Liu Xing observed Jiang Xia and Xiao Li, who seemed hell-bent on getting what they wanted, and suddenly felt as though he'd been tricked and was now under their thumb.
Despite everything, he wasn't obligated to trade pickles with Jiang Xia and Xiao Li. How did their combined efforts make it seem like he had no other choice but to get pickles from them?
Reflecting on this, Liu Xing realized the main reason was his aversion to hassles. He could acquire the five jars of pickles he needed over the span of half a month from various sources, but that would be quite time-consuming.
People from the neighboring villages who could deliver five jars of pickles in half a month were few and far between. Initially, Liu Xing doubted Jiang Xia and Xiao Li could gather that amount, but seeing their confident demeanors and hearing about their village contacts made him believe they could deliver the jars together in half a month, sparing him a lot of effort.