I have few friends, but many childhood sweethearts.

Chapter 144. Punishing Unscrupulous Merchants
There was a slight mishap during the publication of the comic.

Everything went smoothly in the later stages and typesetting, but when Xu Qingfan and his two friends showed the proof printed by the publisher to Zhang Chaoqun, he gave it high praise.

With his keen political sense, he immediately grasped the opportunity hidden within.

If the local fraud rate can be reduced through the promotion of this comic, it will be a significant achievement during his tenure.

Most importantly, fraud rates are very easy to measure. At the end of the year, you can compare the data with data from other regions. Whether it's criminal cases or the amount of fraud, if the variance is huge, everyone can see the efforts they made during their term of office.

So Zhang Chaoqun waved his hand and directly contacted the three children to obtain the printing rights for this episode of Hilarious Daily Life, which was then published by the official publishing house.

Abandoning the traditional multi-layered agency process, the comics are directly purchased by the Public Security Bureau and the Education Bureau after being printed by the publishing house, and then distributed free of charge by the school to teachers, students and local citizens.

Of course, the price they paid was that the three of them wouldn't receive a single penny from the comic book they published this time.

Xu Qingfan didn't care much about the small copyright fee, and Zhang Yiyi and Lin Wanning were even less concerned. The two little ones had never worried about pocket money since they were young, and at this time they didn't have much of a concept of the amount of money.

"Liu Xiang is in lane four. The race has started, and Liu Xiang has a very smooth start. He is currently in first place, with Kramer and Lee Garth next to him. Liu Xiang is in the lead."

"Liu Xiang! Liu Xiang won! Liu Xiang made history! A Chinese man with yellow skin and black hair has become the world's fastest man! 12.91 seconds, Liu Xiang has set a new world record!"

On the television, the commentator was giving a passionate and engaging presentation.

The sound of the floor shaking came from upstairs. Even though it was the second day of the broadcast, the neighbors in the entire Lotus Courtyard were still in an uproar.

From table tennis to women's volleyball, and now to the first-ever gold medal won by Chinese athletes in track and field, the indescribable national pride is being expressed by every viewer in front of their television set, culminating in a frenzy of cheers.

Just then, Xu Qingfan's landline rang. He ran over and answered the phone: "Xiaofan, you're amazing! The duck neck shop's stock is completely sold out, and there are still many people queuing up. Today's turnover is estimated to exceed 200,000!" Zhong Wenqing said excitedly on the other end of the phone.

"Sold out so quickly?" Xu Qingfan glanced at the clock on the wall; it was only a little before 11 a.m.

"That's right~ There have been long queues since early morning. All 43 shops have sold out of duck necks and have to close temporarily until the afternoon!" Zhong Wenqing said, sounding tired but also pleasantly surprised.

"I told you Liu Xiang would win, but you didn't believe me then," Xu Qingfan said with a light smile.

"I'm really impressed by you, you little rascal. I'm not going to chat with you anymore. I've received hundreds of calls this morning asking about franchising. I need to go and handle them." After sharing his joy with Xu Qingfan, Zhong Wenqing felt revitalized. Now he only regretted not being able to be in two places at once like Sun Wukong, because every second wasted meant money slipping through his fingers.

Xu Qingfan was about to say something more, but Zhong Wenqing had already hung up the phone.

He shook his head and smiled, then put the phone back down. Xia Xiaoxiao turned to him and asked, "Who was it?"

"Sister Qingqing." Xu Qingfan sat down next to Xia Xiaoxiao again.

The little girl had just finished cleaning her ears with a wooden ear pick when Xu Qingfan lay back on Xia Xiaoxiao's thighs, which were only covered by shorts. "My ears are itchy, help me clean them too!"

"This is for my own use, go get yours!" Xia Xiaoxiao pushed Xu Qingfan's head, which was resting on her lap.

"I don't mind, let's get started!" Xu Qingfan lay down on his side.

"I don't like it!" Xia Xiaoxiao bounced her thigh, signaling him to get up quickly.

"I won't allow you to dislike yourself. Hurry up, my ears are so itchy!" Xu Qingfan shook his head, his hair rubbing against Xia Xiaoxiao's thigh, making a "rustling" sound.

Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes speechlessly, took a tissue to wipe the spoon clean, and then patted Xu Qingfan's cheek. "Lie still and don't move!"

"Okay."

Xu Qingfan closed his eyes and comfortably enjoyed Xia Xiaoxiao's ear-cleaning service. He quite liked ear cleaning; the spoon made a pleasant rustling sound as it gently moved in and out of the ear canal, making one's heart itch.

"The other side!" Xia Xiaoxiao cleaned up the dirt she had dug out and patted his head in disgust.

Xu Qingfan obediently turned his head to the other side, his small face facing her.

