Exiting the Market and Demanding Compensation

"Wu Ya, are you alright?"

Just as Wu Ya was about to continue, Chai Yanfen hurried over in a panic.

After Wu Ya left, she had also followed him out of the market management office. Along the way, however, she caught wind of the rumors that the apparel merchants were gathering to cause trouble.

Filled with worry, Chai Yanfen rushed to follow the crowd and chased after them.

As a result, she arrived just in time to witness the clamorous scene where everyone was aggressively questioning Wu Ya.

In her desperation, she pushed through the crowd and planted herself directly in front of Wu Ya, shielding him firmly behind her back!

"The stall is mine, and the business is mine! This has nothing to do with Wu Ya! If you want to settle accounts, come and deal with me!"

She struck a posture of doing everything in her power to protect Wu Ya.

You have to be kidding.

They had gathered on their own accord even before anyone could summon them. Amidst such high-strung emotions, anything could happen. Once things spiraled out of control, Wu Ya would be in danger.

Therefore.

Forget about negotiations, forget about business, and forget about forcing her out of the market. None of that mattered anymore!

The most important thing in the world was Wu Ya's safety!

Looking at the agitated Chai Yanfen before him, another wave of warmth washed over Wu Ya's heart.

"Sister Chai, it's fine. I am having a discussion with them, not a confrontation."

With that, Wu Ya gently pulled Chai Yanfen aside. Amidst her gaze filled with confusion and incomprehension, he continued, "Isn't your core demand right now that Sister Chai withdraw from the market to free up living space for all of you? Very well! I promise you on her behalf—she will withdraw from the market!"

Withdraw from the market?

Swish—

The entire venue fell dead silent once again!

Everyone stared with wide-open eyes, looking at Wu Ya in sheer disbelief.

Including Chai Yanfen.

Has this kid lost his mind?

Or perhaps, he was just a coward all along, acting tough earlier only to stand up for Chai Yanfen, but folding immediately the moment he faced such a massive crowd?

Panicked on the inside, he had simply chosen to surrender preemptively?

Yes, that must be it!

Otherwise, why would he disarm and surrender before any real discussion had even taken place?

"Wu Ya, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to cut off Sister's only means of survival?"

Sister Chai could no longer hold back.

The reason she trusted Wu Ya was because his talent for business was terrifyingly strong. Furthermore, it was through their joint efforts that the sales scale of the school uniforms had reached its current level. Because of this, they had forged a bond surpassing that of biological siblings.

That was the exact reason she had told Section Chief Fan and the others earlier that Wu Ya had full authority to make decisions regarding her stall.

However.

She never, in her wildest dreams, expected this.

Before negotiations had even begun, he casually promised that they would withdraw from the market!

Even if you have the authority to make decisions, shouldn't you make decisions that benefit your own side?

Withdraw!

That meant she would have nothing to do from this day forward!

Without a source of income, how was she supposed to survive?

Wasn't this driving her straight into a dead end?!

"Wu Ya, stop running your mouth here! Do you really think Chai Yanfen's stall is yours to give away? She is standing right here, and her expression clearly shows she does not agree!"

Someone noticed the look on Chai Yanfen's face and immediately stepped forward to refute Wu Ya.

Useless yet fond of making trouble. Speaking nonsense and recklessly making decisions on behalf of Chai Yanfen.

You're just a wet-behind-the-ears kid, how can you be so brazen?

Do you think you have the right to make decisions about someone else's stall that pulls in thousands a day?

Are you joking!

And withdrawing from the market?

That was equivalent to directly severing Chai Yanfen's financial lifeline!

Would she stand for that?

Nobody in their right mind would ever agree to that!

"Exactly! At such a young age, not only are you vicious-minded, but you are also completely out of touch with reality! Spouting nonsense like this, are you trying to insult our intelligence? What haven't the people here experienced, and what kind of characters haven't we seen? Do you really think a little brat like you can fool us? This is utterly preposterous!"

This little bastard.

He was clearly just trying to fool people. He was talking gibberish simply to defuse the situation.

Withdraw from the market.

Make Chai Yanfen just give up a stall that brings in thousands a day, just like that?

If Chai Yanfen doesn't take a knife and hack you to pieces, she's showing you mercy!

Though leaving you crippled was probably a given!

After all, you were smashing people's rice bowls. You were cutting off their source of livelihood!

Fortunately, Chai Yanfen herself had arrived in time. Otherwise, if these words had left his mouth alone, this crowd would certainly have responded. With a bit of instigation, they could have quickly forced a fait accompli!

