"Shang Dabiao, is it? You guys really have some nerve."
"This fish buying business is something I, Chen Yang, started. I haven't even come to you for snatching my customers, and you dare to come here causing trouble? Who gave you the audacity?"
Chen Yang glanced at the aggressive group of men, not backing down an inch.
He was doing business fair and square, and no one would bully him. Did they really think Chen Yang was made of mud?
Even a mud figurine had three parts temper, let alone when people had come to his doorstep to cause trouble. Chen Yang wouldn't show any mercy.
"Hmph, what's the use of arguing about who came first? I arrived before you, so shouldn't you call me 'dad'?"
"Come on, good son, apologize to your dad. What kind of business is it for a son to snatch business from his father?"
Shang Dabiao was already a troublemaker in the village. Otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to take the risk to do business. He wasn't about to reason with Chen Yang.
"Spit in your mother's face!"
"What kind of twisted logic is that? Old Man Shang only gave birth to a scoundrel like you. If he can't teach you well, I'll do it for him."
Hearing Shang Dabiao's foul language, Chen Yang almost lost his temper and made a move. But at that moment, the old village secretary's voice rang out from outside the door.
Not only him, but following behind the old village secretary were Shen Laifu, Shen Pandi, Old Man Tu... more than half of the villagers from Shenjiaba Village, carrying hoes and carrying poles, had arrived.
When Shang Dabiao brought his men into the village earlier, someone had immediately called the old village secretary. The whole Shenjiaba Village had profited from Chen Yang, so how could they watch Chen Yang suffer? Even the women had come along to support him.
"Secretary Shen, you, why are you here?"
Seeing Shen Fuguo, especially the group of imposing men and women from Shenjiaba Village behind him, the previously arrogant and overbearing Shang Dabiao instantly transformed into someone else.
He couldn't understand it at all.
Wasn't that pretty boy a sent-down youth? He was unfamiliar with this village, so why did so many people protect him!
Not only that, but even Shen Fuguo, the esteemed brigade secretary, had personally come out to help him.
This, this made no sense.
"If I didn't come, were you planning to tear down his house?"
"You disgraceful wretch."
"Back then, your grandfather and I were on the battlefield. He fought the devils without hesitation. How did he end up with such a good-for-nothing son like you?"
"You still dare to come here and cause trouble? Do you know that if it weren't for Chen Yang coming to buy fish, you wouldn't even have any business to do."
"He didn't come to your brigade to buy fish. You couldn't control your own people, and they voluntarily sent people to Chen Yang. What, are you not convinced?"
Shen Fuguo unleashed a torrent of scolding at Shang Dabiao, splashing saliva all over his face.
Yet, Shang Dabiao didn't dare to retort.
This was because Shen Fuguo was not only the old secretary of the Shenjiaba Brigade but also an old comrade-in-arms of Shang Dabiao's grandfather. If he dared to act up in front of Shen Fuguo, he was sure his legs would be broken when he got back!
Watching Shang Dabiao being thoroughly berated, Chen Yang felt a sense of satisfaction.
This scoundrel deserved it!
"And you guys, have you had a bit too much to drink and forgotten your own names?"
"With just a few of you, you dare to come to Shenjiaba to cause trouble? Didn't you bother to ask around? In the surrounding brigades, even if they were fighting over water, who would dare to show their face to me?"
After scolding Shang Dabiao, Shen Fuguo glared fiercely at the few men who had come with him.
At his glare, those men almost fell to the ground in fright. The old secretary had fought devils on the battlefield. Although many years had passed, the murderous aura he exuded was something a few hooligans couldn't withstand.
"Secretary Shen, I don't dare anymore, I really don't dare anymore!"
"I just listened to Shang Dabiao say he wanted to teach someone a lesson, he treated me to drinks, and I couldn't refuse to come. I was wrong, I'm leaving, I'm leaving now."
One of them, unable to withstand Shen Fuguo's killing intent, knelt on the ground and begged for mercy.
The customs were simple in those days, but the villagers were also fierce. During busy farming seasons, people had fought over water and even killed others.
Scared by the old secretary, the few men Shang Dabiao had coaxed with drinks were immediately sobered up.
"If you dare to trouble Chen Yang again, I won't let you off!"
"Get out!"
With the old secretary's command, the few hooligans scrambled out of Chen Yang's yard in a hurry.
They were as valiant when they arrived as they were pathetic when they fled!
"Did I say you could leave?"
"You spineless wretch, you smashed people's courtyard walls, you have to pay for it!"
"And apologize to Chen Yang!"
Shang Dabiao watched his men run away, and his heart grew even more panicked. Especially with a crowd of people from Shenjiaba Village surrounding him, he truly feared being beaten to death.
But just as he was about to run, the old secretary slapped him on the head and pulled him back.
"Apologize!"
"Pay up!"
Shang Dabiao was still in a daze when the villagers surrounding the courtyard almost simultaneously shouted.
The imposing roar of hundreds of people made Shang Dabiao's legs go weak, and he directly knelt before Chen Yang.
"Sorry."
"I'll pay, I'll pay."
Shang Dabiao was so scared he was about to wet himself. If he had known Chen Yang was so popular in Shenjiaba, he wouldn't have dared to come even with ten times the courage.
Until his death, he couldn't understand how a live-in son-in-law, a sent-down youth, could have so many people protecting him!
"Let's do business separately. We'll mind our own business."
"I, Chen Yang, am never afraid of people snatching my business, but it has to be done according to the rules, by relying on one's own skills. If you try any more crooked methods."
"I won't scare you, but I can guarantee that the fishery station will not buy any of the fish you collect."
Chen Yang glanced at the trembling Shang Dabiao. He wasn't afraid of normal competition. Wang Jianguo had given him a two-cent higher purchase price.
He wasn't bluffing Shang Dabiao either. If he really angered him, and he paid a price, he could indeed make Wang Jianguo not buy Shang Dabiao's fish.
However, he was too lazy to use such tactics against a small fry like Shang Dabiao.
"I won't dare, sir, Grandpa Chen, you are my grandpa."
"I misspoke, I deserve to be slapped!"
Hearing Chen Yang's words, Shang Dabiao's heart skipped a beat. He then remembered that before Chen Yang started buying fish, the fishery station had never bought fish.
Moreover, every time he went there, he often heard Station Master Wang muttering that this fish wasn't as good as Chen Yang's. Could it be that Chen Yang really had a connection with the station master of the fishery station?
Thinking of this, Shang Dabiao regretted it so much that he really wanted to slap himself hard.
Although some people in the brigade sold their fish to Chen Yang, the bulk of the business was still his. If he really offended Chen Yang and the fishery station refused to buy his fish, he wouldn't earn a penny.
Seeing Shang Dabiao slapping his face until it looked like a pig's head, Chen Yang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Alright, alright, give me ten yuan and get lost."
Chen Yang waved his hand dismissively. He was too lazy to waste time with such a minor character. He still had to send fish to the county town. If he delayed, the fish wouldn't be fresh, and that would be a loss.
"I'll give you, I'll give you 20 yuan."
Upon hearing Chen Yang's words, Shang Dabiao felt as if he had received a great pardon. He quickly took out two "Da Tuanjie" (a type of RMB banknote) and, after putting them down, hurried away, fearing Chen Yang would go back on his word.