Chapter 276 - 236: Brother Hua’s Stall Incident

Chapter 276: Chapter 236: Brother Hua’s Stall Incident

They had attended the informational session and registered yesterday. The purchase order was placed this morning, and the braised foods were picked up at 4:30 PM. The stall was set up right on time at 5:00.

Everything went off without a hitch, with no problems at all. The only surprise was—Elder Sun had come along with Brother Hua and his partner.

"S-Sir, you accompanying us at our roadside stall... it won’t look good, will it? It’s not quite befitting of your status, is it?" Brother Hua tactfully tried to persuade Elder Sun to leave.

"And how would it not befit my status? What status is that? I’m just a regular old man," Elder Sun retorted nonchalantly.

Brother Hua looked Elder Sun up and down. He wore a tattered straw hat, a dingy, yellowish-white towel hung around his neck, and his navy-blue shirt showed obvious signs of wear. His pants were a matching set, with the cuffs rolled high to reveal calves dotted with age spots. On his feet, he had a pair of simple black cloth shoes.

Add to that his stooped posture, and he looked for all the world like the most ordinary of passersby, with none of the air of a leader about him.

Having made his point and without waiting for a reply, Elder Sun started walking toward a flowerbed under a tree. "You two do what you need to do," he said. "Don’t mind me."

Elder Sun sat on the edge of the flowerbed, reached into his shirt, and pulled out a palm-leaf fan. He sat there fanning himself leisurely, looking utterly content.

"Brother Hua, this..."

"It’s fine. As long as he doesn’t interfere with business, let him do what he wants." Brother Hua patted his partner’s shoulder with a sense of resignation. "Classes are about to get out. We need to hurry up and set up."

At the mention of classes letting out, the two of them stopped worrying about why Elder Sun was with them and immediately got to work. Although both had physical disabilities, their movements were perfectly in sync.

The one with difficulty walking handled the mobile tasks; the one with an impaired hand took charge of arranging and displaying the merchandise.

Seeing that they were struggling due to their disabilities, the vendor at the next stall came over to lend a hand, helping them set up their table and move their things.

In no time, their small, simple stall was ready. The "Xu’s Braised Shop" sign, provided by Xu’s Braised Shop, was propped up high at the stall. The gilded character "Xu" on its deep red background was exceptionally eye-catching.

The sudden appearance of a new stall drew the attention of all the other vendors at the school gate. It was only when they saw that Brother Hua’s stall was selling braised foods that they finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But while some breathed a sigh of relief, one person inevitably tensed up.

The vendor at the stall opposite Brother Hua’s sold various cooked foods, including braised items.

The small stall was selling cold salads, cold noodles, and braised foods, so naturally, the selection for each category was limited. He only offered four types of braised items: two meat and two vegetarian. Not only was this less variety than what Brother Hua offered, but three of his four items were the same...

All of the above were somewhat problematic, but not a huge deal. The biggest problem was that the braised items at his stall were more expensive than at Brother Hua’s! That was simply unforgivable!

Keep in mind, this was a junior high school. The students had an allowance, but it wasn’t a lot. A price difference of just one yuan was enough to sway them.

"Brother, your prices are a little on the cheap side, aren’t they? How about you raise them a bit? You’d make more that way, too," the man suggested with a grin, having circled Brother Hua’s stall once.

"The prices are fixed; we can’t change them." Brother Hua, guessing the man’s intentions but choosing to be civil, replied patiently, "The prices for my braised foods are all set by the supplier. I can’t adjust them on my own..."

"Now that’s not right, brother. We’re all street vendors here. What do you mean ’the prices are fixed’? You think you’re some kind of franchisee with upstream price controls?" Seeing his persuasion fail, the man’s tone turned snide. "You just got here today. I’m a veteran around here, just trying to give you a friendly heads-up. If you don’t want to listen, fine, but don’t make up such a bullshit excuse..."

If the two had been arguing over their spot, the onlookers would have certainly stepped in to mediate. But since they were arguing over overlapping business, it was a situation where both sides had a point. The crowd could only watch from the sidelines, not daring to get involved.

At first, Brother Hua offered another sentence or two of explanation, but he eventually saw that the man wasn’t listening at all and was, in fact, growing more aggressive. So, he simply stopped responding.

Maybe because it was getting closer to dismissal time, or maybe because it’s hard to put on a one-man show, the man stood in front of Brother Hua’s stall muttering to himself for a bit before storming off.

Elder Sun, resting by the flowerbed, had seen the whole thing play out. But since no real conflict had erupted, he didn’t step in.

’It’s normal for there to be a little friction when you’re doing business. No need to blow things out of proportion. Besides, I can help them this once, but can I stick around to help them every time?’

DING DONG DING DONG—DING DONG DING DONG—

A loud yet gentle bell signaling the end of classes rang out over the campus. It was followed by a cacophony of chatter, footsteps, and laughter as students in their uniforms poured out of the school gate, stopping in small groups in front of the various vendor stalls.

Among them, a group of seven or eight boys ran straight from the school gate to the stall across from Brother Hua’s, all of them shouting at once.