Overbearing Immortal Doctor
Chapter 149 - 149 After modification 149 Substitute Inferior for Good

149: After modification: Chapter 149 Substitute Inferior for Good 149: After modification: Chapter 149 Substitute Inferior for Good Chen Zhaofeng not only failed to purchase the mushrooms, but also received a round of mockery from Wu Xiaoyu, leaving him uneasy as he descended the mountain.

Back at home, he weighed the mushrooms in the corner, once again furrowing his brows; the quantity of these mushrooms was obviously insufficient.

Would he get scolded for not meeting Boss Chen’s required amount?

Liu Sheng’s mother saw him return empty-handed and couldn’t help but nag, “What are you trying to prove?

Why do you have to compete with others for this business!

Now look, didn’t get any mushrooms, did you?

How are you going to explain this to the big boss?”

“Enough!

Say less, our son is already worrying, and you’re adding to it!” his father scolded.

The way his parents alternated between supporting and criticizing made him even more vexed.

How could he not have considered Wu Xiaoyu’s underhanded tricks?

He should have been on guard when Wu Xiaoyu sought him out last night.

He had been too careless!

Feeling helpless, Liu Sheng had no choice but to load the dozen or so catties of mushrooms onto his tricycle and pedal into town.

After the events of the morning, the villagers were already aware of his open and covert struggle with Wu Xiaoyu and naturally began to gossip about it.

Most people felt Liu Sheng’s actions were not reasonable, knowing full well Wu Xiaoyu was buying mushrooms, yet offering a higher price to purchase the villagers’ mushrooms.

Wasn’t that just snatching food from someone’s mouth?

However, a few clever individuals began to calculate the profit from selling mushrooms, pondering how Wu Xiaoyu and Liu Sheng could be making money, given that the price of over ten bucks was already much higher than the market rate.

Even more curious, Wu Xiaoyu had hoarded quite a lot of dried mushrooms at home.

What on earth was he up to?

What sort of profitable venture was he planning?

As Liu Sheng cycled past the villagers, everyone fell silent.

It was clear they had been discussing him.

Though Liu Sheng usually cared about the villagers’ opinions, he felt somewhat relieved now.

No matter what they said, he was making money easily now, but as for them…

he smirked.

Liu Sheng slowly pedaled into town and was just about to head straight to Juxian Inn when he noticed a woman selling mushrooms at the end of the market.

Mushrooms?

Liu Sheng’s eyes lit up.

The woman was selling mushrooms for only eleven dollars per catty, whereas Chen Zhaofeng’s offer was thirty-six dollars.

If…

if he bought a few catties from this woman and resold them to Chen Zhaofeng, he could make a twenty-five-dollar profit per catty, which was more advantageous than buying from the villagers.

Of course, he knew the woman’s mushroom quality was far inferior to those he sourced from the village, but mixing in a small amount shouldn’t be noticeable, right?

Driven by a sense of luck, Liu Sheng spoke up, “How much for the mushrooms, ma’am?”

The mushroom vendor pointed to a sign next to her and said coldly, “Isn’t it written right here?

Eleven dollars per catty!”

Her attitude irritated Liu Sheng.

What kind of business was this, treating customers so indifferently?

Outrageous!

But with profit at stake, he couldn’t afford to quibble and responded just as coldly, “Give me five catties, and pick the best ones for me!”

Hearing that he wanted to buy, and five catties at that, the woman’s demeanor changed instantly as she smiled and said, “Brother, don’t worry, these mushrooms are top-notch!”

Damn it!

Really showing your greed, thought Liu Sheng disdainfully.

He added, “Make sure to give me the full amount.

I might come back tomorrow!”

The woman packed the mushrooms, weighed them, and cheerfully said, “Five catties and eight ounces, but I’ll count it as five catties for you!”

Five catties and eight ounces is a noticeable difference from five catties, you think I’d believe you’re this generous?

