It was not until all the sweet potatoes were planted that Qian Shulan thought of another way to cure Zheng Kang.
Simply letting him work will only make him realize how hard it is to make money, but it is not enough to make him smarter.
How can one become smart and not be cheated? There is only one answer, that is to let him be cheated countless times. Then he will always be vigilant and will not be kind without thinking.
Well, part of the 140 yuan that Wang Shouzhi wants back can be used as performance fees.
On a clear night, the stars are dotted everywhere, shining like little diamonds, and a warm yellow moon is hanging far in the sky, bright and clear.
On such a quiet night, frogs and crickets are singing in the grass, and the birds in the woods are making "cooing" sounds from time to time.
Qian Shulan was standing on the canal at that moment. In front of her stood a pair of pitiful children. They were from Liuwan Village, which was very far away from here, about ten miles away. It took more than an hour to walk here. Their father died, and their mother remarried with them. In those days, people couldn't even feed their own children, so who would be willing to feed other people's children? Therefore, the two children were hungry and could only walk along the canal at night, catching cicada monkeys as they walked.
Few people usually come to this side of the canal, not only because there is no village or shop nearby, but also because there is a cemetery here.
A few years ago, after the landlords were killed, they were buried in that cemetery. I heard that when these people died, they didn't even have coffins, they were buried directly in a big pit. Many people were afraid and didn't dare to come here at night.
Qian Shulan didn't care, since she had a space artifact anyway.
Qian Shulan met them when she came to look for cicada monkeys at night. The older boy is called Dashuanzi, who is ten years old this year, and the younger girl is called Xiaolihua, who is six years old.
Qian Shulan likes to eat cicadas very much. She caught a lot of them when she was young. Later, perhaps because of the excessive use of pesticides, cicadas became less and less, and she couldn't catch them even if she wanted to eat them. Taobao stores sell them, but most of them are domesticated and the taste is a little worse.
Qian Shulan was naturally very happy to be able to relive her childhood favorite. Since she took the longevity pill, her teeth have improved and are better than those of young people. When she is not working, she will come here to touch the cicada monkeys. Zhengjun and Xiaolian dare not come here, so they touch them near the village. In one night, the two of them can only touch about a hundred together, while Qian Shulan can touch three or four hundred here.
She met the two children almost every few nights and learned that they would run to the town to sell.
Qian Shulan bought their cicada monkeys at 40 cents per 100, which was 5 cents higher than the price in town. The two children were naturally willing to sell at a higher price. Seeing that she was so easy to talk to, the two children even asked her to help steam ten steamed buns, and the extra ones would be exchanged for food. Qian Shulan readily agreed. Anyway, she was the head of the family and she was the one who cooked. No one in the family knew how many or how few were steamed. After steaming, Qian Shulan put the buns into the space.
In fact, she would always steam more buns every time before, just to avoid being hungry. Since everyone here only eats two meals a day, she couldn't let Lao Wang's family be too special, so she could only think of ways to add more meals for herself.
"Here you go!" Qian Shulan handed the steamed buns and food in her hand to them. They had just checked the number.
The two children handed the six hundred and thirty cicada monkeys they had caught tonight to Qian Shulan, and took the net bag of steamed buns she handed over, which contained ten of them. The two children were ecstatic, and Xiao Lihua hugged the buns tightly in her arms. Da Shuanzi carried the food on his back.
"Wait a moment!"
The two children were stunned for a moment, then turned around and looked at her warily.
Qian Shulan squatted down, trying to make herself look very amiable, "It's like this, grandma has a grandson who is very stupid, and grandma wants him to learn to be smarter. So, can you do grandma a favor? Don't worry, grandma won't let you work in vain."
Dashuanzi stopped, pushed his sister who was holding the steamed buns behind him, and stared at her with a wary look.
Seeing this scene, Qian Shulan was filled with emotion. It is true that children from poor families have to grow up early. He is only ten years old but already so wary. Zhengkang is already fifteen years old and still as stupid as a pig.
Oh, it’s really frustrating to compare yourself with others.
Da Shuanzi looked at Qian Shulan and didn't agree on the spot. He frowned and asked, "What do you want us to do for you?"
When Qian Shulan heard that there was a play, she said, "When you see my grandson, cry about how poor your family is, and ask him for money and food." At the end, she added, "Ask for lots of things. If you can't get them, just rob them!"
Da Shuanzi looked at her in surprise. He clenched his fists and looked a little angry. "No! My father said that I can never be a beggar. People should have backbone!"