At that time, do you think Chai Yanfen wouldn't fight this kid to the death?

As if that were possible!

A wave of skepticism mixed with fierce curses poured down like an overwhelming flood at that very moment, threatening to completely submerge Wu Ya and drown him in it.

Yet.

"Hehe, Sister Chai, trust me."

Faced with the condemnation of the crowd, Wu Ya not only showed zero fear, but instead let out a calm laugh, maintaining a steady and composed demeanor.

Trust me.

At this moment, these two words once again demonstrated immense power, instantly calming Chai Yanfen, whose mind had been in complete chaos.

Could it be...

Does this kid really have some unexpected trick up his sleeve?

And this so-called withdrawal might just be a strategic retreat?

If so, I mustn't disturb him!

Let him play his hand normally; who knows, there might even be an unexpected pleasant surprise waiting for us!

Didn't he say back in the management office that his idea could balance all three parties? And that it would be extremely advantageous for her as well?

Since that was the case, why doubt him?

Wu Ya's mind was the sharpest she had ever seen.

At eighteen, he already owned his own factory.

Would someone like that be the type to act on a sudden impulse and do something reckless?

Certainly not!

On the contrary, it was herself.

Consumed by her concern for her own profits, she had actually allowed doubt to creep into her long-standing trust in Wu Ya!

She felt truly ashamed.

"Alright! Sister trusts you!"

Having figured out the crux of the matter, Chai Yanfen looked at Wu Ya and said, her gaze shifting from panic to unwavering firmness.

Abruptly, she spun around to face the assembled merchants.

"From this moment on, Wu Ya has full authority over my stall! Whatever he promises everyone, I, Chai Yanfen, will execute!"

She was actually handing her stall over to Wu Ya to dispose of as he pleased?

The venue quieted down once again.

Quiet to an eerie degree! You could hear a pin drop!

Because no one could believe that any of this was real!

This was a stall that pulled in thousands a day!

Thousands a day—do you know what that concept means?

That's the income of an entire household for a whole year! Furthermore, that's for an upper-middle-class family!

She was just going to give it up and withdraw with a single, simple sentence?

Shouldn't she be fighting tooth and nail, throwing a tantrum and resisting everyone? And only when pushed to absolute desperation, under the mediation of the market management, would both sides make mutual concessions?

Why was she unilaterally withdrawing so directly?

How could it be so... surreal?

"Chai Yanfen, are you serious? Are you really going to do whatever Wu Ya says?"

After a long silence, someone finally voiced the question.

Yet even this voice was as soft as a mosquito's hum, because right up to this moment, they still dared not believe it.

Had something gone wrong with their ears?

Giving up a stall with thousands in daily revenue to withdraw from a booming market? What were they thinking?!

"That's right, Chai Yanfen! Once you make this promise, you absolutely cannot go back on your word!"

Immediately, someone applied psychological pressure.

Withdrawing a stall generating thousands a day like this—if divided among them, it would amount to dozens of yuan per household every single day!

Tens of yuan a day meant a monthly income of around a thousand. That sum was enough to make their hearts race!

"Right! A promise is a promise! Don't come crying back to us and tangling us up in this if you regret it later. We're sorry, but we won't give you the chance!"

"Exactly! To be safe, we definitely need to sign a withdrawal agreement under the supervision of the market management department, stating that once you withdraw, you can never return here under any circumstances!"

"That's right! For safety's sake, an agreement is a must!"

Following close behind, more and more people chimed in. Naturally, their tactics grew increasingly sophisticated.

Sign an agreement, just in case Chai Yanfen gets fooled by this foolish kid and regrets it later. At that time, crying to the heavens wouldn't save her because there would be a binding contract!

"When I, Chai Yanfen, say something, every word counts! If you still don't believe me, let me reiterate! From now on, my stall is handed over entirely to my younger brother Wu Ya to handle. I have zero regrets and am ready to sign any agreement you want!"

Faced with the various ways the crowd tried to goad her, Chai Yanfen simply stepped forward and answered everyone's lingering doubts with a ringing, powerful voice.

While everyone else felt completely reassured and exceptionally thrilled about it, Wu Ya was practically brought to the verge of tears.

It required an immense amount of trust to utter such a resolute statement!

After all, Sister Chai only had this one business venture; it was the livelihood of her entire family! One misstep, and they would be left destitute.

Yet, despite all that, she resolutely chose to trust him! Trusting that he wouldn't harm her, let alone screw her over!

That trust alone was priceless and precious beyond measure! It was enough to make Wu Ya feel he had no regrets in this lifetime!

