Villagers Begged Me When I Walked Away From a $1M Honey Deal

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:00]I brought $1 million in cash to the mountains to buy honey. But just as we were about to load the trucks, the farmers collectively hiked the price.

[00:00:07]They went back on every price we previously agreed on. They even yelled that they'd rather let the honey rot in the buckets than sell it to me. Mr. Zu, the current market rate is $80 a pound, but you're only offering 30. This is daylight robbery. I stared in total disbelief at this unfamiliar young man.

[00:00:24]The village chief stepped in quickly to explain, "Mr. Shu. This is Sanji, Auntie Jen's son-in-law. He's a college grad who knows economics. We've asked him to represent us in our talk with you today.

[00:00:35]Seeing those familiar farmers hiding behind Sanji with shifty eyes, I realized this wasn't going to be simple.

[00:00:41]The contracts are already signed and the price is fixed. What is there to talk about? I kept a smile on my face. Oh, time is tight. Let's load the trucks first, and once we're done, uh, we can sit down and have a long chat. Hold it right there. Auntie Jang suddenly charged out from the crowd. She spread her arms blocking the honey barrels. I want to see who dares touch my honey.

[00:01:01]Auntie Jang, what is the meaning of this? We have a signed contract. It's right here in black and white. Delivery today. Cash on the spot. Are you really going to breach the contract? Sun just standing nearby suddenly let out a cold sneer. Don't try to scare honest people with a piece of paper. This is a market economy. Everything has to follow the laws of the market. He turned to the farmers. Tell them everyone how much is honey selling for these days. It's over 80 online. Some places are even selling it for 100. One of the farmers pulled out a phone and showed me a screenshot of the prices. Sanji turned back to me with a smug look. You hear that, Mr. Shu? Offering a price like yours. Isn't that a bit exploitative? I was fuming, but I knew this was only the beginning.

[00:01:43]If you want to play this game, fine.

[00:01:45]I'll play along. We'll see who the real winner is. Still, I patiently explained to him, "Mr. song. That's not how the math works. First, those are retail prices, not wholesale buyin rates.

[00:01:56]Second, business is built on the spirit of a contract. A month ago, when no one else your honey, I was the one who gave you a guaranteed price. Why didn't you mention the market economy back then, and for the sake of this village's honey?

[00:02:12]So, it could actually be transported out of here. I pointed to the road beneath our feet. I spent $200,000 to build this road. I even gave you those beehives for free. If we're going by market rules, shouldn't those costs be factored into the price, too? You did that of your own free will. Nobody begged you to build a road. If you chose to build it, that's your sunk cost. What does that have to do with our honey price? I stared at Uncle Jong in shock. Only a month ago, he was just a simple farmer who only knew how to say, "Thank you, boss. Now he was actually spitting out economic terms like sunk cost. I turned my cold gaze towards Sanji. You taught him that term, didn't you? I'm just helping the villagers with some basic knowledge so they don't get it ripped off by greedy businessmen and then thank them for it.

[00:02:57]And don't bring up the road, Mr. Zu.

[00:03:00]That road makes for your trucks to get in and out, too. To put it bluntly, you did it for yourself. Let's stop wasting breath. If the price stays at 30, you're not taking a single pound. If you want to load the trucks, you pay the market rate. And what exactly do you want?

[00:03:14]Since you built the road, we won't ask for 80. Song J held up five fingers and waved them in my face. 50 a pound, not a penny less. 50. The national average for grade A honey is only 35 to 38. Asking for 50 out of the blue. This is extortion. Say whatever you want. The honey is in our hands. Your 15 big trucks are going back empty. You're looking at a loss of tens of thousands of dollars. Easy. And that's not even counting the breach of contract fees.

[00:03:44]Actually, scratch that. This contract is totally one-sided and unfair. If we go to court, we aren't necessarily going to lose. He leans in and drops his voice.

