money player

"He didn't find me, but he found me."

"A bit powerful?"

Sin Yiu-man nodded.

"The things are all in the jar by the door."

Upon hearing this, Xian Yaowen headed towards the house, but after taking only two steps, Xian Guangli called out to him, "What's wrong with Fei Baoqi?"

"Sister-in-law".

Xian Guangli put on a stern face and said seriously, "No nonsense allowed."

"Yes."

"Let's go." Xian Guangli waved his hand.

When Xian Yaowen arrived at the door of the house, he saw a square water tank on the right with three large vats next to it. He walked closer and looked into the water tank and saw fish of all sizes floating in the water. After distinguishing them, he found crucian carp, striped snakehead, Malayan barbel, small loach, zebrafish, and a lot of swamp shrimp, which were not very big and had crystal clear bodies.

He scooped one up and examined it; it was very clean. He peeled off the shell, put it in his mouth, and took a bite. It was salty and fresh, with a hint of sweetness. It was definitely a shrimp from the mountain stream. Xian Guangli had actually used it to feed the striped goby.

"Oo-lu, oo-lu~"

Sin Yiu-man barked twice at the air, and a yellow-haired mountain dog ran out from the other corner of the house. About a meter away from Sin Yiu-man, the mountain dog stopped, glanced at him a few times, then moved closer, sniffed around his feet a few times, and then squatted down and looked up.

"Ah Cai? Wang Cai? Lai Fu? Lai Xi?"

"Wang Wang."

"Oh, your name is Lai Xi." Xian Yaowen squatted down, patted the dog's head, and threw the unfinished shrimp on the ground.

Lai Hei glanced at the shrimp, then at Sin Yiu Man, as if asking if he could eat it.

"move."

Upon hearing this, Lai-hei lowered his head, licked the shrimp with his tongue, and it was gone in less than a second. Then he stared longingly at Sin Yiu-man.

Sin Yiu-man smiled, then scooped three more shrimp from the reservoir, peeled off their shells, and threw the shrimp meat on the ground.

Lai Xi finished his meal in two bites, still wanting more, but did not beg for food again.

Since Sin Kwong-lai is replicating his house here, Sin Yiu-man guessed that the dog would be part of the design.

Wenchangwei hunts every year, and hunting dogs are indispensable. The mountain-driving dogs are the hunting dogs of Wenchangwei. The breed has been passed down from generation to generation for more than 300 years. Each generation is carefully raised with intelligence. The stupid ones eat meat. Under the cruel selection mechanism, those that can survive and be used for breeding are all good.

Here you can see the mountain dogs, smell the scent of "one of our own" on them, and their name is Lai Xi. Needless to say, this dog comes from Wenchangwei, and Xian Guangli and Xian Guangbing have reconnected, and their status in the ancestral hall remains unchanged.

The hunting dogs in Wenchangwei are all assets of the ancestral hall. There is no claim that any dog ​​belongs to any particular family. They are usually free-range and each family provides them with food subsidies. The ancestral hall provides subsidies for dog food. They accompany the army on missions when hunting or fighting over water or manure.

The mountain-driving dog was to the Xian family what a warhorse was to an army. If Xian Guangli had lost the status of the ancestral hall, it would have been impossible for him to obtain a mountain-driving dog from Wenchangwei.

He had no idea of ​​Lai Xi's existence before, and it wasn't sent through his channels. Sending a live dog from Bao'an to Singapore is no simple matter. That old fox, Xian Guangbing, had ulterior motives. He knew he had Xian Guangli under his control, and Xian Yaowen hadn't run away either.

A country bumpkin couldn't bear to relinquish even the smallest bit of power over his ancestral hall; power is truly captivating.

Xian Guangbing first tricked Xian Guangli into becoming a landlord, and now he's playing a trick to undermine him. He's determined to suppress him, so Xian Guangli can only obediently be an outcast pawn and not be allowed to play the role of the player.

