Chapter 44 Retribution Comes Swiftly

Leaning against the entrance of the market, Old Chen and Old Li were both selling fish, and business today was far better than usual. As they greeted their customers, they exchanged knowing smiles. The rumor about Wang Qiang shortchanging his customers had actually started spreading yesterday evening. At Minqiang Town Market, the busiest hours were usually at dawn and after four in the afternoon. Wang Qiang only did business in the mornings, so he was oblivious to the gossip swirling about him.

The situation had been rather subtle. Someone had complained that Old Chen refused to clean the fish for her. Old Chen, with a hint of resentment, retorted, “Once the fish is cleaned, you won’t even know how much weight you’re missing when you get home.” The woman then pressed him, asking if Wang Qiang was shortchanging on weight, and Old Chen mumbled an evasive answer. Seeing this, Old Li, at the next stall, decided to go along and blatantly lied as well. Thus, the rumor that Wang Qiang was cheating his customers became “fact.”

At Old Chen’s fish stall, he and his wife were busy serving two regular customers when suddenly seven or eight people swarmed around them. Old Chen was delighted—business was booming today! No doubt, this crowd must have just finished dealing with that young man at the entrance. He had seen Wang Qiang’s stall surrounded by people earlier, after all.

He recognized the round-faced woman who had just been here, and the plump woman as well. Thinking the plump woman had forgotten to buy her fish, he greeted them with a beaming smile, “Just a moment, please, let me finish up here.” Turning to his regular customer, he said, “Uncle Cheng, that’s one jin and three liang, one yuan ninety-five.”

Surprisingly, the round-faced woman and the plump woman held their tongues, but the seven or eight people behind them all looked at Old Chen with a strange expression. Unperturbed, Old Chen took the money and signaled his wife to hand the fish to Uncle Cheng.

Uncle Cheng took the plastic bag and was about to leave when suddenly the round-faced woman exclaimed, “Sir, I advise you to weigh your fish before you go home. Don’t find yourself short a couple of liang later.”

Uncle Cheng paused, puzzled by her meaning. Old Chen’s face changed at her words. He exchanged a glance with his wife, forced an awkward smile, and pretended to respond openly, “Sister Hu, what are you saying? I’ve been selling fish at this market for so many years…”

“What am I saying?” the round-faced woman snapped, throwing her plastic bag back into his fish tub with a splash, soaking Old Chen’s pant leg. Furious, Old Chen was about to rebuke her when she jabbed her finger at the bag, shouting, “How much did that fish you just sold me weigh? You tell me! How much?”

Old Chen was dumbstruck, at a loss for words. But his silence didn’t stop the crowd. The seven or eight people began to bombard him with accusations.

The plump woman was the first to speak, her face flushed with anger. “Chen Runqiu, I never thought you were so shameless! I even brought Sister Hu over to buy fish from you, and this is how you repay us?”

“That’s right, aren’t you being a bit too dishonest?” the round-faced woman fumed.

Others joined in, all claiming that when they checked their purchases at Wang Qiang’s stall earlier, almost everyone was short by a liang or two.

“Chen Runqiu, you’ve gone too far!”

“Think you’ll get rich by shortchanging us?”

“Well, now I see what kind of person you are. Forget about me ever buying fish from you again! Give me back my money for today’s purchase!”

“No, wait…” Old Chen’s heart pounded as he tried to explain, his wife anxiously wringing her hands beside him.

“No what?”

“That lady is right, you’re simply heartless!”

“Heartless? He’s been heartless for eight generations!”

“What’s more, you target your regulars and then spread rumors about the young man outside? Have you no shame at all?”

A chorus of voices denounced Old Chen; Old Li across the way was facing a similar uproar. The two of them had clearly incited the wrath of the crowd.

Sweat beaded on Old Chen’s forehead. He wanted to defend himself, but surrounded by so many angry customers, he couldn’t get a word in. He was in utter misery—how had everyone found out about his shortchanging?

Uncle Cheng had been a loyal customer for over a decade. Seeing the crowd so agitated, he still didn’t quite believe it and tried to mediate, persuading everyone to calm down. At last, the voices subsided for a moment, and Uncle Cheng spoke up in defense, “Are you sure you’re not mistaken? Old Chen isn’t that kind of person.”

The round-faced woman shot back, “Not that kind of person? Fine then, you just bought fish from him. Why not weigh it yourself and see?”

Hearing this, Old Chen nearly swore aloud. What business was it of hers if the weights were off?

Uncle Cheng hesitated, then decided to help clear Old Chen’s name, “All right, I’ll find a scale and weigh it. But if the weight is right, you all have to leave Old Chen alone.”

But Old Chen knew full well what he’d done. Desperately, he tried to stop Uncle Cheng, “Uncle Cheng, don’t listen to these bored busybodies! How could I shortchange anyone?” The words slipped out before he could think.