[00:03:53]Look, Mr. Shu, you take these apples back, slap some fancy packaging on them, and sell them for 120 a pop. Is it really too much to ask for you to throw us a few scraps, we just want a small piece of the pie. Don't get too greedy now, or you might just choke to death. I look at Sanji's face. You can practically see the gears of his scheme turning. Then I turned my gaze toward the village head, Linda Shawn. Is this how you feel too, Mr. Shu? Everyone is struggling right now, and the market prices really have gone up. Just think of it as a little act of charity. Is $50 really a big deal to you? It's just a smaller profit, right? A smaller profit.

[00:04:30]I was originally prepared to pay $38.

[00:04:33]That was my way of being sympathetic about the cold snap. That was my good faith. But now looking at this mob of ungrateful vultures who take my kindness for weakness and my sacrifices for granted my sincerity was nothing more than a waste on a pack of backstabbing wolves. The more I think about it, the more my blood boils, but I force myself to stay calm. I'm a businessman. I don't just balance the financial books. I have to manage the emotional fallout, too. If I blow up and walk away now, these crops really will go to waste. So, I take a deep breath and pull the contract out of my suit pocket. 50 is absolutely out of the question, but I understand that everyone has been affected by the cold snap and that you're feeling anxious. I can meet you part way. Sanji's eyes light up. He thinks I've folded. I'm not an unreasonable man. $38. That is the highest price I can offer right now.

[00:05:23]Consider that extra $8 a gesture of friendship from me. We load the trucks now and I pay you in cash in the market at that time. Oh, that was easily the top tier acquisition price. I thought I was giving them a graceful way out. I figured if they had even half a brain, they'd take the deal and run. But I underestimated just how bottomless human greed can be. 38. Who do you think we are beggars? Song already told us this honey is worth 80. Giving us 38 a pound is daylight robbery. Mr. Zu, you're playing us for fools. $51, not a penny less. If you aren't going to be serious about this, then you can just head on home. We'll keep this honey and sell it ourselves on a live stream. Don't get jealous when we're selling it for a hundred a pound. That's right. We'll sell it ourselves. Get out of our village, you greedy scumbag. The mob's energy was reaching a fever pitch.

[00:06:13]Someone even started shoving my driver, looking at their twisted, ugly faces.

[00:06:18]The cash sitting in my trunk suddenly felt like a sick, pathetic joke. Because the mountain roads used to be so bad, the local honey would go unsold every single year. They were lucky to get $15 a pound for it. When I heard about their situation, I didn't just pay for the road repairs out of my own pocket, I offered them a premium price of $30 a pound. And I promised that whether it was top grade honey or the slightly lower quality stuff, I would buy it all at that same high price. I even worried about spoilage and transport issues. So, I specially ordered a batch of foodg gradede highdensity polyethylene barrels. I even had hundreds of new temperature controlled beehives made and shipped them to the village as a gift.

[00:06:56]But then the whole country hit a freak late spring cold snap. Because of that intense cold, the huntion bases in the north suffered massive frost damage.

[00:07:05]Even the main production areas in the south saw their output cut in half because of the non-stop rain. But because of this village's unique location, tucked in a microclimate between two mountains, the surrounding peaks blocked the freezing winds. Not only did the nectar plant survive, but the lack of rain actually made the honey more concentrated. By then, the market price had already climbed to $35 a pound. So, I made a decision, raise the price. I told the accountant to prepare the cash at $38 a pound. I had the money ready, but boss shoe wasn't the contract set at 30. With this sudden hike, we're going to lose hundreds of thousands in profit. Look at the big picture. This is about winning hearts and minds. I wanted them to know that sticking with me pays off. I really thought my sincerity would be returned, but I guess I was just being arrogant. Fine, you people can sell it yourselves. I nodded slowly, folded the contract up, and tucked it back into my pocket. I turned to face all the drivers, the anger completely gone from my face, replaced by a chill and deathly calm. Listen up, everyone.

[00:08:04]Get in the trucks and head back to the city. Old Chen froze, nearly dropping the radio in his hand. Mr. Shu, are we really leaving? We've got 15 trucks here, and we've already burned a fortune in gas. Shouldn't we talk a bit more?

