Chapter 238: Chapter 238: Sun Mei Loses Her Temper
238 Sun Mei’s Outburst
Zhao Dong thought for a moment, then opposed the villagers’ proposal to lower the price.
Zhao Dong said, "Everyone, please calm down and listen to me."
The villagers partnered with him trusted Zhao Dong, so they quieted down to hear him speak.
Zhao Dong continued, "What I mean is, we can’t lower the price now. Firstly, lowering the price would mean destroying our own reputation. If word got out that we dropped our prices right after they bought from us, what would those customers think?"
"Secondly, Mrs. Zheng’s pigs are just regular ones. Why would these merchants travel all the way to our remote village to buy pigs? It’s because our pigs are different from those raised by others, isn’t it?"
"So, if Mrs. Zheng sells regular pigs under our name, what will happen when those merchants find out? Will they spare Mrs. Zheng? Therefore, don’t worry; Mrs. Zheng is digging her own grave!"
Once Zhao Dong reminded them, they finally recalled the details.
Whenever their piglets matured, they would be taken to the Zhao Family’s backyard. Then, Zhao Dong and Sun Mei would process the piglets and apply an anti-inflammatory herbal juice.
Moreover, before the piglets were fully grown, the villagers would go to the Zhao Family to get a special herbal juice. They mixed this into the pig feed every morning for both piglets and sows.
As a result, their pigs grew white and plump, and their meat was exceptionally delicious.
The villagers had once called that herbal juice a miracle potion for raising pigs.
In truth, the juice was quite ordinary, just an herbal remedy that boosted the piglets’ immunity. However, Zhao Zhitong had added a little Spiritual Spring water, which made the piglets far less susceptible to illness.
Thinking of this, the villagers’ confidence surged.
"That’s right! Look at us, getting so worried I completely forgot about this!"
"Yes, yes! So we don’t need to be afraid. Let’s listen to Brother Dong and wait and see."
"Exactly! I also agree with Brother Dong. Let’s just wait and see, and let Mrs. Zheng dig her own grave."
Many villagers felt relieved at this point.
Naturally, a few of the more timid ones remained somewhat worried. After returning home, they couldn’t sit still and soon hurried out to ask for news.
After the merchant refused Zhao Dong’s pigs, he went to Mrs. Zheng’s place and bought three. Following that, several more merchants arrived in the village one after another.
They were all lured away by Mrs. Zheng’s low prices. What was worse, a merchant who had previously bought pigs from Zhao Dong’s Residence heard that Mrs. Zheng’s pigs were even cheaper.
Feeling he had been cheated, he came to Zhao Dong’s Residence, adamantly insisting on returning the goods!
Zhao Dong was amused by this man’s shenanigans but still looked at him seriously and asked again, "Are you sure you want to return them?"
The merchant said arrogantly, "Yes! I want to return them. You’re a swindler! Their pigs only cost 25 coin money per pound, but you dared to charge 30 coin money. This is robbery! Either give me a refund or lower the price."
The merchant’s voice was very loud, as if the louder he spoke, the more reasonable he sounded.
Just as the merchant thought it would take more wrangling, Zhao Dong nodded in agreement. "Lowering the price is impossible. However, if you want to return them, that’s no problem. As long as the pigs aren’t ill, I’ll accept the return."
The merchant was stunned for a long moment. It wasn’t until Zhao Dong had finished inspecting the pigs that he finally reacted, "So, you’re accepting the return? Just like that?"
Zhao Dong nodded naturally, took out his account book, and asked, "What’s your name, and what shop do you run?"
The merchant puffed out his chest, looking as if he had won a great victory. "Seeing as you know what’s what, I won’t press the matter further with you."
Zhao Dong shook his head and smiled, not bothering to argue. He repeated, "Name, shop."
Only then did the merchant speak, "Jia Xin, Ruyi Tavern."
Zhao Dong didn’t look up. He found Jia Xin’s entry in the account book and said, "You bought two pigs. One weighed 150 pounds, the other 156 pounds, for a total of 9,180 coin money."
Then he said to Shi Tou nearby, "Shi Tou, give him a refund."
Shi Tou was practically seething. He took nine strings of copper coins from the cash box, counted out another 180 coin money, and stuffed it all into Jia Xin’s arms. "Here’s your money!" he said unhappily.
Jia Xin glared at Shi Tou, then counted the copper coins. Seeing there was no mistake, he put them all into a cloth bag and laughed smugly. "Brother Zhao, we’re both businessmen. Let me offer you a piece of advice: in business, honesty is paramount. Your prices are so much higher than others’. That’s really dishonest and no way to do business."
Shi Tou exclaimed, "Hey, you...!"
Zhao Dong stopped Shi Tou, who looked ready to hit the man. He looked at Jia Xin expressionlessly and said, "Thank you for your advice. However, I’ll say the same to you."
"I won’t hold it against you for breaking your contract this time, but you’ve lost all credit with me. Shi Tou, go inform the other brothers. Jia Xin of Ruyi Tavern is to be blacklisted. From now on, we won’t accept any orders from Ruyi Tavern."
"Oh, and one more thing. I don’t have a ’brother’ like you, so don’t call me Brother Zhao."
Shi Tou snorted coldly at Jia Xin, his head held high. "Alright, Brother Dong! I’ll go inform the brothers right away. From now on, our pigs will absolutely not be sold to Ruyi Tavern!"
With that, he ran out to inform their other partners.
Jia Xin wasn’t bothered in the slightest. "Hah! Who do you think you’re scaring? Do you really believe you’re the only ones who can raise pigs? Without you, there are still plenty of others selling them cheaper!"
Zhao Dong gave a faint smile. "If that’s what you think, fine. Take care, I won’t see you out."
And so, Jia Xin was driven out of Zhao Dong’s Residence. He stood at the doorway, sneered, then flicked his sleeves and departed.
Because they had snatched the business, Mrs. Zheng and her group had made a considerable amount of money recently. They were so smug that they strutted about as if they owned the place.
They often gathered at the street corner to make sarcastic remarks about Zhao Dong and his associates.
Just then, Tian Cuihua, Sun Mei, and Shi Tou’s wife, Sun Ying, were returning from the fields, laughing and chatting. As they neared the village entrance, they ran into Mrs. Zheng and her cronies, who were out flaunting their success.
"Well, well, look who it is! Isn’t this Mrs. Sun? My, oh my, your husband dragged so many villagers into raising pigs. That venture is about to go bust, isn’t it? HAHAHA!"
"I wonder, when he can’t sell those pigs, if the villagers will drown him in the pond!"
"And look, isn’t that the Village Chief’s eldest daughter-in-law? Have you sold any pigs from your family yet? Ah, Mrs. Tian, it’s not my place to say, but you should have joined us from the start. Then you wouldn’t be stuck with unsellable pigs now."
"Or, how about this: you all beg me. If you beg nicely enough, I might consider helping you sell a few of those pigs."
Mrs. Zheng’s sharp-tongued, malevolent expression made one want to go up and slap her hard across the face.
Indeed, as it happened, Sun Mei thought the exact same thing, and she did just that.
The slap resounded with a loud CRACK. Mrs. Zheng was stunned for a good while before she could even react.
Sun Mei shook her hand. It was her first time slapping someone, and she had to admit, it felt great!
Mrs. Zheng clutched her face, her voice a high-pitched screech as she stared at Sun Mei in disbelief. "You... how dare you hit me?"