Qian Shulan didn't really want the two kids to be thieves or robbers, because that would teach them bad things. She spread her hands and explained, "I didn't ask you to be a beggar. I asked you to help me educate my grandson. Give me the money and things you want. I'll pay you. This is a deal. Anyway, my grandson's money belongs to our family. We are a family, and he won't sue me." Afraid that he wouldn't believe her, she said, "Don't worry, that man is definitely my grandson. If you don't believe me, follow me and watch me go into the house."
Da Shuanzi lowered his head and thought for a long time, but did not agree. However, Xiao Lihua behind him was a little moved. She squeezed out from behind her brother and persuaded Da Shuanzi in a low voice, "Brother, this grandma is so kind, she will definitely not lie to us. Besides, we are so poor, there is no need for her to lie to us."
Hearing this, Da Shuanzi was absolutely stunned. What his sister said made sense. Their family was no longer the same as before.
"Okay, I promise you." Da Shuanzi looked at Qian Shulan and said directly, "How much money do I want?"
Qian Shulan thought for a moment and said, "Take as much as you can. If you ask for one dollar, I'll give you ten steamed buns, two dollars, twenty steamed buns, and so on. Uh, if you ask for less than one dollar, it'll be five steamed buns."
Zhengkang should have five yuan and eighty cents in his hand. The money was all given to him by her, and she kept a note of it. With Zhengkang's temper, it was unlikely that he would not get a penny.
Hearing this, Da Shuanzi swallowed his saliva and asked, "How much?" Did he hear it right? One dollar, two dollars? So much money! She was too cruel!
Qian Shulan could see the disapproval in his eyes. She stroked his hair and said, "You ask for it first. Three days later, your sister will ask for it again. We will take turns to squeeze all the money out of him."
Da Shuanzi's heart was throbbing. What kind of grandma was this? She actually cheated her own grandson like this. Then he thought that he was also her accomplice, and his face suddenly became hot.
For three days, Qian Shulan did not notice anything unusual about Zhengkang. It was not until the fourth day that she felt that Zhengkang seemed to have cried too much and his eyes were swollen like walnuts.
Seeing her son like this, Sun Daqin asked worriedly, "What happened to your eyes? Were you beaten?"
Zhengkang shook his head, "No. There's sand in my eyes."
Sun Daqin believed it and quickly scooped some water to wash his eyes.
Qian Shulan looked at this scene with her mouth twitching. It seemed that this kid had been fooled.
Sure enough! When Qian Shulan went to the canal to catch cicada monkeys again, she saw Da Shuanzi and Xiao Lihua waiting there.
Xiao Lihua was holding a black pottery jar in her hand, which was filled with the cicada monkeys they caught today.
Qian Shulan counted the cicada monkeys, calculated the price, poured all the cicada monkeys into the enamel basin she brought with her, gave them steamed buns, and paid for the food.
Dashuanzi took out a stack of money from his pocket, a total of four dollars.
So much money! Qian Shulan slapped her thigh, feeling both angry and happy.
This big fool! Just because a little boy shed a few tears at him, he gave away most of his family fortune. Is there something wrong with his brain
Da Shuanzi was a little uneasy when he saw her face turning blue and purple. But Xiao Lihua looked at her face and was a little confused.
It was you who asked us to go and cheat, and after we did it, you were unhappy. Could this grandma be as stupid as that older brother
"How did you deceive him?" After Qian Shulan calmed down from her anger, she was still a little curious.
Dashuanzi told the story a little embarrassedly, "My parents divorced, my mother remarried with me, my sister was seriously ill, my stepfather didn't like us and didn't treat her illness. I hadn't eaten for several days. Then I cried and begged him, kept crying and begging. Then he gave it to me."
Qian Shulan felt a little depressed after hearing this. What Da Shuan said was almost all the truth, and he was definitely acting in his true colors. It was really deceptive. His head was a little big, his face was pale and his body was thin, and he was obviously malnourished. His skin was tanned and dark yellow.
If she saw this scene, she might be kind-hearted, but she wouldn't be so stupid as to give most of her wealth to others. She would just give two or five cents to buy a steamed bun, but he was so poor! He could hardly afford to go to school and couldn't even take care of himself, but he still helped others. She didn't know what to say.
So, Zhengkang should be the Holy Man? The reincarnation of the White Lotus
Qian Shulan felt a little depressed. She gave Da Shuanzi another ten steamed buns. The remaining steamed buns were directly converted into food for them. In such a hot day, the steamed buns would not last long, and it would be a pity if they went bad.
Then he took the four dollars handed to him by Dashuanzi and put it in his pocket.
