Chapter 138 Zhao Bao's Family Situation

"So that's how it is..." Zhao Bao murmured, "No wonder you were willing to give me so much food even though I only gave you one penny. I didn't expect that all this was given by an immortal."

Grandpa Song said "hmm", and then said: "As far as I know, everyone who can see the gods is very blessed. The gods not only give water and food, but also clothes, brushes and paper... So, do you know how rare it is for you to see the gods?"

Zhao Bao didn't look happy after hearing this. Instead, he gave a bitter smile and said, "How can I have the face to ask the immortal for food and drink? I have hands and feet, I can earn money to support my family, and you gave me so much food today, I am already very grateful."

Grandpa Song said, "Look at what you said. Are we helpless? We used to be hardworking and honest farmers. It's just that if it doesn't rain, no matter how hard we work, it won't help."

After a pause, Grandpa Song continued, "Village Chief Jiang said that we can't take the kindness of the immortals for granted, and we should always be grateful."

"Oh, by the way, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you. Immortals can actually come to the human world with the help of an incarnation."

Grandpa Song spoke in a rambling way, saying whatever came to his mind, "In short, we must believe in the immortals with a pious heart. As long as you can do this, the immortals will have mercy on you and help you without you even having to pray."

Zhao Bao looked hesitantly at the room where his mother was, and asked, "Is it enough for me to offer my faith? There is no need for my mother to offer her faith as well..."

"unnecessary."

Grandpa Song shook his head and said with emotion: "In fact, at the beginning, the immortals didn't need our belief at all. It was the village chief who held a meeting for us and told us that even if the immortals had no believers, they were still high and mighty immortals. But we are different. If we hadn't been saved by the immortals, we would have died long ago, so we must adjust our mentality. We took the initiative to believe in the immortals, not the immortals forcing us... Zhao Bao, I know what you meant just now. You are afraid that you will encounter evil gods and destroy your family, so you don't want your mother to believe in gods, but Mingyue Immortal is not like that. You have seen her with your own eyes, you should know that she is a real immortal in this world, different from man-made gods..."

Zhao Bao showed an apologetic look on his face, "I'm sorry, I was distracted just now, I shouldn't have doubted the immortal in my heart."

In fact, his thoughts were normal. After all, his eldest brother had been deceived once. If he was deceived by the evil god, his mother would have no one to support her and would have to wait to die at home.

Moreover, Zhao Bao still has a wife and daughter. Although they have returned to their parents' home, Zhao Bao is always thinking about them.

Zhao Bao didn't dare to visit them often, only occasionally, because he was burdened with his brother's gambling debts, and he had to divorce his wife so that they would not be implicated in the debt.

Originally, the group of debt collectors wanted to sell Zhao Bao's wife and daughter. Fortunately, Zhao Bao was decisive. He sold the original house and secretly gave part of it to his wife and daughter. He then took his mother and rented a shabby little house, which is where he lives now. This temporarily stabilized the group of debt collectors.

Most of the money from selling the house was used to pay off debts. However, his brother owed a lot of money, and with the interest compounded, this money was just a drop in the bucket.

Grandpa Song asked, "By the way, what is the situation in your family?"

Zhao Bao briefly explained his situation. Grandpa Song asked in confusion, "Since it's your brother's gambling debt, why do you want to pay it back?"

Zhao Bao sighed and said, "In fact, my mother clearly said that she had kicked my eldest brother out of the house. Everything he owed outside had nothing to do with us. She even paid a scholar to write a document to sever ties with him. But the people at the casino refused to acknowledge him. Since they couldn't find my eldest brother, they had to come and cause trouble for us..."

"The only lucky thing is that my wife and daughter left me. I hope she can remarry and completely sever ties with my family. As for me and my mother, we can't escape. I can only do my best to repay the debt... Even if the hope of paying it back is very slim, I can only try my best."

Grandpa Song was very angry when he heard this: "This is too much. Is there any justice? Why don't you sue the authorities?"

Zhao Bao shook his head. "It's useless. It is said that the backers of the casino are more powerful than the county magistrate of Hulu Town. The county magistrate can't control it."

Grandpa Song asked again: "How much silver do you owe?"

Zhao Bao stretched out four fingers.

Grandpa Song guessed, "Forty taels?"

Zhao Bao said weakly, "Four hundred taels."

Grandpa Song said: "This, this is too exaggerated, I feel like I can't earn 400 taels of silver in my entire life..."

"Not silver, but gold."

"What?" Grandpa Song's eyes widened. "Is this true? How could your eldest brother owe such a huge amount of money? Not to mention you alone, even if your whole family were to pay it off for generations, it would still be difficult to pay it off."

Zhao Bao said: "My eldest brother was cheated, and the interest was compounded until it reached this amount... In fact, I couldn't understand what was written on the receipt, and I couldn't even confirm whether the fingerprints on it were left by my eldest brother. But there was nothing I could do. My eldest brother was nowhere to be found, and the people at the casino were determined to cause trouble for us... I had no choice either. I couldn't read, and the casino refused to give me the IOU. They were outnumbered and I couldn't defeat them, so I had to accept my fate."

"Alas, I am also illiterate..." Grandpa Song sighed, looking a little disappointed, but soon a smile appeared on his face, and he said, "However, my granddaughter will be able to read in the future. She can go to class now. Although she can only scribble on paper every day, she is making progress anyway."

"Granddaughter?" Zhao Bao was stunned. "Studying is very expensive..."

Normally, only boys would go to school because they would have the opportunity to take part in the imperial examinations in the future, pass the exams and bring honor to their family. However, the situation is uncertain now and the court has suspended the imperial examinations.

