The Lucky Farmgirl-Chapter 39 - 28 Brother Shi (Extra thank you for the reward from Book Friend Al Pacino)

His hand was strong, and even though he held back a little, Manbao was still small.

Squatting as she was, she was already unsteady; his pat sent her toppling head over heels, and Manbao fell flat on the ground.

Eldest Master Shi was startled and quickly lifted her up.

Zhou Wulang’s eyes grew wide, and he pushed Eldest Master Shi out of the way, holding a bewildered Manbao and asking, “Little sister, little sister, are you alright?”

Manbao spit out a “ptui,” getting rid of the dirt that accidentally got into her mouth.

She glared at Eldest Master Shi and accused, “You’re picking on me because I’m small!”

Eldest Master Shi initially felt a bit guilty, having knocked the child to the ground, but seeing Manbao’s angry eyes, he just found her cuter.

He couldn’t help but laugh, and seeing her eyes bulge even larger and her chubby cheeks puff up, he quickly stifled his laughter, 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 was I supposed to know the child couldn’t squat steadily?”

After this scene, his irritation and frustration from losing money seemed to dissipate a little.

Manbao wiped the mud from her face and tucked the handful of coins into her pocket, hmph, she forgave him considering the money.

Now Manbao didn’t imitate his squatting anymore and simply sat down on the stone steps beside her, waving at Zhou Wulang, “Fifth Brother, hurry up, I’ll wait here.”

Manbao stared at the half-bald rooster and complained to Keke, “Fifth Brother is really silly.

What if he sold the rooster to someone else while I was away?”

The system said, “Host, you’re really quite short of money now.”

So there was really no need to go to such lengths just to save a little bit of money.

But Manbao didn’t see it that way.

She said, “A rooster costs sixty-five wen, if I buy one for Mother to eat every day, that’s six hundred and fifty wen in ten days.

I don’t have enough money right now.”

“Host, I suggest that you record more scarce plants sooner rather than later.

Once you open your store, you might be able to find medicine that can cure your mother inside it,” the system proposed.

Manbao was surprised, “You sell medicine too?”

“I don’t, but someone in the store might,” the system replied.

She said so, but Manbao still felt that the non-existent store looked daunting; buying the rooster was the most important because that was something tangible.

Zhou Wulang didn’t want to go; he wasn’t a fool.

How could he possibly leave his cute and tender little sister here alone?

Eldest Master Shi, who had just been amused, was not pleased again, “Listen, do you really have it or not?

If not, don’t come here to make a joke of me.”

Manbao just glared at her Fifth Brother, and Zhou Wulang glared back at her with big eyes.

Luckily, Zhou Liulang soon arrived with Daya and Erya, which reassured Zhou Wulang.

He entrusted Zhou Liulang with watching over Manbao along with Daya and Erya, and he ran off with his cloth bag.

Zhou Liulang, realizing that his little sister had actually come to watch a cockfight, was quite anxious.

He now squatted beside Manbao and glared with wide eyes, keeping a wary watch over Eldest Master Shi.

Daya and Erya also shrank their necks and dared not speak.

In their eyes, gamblers were not good people.

Zhou Liulang even whispered to Manbao, thinking he was being quiet, “Little sister, don’t you hate it the most when Fourth Brother gambles?

Why have you come here?”

Manbao responded with righteous indignation, “I’m not gambling.”

Eldest Master Shi, squatting aside, gave Zhou Liulang a sidelong glance and asked Manbao, “So you have a gambler in the family too.

You don’t look like a rich family, do you?”

Manbao nodded, “My Fourth Brother just lost money gambling not long ago, some people came to our house to collect the debt, and took all our money.”

“Aiyo, that really is wicked.

Why on earth would your Fourth Brother be so thoughtless, borrowing money to gamble?”

Manbao then asked him curiously, “But aren’t you gambling too?”

Eldest Master Shi brimmed with confidence, “Although I gamble, I have my own money.

I would never borrow money to gamble.”

Manbao scoffed, “Gambling is addictive.

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In the future, you’d have to chop off hands and feet to cure it.”

Eldest Master Shi was startled by her words, was it really that vicious?

“Who taught you this, child?”

“My friend told me, and I thought of it myself,” Manbao said proudly, “I’ve already planned it out.

If my Fourth Brother continues to gamble in the future, I’ll chop off his hands.”

Eldest Master Shi didn’t take her words seriously and gave her a thumbs-up, “You’re tough.”

Manbao was still interested in the matter of gambling, although Keke felt it might corrupt her and only agreed to tell her various stories of families ruined by gambling, rather than explaining how people gambled and why they became addicted to it.

And when asked, Fourth Brother would only say he had been out of his mind, only feeling that he could turn the tables in the next round, so he gambled like he was poisoned, borrowing money to place bets and losing more to borrow again.

By the time he snapped out of it, all the money was gone.

Manbao thought he described it too blandly; even she, who loved stories, didn’t care to listen.

But now she had the chance to meet someone who also gambled.

Manbao asked Eldest Master Shi.

To someone else, Eldest Master Shi wouldn’t likely talk about these things with a child, but Manbao didn’t act like a child at all.

He couldn’t help but tell her more about his most frequent gambling activities: cockfighting and dice.

Eldest Master Shi had only intended to say a little, but caught by Manbao’s sparkling eyes and her face full of excitement, he found himself talking more and more.

By the time Zhou Wulang came back, head down, being pulled by Zhou Dalang, Manbao had already grasped the common tricks of the gambling hall, as well as various cheating techniques quite thoroughly.

Zhou Dalang was dragging Zhou Wulang over with a stern face, but upon seeing the silk cloth on Eldest Master Shi, he restrained his anger and stepped forward to greet him.

Eldest Master Shi, who was barely in his early twenties and still a green young man, looked at Zhou Dalang, who already sported a small moustache and seemed much older, and fell silent.

No wonder the child insisted on calling him Big Brother; the origin was right here.