"Three days later, Xiao Lihua, go ask for it again. Next time we meet, you must perform well."
Da Shuanzi understood what she meant, but Xiao Lihua was a little confused.
Qian Shulan was as still as a mountain when she got home. She casually mentioned this at the dinner table, "I heard that there are scammers who specialize in using children to defraud money. You must be careful in the future. You must keep your money safe."
Hearing this, Sun Daqin laughed out loud, "Mom, who would be so stupid as to give the money in her pocket to others!"
Wang Shouyi rarely interrupted, "No one gets the money by chance. How is that possible?"
Qian Shulan kept an eye on Zhengkang's movements and keenly noticed the change in his expression.
Qian Shulan stopped eating, picked up her chopsticks and started eating.
The next morning, Qian Shulan woke up at her usual time and was preparing to cook. Zhengguo, who had just finished using the toilet, went to the large vat to wash his hands and suddenly ran into the kitchen.
"Why are you getting up so early if you don't want to sleep?" Qian Shulan frowned, a little disapproving. Doing so much work every day and not taking enough rest, how can you grow taller in the future
After holding it in for the whole night, Zhengguo interrupted his grandmother's chattering, "Grandma! Grandma! Listen to me, I overheard my eldest brother crying last night."
Qian Shulan paused while kneading the dough. She was happy in her heart! She cried! Great! Only after crying did he realize that he had been fooled! However, she did not show it on her face and deliberately asked, "Why is your brother crying? It's just a little work. Isn't it the same for everyone? Look at your brother's pretentiousness, Zhengguo, you can't learn from him!"
Seeing that his grandma could imagine so much, Zhengguo was so anxious that he quickly interrupted her, "No, grandma, it's not about work."
Qian Shulan deliberately asked curiously, "What's that?"
Zhengguo poked his head out the door and took a look. Then he leaned over to Qian Shulan's ear and whispered, "It seems my brother's money has been swindled away by someone."
"Ah?" Qian Shulan exclaimed in surprise.
The sound was so loud that Zhengguo was frightened and quickly shushed her. He lowered his voice and reminded her, "Grandma, keep your voice down."
Qian Shulan also lowered her voice like him, "Did you hear what your eldest brother said?" Even if Zhengkang was stupid, he would know to cover up for himself. Could he tell Zhengguo? The two brothers were not close at ordinary times. How could Zhengkang share such a private matter with Zhengguo? Qian Shulan was a little confused.
Jungkook pouted, "There's no way he would tell me something so embarrassing. I just guessed it myself!"
Qian Shulan was somewhat amused and looked at him leisurely, "How did you guess?"
Zhengguo laughed, "I count my money every night. Then I tell him the number and show off to him. Last night, after I finished counting the money and told him the number, he got mad at me. Later, he even cried."
When Qian Shulan first heard that Zhengguo counted money every night, she thought it was a little funny. Did he feel happy when he was working because he felt that he had made money? But she was a little confused after hearing the rest. So, how did he come to this conclusion
Zhengguo reasoned seriously, "Grandma, think about it, usually when I count the money, he will count with me. But last night, after I counted, he didn't move at all. He even got angry at me. Doesn't this prove the problem? It means that he has no money to count. Otherwise, why is he crying? Crying means that the money was cheated away by someone."
Qian Shulan's mouth twitched! It seemed to make sense. She asked him to go back to sleep, "Don't mess with him! Maybe you guessed wrong."
Zhengguo felt that his guess was correct. His elder brother's money must have been cheated. His elder brother was such a fool, he didn't even want to live in the same room with him. Who knows if stupidity is contagious! However, thinking about his family's conditions, he decided to forget it. He should save money early, so that in the future, he can build a small house and live in it by himself. How nice!
Qian Shulan thought, she had already reminded Zhengkang, and he had cried before, so if Xiao Lihua asked him for money again, he shouldn't be stupid enough.
But who would have thought that within two days, Zhengguo came to tell her that his elder brother's money had been defrauded again.
Qian Shulan's mouth twitched. This kid is so stupid, is there any hope for him? He is just as stupid as Fan Wei, the crutches seller! At least Fan Wei knew to be on guard for the third time, so does she have to find a third helper
At night, when Qian Shulan went to the canal, Xiao Lihua only took out five cents and looked at Qian Shulan very embarrassedly. Xiao Lihua felt sorry for herself because the big brother had more than one dollar in his hand. If she hadn't run so fast, she would have grabbed it!
Qian Shulan was a little surprised, so Zhengkang finally learned his lesson!
