Volume One, Chapter Eight: Dead Trash, Get Out of the Farmers' Market!

Upon hearing this, the old man’s bent legs straightened instantly.

For someone of his stature, health and peace of mind were paramount; money was secondary.

The hawk-nosed merchant had shouted those words at the top of his lungs, causing many nearby to truly hear him.

In an instant, nearly a hundred vendors and passersby turned their attention toward Lin Xiaoxu and the hawk-nosed merchant.

Lin Xiaoxu’s anger flared immediately.

“Which eye of yours saw me spraying pesticides or growth enhancers on my guavas? You can’t grow premium fruit yourself, so you spread lies to slander me? And look at your own outfit—you’re nothing but a bumpkin from the village. How can you be any nobler than me?”

The hawk-nosed man had thought Lin Xiaoxu, barely twenty-two or twenty-three, with his youthful and honest-looking face, would be shy and easy to bully.

He hadn’t expected him to be such a fiery old hand, quick to ignite at a spark.

Emboldened, the hawk-nosed man stood up and pointed at Lin Xiaoxu’s guavas as he boomed like a bell.

“I’m sure no one here is eating guavas for the first time. Have you ever seen a guava bigger than half a cantaloupe?”

His rhetorical question elicited unanimous shaking of heads from the crowd, who had unknowingly been drawn into his narrative.

“My family has been growing fruit for generations. I can say with absolute certainty that his guavas are sprayed with pesticides and growth enhancers—exceeding safe limits by dozens of times! People like him have no morals, willing to risk the lives of those who eat his fruit just to earn a few extra bucks. Eating guavas laden with such dangerous levels of chemicals can severely damage the nervous system, especially in children with weak immunity—it could even cause dementia! I’m just a powerless farmer, unable to confront such a heartless man. So all I can do is call him a bumpkin to vent my anger!”

He wiped a tear from his eyes with his sleeve, perfectly concluding his self-styled scene of a humble man standing up for the people.

“Wow, this young man looks quite handsome, but he actually does such despicable things,” someone murmured.

“Exactly! I was about to buy a few from him, but now I won’t even touch them—and I curse his entire lineage!”

“The pure, honest image of farmers has been ruined by people like him.”

“Trash! Get out of the market!”

The hawk-nosed man basked in the surrounding curses hurled at Lin Xiaoxu, a gleam of satisfaction in his eyes, though his face remained the picture of innocence.

This year alone, he had driven away more than a dozen threatening bumpkins—he was battle-hardened!

Lin Xiaoxu hadn’t sprayed any pesticides or growth enhancers on his guavas. The hawk-nosed man was slandering and defaming him without cause.

Suppressing the fury burning in his chest, Lin Xiaoxu sneered at the hawk-nosed man.

“You’re afraid my top-grade wild guavas will steal your business, and you’re scared I’ll expose your guavas for being heavily sprayed with pesticides and growth enhancers. So you shout like a thief crying ‘Stop thief!’ and throw dirt on me to kill two birds with one stone!”

“You’re slandering me!” the hawk-nosed man replied coolly, unfazed.

The onlookers watched the exchange with great interest.

No one noticed the red Mercedes pulling up at the roadside.

The window lowered, revealing a delicate and refined woman’s face.

“I wouldn’t slander without proof, because I have evidence that your guavas are indeed severely contaminated with pesticides and growth enhancers,” Lin Xiaoxu declared, then grabbed two of his guavas and dashed away.

When Lin Xiaoxu claimed to have proof that his own guavas were heavily contaminated, the hawk-nosed man’s heart dropped, sweat breaking out on his back.

His guavas were indeed sprayed with dangerously excessive pesticides and enhancers.

That was why they were so round, large, glossy, and hit the market more than a month early.

If he were caught red-handed in front of a hundred people, it would be almost impossible for him to continue selling fruit at the market.

Just as worry crept into his mind, Lin Xiaoxu suddenly turned and ran.

He secretly exhaled in relief, wiped away his gloom, and a sly smile curled his lips.

He raised his voice again.

“See? Everyone saw it! This bumpkin thief is guilty…”

But before he could finish, Lin Xiaoxu, like a flash of lightning, appeared right in front of him.

The hawk-nosed man’s eyes went wide with fear; his heart almost jumped out of his chest.

“Oh? PH test strips,” the old man immediately spotted the PH test strips in Lin Xiaoxu’s hand.

“Sharp eyes, sir!” Lin Xiaoxu said.

After acquiring his inheritance, Lin Xiaoxu’s senses had become extraordinary—he could tell by scent alone that the pesticides and enhancers in the hawk-nosed man’s guavas were dangerously excessive.

But he couldn’t be reckless.

Only by presenting undeniable evidence could he convince the crowd and the hawk-nosed man himself.

So Lin Xiaoxu took his two guavas to a nearby shop and exchanged them for a stack of PH test strips, paper bowls, and a bottle of mineral water.

“Everyone, watch closely. I have unopened PH test strips, paper bowls, and mineral water here.”

Lin Xiaoxu had once been admitted to a prestigious medical university.

He knew that the quickest way to test for pesticide contamination in fruits and vegetables was with PH test strips.

“PH test strips are one of the effective quick methods to detect pesticide overuse in produce!”

He unsealed the items on the spot.

Scraping a small piece from his guavas and the hawk-nosed man’s guavas with his fingernail, he placed each in a paper bowl, soaked them briefly in mineral water, then tested with the strips.

The hawk-nosed man had never heard of PH test strips before.

Seeing Lin Xiaoxu’s practiced movements, he panicked and lunged forward, trying to knock over the bowls.

But the old man stopped him.

Strangely, though he looked to be in his sixties, the old man’s wrist strength was formidable.

Even the hawk-nosed man, hardened by years of farm work, was outmatched.

“The PH value color chart for my guavas is normal, but his is deep purple, indicating severe pesticide overuse!”

Lin Xiaoxu held up two color charts, each attached to a PH test strip, and showed them to the gathered crowd.