money player

Sin Yiu-man pointed at the pebbles on the ground and sarcastically said, "With your skill level, you think you can get a free pass?"

"It's all its fault." Narcissus poked the fourth pebble in frustration. "I should have put it last."

"Don't blame the stones, blame your own lack of skill."

Xian Yaowen brushed the pebble across the back of Shui Xian's hand, and it fell into his palm. He then picked up the pebble from the ground and tossed it casually to the ground, thus beginning the first challenge.

He easily completed the first level, but when he got to the second level, he put on a show. He deliberately scattered the pebbles, picked up one and tossed it into the air, then calmly picked up another one, weighed it in his hand, and then picked up the second one. He then cupped his hand in a scooping water gesture and waited for the pebble to fall.

Seeing this, Narcissus protested, "Master is cheating! No stone is thrown that high."

Sin Yiu-man chuckled and said, "Is there a rule about how high you can throw a pebble?"

Narcissus pouted, snorted, and turned her back, saying, "I'm not playing with you."

Sin Yiu-man shook his head, arranged five pebbles in a roughly circular shape in his palm, ensuring each pebble was not stuck together, and gently tossed them upwards. The pebbles flew at roughly the same speed to a height of 30 centimeters. He quickly flipped his hand, with the back of his hand facing upwards, and pushed it upwards slightly. The moment he caught the pebbles, his hand sank downwards to dissipate the gravitational acceleration of the pebbles, and the five pebbles landed steadily on the back of his hand.

Narcissus had already turned around and witnessed the whole process of Xian Yaowen catching the stones. She muttered to herself, "Master really knows how to have fun."

“I told you I was an expert. When we were kids, the pebbles we played with were polished, almost round, and I could still get every single one to fall.” Xian Yaowen spread his fingers and tilted them downwards, and five pebbles rolled into the space between his four fingers.

"You're quite something," Shui Xian said resentfully, grabbing the round bamboo tubes on both sides of the bamboo chair seat and lifting it up to change its orientation. She leaned to one side, resting her head on Xian Yaowen's chest, and whispered, "Are you really going to spend the night here?"

"Ah."

Narcissus lowered her voice even further, "I know my mother doesn't like me."

"You're smart, but you might as well be a little smarter. As a daughter-in-law, do you know what you should be doing?"

Narcissus thought for a moment and said, "It seems that I have done everything I could."

Sin Yiu-man stopped keeping him in suspense, "Get up early tomorrow, make breakfast, and go say good morning."

Narcissus's eyes lit up and her eyebrows beamed with a smile. "I got up at 4:30."

"Is there something wrong with the stove in the kitchen?"

"No... it's just that the pot for making tofu is bigger than most people's."

"That's for cooking pigs."

Narcissus immediately understood, "I get up at 3:30, will two pots of porridge be enough?"

"One big pot and two small pots are about right. Cook a second batch in the small pots and leave enough for everyone to eat."

"Sir, is there a shortage of food at home in the countryside?"

"The biggest pigs in the pigpen will be ready for market in about a month. Before they go out, we always feed them a few meals of fine grains."

Narcissus suddenly realized, but was also saddened. "We don't have this custom where we're from. People eat poorly, and pigs eat even worse. In years of no famine, we can eat rice bran. In years of no famine, the rice bran is reserved for people to eat, and pigs can only eat pig feed."

"After great chaos comes great order, and life at home will gradually get better." Xian Yaowen gently stroked Shuixian's face. "Once your business here is on track, you should return home in glory and make some contributions to your hometown. Something practical like building bridges and paving roads will spread your good reputation the fastest, and you'll have face."

To be honest, the goal is to ensure that one's hometown no longer needs to be wealthy to rise in status. This is not easy; it requires a lot of effort and is likely to be thankless. If someone tries to sabotage it, one could even be branded a villain.

"Returning home in glory." Narcissus's eyes revealed longing. "I never thought of that before."

“I’ll think about it later.” Xian Yaowen glanced at his watch. “You need to get up early. It’s about time you went to bed. Tomorrow, after you’ve said good morning and good afternoon, and your mother has drunk the new daughter-in-law tea, you’ll be officially the daughter-in-law.”

"Ah."

The next day.

Sin Yiu-man woke up at his biological clock time, fed the pigs, and at 6:30, took Narcissus to the master bedroom to say good morning, completing a procedure that should be followed after the new bride's arrival.

Clearly, Sin Kwong-lai meant this when he asked me to stay overnight yesterday; otherwise, I wouldn't still be in the room at this hour.

