Chapter 594 - 588_1
After lunch, Zhao Erhu hurried to the city. He did not return until dusk, looking quite upset—likely he had discovered some troubling news, or perhaps the fruit merchant had deceived him in some way. A faint anger still lingered on Zhao Erhu’s face, which eased a bit only after he caught sight of Lin Yue.
"What happened? From the look of you, I gather the news isn’t good. Did that fruit merchant play some tricks?" Lin Yue asked with a smile, setting aside her embroidery work.
"It’s outrageous! That fruit merchant is utterly unscrupulous. I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t inquired. There’s something wrong with those fruit trees. The buyer mainly wanted orange trees, and the other fruit trees were just an afterthought. We sought them because our local orange trees don’t thrive well, yielding fruits that lack moisture and aren’t sweet enough. That’s why we had the fruit merchant ship them from afar.
Who would have thought that, aside from a few genuine honey orange trees, the rest he shipped were some other type feigning as such. Though they look similar, they’re definitely not real honey orange trees.
The buyer also happened to have an experienced old orchard worker with him who noticed the issue. Naturally, he was unwilling to complete the purchase as agreed. Had it been someone else, they might not have recognized the deception. If I hadn’t investigated thoroughly, I would’ve been swindled by that thief!"
In his outrage, Zhao Erhu slammed his hand on the table, causing Lin Yue to shake her head and guide him to take a seat. "You shouldn’t use so much force. Does your hand hurt? I suspected that fruit merchant might be problematic, and now that we’ve found issues, it’s actually a good thing. Why get so angry and smack the table so hard? The table may be sturdy enough not to break, but what about your hand? I thought you were used to dealing with things calmly after all your time traveling for business. Why can’t you keep your composure now?"
Lin Yue was actually puzzled by Zhao Erhu’s temper. He was always good at hiding his emotions, even after dealing with business affairs. Unless he chose to show it, sometimes she couldn’t even tell what he was thinking. What was making him so agitated today?
Zhao Erhu wasn’t usually the type to lose his cool. He pulled his little wife onto his lap. "You don’t know, that scoundrel didn’t know about it himself; it was the Wei Family’s doing. They passed the word about our need for fruit trees. I suppose that the old Wei patriarch still holds a grudge for past grievances and has been looking for a chance to make us suffer a loss.
That old Wei patriarch is truly a narrow-minded and petty person! It started with his plot against us, and we didn’t retaliate. Yet, he’s still biting down hard. I’m fine when I’m at home, but if I’m away, and you’re in charge, and the old Wei patriarch starts scheming again, using his dirty tactics in secret, how can I be at ease?"