"Your hair and nails are so long, why don't you get them cut!" Xia Xiaoxiao nagged like an old woman.

"We're on holiday now, so we forgot about appearance checks," Xu Qingfan said.

"Long nails breed bacteria and are filthy. You're cutting your nails for your own good, not for the teacher's benefit. You're just lazy!" Xia Xiaoxiao complained.

"Yeah, I'm lazy, I'm a big lazy dog!" Xu Qingfan was not ashamed but proud.

"You're not a dog! Dogs are man's best friend! You're a lazy pig!" Xia Xiaoxiao sneered.

"Pigs are so cute, why are you saying that about them? Did the pigs eat your rice? How can pigs not be man's best friend!"

"I can't be bothered with you, get off me, that's enough!" Xia Xiaoxiao was already used to her childhood friend's daily tantrums, and reached out to push him off.

"I'm going to trim my nails. Come with me to the market later." Xu Qingfan got up from the floor, took the nail clippers from the drawer, and went to the corridor to trim his nails.

"Oh!"

Yao Jinping wasn't just saying that Xu Qingfan would cook all the meals during the holiday; she really meant it.

Since summer vacation started in June, Xu Qingfan has been cooking for almost two months straight. The funniest thing is that he even used his own money to buy groceries.

Yao Jinping knew that Xu Qingfan received a lot of red envelopes during the Chinese New Year and several scholarships from the school for his exams. Although she did not confiscate his money, claiming she would keep it safe, she also did not give him money to buy groceries or cook.

Xu Qingfan, a near-millionaire, naturally wouldn't argue with his mother over trivial matters, and he was quite happy that Yao Jinping could relax and not worry about him.

Xu Qingfan is quite proud that his parents suffered so much in their previous life, looking like they were in their fifties when they were only in their forties. He is able to give them a second chance at retirement.

In his previous life, Yao Jinping would always arrive at school covered in cooking fumes during parent-teacher meetings, which Xu Qingfan complained about for quite some time.

But if it weren't for the pressure of making a living, what parent wouldn't want to drive a luxury car, wear an expensive watch, and be dressed smartly at their child's parent-teacher meeting?

The nail clippings that had splattered downstairs landed on the dozing dog. The big yellow dog looked up in confusion, but when it saw Xu Qingfan, it squinted again and pretended to sleep, as if it were no surprise that this kid was the one to be dozing.

Xu Qingfan then squatted down and trimmed his toenails, neatly cutting off a large section of the nail attached to his big toe.

"Xu Qingfan, are you sick?!" Xia Xiaoxiao couldn't help but scold when she saw Xu Qingfan actually bringing his toenail to his nose to smell it. "Ahem... Go change your shoes, I'm done!" Xu Qingfan was embarrassed and casually flicked his toenail away.

"Speechless! Remember to wash your hands, I find it disgusting." Xia Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him and went back to her home.

Xu Qingfan washed his hands and rinsed the nail clippers with water. After drying them and putting them away, he put on his shoes and went out with Xia Xiaoxiao.

"What do you want to eat today?" Xu Qingfan asked as the two strolled leisurely through the market.

What to eat today? This is a question that everyone who goes to the market to buy groceries has to think about. It seems like a simple question, but it is not. Many people with decision-making difficulties have walked around the market several times and are still empty-handed, struggling with what to eat today.

"What kind of vegetable is that, Xu Qingfan?" Xia Xiaoxiao asked him, pointing to a vegetable that looked like a fern.

"That's chrysanthemum greens. They taste like chrysanthemums," Xu Qingfan, a well-informed man, explained after glancing at it.

"Then I want to eat this!" Xia Xiaoxiao, with her childlike nature, was curious about any vegetables she had never tried before.

"Are you sure? This tastes weird, similar to cilantro and houttuynia cordata. People either love it or hate it; they feel like throwing up just from the smell." Xu Qingfan kindly advised, because he himself only suddenly came to like this dish after growing up.

"I'll give it a try!" The little girl didn't believe in superstitions.

"Okay, but don't skip eating it later."

Xu Qingfan stepped forward and negotiated with the shop owner. The price of 1.5 yuan per jin was considered a bit expensive in the vegetable market. He spent 2.5 yuan to buy a little over 1.5 jin, which was just enough for the five of them, including Lin Jing.

"Here, take this." Xu Qingfan handed the bag of vegetables to Xia Xiaoxiao.

Xia Xiaoxiao didn't have any of the progressive ideas that girls shouldn't carry things. She happily took the plastic bag and said, "I want to drink mung bean, lotus root, and pork rib soup!"

The best time to harvest lotus root is from July to October, and now mid-August can be said to be the best time to eat lotus root.

"It's already eleven o'clock, there's no time to make soup now," Xu Qingfan said, shaking his head.