Xian Guangbing was so cunning that he suspected that Liu the landlord had been tricked into coming to Wenchangwei. Although Liu the landlord had brought less land to Wenchangwei, he was able to take advantage of the situation during the armed conflicts. Wenchangwei had not lacked irrigation water for several years, and Liu the landlord deserves a lot of credit for that.

The entire Wenchangwei village is inhabited by people with the surname Xian, and the Xian family army has participated in many conflicts between the local people and the Hakka people. Yet, a large landowner with the surname Liu emerged from among them, which seems very strange.

He thought to himself that he had underestimated the importance of the Xian Clan Ancestral Hall and Xian Guangbing. He estimated that even without him as a variable, the Liu family would not have survived.

Xian Guangli had lived in Xiguan, so he really didn't know about this. He glanced back at the exquisite garden and realized that two years of experience as a gardener was probably not enough to create the scene before him.

"Xin Yaowen's" memories seem unreliable, as he absorbed too much of what others wanted him to see.

After pondering for a while, Xian Yaowen came to a water vat, lifted the rattan-woven lid, and looked inside. There were seven turtles, six large and one small. The largest weighed three kilograms, and the smallest weighed eleven or twelve ounces. Since they were in a hurry to eat, they could only be stir-fried. He scooped out the largest old turtle.

Arriving at another tank, I lifted the lid and saw a swarm of freshwater shrimp, their bodies less transparent than the shrimp in the reservoir; they were either river shrimp or pond shrimp.

He glanced around and spotted a large bamboo basket hanging on the wall. He picked it up and began selecting the smaller prawns from the tank. The larger ones weren't good to eat, so he'd save them for Sin Kwong-lai to sell to the city folks at the market.

Choose the right amount of vegetables for one dish, then turn the bamboo basket upside down on the ground to prevent the shrimp from jumping around restlessly.

The last tank contained small, miscellaneous fish, which he didn't catch. When setting the net, he usually carried a fish basket around his waist for easy carrying. The fish he caught would die quickly if he didn't put them in the water. With so many alive fish in the tank, even more would die.

He could guess that the meal later would include the "meal-sending" dishes eaten during the busy farming season: salted vegetables and steamed mixed fish with soy sauce, salt-baked dishes made with coarse sea salt, and perhaps even deep-fried fried dough sticks.

All three dishes are Wen Banxia's specialty. The first two used to be available every few days. The oil used to be very greasy, so it was only made to entertain guests. I wonder if Wen Banxia has changed her mind and can now use oil without being stingy.

He couldn't find any frogs in the jar, so he looked around at the ground and saw a urea bag with its opening sealed with a brick. It was bulging and moving.

He walked over, squeezed the urea bag through his hand, and immediately knew it wasn't a frog at all, but a toad. No wonder Xian Guangli insisted on waiting for him to prepare it.

Toads are poisonous and require some skill to kill. The Sin family all knew how to kill them, but for some reason, the toads killed by Sin Yiu-man tasted better. So whenever the family ate toads, he was responsible for killing them.

Upon entering the house, following the aroma, I found myself in the kitchen. There, I saw Wen Banxia standing in front of the stove, holding a spatula and stirring the food while talking to Fei Baoqi, who was standing next to her. Fei Baoqi was also busy peeling black garlic.

Narcissus sat in front of the hearth, holding fire tongs and poking at the stove opening.

Arriving at the stove, Xian Yaowen called out "Mother," then looked at Wen Banxia's belly.

In the north, there's a saying that sour foods indicate a boy and spicy foods indicate a girl; in Bao'an, there's a saying about observing three things.

Looking at the shape of the belly, if the belly protrudes forward and contracts on the sides, and the pregnancy is not visible from the back, resembling an inverted winnowing basket, this is called a pointed belly, a characteristic of carrying a boy; if the belly spreads out to the sides, and the pregnancy is immediately apparent from behind, resembling a flat rice sieve, this is called a round belly, a characteristic of carrying a girl.

Secondly, observe the linea nigra. If the line is straight, thin, and dark in color from the pubic bone to the navel, or even crosses the chest, it indicates a boy. If the line is slightly to the left or right, lighter in color, and stops at the navel, it indicates a girl.

