Chapter 146: Doing the Opposite

Amidst the clamor, the shouts of chasing a robber in the market continued for over half an hour before finally coming to an end.

During this time, Liu Xing hid inside the rural credit cooperative with Zhao Gou and Zhao Liang, drinking tea.

It was not until the outside grew quiet that the three of them slowly walked out.

Behind them, Yang Zhi walked them to the door and asked, "Liu Xing, with Liu Siywen being robbed today, I'm guessing the higher-ups will definitely want to talk to us. What should we say when the time comes?"

"Just tell the truth. We didn't do it anyway," Liu Xing replied, turning around with a smile at Yang Zhi.

His motto remained the same: do no evil, and you need not fear a knock on the door at midnight.

"Alright!" Hearing Liu Xing say this, Yang Zhi could only nod in agreement. "Rest assured, I'll be fine on my end. The leaders at the bank definitely trust me."

"Bureau Chief Wu and Station Master Tian won't be a problem on my end either." Knowing that Yang Zhi was trying to build a united front, Liu Xing raised his eyebrows and replied with a smile.

"That's good! Haha..." With this answer, Yang Zhi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. After waving goodbye to Liu Xing, he returned to the credit cooperative.

In fact, the reason he had such worries was that public security in the early 1980s was quite poor, making robberies and petty thefts an everyday occurrence.

When such cases accumulated, they often formed a vicious cycle, usually targeting those with money.

This was no exaggeration, but a stark reality of the seventies and eighties.

If wealthy people lacked powerful backers behind them, one could only wonder how long they would be able to swagger about.

Of course, one should not generalize; different regions had different policies and social atmospheres, leading to entirely different outcomes.

Liu Xing knew the inside story without having to think too much about it, but he had no desire to dwell on it.

Instead, he led Zhao Gou and Zhao Liang toward the shoe store.

As they walked, Liu Xing suddenly stopped in his tracks. He frowned deeply at the mud covering the street.

"Boss, what's wrong?" Zhao Liang asked, momentarily startled.

Zhao Gou looked on with some confusion as well.

Mud on a dirt-and-concrete road on a rainy day—wasn't that the most normal thing in the world in the countryside?

"How many street sweepers are there in our market?" Liu Xing didn't answer Zhao Liang's question, but asked softly instead.

"Street sweepers??" Zhao Liang looked bewildered.

"The people who clean the streets," Liu Xing explained.

"Oh... none," Zhao Liang replied, a sudden realization dawning on him.

"Then find me four or five when we get back. I'll cover their wages," Liu Xing said, walking toward the shoe store with his hands behind his back.

"Wait... why do we need so many cleaners?" Zhao Liang hurried after Liu Xing. "Isn't that a waste of money?"

"What do you know? If concrete roads like the ones we walk on aren't kept clean, fewer and fewer people will come to the market to do business in the future. At the very least, no vendors will be willing to come on rainy days," Liu Xing explained, revealing his purpose for hiring cleaners.

"How could the mud on this road ever be cleaned properly!" Zhao Liang groaned, feeling a headache coming on.

He felt Liu Xing was just making work for himself. Wouldn't it be much sweeter to just leave the money collected a few days ago in the bank to earn interest?

"You're just shallow and shortsighted. Most of the mud on this street is tracked in from other paths, and some washes down from the mountains during heavy rains. If you block the sources, won't all the problems be resolved?" Liu Xing scolded, unable to hold back. "If certain areas have standing water year-round, we must dig trenches and build drainage channels. This is part of the market's basic infrastructure. Do you understand?"

If these basic infrastructures weren't put in place, hoping for the market's business to flourish would be nothing more than daydreaming.

"I... I..." Zhao Liang stammered, unable to find a retort.

Zhao Gou was an honest and simple man; he didn't think as much as Zhao Liang. Seeing that Zhao Liang had stopped talking, he grinned foolishly and asked Liu Xing, "Boss, I support whatever you do, but I just want to ask—can my old mother do this cleaning job you mentioned?"

"Is her illness cured?" Liu Xing asked with concern.

