Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

Chen Xue's words startled both of them.

In business, competition is inevitable, and it's normal for people to trip each other up a bit.

I've never encountered anyone come to my door to cause trouble and completely break off relations.

Wang Feng put down her teacup, somewhat disapproving.

"No way? Those three old bastards are just bored and have nothing better to do than come to our store and extort money. Could someone really have ordered them to do this?"

"Sister-in-law, you can't say that."

Chen Xue took the ledger from Chen Jing's hand and turned to yesterday's page.

"The three of them only bought one pound of shrimp, and less than a day later they said the shrimp was rotten, and the whole family got sick from eating it."

"Why didn't they bring the rest of the shrimp? They're just asking for money without even offering anything."

Lin Jing whispered, "They said the shrimp have already been thrown away."

"That's even more wrong."

Chen Xue raised her head.

"If I really get food poisoning, the first thing I'll do is take the leftovers back to the seller."

"They didn't bring anything, and they specifically chose to come over when you were alone in the store."

"They immediately accused us of selling rotten seafood, and didn't even mention how much the medical expenses would cost. Do you think that's normal?"

Wang Feng's temper flared up immediately.

"You mean, they weren't there to extort money at all? They were deliberately causing trouble?"

Chen Xue shook her head, somewhat lacking confidence.

"I don't know either, it just seems too coincidental."

"When Brother Tao went to deliver goods, the shop assistants weren't there, but they just happened to show up."

"They made a huge commotion as soon as they came in, without giving Jingjing a chance to explain."

Lin Jing's expression also darkened: "Sister-in-law, are you saying that someone inquired about the store's situation beforehand?"

"I'm worried that if they cause trouble today, what if someone puts something in the fish tomorrow, or tries to frame us with rotten seafood?"

Wang Feng cursed and got up to leave.

"I'll go to town and take a walk around to find out what's going on."

"Sister-in-law, don't argue with people."

I will try my best.

"Your 'try your best' statement doesn't sound reliable at all," Lin Jing couldn't help but mutter.

Wang Feng glared at her.

"I'm going out to gather information, not to fight. Don't worry, if anyone dares to talk nonsense, I'll reason with them first."

Chen Xue shook her head helplessly at her. This sister-in-law was just too impulsive.

The three old ladies had already split up and gone their separate ways.

The old woman with triangular eyes went to the vegetable market and tearfully complained to several acquaintances.

"My grandson is still getting an IV drip at the clinic; he looks completely listless."

"I went to buy some shrimp out of kindness, but they all turned out to be rotten."

"When I asked them for a refund, they refused to acknowledge it and even had someone poke me with a fish fin."

As she spoke, she pointed to her philtrum.

"Look at my lips, they're so swollen!"

The plump old lady went to the entrance of the clinic and told everyone she met that her child was vomiting and had diarrhea.

The tall, thin man sat down at a tea stall on the dock, slapping his thigh and cursing the purchasing station.

After listening for a few moments, the onlookers began to whisper among themselves.

"Is that really true?"

"Selling rotten seafood is no small matter."

"Lin Tao's shop has been open for so many years, surely it shouldn't be like this?"

"People tend to change when they have money; who can say for sure?"

Hearing someone respond, the old lady perked up even more.

"You're still defending him? That kind of shop should have been investigated a long time ago."

As she was speaking enthusiastically, an old man selling fish next to her looked up.

"Are you talking about Lin Tao's purchasing station?"

"Yes, that's the shady shop."

"Black my ass."

The old man stubbed out his cigarette butt in the ashtray next to the teacup.

"I've been selling fish at the dock for over ten years, and Lin Tao has never cheated anyone when buying fish."

"The price may not be the highest, but the weight has never been less than an ounce. Do you have any evidence that he's selling rotten goods?"

The old lady choked for a moment, then stubbornly shouted.

"How could I possibly wrong him?"

"Take the shrimp out first."

"We've eaten all the shrimp, where would there be any left?"

"You eat it and then accuse the seller of harming people? You wouldn't stand up to that argument even in court."

A middle-aged woman standing nearby couldn't stand it anymore either.

"I bought shrimp at the purchasing station yesterday, and I think I saw you there. Were there three of you?"

The old woman turned her head, glared at her, and started yelling, "What nonsense are you spouting? Which eye saw us?"

The woman was just saying it casually, but the old lady's posture made it seem like she wanted to fight her.

She put the shopping basket down at her feet, put her hands on her hips, and didn't stand on ceremony.

"The three of you turned this bowl of shrimp over three times, picking only the big ones, and still complained about the price."

"Three people dawdled and bought a pound of shrimp, and even asked someone to give you a few extra. The shrimp were still jumping around when they were being bagged, and now you're coming here saying they're rotten?"

"I……"

Upon hearing this, the stall owners all laughed.

"The three of them are like this wherever they go."

"If anyone doesn't give in to them, they'll sit at the door and cry."

"Serves them right for running into a tough opponent this time..."

The old lady was embarrassed, cursed a couple of times, and then turned and left.

They originally planned to make a big fuss, but the townspeople didn't buy it at all.

When Wang Feng arrived, she overheard the crowd discussing the matter.

She squeezed forward and recounted what had happened at the purchasing station.

"Didn't you see? That old lady was really good at pretending. She was lying on the ground complaining of heart pain, but as soon as the fish fin was taken out, she immediately jumped up from the ground."

"Young lady, you really dare to do that."

"I knew what I was doing. If she were really sick, would I have let her die in the shop?"

"Hahaha……"

Everyone burst into laughter again.

Wang Feng chatted and boasted with a group of people at the dock, and they quickly became close.

It was almost noon when we got back to the purchasing station.

Lin Jing had prepared lunch and, seeing the person return, quickly came out to greet them.

"Sister Feng, how's it going?"

"What can they do? Nobody believes them."

Wang Feng recounted the events at the dock once more.

Lin Jing breathed a long sigh of relief.

Wang Feng patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, our store's reputation can't be ruined by their shouts."

Chen Xue sat behind the counter, trying to read the account books, but she felt uneasy after hearing Wang Feng's words.

"Sister-in-law, when you were asking around, did anyone mention anything else?"

Wang Feng thought for a moment, but didn't understand what she meant.

"Anything else?"

"For example, they asked who sent them, or whether anyone has asked about the store recently."

"no."

Wang Feng shook her head, "They only talked about how wronged they had been, without mentioning anyone else."

Chen Xue closed the ledger.

"That's even stranger."

"What's so strange about this?" Wang Feng asked impatiently. "Nobody in town believes them, what are you worried about?"

Chen Xue smiled as she looked at her easygoing sister-in-law.

"If they just wanted to extort money, why would they go around ruining our reputation?"

"Jingjing, has anyone come to inquire about the shop lately?"

"Or does someone know we're moving to the compound?"