Listen to the fetal heartbeat three times. If the heartbeat is low, like an old ox pulling a broken cart, it indicates a boy; if the heartbeat is high, like a sparrow hopping, it indicates a girl.

The "three-look formula" is basically nonsense, yet some people have benefited from it. One person had a pointed belly, received meticulous care during pregnancy, and gave birth to a son, thus gaining a higher social status.

Some people have lost their lives because of this. If a woman has a round belly and has given birth to too many daughters, she is very likely to have a miscarriage or induced labor. It is not uncommon for two people to die as a result.

Even a broken home is worth a fortune. Not having enough to eat doesn't mean there's no throne to inherit. You can't survive without a son.

Seeing that Wen Banxia had a pointed belly, Xian Yaowen joked, "Mom, your belly is really pointed. Be careful not to puncture your clothes."

Wen Banxia raised the spatula as if to hit him, but her face was full of a bright smile. "You little brat, how dare you make fun of your mother? Are you itching for a beating?"

"No, no." Xian Yaowen raised his left hand in a blocking gesture, still smiling. "Mother is still as sharp as ever... Go ahead and hit me."

Wen Banxia put away the spatula, wiped it with a rag, and scolded, "You have no manners. If you keep talking nonsense, your father will punish you."

"I won't say, I won't say, I'm leaving, I'm leaving." Xian Yaowen retreated repeatedly, grabbed the kitchen knife and cutting board, and dashed out of the kitchen.

Wen Banxia watched Xian Yaowen leave, then turned her gaze to the hearth, paused briefly, and looked into the pot.

Narcissus had a high-profile period, and in Singapore, she could be described as almost universally known. Wen Banxia had been living in Singapore for some time and ran a grocery store, so how could she not have heard of Narcissus's reputation?

She should have said something to urge her to have a baby, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. She still felt a bit disgusted with her daughter-in-law.

And then there's this older sister-in-law next to her, what a scoundrel, she's really brought trouble upon herself.

After quickly preparing the turtle and shrimp stew and sending it into the kitchen, Sin Kwong-lai called him to the front of the hall for tea. The tea was shaped like a bird's beak, and judging from its shape, one could tell that the tea leaves were picked from a few wild tea trees in Huashan. It was processed by non-professionals and had a strong, astringent taste.

Xian Guangli poured tea, took out a pack of Sanpaotai cigarettes, placed the cigarette case on the octagonal table, touched the apron of the table with his hand, and a homemade tinderbox appeared in his hand. He pulled it out from the middle, pursed his lips and blew a breath into the wick, and the flame reignited.

He lit a cigarette, put the tinder back in, took a light puff, the smoke went into his lungs through his mouth, quickly circled around, and was immediately exhaled. He then took a second puff, still very lightly.

Repeating this process, Xian Guangli smoked half a cigarette, picked up the scissors on the table, and sniped precisely off the red-hot cigarette butt, not wasting a single unburnt piece of tobacco.

“Father, Yaowu and I can afford to let you smoke.”

Xian Guangli tucked the half-smoked cigarette behind his ear, picked up his teacup, blew on the tea leaves, and took a sip of hot tea before the leaves could settle back into place.

He put down his teacup and said calmly, "It's not to save money; the doctor at the hospital told me to quit smoking."

"A gynecologist?"

"Ah."

Xian Guangli looked somewhat dejected; it was clear that quitting smoking was not an easy task for him.

"Oh."

"A few days ago, Guangbing sent me a letter about the situation in Bao'an. The county is carrying out a patriotic production increase competition. The county has sent out a patriotic production increase competition target sheet to the villages, specifying the number of acres, the planned yield per acre, and the total task."
At the autumn harvest, after the grain tax was paid, the excess amount was written on the "Patriotic Production Increase Honor Roll," which was posted on red paper with yellow lettering at the entrance of the ancestral hall; a "Patriotic Pledge Fulfillment List" was also filled out, converting the excess amount into patriotic donations, which were also published.

