Chapter 37: I’ll Tear Your Mouth Apart

Chapter 37: I'll Rip Your Mouth Open

As soon as Jiang Yingxue parked her tricycle under the shade of the tree, a woman around thirty years old marched over.

The woman wore a cold expression, clearly meaning trouble.

This woman was Jiang Hui, the sister-in-law of Zhang Shude, the stir-fried rice noodle stall owner. Zhang Shude's younger brother was named Zhang Weilong. The name "Huilong Rice Ball" was a combination of one character from each of their names.

Last week, after Zhang Shude and her husband bought rice balls and Qiong Peach Juice from the Xuehe Rice Ball stall, the two couples gathered together to analyze and reverse-engineer the rice ball's preparation methods and seasonings used.

But even after racking their brains all day, they couldn't unlock the secret of the sauce. They could prepare the main ingredients for the rice balls, but the resulting flavor was worlds apart. As for the juice, it tasted somewhat like peach but was much more delicious, and they couldn't replicate it either.

However, they weren't discouraged. They still had to run their stall. Since they couldn't win on taste, they would compete on price.

At this moment, Jiang Hui said coldly, "Hey, you can't stop here. I need to set up tables here."

Jiang Yingxue raised her eyes, her cool gaze lingering on the woman for a second, and said, "This is public property. It doesn't have your name on it. Whoever arrives first gets to set up. Just like how I set up my stall here last week, and today this spot is yours. Understand?"

Of course Jiang Hui knew that. Precisely because it was a public space, she had set out early today to claim the spot. But knowing it was one thing; following the rules was another. She had her eye on the shade under the tree for setting up tables. If someone else took the shaded spot, where would she put her tables? So the shade had to be hers.

Jiang Hui sized up the woman in front of her who could make such good rice balls. She was good-looking, with a slender and well-proportioned figure, but she looked relatively delicate. In a fight, Jiang Hui was sure she would win.

Having sized her up, she placed her hands on her hips and snapped, "I don't care about that. All I know is I need to set up tables here. Get that thing out of my way!"

Jiang Yingxue ignored her completely. After parking the tricycle, she began organizing her stall.

Seeing the young woman treat her words as if they were thin air, Jiang Hui grew angry. She rolled up her sleeves and said, "You won't move it? Then I'll move it for you!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she rushed forward, intending to push the vehicle away with force.

But how could Jiang Yingxue let her have her way? The moment Jiang Hui's hand touched the tricycle's handlebar, the feather duster struck.

"Ah!" Jiang Hui screamed. She looked down at her hand, but there wasn't a mark on it. Yet, she could still feel a throbbing pain. She had definitely been hit.

Jiang Yingxue continued to pat the handlebar with the feather duster, muttering to herself, "So dirty. Needs disinfecting with alcohol..."

Jiang Hui's face went white, then red with rage. This woman was actually calling her dirty! Her temper flared, and she immediately jumped up, pointing at Jiang Yingxue with her uninjured hand and cursing, "You little bitch, who are you calling dirty? You must have a death wish! I'll rip your mouth open!"

"I've romanticized the people in this town too much," Jiang Yingxue thought with an inward sneer. Perhaps because she had been away from home for so long, she had thought everyone in her hometown was good. Now she realized, where aren't there bad people?

Since she was a bad person, she should be dealt with.

A hint of coldness flashed in Jiang Yingxue's eyes. The one with a death wish was this shrew in front of her. What was the fate of the last person who cursed her? The gentle, understanding, top-tier white-rich-beautiful persona collapsed, and she ended up married to a useless man who couldn't perform. How should this one be punished?

Jiang Yingxue deliberately moved to a spot within the surveillance camera's view. As expected, Jiang Hui followed, cursing up a storm.

It was now 10:30 in the morning. Many street vendors had arrived, and they naturally noticed the commotion. However, the vast majority chose to look away and ignore it. Ever since the Xuehe Rice Ball stall started operating at the school gate, it had taken a lot of business from them. Seeing Jiang Yingxue being harassed by Jiang Hui, they even felt a secret sense of satisfaction.

Only Wang Cuifen, who sold malatang next to Jiang Yingxue, hurried over to intervene. While dodging left and right, Jiang Yingxue called out to Wang Cuifen, "Thank you, Auntie Wang. I'm fine."

Jiang Yingxue pulled Auntie Wang out of the "battlefield." She pointed a finger at a spot just in front of Jiang Hui's tricycle. An image of Jiang Yingxue, visible only to Jiang Hui, appeared there. Two seconds later, Jiang Hui indeed lunged forward, claws bared.

"I'll rip your mouth open!"

The next second, the crunch of impact coincided with Jiang Hui's scream.

"Thud!"

"Ahhh!!!"

Immediately after, there was a "clatter"—the sound of teeth hitting the ground. The scream attracted the attention of those nearby, and they all looked at Jiang Hui. Her mouth was full of blood, her lips torn open from the impact with the hard tricycle, and three of her teeth had fallen out. She looked utterly miserable.

But this misery was entirely of her own making.

Wang Cuifen sighed and said, "Sigh, talking about tearing someone else's mouth, and now her own mouth is torn. People really shouldn't act like this."

At this moment, Zhang Shude and her husband, along with Zhang Weilong, who had been watching the spectacle, hurried over to help Jiang Hui up, their concern genuine.

"Ah Hui, are you okay?"

"Ah Hui, how are you?"

A bystander nearby said, "Hurry up and pick up the teeth to see a doctor. Maybe they can still be fixed."

Jiang Hui was in so much pain she couldn't straighten up, but she continued to curse, though her speech was now slurred from the missing teeth. "Oww... it's all... that little bitch's fault... oww... call the police... can't... can't let her get away with this."

Zhang Weilong said, "Let's go to the hospital first."

Jiang Hui insisted, "Call... the police..."

Zhang Weilong had seen the whole thing from beginning to end. His wife had crashed into the vehicle herself. He was momentarily unsure, not knowing whether to call the police or not.

Zhang Shude stood up and pointed angrily at Jiang Yingxue. "My sister-in-law is just selling rice balls too. You black-hearted wretch actually harmed her! How can someone so young be so vicious! If anything happens to my sister-in-law, you'll pay!"

"Come with us to the hospital! You're paying the medical bills, plus compensation for lost work and emotional distress!"

"Big sister, are you here to cause trouble? Your sister-in-law's mouth is torn and her teeth are gone. What does that have to do with me? From start to finish, I haven't touched a single hair on her head or a corner of her clothing. How can you possibly pin this on me?" Jiang Yingxue's voice was loud and clear, audible to everyone present.

Wang Cuifen chimed in, "That's right. When your sister-in-law fell onto the vehicle, this girl was standing right next to me."

Zhang Shude's expression changed. She had seen it too, actually. But her sister-in-law's injury was caused by Jiang Yingxue, and she absolutely couldn't let Jiang Yingxue off the hook.