Struggle Life in the 1970s

There was a light tube above his head, and the cold white light shone from top to bottom, casting a shadow on the face of the man in black, making his already fat face even more ferocious.

Chu Ye silently took a step back, distanced herself from him, and tried to calm the man down, "Don't worry, calm down. If you really bought it from me, I can apologize and compensate you, and I will never default on your debt."

"Hey, the little girl has a pretty good attitude." Some people in the crowd began to speak up. After all, one was a fair and thin little girl, and the other was a burly, tattooed man. Everyone would secretly favor the weaker one.

The man in black curled his lips and looked at her coldly. People around him began to speak for Chu Ye.

"That's right. It's not easy for a little girl to be alone. Let's be merciful when we can."
"I bought fish here once during the National Day holiday. They were freshly killed and I didn't think there was anything wrong with them."
"Yes, boss, if you compensate him with another fish, the matter will be over."
"But it's really annoying to encounter such a thing, tut tut."
……

People had different opinions, and they all expressed their own judgments based on the information they had seen so far. This matter could be a big deal or a small one. Chu Ye listened, looking down at the fish on the chopping board, and did not speak for a while.

As for the man in black, seeing that Chu Ye didn't dare to speak and looked like he was admitting his mistake, he became more and more proud, but his face was still full of dissatisfaction. Then he sneered, turned his head and waved his hands behind him, and the people around him subconsciously shut up.

"This person's trademark is freshly killed fish. I bought it because I thought it was fresh. I never thought she would sell me such inferior things." The man turned around, poking Chu Ye's nose with his finger, and said in a grim tone, "If you don't give me an explanation today, I will smash your stall!"

The people around him were shocked by his momentum and retreated together. Chu Ye frowned and tilted his head to avoid the fingers.

More and more people were attracted by the noise here, and the crowd gathered and began to discuss quietly. At this time, Uncle Wang on the side could not sit still. After the rest just now, he had recovered. He squeezed through the crowd with a plastic bag and moved closer to the man in black. Chu Ye's expressionless face turned worried when she saw Uncle Wang. She wanted to tell Uncle Wang to stay aside and not come over, but Uncle Wang waved his hand to stop her.

The man in black thought that they were enthusiastic people who wanted to see the fish, so he quickly explained, "Look at this fish, I bought it from her. It smells so fishy that I don't know how long it has been dead."

Uncle Wang rolled his eyes and didn't want to answer. He looked carefully at the fish on the cutting board and turned over the fish head. He said, "Tsk, this fish head is so sticky. It looks like it wasn't bought today, right?"

Chu Ye also spoke at this time, "Yes, brother, I see you look unfamiliar, this should be your first time here, right?"

As soon as the words were spoken, discussions broke out.

Anger flashed across the face of the man in black. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth as he said, "My wife came to buy it! She didn't look carefully when she bought it, and asked you to choose for her. Only when she got it home did she find out it was this kind of rotten fish! It must be you who took advantage of her inattention and used this stuff to fool people!" After saying that, he was righteous and glared at Chu Ye, then glanced at Wang Bo.

This damn old man, where did he come from? He always ruins his plans!
Wang Bo remained calm and even glared back. What a joke! He was so old, what storms had he not seen? What was wrong with being big and having tattoos? If anyone dared to touch him, he would lie on the ground with his hands covering his heart!
"Okay, okay, big brother, please calm down. Since it was big sister who bought it, then you can tell me, did you buy this fish from me today? How much did you pay for it?" Chu Ye was calm and composed. She found some clues when she looked at the fish pieces just now. Later, when Uncle Wang was looking at the fish head, she took it and took a look. As a result, she found the second thing wrong.

Combined with the man's words, she had the answer in her mind. It was easy to throw dirty water on others, but it was extremely difficult to clear one's own name. She wanted to make this man reveal his true colors.

Sure enough, as soon as she finished speaking, the black-clothed man's face became even more angry. He rolled his eyes and slammed his fist on the cement table. After a deafening "bang", he shouted at the top of his voice, "What do you mean? Are you trying to default on your debt? Come and see, this man sold bad fish and refused to admit it. Let's see who dares to buy fish from this store in the future!"

He has a loud voice and what he says is extremely controversial, so more and more people are joining in the fun behind him.

"Brother, calm down first. I didn't say I won't compensate you." Chu Ye waved her hand and raised her voice instantly. The clear female voice was accurately heard by the onlookers. "As long as you are sure that you bought it from me, I will give you ten, not to mention another one, and then compensate you! I won't say anything! I just want to ask, how much did you spend on it?"

"How should I know! Who can remember how much money they spend on groceries every day? It's as if they can't afford to live!" The eldest brother rolled his eyes. Although it was not very pleasant to hear, it did resonate with some people.

"That's true. Who can remember how much each item cost when they go out to buy meat and vegetables?"
"I think so too. They were caught and now they have to retreat, but they are still not giving up."
"This kind of business won't last long."
"You are such a jerk. I will remember this store and will never buy fish from it again."
……

"Bah! The girl didn't say she won't pay, so what's wrong with asking one more question? Why are you asking for trouble?" Amidst the discussion, Uncle Wang spoke up for Chu Ye in a high-pitched voice. After he finished speaking, he turned his head and gave Chu Ye a reassuring look. Chu Ye curved his lips, a little smile climbed into his eyes, and the man in black straightened his back when he saw someone speaking for him. He looked disdainful, and didn't look at Chu Ye at this time, but instead glanced to the left and right, until his eyes fell on the stall owner on the right, he touched his nose and moved his eyes away without leaving a trace.

