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Chapter 37: No Talking Until You Have Fun

The market in Liushenzhuang is located in a depression in the east of the village. Because it is a depression, the size of the market expands or shrinks irregularly with the seasons and weather.

In winter, there is no water in the depression and there is more open space, so vendors can set up their stalls with more space. In summer, water accumulates in the center of the depression, and the stalls will appear more crowded.

When Xie Hushan drove his cart to the market, it was empty. After asking Han Hongzhen to point out which area was the food stalls, Xie Hushan did two things.

First, he took over the stall selling buns.

Second, we used the firewood and buckets on the car to occupy a stall next to the steamed bun stall.

A wonton stall occupies the two best locations in the food area.

"Hu San'er, we came out to earn money to buy production materials and tools for the team, not to fight." Han Hongzhen watched Xie Hushan and Lao Meng unload their equipment and start a fire to boil water, and advised in a gentle voice:

"Don't try to pick a fight on purpose. You're already eighteen, don't act like a child. If you really hurt someone, or if someone hurts you, your grandmother will be so upset."

Xie Hushan swung his axe to split the firewood that was too big to fit into the stove:

"If they can squeeze your stall into a corner, you should know that others can do the same. Don't worry, there will be no fight. It's first come first served. I got there first, so the spot is mine."

"That family has a large family, what can you do if they don't follow the rules?" Han Hongzhen was picking up the chopped firewood nearby and trying to persuade them:

"Be obedient. Even if you want to take a spot, wait until we get back to our team's gathering. By then, we will have more people in our team and won't suffer any loss."

In her opinion, Xie Husaner was just a talkative person who liked to say weird things on purpose, but he was not a real bad person. She couldn't bear to see him get into a fight and get into trouble on impulse.

Besides, even if we take a step back, if we have to fight, we should do it at the market in Zhongping Village. Those who come to the market are all members of our own team, so there is no need to worry about being at a disadvantage due to the small number of people.

"You're breaking the rules, four of you beating me up?" Xie Hushan stopped chopping wood and looked at Han Hongzhen, then at Lao Meng, who was squatting beside the puddles in the center of the depression, teasing a toad.

"I brought Lao Meng here to let him eat dry food?"

"Won't Lao Meng get beaten for helping you? He has to cause trouble. Be obedient!" Seeing that her gentle words could not persuade him, Han Hongzhen began to glare at him and reached out to grab the axe handle in Xie Hushan's hand, preventing him from continuing to chop wood.

Seeing her serious expression, Xie Hushan laughed and shouted to Lao Meng:

"Lao Meng, do you remember what I taught you? If they outnumber me and I can't beat them, what should you do?"

"When the fight starts, the troops will be divided into two groups. Si Ling will hold them back while I slaughter their donkeys first. I will make them owe the production team a famine and work for nothing for a year. Then I will pour boiling soup pots on their faces one by one. After that, they will lie on the ground and shout that someone is bullying a fool!"

Lao Meng squatted in front of the puddle, concentrating on hitting the toad with a small wooden stick and shouting.

Han Hongzhen was shocked and stunned...

Kill the other party's donkey, make him owe the production team a famine, work for nothing for a year, throw boiling water on his face and then act stupid...

Is this a fight to occupy a position at the market?
If Xie Hushan really did what he did, in the end two production teams or even two production brigades would start fighting!
Xie Hushan wanted to gently take away Han Hongzhen's hand, which was already shaking with fear:

"Don't worry, there won't be a fight. No one is a fool. Your mother-in-law didn't come today, and you were replaced by two people. They are so blatantly occupying the seat. They will definitely not dare to act rashly, because they are worried that Lao Meng and I are deliberately looking for trouble to fight."

"Besides, even if a fight really breaks out, there's no need to be aggressive. These four Lijiazhai men are no match for us. In the militia competition, the Lijiazhai militia battalion couldn't even get a third prize. They don't even know how to use a bayonet. They're just a Der."

After trying to move Han Hongzhen's hand but failing, and seeing that she was just staring at him, Xie Hushan handed the axe to her:
"How about this, let's take a look at the situation first, and wait for the people from the bun stall to come. If they want to pick a fight, I will carry you and run away, leaving Lao Meng behind to close the stall. They definitely can't bully Lao Meng, and I definitely won't fight. If they don't pick a fight, then we'll just sell wontons as usual." "You said you can't pick a fight unless they pick a fight. You just said you can't throw boiling water at me, but you can't do that." Han Hongzhen breathed a sigh of relief after hearing what Xie Hushan said while looking into her eyes.

