing and Liu Dongju also laughed.

Noticing that there weren't enough dishes on the table, Liu Dongju stood up and went into the kitchen to busy herself.

After sitting down, Zhao Gou didn't start eating immediately; instead, he evenly divided some of his rice between Gouzi and Zhao Liang's bowls. "Boss, what I said earlier was the truth. Don't just brush it off!"

"I know," Liu Xing nodded.

Though Zhao Gou was a rough character, he never lied, so what he said was trustworthy.

"Then why are you still so calm?" Gouzi asked, utterly puzzled.

Zhao Liang was equally bewildered, because Liu Xing's actions were simply not those of a sixteen or seventeen-year-old kid.

"You'll see in a minute," Liu Xing smiled. "Eat your food first; don't talk about other things for now."

"Alright! Alright!" Zhao Gou was more than happy to oblige.

However, just as he lifted his rice bowl, his expression changed the very next second.

The same went for Gouzi and Zhao Liang.

As for the reason—the dozen or so merchants who had previously gathered with the intention of making trouble for Liu Xing had suddenly appeared on the market street. They walked with hurried steps and a rapid pace; some wore unfathomable, chilling expressions, but their destination was unequivocally the shoe store.

"What do we do?" Zhao Liang asked, looking at Liu Xing in panic.

Zhao Gou put down his bowl and chopsticks, grabbed the hoe from under the pomelo tree, and prepared for a fierce battle.

As for Zhao Dongkui, fearing that Guazi, Little Dot, and Lanlan might be frightened, he quickly stood up and escorted them to the backyard.

"Don't be afraid. They didn't bring that many people anyway!" Liu Xing calmly offered a word of comfort.

He had originally thought that the majority of the merchants in the market would come under Xiao Yang's leadership to cause trouble for him. From the looks of it now, he had overestimated the cohesion of the supply and marketing cooperative.

Gouzi also noticed that something was amiss. After all, he had clearly seen sixty or seventy people preparing to come settle accounts with Liu Xing earlier, yet now there were only a little over a dozen. It was truly quite unexpected.

Seeing that the dozen or so merchants were getting closer and closer, Gouzi hastily picked up a brick from the ground to protect Liu Xing, holding it at the ready.

Zhao Liang's reaction was equally swift. He grabbed a small wooden stool and stepped in front of Liu Xing to block the way.

Just when they thought a fierce brawl was completely unavoidable, something unexpected happened.

Boss Niu, who was running at the very front, called out, "Zhao Liang, we're here to pay our temporary stall fees and electricity fees! We are not here to make trouble for Liu Xing."

"That's right! Don't do anything rash. If you hurt us, we'll call the police and you'll go to prison," a tall merchant added anxiously.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Gou, Zhao Liang, and Gouzi stared at each other in blank dismay, then stood there dumbfounded, unable to utter a single word.

The reason for their reaction was that they truly couldn't fathom why these merchants had changed their tune so quickly.

Clearly, they had just been shouting about settling scores with Liu Xing, yet now they had compromised and wanted to give him money. Was this... was this the sun rising from the west?

Liu Xing, however, was not surprised at all. Instead, a faint smile hung on his face. "Boss Niu truly is a man who knows how to do big business. Those who know how to adapt to circumstances are wise; it'll be hard for you not to get rich in the future!"

"You flatter me, you flatter me," Boss Niu said with an awkward smile, cupping his hands.

"Then how do you think these temporary stall fees should be paid?" Liu Xing pulled over a chair and motioned for Boss Niu and the other leading merchants to sit down.

"I think paying by the month is appropriate, and paying by the quarter works too," Boss Niu replied promptly.

The other merchants chimed in to agree, completely shedding the arrogant demeanor they had shown upon first seeing the notice.

This caused Zhao Gou, Zhao Liang, and Gouzi, once they recovered their wits, to look at Liu Xing with newfound awe and reverence.

Only then did they realize that Liu Xing's methods were truly extraordinary; if it were up to them, they would never have been able to pull this off.

Taking this all in, Liu Xing didn't say much else, but instead asked, "If I follow your suggestion and collect the temporary stall fees on a monthly basis, how much should be charged?"

"I think ten yuan a month is reasonable," a merchant stepped forward to express his stance.