[00:08:17]Maybe give them 40. This honey is the real deal. We could flip it for cash the second we get back. No more talking.

[00:08:22]Remember this, old Chen? In business, you can always earn back lost money. But if you let people walk all over you and you still smile back, you'll never stand tall again. Follow the order. Yes, sir.

[00:08:33]Everyone pack it up. We're heading home.

[00:08:35]This move was clearly something they never saw coming. They expected me to beg to haggle to be like a snake pinned by its neck. Eventually forced to cave to their ridiculous price of $50. After all, who would let the hundreds of thousands spent on building their road go down the drain? Sanja charged forward in a fit of rage, pointing right at my nose. Ju Guu Yuan, you dare walk away if you leave today. Don't you dare come back crawling on your knees because we won't sell you a sing. I stopped in my tracks. Turned around and looked at him like he was some pathetic circus clown.

[00:09:07]Everyone remember exactly what you said today. Whether I'm the heartless one or you're the backstabbers, God is my witness. Don't you try to scare us with that talk. We're just protecting our own rights. You're the one with the black heart. Fine. Since you think you can sell it for a hundred on live stream, then I wish you a massive fortune. This stroke of luck. Well, a guy like me isn't worthy of it. Keep it all for yourselves to enjoy. I didn't look back as I climbed into the car. The moment the fleet vanished past the mountain pass. Fangg Nong Village erupted in a roar of cheers. As soon as I pulled away, Sanja jumped onto the village committee's wooden platform. You see that, folks? That's what you call a paper tiger capitalist. He's scared because he knows he can't suck our blood and sweat anymore. We won. Sanji, you're the man. You actually chased that big boss away. You tell him. Our honey is topshelf quality. Why would we worry about selling it? Listen to Sanji. We'll go on live stream and for 80 or even 100 that afternoon. The village felt like it was New Year's Day. They were drunk on the joy of defeating the rich, never realizing they had just severed the only umbilical cord connecting their isolated village to the modern world of commerce.

[00:10:17]They thought they had driven away a blood sucking wolf, but they had actually kicked out the only person willing to help them in a blizzard. Once back at the company, I had the CFO take that 1 million in cash and put it right back in the bank. Boss, between the road we built for 200,000, and the deposits for the cold chain and packaging were out nearly 400,000 already. How are we going to fix this mess? Just consider it an expensive lesson. Also, notify the legal department. Tell them to prepare a lawsuit against every single farmer in Fang Nong Village for breach of contract. I know we probably won't get the money back, but I want their credit scores to take a massive hit they'll never forget. Got it. But what about the honey shortage? Go contact the supplier in Cloud City. The price might be a bit higher, but they have plenty of stock.

[00:11:01]I'm okay with making a smaller profit.

[00:11:03]We can't afford to lose our reputation.

[00:11:05]After finishing the work arrangements, I opened my phone and saw that song had started an account on a short video platform called Z the Honey Guy. He'd posted a new video with the title, College Student Returns Home to Start a Business, giving you a taste of pure flavors from the deep mountains, no middlemen taking a cut. His first live stream was scheduled for tonight. By the time I clicked into the room, there were already two or 300 people watching. He was standing in Auntie Jong's yard with those dozens of big blue barrels I'd sent over stacked up right behind him.

[00:11:36]The lighting was dim and the video quality was grainy. Sanja was wearing that ill-fitting suit of his screaming into the camera with everything he had.

[00:11:45]Are you guys seeing this? This is pure organic deep mountain wild honey. Today is giving you a massive deal. Not $998.

[00:11:53]Not even $198. It's yours for just $88 a pound with free shipping. He was holding a spoon I'd originally customordered for taking samples and he up some honey showing off how it drizzled in front of the lens. Look at that color. Look at that consistency. If you guys know your stuff type want in the chat right now.

[00:12:12]Auntie Jang and a few other ladies were standing in the back like human props.

