When Yu Qiu came back, the old man drank water and finally told the whole story from the very beginning.
The old man's name is Yu Yuankai. He was a businessman when he was young. His business was doing well. Not only did he open many stores, he bought a mansion just across the street from the magistrate's house, and he even married a young lady from a scholarly family. . The husband and wife are very affectionate, even though Mrs. Yu has not had sex for many years, the old man never thought about taking a concubine.
Until the old man was nearly fifty years old, Mrs. Yu finally gave birth to a son for him, Yu Qiu.
The old man is naturally very happy when he gets old. But the business of Yu's family was not as good as every year after Qiu was born, so that the old man had to travel around to maintain the family.
When Yuqiu was five years old, when the old man was traveling again, Yulian County—the county where they lived now—suddenly came a group of vicious bandits. The bandits burned, killed and looted in the city, doing all kinds of crimes, and many families suffered, even the magistrate's family was no exception. The nurses of the Yu family took Mrs. Yu and Yu Qiu to escape, but the carriage was overturned by the bandits halfway.
Just like that, Yu Qiu was dumbfounded, and Mrs. Yu died.
After the old man came back, he was overwhelmed with grief and devastated. Not to mention the business that could barely survive, he also became addicted to gambling and alcohol, so that now he fell into this destitute situation.
Perhaps it was because all of these things happened after Yu Qiu was born. Many people blamed Yu Qiu for the decline of Yu Qiu's family, thinking that Yu Qiu was an out-and-out loser, but Yu Yuankai never thought of it that way. . No matter what happened, no matter how difficult the situation was, Yu Yuankai never thought of abandoning Yu Qiu, and never even regarded Yu Qiu who was always ignorant of the world as a burden. In the previous life, Yu Yuankai tried his best to protect Yu Qiu until his death.
After knowing these things, Yu Qiu was once again deeply moved by his old man.
Then he remembered the question he wanted to ask at the beginning, "So what is the relationship between our family and the prefect's family?"
"As I said just now," Yu Yuankai said, "Our house used to be across the street from the magistrate's house."
"So our two families used to have a good relationship?"
"No." Yu Yuankai said, "The magistrate doesn't like a businessman like me."
"That means I played well with their young master when I was young?"
"That's it." Yu Yuankai frowned and thought for a moment, "Young Master Xiao was watched very closely by his family when he was a child, and he didn't see you a few times in a year. How can it be better?"
Yu Qiu was speechless, "Looking at it this way, why does our family seem to have nothing to do with theirs?"
"It doesn't matter at all." Yu Yuankai said naturally.
"Then why did Xiao Chunmian help us?" Yu Qiu finally couldn't help asking this sentence.
Yu Yuankai looked at him in surprise for a while, then nodded knowingly, "I said why you asked their family, it turns out that you have met him... Sigh, that young master from the Xiao family is really a good boy Ah, it's not the same thing as his black-hearted father."
So the reason why Xiao Chunmian is so helpful... Could it be because...
"Because he's a good man!" Yu Yuankai said directly.
Yu Qiu helped his forehead.
"Young Master Xiao has a genuine heart of a Bodhisattva." Yu Yuankai continued to boast, "There is no airs of an official at all. He is very kind to everyone and has a good heart. No matter what you need, you can find him." , as long as he can help, he will never refuse!"
Yu Qiu twitched the corner of his mouth and thought, this is really a rare trick.
Then Yu Qiu touched the silver ingots in his pocket, thinking that since this was the case, he would have to pay it off as soon as possible, and he couldn't make it difficult for a good person...
In the end, Yu Yuankai immediately boasted, "No matter how much money is owed to him, he will not take debt collection!"
Upon hearing this, Yu Qiu almost fell off the bed, "You still owe him money?"
"A little..." Yu Yuankai picked at his fingers embarrassingly, "I owe you a little."
Yu Qiu hurriedly asked, "How much?"
"It's just, just over a hundred taels." Yu Yuankai answered, scratching his fingers.
One tael of silver is a consistent copper coin, and a consistent copper coin can buy two shi of rice, and each shi of rice is enough for an adult mortal to eat for three months... Yu Qiu was calculating in his heart, trying to convert it with a value he could understand. Count more and more dizzy.
When I was still struggling with the three taels of silver owed to Xiao Chunmian, the family already owed him enough silver for two mortals to live for more than twenty years!
Wait, when it comes to owed money, didn't those strong men who almost beat the old man to death (and really killed him in the previous life) yesterday also come to collect debts? Although Yu Qiu hated those people to the point of itching to the teeth, but things had to be counted one by one, no matter how wrong it was for the other party to violently collect debts, the matter of debt repayment itself was justified.
"Where are those people from yesterday?" Yu Qiu continued to ask, "How much do you owe them?"
Yu Yuankai's eyes kept wandering, "It's quite a few... just fifty taels..."