"It's been better for a long time. Ever since she ate that braised pork knuckle you gave her, working in the fields has been a breeze for her," Zhao Gou replied with a chuckle.

"Alright then. Go back and talk to your mother. If she feels up to it, she can come starting tomorrow to clean the streets of the market," Liu Xing said, reaching out to pat Zhao Gou's shoulder. "As for the wages, let's tentatively set it at thirty yuan a month!"

He had originally wanted to say fifty, but remembering that the wages for Zhao Gou, Gouzi, Zhao Liang, and the others were only fifty yuan a month, he quickly changed his tune.

It wasn't that he was being stingy, but right now, the market's infrastructure needed money in many places.

Naturally, he had to save where he could.

Once the market was on the right track, it wouldn't be too late to raise the wages of the street sweepers.

However, upon hearing that cleaning could earn him that much money, Zhao Gou was overjoyed.

Before Liu Xing could even react, he took off running at full tilt, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

"This kid," Liu Xing smiled.

Seeing this, Zhao Liang hurried to say, "Boss, my mother is also sitting at home doing nothing! You know charity begins at home—how about letting her come clean the streets too?"

Pausing for a moment, Zhao Liang added, "She's very hardworking and will definitely keep the market spotless."

"Didn't you just oppose me hiring cleaners?" Liu Xing teased.

"My mouth just runs away with me!" Zhao Liang couldn't help but slap himself lightly on the cheek.

Liu Xing laughed at the sight. "Alright! Since you're interested, go talk to your mother when you get back. But remember! You get paid to do the job, so no slacking off or cutting corners. At the very least, you have to leave the regular vendors in the market with nothing to complain about."

"Got it," Zhao Liang nodded repeatedly.

"Go on then!" Liu Xing waved a hand.

Zhao Liang turned and sprinted away, running faster than a rabbit.

Liu Xing, however, wasn't in such a rush, strolling leisurely toward the shoe store.

Along the way, seeing several business vendors gathered together chatting about Liu Siywen being robbed of his twenty thousand yuan, he couldn't help walking over to join them.

Finding their conversation a bit confusing, he asked aloud, "Has that big boss who got robbed left yet?"

"Long gone. He went to report the case at the Donghe Police Station in a tractor with Boss Zhang, who sells China fir timber," a bald vendor said.

"Reporting the case?"

"Wait, what does this have to do with Boss Zhang, the timber seller?" Liu Xing asked, puzzled.

The bald vendor smiled at Liu Xing. "Haven't you heard? The ones who robbed that big boss were actually two out-of-towners hired by Boss Zhang."

"Ah?" Liu Xing was dumbfounded.

Those two fools were well-known in the market and had steady work; why on earth would they rob someone out of the blue?

If the police station launched a dedicated investigation, they would likely be caught in no time.

Given the severity of the case and the criminal penalties for robbers in the early 1980s, they would undoubtedly be taken out and executed by firing squad.

"Hey, what's there to be shocked about!" The bald vendor smiled at Liu Xing's reaction. "Actually, it's because that wealthy big boss didn't know how to conduct himself. He verbally insulted those two out-of-towners and flaunted his wealth."

"I see!" Dawn broke on Liu Xing.

Put that way, even if the officers from the Donghe Police Station investigated, it wouldn't have anything to do with him.

Because judging from the bald vendor's words, this robbery was purely something Liu Siywen had brought upon himself.

Thinking of this, the stone hanging in Liu Xing's heart finally dropped.

After exchanging a few casual words with the bald vendor, he walked away.

After all, listening to too many rumors and gossip would only impair his judgment.

As soon as he reached the entrance of the shoe store, Liu Dongju, who had been busy in the kitchen, rushed out and asked anxiously, "Little Xing, do you know about Liu Siywen getting robbed just now?"

"I know," Liu Xing nodded.

"Then you should hurry and hide! If the police officers come later, I'll just tell them you didn't know anything about what happened," Liu Dongju said, her panic bleeding through as she revealed her plan.