Liu Xing smiled without a word.

Seeing this, the tall merchant rolled his eyes and voiced his own thoughts: "Ten yuan a month is only a little over thirty cents a day; that's way too little. In my opinion, it should be at least thirty yuan a month!"

After all, these merchants had permanent sheds in the market. On market days, if they occupied a few extra temporary stalls, their gross daily income would easily exceed a hundred yuan, amounting to over a thousand a month. Paying a mere ten yuan a month in temporary stall fees was basically treating it like handing out charity to beggars.

Of course, his intention in suggesting a higher temporary stall fee was actually to get Liu Xing to cut them some slack, allowing them to occupy extra temporary stalls on market days and make more money.

In other words, paying an extra twenty yuan a month in stall fees would still leave these merchants turning a massive profit.

Liu Xing was no fool; he instantly caught the hidden meaning behind the tall merchant's words. He glanced at all the merchants and asked, "What do you all think of this elder brother's suggestion?"

"Good!" Boss Niu was the first to step forward and express his approval.

After all, paying thirty yuan a month for temporary stall fees was truly not much for people engaged in business like them.

Although some of the other merchants had lingering reservations, seeing Boss Niu speak up like that, naturally none of them raised any objections.

Seeing this, Liu Xing looked at Gouzi. "What are you standing there spacing out for? Go get the ledger! Immediately record the amounts for the temporary stall fees and electricity fees. If there are still merchants who refuse to abide by the market rules the next time the market opens, we'll have no choice but to cooperate with the higher-level leadership for a major cleanup operation."

The latter sentence was obviously meant as a bluff, its purpose being to scare all the merchants in the market into handing over their money promptly.

However, the current atmosphere in the market caused the dozen or so merchants present to believe Liu Xing's words implicitly, without a single shred of doubt. After all, the fact that Xiao Dao-de had been arrested was true, and they had learned the inside story about the higher-ups wanting to use the supply and marketing cooperative as their primary target straight from Xiao Li's own mouth.

Thus, these merchants were currently like fish on a cutting board, with no choice but to be carved up.

If they dared to act recklessly—well, there was no need to guess; Xiao Dao-de was their living precedent.

Gouzi was no idiot; after a brief pause, he understood the underlying implication of Liu Xing's words. Regaining his composure, he scurried into the shoe store to fetch the ledger.

Eager to leave a good impression on Liu Xing, Boss Niu was the first to pull out a thick stack of banknotes: "I'd like to pay the temporary stall fees for a whole quarter. As for the electricity fee, Xiao Dao-de already collected last month's. Can this month's electricity fee be calculated by checking the meter at the end of the month?"

"Of course," Liu Xing nodded slowly.

Since Boss Niu was so sensible and cooperative, naturally there was no need to dig into whatever transactions he had previously had with Xiao Dao-de.

Moreover, collecting electricity fees was something that couldn't be rushed in the first place.

Because it was the early 1980s, chances were many merchants didn't even have electric meters installed.

Coupled with the lack of large mechanical equipment, it was highly likely that their electricity usage amounted to nothing more than a few lightbulbs.

Under such circumstances, if Xiao Dao-de had been able to offer convenience to these merchants, why couldn't he?

Once the market underwent his drastic reforms and got back on track, bringing up electricity fees specifically later on wouldn't be too late.

Of course, the most important thing was that Boss Niu had agreed to pay the electricity fees—a very good opening move.

Driven by this attitude, Liu Xing would definitely grant him convenience in return.

Seeing that Liu Xing was so easy to talk to, Boss Niu let out a long sigh of relief. After paying the money and having it officially recorded, he cheerfully greeted Liu Xing and turned to leave.

But before he had walked even two meters away, Liu Xing called out to him: "Boss Niu, what kind of business do you run in the market?"

"This..." Boss Niu hesitated for a moment before replying. "I deal in moso bamboo. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing much, just asking out of curiosity," Liu Xing smiled. "Right! The large shed you rent, is it private property or public property?"

"The shed was built with my own private funds; most of the sheds in the market are privately built. But we certainly didn't occupy the land by force—we paid several dozen yuan every month to Boss Xiao as rent!" Realizing the implication behind Liu Xing's words after a brief pause, Boss Niu hurriedly explained.