[00:12:17]Their smiles stiff and awkward holding up pieces of cardboard they'd found somewhere. Pure and natural was scribbled on them in messy handwriting.

[00:12:25]I glanced at the comments. $88. That's so expensive. It's only 40 at the supermarket. Do you even know what you're talking about? This is real wild honey. The stuff in the supermarket is just flavored sugar water. Does the host have a food license? Any health permits?

[00:12:41]What shipping company are you using?

[00:12:43]How's it packaged? This is farmtotable, guys. Straight from the source. The government supports local business. We don't need all those messy permits. And we offer nationwide shipping with a safety guarantee. Seeing that I shut off the live stream and let out a cold laugh. Ignorance really is bliss. They actually think selling through a live stream is as easy as shouting at a phone for a bit, waiting for the cash to roll in. But they have no idea how high the cost of building trust is when you don't have a brand behind you. They especially don't know how terrifying the breakage rate is for shipping liquid goods like honey. If you don't use professional air cushion wraps and custom foam boxes, five out of every 10 bottles will arrive shattered. The most fatal mistake is that they don't have food production permits. Small-scale local sales might be allowed under certain local policies, but once you're on a major platform and get targeted by professional legal trolls, it's game over. Plus, Song G set this price at $88 in that price range.

[00:13:39]Consumers have extremely high expectations for packaging, service, and logistics. They're trying to sell luxurypric products in cheap plastic bottles. It's a total pipe dream. And just as I expected, the problem started piling up fast. On the first day of the stream, he relied on the college student hero gimmick and scammed his own friends and family to make sales. They actually managed to sell a few hundred orders.

[00:14:01]Auntie Jen and the others were over the moon, spending all night long funneling honey into whatever they could find, old water bottles and chili sauce jars. Then they just stuffed them into cardboard boxes with some scrap newspaper and ship them off. Just the shipping alone cost them $12 an order. Sanji had originally promised their profits would double, but once you took out the shipping and packaging costs, that profit margin started shrinking fast. But no matter how you looked at it, selling honey for $88 an order meant they were still clearing over $70. It was way more than the $38 I was getting, those farmers were so fired up they even started openly mocking me. But the honeymoon phase didn't last long. A few days later, once that batch reached the customers, the real nightmare began.

[00:14:47]Sanja, what's going on? This phone won't stop ringing and it's full of people screaming at me. Sanja was lying on the bed dreaming of being a millionaire. But when he impatiently grabbed the phone to look, his face went ghost white in an instant. The screen was covered in refund requests and nasty reviews.

[00:15:02]Customers were complaining about ashy packaging, causing the honey to leak everywhere. Some were questioning the quality and others were even threatening to report him. Sanji scrambled to come up with excuses. That was just an accident during shipping. Real wild honey is supposed to have a bit of a sour taste, but nobody was buying his lies. The platform stepped in fast because the complaint rate was skyhigh and he couldn't provide any proper food safety permit. Sanji's beekeeper account was banned immediately and all the money in his account was frozen. Even worse, those customers who received the broken packages weren't just demanding full refunds. They were demanding compensation for their ruined clothes and stained floors within just one week.

[00:15:44]Out of the 300 plus orders they sold, the return rate hit 90%. The remaining 10% only stayed sold because the customers didn't want the hassle of returning them, but they all left one-star reviews. Auntie Jen looked at the room full of returned sticky packages and that big red account frozen alert on the phone. She collapsed onto the floor thighs and wailing. Oh my god, what are we going to do? We've already blown thousands on shipping. We haven't seen a dime and now we're losing money.

[00:16:11]This This doesn't make sense. The internet didn't say it would be like this song. G was huddled in a corner drenched in sweat. He didn't look anything like the big shot who had been barking orders from the top of the millstone. To make matters worse, because they used those dirty containers for packaging, and the weather had started warming up that highquality honey, which hadn't been professionally sealed or sterilized, started quietly fermenting in those plastic buckets.

