What do you mean I'm a ghost story?

Chapter 5: The Tumultuous Journey to Enlightenment
"Sigh, it's the weekend, and Niu Niu insisted that I bring her. It's close by, so I brought her."

Upon hearing Xia Qing's voice, Grandma Zou turned around and recognized Xia Qing. She nodded slightly in greeting before sighing and speaking.

She looked kind and indulgent, yet troubled, as she patted Niu Niu's head: "When we got here, we saw this ring toss game, and this girl insisted on playing. In the end, she didn't get a single ring, and then she made me try."

As she spoke, she pointed to a plastic ring that had missed its target and said with a wry smile, "My old eyes are failing me, how could I possibly throw it accurately? Look, I missed, and this girl is feeling the pinch."

"How about I give it a try?"

Upon hearing this, Xia Qing squatted down, smiling warmly as she looked at the last green plastic ring in Niu Niu's hand.

"Really? Uncle Xia, can you hit the target? This is my last one!"

Niu Niu's eyes lit up, but she immediately frowned again and resumed her troubled expression.

"Call me brother, and I'm sure I'll win. If I don't win, I'll buy more until I win."

Xia Qing smiled and extended her right palm towards Niu Niu.

In a sense, the two of them were his saviors.

Moreover, helping a little girl get the prize she wants, even with a hint of gratitude, is obviously more meaningful and a better way to "showcase one's skills" than simply getting the prize for oneself.

Both morally and logically, I should definitely help with this; it's just something I can do easily anyway.

"Thank you, brother."

Hearing Xia Qing's assurance, Niu Niu's eyes lit up, and she eagerly and deftly placed the green plastic ring into Xia Qing's palm.

"Tell me, which one do you want?"

Xia Qing stood up with the plastic rings in her hand, gesturing for Niu Niu to choose whatever she wanted.

"That one, the biggest one at the very back, is a unicorn!"

Without hesitation, Niu Niu pointed to the largest doll she had been eyeing.

Of course, it's also the most difficult, placed at the very end, extremely far away, making it virtually impossible for the average person to hit it.

Otherwise, they would lose money if it were too easy for someone to get it, and a street vendor who's involved in street scams wouldn't do that.

"Row."

Xia Qing tossed the plastic ring in her hand, getting a general idea of ​​what it was, and casually tossed it toward the unicorn without much effort.

These plastic rings are so light and flimsy that they're not really suitable for throwing, and since it was my first time, I was a little rusty.

Fortunately, the experience and instincts imparted by the Money Dart Technique were extremely powerful, and the plastic ring only deviated slightly.

It was originally aimed at the unicorn's horn, but ended up hanging on one of its ears.

But at least it worked out.

"yeah!"

Niu Niu was so excited that she danced around, jumped up and down, and cheered.

"Thank you, brother."

After the cheers subsided, she grabbed Xia Qing's leg, looked up and thanked him, then skipped over to the unicorn plush toy at the back of the stall, which was bigger than her whole body.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing? What are you doing? Putting it on the ear doesn't count! It has to be put on this corner right above the forehead. Also, kids aren't allowed in."

A middle-aged man wearing a white vest, with a bald head and a big belly, stopped Niu Niu at that moment, and then impatiently pushed her away, causing the little girl to stumble and almost fall to the ground.

"what are you doing!"

Grandma Zou felt sorry for her granddaughter and rushed forward to help her up, glaring angrily at the bald middle-aged man.

"What are you doing? I told you not to come into the stall."

Faced with an old man and a child, the bald middle-aged man's arrogance clearly grew even stronger.

"Can't afford to lose and trying to renege on the debt?"

Xia Qing took two steps forward upon seeing this. The bald man was holding a stack of plastic rings, clearly the owner of this street stall.

"What do you mean I want to renege on my debt? Ring toss, of course you have to put it on from the top."

The bald middle-aged man glared at him impatiently and said, "I've already been generous by letting you put a corner in the big ones, but you still consider hanging them on the edge as acceptable? What kind of business am I supposed to do then?"

These oversized dolls, placed at the very back, are usually the store manager's "treasure of the store".

They're mostly for display, not for actual people to take.

A regular plush toy costs at most three or four yuan, so it's a sure-fire way to make a profit.

However, the cost of such exquisitely crafted oversized dolls is not low.

Anyway, it's just Xia Qing and his group now, so he doesn't care if things get ugly.

The park and scenic area itself only do mobile business and don't care about reputation or repeat customers.

Not to mention these street stalls that are inherently involved in street scams and gambling.

Don't think it's not worth it for a few tens or hundreds of dollars. You should know that local vendors will try to save even a few dollars or cents, and they never stop shortchanging customers.

"Xia, Brother Xia, forget it, I don't want it anymore."

Niu Niu tugged at Xia Qing's trouser leg, appearing very well-behaved and sensible.

But the grievance, reluctance, and glistening tears in his eyes were not something a child could hide.

"It's okay, it's my fault. I didn't throw it accurately this time, but I'll throw it more accurately next time. Did you forget that I promised you I would keep throwing until I hit the target?"

Xia Qing immediately disregarded her anger towards the bald boss, squatted down, and gently patted the little girl's head to comfort her.

"Want to keep playing? Fine, then pay more. Five for ten yuan, how many do you want?"

Seeing Xia Qing say this, the bald boss knew he had 'won' and was full of pride, so he started to sell his wares.

"Your [Golden Dart Technique] was a resounding success in its first battle, and you were in high spirits when you thought you had gained some enlightenment. However, the world is a dangerous place, and there are such villains who go back on their word. Your state of mind was disturbed, and your enlightenment was interrupted."

Xia Qing was already somewhat annoyed, and seeing this notification made her even angrier.

Money, power, and fists—these are a man's three sources of confidence.

It's hard to say about the first two now, but in terms of martial arts alone, he is definitely the best among ordinary people, so there is no possibility of him backing down or admitting defeat.

As the saying goes, "He who possesses a sharp weapon will naturally have the will to kill," this is the power of confidence.

Of course, in modern society, it is illegal to assault someone for no reason.

However, he also has a more suitable approach.

"Give me a hundred."

After calming the little girl down, he stood up again.

"Oh, big client, looks like you're really planning to keep trying until you get what you want."

The bald boss chuckled and immediately raised the QR code hanging around his neck: "Okay, scan the code, pay first, and you can have as many circles as you want."

"Xia, why don't we just forget about it? It's just a joke with a child, don't take it seriously..."

When Grandma Zou saw that Xia Qing was serious and wanted to spend a hundred or two, she immediately tried to smooth things over and dissuade her.

Two hundred yuan is not a small amount for an elderly person.

Besides, it's even more unfair to let someone with no family or friends spend so much money on your behalf, especially since they're standing up for you.

Of course, she knew that the current situation was due to her being angry and being put on a pedestal, so she spoke up to smooth things over, while also gesturing to Niu Niu.

"Brother, I really don't want it anymore."

Niu Niu also ran over and tugged at Xia Qing's clothes, tilting her head up and speaking obediently.

(End of this chapter)