The Little Lucky Girl

Ming Youyou listened to the crisp sound of the jade beads hitting each other and nodded happily, "I like it very much."

Then he took all the prepared medicine plasters, distributed twenty of them to the apprentices, and divided the rest into two piles, one for Village Chief Guo and the other for Master Cao.

Village chief Guo was so hesitant to speak that he almost couldn't lie still. He thought to himself, how could this child become stupid? He also saw the small round beads, and their quality was very ordinary. It was hard to say whether they were real jade or not, but they were really worthless.

And that pile of plasters must have at least a hundred pairs, and exchanging them for something like this is not worth it no matter how you look at it. He kept winking at Ming Youyou, and finally his uncle couldn't stand it anymore and glared at him a few times, and the old man finally calmed down.

Master Cao was very moved. "Young lady, you are very heroic. I am not good at other things, but I am good at martial arts. If you don't mind, come back and learn with the gentlemen. I dare not boast that I can teach a master, but I can still protect myself when I encounter villains."

Ming Youyou's heart was moved for a second, then she remembered the look of despair that Zheng Huan and the others had after every training session, and she shook her head firmly to show that she understood.

But she remembered that the children in the village seemed to be very interested in martial arts. They often peeked in at the door, and some even followed suit. Although Zheng Huan and others would teach after class, it was not as clear as what the teacher explained.

She asked, "Is it okay if the children in the village come and learn from me?"

Village chief Guo suddenly became quiet, and together with his uncle, he stared at Master Cao with sharp eyes.

Master Cao was in charge of more than a hundred people in the escort agency, and he was not afraid of trouble. Thinking that releasing three sheep would be the same as releasing a flock of sheep, and that he could also make good friends, he readily agreed.

Village Chief Guo and his uncle ignored the patch on their backs and immediately sat up. They took Master Cao's hand and said enthusiastically, "Don't worry, we will educate the children well and will never cause any trouble for you."

"Our village is poor. Although we can't afford much in tuition, we have enough food. We will cover all your meals for the day you are here."

Village Chief Guo also called his eldest grandson in, "Ah Ren, go back and get our wooden box." He smiled at Master Cao, "This medicine patch cannot be exposed to moisture, so it's best to keep it in a wooden box. You can stuff some straw paper in it later, and it won't be a problem to keep it for a few months."

Master Cao said he was learning, and the three of them started chatting enthusiastically. After a while, Master Cao got up and went out to continue teaching. Seeing that he was the only one left in the room, Village Chief Guo couldn't help but call Ming Youyou over to talk.

Seeing that he kept talking about saving money, the uncle shook his head and interrupted him, letting the child go out to play. Then he looked at Village Chief Guo and said, "Da Zhuang, why do I feel that the richer you are, the more obsessed you become with money?"

Village chief Guo immediately looked outside and muttered softly: "I changed my name a long time ago to Chengyi. Please don't call me the wrong name in front of the children." It would be too damaging to his dignity.

Village Chief Guo sighed, "You don't know how expensive firewood and rice are until you run a household. We have to buy a lot of things every day in our village. We have to buy dozens of chickens at a time. Money is pouring out of my hands. Oh, my heart is so broken..."

The uncle laughed angrily, "You only see how much money you spend every day, why don't you count how much money comes in every day?"

"Of course I didn't count them. I open the money box and count them every night." Village Chief Guo said with a chuckle, "Don't worry if you laugh at me. I even smile in my dreams after counting the money."

The great uncle took a puff of his pipe and said, "You are so short-sighted. You are so happy about this little money. You are such a loser. I never count it."

Village chief Guo curled his lips and said, "There are no secrets in the village. Everyone knows about it. You never count the money and you sleep with the money box in your arms."

He said: "Now the businesses in the villages along the road have also been booming, and some are imitating the food in our village, so it is not so easy to make money now, and we have to save money where we can."

"You also said that we should 'save money,'" the uncle wanted to hit him with his pipe, "but based on what happened just now, if the child listened to you and paid for the plaster to Master Cao, would Master Cao still be so happy to teach our children later? Don't be vague when it comes to friendship, don't get caught up in the money trap all day long."

The uncle sighed. It seemed that all the villagers were like this now. When they had no money before, they could occasionally be generous. But now that they have some money, they have become stingy instead. They all tend to be misers.

In the final analysis, everyone is afraid of being poor. Now that they finally have some money in their hands, they feel more at ease, but they are also afraid that such good days will not last long, so they try every means to hold on to the money in their hands.

However, if you want to expand your business and sustain it over the long term, this mentality is not right.

"People in our village should go out and see the world," the great uncle tapped his pipe and put some more leaves in it, "later you can take a few young men to the capital to see if our food can be sold there. Then ask about the prices of chickens and mountain products. If they are cheaper than here, find a seller, and you can save some money in the future."

Village Chief Guo has been active in Yuqing County for most of his life. He has only been to Pingyang City once when he was young. He still remembers how uneasy he felt in the bustling city. Now he is going to the more lively Fucheng than Pingyang City. He is very unsure. He said softly, "Why don't you come with us?"

The uncle shook his head and said, "I am old now. You will have to take care of this family from now on. Don't be afraid of losing out. It's not a bad thing to go out more often."

Seeing that the old face of Village Chief Guo was a little worried, he thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you go to Dafeng Village and talk to Village Chief Shi about this. If they also want to send someone over, then you can get together so that you can look after each other."

"Let's also talk about the martial arts training. If they are willing, they can send a few children over. Since both villages want to make things better, let's show our sincerity."

When Village Chief Shi heard Village Chief Guo's thoughts about his great-uncle, he sighed in his heart that the old saying was right. It was true that having an elder in the family was like having a treasure. Xiaguan Village was truly blessed to have someone like his great-uncle to guide the direction.

Unfortunately, when they fled, the elders in the village chose not to follow them in order not to implicate them. When they settled down and secretly went over the mountain to pick them up, they found that their village had already been burned down.

Village chief Shi's eyes turned red, and he couldn't help looking towards the other side of the mountain. The friends from the neighboring village back then were probably his age now. He wondered if they could still make ends meet.