Yao Cheng immediately brought Shi Tou a bowl of congee. Qin Luo patted Shi Tou on the shoulder and said meaningfully, "Shi Tou, when you make choices in the future, don't look at me. If you make a mistake, I will correct you. Don't wait for my answer."
"Uh-huh."
The stone nodded heavily.
Qin Luo really wanted to encourage Shi Tou and talk to him, but he didn't give him any grand principles, impart any life experience, or establish any values. A single sentence from him might influence the child's entire life.
What kind of person you want to be and how you want to live should be the choice of the stone.
Gu Changsheng picked up his chopsticks and placed a large piece of braised pork knuckle on Qin Luo's plate. "Junior brother, eat more meat. Back at Longhu Temple, everyone was fighting over a pot of porridge, and you couldn't even get a sip."
Qin Luo said with a smile, "Senior brother, Master said that we should eat less meat."
Gu Changsheng nodded, his face serious, and said, "Yao Cheng, did you hear what your martial uncle said?"
"Disciple understands."
Yao Cheng nodded respectfully, burying his head in his porridge and not daring to look at the dishes on the table.
Upon hearing this, Stone only drank porridge and refused to eat meat.
Qin Luo placed a braised pork rib on Shi Tou's plate, saying, "You haven't started cultivating yet. While you're growing, you should eat more meat."
"Thank you, big brother."
As he gnawed on the ribs, he felt warmth, and tears welled up in his eyes.
The little dumpling sucked a spare rib clean and tossed it aside. Suddenly, the Suanni (a mythical lion-like creature) darted out, caught the clean rib, and happily ate the bone.
Gu Changsheng shaved off the pork knuckle, then held it in his hand and pecked at it.
The Suanni sat in front of him, wagging its tail happily. Gu Changsheng laughed and threw the bone on the ground.
Stone also tossed the bones from the meat it had eaten to Suanni.
Gu Changsheng and the others were eating meat, and at least Suanni could taste the meat. Only Yao Cheng was drinking porridge, and Qin Luo couldn't help but think of his junior sister.
Qin Luo looked at the piece of braised pork knuckle left on the plate, picked it up and put it in Yao Cheng's bowl, and said with a smile, "Eat less meat, it's not that you can't eat meat."
"Thank you, Uncle-Master."
Yao Cheng bowed repeatedly to express his gratitude.
Gu Changsheng did not stop him. He said meaningfully, "It is said that the Dharma should not be passed on lightly and the Dao should not be sold cheaply. Your uncle gave you the Heavenly Book and did not treat you as an outsider. You must not forget his kindness."
"Disciple understands!"
Yao Cheng's eyes were filled with gratitude.
Qin Luo hadn't expected anything in return. He picked up his wine glass and chuckled, "Senior brother, I'd like to toast you."
"Dry!"
Gu Changsheng picked up his wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Yao Cheng took charge of cleaning the courtyard, and he poured the leftovers for the Suanni.
The little dumpling stuffed all the bamboo skewers in the yard into her pocket. She was already fantasizing about making countless amounts of money, and couldn't help but cover her mouth and giggle.
Gu Changsheng arranged rooms for Qin Luo and the others to rest.
Shi Tou had a room to himself. The bed was soft and there was a blanket, but it wasn't as warm as when he slept next to Qin Luo.
The little dumpling wasn't asleep.
She went out of town alone to catch insects.
The next day, early morning.
Little Dumpling caught a lot of insects and brought them back. She skewered bamboo shoot insects and rice weevils on bamboo sticks, and then sold roasted insects outside the Taoist temple with a stone in her hand.
Besides the worms, there were also roasted centipedes and roasted scorpions. Qin Luo reminded them, "You must be careful to make sure these poisonous insects are thoroughly cooked."
"Okay, boss."
The little dumpling grinned, standing on Stone's shoulder. "Stone, worms are two coins a string, locusts are three coins a string, and scorpions and centipedes are five coins a string. Help me out!"
Okay.
Stone shouted loudly, "Roasted insects, fragrant and delicious roasted insects, you don't have to pay if you don't like them!"
Clang!
The little dumpling tapped the stone's head, its little face serious, and said, "Even if it doesn't taste good, you still have to pay!"
"Okay, Sister Tuanzi."
"Roasted insects, fragrant roasted insects, the cheapest is only two coins a skewer."
People gathered around, but many of them had never eaten roasted insects before and dared not try it.
The little dumpling had a great idea: "Stone, they're too scared to eat it, you eat it to show them."
"Alright!"
Stone picked up the roasted insects and ate them with relish. Soon, people gathered around to watch them eat the roasted insects.
A chubby boy swallowed hard, then pulled out two coins from his pocket. "I'll have a skewer."
Okay.
Stone handed it a skewer of roasted insects.
The chubby boy ate a roasted insect, his eyes wide, and exclaimed, "It smells so good!"
Stone handed two copper coins to Little Dumpling. Little Dumpling picked up the coins, blew on them, wiped them clean, and said with a sweet smile, "Hehe, I have money now."
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