[00:16:38]That sweet floral scent in the air began to turn into a sour rotten smell like cheap wine getting banned from the live stream platform was like a bucket of ice water completely killing the hype in the village at the village committee office facing a crowd of farmers holding return labels and panicking like ants on a hot stove. Sanja was still trying to talk his way out of it. Don't panic everyone.

[00:17:00]They only banned us because they're jealous of our traffic. If they don't want us, someone else will. We're done with live streaming. We'll go straight to other wholesalers. We have top tier wild honey here. Once I put the word out, big bosses will be fighting to buy it from us. Sanji, are you for real?

[00:17:15]We've already lost thousands on shipping. We can't afford another disaster. Don't worry, Uncle. I'm making the calls right now. Sanji pulled out his phone right there in front of the whole village. Sanju started dialing every agricultural produce buyer he could find online. But what he didn't realize was that the very day after I left Fang Nong village, I had already shared a very objective account of everything that happened there with the provincial industry association. In the world of supply chains, the one thing people fear most is a dishonest supplier. So when Song started making those calls, the reactions were identical across the board. Hello, is this Mr. Wang? I've got a batch of premium wild honey from Fangg Nong Village. Fangg Nong Village? Is that Linda Sha's place? Yes. Yes, that's the one you've heard of us. Oh, I've heard.

[00:18:01]All right. This is the batch that Mr. Shu walked away from, isn't it? You some nerve trying to screw over a guy like Mr. Shu. I'm not touching that mess with a 10-ft pole. I actually want to keep working with Mr. Zu. Sanji's face went pale. He forced a smile for the farmers and said, "Let's try another one."

[00:18:17]Manager Lou, I heard you're buying honey in bulk. We have £30,000 ready. What's your price? Normally the market rate is 80, but I'll give you a deal at 60.80.

[00:18:27]Are you dreaming? Mr. Ciang offered you 38 and you turned him down and now you want me to be your sucker. I'll give you 20 at most. Take it or leave it. 20.

[00:18:37]You're robbing us. Then fine, keep it and drink it yourselves. Sanja made over a dozen calls. People either hung up on him immediately or the second they heard Fangg Nong Village, they started mocking him. Some even flat out called them thugs. The kicker was a guy who buys low-grade honey for animal feed additives. He started laughing his head off over the phone. So you guys actually managed to piss off Mr. Zu. Nice work.

[00:19:00]But your reputation is trash now. I'll take it for $10 a pound. I don't care a lack of ethics. I'm making pig feet after all. Sanja slammed the phone down.

[00:19:09]A deathly silence fell over the entire village office. Sanja, this is what you meant by people scrambling to buy it.

[00:19:15]Scrambling for scraps. Maybe you useless brat. You're going to be the death of this whole village. Song just stammered.

[00:19:21]It It's not my fault. It's that Shu Guiuan. He's definitely behind this.

[00:19:25]He's blacklisting us. Mr. Shu offered 38 and you said no. Insisting on 80. Now look, someone offers 10 and we still have to pay for shipping. I spent 500 on shipping and haven't seen a scent back.

[00:19:37]Yeah, pay us back. And my two barrels of honey got ruined because we kept moving them around. The farmers completely lost it. The star college student they once worshiped was now a total pariah. They started shoving Sanji around and his perfectly styled hair now looked like a bird's nest. Back in my office, I listened to the recording my contact sent me. I let out a cold smirk. This is what happens when you burn your own bridges. The business world has rules.

[00:20:04]When you break those rules for a buck, the rules will crush you without mercy.

[00:20:08]I didn't even have to blacklist them.

[00:20:09]All I had to do was tell the truth. A system built on trust will automatically spit out people like them. But that wasn't even the worst part for the farmers if they just couldn't sell it.

[00:20:19]They could always sell it cheap or just eat it themselves. But it seemed the universe wasn't done teaching them a lesson yet. Over the next few days, the mountain temperature took a weird sudden spike. By noon, it was hitting over 70°.

