Chapter 43: The Customer Is Always Right

Uncle Zhai let out a long sigh of relief.
Mother also unclenched her fists.
The dozen or so people encircling them all wore expressions of disbelief, unable to resist whispering among themselves.
"Is that possible?"
"An extra tael?"
"Could they be putting on an act together?"
"I've only ever heard of short-weighting, never of giving extra weight."
Madam Yu, too, was unconvinced. She called out loudly, "Teacher Wang, are you sure nothing’s missing?"
Mother was a bit indignant—how could they still not believe at this point?
"Madam Yu, do you think a teacher of the people would deceive you?" Teacher Wang smiled helplessly and pointed at Wang Qiang. "When he weighed it for me just now, it was one jin and two taels. Then I weighed it myself—one jin and three taels. Here, see for yourself." He raised the rod scale to show the weight.
Hearing he was a teacher, many people were immediately filled with respect.
A hunched middle-aged man nodded, "A teacher’s word carries credibility."
"Indeed," an old lady chimed in, "Looks like the young man really isn’t short-weighting."
Many nodded in agreement.
Back then, teachers' words carried much more weight than nowadays. Parents would go to school and say things like, 'If my child misbehaves, feel free to discipline him.' Wang Qiang himself had received more than a few beatings from teachers. Compared to today, where even a slight touch from a teacher can cause huge uproar and make the news, the status of teachers was far higher back then.
Naturally, no one believed that the esteemed Teacher Wang would perform a sham with a market peddler.
Although years had passed since the opening up, businesspeople were still seen by many as speculators. If not for the wave of layoffs in '98, there would still be plenty who looked down on merchants. The shift in attitude only happened because so many joined the business themselves.
That’s one of the reasons doing business is profitable now.
So he really is a teacher?
No wonder he’s so well-mannered.
Earlier, Wang Qiang thought it was merely an honorific; now he realized the bespectacled man was truly in education. Yet he was puzzled: if you suspect short-weighting, why not simply avoid buying? Why buy and then deliberately weigh it in front of everyone?
Someone voiced the question for him.
Madam Yu snorted, "You say you don’t believe, fine, but you had to test it yourself?"
Exactly.
Why did you do that?
Uncle Zhai was confused and looked over.
"Maybe I’m too much of a stickler," Teacher Wang replied. "Last time I bought fish from him, and today I overheard someone saying he short-weights. It bothered me; I was angry, so I seized the chance to expose a cheater—but as it turned out..." Teacher Wang smiled wryly and cast an apologetic glance at Wang Qiang. "I wronged you. Sorry, I didn’t expect you to give extra."
If people heard this, the word 'obsessive-compulsive' would immediately come to mind.
Who else would go to such lengths?
People love a spectacle, and with the passage blocked, the crowd was swelling.
Several women who had just come out from inside pulled acquaintances aside to ask what was going on. Upon learning a teacher had secretly tested a vendor for short-weighting and found extra weight, many began to praise him.
"I knew the young man’s honest face didn’t look like that sort."
"Right, probably Old Li and Old Chen inside are jealous of his good business."
"Exactly! They drove out Old Zhu before, and now want to drive out the young man, spreading rumors—they’re truly despicable."
The market passage was now truly blocked.
More than twenty people had gathered.
Originally, things would have ended here, with Wang Qiang vindicated. But as he listened to the crowd, something clicked; he pieced together what had happened.
If nothing else, today’s poor business was likely due to two fish vendors inside spreading rumors that he short-weights. After all, Wang Qiang helped slaughter fish, so the weight after slaughtering wouldn’t match the original. If Teacher Wang hadn’t been so scrupulous, Wang Qiang would be unjustly accused—no way to clear his name.
His guess was close to reality.
Yesterday was Sunday. The two fish vendors saw Wang Qiang’s stall bustling, became jealous, and insinuated that his fish-slaughtering was a ploy to short-weight. A few old women overheard, and as gossip spread, it became 'evidence.'
One told ten.
Ten told a hundred.
Minqiang Town wasn’t large, and gossip traveled fast. A few market women chatted, then carried the tale back home—it spread, and soon everyone knew.
That’s why the entrance was deserted earlier.
"No worries, I should thank you for indirectly proving my honesty," Wang Qiang waved generously. Some things could be brushed off, but others could not—like being slandered by the two vendors inside. Everyone earned money on their own merit; he hadn’t sold fish cheaply to undercut them. Why stab him in the back?
If you strike first, don’t blame me for striking back.
Wang Qiang’s temperament was calm, but that didn’t mean he’d endure being bullied. Taking advantage of the crowd, he spoke forcefully: "I may be young, but I know honesty is fundamental. Whether I do business for a day or a lifetime, the principle is the same—I never short-weight. If you’re worried, feel free to weigh it yourself."
