Chapter 45: Chapter 45 A Huge Scam

Words : 1390 Updated : Sep 10th, 2025

"What's going on with this TV and washing machine, Xia Liu?" Zhang Qing picked up her phone and saw Xia Liu carrying the appliances in through the door, her confusion arising spontaneously. "Sister Zhang, we're all going to be prosperous from now on. How can we do without these two appliances?" Xia Liu said with a chuckle as he continued moving them in. Zhang Qing stood dumbfounded at the doorway, her eyes slowly welling up with tears. No one had ever been so kind to her before. While she was moved, she also felt a little embarrassed. If she had known, she wouldn't have asked Xia Liu to buy her a phone last night. "Xia Liu, stick around for a bit more after you're done. I was thinking..." Zhang Qing leaned against the room's doorframe, her clothes slowly slipping down to her fragrant shoulders. Xia Liu took one look and immediately his mouth went dry and his tongue felt parched. He had been ignited back at the hotel already, and now with Zhang Qing saying this, combined with her alluring expression, damn it felt like he was going to explode! Although he wanted to very much, Xia Liu knew that this was not the time. A car sent by Fang Fei was waiting, and it wouldn't do without him there. A session would take over an hour and that would be tough on the two drivers and the villagers waiting. What's more, if someone saw his car parked at the door and came in to see, gossip about him and Zhang Qing would be inevitable. "Sister Zhang, we don't have enough time right now. I've contacted a buyer to purchase chickens and ducks, thirty yuan per jin, and they're all waiting." After swallowing hard to moisten his dry mouth, Xia Liu said with a wry smile. "Ah! Thirty yuan per jin, for those chickens hopping around outside?" Zhang Qing was shocked by the price. She had sold chickens in the town and county before; free-range chickens at most fetched thirteen yuan per jin. The price of thirty yuan for someone to come and buy them was simply astonishing. "Mhm, Sister Zhang, see how many you can catch to sell. I'll go inform everyone now," Xia Liu said with a nod and a smile, then rapidly ran out of the house. "Xia Liu, don't forget to teach me how to swim tonight!" Zhang Qing called out loudly from the doorway just as Xia Liu was about to get into the car. Upon hearing that, he almost fell in front of the car. Did she have to shout so loudly? What if someone misunderstood? After composing himself, he hurriedly drove to Li Zhi's house, shared the news with Li Zhi, and asked him to spread the word among the villagers. Like Zhang Qing, Li Zhi was nearly jumping with excitement at the price. Thirty yuan per jin was unheard of. If those words hadn't come from Xia Liu's mouth, Li Zhi wouldn't have believed it at all—it was like a fairy tale. When Xia Liu got home, Zhang Xiaoxue and Zhang Xiaoman were busy in the kitchen and didn't notice he had already reached the doorway. "Cousin, you've slept with Brother Xia Liu, haven't you? How was it?" Zhang Xiaoman asked with a coy giggle while washing vegetables. Stunned, Xia Liu stood at the doorway with his mouth agape, a sense of crisis overwhelming his heart. If he let this girl, Zhang Xiaoman, stay in the house, he wouldn't know his fate. But what he didn't expect was Zhang Xiaoxue's even more outrageous response. Her face flushed, she actually nodded and said quietly, "It was just that one time, really. You're still young; you'll understand in a few years." What was this? What had happened? Xia Liu was dumbstruck. "Wow, cousin, tell me how you and Brother Xia Liu started," Zhang Xiaoman looked at Zhang Xiaoxue with admiration, hoping she would recount the experience. Unable to withstand Zhang Xiaoman's insistence, Zhang Xiaoxue shyly shared, "There's not much to tell, really. It was the night Xia Liu came back. I was sleeping in my room when he came in. I thought he was a thief, so I hit him. But I couldn't beat him, and in the end, after struggling, he..." Her words left Zhang Xiaoman dumbfounded, as was Xia Liu at the doorway. He couldn't help but think to himself, what the hell! When had he ever overpowered her... "Wow, cousin, that must have been so thrilling," Xiaoman exclaimed. "Thrilling it was, but I was so scared at the time, thank goodness for Brother Xia Liu." Hearing this, Xia Liu couldn't stand it anymore. He turned, ran out of the courtyard, got into his car, and honked his horn a few times to signal to the girls that he was back. He wasn't actually burdened by it. Let the girls joke, it was fine. Perhaps one day when Zhang Xiaoman revealed that she helped him that night, Zhang Xiaoxue might just take it as a joke. But it was a bit too much for him; after all, two tender beauties discussing such topics were like lambs wagging their tails in front of a hungry wolf, a wolf that couldn't eat them. It was pure torture. In less than a minute, the girls burst through the courtyard gate, greeting Xia Liu one after another. Xia Liu handed the phone to Zhang Xiaoman, "Here, a phone just like Xiaoxue's." "Wow! Thank you, Brother Xia Liu!" Zhang Xiaoman excitedly thanked him as she saw the beautiful new phone, and then she made a surprising move. Mwah! The kiss came so unexpectedly that Xia Liu's mouth hung open in shock, and when he glanced at Zhang Xiaoxue, he found the girl was actually smiling... "Xiaoxue..." "Brother Xia Liu, Xiaoman and I are going to cook now. We'll have dinner in a bit." Zhang Xiaoxue said, pulling Zhang Xiaoman back inside the courtyard, her face beaming with utter happiness. "There's something fishy, something really fishy!" Xia Liu was somewhat confused. He had only just started connecting with the sisters these past few days, but why did he feel an ominous energy... "Never mind, let's check on the purchasing situation first." Not dwelling on the girls' fishiness, Xia Liu turned and walked towards the center of the village. By the time Xia Liu arrived, many villagers were already there, waiting with several large chickens in hand, each weighing at least eight or nine pounds. Seeing Xia Liu arrive, the crowd began asking about the situation. Although the two drivers and an accompanying employee had explained for a while, the villagers didn't trust them much; they chose to wait for Xia Liu. "Here's the thing: they are from the county, here to buy chickens and ducks, thirty yuan per pound," Xia Liu announced the price to the villagers. Indeed, this time he didn't lower the price. Whatever Fang Fei offered, the villagers would get. After all, the villagers raised these chickens and ducks, and they deserved to get what their livestock sold for. Xia Liu's words immediately caused a sensation, but the villagers were very well-behaved, or rather, their mindset had changed. If it had been before, they would have been in an uproar at such a price. But now it was different. Digging for oysters and harvesting Atractylodes had made them good money. Of course, no one would complain about extra cash, and since the chickens and ducks were fully grown, it was a waste to keep feeding them. Selling or eating them was the better choice. The two drivers and manager who came were stunned by the villagers. They had received instructions from their superiors before arriving: buy at thirty yuan per pound and even brought tens of thousands of yuan with them. In a typical village, such a price would have caused chaos, but in Osmanthus Village, they witnessed villagers taking turns, making way for each other to weigh their poultry and get paid, without the slightest bit of disorder, not even a little.

Chapter 45: Chapter 45 A Huge Scam

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