"Sis, what are you afraid of? A righteous foot fears no crooked shoe," Liu Xing shook his head. After offering a couple of words of comfort, he walked into the shoe store.

Liu Dongju followed closely behind, still uneasy. "You boy, your sister is doing this for your own good. Just think about it—Liu Siywen got money from you just a moment ago, and then got robbed right after. Anyone in their right mind would say you did it."

"What kind of logic is that?" Liu Xing was left speechless. "Didn't you hear the neighbors say the robbery happened because Liu Siywen was flaunting his wealth? I was drinking tea with Yang Zhi at the credit cooperative the whole time; I had no idea what was going on."

Noticing that Liu Dongju looked a bit embarrassed, Liu Xing quickly softened his tone. After all, he knew she was doing it out of care—panic makes people lose their wits, otherwise her intelligence wouldn't have dipped like this. "Sis, rest assured, I'm completely fine."

"That's right, Sister! Don't overthink this business about Liu Siywen getting robbed," Nai Xinru chimed in.

She called Liu Dongju "sister" simply because she was older than her.

Hearing Nai Xinru say this, Liu Dongju felt a bit more at ease. Just as she was about to ask Liu Xing about the gossip he'd heard on the street, she suddenly clapped a hand over her mouth and ran outside.

"Sis, what's wrong with you?" Liu Xing asked with concern.

"Don't you know she's pregnant?" Nai Xinru teased, offering a reminder.

"Huh?" Liu Xing froze. Once it clicked, he broke into a smile and hurried outside. "Sis, you're not playing fair! Another person is going to be calling me uncle soon, why didn't you tell me?"

"Keep your voice down! It's not even certain yet!" Liu Dongju scolded him, retching near the kitchen door.

"Hahaha... Alright! I'll keep it down." For some reason, Liu Xing felt as though all his previous worries had been swept away by the news of Liu Dongju's pregnancy.

Right now, his state of mind could be described in two words:
Pure happiness.

Liu Dongju was also quite happy. "Stop laughing. If you're not busy, go look for Little Dot. That naughty kid hasn't stayed home for a single day since Little Dou Dou arrived."

"Got it!" Liu Xing nodded. "I'll go check the market."

"Find them and bring them back to wash up," Liu Dongju said, glancing at the darkening sky before heading back into the kitchen.

Liu Xing smiled, put his hands behind his back, and strolled out toward the market street.

Before he had even walked five meters, he was intercepted by Nai Xinru, who was holding an account book. "Don't go yet. You need to check these past two days of accounts to see if everything balances."

"No need to look, I trust you," Liu Xing waved a hand dismissively. "Instead of that—how are you adjusting to living at my sister's place?"

"Mm, I'm used to it," Nai Xinru nodded repeatedly.

For her, life here was even better than when she was an unmarried daughter in her parents' home.

Aside from Li Qing occasionally coming around to make things unpleasant, everyone else treated her very well, to the point where she had once again felt the warmth of a home.

Moreover, Little Dou Dou had changed a lot. Previously, the child was very shy and never spoke to strangers.

But now, as soon as she finished eating, she would go out to play with Little Dot, returning every time brimming with happiness and sharing endless secrets with her.

Seeing Nai Xinru say this, Liu Xing couldn't help smiling. "As long as you're used to it. But let me give you a heads-up: given your ability, you won't be managing a tiny shoe store in the market for long."

"What do you mean?" Nai Xinru asked, feeling a fluttering of nervousness.

"It's not set in stone yet, but if all goes well, a few months from now I'll have you manage a much bigger shoe store. Would you be willing?" Liu Xing looked at Nai Xinru.

"Yes, of course I'm willing," Nai Xinru replied without hesitation.

"Then go back to your work!" Liu Xing smiled and walked toward the market street.

Nai Xinru watched Liu Xing walk away. For some inexplicable reason, her heart felt warm enough to make her want to cry.

...

Outside Zhao Liang's front door.

Guan Zi, along with Little Dou Dou, Zhao Jing, and a few other children, sat on the ground playing in the mud.