Sin Yiu-man interrupted, "Father, I heard that donations are voluntary."

"The policy says it's voluntary, but the cadres stationed in the area are tasked with making extra donations. They take turns doing ideological work with each household. On the day the grain is weighed, the township organizes people from other villages to come to the area to learn from the advanced practices. In addition, farmers who make extra donations are given a small red flag as patriotic grain-selling models and can be given priority in being evaluated as model workers, getting loans, and buying fertilizer."

One move leads to another, each step is interconnected; not donating is unavoidable.

"When the country is in peril and soldiers are shedding blood and sacrificing their lives on the battlefield, it is only right for farmers to donate some grain."

Xian Guangli tapped his fingers lightly on the table. “I have no objection to donating grain, but I have concerns about the method. Anyone who has farmed knows that if you use land without nurturing it, it will inevitably decline within three years. You can’t over-farm the land. If this continues, most of what you’re worried about will come true.”

“Father, I’m doing what I can.”

“I know, Yaowen, it’s not easy to just hold onto Wenchangwei, so don’t mess around anymore.”

“Father.” Xian Yaowen looked into Xian Guangli’s eyes and said slowly, “In years of famine, corpses floated for miles and starved to death for thousands of miles, but there was a litter of pigs hiding in the pen to fatten up for the autumn. Father must know that this litter of pigs will not live to see the day of slaughtering the New Year’s pigs.”

In a year of disaster relief, we have to tighten our belts and live frugally. It's a miracle if we don't starve to death. How dare you ask me for Hong Kong dollars to buy cheap goods on the black market? You and Uncle Guangbing have probably forgotten how many strokes are in the word "death."

Sin Kwong-lai was slightly embarrassed. "Kwong-ping and I didn't think things were too serious at the time, and we had other ideas."

Sin Yiu-man met Sin Kwong-lai's gaze and said sincerely, "Father, I will not forget my roots. No matter where I go, I will always remember that I am a Wenchangwei person. But don't expect me to listen to you and Uncle Kwong-bing in everything. To put it bluntly, I understand things better than you do. I have my own plan in mind on how things should be done and how far things can go."

"Father is not looking down on you, he's just telling you to stop being so mischievous."

Sin Yiu-man knew that Sin Kwong-lai was referring to the kidnapping incident. He scratched his head and said, "There won't be a next time."

Xian Guangli lowered his voice and said, "I won't say anything if you find ten or eight concubines, but if you dare to cause trouble, I'll break your legs. There's enough room at home, so don't leave today, stay here."

"Father, there are seven or eight people."

"Adding seven or eight more would still be enough room."

"Yes."

Since Sin Kwong-lai had set the tone, Sin Yiu-man couldn't say anything.

Sin Kwong-lai took another sip of tea, said "Follow me," and led Sin Yiu-man by the nose around the house, through the vegetable garden, and to a low-lying house.

Even without Xian Guangli saying anything, Xian Yaowen knew where this place was. He could smell the stench of pig manure that had been accumulating in the septic tank for days, and he could see a row of large vats under the eaves.

“We raise 57 pigs at home, 31 big ones and 26 small ones.” As Xian Guangli spoke, he walked to a large vat, lifted the lid, and revealed that it was full of rice bran. “The winnowing basket is behind the door.”

Upon hearing this, Xian Yaowen went into the pigsty and saw a winnowing basket, a wooden bucket, a guillotine, and a thick chopping board by the door. He took them all out at once and handed the winnowing basket to Xian Guangli.

Xian Guangli took the winnowing basket and pointed to the corner of the pigpen, "The water hyacinth and water spinach stems are over there, just half the amount is fine."

"it is good."

Xian Yaowen scurried over and saw a pool around the corner filled with water hyacinths. He calculated the amount he needed, quickly scooped them out, and once he had enough, he grabbed a large pile of water spinach stems from the side and began chopping them up.

He chopped up half a cigar in no time, estimated the amount, put a little into the wooden bucket, and carried it back to Xian Guangli's place.

