Ch 9: Those who wronged me are now begging me for mercy

Give Me a Lever, and I Can Move the World

Zhang Dagou felt a lump in his throat, unable to speak for a long time. Meanwhile, more and more people gathered around, drawn by the smell.

It wouldn’t have been a big deal if someone else had grumbled a bit, but Zhang Dagou was the first to rush to the stall. If he didn’t react, it would be quite embarrassing.

But cursing…with a dozen dead fish eyes staring at him, Zhang Dagou couldn’t bring himself to do it. He even felt a strange sense of shame, as if he and these salted fish were gazing at the same starry sky.

After a long and complicated mental struggle, Zhang Dagou finally chose the hard path of fighting fire with fire.

“I’ll take a plate of salted fish.”

“Sure, sure.” The husband running the stall quickly snapped out of it and handed him a plate of salted fish, a salted duck egg, and a bowl of millet porridge.

Zhang Dagou took the tray to a nearby table and started eating.

He attacked the fried salted fish with the intention of biting it to death. But as soon as he bit down, he heard a crisp “crack”—the sound of the crispy, fried exterior. Then came the salty flavor of the fish.

Compared to fresh fish, the salted fish was drier, but it wasn’t tasteless. Instead, it had a unique chewiness, with a slight resistance to the bite.

It was like the life of a worker who spends 365 days a year playing the submissive role in the workplace. They disguise their inner wildness with a harmless exterior, but after a long time, the grueling 996 work schedule makes even rest a luxury. The stress accumulated over time makes them long to lie in bed like a salted fish, hoping to sleep forever. After all, anything is possible in dreams.

As for those hidden ambitions, even if they still exist, they can’t—or won’t—be revealed. Only in the candid moments after a few drinks with close friends can a bit of that wildness slip out.

Zhang Dagou suddenly found the delicious taste in his mouth to be rather bittersweet. But when he looked back at those dead fish eyes staring at him, he felt encouraged.

If even a salted fish can gaze at the stars, how could he, a living person, fare worse? At worst, he could end up like this fish—dried out, tossed into a frying pan, and served on a plate. But what if he won?

If he won, he could soar in the vast sky!

With that thought, Zhang Dagou felt a renewed sense of determination. He couldn’t wait to start his new job and embark on another round of hard work.

But before that, he called out, “Boss! Do you have any more salted fish? I want to take two home!”

“Yes.” The wife, seeing Zhang Dagou’s reaction, knew the salted fish would sell well. She felt completely relieved and quickly packed two salted fish in a plastic bag for him.

“Brother, is it really that good?” someone nearby asked curiously.

Zhang Dagou nodded seriously, holding the fish. “Eating it can purify your soul.”

“…” The person thought Zhang Dagou might be crazy.

Regardless, Zhang Dagou’s bold move intrigued others. After all, if salted fish had such a strong smell, it must be delicious, right?

Curiosity got the better of some. Soon after, another person ordered a plate of salted fish.

This time, they didn’t even sit down but tasted it right there, instantly impressed.

“Holy crap! This is amazing! Boss, pack another one for me to take home.”

Rong Ziyin only gave fifteen salted fish, and with just two customers, nearly half were gone. Clearly, those who didn’t buy soon might miss out.

So, the rest of the curious customers quickly decided to stop waiting. In no time, all fifteen salted fish were sold out, along with the salted duck eggs. Latecomers, who didn’t want to leave empty-handed, simply bought whatever other breakfast items were left.

By ten in the morning, the couple finally returned from the town. Business had been so good that they came back later than usual. Thanks to the salted fish and salted duck eggs, all their breakfast items were sold out—not a crumb of rice left.

But because of this, the couple felt a bit anxious. They were worried that Rong Ziyin might not be able to supply enough in the future.

“Should we go see Dr. Rong? Let’s give him the money we made from selling the salted fish,” the wife suggested, urging her husband to ask.

The husband nodded in agreement. “Let’s change into something clean first, and we’ll go together!”