Well, fifty taels of debt is enough to almost kill you. In contrast, Xiao Chunmian's side was more than a hundred taels... Yu Qiu couldn't help but sigh again, good life is hard.
"There's also Ji's Bank... probably fifty taels."
"Father," Yu Qiu took a deep breath, and then took another deep breath, making complete mental preparations, and then said with a straight face, "How much do you owe to others, you can say it in one breath."
As the saying goes, if there are too many lice, there is no need to worry if there are too many debts. As Yu Yuankai reported a series of reports, Yu Qiu's face became more and more relaxed, "Hahahaha! I owe a total of two hundred taels and a total of five hundred taels." How much worse is it! Father, don’t you think so?”
"Qiu'er..." Yu Yuankai was very worried, "Are you okay?"
"It's okay, it's really okay." Yu Qiu wiped his face and asked again, "How much is left in our family?"
Yu Yuankai lowered his head and broke his fingers.
"A total of five hundred taels of silver..." Yu Qiu couldn't help but took another deep breath, "How did you spend it?"
"Just..." Yu Yuankai lowered his head as much as possible, "Entered the casino..."
Well, Yu Qiu understands.
Thinking that his old man only became addicted to gambling after that big change, Yu Qiu still felt soft in his heart.
Yu Qiu silently remembered all these debts in his heart, firmly memorizing them one by one, and then patted the old man on the shoulder, "Father, it's better to have a good rest, and we'll talk about the rest tomorrow morning."
Yu Yuankai was taken aback for a moment, but Yu Qiu had already huddled in the corner inside the bed. Yu Yuankai looked at the sky, although he still wanted to talk more with his son who had finally woken up, but in the middle of the night, he fell asleep soon after all.
But Yu Qiu, who had already been lying down, was not in a deep sleep.
It's not because of those debts. When Yu Qiu wrote down those debts, he actually wrote down the cause and effect of what he owed to others. The money itself was not important, after all, it was something outside of the body.
Just because Yu Qiu's soul power finally recovered, he started to do something he should have done a long time ago—integrated Qi refining into sleep, and then into every moment of daily life.
After taking the most difficult step, this matter is actually not complicated. Yu Qiu closed his eyes and relaxed his body, recalling the feeling of last night, and gradually let the spiritual energy circulate in the body for a week every time he took a breath.
After concentrating all his soul power on Qi refining, Yu Qiu soon became exhausted, and because of the relaxation of his body, sleepiness surged up. Yu Qiu neither stopped practicing Qi, nor suppressed his sleepiness, but just continued practicing in this sleepy state, and then... he fell asleep.
Early the next morning, Yu Qiu opened his eyes refreshed.
He was pleasantly surprised to find that after a night of sleep, his body and energy had been tempered and strengthened. And Yu Qiu is very sure that he is stronger now than before he was completely asleep.
Because the method of refining qi has been completely remembered by his body, even if Yu Qiu doesn't pay attention at all, he can still control everything spontaneously with a tiny soul power. Just like breathing, after being inhaled, the aura will naturally circulate throughout the whole body for a week, whether it is sitting or lying down, moving or still.
Of course, the efficiency of this kind of natural refining is not high, not as good as when you focus on refining.
But concentrating on refining qi is a time-consuming, labor-intensive and very tiring thing. You can do it for at most two hours a day, otherwise your soul power and body will not be able to bear it. In contrast, this kind of natural integration is like a steady flow of water, dripping through stones.
Yu Qiu walked around the old man cautiously, went down to the ground, exercised his limbs, checked his body carefully, and was quite satisfied with his efficiency in all aspects.
Then he remembered the debts owed by the family.
Although money is a thing outside of the body, since Yu Qiu is still walking in the mortal world, he naturally understands what it means that a penny stumps a hero.
When Yu Yuankai woke up, he saw Yu Qiu sitting cross-legged in the room, frowning and thinking about something. In front of Yu Qiu was the three taels of silver that Xiao Chunmian gave yesterday, which was almost all the family could use at present.
"Good son! Where did you get the money?" Yu Yuankai was very pleasantly surprised, he rushed to the ground and wanted to grab the money.
As a result, just as Yu Yuankai's hand reached halfway, Yu Qiu had already put the money into his arms.
Yu Yuankai felt dizzy all of a sudden: Is his son's skill too fast? It didn't seem so fast before.
Yu Qiu stood up from the ground, patted his trouser legs, and replied, "Master Xiao lent it to me yesterday."
"I knew it! Master Xiao really has a bodhisattva heart!" Yu Yuankai cheerfully stretched out his hand towards Yu Qiu, "My son, give it to me quickly."
Yu Qiu didn't move, just glanced at him, "Young Master Xiao said yesterday that he asked me to use this money where it should be used."
"So give it to me..."
"For you?" Yu Qiu looked at him with a half-smile expression, "I gave it to you, what do you plan to use it for?"
Yu Yuankai rubbed his hands together, and said proudly, "Of course it's to pay back the money!"