Chu Ye took all of this in her sight. In full view of everyone, she weighed all the fish pieces and reported the weight in front of everyone, "Four catties and seven ounces, a total of one dollar and thirty-one cents. I usually charge one dollar and thirty-one cents. I keep a record of the fish I sell every day. As of today, I haven't sold it at this price."

"Tsk! You did a business and you don't want to admit it? Anyway, you are the only one here, and it is you who decides how much it sells for?" The man in black seized the loophole and immediately fought back.

After hearing this, the people around thought it made sense and looked at Chu Ye with increasingly unfriendly eyes.

The more this happened, the less panicked Chu Ye became. He even had a friendly smile on his face. The man in black began to frown, not understanding what was going on. Why was he still smiling when he didn't apologize and comfort himself?
Chu Ye said in a steady and loud voice, "It is indeed like what this elder brother said. I am the only one who knows how I keep the accounts. No one can tell whether I have falsified them or not. In fact, you can ask elder sister to come over and ask how much money was spent..." Her tone was drawn out. The man in black frowned even more tightly, and the muscles on his shoulders bulged again, as if he was about to get angry. Chu Ye continued the second half of the sentence calmly, "But this is really too troublesome, and it will waste everyone's time. I just ask everyone to take a look. The fish pieces are a little rotten, and the smell is even more pungent. If it was really bought today, elder sister should have smelled it as soon as she got it."

"Of course I'm not shirking my responsibility. I plan to keep this business going for a long time, and I will definitely not do something that will ruin my reputation. So I want to ask you, brother, this fish shouldn't have been bought today, right?"

The expressions of the people around changed again and again. What the little girl said made sense. Anyone who weighed a bag of seafood with a stench that could not be covered up even in a seafood market would surely find something wrong at the first moment.

"Even if it was bought yesterday, it shouldn't have gone bad like this after being left out for a day in this weather, right?" The man in black quickly found a rebuttal, and as soon as he said this, someone else echoed him.

"It must have been not fresh when I bought it yesterday, and then it was left overnight and the smell got stronger, so I came to return it."
"I think so too. It's really boring to keep yelling about it. Just give them compensation and be done with it!"
"But this guy is really something. He bought the fish yesterday and came to exchange it today. He should have checked it carefully when he bought it!"
……

The crowd seemed to have assumed that this was the fish bought yesterday. The man in black thought for a moment and felt that this was indeed a reasonable explanation. It also solved the problem of no record in today's account book. So when Chu Ye asked if it was bought today, he answered decisively in a deep voice, "I remembered it wrong! My wife must have bought it from you yesterday. It was not fresh when I bought it. I didn't know it at the time. I only found out that the fish was not right when I was about to eat it today."

He said that, although some people think this is inappropriate, but think about it carefully, in this kind of weather, it won't stink like this even if it's left for a day! I guess the fish they gave to others when they bought it was not a good one.

"Alright! Just apologize, admit your mistake and return the fish to me!" The man in black rolled his eyes, looking quite magnanimous.

He was obviously very tolerant. Everyone thought about it and thought that if they were in such a situation, they would be in a bad mood after buying such a stinky fish. So they thought his rude behavior was justifiable. Some people even advised Chu Ye, "Boss, don't be stubborn. Just admit your mistake to him."
"Oh, that's boring. The little girl always wants to take shortcuts in business. Let's go."
"Didn't you just weigh it? If you know the price, return the money to the seller and don't sell bad fish next time."
"That's right, next time you buy groceries, you should choose carefully to avoid this kind of thing again. It's so difficult to deal with!"
……

The crowd was talking about it, but they were all urging Chu Ye to apologize quickly. It seemed that everyone had already tacitly agreed that Chu Ye was the one who sold the bad fish first, and others were causing trouble later. Some people had already seen through the outcome, and after having enough fun, they turned around and left.

Among this crowd, there were also people who had patronized Chu Ye’s shop and believed in her character, but they had little influence, and even if they spoke up for Chu Ye at this time, some people would immediately retort that the stall owner might be selling a mixture of good and bad fish, and that you bought good fish because you had not encountered such a thing.

Uncle Wang was also very anxious. He tried his best to speak well of Chu Ye, but no one cared.

The man in black stood in front of the crowd with his arms folded, his mouth curled up with a smug look, and the tattoo on his arm looked more and more ferocious, as if he wanted to eat people.

Amid the condemnation from all around, Chu Ye knew that once she admitted her mistake today, there would be no place for her here anymore. These people would spread the matter, and all that awaited her was infamy and a miserable departure.

Rumors were like endless waves, and she was the only person at the helm of the boat. Facing the relentless beating of the waves, all she could do was hold the rudder tightly in her hands and compete with the waves to see who could outshine the waves. So she calmed herself down, met the disdainful gaze of the man in black, and said loudly, using the voice she used when she was a teacher standing on the podium so that even the last row could hear, "I have evidence, I didn't sell this fish!"

(End of this chapter)