In their eyes, Rong Ziyin wasn’t just a client selling on consignment; he was a golden goose who could help them boost their business and make more money. They had to take him seriously.

As luck would have it, Rong Ziyin didn’t have much going on that morning. But instead of inviting them into the livestock station, he spoke to them outside.

The wife quickly explained what had happened in town, “So, Dr. Rong, can you keep the supply steady? Or maybe, how often can you produce a batch?”

“It’s possible, but I’ll have to think about it.” Rong Ziyin nodded, agreeing to help, but he gave them a heads-up. “I’m just doing this casually. Even if I stabilize the supply, it won’t be in large quantities.”

“Besides, people are curious now, but once the novelty wears off, we might not sell as much.”

“Will that really happen?”

“Yes.” Rong Ziyin nodded. “And salted fish, even if it’s tasty, isn’t something people can eat every day. After all, it’s listed as a Group 1 carcinogen.”

“!!!” The couple exchanged a worried glance, feeling a bit disheartened. They had just found a good opportunity, but now Rong Ziyin was saying it couldn’t be a long-term business.

Rong Ziyin reassured them, “It’s not that eating it once will cause cancer, but you shouldn’t eat it too frequently. And this only applies to salted fish—salted duck eggs are fine.”

“So what should we do now?” The couple looked at Rong Ziyin with pleading eyes.

Recalling some of the practices of popular online stores he’d seen in Beijing, Rong Ziyin offered a suggestion, “I think you could try limiting the quantity.”

“Limiting the quantity?”

“Yes. Just tell them that salted fish is a Group 1 carcinogen, so even though you’re selling it, you have to limit the amount. Set a rule that each person can only buy it twice a week. If they try to buy more, you refuse the sale for health reasons.”

“This way, not only are you considering the health of your customers, avoiding any potential issues that could lead to disputes, but you’re also showing that you’re an honest business. This builds trust and understanding. Plus, the unusual restriction itself becomes a selling point. People are naturally curious, and the fact that you’re limiting sales might actually attract more customers.”

“I see,” the couple nodded repeatedly, their admiration for Rong Ziyin skyrocketing. They felt that Rong Ziyin was incredibly wise, guiding them toward a bright future with just a few words.

Their eyes lit up with excitement as they looked at Rong Ziyin, and the cold monetary transaction now felt much warmer. Even the little cartoon figures in their thoughts seemed to be kneeling down and calling Rong Ziyin “daddy.”

Rong Ziyin couldn’t help but chuckle at this, but since it was work time, he couldn’t chat for too long. After giving his advice, he urged the couple to head back. It was almost noon, and their small diner still needed to open for business.

Their admiration for Rong Ziyin had now reached a high of four thousand points. So, with just a little nudge, the couple happily said their goodbyes and left. They weren’t too worried that Rong Ziyin hadn’t set a specific time for the next delivery of salted eggs and fish.

Rong Ziyin had given them a new perspective: limit the quantity and create a sense of scarcity. Right now, people were eager to try something new, so by the time the next batch of salted eggs was ready, they could build anticipation. They remembered that a student majoring in economics once referred to this as “hunger marketing.”

“Ah! Dr. Rong really knows his stuff—he has so many good ideas!”

The couple walked away excitedly, providing Rong Ziyin with several hundred points of admiration, quickly reaching five thousand and hitting the threshold for a recruitable follower.

But once again, Rong Ziyin chose to decline.

The system was disheartened: “Host, don’t you want to be a ruler and conquer the world?”

Rong Ziyin was speechless: “This is a society governed by law. I don’t want to call myself a ‘ruler.'”

The system: “…”

After ending the mental conversation with the system, Rong Ziyin got back to work. The work at the village’s livestock station wasn’t light, and it was quite varied. Whether it was minor issues with villagers’ pigs, sheep, chickens, or ducks, or the quarterly immunizations, there was always something to do.

Just after taking a short break, someone came looking for him.

