Chapter 28: Brother Shi (Added for the tip from book friend Al Pacino)
The man's eyes flashed, "You really have it?"
Manbao nodded, his big eyes full of excitement and anticipation, "Brother, do you want it?"
The man choked a little, but still nodded and said, "Okay, where is it? Take me to see it."
"No, no, let my fifth brother go and bring it to me." Manbao turned around and looked at Zhou Wulang, "Fifth brother, go and bring the big rooster to me."
Zhou Wulang understood what Manbao meant. He turned around and was about to go, but then he thought it was wrong and turned back and said, "No, you're so young. What if you get caught by bad guys? You should come with me."
The man glared and said, "Boy, ask around on the street and see if Uncle Shi is the kind of person who does such a shady thing as selling children."
Manbao squatted beside him and waved his little hand at Zhou Wulang, "That's right, that's right, Brother Shi is not that kind of person."
Uncle Shi choked again and couldn't help but pat her head, "Call me uncle!"
His hand was quite strong, and although he restrained it a little, Manbao was still small. She was not very stable when squatting, and she fell down after being hit like that. Manbao fell directly to the ground.
Grandpa Shi was startled and quickly reached out to pick her up. Zhou Wulang's eyes widened, and he pushed Grandpa Shi away. He hugged the bewildered Manbao and asked, "Little sister, little sister, are you okay?"
Manbao spit out the dirt that had accidentally gotten into her mouth with a "Puh!" sound. She glared at Uncle Shi and angrily said, "You're bullying me because I'm young!"
Uncle Shi was a little guilty at first, after all, he had pushed a child to the ground. But when he met Manbao's angry eyes, Uncle Shi just thought it was cute. He couldn't help laughing. Seeing Manbao's eyes widened and her chubby cheeks puffed up, he quickly held back his laughter and took out a handful of copper coins from his pocket and stuffed them into her hand, "Here, uncle will buy you some candy."
He explained to Zhou Wulang, "I really didn't mean it. How could I have known that the child couldn't squat steadily?"
After this incident, his irritability and depression from losing money were somewhat relieved.
Manbao wiped the mud off her face and put the handful of copper coins into her pocket. Humph, for the sake of the money, she forgave him.
This time, Manbao didn't follow his example and squatted down. Instead, he sat down on the stone steps beside him and waved to Zhou Wulang, "Fifth brother, go ahead. I'll wait here."
Manbao stared at the half-bald rooster and complained to Koko, "Fifth Brother is so stupid. What if he sells this rooster to someone else after I leave?"
The system said: "Host, you are not short of money now."
So there is really no need to go through so much trouble to save such a small amount of money.
Manbao didn't think so. She said, "A rooster costs 65 coins. If I buy a rooster for my mother every day, that would be 650 coins in ten days. I don't have enough money now."
"Host, I suggest you collect more rare plants as soon as possible. This way, when you open the mall, you might be able to find medicine that can cure your mother."
Manbao was surprised, "You still sell medicine?"
"I'm not selling it, but someone in the mall might be selling it."
That being said, Manbao still felt that the invisible mall looked difficult, and buying a rooster was the most important thing because it was something he could see.
Zhou Wulang was unwilling to leave. He was not a fool. How could he leave his cute and tender sister here alone?
Uncle Shi, who had just been amused, became unhappy again, "I want to ask you whether you have it or not. If not, don't come to make fun of me."
Manbao glared at her fifth brother, and Zhou Wulang also stared at her with big eyes.
Fortunately, Zhou Liulang came up quickly with Daya and Erya. Zhou Wulang was relieved now. He asked Zhou Liulang, Daya and Erya to look after Manbao, and he ran away with his cloth bag.
Zhou Liulang was very worried when he knew that his youngest sister had come to watch cockfighting. He squatted next to Manbao, staring at Uncle Shi vigilantly with his eyes.
Daya and Erya also shrank their necks and dared not speak. In their eyes, gamblers were not good people.
Zhou Liulang was still whispering to Manbao in a low voice, "Little sister, don't you hate Fourth Brother gambling the most? Why are you here?"
Manbao said confidently, "I don't gamble."
Uncle Shi squatted aside, glanced at Zhou Liulang with a sidelong glance, and asked Manbao, "You have a gambler in your family? You don't look like a wealthy family."
Manbao nodded and said, "My fourth brother lost money gambling not long ago, and someone came to collect the debt and took away all our money."
"Oh, that's really a sin. Why is your fourth brother so desperate that he would borrow money to gamble?"
Manbao asked him curiously, "Don't you gamble too?"
Uncle Shi was full of confidence. "Although I gamble, I have my own money. I won't borrow money to gamble."
Manbao snorted and said, "Gambling is addictive. It will only be cured if you chop off your hands and feet."
Uncle Shi was shocked by her words. Is she so cruel?
"You, you kid, who taught you?"
"My friend said it, and I thought of it myself," Manbao said proudly, "I've made up my mind. If my fourth brother gambles again in the future, I'll chop off his hands."
Uncle Shi didn't take it seriously and gave her a thumbs up, "You're awesome."
Manbao is still very interested in gambling, but Koko thinks it will corrupt her, so she is only willing to tell her stories about families broken up because of gambling, but refuses to tell her how people gamble and why they become addicted to it.
When you ask the fourth brother, he would just say that he was confused at the time and thought he could turn the tables in the next round, so he borrowed money to bet like a drug addict. When he lost, he borrowed money again to bet. When he came to his senses, all the money was lost.
Manbao thought his story was too bland. Even she, who loved listening to stories so much, didn't want to listen anymore. Since it was rare to meet someone who also gambled, Manbao asked Uncle Shi about it.
If it were someone else, Uncle Shi would never say these things to a child, but Manbao didn't behave like a child at all, so he couldn't help but tell her a little more about his favorite games: cockfighting and dice.
Uncle Shi originally wanted to say only a few words, but when he met Manbao's sparkling eyes and excited face, he couldn't help but talk more and more. By the time Zhou Dalang dragged Zhou Wulang over with his head down, holding the chicken, Manbao had already understood clearly some of the common tricks in the casino and some cheating methods.
Zhou Dalang pulled Zhou Wulang and strode towards this side with a sullen face. When he saw the silk clothes worn by Mr. Shi, he suppressed his anger and stepped forward to salute.
Uncle Shi looked at him and raised his eyebrows slightly. Manbao happily called him "Brother" and then introduced him to Uncle Shi: "Brother Shi, this is my brother!"
Uncle Shi, who was just in his early twenties and still a young man, fell silent when he looked at Zhou Dalang, who had grown a mustache and was obviously much older than him.
No wonder the kid insisted on calling him "big brother" when he saw him. So this is the reason.
(End of this chapter)
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