"I know that. But starting from next month, you can no longer pay the shed rent to Boss Xiao; it must be paid to the market administration," Liu Xing reminded him kindly.

"Why?" Boss Niu didn't speak, but a dark-faced merchant waiting in line to pay couldn't help chiming in with a question.

After all, these sheds had been built by themselves using their own money; the market administration hadn't contributed a single cent.

The money Boss Xiao had collected wasn't rent at all; it was land use fees.

Looking at the dark-faced merchant, Liu Xing smiled. "You still have the nerve to ask why? Do you want me to expose the ugly faces of you people?"

Seeing that the dark-faced merchant remained defiant, Liu Xing handed over the money-collection task to Gouzi and said, "Listen carefully. When I ask you for shed rent, it's not to line my own pockets, but for the sake of Lao Wu Village."

"Are you trying to talk nonsense and evade the point?" the dark-faced merchant retorted indignantly.

The other merchants around them also began murmuring with discontent.

"Heh, evading the point?" Liu Xing shook his head with a smile. "Then let me ask you: whose land is it that you built your sheds on?"

"Of course it belongs to Lao Wu Village!" the dark-faced merchant replied without a second thought.

"Since it's Lao Wu Village's land, what right do you have to pay the rent to Boss Xiao?" The smile vanished from Liu Xing's face, replaced by a stern expression.

"This..." The dark-faced merchant opened his mouth, unable to answer.

The other merchants also looked at each other in dismay, exchanging bewildered glances.

After all, Liu Xing's words were far too devastating.

The land belonged to Lao Wu Village, yet the rent was being paid to an outsider like Xiao Dao-de. If word of this got out, it would truly be an absolute joke.

Boss Niu, however, revealed the inside story: "I remember when the market was first established, Boss Xiao had a verbal agreement with Village Chief Zhao stating that the rental income from the temporary sheds we built for our business would belong entirely to Boss Xiao. If you ask us to pay the rent to the market administration now, what happens if Boss Xiao comes back later and demands the money from us?"

"That's right! To be honest, it doesn't matter who we pay the rent to, but the problem is we can't pay the money and still end up caught in the middle, blamed by everyone," a thin merchant added.

"I know your concerns, but can a verbal agreement hold any legal validity? Especially considering that Boss Xiao took advantage of Village Chief Zhao," Liu Xing said, walking with his hands clasped behind his back as he surveyed all the merchants. "I'll lay my cards right here: you can keep paying your shed rent to Boss Xiao, but when your sheds are torn down next month, or you're driven out of the market and can't even run your businesses anymore, don't say I didn't warn you beforehand."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of all the merchants changed instantly, turning grim and ugly.

It wasn't that they were afraid of Liu Xing, but rather that they knew Liu Xing wouldn't make such a statement unless he had solid backing.

In truth, when it came to paying the shed rent money to Boss Xiao, most of them had known something wasn't right from the very beginning. But seeing how Boss Xiao subsequently wielded immense influence and remained untouched by any trouble, they hadn't bothered to question it further.

Now it appeared that this had simply been a ticking time bomb planted right under their feet!

Seeing that all of them had fallen silent, Liu Xing let out a soft sigh and said, "Do you business owners know the current situation in Lao Wu Village? Not to look too far, just take Village Chief Zhao for example. Because he has to manage various trivial matters for Lao Wu Village, he can barely even afford to feed his granddaughter, Zhao Jing."

"Village Chief Zhao not being able to feed his granddaughter has nothing to do with us!"

"Exactly! We haven't eaten a single bite of rice from their house."

Boss Niu and the dark-faced merchant protested with dissatisfaction.

"Nothing to do with you?" Liu Xing sneered. "If you had paid the shed rent that rightfully belonged to Lao Wu Village to Village Chief Zhao instead, would Lao Wu Village's economic conditions look like this ghost town of a state right now?"

"This..." Boss Niu froze, lowering his head in shame.

The dark-faced merchant also looked somewhat awkward, not knowing how to respond.

After all, Liu Xing's words were entirely correct. The market was located right in Lao Wu Village, yet the majority of Lao Wu Village's residents didn't enjoy a single benefit. Wasn't that the fault of these merchants rather than Lao Wu Village?