Although it was kindhearted, but he only gave five cents? Although it is still a bit much, it is also an improvement, right
Qian Shulan was in a daze, sighing, while Xiao Lihua's face was wrinkled into a ball. She cried even harder than her brother, but the money she got was much less than that of her brother. Would grandma be unhappy
Seeing that his sister was so anxious that she was about to cry, Da Shuanzi leaned down and said to her, "The less often you come, the happier she will be."
Little Lihua blinked her eyes, not even having time to wipe away her tears, and stared at her elder brother blankly, "Why?" Didn't they let them cheat money? Why did they cheat so little? Instead, the grandmother was happy.
Da Shuanzi felt a little upset. He explained, "Because grandma is educating the big brother, her purpose is not to cheat money."
Little Lihua pouted and thought for a long time before she understood. Then she suddenly realized. She came over, looked up at Qian Shulan, and said in a baby voice, "Grandma, you don't have to worry about big brother being cheated. I cried so hard today, but he only gave me five cents. He clearly had one dollar in his hand."
Qian Shulan smiled, touched her head, and handed her five steamed buns.
Xiao Lihua stuffed the five cents in her hand into Qian Shulan's hand, then took the steamed bun from her hand and smiled shyly, "Grandma, thank you!"
Qian Shulan took the money and felt relieved.
The next night, Qian Shulan asked Zhengkang to accompany her to the canal to look for cicada monkeys.
When they arrived at the canal, Qian Shulan made the excuse of finding a place to relieve herself.
Then Zhengkang and the brother and sister ran into each other head-on.
"Why are you here?" Zhengkang looked at the two in surprise. They both held flashlights in their hands, shining them at each other from time to time, as if they were showing off their clothes. In the light, Zhengkang found that the two looked brand new, without a single patch on their clothes, and they were wearing rubber shoes.
They asked Qian Shulan to buy all these clothes, shoes and flashlights. She had connections, and they had money but nowhere to buy them. However, they usually kept these clothes in their secret base and didn't wear them easily. If it weren't for this play, they wouldn't have wasted such beautiful clothes. Qian Shulan originally wanted to sponsor them a set, but the two children were very principled and refused.
Da Shuanzi held Xiao Lihua's hand as if he didn't know him, "Who are you?"
Zhengkang pointed at himself, a little annoyed, "I gave you money a few days ago, how come you don't recognize me so quickly." He walked around the two of them, pointing at this one and then that one, his fingers shaking with anger, "Didn't you say that your sister was sick? Do you want money for your sister's medical treatment? Does she look sick?" Zhengkang stomped his feet and burst into tears.
Dashuanzi imitated the attitude of a second-rate guy and looked at him sideways, "Oh, you are the fool. Oh, don't be so stingy! We really have no money. Isn't it you who gave us money, so we bought new clothes and shoes?" As he said that, he patted Zhengkang's arm very considerately, "Thanks, big brother!" If he was not short, his pat on the shoulder would be more effective.
After saying this, as if he was afraid that Zhengkang would take the money back, Dashuanzi quickly pulled his sister away in a hurry.
Zheng Kang watched the two people run away from under his nose. It was not that he didn't want to chase them, but the speed of these two people was too fast. They disappeared in the blink of an eye.
It was dark and he couldn't see the road clearly. His only flashlight was taken away by his grandmother.
Zhengkang was stunned. After he realized what was happening, he shouted, "Grandma, grandma, come here quickly!"
After shouting for a long time, his grandmother did not come out. Zhengkang squatted down dejectedly, crying breathlessly, and pounding the ground from time to time, obviously regretting it extremely.
Qian Shulan seized the opportunity and walked over from a distance, shining the light of her flashlight on him. She found Zhengkang with his head buried in his knees, crying bitterly.
Qian Shulan said, "Zhengkang, why are you crying?"
Zhengkang wanted to say that he was cheated, but he suddenly remembered that last time he gave money to Liu Fangming and was caught and beaten by his uncle.
This time he was cheated out of several dollars again, will he be beaten again? Thinking of the meal of bamboo shoots and pork, Zhengkang was so scared that he quickly wiped his tears.
He made a bitter face and complained, "Grandma, where have you been? It's so dark and I'm alone. I'm scared."
Qian Shulan's mouth twitched. Was he being too proud or too afraid of being beaten? Qian Shulan didn't want to tell the difference. Anyway, her goal had been achieved. She pouted and said sarcastically, "You are so old, but you are so timid and you even started crying. You are not even as good as a regular soldier. You are really going backwards." It was not enough to just lie and beat him. He also had to hit his inflated self-confidence. This would prevent him from being so kind anytime and anywhere.
