Chapter 29: Contentment is the key to happiness
Uncle Shi coughed lightly, bowed to Zhou Dalang, and was about to speak when suddenly a pair of eyes stared at the big rooster in Zhou Dalang's arms.
He pounced , touched the slick feathers of the big rooster, and asked as if he saw his lover, "Is this the big rooster you were talking about?"
Everyone in the Zhou family was frightened by Uncle Shi, even Zhou Dalang was speechless for a while.
But Manbao was not stunned . She rushed forward with Uncle Shi, stood beside her fifth brother, and reached out to touch the feathers of the rooster. She asked proudly, "How is my rooster?"
"Okay, okay!" Zhou Dalang touched it again and again and asked, "How much do you want for it?"
Manbao was stunned and scratched her head. She had never thought about this before, because she thought that since they liked the rooster so much, they should be able to sell it for a good price.
The most important thing is that only after I found him a big and nice rooster, he was willing to sell the hairless rooster to her at a lower price.
Manbao couldn't help but glance at the rooster with its feathers shed.
Uncle Shi followed her gaze and saw the child's thoughts written on her face. Uncle Shi laughed and asked, "Do you want my rooster?"
Manbao nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
"Make some soup for me," Manbao tilted his head up and looked at Grandpa Shi, "Rooster is very nutritious. My mother wants to eat rooster."
"This chicken can only be used to make soup, but..." Uncle Shi asked doubtfully, "Don't you raise roosters at home?"
"You have to eat it every day. This big rooster is more expensive than yours. If you buy it, you can buy a second one in addition to this one."
Uncle Shi couldn't help but laugh, "Not bad, not bad, very smart, OK, I'll buy this big rooster."
Uncle Shi almost couldn't wait to take the chicken from Zhou Wulang's arms, touched it, put it on the ground and walked it a few steps. Seeing that it was energetic and strong, he became more and more satisfied.
He felt around in his arms and pulled out a small piece of silver. He threw it to Manbao and said, "Here, I'll buy this chicken, and the rooster is for you."
Manbao held the silver in his hand and looked at it, then asked, "How heavy is this?"
Uncle Shi felt a little guilty, but he looked strong and calm, and said proudly: "It should be at least three or five cents, you can find out when you go back and weigh it yourself."
Manbao felt that silver was not reliable, so he asked, "Don't you have any copper coins?"
"Who would go out to gamble and carry a bunch of copper coins? Isn't it too heavy?" Uncle Shi said, "Do you want it? If not, I won't buy it."
Before Manbao could say anything, Zhou Wulang immediately expressed his wish, and even Zhou Dalang couldn't help but say to Manbao, "It should be three coins, which is enough."
But he knew that this chicken cost sixty-five coins, three cents of silver, which would be three hundred coins in copper coins.
Zhou Dalang took a look at the miserable rooster on the ground, which had little hair left, not to mention that it was given away for free.
Although it doesn’t look good, it doesn’t affect the taste.
When Manbao heard that his elder brother had confirmed it, he was very happy. He held the silver ingot and made the deal with Uncle Shi, saying, "I will come to you next time when I have a good rooster."
"You have to be able to fight, or else a pretty and strong one like this one will do."
The people who witnessed their transaction secretly talked to Zhou's family. When they left the market and were out of Mr. Shi's sight, they immediately stepped forward and said, "You are so stupid. That big rooster is worth at least five taels of silver. You only sold it to Shi Dalang for a few cents. It's too much of a loss. You should go back and bargain again."
The three brothers, led by Zhou Dalang, were all stunned. “First, a rooster is worth so much money?”
"This is not an ordinary rooster, it's a rooster that can make money. Shi Dalang bets, do you know how much money it will cost? At least twenty taels. If this rooster wins, he can get that much!"
The other party made a hand gesture, and everyone was stunned. Only Manbao looked up at them with contempt, "How stupid! What if we lose?"
The Zhou family's boiling blood suddenly cooled. Yes, what if they lost?
Ever since his fourth brother lost money in gambling, Manbao has heard from Koko many tragic stories about various intelligent races throughout history and in the future who lost their families and even their own lives because of gambling.
Ke Ke once said that nine out of ten times in gambling, you lose, and the only winner may not be due to skill or luck. Didn’t you hear what Uncle Shi said just now?
There are a lot of frauds in casinos. People outside may not be unaware of this, but don’t dare to say it out loud. Why?
Afraid of being beaten or killed.
So Manbao summed it up himself: whoever is better will win.
If her fourth brother is invincible, is there anyone who dares to win his money?
"But that rooster is worth five taels of silver!" Zhou Wulang was still a little unwilling.
"Fifth brother, that chicken was originally worth only 65 cents. Not only have we made more money now, but we also got a big rooster for free." Manbao had her own reasons. She said, counting on her little finger, "If the uncle who sells the rooster knew about this, he would be so angry that he would die. If Uncle Shi took this rooster to gamble and lost, he would not only lose the money, but also lose the money he spent on buying the rooster from us."
Zhou Wulang thought about it and felt much calmer.
Zhou Dalang also said, "Be content with what you have. You are such a grown-up, but you still don't think as clearly as Manbao."
"Brother, don't blame me. Didn't you feel regretful just now?" Zhou Wulang was not convinced, but he couldn't help but look at his youngest sister with new eyes. "Manbao, you are really smart. In the past, my parents always said that you are smarter than us, but I didn't believe it. Now it seems that you are really smart."
Manbao nodded proudly and said with a smile that was not modest at all: "It's just so-so. It's mainly because my friend taught me, and I learn quickly."
"What friend? Isn't it just Mr. Zhuang?" Zhou Wulang said, "Now that you have Mr. Zhuang as your teacher, you can't just call him friend all the time. You have to call him teacher."
He added: "Actually, I think you are smarter than us, so you can't blame us for being stupid. It's mainly because your parents are smarter..."
"Wulang, what nonsense are you talking about?" Zhou Dalang slapped him on the head. Zhou Wulang then realized that he had talked nonsense. He quickly covered his mouth and smiled foolishly, looking at Manbao nervously.
Manbao tried to comfort Zhou Dalang, "Don't be angry, big brother. Fifth brother is just a little dumber. You are smarter than him and you are like dad."
Then Manbao said proudly, "I am just like mom. Mom is a little smarter than dad. Fifth brother is not like anyone. I don't know if he was picked up on the street. Sigh, mom is so worried. Every night before going to bed, she says, I don't know if Xiaowu can find a wife in the future."
Zhou Dalang and Zhou Liulang: ...
Zhou Wulang was angry and said, "How am I stupid? I am honest, just like my father. Do you know that?"
Manbao shook his head, "I can't tell how you look like dad. If you don't believe me, go home and ask dad. See if he tells you whether you look like him."