Yu Qiushou smiled and looked at him without saying a word.
"I'm sure I can get my money back this time! How can there be no reason why I haven't won once after losing for so many years? My bad luck has come to an end, it must have come to an end, and I think I can win this time! I can definitely beat what I lost before. Win it all back, absolutely all of it... uh... absolutely..."
After Yu Yuankai talked for a long time, Yu Qiu was still so expressionless, still kept silent, and still looked at him like that.
So Yu Yuankai stopped muttering, he found that his son was angry. What made him even more uncomfortable was that he saw deep disappointment in Yu Qiu's eyes.
"Father." Yu Qiu said, "I will keep the money and use it."
"Qiu'er..." Yu Yuankai reached out and pulled his sleeve.
"I'll go out for a while, I'll be back soon, you should rest at home." Yu Qiu avoided and walked straight outside the house.
Yu Yuankai looked at his back, feeling sad, lonely and wronged.
A while later, when Yu Qiu returned home again, he saw his old man hugging his knees and huddled in a corner of the wall, looking aggrieved.
Yu Qiu ignored him, but cleaned up the dusty stove at home, added firewood, and took care of the things he had just bought.
Yu Yuankai was squatting in the corner, and he could smell the fragrance coming into his nose one after another.
He couldn't help but go out to see that Yu Qiu had already prepared a table of good dishes.
Although he has been bigu for hundreds of years, Yu Qiu's cooking skills are not bad because Xu Hong always likes to enjoy things in his mouth.
What surprised Yu Yuankai even more was that half of the delicious dishes on this table were meat dishes! Meat! There are everything from chicken, duck to fish! How long has he not seen meat!
Yu Yuankai pounced on it.
Yu Qiu didn't stop the old man either. He was squatting on the edge of the stove, frying a pot of medicine with his heart.
Yu Yuankai grabbed the meat into his mouth with a flutter, only halfway through did he realize something was wrong.
"Qiu'er, where did you get this meat?" Yu Yuankai asked tremblingly, "You bought it?"
"Yes, I just bought it." Yu Qiu replied.
"How much?"
"Not many, just a hundred texts."
Yu Yuankai was so trembling that the meat in his mouth was about to fall out, and then he reacted and stuffed the meat back into his mouth, quickly swallowed it, and then began to jump up and ask, "Bai Lai Wen! You spent a whole Bailaiwen, did you just buy these things?"
"Otherwise?" Yu Qiu turned to look at him.
"You might as well let me go..." Yu Yuankai continued to tremble.
"How about letting you gamble?" Yu Qiu smiled, "If you bought these, you at least got meat. Let you gamble, what can we lose?"
Yu Yuankai's grievances flooded up again. He didn't want to quarrel with Yu Qiu, but couldn't help but said, "We owe money now, so much money...Let me go to gamble, as long as I win, I'll be fine... But you bought these, and after you ate them, What is the use?"
"Father, that's not the way to say it." Yu Qiu stood up, looked at him and said, "Eating well is more useful than anything else."
Yu Yuankai choked. Looking at Yu Qiu's thin figure, his son's yellow skin and withered face, he couldn't help but feel distressed. He knows that this child has suffered too much with him... But, this family has been defeated, and it has been defeated to the current situation, what can he do? What qualifications do they have to covet that kind of superior life
"Don't think so much, father." Yu Qiu walked in front of him, "Eat while it's hot."
Yu Yuankai looked at the table of good food, thinking that the money would be spent and he would not eat it for nothing, so he finally let go of his cheeks and swallowed it desperately.
Yu Qiu ate along with him, and watched carefully from the sidelines, lest the old man spread too much all of a sudden and cause something wrong. After the old man had almost finished eating, Yu Qiu pointed to the pot of medicine that was boiling, "Remember to drink it after an hour."
"... How much is this?" Yu Yuankai asked.
"Not many, and only a hundred words were used."
Yu Yuankai put his trembling fingers back to his legs, and sighed deeply.
"Take a good rest after drinking." Yu Qiu continued, "Then let's hit the road."
hit the road? Hearing this word, Yu Yuankai looked at the food in front of him again. He accidentally thought too much, and suddenly his face turned pale with shock, "Qiu'er, what are you talking about? Where are you going? Don't overthink it!"
As a result, Yu Qiu asked again, "Can this house be sold for a little money?"
Now Yu Yuankai finally knew that he wasn't overwhelmed, but he still looked at him in surprise, "What's wrong?"
"Our family has so much debt here..."
"That's why we have to run!" Yu Yuankai looked suddenly enlightened.
Yu Qiu shook his head dumbfounded, "No, I'm going to make money elsewhere, and then come back to pay off the debt."
"What am I supposed to do!" Yu Yuankai sighed helplessly, "If you can't make money here, can it be easier to make money elsewhere?"
"At least one place is nice."
"where?"
Yu Qiu's next three words made Yu Yuankai's face turn green with fright.