Their joyous expressions and mischievous antics gave the approaching Liu Xing an instant headache.

The reason for his headache was simple: the ground was covered entirely in muddy water!

Sitting on the ground like that—leaving aside how dirty they would get—it had to be quite cold, too.

Yet these kids...

For a moment, Liu Xing didn't even know what to say.

Initially, he wanted to give Little Dot a good thrashing.

After all, the boy was just too mischievous.

But then he remembered how he himself used to play in the mud like this when he was a child.

After a brief pause, he dismissed the idea and chose not to act on it.

Because the scene before him was Little Dot's childhood.

If he forcefully intervened and ruined it, that wouldn't be right.

However, the moment Little Dot saw Liu Xing approaching, he took off running.

Realizing she had done something wrong, Little Dou Dou grabbed Zhao Jing and hurried after him.

Liu Xing was just about to give chase when he froze in his tracks the next second.

Right ahead on the street, a jeep was blocking the path of Little Dot, Little Dou Dou, and Zhao Jing.

Moving at a fast speed, it had nearly run them over.

"Whose kids are these?!" Station Master Tian stepped out of the driver's seat with a dark expression. When he saw it was Little Dot, he was momentarily stunned.

His first instinct was to pick the boy up and comfort him, but seeing Little Dot covered from head to toe in mud, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to touch him.

Watching Station Master Tian's awkward expression, Liu Xing couldn't help laughing. "Uncle, what wind blew you here today?"

"Don't even ask, it's all because of that robbery case involving Liu Siywen." Seeing few people on the street, Station Master Tian pulled Liu Xing into a nearby alley. "Tell me, can your kid ever catch a break? That Liu Siywen and Lu Su reported to the police that your shoe store ripped them off when they bought shoes before!"

"That's right, that did happen," Liu Xing admitted openly without denying it.

This left Station Master Tian somewhat dumbfounded. Recovering his wits, he lowered his voice and asked, "Wait... what are you playing at?"

Liu Xing didn't answer immediately. He waited until Little Dot had led Little Dou Dou and Zhao Jing away before briefly explaining what Liu Siywen and Lu Su had done to him.

He also casually revealed the inside story behind why Liu Siywen had been robbed.

Station Master Tian listened quietly. Understanding the full picture, he couldn't help feeling a sense of injustice on Liu Xing's behalf. "That Liu Siywen totally deserved to be robbed. Pulling a stunt like breaking a promise—serves him right."

"Right, isn't Bureau Chief Wu about to be driven to death by his anger right now?" Tian Jun couldn't help asking.

"What do you think?" Liu Xing spread his hands. "Because of the heavy rain, he's currently trapped at my house along with Auntie, Sister Ding Lan, Sister Lianfang, Secretary Yan, and Li Dawei! Otherwise, Liu Siywen wouldn't be let off easily."

"Put that way... did I come to the market at the wrong time today?" Tian Jun panicked slightly.

If Liu Siywen hadn't been stirring up trouble, the robbery probably wouldn't have happened in the first place.

"Don't ask me that. Since you're already here, you naturally have to go through the motions and investigate the case," Liu Xing said, glancing at the sky. "By the way, did those two scoundrels Liu Siywen and Lu Su claim that I instigated this robbery?"

"You guessed it. When we first arrived at the Donghe Police Station, they actually tried to claim that, but I chewed them out until they shut up and behaved," Tian Jun said, putting his hands on his hips. "Since I now know the ins and outs of the matter, I won't waste any more breath. I'm heading to the rural credit cooperative to ask about the situation first."

"Alright!" Liu Xing nodded.

"I'm off!" Station Master Tian turned and walked out of the alley.

Liu Xing didn't leave right away, instead watching with a faint smile as Station Master Tian walked away.

The reason he could smile was that he was picturing Liu Siywen's current predicament.

Liu Siywen and Lu Su probably never imagined that he also had a very good relationship with Station Master Tian.

Trying to file a false complaint and turn tables on him? Heh... this time they'd likely end up losing the battle and forfeiting their troops into the bargain.