Sin Kwong-lai poured rice bran, broken rice, and cassava residue into the wooden bucket. He stirred it with a wooden stick. After pouring it in, he added oyster shell powder to the bucket. When it was almost done, he sprinkled a few handfuls of charcoal ash to supplement calcium and aid digestion.

"Father, have you secured sales channels yet?"

"Shuixian came with a woman named Li Chaoqiong. She'll come to take her away when it's time for her to be sold. Is she also your concubine?"

"No."

“The city has started to restrict pig farming, so there will be fewer and fewer people raising pigs. I plan to raise 200 pigs in my next pen.” Xian Guangli put the half cigarette tucked behind his ear into his mouth.

"Raising pigs is too tiring, so it's better to grow more fruit."

"Many people are growing fruit this year, so prices are low. Let's see how it goes next year," Xian Guangli said, exhaling a smoke ring and uttering a wise statement.

"Oh."

Xian Yaowen carried the mixed pig feed into the pigpen, placed it next to a small pen, pulled the hose from the tap to rinse each small pen, and then jumped in and out to clean the bluestone pig feed troughs in each small pen.

One bucket of pig feed is only enough to feed a small pen of pigs. It takes more than a dozen trips back and forth to ensure that every pig gets to eat.

After the pigs have finished eating, stand in front of each pen, take a look, feel the temperature, and check the pigs' condition. If you find no problems, go to the side and get a mosquito net specifically for pigs to cover the pen.

Step outside the enclosure, close the door, carry the sprayer on your back, and spray insecticide to kill mosquitoes within a 20-meter radius of the pigpen.

The British weren't just idlers; ever since the outbreaks of Oriental encephalitis in Singapore and Malaysia, the Veterinary Department has been very strict about mosquito control in pigsties. If an adult mosquito density of more than 5 per room is found, a fine of 50 Malaysian Ringgit and suspension of the pen for rectification will be imposed immediately.

If encephalitis breaks out in the surrounding area, then we're doomed; all the pigs in the pen will die.

After spraying the mist, Sin Yiu-man was then instructed by Sin Kwong-lai to go to the puddles and spray lime powder mixed with diesel oil everywhere to kill Culex mosquito larvae.

After such a trip, Sin Yiu-man was covered in dirt and poison. Sin Kwong-lai took him to a special shower room for showering after work and said, "You can only go into the pond after you've rinsed yourself clean."

Listen to this, is this even human language?
Xian Guangli was afraid that he would pollute the lotus pond.

After washing himself clean, Sin Yiu-man ran towards the lotus pond in his underwear. On the way, he picked up a small stone, ran to the dock, pushed off the ground, threw the stone into the pond, and then leaped into the air, spun around once, head down, clasped his hands together, broke the surface of the water, and plunged into the water.

As soon as I entered the water, I spread my arms apart and lunged forward, trying to flatten my body as much as possible to increase buoyancy and avoid plunging headfirst into the mud.

I swam forward a short distance underwater, avoiding the lotus stems, and surfaced with a lotus leaf above my head.

Splash! A black-spotted lateral frog was startled and jumped into the water, swimming with a less-than-perfect frog-like stroke, trying to get away from the two-legged creature that the frog disliked.

With another splash, Lai Xi jumped into the water from the dock and started dog paddling.

Xian Yaowen whistled, and Lai Xi quickly swam over, using its forelimbs to gain leverage on his chest, and then resting its upper body on his shoulder.

"Looks like you're Ah Cai's son, you also like to lean on his shoulder."

Sin Yiu-man muttered something, then stuck his right toe into the pond mud, hooked a large clump of mud, and slowly lifted his foot upwards. By the time his hand could reach it, most of the mud had already scattered. He only managed to grab a small handful, then smeared the mud on Lai Xi's head, using it as shampoo to wash its fur.

"Wang."

Lai Xi felt comfortable, let out a cry, and licked the back of Xian Yaowen's head again.

"Judging from your physique, I'll probably be around two years old by the next time I come. I'll pick out a couple of pointer dogs for you so you can have a taste of the new world."

"Wang."

Two aren't enough?

