“Alright, I’ll pay. Just give me the meat. By the way, how much did you say it was for a couple of


    pounds?”


    The butcher hesitated, taken aback by Loraine’s level-headed response.


    He had expected a big scene, but she seemed moreposed than he had imagined.


    With a self-satisfied grin, he retorted, “The meat is two pounds. Of course, you have to pay the exact


    amount for it.”


    Unknown to Loraine, the butcher had slyly slipped a ma under the scale, confident in his deceit


    and oblivious to the resourcefulness of the young girl before him.


    “See? Two pounds, honest business, no cheating!”


    With the ma in ce, the scale showed exactly two pounds, and a little extra. He felt victorious,


    ready to challenge Loraine.


    She was just a naive girl. What could she do even if she noticed the discrepancy? How could she know


    what he had done?


    Unfazed, Loraine epted the meat and walked over to a neighboring stall, catching the vendor off


    guard. “Excuse me, sir, can I borrow your scale for a moment? I’ll pay for it.”


    Infuriated, the butcher protested, “What’s your intention? You weighed it here, and now you want to


    weigh it somewhere else? Don’t you trust me?”


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    Loraine, with genuine surprise in her eyes, replied, “I don’t know you;


    I just want to confirm if the weight is urate. Isn’t that reasonable?”


    Unable to argue in front of the gathering crowd, the butcher reluctantly agreed.


    Loraine ced the meat on the borrowed scale, revealing the truth for all to see-it only weighed 1.2


    pounds!


    Ang’s Library


    The nearby vendor who had lent her the scale scoffed at the dishonest butcher.


    “Mack, you’re so heartless in your business dealings! You shorted them so much on two pounds of


    meat! And you have the nerve to make a fuss? Shame on you!”


    Mack, now red-faced and embarrassed, desperately tried to defend himself. Trying to shift the me


    onto Loraine and Marco, he yelled,


    “His scale is the problem! He’s jealous of my good meat, so he conspired with this girl to frame me!”


    However, the vendor who had lent Loraine the scale knew better. Fuming with anger, he stepped


    forward and firmly pushed Mack aside. With a swift motion, he opened Mack’s electronic scale,


    revealing the hidden ma used for deceitful gains.


    “Do you think everyone is as dishonest as you?” The vendor’s voice resonated with a mix of disdain


    and moral integrity.


    “If this girl wasn’t smart enough, she would have fallen for your trick!”


    The crowd had now pieced together the truth.


    They despised dishonest vendors like Mack, and their fury ignited as they hurled insults and rotten


    vegetable leaves at him.