Calling them “bored busybodies” was the final straw. Two of the men who had bought fish grabbed Old Chen by the collar, waving their fists threateningly, clearly ready to strike if he said another word.

Old Chen blanched in terror, his wife frantically trying to pull them apart, worried her husband would really get beaten.

Seeing there was no way out, Old Chen backed down, hastily pleading, “Let’s talk this out, please. Let’s talk this out.”

The crowd finally released him but continued to glare menacingly.

Amid the chaos, the round-faced woman produced a balance scale from somewhere and handed it to Uncle Cheng. “Sir, let’s not argue. Just see for yourself if the weight is right.”

The plump woman watched coldly from the side. With so many people having found themselves shortchanged at the young man’s stall outside, how likely was it that Uncle Cheng’s fish would be any different?

Sure enough, Uncle Cheng’s withered hands weighed the fish, then his eyes widened in anger. “Chen Runqiu, you rascal! We’re from the same village, and you still dare short me?”

Old Chen dared not retort. Though Uncle Cheng’s surname wasn’t Chen, he was highly respected in the village, having once served as the party secretary. With so many people watching, Old Chen could only flush red and stammer, “I—I’ll refund your money.” He almost wanted to weep. Yesterday afternoon, he’d spread rumors about Wang Qiang cheating on weight, and now the tables had turned.

His reputation was in ruins—it would take years to recover.

Those who had planned to buy fish from Old Chen now changed their minds. Some even considered going across to Old Li’s stall, but before they could move, a loud shout rang out.

“Li, what do you think you’re doing? Cheating customers on weight? You deserve a beating!”

Old Chen looked up, his heart pounding with relief that he’d backed down earlier; otherwise, he might have been beaten like Old Li.

Across the way, a burly man had grabbed Old Li, whose left eye was already bruised—a clear sign he’d been punched.

The market manager, Manager Yang, was trying to break up the fight, cursing all the while. “You want to raise hell at the bureau? See what happens to you then!” He pulled the burly man aside, “Brother, do me a favor and let Old Li refund your money. Let’s just settle it here, all right?”

The “bureau” he referred to was the Industry and Commerce Office.

Having been beaten, Old Li dared not protest, “I’ll refund, I’ll refund.”

The burly man shoved him aside impatiently, “Hurry up.”

Witnessing all this, Old Chen realized he needed to keep his head down. He slumped in defeat.

As Old Li handed back the money, he grumbled to Manager Yang, “Manager Yang, we pay stall fees to sell inside the market, but that young man is selling outside for free. Why don’t you do something?” Having been beaten, his anger had to go somewhere, but not at the burly man—he was afraid of another beating—so he took it out on Manager Yang.

Old Chen’s eyes lit up at this. Yes, why not do something?

But Manager Yang replied impatiently, “He’s selling outside the market—I can’t do anything about it. If you want to complain, go to the county Urban Management Office. They’ll send someone. I’m with the Industry and Commerce Office—I don’t have jurisdiction.”

The Urban Management Office, the predecessor to today’s Urban Management Bureau, was at that time a public institution. It didn’t become an official administrative agency with independent authority until 1996.

With that, Old Chen and Old Li were resigned. Even if they got Wang Qiang’s stall cleared out today, the Urban Management Office couldn’t keep watch over Minqiang Town every day. Wang Qiang would be back in business outside soon enough.

The money was refunded, the scolding done, and the crowd gradually dispersed, gossiping as they left.

The round-faced woman and the plump woman headed outside, talking as they walked.

“We have to burn offerings at noon. What will we do without fish?” the round-faced woman fretted. “Burning offerings” was a local term for ancestral rites: two crucian carp, a bowl of braised pork, tofu, dried tofu, four dishes in total, candles, incense, and a little paper money and gold foil.

The plump woman pointed outside, “They’re not the only ones selling fish. Let’s buy from that young man outside. Unlike those two inside, he doesn’t cheat on weight—in fact, he gives extra. Didn’t you see everyone weighing their purchases earlier?”

Since everyone had returned their fish, they needed to buy more. The others quickly agreed.

“Yes.”

“Let’s buy outside.”

“That young man’s honest, doesn’t short the weight.”

“That’s right. If he hadn’t told us that vendors usually cheat their regulars, I’d never have known how shameless Old Chen and Old Li were.”

“Shameless? More like utterly shameless!”

The group scorned the two fishmongers and made their way to Wang Qiang’s stall in twos and threes.

Not far away, Old Chen was still seething. When he overheard their words, anger rose in him like a wave. So that’s how everyone found out he’d been shortchanging them—the young man outside must have been stirring things up behind his back.

But what could he say? He had, after all, cheated on weight and spread rumors first. A saying flashed through Old Chen’s mind: retribution comes swiftly. It seemed, today, it had come for him and Old Li.