The shouts of the middle-aged man attracted a large crowd of women to his stall.
In a village or town, this is when the most people gather.
As soon as any good item appeared, these middle-aged women would be the first to arrive.
"Oh, is that houttuynia cordata? How much is it?"
An older woman ran over and asked the man directly.
"Houttuynia cordata, twenty yuan a jin!"
"What? Twenty yuan? That's too expensive!"
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's answer, the woman immediately became unhappy and said angrily.
Indeed, from Li Qingfeng's perspective, the man's price was too high.
According to the materia medica, houttuynia cordata is pungent, cold, and has the effects of clearing heat and detoxifying, promoting urination and removing dampness, strengthening the stomach and aiding digestion, and clearing heat and stopping dysentery.
Although houttuynia cordata is a medicinal herb with many properties and is known as the "King of Herbs!"
Houttuynia cordata has a significant drawback: it is too common, which keeps its price very low.
In Li Qingfeng's experience, the most expensive houttuynia cordata sold in towns and cities was only fifteen yuan a jin.
This is not the off-season or a time of urgent need for houttuynia cordata, so this price is indeed unreasonable.
"Buy it if you want, leave if you don't!"
The middle-aged man trembled slightly, clearly wanting to lower the price, but as if thinking of something, he said resolutely.
"You must be crazy for money. I'm not buying!"
"Disperse, disperse. You have no intention of doing business."
The woman waved her hand angrily and turned to leave.
Seeing her leave, the surrounding women also dispersed, and as they left, they didn't forget to spread the word about the middle-aged man's stall.
After their promotion, the stall, which was already empty, became even more desolate.
"Uncle, if I may say, your houttuynia cordata is really a bit expensive, why bother?"
Li Qingfeng thought for a moment and decided to go up and try to advise the uncle.
"It's none of your business!"
The middle-aged man's tone was unpleasant, and he protected his houttuynia cordata with his hands, fearing Li Qingfeng would touch them.
Just then, a few ruffians walked over and stopped at the middle-aged man's stall.
With a bang, a brick landed on his stall. One of the ruffians said, "Old man, when are you going to pay the thousand yuan protection fee?"
Seeing them, the middle-aged man's face turned ashen. He pleaded with a troubled expression, "Gentlemen, business is really bad, I can't sell anything!"
Upon hearing his words, the ruffians laughed and hit him with a club.
The middle-aged man, who was already injured, was knocked to the ground by this blow. Seeing that they intended to continue, Li Qingfeng quickly stepped forward and grabbed the club.
"Who is it? Who dares to stop us?"
The ruffian who had been hitting was surprised that someone dared to stop him and turned around unhappily. Upon seeing Li Qingfeng,
He became even more arrogant and said disdainfully, "A mere kid, trying to stand up for someone else? Didn't your family tell you not to meddle in other people's business?"
Hearing his words, Li Qingfeng smiled.
With a flick of his wrist, he took the club from the ruffian's hand.
Seeing the club in Li Qingfeng's hand, the ruffian reached out to snatch it back, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move Li Qingfeng's fingers even a bit.
"Ah... ah..."
Watching him struggle, Li Qingfeng yawned somewhat sleepily.
This ruffian had really made him sleepy.
"Alright, alright, give up, you can't get it back!"
Hearing Li Qingfeng's words, the ruffian's face turned red with anger, like a perfectly cooked shrimp about to smoke.
"Kid, let go quickly!"
Feeling that he truly couldn't budge Li Qingfeng's strength, his tone became much fiercer, and he shouted loudly.
Just then, he keenly spotted the herbs in the basket on Li Qingfeng's back.
"Are you also here to set up a stall and sell goods?"
Hearing his question, Li Qingfeng casually replied, "Are your eyes bad? Can't you see I have banlangen root on my back? Am I here to treat you to it instead of selling it?"
Upon hearing Li Qingfeng's words, the ruffian seemed to be much happier. Without further ado, he started demanding the protection fee.
"Enough nonsense. If you want to set up a stall here, you have to pay us two thousand yuan in protection fees, and we guarantee no one will bother you later!"
"Hahaha!"
Upon hearing his words, Li Qingfeng couldn't help but burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
Hearing his laughter, these ruffians couldn't stand it any longer and were about to attack.
However, perhaps influenced by the protection fee, he repeated what he had just said.
"According to you, why is it one thousand yuan for him and two thousand yuan for me?"
Hearing Li Qingfeng's question, the guy seemed to have found his footing and said calmly,
"It's very simple, we just want your two thousand yuan to let you set up your stall. If you don't pay, you'll end up like him!"
Seeing the middle-aged man who was pointed at, he was now bleeding from the head. Looking at his miserable state, a hint of pity flashed in Li Qingfeng's eyes.
Fortunately, due to Li Qingfeng's intervention, the only club was taken away, so he only suffered minor injuries and was not in serious condition.
"Kid, I'll give you three more minutes. Either pay up, or you'll end up like him before you pay!"
"So you guys' so-called debt collection is based on your mood? Then what if I don't pay!"
Hearing his words, a cold glint flashed in Li Qingfeng's eyes, and he said coldly, "Go wherever it's cool!"
"Oh my, brothers, this kid is too arrogant. Hit him!"
Seeing Li Qingfeng's defiant attitude, these guys couldn't stand it any longer and rushed forward, yelling.
However, their movements seemed too slow in Li Qingfeng's eyes, like a turtle's pace.
He extended his left hand and threw a left hook, hitting the leader in the face.
"Ah!"
With a scream, a dark, panda-like mark appeared on his eye socket.
"You dare to hit me?"
The leading ruffian unbelievably raised his hand and pointed at Li Qingfeng, saying.
Hearing his words, Li Qingfeng couldn't help but roll his eyes and replied, "Are you stupid? You're about to hit me, and you don't want me to fight back? Are you a legendary person with a deficit in intelligence? Do you want me to top you up?"
Li Qingfeng's words were spoken very seriously, as if he could really top up his intelligence.