Zhengkang hung his head, speechless.
"Oh, by the way, let's touch some more cicada monkeys. Your uncle told me last time that there are people in the county who collect cicada monkeys. One hundred of them can be sold for 40 cents. Let's touch some and sell them."
Hearing this, Zhengkang suddenly raised his drooping head and said, "Really?" His voice changed slightly, and seemed to reveal deep joy.
Qian Shulan smiled secretly in her heart and nodded affirmatively, "Of course it's true."
Zhengkang immediately ran to the tree to look for the cicada monkey.
Looking at his back, Qian Shulan stroked her chin and thought to herself, when he saves enough money for tuition, should she find someone to cheat his money back? As the old saying goes, every failure makes you wiser! He paid for his lesson with his own money! Well, that's fine!
The two didn't return home until very late.
When Zhengguo heard that one hundred cicada monkeys could be sold for 40 cents, he also joined the team.
The next day, after work and after dinner, the two went to touch the cicada monkeys.
The others also ran to feel around. Although they didn't have flashlights, there was almost always a moon on summer nights, and they could see it clearly by the moonlight.
After you come back from touching, count the heads.
One hundred cicada monkeys weigh about one pound, and one pound of pork costs 76 cents, which is almost half the price.
Zhengguo and Zhengkang, both children, went to the canal with Qian Shulan to touch the cicada monkeys.
Others were not so brave and looked for it in the village or in the fields.
Qian Shulan was worried that Zhengkang would be beaten up if he met Dashuanzi and Xiaolihua, so she asked them to go to the other side of the canal, and changed the time of trading with them to daytime. What she wanted was no longer cicada monkeys, but cicadas.
When the adults and children in the team heard that cicada monkeys could be exchanged for money at a fairly high price, they no longer cared about going to work and going home too tired, and they all joined the team to touch the cicada monkeys.
After finding them, she would take them to the Qian family and ask them to help sell them. Qian Shulan could receive several thousand in one night.
Qian Shulan accepted all the cicada monkeys brought by the team members. After all, she had a space, and the cicada monkeys would not go bad if they were placed in the space.
What's more, it can make everyone grateful to her and improve her reputation. This is a good thing that kills two birds with one stone.
However, in order to avoid suspicion, Qian Shulan specifically told the team members that she would go to the county town to sell them before dawn, otherwise the cicada monkeys would go bad. Now, it is impossible to borrow a bullock cart or a horse cart because the team needs to bring water to irrigate the fields.
Of course Qian Shulan was not going to the county town.
She specially went to a village far away from the Wangjiacun production team to collect cicada monkeys.
In Wangjia Village, she collected cicada monkeys that had not yet metamorphosed. This would not work in other villages, because there were no refrigerators in those days, and things would easily go bad in the summer. If she walked so far, the cicada monkeys would go bad. So she collected cicada monkeys that had metamorphosed into white cicadas.
Qian Shulan specifically asked these people to put the cicada monkeys into water at around 2 or 3 o'clock in the night, just after they had molted. This way they became white cicadas, which tasted quite good when fried.
If you put it in water like this, it won’t go bad when Qian Shulan goes to buy it.
She didn't pay, but directly exchanged it with food. The excuse was that someone in her family was sick, and the doctor gave her a folk remedy, saying that eating more cicada monkeys could cure it.
The villagers believed her words, and cicada shells were indeed a good medicine. In the past, many doctors went to the countryside to collect cicada shells. In recent years, there have been fewer such visits. Therefore, Qian Shulan's statement that eating cicada shells can cure diseases does make sense.
The villagers used to eat the cicada monkeys they caught. They only had the taste of meat after eating them every day. Now they are very happy to be able to exchange them for food.
Because she only went to the same village to collect the goods every few days, no one thought she was a profiteer.
It's not that the villagers didn't think of it, but that they had their own considerations. There's no need to speculate on this thing. If you want to eat it, just go catch it from the tree at night. There are a lot of them on the tree, and you can catch hundreds of them in one night. If this person didn't need this thing to treat an illness, why would he spend money to buy something that's free
When Qian Shulan collected cicada monkeys, she also collected the cicada molts. Once, a group of children came to her with cicada molts that had already molted.
Although she didn't want it, she finally accepted it. Even if she didn't need it, she could sell it to the county hospital. Maybe she could even get two taels of soybeans to eat.
The author has something to say: Thank you for the mines given by the little angel, muah
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