After paying my respects, I went to the haystacks by the field, took a few bundles of straw from the highest point, carried them to the front of the house, and deftly twisted the straw into a loose, breathable figure-eight shape. This made it easy to grab when burning, allowed the fire to burn brightly, and ensured that the ashes fell easily and the flames were not easily smothered.

The amount of dough that had been wrung out for five or six days was spread out to dry in the small open space in front of the house.

At this moment, Xian Guangli came out carrying a hoe, and he followed him into the house carrying a hoe as well.

The second crop of late rice this year is currently absorbing a lot of water. The father and son split up and went north and south to inspect the ditches along the way. If they saw any blockages, they would clear them. If they saw weeds, they would decide whether to let them live or pull them out by the roots with a hoe, depending on their mood.

If you see a Malayan shrew, nicknamed the "stinky rat," make it dig a new tunnel; if you see a flat-toothed rat, it's a fight to the death, no matter if its burrow is one or two meters deep, it has to be dug up and refilled; if you see a loose mound of soil, give it a couple of shouts and make the ferret badger find a new home.

If you see a house mouse, chase it to the right; there's rat poison over there.

After surveying the area, and noticing that more than forty minutes had passed, they arrived at the pond's outlet and met up with Xian Guangli.

"Dad, after the late rice harvest, buy some bricks and cement to build up the ditch."

Xian Guangli glanced at Xian Yaowen and said, "You make it sound so easy. The money spent on building the irrigation ditch wouldn't even be enough to grow enough grain for four or five years."

"Four or five years is worthwhile, otherwise we would have to inspect it every time the water is released."

"It doesn't take much effort."

"Then why don't we hire a few farmhands?"

"Can't afford it."

Xian Guangli opened the sluice gate, and the pond water rushed into the ditch, hitting each and every seedling.

Looking at the distant flowing water, Xian Guangli lit a cigarette and slowly said, "The fields here don't have Wenchang fertilizer, so they can't produce much grain in one crop. The wages and food and drink of the long-term laborers will consume more than ten acres, and during the busy farming season, hiring short-term laborers will consume several acres. More than half of it is gone."

It's impossible to hire reliable farmhands here. People come to Southeast Asia to get rich, not to settle down and farm. There's bound to be cheating and dishonesty; people will cheat the land, and the land will cheat people. Hiring farmhands is less profitable than renting out the land.

“Father, your calculations are correct, but my original intention in buying the land was to prevent you and Mother from getting sick from having nothing to do. The land can be used to grow vegetables and sell them at the market to earn some pocket money. The fields can be used to grow food for ourselves. We can plant one crop a year, only 20 acres, which is perfect for crop rotation.”

“Your mother and I are still young, it’s not time for you to take care of us in our old age. Don’t worry about the farm, I have my own rules.” Xian Guangli said calmly, “If you’re so inclined, you can check on your mother’s business, it’s almost over.”

Sin Yiu-man chuckled and said, "I can't control that, the convenience store is my business."

Sin Kwong-lai laughed and scolded, "You brat, can't you stay a little further away so your mother can do her business in peace?"

"For now, Mom should close Wenji. When Yaobin is a little older, I'll help Mom run a convenience store."

"Your mother won't want your shop, Man Kee, not Sin Kee. Don't you understand her intentions?"

Sin Yiu-man was silent for a moment, then said, "I'll see how to resolve this later."

Sin Kwong-lai patted Sin Yiu-man on the shoulder, "If you can give way, then give way; if you can't, then talk it out."

"Yes."

A little after nine.

Sin Kwong-lai went back to have breakfast, while Sin Yiu-man inspected the fields to check the irrigation situation and see if there were any leaks in the field ridges.

Halfway around, a daffodil carrying a basket came from afar, its face beaming with an irrepressible smile, its steps light and graceful, as if it would float away with a gust of wind.

Arriving at a relatively open and clean field ridge, she called out to Xian Yaowen, "An, come and eat."

"Here you are, young lady."

Upon hearing "Niangzai," Shuixian giggled.

Xian Yaowen came to Shuixian's side, placed the hoe horizontally on the ridge of the field, and sat down with a thud.

Shui Xian put down the basket, took out an enamel mug from it and handed it to Xian Yaowen, suppressing a laugh as she said, "I drank two sips of the soft-boiled egg that my mother made, and then diluted it with some water."

Xian Yaowen took the enamel mug and chuckled, "It seems you and your mother had a good chat. Your mother even tells you things like this."

Soft-boiled eggs are steamed eggs with added sugar, and because saccharin is expensive, they are considered as precious as a health supplement.

When Xian Yaowen was young, Wen Banxia would only steam one for Xian Guangli, an important laborer, during the busy farming season to nourish his body. Xian Yaowen and Xian Yaowu could only watch helplessly, but they were responsible for delivering it to the fields.