Even though Liu Sheng knew the scale was off, he didn’t argue, packed the mushrooms, and quickly pedaled to a secluded alley.

After ensuring no one was around, he poured the bag of mushrooms into his own sack and mixed them thoroughly.

Filled with both anxiety and excitement, he headed to Juxian Inn.

At the Juxian Inn kitchen, Liu Sheng parked his tricycle, went inside, and greeted the middle-aged woman, “Sister Fang, is Boss Chen around?”

Wei Fanghua took the sack from him, poured out the mushrooms, and meticulously inspected them, causing Liu Sheng’s heart to skip a beat.

He quickly laughed, “Sister Fang…

you’re really thorough…”

“What’s with these mushrooms?” Wei Fanghua questioned, holding one up to Liu Sheng.

Seeing his trick exposed so quickly, Liu Sheng grew even more nervous, his palms sweating.

Wei Fanghua ignored him and continued inspecting, soon separating a large pile of non-wild mushrooms.

“It seems your credibility is highly questionable.

I don’t think we have any reason to continue our partnership!” she declared coldly.

In a moment of desperation, Liu Sheng put on a very aggrieved look and said, “What…

what is going on here?

Someone must have deliberately mixed bad ones in!

Sister Fang…

let me explain, I bought these from others, I had no idea…”

As he explained, Chen Zhaofeng entered the kitchen and noticed the two piles of mushrooms on the floor, with one visibly poorer in quality.

Starting to play crooked tricks this quickly?

Do you think I’m a fool?

Chen Zhaofeng stomped on the pile of inferior mushrooms angrily, “Liu Sheng, do you think you’re smart?”

Seeing this, Liu Sheng was terrified, his heart in his throat, desperately explaining, “Boss Chen, listen to me, I really didn’t pull any tricks!”

“These…

These are really from the villagers, I don’t know how this happened!”

Having seen countless people, Chen Zhaofeng naturally didn’t believe his nonsense and warned, “If you want to earn this money, you better be honest.

Trying to deceive me, you’re not smart enough for that!”

“Yes…

yes…

I’ll check the mushrooms more carefully in the future, I promise…”

As Liu Sheng kept apologizing, he suddenly heard a loud voice from outside, “Indeed!

I also think Boss Chen is very astute, not easily fooled!”

“Liu Sheng, how can you just buy any mushrooms from the market and pass them off as the real thing?”

The group turned their heads to see that the speaker was none other than Wu Xiaoyu.

Liu Sheng flew into a rage upon hearing this, but just as he was about to retort, Chen Zhaofeng stopped him.

Chen Zhaofeng took a few steps forward and smiled, “So it’s Brother Wu.

Look at this poor management causing such trouble, it’s really embarrassing.”

Upon hearing Boss Chen call Wu Xiaoyu “Brother,” Liu Sheng felt a surge of mixed emotions.

Wu Xiaoyu used to supply mushrooms to him, and now he’s supplying them, too.

Why was he so respectful to Wu Xiaoyu, even slightly fearful, but treated Liu Sheng like a dog?

What did he lack compared to Wu Xiaoyu?

Just because he once dug up a ginseng and started a chicken farm?

What’s so impressive about that!

Now wasn’t he the one taking over the mushroom business!

So why did it feel like Wu Xiaoyu was the real winner?

Wu Xiaoyu’s sudden arrival was clearly unexpected for both Chen Zhaofeng and Liu Sheng, and his direct exposure of Liu Sheng’s deception was even more surprising.

But Chen Zhaofeng’s response to this incident puzzled Wu Xiaoyu, making him somewhat uneasy.

Though Chen Zhaofeng greatly relied on those mushrooms, he wouldn’t normally forgive Liu Sheng’s deceit so easily; it wasn’t in his character unless he had other plans.

Wu Xiaoyu exchanged a few pleasantries with Chen Zhaofeng, also making sure Liu Sheng understood his place: he was just a substitute, nothing more.