"Wang Wang."

"I don't understand what you're saying. Fine, here are a few more for you to choose from."

A man and a dog chatted happily, each speaking in their own words, unable to understand the other...

Instead of eating in the main hall, a small square table is moved outside, covered with a turntable, and dishes are placed on it. There's no need to light lamps; the moonlight will illuminate the space.

There were many dishes, including stir-fried turtle, stir-fried shrimp with chili peppers, frog legs with black garlic, braised wild duck, steamed mixed fish with pickled vegetables and soy sauce, salt-baked, fried pine nuts, stir-fried red amaranth, water spinach, bell peppers, stir-fried cowpeas with chili peppers, taro sprouts, scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and loofah and shrimp soup.

The dozen or so dishes were either caught or grown on their own, and the only cost was oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar.

When it was time to eat, Sin Kwong-lai didn't ask Sin Yiu-man what the rules were. He simply had everyone sit down at the table, then took out a jar of new wine and poured a bowl for each person.

This does not include Wen Banxia; she is not human, but a celestial maiden descended to earth.

Xian Guangli did not urge anyone to drink, but simply told everyone to drink as they pleased. He then started eating, officially announcing the start of the banquet.

With his parents present, it wasn't Sin Yiu-man's turn to speak. He sat properly and ate his food quietly, not daring to reach too far, only eating the few dishes he could easily pick up.

The Xian family doesn't usually have strict rules, and they eat quite casually. However, when guests are at the table, they have to follow the rules, and the younger generation shouldn't say too much.

While eating, Wen Banxia politely greeted Fei Baoqi.

Wen Banxia kept calling her "Auntie" affectionately, which made Fei Baoqi a little embarrassed. Fei Baoqi nervously scratched the ground with the tips of her shoes, as if trying to carve out the name of Evergrande's Royal Lake World by matching the grandeur of the gate.

Xian Yaowen couldn't save her, nor did he intend to. It was fine that Shui Xian noticed something was wrong at a glance, after all, Shui Xian had made a living by reading people and her eyesight was first-rate. But it wouldn't do if Xian Guangli and Wen Banxia noticed something was wrong. If they couldn't even get past the two of them, not to mention the countless dangers waiting in Taipei. If she couldn't get past any one of them, she would be finished.

The banquet ended in an eerie atmosphere. The tables were removed, and small bamboo chairs were brought out. Each person was given a palm leaf fan to enjoy the moon and cool off.

Narcissus picked up five pebbles and invited Sin Yiu-man to play with five pebbles. She went first, threw the five pebbles on the ground, picked up one and threw it into the air. Before it landed, she picked up another pebble from the ground and caught it. She repeated this process until she had picked up all four pebbles. She had passed the first test.

Next is the second level, "Two-Two". Again, five pebbles are thrown on the ground, one is picked up and thrown into the air, and two pebbles are picked up from the ground before they fall. Repeat this twice to pass the level.

The third challenge is "Three Ones": first pick up three, then pick up one more.

The fourth challenge is "4-1", which requires picking up four at once.

Shui Xian is a master at playing the Five Stones game. She easily passed the first four levels and arrived at the fifth and final level, "Backhand".

She placed five pebbles on the back of her hand, tossed them gently upwards, and immediately flipped her hand over to catch them in her palm. She used a subtle technique when tossing them, ensuring that the five pebbles fell at slightly different speeds, and calmly caught them all, flashing a smile at Xian Yaowen.

"Sir, shall we skip the final step?"

"Unavoidable, I'm an expert."

Narcissus chuckled, her hand trembling a few times as she arranged five pebbles in a line in her palm. Then, she tossed the pebbles into the air with a flick of her wrist, and with a clever twist, the pebbles rose at noticeably different speeds.

As the pebble fell, she calmly turned her palm over so the back of her hand was facing up, ready to catch it.

One, two, three—easily caught. The fourth one wasn't caught properly, bumping into the first one, disrupting the pebble formation. The fifth one even hit the corner of the fourth, snapping and bouncing away. (End of Chapter)