One year during the busy farming season, the two secretly drank half of it, then diluted it with boiled water. When it was delivered to Xian Guangli, he could tell something was wrong just by looking at the color of the soup. The two then had an extra meat meal early in the morning, not because they were stealing food, but because they were wasting it.

Narcissus said with a smile, "Master, you and Uncle are really greedy."

Xian Yaowen opened the enamel mug lid and blew on it. "It's rare to eat candy once or twice a year, so how can I not crave it? Once, Yaowu and I searched the whole house just to find the white sugar that my mother had hidden. Unfortunately, the devil is always one step ahead, and we couldn't find it. We didn't get to eat the candy, but we did get to eat some meat, stir-fried with bamboo shoots."

"When I was little, I also had a sweet tooth, but we didn't have any candy at home, only dried sweet potatoes." As she spoke, Shui Xian took out a bowl of porridge that had become thick from the cold from the basket, then took out a steamed salted fish, and then took out a pair of chopsticks from her apron pocket and used the chopsticks to tear the salted fish into small pieces.

Sin Yiu-man took a bite of the soft-boiled egg, then took the chopsticks from Narcissus's hand and put the enamel mug into her mouth, saying, "You drink, I'll eat the porridge."

Narcissus took a sip from the enamel mug, and the sweetness instantly spread from her mouth to her heart.

Sin Yiu-man took a sip of the sticky porridge, experiencing a sensation of extreme heat and cold. The surface was completely cold, while the inside was still warm. It was not pleasant to eat at all, and it lacked the smooth texture that porridge should have.

He picked up a piece of salted fish and followed along with the porridge, chewing it slowly as he said, "The Five Stones game we played last night is actually played in similar ways all over the world."

Narcissus stared at Sin Yiu-man's face and listened intently.

"In the US, it's called Jacks. Instead of pebbles, it uses a rubber ball and ten metal or bone six-pointed stars. Nowadays, some are made of rubber. Jacks are very popular in the US and are one of the main games children play during recess."

I'll go look for them on the street later. If I can find some, great. If not, I'll have someone send a few from the US, along with a price list for Jacks across the country.

"You can do some research and open a small workshop for Mom. I'll arrange for an American to come here and find a factory to manufacture it. Mom doesn't speak English, so she'll need your help."

Narcissus's eyes gleamed like freshly polished cannon shells. "What size workshop would be suitable?"

"About ten or twenty workers."

"Ah."

Narcissus's mind started working, thinking about how to set up the workshop and how to present the goods in a way that would please her mother-in-law the most.

After finishing his bowl of porridge, Xian Yaowen walked around the paddy field ridges again to check the water level in each field. When he felt it was about right, he went to the pond and closed the sluice gate. He glanced at the sluice gate on the side of the lotus pond and found that no measures had been taken to prevent the fish from escaping. He jumped into the ditch and waded through the water with his legs, stirring up the water.

When shallow water becomes murky, fish become much easier to catch. No tools are needed; just feel around in the water with your hands, and the fish playing hide-and-seek will have nowhere to escape.

He asked Shui Xian to carry a bucket of clean water and follow him. He searched the entire ditch and found more than a dozen crucian carp.

The crucian carp returned to the lotus pond and strolled along the pond's edge with the daffodils, admiring the flowers while observing whether snails were protruding from the water's surface, whether shrimp were climbing up, and whether a large number of fish were opening their mouths on the surface.

Every now and then, he would sniff the air to see if there was a rotten egg smell.

After walking around, none of the above signs were obvious. The lotus pond was not lacking in oxygen, and no dead fish were seen in the shallow water area, so there was no worry about fish plague.

After leaving the lotus pond and returning to the house, before we could even sit down and rest, Xian Guangli dragged us to the granary. Cartloads of rice were hauled to Dadi Hall to dry. After emptying the granary, we carefully cleaned every corner, leaving no rice weevil, powdery moth, or any possible red flour beetle or sawtooth beetle unchecked.

After cleaning, the next step is to seal the cracks. No matter what kind of insects made the small holes, they are all sealed with a thin clay mixture of camphor ball powder, lime water, and charcoal ash. Then, camphor balls are placed in every corner.

After finishing work at the barn, I went to the Grand Hall and, under the blazing sun, used a grain rake to rake, shovel, slice, and pull the millet, and then clocked a clock worth 798.

Go to the farm tool shop to load the cart onto the main hall, and make a millet stalk. Before going up to the house, take two bundles of straw and dust and brush the cart inside and out.

Then go to the farm tool shop to pick up a grain basket and go to the sweet potato field to cut sweet potato vines for the pigs.

