Chapter 125 The Stall’s Success Attracts Envy

Chapter 125: The Thriving Stall Draws Covetous Eyes

"Don't be stupid, if they won't tell you, then find a way to see for yourself," Dong Laiyin coached her son. "Don't rush home after work. Go sit at your aunt's house for a while and go check out their brewing room while you're at it."

"If you can't remember everything, use your phone to take pictures and study them carefully when you get home."

"Where there's a will, there's a way. My son is the smartest in the Lu family."

*

The next day, Lu Taifeng set off in high spirits, swaggering like a man who'd struck it rich.

Arriving at the Xuehe stall, he walked straight over to Ji Fu and said arrogantly, "Move aside. I'll be manning the cash register from now on."

Ji Fu frowned. Where did this fool come from? "Who are you? No outsiders allowed in here. Get out."

A glint of malice flashed in Lu Taifeng's eyes as he declared imperiously, "I'm your boss's older cousin!"

Ji Fu snorted softly and said calmly, "Even the boss's cousin can't come in. If you want to buy something, wait outside. If not, then leave."

As Spiritual Pets, they were well aware of the Lu family's grasping, opportunistic ways.

Lu Taifeng's face darkened. "You're the one who should get out."

Jiang Yingxue looked at Lu Taifeng expressionlessly and said, "You need to leave."

Lu Taifeng's gaze filled with malice as he pointed at himself incredulously. "Me? Am I hearing this right?"

"Jiang Yingxue, I'm your cousin!"

"I came here with your uncle and your grandmother's permission!"

Jiang Yingxue picked up a feather duster and shooed him out, saying coldly, "I never agreed. Besides, I don't have a cousin like you." When the Lu family refused to listen to reason and insisted on meddling with her stall, she had already severed that fragile, easily broken connection.

It wasn't just that this family wasn't related to her by blood—even if they had been, Jiang Yingxue wouldn't hesitate to cut ties. In the world of cultivation, when mortals with potential are selected by major sects, their first step into cultivation is to sever worldly ties.

A cultivator's lifespan is far longer than a mortal's, and cultivation itself takes a great deal of time. Often, by the time a cultivator achieves a breakthrough, their mortal family members have already passed away.

Moreover, the duration of a cultivator's seclusion varies greatly—short periods might be a couple of weeks; long periods could be years, decades, or even hundreds or thousands of years. When a cultivator emerges from seclusion, their former loved ones have long since passed away, and dynasties may have changed.

The feather duster Jiang Yingxue used to chase him out was made from Fog-Spitting Black Chicken feathers. It cleaned dust thoroughly and, when used to hit someone, could penetrate clothing to strike the skin beneath.

Lu Taifeng, having been beaten out, was seething with rage. He stood right outside the stall, his face flushed with anger.

In Lu Taifeng's eyes, the customers forming two lines in front of the stall were all bright red banknotes.

He'd given up a stable job to strike it rich at this stall. He wasn't about to give up easily.

"Jiang Yingxue, I'm here to work!" He charged back into the stall but was thrown out by Ji Fu before he could even touch the door handle.

Lu Taifeng got up from the ground, raising his hand as if to hit someone, but the feather duster made him think twice.

"You're forcing my hand!" If they wouldn't let him join the stall, then the stall shouldn't expect to do business either.

Determined, Lu Taifeng started causing a scene at the stall, loudly accusing Jiang Yingxue of going back on her word, defying her elders' wishes by not letting him join. He also claimed the alcohol had huge profit margins, making hundreds of thousands or millions a day, and that they were ripping off customers, etc.

A customer asked curiously, "Boss, what's with this guy? Do you know him?"

Jiang Yingxue replied, "Not really. The stall's business is good, and his family has their eye on it. Let him make a scene."

As long as he didn't harm her, her customers, or enter the stall's area, Jiang Yingxue would simply ignore his tantrum.

The customer nodded thoughtfully. The Xuehe stall's business was indeed very good; he was envious too. "I see. The lure of profit."

Seeing that Jiang Yingxue remained unmoved by his actions and the customers were indifferent, Lu Taifeng called his mother.

After hanging up, he got hold of a long stick and began waving it in front of the stall, scattering the customers waiting in line.

Jiang Yingxue and Ji Fu exchanged a glance. Ji Fu, while packing an order, pointed lightly toward Lu Taifeng's head.

The next second, Lu Taifeng, fully conscious, felt he had lost control of his body. He walked stiffly, arms and legs moving in unison, to the trash can beside the stall. He placed his left hand high on the trash can lid, then raised the stick with his right hand and brought it down hard.

*Thud—*

*Crack.*

"Ah!"

Instantly, the sound of the stick hitting his hand and the sound of shattering bones rang out simultaneously. His scream of pain pierced the sky.

But it wasn't over. In pain yet fully aware, he watched himself raise the stick again and start wildly beating his own legs.

*Crack, crack*—the sounds of bones breaking.

He collapsed onto the ground, continuously emitting agonized screams. Even the onlookers around him winced at such self-inflicted violence.

Ji Fu blinked and lifted her control over Lu Taifeng.

Lu Taifeng regained control of his body.

His first action was to drop the stick from his right hand and plead with the people around him for help. "Ah, it hurts! Help me, call an ambulance."

Among the crowd, someone took out their phone, about to call the police for him. At that moment, Ji Fu smiled and said, "Don't you have your own phone? Why not call yourself? Or are you trying to scam money?"

Jiang Yingxue chimed in, "Everyone around, be careful. If you didn't hit him, why would you call an ambulance? Watch your wallets."

Ji Fu withdrew her gaze from Lu Taifeng and the crowd, turning a slight smile towards the customer at the stall. "Hello, what would you like to buy?"

The customer said, "I'd like a nutritious boxed meal, a large cup of spiritual hawthorn juice, and a chicken."

Ji Fu took the membership card. "Alright, just a moment."

The crowd hadn't dispersed. After Jiang Yingxue and Ji Fu's well-meaning reminder, three people put their phones away.

"The boss is right. I see that man has a phone too. He can call an ambulance himself."

"Hmph! You're all just heartless. It's because of people like you that society has become so cold!"

One young woman felt the people from the Xuehe stall and those around were too callous. So, she called an ambulance for him and even went to the hospital to pay the medical fees upfront.

The outcome was as Jiang Yingxue and Ji Fu had anticipated: Lu Taifeng and his mother refused to pay the money back.

Consequently, the young woman called the police.

But Lu Taifeng insisted his injuries were related to her. "With so many people around, if you didn't hit me, why did you call the ambulance and pay the fees? You must have a guilty conscience!"

Lu Taifeng's right foot was fractured, while his left hand and left leg suffered more severe comminuted fractures. After surgery, it would take about six months to heal.

*

After regaining consciousness from the surgery, Lu Taifeng recalled the events of the fracture day to his mother, his eyes filled with terror. The feeling of having his entire body controlled by someone else was utterly terrifying.

"Mom, it was so strange. I clearly meant to use the stick to smash her stall, but somehow, I ended up hitting myself... It was like being possessed by an unclean spirit."