"!!!"
When Gu Jinchen said this, not only did Zhu Auntie freeze, but everyone else present was also stunned.
"On what grounds?!"
The next moment, Zhu Auntie's wailing voice rang out, and she seemed quite indignant.
"On what grounds? I think Zhu Auntie should know very well herself," Gu Jinchen said coldly, having no intention to engage with her further, and turned to help weigh the fruit for the people behind.
However, Zhu Auntie was relentless. Taking advantage of her seniority, she blocked Gu Jinchen's path.
"What do I know? The fruits looked perfectly fine. Why wouldn't you accept them?"
"...Could it be because I said a few extra words earlier, so you're doing this on purpose?"
Although Gu Jinchen's words made Zhu Auntie feel a bit guilty for a moment, when she looked down at the bag of fruits that appeared perfectly normal, her confidence returned.
"Auntie Zhu, you know best whether these fruits are good or not. Or do you need us to pour them out and let everyone take a closer look? We don't mind," Luo Ge said, almost laughing. She truly didn't understand why this person was always so shameless.
She had heard about Uncle Zhu's character, but he didn't seem to be like this.
While the fruits on the surface of the bag looked fine, if one paid close attention, a rotten smell could be detected, and some fruit juice could also be seen staining the bag.
It was clear that she had placed the good fruits on top and hid the rotten ones underneath, attempting to deceive them and make more money.
In the village, many shared the same surname, so they addressed these "aunties" by using a character from their husbands' names or their own surnames to distinguish them.
Zhu Auntie was called that based on her husband's name, Wang Erzhu, with people referring to him as Uncle Zhu.
Hearing Luo Ge's words, Aunt Zhang also immediately realized why this couple refused to accept Zhu Auntie's fruits.
Without saying another word, she took Zhu Auntie's fruit bag and dumped it onto the ground.
First, some good fruits fell out, and then immediately after, a pile of rotten fruits that had been discarded in the mountains followed.
"Auntie Zhu, how deceitful you are! To actually try to deceive people with rotten fruits like this, you're just trying to cheat them out of their money!"
Luo Ge was momentarily stunned, not expecting Aunt Zhang to be so straightforward, doing exactly what she had intended to do. She could only silently applaud her and add, "I like it!"
"I... This wasn't me, it was Gu Jinchen who mixed them in. His family just doesn't want to accept my fruits and is bullying this old lady."
Seeing Aunt Zhang's actions, Zhu Auntie was startled and looked around anxiously, only to receive a barrage of disdainful looks.
Those stares made her face burn intensely, and she stubbornly refused to admit her wrongdoing, resorting to making up excuses.
"........." The crowd was speechless.
"........." They certainly weren't blind.
Luo Ge felt like she had paid tribute to the god of speechlessness that day, utterly dumbfounded.
"Auntie, your ability to make up excuses is truly impressive. My husband just took these fruits from your hands and gave them back to you. When did he have the chance to mix them up?"
"There are so many people in the courtyard, do you think everyone is blind?"
"From the moment you entered the courtyard until now, my husband has only glanced at the fruits for a split second. And you're trying to blame us for this?"
"Moreover, my husband is in the village all day long, and everyone can see him. Where would he find so many rotten fruits to mix in?"
"There's no grudge between our two families, what purpose would we have to harm you?"
"Initially, my husband didn't say anything out of consideration for being fellow villagers and wanted to give you some face. But with your relentless excuses and accusations, how can we continue to give you any face?"
Luo Ge's words one by one made Zhu Auntie's face burn even more intensely.
Gu Jinchen squeezed Luo Ge's hand, feeling warmth in his heart as his wife defended him, but also worried she might get too agitated.
"Don't be angry, I'm not offended," he whispered in her ear softly.
Luo Ge shrugged her shoulders, tickled by his breath, and looked at him.
"Don't be silly," she muttered back, eliciting a low chuckle from Gu Jinchen. Hearing his pleasant voice almost made her anger dissipate.
The others didn't notice the interaction between the couple, as their attention was fixed on Zhu Auntie.
"That's right, Zhu Auntie, we all saw you carrying those fruits from start to finish, and Gu Jinchen only touched them for a moment before giving them back to you. We saw everything clearly."
"Don't try to blame others just because your bad intentions were exposed and you've lost face," Aunt Zhang also spoke up bluntly.
Her words earned her a fierce glare from Zhu Auntie, but she was not intimidated.
"Auntie Zhu, you're being quite dishonorable."