You have to be selective. Too old won't do, pigs don't like to eat them. Too young won't do either. You can sell a bunch for 2 cents at the market. They're too old for humans, but just the right tenderness for pigs.

With heavy effort, he carried the load to the pigsty five times in a row, piled it in a shady spot, and sprinkled some water on the pile.

Then he went to the farm tool shop, fiddled with a Porsche-designed "People's Tractor" for a while, started it with a two-pound key, and drove it to the field to turn the soil in a chili patch.

The diesel engine roared in a deep, rhythmic hum; the plow sliced ​​through the soil and turned it upside down; the heavy clods of earth were torn apart and smashed down; the dry soil rubbed together as it was kicked up.

Pfft, spit, spit, damn it, dust was fed into Xian Yaowen's mouth.

"In the prime of youth, with a spirit as bright as the moon, intelligence as clear as ice and snow, a beautiful life, a loving couple, a perfect family—suddenly, this lonely island is shrouded in lingering mist and sorrowful rain—lingering mist and sorrowful rain."

Narcissus hummed a song as she arrived at the edge of the field. Looking at the disheveled and dirty Xian Yaowen, she smiled knowingly. Today was the first time she had seen her husband dressed so inappropriately and in such a dirty state; it was quite a novel experience.

It was also the first time I had seen my husband display his strong physique. He looked thin in his suit, like a frail scholar, and you couldn't tell that he was all muscle.

"A frail scholar," Narcissus muttered to herself. "I really want to see what the master looks like with glasses on; he must be very charming."

With a whoosh, after making two more trips back and forth, Xian Yaowen finished cultivating the two acres of chili fields. He raised the plow, held the steering wheel with one hand, and slowly drove up to Shuixian and stopped, whistling at her.

"Miss, have you ever ridden in a car?"

Narcissus replied with a smile, "I have a Jaguar, it was a gift from my husband."

Sin Yiu-man patted the steering wheel. “How can a Jaguar compare to a Porsche? This is the latest Porsche 17-51. Get in, I’ll take you for a spin.”

“No good.” Narcissus shook her head. “Your car is too old.”

Sin Yiu-man shifted his weight, "You don't know how to appreciate this. My car seat is made of iron, and it's warm and cozy."

Narcissus shook her head with a grin, "I'm afraid I'll be shaken to pieces."

"I offered my heart to the bright moon, but the bright moon shines on the gutter." Xian Yaowen shook his head. "Fine, don't come up then, I'm leaving."

As he spoke, he floored the accelerator, and the tractor sped forward, shooting 3 million nanometers.

"time to eat."

No matter how fast he ran, the words that Narcissus spoke each year, enough to break two hundred files, still caught up with him.

He was shocked, his hand trembled, and the steering wheel veered 5 nanometers to the left. Bang! He pressed the red emergency stop button, grabbed the steering wheel with both hands, and turned it sharply to the right three and a half times, recovering the 5 nanometer deviation.

He exhaled a breath of stale air and muttered to himself, "As expected of German-made, crafted by a major power, meeting aerospace-grade standards, truly extraordinary."

No longer daring to show off, he gripped the steering wheel with both hands and drove toward the dock at a speed of 3000 million nanometers per second.

I fetched water to wash the car, wiped it clean with a cloth, drove it back to the tool shed, took it to the shower room to wash it, and came to the main hall still wet.

Xian Guangli sat upright in a grand chair, a cigarette dangling from his mouth, and a Chinese almanac in his hand, flipping through it intently, looking like a Harvard college student with a strong Northeastern accent.

Fei Baoqi sat on the other side of the octagonal table, her hands under the table, her right index fingernail digging into her left thumbnail, her gaze fixed on the teacup, as if she had already seen through the flower.

Wen Banxia wasn't there; she must have gone to check on the shop. Shuixian wasn't there either; she was probably in the kitchen serving dishes.

Having understood the situation, Sin Yiu-man approached Sin Kwong-lai and said, "Father, lend me another set of clothes."

Xian Guangli gave Xian Yaowen a disdainful look. "Your clothes are like this after only half a day of work. Go find some in the box and pick out the torn ones."

"Hey."

Sin Yiu-man entered the master bedroom, opened the wooden chest containing clothes, rummaged through the bottom of the chest a few times, pulled out a white undershirt with several holes, took it to the guest room, took off the wet clothes, turned on the table fan, stood and waited for his upper body to dry.

"On the crowded streets, what are you busy pursuing? In the lonely corners, you know you've lost a lot. In the corners where you have everything, have you ever truly cherished it?"

When you lose something, do you still care so much? How many times must you fail in your life to understand the meaning of success? How many times must you love to understand the true essence of love…? (End of Chapter)