"Hehe, of course an agreement needs to be signed! As for the stall, you've all heard it—I have full authority over it. However..."

Wu Ya steadied his emotions and spoke up once again. But halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped!

Leaving them hanging in suspense.

Withdraw?

Very well. But there had to be conditions, right?

Just walk away empty-handed?

You all thought only a fool would do something like that! Let alone someone like Wu Ya.

Everyone's eyes became completely focused on him.

Yet, after waiting for a long time, Wu Ya still wore an expression of hesitation, remaining completely silent.

He kept his head down, staring at the ground, his brows furrowed into a tight knot.

Finally, someone couldn't hold back any longer.

"Wu Ya, just spit it out clearly. Do you have some additional conditions?"

As soon as these words were spoken, they woke everyone from their excited trance.

"That's right, if you have any conditions, just lay them out so we can discuss them."

"Stop dawdling and beating around the bush. As long as the conditions are within our acceptable range, we can consider them on a case-by-case basis!"

"Indeed, if you're suffering losses, we can offer appropriate compensation!"

People quickly chimed in to express their views.

They weren't fools. Just now, in their excessive excitement, they had overlooked the other party's perspective. After all, why would anyone easily withdraw from a booming stall that brought in thousands a day and hand over such a massive mountain of profit for them to divide?

Are you kidding me!

He wasn't running a charity!

Even if they were forced into a corner and chose to sever ties with them, he would certainly not wrap things up so casually.

As for conditions...

In their minds, it undoubtedly meant wanting some compensation for losses!

No big deal. Once she pulled out, every household's daily income would increase by dozens of yuan. Giving a bit of compensation was nothing more than a drizzle!

Besides, didn't they just say it had to be within their acceptable range and subject to consideration?

If you dare to make outrageous demands, we'll play hardball! After all, you were the one who brought up withdrawing in the first place, and we've already agreed to compensate you. If you go back on your word now, there's no way in hell!

Therefore, people spoke in casual tones, uttering decisive words. Compared to long-term profits, paying a small amount of compensation they could stomach was still a remarkably good deal!

"Wu Ya, since we've already decided to withdraw, asking for any compensation is meaningless. I think we should just let it go."

Chai Yanfen, however, didn't even have the heart to ask for compensation.

She knew these people too well. Even if they offered compensation, it wouldn't amount to much. In fact, they probably wouldn't even be able to scrape together five hundred yuan!

Their idea of an acceptable range was measured in mere pennies. So arguing with them over this wasn't even worth getting angry over.

Yet.

"Hehe, of course I have conditions! But my condition is this: Sister Chai will withdraw from the market, but you must all sell her apparel! In other words, she will act as the wholesaler, and you will be the retailers!"

She acts as the wholesaler, and you act as the retailers!

Wu Ya's words froze the excitement on everyone's faces in an instant!

A sinking sensation of having fallen into a trap crept into everyone's hearts.

What withdrawal from the market?

It was nothing more than a strategic retreat!

What compensation demands?

That was entirely their own wishful thinking!

The kid's true goal was to leave the stage without letting the tea go cold! After leaving this place, he was directly upgrading retail into wholesale!

Fifty apparel merchants.

All of them sourcing their inventory exclusively from Chai Yanfen?!

Just how terrifyingly huge would her sales volume reach then?!

This Wu Ya looked so tender and youthful, but how could his methods be so ruthlessly seasoned?

Only now did the people truly see Wu Ya's true colors, and finally realized the wisdom in the saying "never judge a book by its cover."

They finally understood why Chai Yanfen had trusted him so completely to hand over the stall.

So she had known all along that this kid would never let her suffer a loss!

"Hehehe..."

Standing to the side, Chai Yanfen finally broke into a smile.

As expected.

Trusting Wu Ya was the right choice after all!

Wholesale.

She originally had that branch of business, but it was previously limited to the surrounding areas. As for the local market...

Why hadn't she thought of it herself?

This way, not only would she be spared the exhaustion of enduring the wind and the sun, but she would also free up a massive amount of time to explore other markets.

Once everything was streamlined, she could just sit at home every day, managing shipments and simply waiting for the money to roll into her account!

How carefree.

She had lived for decades, and only now did she see the dawn of a truly carefree life!

And all of this was thanks to meeting Wu Ya.

This guy really was her lucky star!

At this moment, Chai Yanfen looked at Wu Ya with eyes full of doting affection. Why hadn't she noticed before that this kid looked pleasing in literally every single way?