Chapter 6

After everything that had happened, many villagers found it hard to sleep that night. Some were over the moon, others nursing broken hearts. But Josh just kept his head down and worked. He pulled an all-nighter building a portable grill that was not too big but would fit on his cart. As Josh wheeled the cart away the next morning, Oliver watched him go. Clenching his teeth, he turned to Ava and said, "I'm going to borrow some money to let Josh try his luck somewhere else! He's not stupid and is hardworking. He's bound to make it somewhere!" Ava looked at him. She knew that being successful was not important anymore. More importantly, they had to scrape together enough cash to give their son a fresh start far from here. "I'm coming with you!" As the couple headed out to hit up everyone they knew for loans, Josh made his way to the butcher's stall in town. "Are you back for more meat, kid? How's that sandwich business treating you?" The butcher was a mountain of a man with a tough face, but his voice was friendly enough. "Not great." Stone-faced, Josh said, "I'm here for my money back." "Money back? What for?" the butcher asked in confusion. "Yesterday, while I was selling sandwiches, Gary started spreading rumors that your meat came from diseased pigs. He said he saw you dealing with shady meat traders himself. "It got the factory workers so riled up they trashed my stand and demanded all their money back. So tell me—how are we gonna settle this?" "What kind of bullshit is that?" The butcher's friendly face turned murderous in a heartbeat. As his meaty face quivered with rage, he grabbed his cleaver and stormed out from behind the counter. "Which son of a bitch said that? Take me to him right now! If he can't back up his mouth, I'll chop his evil heart out and feed it to the pigs!" "What good's killing him gonna do? The factory workers all heard it, and the rumors would only spread further. How many people are you going to kill then? If you've got nothing to hide, bring your meat and come with me. Let people see the truth with their own eyes. "Like they say, seeing is believing. I know you're not selling bad meat, but people these days believe anything they hear. Once this spreads through the town, who would dare buy meat from you?" The butcher was still fuming, but the words sank in. Sure, he could kill the rumor-spreader, but that wouldn't prove anything. It would just land him in prison. "Alright, wait here!" After saying that, the butcher took off running toward his house. Soon, Josh's jaw dropped as the man came back with a whole pig on a cart. Behind him came a crew of guys carrying pots and firewood. "What's all this?" The butcher's face was grim as he said, "You're right. People won't believe what they can't see. We're going to slaughter this pig right there. After that, if anyone still doesn't trust us, they're just blind!" Josh was over the moon. He had actually just been trying to sweet-talk the butcher into fronting him some meat. He had planned to pay the butcher back after sales. Instead, the butcher had gotten so worked up about the diseased meat rumor that he was hauling out a whole pig. In modern times, nobody would pull something this dramatic. But it was pretty normal back then. So, their little parade headed toward the distillery. Josh and his lighter cart arrived first. Gary spotted him and started jeering, "Well, well, if it isn't the little scammer selling diseased pork! What's wrong, still trying to con people?" Josh fixed him with an icy stare and said, "You know what they say about running your mouth. Better watch it before someone shuts it for you." "Ooh, trying to scare me, kid? You sell rotten meat, and now you're making threats? Come on, tough guy, I'm right here. Touch me and see what happens, you little shit!" Gary was cocky; he wasn't taking Josh seriously at all. First off, he was a grown man, so Josh was just some kid to him. Second, spreading rumors was free, and nobody bothered fact-checking. He figured there was no way he would lose. If it came to blows, people would probably take his side anyway. Josh caught the butcher's crew approaching from the corner of his eye. He raised his voice and put on an angry face. He demanded, "Who are you calling a diseased meat seller? I was just at that stall this morning, and they said you're talking bullshit!" "I'm talking bullshit?" Gary had spotted the butcher's group too but hadn't connected them to Josh. He just sneered and said, "I saw those diseased meat dealers making their delivery with my own eyes! Who's bullshitting now? "You people should be struck by lightning, all of you! That's for selling your souls for dirty money and daring to sell diseased pork. Don't you fear karma at all?" Before Josh could reply, there was a thunderous crash behind them. The butcher had slammed his cart down. He and his crew were charging straight at Gary. "Karma? I'll show you what karma is like, you lying piece of shit! How dare you spread rumors about me selling diseased pork?" The butcher grabbed Gary by his collar and belt, hoisting him up like a rag doll. He then slammed Gary right onto his own lunch box stand. Gary was still processing what was happening while howling in pain. He yelled, "Who the hell are you people? Why are you beating me?" "I'm the fucking pork seller! That's why! Get him, boys!" At the butcher's command, his brawny crew piled on and started beating Gary up. Gary's head was spinning from the beating when it finally clicked. He was face to face with the very people he had slandered. He started begging through tears, claiming he never said anything about them selling diseased pork. That just made them hit harder. He wasn't even man enough to own up his own lies. That deserved an extra beating! Josh finally stepped in when he thought they might actually kill the guy. "Hold up! If you kill him, you're all going to jail. I know you guys aren't scared of that, but there's no point doing time over trash like him. Besides, we came here to clear things up and show the factory workers what quality meat really looks like." "Alright, we'll do it your way!" The butcher yanked Gary, who was now beaten to a pulp, off the ground. He snarled in his face and said, "You piece of shit aren't going anywhere. When the factory workers come out, you're gonna tell them exactly how you made up those lies. Miss one word, and I'll twist your head clean off!" "I-I'll tell them… I'll tell them everything…" Gary was completely mortified from the beating and didn't dare refuse. Fights were common back then. Even if cops showed up, they usually just mediated things. And even if Gary did manage to send them to jail, what if they came back for revenge? There were plenty of stories about entire families getting killed in revenge attacks. Gary was fine bullying young guys like Josh. But he wouldn't dare to do anything when faced with the fierce-looking butcher. This was just a classic case of picking on the weak and fearing the strong.