Chapter 58: Lightning Strikes Those Who Block Fortune

Chapter 58: Messing with Someone's Livelihood Will Get You Struck by Lightning

The next day, Zhuang Liuhong arrived at Xuehe's Rice Balls stall.

She tugged at her bag and said, "Young lady, will you sell that Spirit Chili Bean Sauce for 50 yuan?"

Jiang Yingxue pointed to the "Prices Firm" sign on the stall and replied, "No."

This "Prices Firm" sign was specifically made for people like Zhuang Liuhong. Jiang Yingxue had hung it up several days ago, and since then, almost no one had tried to haggle.

With this sign clearly displayed, the price was fixed. It was a straightforward transaction—those who accepted the price could buy, those who didn't could pass. No one was forcing anyone.

Zhuang Liuhong followed Jiang Yingxue's finger and noticed the new sign on the stall. Her eyes widened in surprise; it hadn't been there during her last visit.

Thinking that the sign had been put up just recently, she felt singled out and said angrily, "You're so inflexible in doing business! I'm bargaining with you because I think highly of you!"

Jiang Yingxue replied coolly, "Are you buying or not? If not, please step aside and make room for the customers behind you." There were two or three students waiting in line. Given the bad impression Zhuang Liuhong had left during her previous visit, Jiang Yingxue had no intention of doing business with her.

A student behind her also urged, "Auntie, are you buying? If not, please move aside."

Zhuang Liuhong had promised her grandson she would buy it last night, so how could she back out now? Ignoring the urging from behind, she said to Jiang Yingxue, "Give me a bottle."

Jiang Yingxue took a bottle of Spirit Chili Bean Sauce from the wooden cabinet and said, "200 yuan. Will that be cash or digital payment?"

Zhuang Liuhong frowned and reached out to grab the sauce, saying, "Give me the product first. I'll check if there's any problem before paying."

Jiang Yingxue yanked her hand back, easily avoiding Zhuang Liuhong's grasp. "Pay first, then the goods. How do I know how much you'll pay after getting the product? If you underpay or just run off, who would I go after?"

It had to be said that Jiang Yingxue saw right through Zhuang Liuhong's trick. She indeed planned to take the sauce, throw down 50 yuan, and leave. In her eyes, 50 yuan was already too much for this sauce—she didn't want to pay a single cent more.

Zhuang Liuhong's face darkened as she scolded, "You little wretch, how can you be so nasty! Am I that kind of person? If you don't give me the product, how can I know if it's good or bad? What if you deliberately give me a spoiled one? That would be swindling me! What bad luck!"

"You're just robbing people! Be careful, or I'll call the police on you!"

Jiang Yingxue waved her hand dismissively and said, "Please leave. I won't do business with you."

"What do you mean? Are you looking down on me? Say that again, you little wretch with dog eyes! I'm telling you, if you don't give it to me, I won't leave!"

"Hmph! I'll stand right here in the middle of your stall, and you won't be able to do any business either. Bring it on!" Zhuang Liuhong stood arrogantly in the center of the stall, convinced that Jiang Yingxue wouldn't let her disrupt business and would sell it to her at a low price. If she was lucky, she might even get it for free.

The student behind her said, "Auntie, if you're not buying, please move aside. I need to hurry home."

Zhuang Liuhong turned her head and spoke harshly to the student, "If you need to go home, then hurry up and leave! Instead of eating proper meals, you buy stuff from stalls—it's unclean and a waste of money!"

"If you were my child, I'd beat you senseless, you wasteful kids! Not eating proper meals and always buying food outside—you need a good spanking!"

After saying that, she turned back and gave Jiang Yingxue a triumphant glance, like a rooster that had won a fight, looking extremely arrogant.

The student behind Zhuang Liuhong had thin skin and was on the verge of tears from her scolding.

A flicker of disgust passed through Jiang Yingxue's eyes. A triumphant rooster? It still ends up on the human dining table.

She said, "Having a foul mouth and messing with someone's livelihood invites a lightning strike."

Zhuang Liuhong sneered disdainfully, "Who are you trying to scare? If lightning strikes, it'll strike someone with a bad heart like you!"

Jiang Yingxue looked directly at the customers waiting in line, her gentle voice reaching the ears of the three people in the queue.

"Students, please step back two meters and cover your ears."

Although they didn't understand why, they all obediently followed the gentle instruction.

Just as everyone had covered their ears, a bolt of lightning out of a clear blue sky descended with a deafening "KABOOM—" The lightning struck Zhuang Liuhong directly, followed by continuous screams of agony, "Ah! Ah! Ah!..."

Zhuang Liuhong lay sprawled on the ground. Her clothes were almost completely burned to a crisp by the lightning, leaving only palm-sized pieces of fabric covering her private parts. Her skin was a mix of red and black, and she looked a complete mess. Her hair was singed, and her face was charred black. If not for the painful cries still coming from her mouth, one might have thought she was dead.

The ground in front of the stall was now dirty. Jiang Yingxue immediately moved her cart further back on the street. Deadpan, she said, "I told you that having a foul mouth and messing with someone's livelihood invites a lightning strike. From now on, I won't do any business with your family."

With a slight movement of her finger, she cast a "curse" on Zhuang Liuhong. From then on, anyone from Zhuang Liuhong's bloodline would be unable to consume any products under Jiang Yingxue's name. Even if they managed to buy something, it would smell fragrant but taste like disgusting waste once it reached their mouths. Even if they forced themselves to swallow it, they would vomit it out. This "curse," unless lifted, would follow them for the rest of their lives.

Zhuang Liuhong's bloodline included herself and her descendants, but not her husband or siblings.

Even though Zhuang Liuhong was in excruciating pain and nearly lost consciousness, her mind clearly received Jiang Yingxue's voice.

The curse of being struck by lightning, the sudden bolt from the blue, and the voice echoing in her mind—Zhuang Liuhong connected these three things. She trembled all over, filled with immense fear. Was that little wretch even human? Would she kill her?

Overwhelmed with terror, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

People on the street were startled by the sudden lightning on a clear day. How could there be lightning out of a clear blue sky? Some kind-hearted individuals, seeing someone struck by lightning, quickly dialed 120 to call an ambulance. Someone brought a coat to cover the "poor soul," especially since this was near a primary school with students coming and going—it wouldn't be good for them to see.

Others discussed why the "blackened person" on the ground had been struck by lightning.

"Could she have done something heinous that even Heaven couldn't tolerate?"

"That's possible. Otherwise, why would the lightning strike only her and not anyone else?"

"We should believe in science. This person was probably just unlucky."

Zhang Shude and Zhang Weilong, the siblings, only paid attention to the scene after the lightning strike. They shared the same thought: "What a pity the lightning didn't strike Jiang Yingxue."