Rong Ziyin glanced out the window and saw the person’s unfriendly expression. He wasn’t surprised.

This person was well-known in the village as a troublemaker—a petty thief who often stole chickens and small items. He wandered around the county and, at nearly thirty years old, still didn’t have a proper job. In short, he survived by stealing bike batteries.

Rong Ziyin recognized him partly because of a recent incident where the village veterinarian Wang Dazhuang had been reprimanded over the duck issue.

In villages where people are often related, Wang Dazhuang and this troublemaker were cousins. After getting into trouble with Rong Ziyin, Wang Dazhuang didn’t want to confront him directly, so he pushed his dim-witted cousin forward to stir up trouble.

Despite Rong Ziyin’s difficult past, his good grades always made him the “other people’s child” that troublemakers like this one had long despised.

In his mind, they were both village kids. What right did Rong Ziyin, who could barely afford food, have to act superior? Even if he had connections, he was now back in the village with his tail between his legs.

After drinking a bit and hearing about his cousin’s misfortune, the troublemaker didn’t need much encouragement. Fueled by alcohol and a sense of righteousness, he decided to help his cousin get back at Rong Ziyin.

But Rong Ziyin was always cautious, making it difficult for them to find any faults. After brainstorming for days, they finally came up with a plan to teach Rong Ziyin a lesson.

So the troublemaker strolled over to Rong Ziyin’s place with a duck in hand, thinking he was something special. He swaggered in and tossed the duck at Rong Ziyin’s feet.

“Hey, what kind of vet are you? The whole village is getting disinfected, and you skip my place. Are you looking down on me?”

Rong Ziyin didn’t get angry. He just looked down at the duck by his feet.

The duck had clearly been squeezed tightly on its way here, so it was more out of breath than in, yet it seemed full of energy. The thoughts above its head read, “Give me a lever, and I can move the world!”

A normal duck wouldn’t be like this. Rong Ziyin immediately suspected there was a trick involved.

Sure enough, the troublemaker said, “Give it a vaccination. I just got it.”

Seeing that Rong Ziyin didn’t move immediately, the troublemaker pressed him, “I’ve got things to do. Hurry up and get it done.”

The more he rushed, the calmer Rong Ziyin became. Instead of immediately vaccinating the duck as the troublemaker had imagined, he took out other tools as if he were preparing to run some detailed tests.

Different villages raise different types of ducks. In Rong Ziyin’s village, the main breed was the Beijing duck.

But the troublemaker’s duck, though still young, was clearly a Muscovy duck.

Only a few nearby villages raised Muscovy ducks, with the closest being Xiaowang Village. But Xiaowang Village was currently undergoing testing for duck tuberculosis, and this guy showed up with a Muscovy duck.

Rong Ziyin immediately sensed something was off.

At that moment, the system also alerted him: Trouble Value from Li Tiezhu the Scoundrel +200.

Simultaneously, the skill “Thunderstrike: This Power Shakes the Heavens” activated.

Suddenly, a few ominous, foggy black spots appeared on the duck’s body. Observing their location, Rong Ziyin became more convinced that this duck wasn’t just sick; it might have other issues too.

But he needed to run tests to be sure. As for why this sick duck seemed so lively, it was likely due to steroids.

Steroids might not cure the disease, but they could certainly boost the animal’s energy.

Rong Ziyin quickly understood their scheme. There are many requirements for vaccinating poultry. If something isn’t done correctly, the vaccine can hasten death. This duck was from Xiaowang Village, and if it was already sick, the troublemaker’s insistence on rushing things was probably a setup to cause trouble later.

The system was appalled: “This is so despicable! Host, what are you going to do?”

Rong Ziyin thought for a moment and calmly said to the troublemaker, “We can vaccinate the duck, but you’ll have to pay first. With the tests and the vaccination, the total comes to 1,700 yuan.”

“No credit cards or transfers, cash only.”

🍉🫐🍇🍒🥝