"Then let's drink it tonight!" Xia Xiaoxiao grabbed Xu Qingfan's hand and headed towards the lotus root vendor in front.

The lotus root was still covered in mud, and it looked like it had just been dug out of the lotus pond.

"Boss, is this lotus root starchy or glutinous?" a customer asked from the crowd.

"My lotus root is both starchy and glutinous. Do you want it stir-fried or used in soup?" the shopkeeper asked in return.

"Give me two pounds of glutinous rice, I'll make soup!" the man continued.

"Okay!"

Xu Qingfan and Xia Xiaoxiao followed behind and bought two catties of glutinous lotus root. Since they had mung beans at home, they didn't need to buy any more. That left was to buy pork ribs.

It was already past 11 o'clock, which was considered the evening market. When the two arrived at the raw meat section, most of the shops had sold out and closed, with only one pork shop in a corner still open.

"How much are the spare ribs per pound, boss?" Xu Qingfan asked as he walked over.

"Nine yuan and eighty cents a pound." The shopkeeper, seeing that two children had come to buy vegetables, smiled like a shrewd merchant and stood up to say this.

Xu Qingfan frowned slightly. It was already evening market meat, yet the vendor was still selling it to him at the morning market price. He clearly thought the two kids were easy to fool.

However, since this was the only shop left, he was too lazy to run back and forth for a few dollars' worth of ribs, so he put them in a plastic bag and started picking them out.

“Kids always want something new, choose this one, this one is the best!” the butcher said, pointing to the largest rib.

Xu Qingfan ignored him and took two medium-sized ones, saying, "I want these two. Weigh them for me."

"Two pounds and eight ounces, that's twenty-nine yuan and seventy-eight cents. I'll charge you thirty. Little friend, would you like me to chop it for you?" The butcher asked him as he placed the ribs on the chopping board.

Xu Qingfan almost couldn't help but curse, "You son of a bitch!" Two ribs weighed at most two pounds, and most unscrupulous merchants would weigh eight ounces at most. But he went and weighed six ounces directly. The rounding was even more outrageous. Twenty-nine yuan and seventy-eight cents for thirty. Even capitalists would be impressed.

Xu Qingfan held back a lot of complaints and said calmly, "I'm not buying it. I only brought fifteen yuan." After saying that, he pulled Xia Xiaoxiao away.

"Hey~ kid, you can buy one for fifteen yuan, hey! I'll fucking swear to you, you stinky bastard!" Seeing Xu Qingfan walking faster and faster, the butcher couldn't help but curse.

No wonder business is so bad.
"Oh!"

Xu Qingfan took a step back and became angrier the more he thought about it. He didn't care if he cursed himself, but cursing Yao Jinping could only mean that the boss had a way to get himself killed.

After leaving the market, he looked up and memorized the market supervision bureau's phone number. He then pulled Xia Xiaoxiao along without looking back and headed towards a nearby public phone booth.

Xia Xiaoxiao had no idea why Xu Qingfan suddenly stopped buying things, and obediently let him lead her to a public phone booth.

"Hello? Is this the Market Supervision Bureau? I'm at stall B302 in Fupeng Market. I noticed that the pork the owner is selling doesn't have a quarantine label. He suspiciously brought a whole pig over to sell this morning, and I suspect he's selling a diseased or dead pig. Yes, I saw it with my own eyes. Also, his scale is wrong; it's a six-ounce scale. Please bring someone over to check as soon as possible, because many people have already bought his pork, and it would be bad if they got sick from eating it!"

Xu Qingfan's exaggerated words startled the person on the other end of the phone, who was sweating profusely. After hanging up, he immediately sent someone to verify the information. He was joking, though. A job with an iron rice bowl might be secure, but if a major food safety issue occurred, the person would still be laid off. In serious cases, they might even be sent for reform through dereliction of duty.

Not long after, the pork stall was shut down by the regulatory authorities due to issues such as using a scale that weighed only six ounces and being unable to prove the compliance of its pork sourcing channels.

"Xu Qingfan, you're so mean!" Xia Xiaoxiao said with a smile on her face on the way back.

"You like it, don't you?" Xu Qingfan asked with a smile.

Xia Xiaoxiao's ears turned red, and she thought to herself, "How does Xu Qingfan have the ability to read minds?!"
"You're talking nonsense! Stop being shameless! Nobody would like you, you liar!" she said, trying to remain calm.

"Long hair, short brains. I call this a white lie. It's a scholar's business, how can it be considered stealing!" Xu Qingfan reached out and ruffled the little girl's hair.

"Oh right, right, right, when you tricked me out of my pocket money in kindergarten, it was a white lie!" Xia Xiaoxiao said sarcastically.

"Haha, let's buy the ribs at the supermarket!"

"Hmph!" Xia Xiaoxiao's face showed a smug little expression.

(End of this chapter)