Xie Hushan continued chopping wood: "Well, I'm just bragging to vent my anger."

After Han Hongzhen had kneaded the dough, mixed the stuffing, and even cooked two bowls of wontons, other people setting up stalls appeared in groups of two or three, pushing carts or carrying shoulder poles. After a while, a donkey cart turned down the road in the distance, with bells hanging around the donkey's neck, jingling.

Seeing that the seat he usually occupied was already occupied by someone else, with smoke coming out of the stove and soup boiling, the donkey cart stopped a little further away. The four men on the cart jumped off, wondering if they had seen it wrong.

Two of them walked closer and saw clearly that it was Han Hongzhen in front of the chopping board. There was a look of disbelief on their faces. The young widow had changed her personality. She usually suffered bullying and oppression, but today she dared to compete with them for a seat?

The young widow Han Hongzhen stood in front of the chopping board, head down, not even glancing at them, wrapping wontons skillfully.

A young man was about to come over and accuse Han Hongzhen of taking their place, but was pulled back by his companion, who motioned him to look behind Han Hongzhen.

At the low table behind Han Hongzhen, there were two sturdy young men sitting. One of them was holding a spoon in his hand and constantly putting wonton soup into his mouth, but his eyes were looking straight at them ignorantly and fearlessly, with a simple smile on his face.

The other one looked at them with a half-smile and whistled softly. On his left hand, an axe was stuck on the ground. He gently turned the axe handle, allowing the shiny axe blade to draw circles on the ground.

At dawn, other people setting up stalls at the market hurried past them, but these six men and one woman seemed to be fixed in place.

Four men with serious expressions stood beside the donkey cart ten meters away. In front of the wonton stall chopping board, mist was rising. Han Hongzhen, wearing a fitted women's dress, lowered her head and concentrated on wrapping wontons.

Behind her, two men were sitting at the dinner table, eating heartily but looking directly at the visitor.

"You are here with bad intentions~" the elderly man whispered beside the donkey cart, and then called his companions to go past the wonton stall to unload the cart.

But as soon as they started the donkey cart, they discovered that Han Hongzhen's wonton stall not only occupied the space of their steamed bun stall, but also occupied another stall next to it with its cart, firewood and buckets.

"Uncle, Sister Li's stall next to us has also been occupied!" A young man said to the older man, "We all promised Sister Li to help her..."

The donkey cart lingered there for a long time, and was finally told by the older man to move to a more distant position. He then came over with a smile on his face and greeted Han Hongzhen:

"Xiao Han, you came out early today? Where's your mother-in-law? Why can't I see her?"

"Uncle Li is here. My mother-in-law is not feeling well today and is resting at home." Han Hongzhen continued working while speaking neither humbly nor arrogantly.

The other party looked carefully at Xie Hushan and Lao Meng behind him:
"The customers came quite early. You opened so early, so your business must be good today. Xiao Han, your mother-in-law didn't come, and you were tired from pulling the cart. You forgot to push the cart to the back, so you ended up blocking the stall next to you. I'll help you move the cart..."

"Old Deng, if you want to eat, just pay and sit over here. If you don't want to eat, don't just stand there and block the way and talk nonsense. Hurry up and do what you need to do. You're sticking your butt out there. It's your butt that's itchy and you want to be poked! Are you waiting for the people in the line behind you to poke you with a pickaxe? You're too old and don't have good eyesight."

Xie Hushan sat behind a low table with his arms and legs spread out, his left hand resting on the axe handle that was standing on the ground, his right hand holding a spoon, and he glared at the other party.

"How the hell are you talking like that! Do you know how to speak human language?" The three young men who had been watching this side immediately surrounded Xie Hushan when they heard what he said, and one of them started to curse at Xie Hushan.

Hearing this, Xie Hushan stood up, raised his axe and pointed it at the other party, with a fierce light in his eyes:

"I only know CNM! Your mother won't let me talk if I don't have enough fun!"

(End of this chapter)