"The Gu family collects lychees to help everyone, and you're trying to deceive them like this and even slander them. That's really not right."
Seeing everyone's reactions, Zhu Auntie had completely lost face. Just as she was about to flee in embarrassment, someone suddenly spoke up.
"Perhaps Auntie Zhu just brought the wrong fruits by mistake. There's no need to say such things to her, after all, she is our elder," said Li Zhaodi, who had joined the crowd at some point, calmly.
Everyone fell silent once more, while Luo Ge narrowed her eyes, and Gu Jinchen's expression instantly darkened.
Even Uncle Sheng's Mother was stunned by her words and slapped her across the face.
Just as Zhu Auntie's eyes lit up at Li Zhaodi's words and was about to respond, Uncle Sheng's Mother spoke up.
"Are you blind? With those big eyes of yours, you can't see that she obviously did it on purpose?"
This second daughter-in-law's problem was getting worse and worse. Uncle Sheng's Mother also knew about the incident where Li Zhaodi had helped the Wang family stop Gu Jinchen and his family.
And now she was saying such nonsensical things again, constantly defending outsiders and bullying her own family members. Uncle Sheng's Mother couldn't hold back anymore.
Moreover, their family had also earned quite a bit of money at the Gu family's place picking fruits these past couple of days.
And it was clear that Zhu Auntie was in the wrong in this situation.
For this foolish woman to blindly defend her like that was essentially harming the Gu family.
Putting aside familial relationships, they had just earned money from the Gu family, and now she was trying to harm them, which was truly unacceptable!
This basic principle was still understood by Uncle Sheng's Mother.
Moreover, just yesterday they had used the money earned from the Gu family to buy meat to eat, and this foolish woman had certainly not refused any at that time.
"Even if it's an elder, relying on age to cheat and deceive people, that's also unacceptable! So shameless and brazen!" As she thought this, Uncle Sheng's Mother slapped Li Zhaodi again.
It seemed like she was disciplining her daughter-in-law, but her words were directed at Zhu Auntie.
From Zhu Auntie's perspective, it felt like the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were in cahoots, singing the same tune, making her feel even more embarrassed.
She glared fiercely at Li Zhaodi and Uncle Sheng's Mother before quickly grabbing her fruits and fleeing from the Gu family's courtyard.
Li Zhaodi held her slapped arm, watching Zhu Auntie glare at her as she ran away, and Luo Ge's seemingly mocking expression.
The feeling in her heart was truly miserable.
"Since everyone is here today, let us reaffirm this once more."
"Our family only accepts fresh, good fruits. If anyone tries to deceive us with rotten fruits like today, we will not accept them under any circumstances."
"If it happens again, please don't blame us for disregarding our ties as fellow villagers and refusing them outright."
"This is a small business, so we ask for your understanding. Everyone knows how much these fruits can be sold for outside, and our family has truly not taken any advantage of our fellow villagers."
"We have done our best, so please deal with us in good faith."
"We all have to make a living, no one should trouble anyone else."
"I am direct by nature, and my words may come across as blunt, but please don't take offense, my fellow villagers. If you find my words too harsh, we can stop doing business."
"Li Shopkeeper will bring us the fruit anyway, so it doesn't matter whether we accept it or not."
Luo Ge said this with a calm gaze at Li Zhaodi, then turned and went back to her work.
Her words were mainly aimed at those from the Wang family, as the conduct of the Gu clan was still quite heartwarming, with the exception of the meddlesome Li Zhaodi.
At any rate, she had spoken her mind and left it at that, regardless of whether others liked to hear it or not.
What she said was true – she only set up the stall to help out her clansmen. The costs were the same, so whether she accepted the fruit or not didn't matter.
If she didn't accept it, Li Shopkeeper could still provide her with enough supplies to make dried fruit.
She simply didn't want to go through the trouble of extra work, only to be labeled as disrespectful to her elders and uncaring towards her fellow villagers.
"How is that being harsh? I don't see any problem at all. Gu Jinchen's family is actually helping us by accepting the fruit, we should be grateful."
"Those who try to pass off rotten fruit are the ones with black hearts. Next time, we won't accept their fruit."
"Exactly, we're already getting a good deal, why should Luo Ge do something so thankless?"
Hearing Luo Ge's words, the Gu clansmen present didn't find anything wrong with them, and they all voiced their support for her.
The Wangs didn't dare utter a word, but they knew that Luo Ge wasn't wrong at all.