[00:20:33]For raw honey, that was a death sentence. This batch of honey started out as top tier quality, but because of that live stream, they kept scooping it out of the big vats and pouring it back in just for the camera. When it came time to bottle it, they used tools that hadn't even been sanitized. To make things easier, they ignored the professional airtight lids I gave them and just threw some cheap plastic wrap over the top. When Jang Shan walked into the yard that day, he caught a whiff of something really strange. It wasn't the scent of flowers. It was a sharp sour like the smell of fermenting booze. He rushed over and ripped off a plastic sheet. The surface, which should have been calm, clear amber, was now covered in thick white foam, bubbling up and fizzing like a witch's brew. A wave of intense sourness hit him so hard he nearly keeled over right then and there.

[00:21:22]Boss, boss, get over here fast. Before long, the whole village was in a total panic. It wasn't just Jang Shan's house.

[00:21:28]Almost every single family's honey had gone bad. The farmers were wailing, watching their hard work turn into nothing but sour sludge. Everyone was paralyzed with shock. Linda stared at the barrels in his yard, which were bulging like overinflated balloons. He collapsed right there on the ground.

[00:21:45]Grabbed a handful of the fermented honey, tasted it, and immediately spat it out. It's over. It's all ruined. The honey's fermented. Forget about $38 a pound. Even if they paid someone to haul it away, people would say it's a waste of space. What was once 30,000 lb of liquid gold was now £30,000 of liquid garbage that needed to be dumped while the were screaming in despair. Sanja was packing his bags trying to sneak out of the village unnoticed. He'd been hiding at his mother-in-laws for days, too scared to show his face. Now that the honey was ruined, he knew if he didn't leave now, they might actually kill him.

[00:22:20]But the angry farmers had been watching him, and they cornered him at the village entrance, trying to run away with your trash marketing theories. No way you're going to sell this crap for us. If you don't sell it, you're not leaving this village alive. Everyone, please. This was a freak accident. An act of God. I didn't think the weather would get this hot. I had no idea the honey would spoil. You didn't know. When Mr. Shu brought those refrigerated trucks, you're the one who cursed him out and chased him away. When boss you sent the airtight containers, you told us to leave them open for the live stream. Give me back my money. You've ruined my life. I was a fool to believe your lies. That was $60,000. That was the money for my kid's school. Now it's all turned to vinegar. Give me my money back. Linda Shawn stood on the edge of the crowd, watching the chaos. Tobacco pipe in his hand. Had been snapped clean in two. He looked at the absolute mess around him and suddenly remembered the look in my eyes the day I left. It wasn't anger. It was pure pity. What a nightmare. Mr. Zu offered $38. Why was I so damn greedy back then? The money was right there in front of us. Now the cash is gone. The business is dead. Our reputation is trash. And even our families are turning on each other.

[00:23:32]Right now, the whole village was choked by a sickening rotten smell. It was the smell of fermenting honey and the stench of greed decaying. Meanwhile, a 100 miles away in the city. I was sitting in a high-end restaurant across from my new business partner. Mr. Zu, thank you for your trust. We really appreciate it.

[00:23:50]Let's have a toast to a successful partnership. Cheers. Handing over such a massive contract to us is a huge show of trust. As long as the product is good and you're diligent, money is no object.

[00:24:01]Just then, my phone vibrated. It was a live video from my informant. In the video, the beekeepers from Fang Village were in a complete panic, crowding around those barrels of fermenting honey. Everyone was pointing fingers and shouting at each other. The whole place was a chorus of whales. I just gave it a cold, detached look. Then, with a blank face, I swiped past and shut off the screen. "What happened, Mr. Shu?" I answered softly. Nothing. Just watching a farce that wasn't even funny. But the story didn't end there. People only think of the path they once trampled on when they finally reached a dead end. I knew they'd be coming soon. That day, right after I finished the morning meeting and was heading back to my office to handle some files, the receptionist, Xiaoli, ran in looking panicked. Boss, downstairs, it's a mess downstairs. Someone's making a scene.

