Chapter 4

Josh had then sold out his 60 sandwiches in no time. Meanwhile, the usually bustling lunch box stand next door was having a dead day. Gary was fuming. How dare some kid show up and steal his customers? His eyes narrowed as he started running his mouth in a nasty tone, "Funny how some people love a bargain until it lands them in the hospital!" A worker in Josh's line turned around and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?" Gary banged his ladle against his pot to draw attention, then said, "Word is there's diseased pork going around town that's dirt cheap. These sleazy meat dealers are too chicken to sell it themselves, so they're getting kids to do their dirty work. "You wouldn't believe it—the meat's literally rotting and oozing pus. My cousin from out of town says people are getting hospitalized from this stuff. Think about it. How else could pork smell that good? They're probably throwing tobacco in there to mask the stink of disease." He never mentioned Josh's sandwiches by name, but everyone knew exactly what he was getting at. People could be quick to believe the worst. They would not bother checking if something was true and would just run with it. Gary's words caused instant chaos. People who had just bought sandwiches or were about to eat them threw them back on Josh's counter and demanded refunds. Josh had not expected Gary to make up such lies out of jealousy. He quickly explained, "I bought my pork from a legitimate shop. There's no diseased meat here. Don't believe his lies! What's wrong with you? Are you this desperate just because I'm doing good business? Have you no shame at your age?" Seeing his plan working, Gary felt satisfied. He said, "Who's lying here? I saw you sneaking around with those diseased meat dealers this morning and paying them off. How could that be a lie? "Everyone better watch out. One dollar might not seem like much, but if someone dies from this, money's the least of your worries!" He had gone from "I heard" to "I saw with my own eyes". His free lies worked like magic—the workers exploded. Everyone started cursing Josh, buyers or not. Some hotheads even flipped his cart over. Josh was shaking with rage. He knew some people could be evil, but this was a new low. The workers wouldn't listen to anything he said and wouldn't believe any explanation. Even the guys who had gotten free sandwiches earlier were now frantically trying to make themselves throw up. "So that's why he gave out free samples—it was diseased pork! And I called him generous!" "Generous, my ass! Starting young in the murder business, what kind of monster is he?" His pot got knocked over, the meat and bun trampled, and they even grabbed his money. If the distillery security guard had not rushed out to break things up, Josh, who was already being grabbed by his collar, would have gotten the beating of his life. After hearing what happened, even the security guard, Maximo Murphy, had a bad impression of Josh now. "Get the hell out of here and don't come back, you little punk!" Maximo cursed as he chased Josh away. Josh was grinding his teeth in fury. He could have made back his costs plus a decent profit today. Gary had ruined everything. Looking over, he saw Gary's smug face. He was even making taunting gestures at Josh. Any other time, Josh would have gone over and beaten him senseless. But with the crowd this riled up, he had to leave before things got worse. Gary grinned as he watched Josh slink away with his wrecked cart. "Did that little shit think he could steal my business? Know your place! "Come on, everyone! Fresh lunch boxes here! We're honest folks. We don't pull scams like some people!" Josh's knuckles went white on the cart handle as he heard Gary's calls. But he swallowed his rage. Sometimes he had to step back to move forward. These 20 days were crucial, so he couldn't let one setback mess up his plans. Of course, he would not let that lying vendor off the hook, either. Glancing back at the crowd now gathering around the lunch box stand, Josh's eyes went cold. Playing dirty, huh? Just wait. … When he got back home, Caesar was hanging around the Holts' door. Although Caesar was confident he would be able to marry Janice, he couldn't help lurking around to catch glimpses of his future pretty bride. More importantly, the whole village knew he was marrying Janice now. Just standing at their door made everyone look at him with envy. When he saw Josh return, Caesar couldn't resist mocking him. "Well, Josh is back! What happened to you? Looking like you crawled out of a mud pool. Did you get beaten up trying to rob someone? How much did you manage to steal? When are you going to get that 800 dollars?" Josh just looked at him silently. With his lips drawn tight, he tried to walk around Caesar. But Caesar wouldn't let up. He stepped in Josh's way and shoved him. "I'm talking to you! Have you gone deaf?" "Move!" Josh growled without looking up. "What if I don't?" Caesar taunted. Suddenly, he got an idea. He leaned in with a sleazy grin and said in a low voice, "I know you want to marry Janice too. How about you call bow before me, and I'll let you listen outside the window when the wedding night comes? She's so pretty, after all." Josh's head snapped up, and his bloodshot eyes turned murderous. "Touch Janice, and I'll slaughter your whole family!" His voice came out like ice, chilling to the bone. Even though Caesar was half a head taller, he broke into a cold sweat. He tried to say something tough back, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. "Get out of my way!" Caesar unconsciously stepped aside. When he realized he had been intimidated by someone shorter than him, his face darkened with shame. But meeting Josh's terrifying gaze, he gulped and didn't dare block him again. Just then, Janice hurried out of the house. "What's going on here?" Her sudden appearance broke the tension. Josh's face softened, and Caesar let out a breath. Caesar immediately pointed at Josh and yelled, "This guy is all covered in dirt! I was just trying to be nice and ask what happened, but he went off on me and cursed me!" Janice took in Josh's disheveled state too. Though she didn't know what he had been up to, seeing him like this crushed what little hope she had left. How could someone like this possibly earn 800 dollars in 20 days?