...

Back at the shoe store.

The gloomy sky had begun to rain again.

This forced Liu Xing, who had intended to head back, to stay put.

Since there was little business in the shoe store, he put on a straw raincoat, took the black calf by its halter, and went out to graze it along the street.

Seeing his brother-in-law Zhao Dongkui transplanting rice seedlings in the paddy field by the roadside, with Zhao Geng and Li Qing helping out, Liu Xing took off his shoes, rolled up his trouser legs, waded into the field, and joined in the planting.

As for the black calf, he left it to wander.

He knew that as long as he was nearby, the calf wouldn't run amok.

Seeing this, Zhao Dongkui smiled with gratification. "Liu Xing, how did you handle things with the Hengshui and Zhongyi distilleries?"

"With rain pouring down like this, what else could I do?" Liu Xing straightened his back. "Brother-in-law, did you know? The Donglong Reservoir dam breached, and the flood almost completely submerged Nanshitou Village."

"Really or fake?" Zhao Dongkui was greatly startled.

Zhao Geng and Li Qing, who were busy planting seedlings, were also thoroughly frightened.

However, they knew Liu Xing would never lie. In the early hours of last night, the market had flooded too; if Lao Wucun hadn't been blessed with such good elevation, it would likely have been submerged as well.

"Why would I lie to you?" Liu Xing glanced at the black calf by the roadside. "Even Kang Jun's brick-and-dirt house was knocked down by the floodwaters!"

"That's terrible," Zhao Dongkui shook his head upon hearing this.

Without a house on a rainy day like this, Kang Jun's family was bound to suffer.

Liu Xing was about to describe the scene during the flood, but Nai Xinru came running over with an umbrella, anxiety written across her pretty face. "Liu Xing, it's bad, something terrible has happened."

"What is it?" Liu Xing frowned.

Judging by her reaction, Nai Xinru still lacked composure.

Because in his memories, Nai Xinru was the kind of person who remained unruffled no matter what happened.

"The supply and marketing cooperative posted a notice! Starting tomorrow, all daily necessities—including shoes, cigarettes, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, tea, fabrics, needles, thread, and so on—will no longer require rationing coupons! On top of that, many daily goods have dropped significantly in price, and all styles of shoes are nearly one yuan cheaper than before," Nai Xinru blurted out all at once, her voice trembling slightly from anxiety.

"Huh?" Liu Xing froze.

It seemed Xiao Li had invested heavily behind the scenes over the past two days just to deal with him!

Lowering the price of shoes by a full yuan was something that would have been completely impossible in the past.

In other words, Xiao Li had finally realized the biggest flaw in the supply cooperative's traditional business model.

If they didn't reform, they would struggle to survive under the policies of reform and opening up.

"Stop standing there like a statue! What are we going to do?" Nai Xinru urged. "Don't forget, the day after tomorrow is the eighteenth, market day. Once this supply cooperative notice goes out, our shoe store's business is going to plummet."

"That's right, Liu Xing, why don't we lower our shoe prices too? At least that way we'll have the ability to compete with the cooperative," Zhao Dongkui chimed in anxiously from the side.

"Brother-in-law, what kind of terrible idea is that?" Liu Xing couldn't help protesting. "Our store sells slippers and sandals; they're completely different styles from the cloth shoes and sneakers at the supply cooperative. Their craftsmanship and materials are naturally cheaper to make, right?"

"Then what do you mean?" Zhao Dongkui scratched his head.

Nai Xinru was equally baffled.

If they didn't lower prices, how could they compete with the supply cooperative?

Liu Xing frowned in thought. "The supply cooperative slashing prices on most of their goods is nothing more than an attempt to quickly recover funds and mitigate risks. I have no intention of playing their game."

With that thought, Liu Xing looked at Nai Xinru.

"I'm here!" Nai Xinru responded immediately.

"Do this: go write a notice stating that the prices of the shoes in our store will go up starting tomorrow. Don't specify how much the increase is; we'll announce it on the market day on the eighteenth," Liu Xing said after a moment of contemplation, laying out his countermeasure.