[00:24:47]What is security doing? Security can't stop them. There are way too many. At least 20 people are holding up banners.

[00:24:53]A bunch of them are kneeling at the entrance, crying their eyes out. They claim to be your neighbors from back home here to beg for your forgiveness. I walked over to the floor to ceiling window and looked down. Across the wide plaza in front of the building, a crowd of scruffy looking people was squeezed together by the entrance, huddled sheepishly outside the revolving doors.

[00:25:13]That once arrogant Song Gi was now being propped up by two villagers. His head hung low, limp, and lifeless. My eldest aunt was kneeling right at the front.

[00:25:21]She was cowtowing repeatedly to the security guards. On that long banner were a few messy bright red words humbly pleading for mercy from Mr. Zu. Please save Fang Nong Village. I saw this and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

[00:25:35]How incredibly ironic. This pathetic begging now only reminded me of what happened before. Just one short month ago. One month ago, they stood at the village entrance calling me a vampire.

[00:25:45]Those blackhearted merchants told me to get lost. Now they've traveled hundreds of miles to kneel at my office and beg me to be their savior. Boss, should I call the police? No need. Let them wait.

[00:25:56]Leave them out there for an hour. For that crowd downstairs, that 1 hour was likely longer than a century. The security captain came up to report the situation. Auntie Jong had already fainted from crying. Lind Deshawn was busy slapping himself in the face. And that Sanja guy was being forced to kneel at the front by the angry farmers. His face was black and blue. Clearly, he'd taken a beating before getting here.

[00:26:20]Then I headed out of the building with my secretary and a few executives. The sealed barrels they brought had leaked because they weren't airtight during the bumpy ride. The stench of fermented rot began to spread across the polished high-end commercial plaza. Office workers passing by covered their noses and glared, avoiding them like they were the plague. The liquid gold they were once so proud of had become a badge of shame that made them unable to look up.

[00:26:44]As soon as the sharpeyed one saw me, the noisy crowd went dead silent for a second. Then a wave of gut-wrenching whales erupted. Mr. Shu, oh, Mr. Shu, you finally came out, Mr. Shu, we were wrong. We're not even human, and Mr. Shu, please save us. Our entire livelihood for the year depends on you.

[00:27:01]Mr. Shu, I'm cowtowing to you. We were blinded by greed and listen to Sanji's lies. Please don't lower yourself to our level. Our lives are in your hands. I'm begging you. Auntie Jang scrambled up, trying to rush forward and grab my legs.

[00:27:14]Two burly security guards held her back firmly as she continued to sob. I stood there looking at them with a coldness that felt like ice. He slammed his forehead against the granite floor over and over the thuds echoing through the room. Old man Lynn shuffled forward, his body trembling as he held out a crumpled weathered contract. The paper was caked in dried mud, the very same contract they had treated like a piece of worthless trash not long ago. Mr. Zu, we we want to go by the contract now. $30.

[00:27:42]No, no, we don't need that much. 20 is fine. Just please take the honey. Leave us a way to put food on the table. That guy, Sanji, was currently shrinking into the back of the crowd, looking like a terrified rabbit. All that arrogance he had when he thought he was in charge was completely gone.

[00:27:58]I stood on the steps looking down at them. Their faces were flushed bright red from the freezing wind, and their eyes were filled with nothing but desperation. They were full of fear and pleading. It was impossible to reconcile these people with the greedy, hideous, and arrogant faces I had seen just one month ago. But I remembered it all too well. I remembered Sanji saying, "Only losers sell for 30." I remembered Auntie Jang saying, "The contract didn't count." I remembered Lynn saying, "Everyone has it hard. Give us a break."

