The Little Lucky Girl

After a while, he came out holding a broken clay pot, poured out a ball of coarse cloth from it, and opened it to show the two what was inside.

Ming Youyou had only heard of this thing before, and today was the first time she saw it. She exclaimed, "It really looks like a cicada, no wonder it's called a bronze cicada."

Cao Er nodded with a hint of pride. "It's called a copper cicada, or a copper dragonfly. Look! It's made of high-quality copper, so the price can't be low."

"No matter how good it is, it's only a small piece. Don't ask for an exorbitant price. I'll be generous. How about thirty cents?"

Cao Er was choked and said, "You are a kid and don't know anything. This thing is very useful for catching chickens. How about this, I will give you 900 coins."

“No matter how magical it is, I can only use it as a toy. Can you really use it to catch chickens?” Ming Youyou rolled his eyes. “Don’t forget that everyone knows you have this skill. If you sell it, you will be safe. Otherwise, if someone loses a chicken one day, they will suspect you.”

Cao Er gritted his teeth and said, "I'll give you another hundred coins, but let's make it clear that if someone falsely accuses me one day, you have to testify for me."

"No problem, but you have to be sincere when you offer. How about thirty-five cents?"

The two of them went back and forth and finally the deal was settled for sixty cents. Both of them had serious expressions, as if they were getting a great deal, but they were actually quite satisfied in their hearts.

When it was time to hand it over to Ming Youyou, Cao Er felt reluctant to part with it. He touched the bronze cicada nostalgically and said, "This thing was passed down from my ancestors..."

"Then your ancestors were also chicken thieves?" Ming Youyou asked in surprise, "Luckily you sold it to me, otherwise what if your son saw it and learned bad things from it?"

This sentence immediately washed away Cao Er's sadness. He wanted to wave his hand and tell them to go away, but after all, he had just cheated someone, no, earned a few dozen coins, so it was a bit unkind. He saw Ming Youyou staring at the chicken on the table that had not been eaten, and said with a heartache: "Why don't you guys eat some too?"

Ming Youyou asked in confusion, "Did you make this chicken yourself? It looks like you're imitating the lotus leaf chicken recipe, but you stuffed the mushrooms and bamboo shoots into the chicken without soaking them, so how can it be delicious? The ingredients cost a lot of money, so you might as well just buy one."

Cao Er blushed and snorted, "I just like to eat this kind of food, is it your business?"

Ming Youyou looked at him, suddenly understood, and said happily: "You are trying to save money."

She looked Cao Er up and down. Although his face was still sloppy and his clothes were messy, he was much better than when he was a gangster.

Ming Youyou thought of what the old lady in the village said, and said with relief: "Not bad, not bad, you know how to save money and live a good life. Save well for two years and try to marry a wife. Then you can bring a fat boy to visit next year."

Cao Er finally couldn't bear it anymore and kicked the two out with a dark face.

Ming Youyou pried open the crack in the door and shouted to the inside: "You just said that you were buying chicken feathers with money? You are so stupid, why don't you buy some needles, thread, brain, maltose or something to exchange? You can make more money. If you don't mind the heavy things, just carry a little of each like a peddler, maybe you can make more money than you do by collecting chicken feathers. But you have to stagger your time with him, otherwise people won't buy your products..."

The door was opened with a bang, and Cao Er glared at her and said, "Do you think I don't want to? But purchasing goods also requires capital. I had a bad reputation before, and people wouldn't buy me on credit." His voice became smaller and smaller, and there was a hint of grievance in his tone.

Ming Youyou looked at him, lowered her head and thought for a while, then stared at him for a while, "Why don't you go to my store, I'll ask the shopkeeper to give you some rouge on credit first."

"Are you serious?" Cao Er's face lit up, but then he asked doubtfully, "Can you be the owner of your own store?"

Ming Youyou felt that she was being looked down upon, and snorted, "Not only can I lend you rouge on credit, I can also lend you money on credit. But you have to bring something valuable as collateral, that's the rule."

As she spoke, she slapped her forehead and said, "If you don't trust us, why not go to the county government to borrow money? Lord Tao has set a new policy to help people like you who have ideas but no capital. This will probably be announced after the Chinese New Year. When the time comes, hurry up and sign up. The first ones will definitely have the best discounts."

Tao County Magistrate had a good reputation. Cao Er was obviously tempted. He turned around and inspected his home, but said in disappointment: "But I don't have anything valuable at home..."

Ming Youyou thought for a moment and said, "We still have this house. The capital you need is not much. Mortgage of half the yard should be enough."

Cao Er unconsciously clenched his fists, "But what if I lose money..."

"What you sell is what everyone needs, so there will definitely be people who buy it. To put it bluntly, it's hard-earned money. As long as you don't run into bandits, you won't lose money."

"But if we really encounter bandits..."

"Then congratulations, you are going to get rich." Ming Youyou said happily, "When the time comes, don't fight them for the things. It's better to play to your strengths, get close to them, and find out where they are hiding. Then go back and report the case to the county government. Lord Tao will not only compensate you for your losses, but also give you a reward."

Cao Er seemed to be really convinced. "I'll think about it again. Anyway, thank you in advance."

He turned around and took out a dirty small cloth bag from the house. "Inside are various tools for digging insects. You must be unfamiliar with using this copper cicada. Just hang a few insects together. I guarantee the chicken will be fooled."

Ming Youyou looked at the complete set of utensils of all sizes in the cloth bag and exclaimed, "Your ancestors were really smart." It's a pity that they were not used in the right way.

Holding the copper cicada in one hand and a small cloth bag in the other, Ming Youyou walked back with Brother Fan contentedly.

Passing by several chicken-raising households, the two looked at the plump hens leisurely pacing in the yard, and laughed. With so many tools, it would be a shame not to try them out.

Ming Youyou threw a copper cicada tied with a string into the yard and scattered a few insects around it, successfully attracting the attention of the hen.

It pecked at the bronze cicada. With a clang, the hen's beak was stretched open and she could not even scream. Her eyes could not even move.

Ming Youyou excitedly grabbed the rope and pulled it back, waiting for Brother Fan to take down the copper cicada. She stroked the chicken's back and consoled it, "Thank you for your hard work. I'll feed you more insects later."

Unfortunately, the two men were newbies and not very skilled at the job. It took them a lot of effort to remove the copper cicada, and they also plucked a lot of the hen's feathers.

The hen was frightened and immediately flapped its wings and ran away after being released. The noise it made attracted a goose half a person's height in the distance.