Sun Guodong looked at that basket of vegetables and frowned, but putting them back clearly wasn’t an option.
Typically, someone like Sun Guodong would mediate, perhaps suggest a two-cent compromise or something, and the vegetables would be sold.
But Qin Wen’s words were just too harsh, and he didn’t feel like intervening.
Not only did he not intervene, he even sided with the buyer.
How could Qin Wen accept that? It seemed like an argument was about to break out, when Li Guangyuan stepped forward.
"Alright, alright, everyone calm down, I’ll take the vegetables."
Someone taking this hot potato was a relief to the buyer from before.
Those who come to the wholesale market to buy vegetables are usually long-haul drivers from out of town, and they understand these sellers are local folk from the nearby villages, so they don’t want to provoke any local bullies while doing business.
Qin Wen suspiciously looked at Li Guangyuan, "Are you sure you want all of it, for the same price?"
Actually, he knew better than anyone the exact quality of his vegetables.
He just wanted to make as much as he could, even if it’s just one more cent.
Li Guangyuan nodded, "Sell it to me at that price, but I don’t have a basket, you’ll have to give me a bag."
"Alright, I’ll give you one."
Fertilizer bags are something that farming households never run short of, so giving one away is no big deal.
Seeing that the matter was resolved here, and there was no more commotion to watch, everyone dispersed.
Qin Wen found Li Guangyuan a bag, and Li Guangyuan took the bag and started filling it with string beans.
His method was quite rough, tossing in the good and the bad together, which made Qin Wen feel a little guilty.
After all, he knew best what his string beans were like, and he was counting on conniving someone into buying them.
If the other side argued a bit with him, he’d feel more at ease.
Without saying a word and accepting everything at a good price made him look like a bully.
"Are you planning to eat these vegetables you bought?"
"No, I’m going to sell them at the night market," Li Guangyuan replied as he continued packing the vegetables.
Once the vegetables were weighed and Li Guangyuan handed over the money, Qin Wen couldn’t help but ask, "Can you make a profit selling these vegetables at the night market?"
Li Guangyuan smiled at him, "Sell them cheap, although this bag of string beans might not make a profit, it also won’t lose much."
"Then why are you buying them," Qin Wen had the money in hand and spoke more freely.
"I saw you arguing with that person for ages, and with these vegetables, they can’t sell them long-distance. If the argument continued, the other party wouldn’t have bought them. If the market management got involved, even though you’re from the same village, I’ve come to this wholesale market often enough to know they only handle matters without favoritism, in the end, you probably wouldn’t benefit."
Qin Wen knew what Li Guangyuan said was true, so when he saw Sun Guodong, he deliberately spoke harsh words.
But even knowing this outcome, Li Guangyuan still helped him out...
He sized up Li Guangyuan again, "So you have a pretty kind heart then, what’s the deal, you learning from Lei Feng to do good deeds?"
"Not to that extent, I’m not that noble yet."
Li Guangyuan looked at him calmly, taking out a cigarette to offer him one.
"To be honest, our two families are kind of connected, my wife is Lin Chuxia’s sister, Qin Yang is my brother-in-law."
When Qin Wen heard that the other party was the husband of Lin Chuxia’s sister, his smile faded a bit.
He struck a match, lighting one for the other and then himself, took a puff, and spoke casually.
"I wouldn’t dare acknowledge such kinship, now that Lin Chuxia is capable, even my second aunt’s entire family looks down on us poor relatives, how could we dare to be on par with Qin Yang and the others?"
Li Guangyuan knew Qin Wen would disparage that family, a hint of sneer flashed in his eyes, but he didn’t show it, and he let out a long sigh.
"Isn’t that the truth, speaking of my brotherhood with Qin Yang, that was all in the past, back then Lin Chuxia and my wife were both part of the Lin Family, always thought they were sisters, who knew her biological mother would show up later, only to find out Lin Chuxia wasn’t one of us, now it’s not just us as a couple, even my mother-in-law’s family hardly interacts with Lin Chuxia."
Qin Wen sneered, "Just a sparrow that landed on a branch, nothing but a nouveau riche, even her real mother is a capitalist, let’s see what would happen if we go back twenty years."
When Qin Wen got to this point, he suddenly turned to look at Li Guangyuan, sizing him up a few times.
"Are you saying you’re Lin Chuxia’s brother-in-law?"
Li Guangyuan acted as if he didn’t understand why he was asking this, awkwardly smiling, "That was before, now she doesn’t even acknowledge her sister, so she definitely won’t recognize me as her brother-in-law."
Qin Wen suddenly laughed.
Li Guangyuan looked puzzled, and with a naive tone, he asked, "Why are you laughing? What I said is true. Didn’t you just say it yourself, they’re successful now and different from us, Lin Chuxia not only became successful, she’s also been taken back by her biological mom, so where do I have the right to call myself her brother-in-law?"
Qin Wen laughed even harder.
Li Guangyuan feigned annoyance, "You, I saw we get along and tried to befriend you, why are you laughing at me?"
Qin Wen waved his hand with a smile, "I’m not laughing at you, I’m just laughing at the world."
Seeing Li Guangyuan’s puzzlement, Qin Wen went on to ask, "Since you married Lin Chuxia’s sister, what was the deal with the sister swap? You were sort of involved, right? I just want to ask, why didn’t you marry Lin Chuxia and went for her sister? I heard that the Lin Family initially promised Lin Chuxia’s sister to my fourth brother, if there was no sister swap, Lin Chuxia would’ve been your wife, and all the wealth and glory would’ve been yours."
Li Guangyuan still wore that simpleton’s look, even a bit embarrassed.
"I wasn’t that lucky. I knew back then that they were offering me Lin Chuxia, and with the Qin Family’s great conditions, my in-laws surely wanted to marry off their real daughter. When the date was set, the Lin Family’s eldest daughter did something wrong, and the Qin Family backed out, that’s why the in-laws arranged the switch. Our Li Family was poor, and they were willing to marry their daughter to me, I was grateful, how could I afford to be choosy."
Qin Wen paused his smoking, "Who told you that Lin Family’s eldest daughter did something wrong, the Qin Family backed out, and that’s why the Lin Family arranged the swap?"
Li Guangyuan looked confused, "Isn’t that so? Wasn’t it the Qin Family that backed out? Then why did the Lin Family arrange the swap?"
"How would I know? But I can assure you, it wasn’t my fourth brother’s family that backed out. When the Lin Family suddenly swapped sisters and asked for an additional 200 yuan in bridal gifts, my second aunt came to our place to borrow money. I know better than anyone about this."
He’s always been watching Qin Yang, how could he not care about Qin Yang’s marriage?
Even though the second aunt’s family kept the swap low-key, he got to know all about it from his mother.