Chapter 4

Early the next morning, as the sky was just beginning to brighten, I once again pushed my cart to the old spot.

In front of my cart, I set up a small blackboard.

[Crispy French Fries, Free Today!]

There was another reason why Marcus and his gang had bullied me so much yesterday.

His cart also sold fries. He wanted to drive me away simply because he was afraid I'd steal his business.

If that's the case, I'll do exactly that.

As I expected, most of the students were drawn by the smell.

Soon, my cart was surrounded by people, while Marcus's prime spot was empty despite its good location.

I happened to look up and met his venomous glare.

Only Old Joe tugged at my sleeve, his face full of worry.

"You've really offended them now. Besides, aren't you losing money like this?"

I smiled at Old Joe, assuring him it was fine.

What did this bit of money matter?

The ones who should be worried might not be me...

Just then, Marcus came over, shouting loudly.

"Don't be fooled by his free sign, folks! His food is dirty. You'll get sick if you eat it!"

Marcus's shout drew more attention.

But before he could gloat, he was immediately contradicted by several students.

"Mister, don't lie!"

"We know whether these free fries are clean or not!"

"Yeah, that's right!"

Several students chimed in agreement.

Just as Marcus was at a loss for words, a parent-like figure emerged from the crowd.

"Kids, don't be fooled by bad people!"

"Yesterday, I saw with my own eyes, he pulled out a bunch of cockroaches from his fryer!"

Seeing yesterday's "witness", Marcus regained his confidence.

"That's right, lots of people saw the cockroaches in his fryer yesterday."

"Kids, if you want fries, go buy from the stall up front. It's guaranteed clean and safe!"

At this moment, my untimely chuckle rang out.

"If anyone's worried, you can check the video on my phone. I've recorded everything from peeling the potatoes to putting them in cold oil."

"So there's no need to worry about any hygiene issues."

Hearing this, the students' faces lit up with bright smiles.

Only Marcus still wore a gloomy expression, though a cold smile quickly curved his lips.

"Ouch!" A student in the crowd suddenly cried out and fell to the ground.

Marcus rushed over to help as if he'd seen his own son fall, asking with concern, "What's wrong, kid?"

The boy clutched his stomach, crying out in pain.

"I ate his fries and now my stomach hurts!"

The boy pointed at me while still holding his stomach.

The crowd was shocked by the boy's condition and started accusing me.

"See? I told you his food wasn't clean!"

"Heartless beast! Shame on you!"

"The kid's stomach is ruined. Let's see how you handle this."

While the crowd was in an uproar, I remained calm.

From my angle, I could see the boy's performance was quite amateur.

I smiled and walked towards the boy, noticing a flash of panic cross his face.

"As it happens, I used to study medicine. Let me take a look."

Without letting the boy struggle free, I quickly pinched the pressure point between his thumb and index finger.

Feeling the sudden pain, the boy let out a yelp and sprang to his feet.

"What's this? Not hurting anymore?" I asked coldly, my gaze fixed on Marcus's increasingly dark expression.

"You hurt the young master. You're gonna pay for this, kid," Marcus growled.

"If I let you keep your stall running, I'll change my name! Let's see how long you can keep giving out free food!"

After throwing out these threats, Marcus left with the boy.

As the crowd dispersed, Old Joe spoke to me earnestly.

"Young man, you'd better find a different spot tomorrow."

I guessed and asked, "Is this 'young master' Marcus mentioned the child of some big shot at the school?"

Old Joe sighed deeply and nodded at me.

But no matter how big a shot they were, so what?

I looked around at the row of storefronts near the school entrance.

It really was quite a prime location...