My Co-renting Lady Boss
Chapter 23 - 0023: Dare to Sell Me Fake Goods?

Chapter 23: Chapter 0023: Dare to Sell Me Fake Goods?

What kind of poison could there be in the city?

Real poisons are only found in hospitals or laboratories; what circulates among the populace is nothing but low-level types, the kind you use to poison flies and mice.

But having some is better than none, after all, Tang Ming’s cultivation technique can use poison to stimulate his body and enhance his strength.

If one doesn’t consistently improve their strength, they’ll face the consequences of regression instead of progression.

Even some martial artists who have lived in the city for a long time find their strength completely vanished.

Such examples serve as a warning to cultivators that strength is like rowing against the current: one must constantly maintain their cultivation.

After making a few rounds, Tang Ming only found a few pharmacies, but these sold the finished medicine products of legitimate manufacturers; they certainly wouldn’t sell poison, probably not even rat poison.

Luckily, there was a miscellaneous goods shop, whose owner was a skinny man in his forties, and just by looking at his face, one could tell he wasn’t the type to run an honest business.

When Tang Ming approached, the shopkeeper asked, "What would you like to buy? Drinks or cigarettes?"

Tang Ming looked around briefly before asking, "Do you have rat poison?"

"No."

The shopkeeper shook his head and said, "How could a shop like ours sell rat poison?"

"Hey, I’m willing to pay more."

Tang Ming said, "You can’t find it anywhere these days, but the rat problem at home is serious, so I need to find some way to deal with it."

The shopkeeper’s beady eyes shifted before he asked again, "Are you really going to use it for rats?"

"Why would I lie to you? Am I going to poison someone else or what?"

Tang Ming said.

"Oh, okay then, fifty bucks a pack."

The shopkeeper said.

The price was obviously inflated; regular rat poison only cost two or three bucks a pack.

But this shopkeeper was selling rat poison on the sly to make an extra buck, knowing full well that such goods weren’t supposed to be sold openly in the city.

What a crook! Tang Ming internally labeled the man.

"Are you buying or not? If not, get lost."

The shopkeeper said indifferently.

"I’ll take two packs."

Tang Ming pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket.

The shopkeeper was surprised and laughed, "I’ve never seen anyone like you before, coming to shop with a handful of coins. Isn’t that bothersome for you?"

"Count them. Give me the medicine."

Tang Ming placed the coins on the counter and spread his hand open as he spoke.

The shopkeeper glanced over and judged the amount to be more or less correct, then carefully took out two packs of medicine from a small wooden box under the counter, handed them to Tang Ming, and cautioned, "Remember to wash your hands after using it, or it’ll kill you. I won’t take any responsibility."

"If it could kill me, your medicine wouldn’t just be rat poison."

Tang Ming said, taking the medicine and turning to leave.

Watching his retreating figure, the shopkeeper chuckled, "Another hundred bucks easy. This money is too easy to make."

But as he counted, the shopkeeper suddenly cursed, "Goddammit, I’m short five bucks."

Although Tang Ming was on foot, his pace was swift, and it only took him a few minutes to reach the villa. After knocking on the door, he went straight up to the bedroom on the second floor.

Once the door was locked, Tang Ming was ready to start his cultivation.

It was actually quite simple, relying on the toxicity of the poison to stimulate the internal energy in the body, thereby achieving the purpose of cultivation.

He swiftly swallowed the two packs of poison, even chewing them, finding the taste not bad at all.

However, once the poison reached his stomach, it dissolved instantly, not turning into the expected poisonous fumes but instead being directly absorbed by his body.

"Fake medicine, damn him!"

Tang Ming sat on the bed, eyes wide open, cursing.

He had gone to great lengths to obtain those coins, only to be deceived by a swindler selling fake medicine; this was something he couldn’t swallow no matter what.