To take a step back, this was only because the villagers of Lao Wu Village were kind-hearted and didn't want to bicker with them.

If they had encountered a village with a fierce and aggressive local populace, these merchants would have been driven away long ago.

Today, taking advantage of the collection of temporary stall fees, Liu Xing had brought up the destination of the shed rent. It might have seemed like meddling in other people's business, but in reality, he was helping these merchants correct their mistakes.

If they remained obstinate and stubborn, once Xiao Dao-de's verdict came down, it would no longer be a mere matter of money, but a matter of severe legal character.

Thinking of this, cold sweat broke out on Boss Niu's forehead. To avoid reaching an irrecoverable situation, he hurriedly said to Liu Xing, "We've all paid our shed rent to Xiao Dao-de by the quarter. If you collect it now, we'll take a huge loss. Can we postpone paying for a bit? Business hasn't been easy for us lately."

"Yeah! Market business mostly operates at a loss in the first half of the year; we only manage to make some money in the second half," the dark-faced merchant chimed in, his attitude exceedingly sincere.

"Heh, I didn't say you had to pay the rent right this second; I just wanted to see your attitude," Liu Xing smiled. "Do you know? Attitude is crucial right now. Once you stand on the wrong side, the consequences will be severe."

This remark was ambiguous, yet it managed to terrify all the merchants present.

They were no fools; they knew the "side" Liu Xing was referring to was Xiao Dao-de.

To draw a clear line between themselves and the currently disgraced Xiao Dao-de, Boss Niu gritted his teeth and said, "My shed only covers a little over a hundred square meters. If I pay the rent, it shouldn't come out to all that much, right?"

"That's right! If we base it on the rent Xiao Dao-de used to collect, it really isn't much money," the dark-faced merchant added.

The implication was that if the amount was small, they could pay it right now; if it was too much, they would have to go back and discuss it.

"How much rent did Xiao Dao-de collect before?" Liu Xing, well aware of these merchants' petty calculations, asked with a smile.

"Mine was sixty yuan a month," Boss Niu replied.

"Mine too!" the dark-faced merchant chimed in to declare.

"My shed is quite a bit larger, so it was eighty yuan a month."

"Mine is fifty."

"Mine is sixty, and that includes electricity!"

Seeing Boss Niu speak up, the other merchants quickly blurted out the rent amounts for their respective sheds.

Hearing this, Liu Xing was slightly taken aback.

Because a shed rent of sixty yuan a month was by no means cheap in the early 1980s.

And yet these merchants were all claiming it wasn't much money, which could only prove one thing: they had made a considerable amount of money in the market.

If they hadn't been making money, they would never have made such remarks.

With that thought, Liu Xing gave a light cough and said, "Alright, alright! Since Xiao Dao-de's shed rent was so cheap in the past, naturally I have no intention of raising prices. If you're willing to pay up right now, get yourselves registered immediately. But if you wait until I officially establish the rules and come knocking on your doors personally to collect, things won't be nearly as pleasant to talk about."

As soon as these words dropped, Boss Niu hurriedly dug a thick stack of banknotes out of his pants pocket: "Then I'll pay the shed rent for a whole quarter right now."

This action nearly startled Gouzi, who was busy recording names in the ledger.

Zhao Gou and Zhao Liang were equally stunned.

After all, they truly hadn't expected these business merchants to be so flush with cash.

Liu Xing smiled and instructed Zhao Liang, "Quickly go fetch Village Chief Zhao. It's best if we have his old man come collect these shed rents right away."

The market land belonged to Lao Wu Village, so the shed rent naturally belonged to Lao Wu Village.

He had no desire to dip his fingers into it and end up shouldering the same infamous reputation as Xiao Dao-de.

"Yeah," Zhao Liang nodded and sprinted off.

Hearing this, Boss Niu and the other merchants felt a surge of genuine respect.

If they had been in his shoes, given such a lucrative thing as collecting rent, they probably wouldn't have thought of Village Chief Zhao in the first place.

However, none of them waited for Village Chief Zhao to arrive before handing over their money—not out of fear of Village Chief Zhao, but because they knew that another person they desperately wished to avoid was about to show up.

And that person was...

Xiao Li.

...

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