[00:28:26]Chief Lynn, you finally remembered the contract when I brought the trucks to your village. Didn't you all say it was just a piece of scrap paper? Lynn's face turned a deep sickly purple. His hand holding the contract frozen midair, stuck in a pathetic limo. Mr. Shu, it's all our fault we were so wrong. It was all Sanji's doing. He lied to us. Said we could sell it for 80. He's the one who spread those rumors. Mr. Zu, we brought him here to you. He's yours to deal with now. Please, we're begging you. Just take the honey, Mr. Shu. I was wrong. I was stupid. I didn't know the law. I'm just an idiot. Please have mercy on me. Sanja was sprawled on the ground, shaking like a leaf, his voice breaking as he sobbed for forgiveness.

[00:29:07]Watching this pathetic circus, I felt nothing but pure disgust. Enough. Stop the act. You don't hate Songzi. You aren't mad because he lied to you.

[00:29:15]You're mad because he failed to line your pockets. If you had actually sold that honey for 80 that day, would you be kicking him right now? No. You'd be worshiping him as a hero while you all laughed at what a fool Shu Guiwan was.

[00:29:27]The crowd went deathly silent. The farmers looked at each other, their true motives exposed. They lowered their heads in shame. I slowly walked down the steps. I stopped in front of a bucket of honey Auntie Jang had brought. That blue plastic bucket was one I had paid for myself. The outside was filthy, and a sticky, viscous liquid was seeping from the edge of the lid. I reached out, but before I even opened it, a pungent, sour stench hit me like a freight train.

[00:29:52]"This is the sincerity you brought me.

[00:29:54]Can you smell that?" "This is vinegar, not honey." One farmer stammered. Mr. Zoo, I know it's got a bit of a smell, but it's still edible. You just you just have to process it a little. Process it.

[00:30:05]I run a high-end food company. I'm not a trash collector. The yeast levels in this honey are tens of thousands of times over the limit. Pouring this down the drain would be an environmental hazard. And you want me to buy it? We can drop the price to $10. Just $10.

[00:30:20]Just enough to cover our hard work.

[00:30:22]Chief, have you still not figured it out? This isn't about the money. I spent $200,000 to fix your roads. I spent over $100,000 on beehives for you. I walked into your village with 1 million in cash and a fleet of trucks offering you a premium price of $38. That was my sincerity. That was my trust. But you took my trust, threw it in the dirt, and trampled all over it. You even spat on it for good measure. Now that trust is shattered. It can't be put back together. It doesn't matter that this honey is rotten. Even if this was liquid gold from the heavens, I wouldn't take a single drop. Because of you people, the name Fangg Nong Village is mud. In my eyes and in the eyes of the entire industry, your reputation is officially trashed. Boss Shu, please. You can't just leave us to rot. You're the one who built that road for us. You can't just turn your back. Now, you're right. I did build that road. I built it because I wanted prosperity to find its way into your village. I wanted to help every one of you get rich. But I never imagined that once the road was finished, prosperity wouldn't be the thing coming through. Instead, it just invited the greed and the demons hiding in your hearts to come out and play. You can keep that road for yourselves now.

[00:31:29]Whether you ever find a way out of the mess you made, well, that's up to fate.

[00:31:33]With that, I didn't give them another look. I simply turned around and walked toward the building. Behind me, a chorus of desperate, agonizing whales broke out. The security guards formed a human wall, keeping them firmly blocked outside. I didn't even flinch. My pace didn't falter for a single second. I know. In this moment, I seem cold-blooded. But I know something else.

[00:31:52]Being merciful to those who break their word is an act of total cruelty toward those who actually keep it. Back in my office, I stood in front of the massive floor to ceiling windows. I watched them like a pack of stray dogs slinking away with their trucks full of rotting produce and bitter regret until they finally vanished from my sight. On my desks had a freshlymade glass of honey water. It was fresh honey sent from our Union base. The color was a beautiful deep gold and the aroma was incredible.

[00:32:20]I picked up the glass and took a slow sip. It was so sweet. This This is what a contract is supposed to taste like. As for those people from Fang Nong Village, they are destined to spend the rest of their lives swallowing the bitter poison they brewed for themselves. And that taste, it's deadlier than arsenic and more bitter than