Hearing this, many nodded.
Earlier, they’d avoided Wang Qiang, believing the rumors. Now, with Teacher Wang’s proof and Wang Qiang’s heartfelt declaration, they couldn’t help but admire him.
"Well said, young man."
"Business is all about integrity."
"We almost believed the rumors."
"Luckily Teacher Wang tested it, otherwise we’d be kept in the dark."
An old man asked curiously, "But why did you give Teacher Wang extra weight?"
It didn’t make sense.
Why give more?
Many wondered, Uncle Zhai included—he only knew Wang Qiang always did this.
Before Wang Qiang could speak, his mother took over, sighing, "My son told me—he said the scale weight erodes a little with use, so to avoid short-weighting, he always measures when the rod is still raised."
Wang Qiang said seriously, "The customer is king. When the scale rod is still raised, you count the weight, so even if you weigh it at home, it’ll only be more, not less. My reputation won’t suffer—a little less profit is fine, as long as I keep my good name. With loyal customers, why worry about making money?"
Madam Yu praised him, "Young man, you’re decent."
Teacher Wang nodded, "Few businessmen are like you."
So that’s why.
Such integrity.
The onlookers instantly changed their view of Wang Qiang. There’s a saying: 'No business without cheating,' but this young man wasn’t just honest, he embodied the old maxim that taking a small loss is a blessing—rare indeed.
A young man with a flat-top haircut was moved. "I was about to buy fish inside, but after hearing you, I’d rather buy here. Give me a silver carp."
"Certainly." Wang Qiang smiled broadly, scooping up a fish, then said purposefully, "I haven’t been in business long, but I know some tricks of the trade. Most of you are new customers—no one would short-weight a new customer, not just me, any merchant wouldn’t."
Madam Yu was curious, "If not new customers, who gets short-weighted?"
Many, including Teacher Wang, wanted to hear Wang Qiang’s business wisdom to avoid being shorted in future.
Wang Qiang glanced inside, his smile still radiant, and explained kindly, "Generally, it’s the regulars—regular customers are most likely to be short-weighted." He pulled out a plastic bag.
"Impossible!" Teacher Wang was shocked. "Why would you short-weight a regular?"
Everyone else felt the same, Madam Yu included.
Only Uncle Zhai lowered his head, chuckling sheepishly—he’d done just that.
Wang Qiang placed the silver carp in the bag and weighed it, his eyes on the rod scale. "Teacher Wang, let me ask you: If you buy from the same person for a long time, would you suspect he’s short-weighting you? Would you weigh it at home? So..." He trailed off, pushing the scale forward to the flat-top youth. "Two jin and one tael, three yuan for you." He deliberately didn’t finish his thought, lest it seem too pointed.
"Learned something new."
"That makes sense."
Some people seemed to understand—indeed, those who buy from the same vendor year-round build deep trust; who would bother weighing at home?
Others grew anxious, especially those who had just bought from the vendors inside. They exchanged uneasy glances, looking at the vegetables in their hands with suspicion, convinced they’d been shorted.
Especially the woman with an oval face who’d been pulled inside by the plump lady—her face changed when she heard this, and she rushed up to Wang Qiang’s mother, "Sister, can I borrow your scale?"
Mother called, "Qiangzi?"
Wang Qiang handed over the scale without a word.
The oval-faced woman eagerly hooked her plastic bag onto the scale, then set the weight to one jin one tael. With a clatter, the weight slid off the rod and crashed to the ground.
It spoke for itself.
A significant shortfall.
"Chen Runqiu, you scoundrel!" The oval-faced woman was white with anger. She picked up the weight, returned the scale to Wang Qiang, and dragged the plump woman away, saying, "Come on, let’s go settle accounts with him!"
They pushed through the crowd, full of fury, and everyone knew a spectacle was about to unfold.
Seeing someone truly short-weighted, several people clamored,
"Young man, let me borrow your scale."
"Yes, yes, let me check if I got shorted."
"Oh, I just bought fish from Old Chen—he definitely shorted me."
"I bought from Old Li—wonder if he did too. That shifty guy could do it for sure."
Wang Qiang hurriedly called out, "No problem borrowing the scale, just come one at a time, don’t break it!" Then he smiled slyly, handing the scale to the first old man.
If you’re ruthless, I’ll be ruthless too.
Let’s see who’s tougher.
This time, Wang Qiang was truly angry—he was just trying to make enough to pay off debts, and someone tried to sabotage him. Well, then, it’s only fair to repay in kind.