Summer was just around the corner, and slippers and sandals were bound to be in high demand.

While raising prices might seem a bit unprincipled, failing to do so would make it impossible to completely counteract the risks posed by the supply cooperative's price cuts.

Therefore, prices had to go up—even if it meant not making any sales, they had to deal the supply cooperative a crushing blow.

Of course, there was one more crucial point.

His purpose in doing this was to give peace of mind to the customers who had already purchased shoes at his store.

Otherwise, people who had just bought shoes a few days ago on the previous market day would suddenly see prices drop by a whole yuan—who could accept that? Not only would it bring endless trouble, but they could forget about doing business altogether.

The supply cooperative, however, was different; they had long since stopped caring about ordinary customers.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have hoarded rationing coupons and hoarded goods for maximum profit while trading daily necessities needed by the common people.

"Will... will this actually work?" Nai Xinru asked worriedly.

"Just do as I say, why ask so many questions?" Liu Xing waved his hand.

"Alright then!" Harboring lingering doubts, Nai Xinru had no choice but to leave.

Seeing that it was getting dark, Zhao Dongkui said, "Liu Xing, you should head back first! You don't need to help with the rice planting; just take care of the shoe store business."

"Got it!" Liu Xing finished planting the row of seedlings in his hands, washed his hands and feet clean, put on his shoes, grabbed the black calf's halter, and headed back.

...

The supply cooperative.

Despite the gloomy, rainy weather, lanterns were strung up at the front entrance, bustling with activity.

Xiao Li, along with Xiao Yang and other staff members, was busy tidying up the shelves.

Whenever villagers stopped by to watch the excitement, they were warmly offered hot tea and a brief chat.

If any villager expressed a desire to buy something, the staff wouldn't talk about prices first; instead, they would point to the red notice on the wall: "Buying daily necessities at the supply cooperative no longer requires rationing coupons! As long as you have the cash, you can buy whatever you want."

This revelation left the villagers utterly astonished.

Some even suspected they were dreaming.

To test the truth of these words, they hurriedly pulled out their money and bought some daily necessities they needed at home.

It wasn't until they held the items in their hands and saw the prices were indeed much lower that they realized it was no dream.

Thus, word spread like wildfire—ten telling a hundred.

In less than half an hour, over a hundred people had gathered outside the entrance of the supply cooperative.

Most of them clutched cash, ready to go on a buying spree for the daily goods they needed.

After all, it was rare for the supply cooperative to be so accommodating.

It was rare to be able to buy goods without needing rationing coupons.

Seeing Xiao Li resolve the cooperative's sluggish business with a single move, Xiao Yang was filled with admiration. "My goodness! At this rate, the stock we've been hoarding will probably sell out in the next two or three days!"

"Now you know!" Xiao Li smiled, a confident glint in her phoenix-like eyes. "By the way, old Yang mentioned that Liu Xing's shoe store also put up a notice. Send someone to check what it says; that kid is full of tricks, we have to stay on our guard."

"Hey, what's there to guard against? Now that all daily goods at our supply cooperative have dropped in price, the shoes at his store are bound to follow suit. That notice must mean they're cutting prices too. I don't even need to look to know," Xiao Yang replied dismissively.

"You're wrong," an elderly man buying salt couldn't help interjecting. "The notice posted on the wall of Little Xing's shoe store didn't lower prices—it raised them."

"What?" Xiao Yang's eyes widened in disbelief. "Raised prices?"

"That's impossible," Xiao Li was also dumbfounded. "Old man, are you sure your eyes aren't playing tricks on you?"

"My eyes haven't failed me yet!" the old man snapped back before walking away with his newly purchased salt.

"No! I have to go see for myself." After turning it over in her mind and feeling that something was amiss, Xiao Li left instructions with Xiao Yang and hurried out of the supply cooperative.

Seeing this, Xiao Yang shook his head.

He still couldn't understand why Xiao Li grew so nervous whenever Liu Xing was mentioned.