Without hesitation, Tang Ming hastily descended the stairs and left the villa, exchanging only a few words with Uncle Quan before heading straight to the grocery store.

Once at the grocery store, Tang Ming addressed the somewhat surprised shopkeeper, "You sell fake goods, you believe I’ll call the cops, huh!"

"Don’t talk nonsense, when have I ever sold fake goods?"

Indignant, the shopkeeper said, "You little brat, you even gave me five bucks less in coins. I’ve been looking for you everywhere!"

"You charge fifty for a pack of rat poison, and it turns out to be fake, that’s really shady of you," Tang Ming said, arms crossed.

"I don’t care, either you compensate me or give me the real thing, otherwise, I’m calling the police today," Tang Ming demanded.

"You wouldn’t dare."

The shopkeeper puffed out his chest, threateningly.

Tang Ming simply smiled, "For the likes of you, I can’t be bothered to lift a finger."

Anxious, the shopkeeper started looking for something in the shop.

With a smile, Tang Ming directly took a pair of thick scissors from the store’s shelf.

"How about this?"

Tang Ming asked, holding the scissors.

"You think I wouldn’t dare?" the shopkeeper said urgently.

Tang Ming squeezed with both hands, and the thick handles of the scissors were instantly squished and deformed in his grip.

The shopkeeper knew how sturdy these scissors were, made of wrought iron—no matter how strong someone was, he had never seen anyone deform them, but it was happening right before his eyes.

All of a sudden, the shopkeeper was terrified. What kind of person was this with such incredible strength!

"Alright, I’ll compensate you," he conceded.

Taking a deep breath and not daring to argue further, the shopkeeper quickly took out a hundred yuan from the drawer, saying with a pained expression, "I’ll give you an extra five, is that enough now?"

"Of course not, you have to compensate me for the poison as well. If you have fake poison, then you definitely have the real stuff, give it to me," Tang Ming insisted, extending his hand.

With his face twitching, the shopkeeper said, "Fine, I’ll compensate you with the real rat poison too. What kind of person are you?"

After taking out four packets of rat poison and placing them on the counter, the shopkeeper said, "You’re a freak, figuring out so quickly that I was selling fake poison. Did you used to sell rat poison before?"

"No, I just ate it, and when I had no reaction, I knew yours was fake," Tang Ming replied with a laugh, pocketing both the money and the poison. He not only hadn’t spent a single penny but also gained four packs of rat poison for free—a profitable deal indeed.

"Ah!"

The shopkeeper was suddenly terrified. Although the poison was fake, it still contained a small portion of real rat poison!

In this way, it had some effect, similar in color and smell, and most people couldn’t tell the difference.

By using this method, he could sell a year’s worth of product from a single supply, a hugely profitable business. But no matter how fake it was, it was still poison—how could a person ingest it?

"Are you really okay?"

The shopkeeper asked in a low voice.

"I’m fine, I’m off," Tang Ming said as he turned and left the store, leaving the shopkeeper petrified, praying silently that the foolish boy wouldn’t die from eating the rat poison.

"It’s not my fault, even if he did eat it, it was his own wish to die. How could I have known? Right, that’s it," the shopkeeper muttered to himself.

Back at the villa, Tang Ming immediately swallowed all four packets of poison, feeling an intense heat in his stomach.

This time, the poison was real, and its fierce toxicity began to spread.

A normal person would have definitely been invaded by the toxin in their bloodstream, leading to a toxic death, but Tang Ming activated the Martial Energy within his body, enveloping all traces of the poison’s essence and circulating it throughout his body.

The Cultivation Technique slowly started to operate, and the toxic essence in his body began stimulating his physique, continuously advancing his cultivation.

With each pass through a part of his body, the toxicity decreased a bit, and ultimately, after a full Grand Circulation, the toxicity was completely gone, with Tang Ming slowly ending his cultivation session.

Though this cultivation session hadn’t increased his strength by much, it refined and purified his inner Martial Energy.