Girls from ordinary families usually don't have the opportunity to read and write. Only the daughters of wealthy and powerful families can go to school.

Grandpa Song smiled and said, "Have you forgotten that I told you that the immortal gave you paper and pens? At first, Village Chief Jiang was reluctant to let the children use them, but later, when she saw that the things were piled up, she gradually let it go. The immortal didn't care whether it was wasted. She said that the children could write and draw as they pleased, and that this would be very childlike... Of course, these words were told to us by the village chief. We can't see the immortal, nor can we hear the immortal's voice."

Zhao Bao asked: "Does every child in your village have the opportunity to go to school?"

"Yes, every child. Our village chief Jiang is very capable, a scholar, and he is the one who teaches the children on weekdays..." Grandpa Song smiled and said, "I used to favor sons over daughters, and I was partial to my grandson. Later, my son took my two grandsons and ran away, and my daughter-in-law took the black dream flower, leaving only me and my poor granddaughter... At that time, I thought in my heart that as long as my grandsons were safe, our family's bloodline would not be cut off, so I would be relieved. But since I started raising my granddaughter alone, I found that my granddaughter is really well-behaved and warm-hearted. The two of us depend on each other, and I like her more and more, and I feel sorry for her... I hope she can grow up safely and healthily, and have no worries about food and clothing throughout her life."

Zhao Bao said: "Why can't we treat everyone equally?"

Grandpa Song shook his head. "I don't know what other families' situations are like, but I am biased. Just like before, I always favored my eldest grandson. If there was anything delicious, I would give priority to him, then the second grandson, and finally the youngest granddaughter. But now, if the two grandsons come back, I feel that I will definitely favor the granddaughter, and then think of them... This may be my personal shortcoming. I can't treat all children equally, and there will always be children who are neglected."

Zhao Bao said: "Well, my mother is very fair. No matter what food there is, she will share it with me and my elder brother in half."

Grandpa Song said, "We've lost track. The most important thing now is that you can see the immortal, so you can communicate with her. You can try to talk to her and see if she will respond to you... Hey, why are you raising your head now?"

Zhao Bao did not respond to Grandpa Song's words because he saw Luo Mingyue's face in the sky.

In the past, he would secretly glance outside from his room and then quickly lie down to sleep. This was the first time he stared at the immortal so seriously.

The immortal's face was flawless, his hair was as black as ink, his skin was whiter than snow, and his clear eyes were like a deep pool reflecting the moonlight, sparkling, bright and dazzling.

Luo Mingyue asked: "Where is the casino?"

She had just been listening to gossip and had already heard about Zhao Bao's family situation.

Luo Mingyue said that he had an incompatible relationship with gambling and drugs, and now that he knew about it, he might as well destroy the casino. Anyway, those people in the casino sounded like they were extorting Zhao Bao and did not seem like good people, so he would not feel guilty even if he killed them.

Zhao Bao said: "There is a tavern in town. On the surface, it is a place for drinking, but in fact, it is a casino underground... I heard my eldest brother mention it, but I have never been there."

Luo Mingyue said "Oh" lightly. It was afternoon now, in broad daylight. She was afraid that her actions would scare the people. Also, it would be bad if someone in the tavern was just drinking and was accidentally injured by her. So she decided to take action at night.

As for the word "Qianmo", it sounds somewhat familiar. There seems to be a "Qianmo Inn" in Fengya City, which provides free food and accommodation, but Luo Mingyue has never been there, so she doesn't know if there is any connection between these two "Qianmo".

Luo Mingyue put the matter aside for the time being and asked, "Do you want to eat watermelon?"

"ah?"

Zhao Bao couldn't keep up with her jumping thoughts and looked confused.

Luo Mingyue murmured to herself: "I suddenly remembered that the watermelons in the human world should be ripe at this time of year. I'll go pick some and buy some food to improve your meals."

"I..." Zhao Bao opened his mouth, not knowing how to respond. In fact, he didn't need to respond, because after Luo Mingyue finished speaking, she disappeared into the horizon.

Zhao Bao looked at Grandpa Song.

Grandpa Song asked expectantly, "How was it? Were you talking to the immortal just now? What did the immortal say to you?"

Zhao Bao said: "She asked me where the casino was, and then asked if I wanted to eat watermelon... but before I could reply, she left."

Grandpa Song reached out and patted his shoulder, saying with relief: "This is good news! It means you have caught the eyes of the gods."

Zhao Bao recalled his performance just now and said worriedly: "No, I was fine at the beginning, but I seemed stupid later..."

Grandpa Song said: "The fairy said she would give you a watermelon, which means she will start feeding you. You will be blessed in the future."

Zhao Bao said: "Actually, I'm mainly worried that the debt collectors will come to trouble me..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Grandpa Song saw a group of people coming from not far away, each holding a stick in his hand.

Before the group of people came over, they shouted from afar: "Zhao Bao, have you saved enough silver?"

Zhao Bao's face changed slightly, and he said to Grandpa Song, "You should leave quickly."

Grandpa Song didn't waste any time and jumped into the carriage and prepared to leave on the spot, because he knew it was useless to stay. The most important thing now was to get help as soon as possible.

But just as he got on the carriage, he saw a group of men with sticks coming from the opposite direction.

The leading man was handsome and cool. He said nonchalantly, "The man in the carriage, please introduce yourself. We have been eyeing you for a long time. You sell food so cheaply. Are you a wealthy businessman?"

The people behind him immediately started to make a noise: "If he's a wealthy businessman, we can tie him up and extort a lot of money, right?"

Grandpa Song's face darkened. He knew he couldn't leave, so he jumped off the carriage decisively and whispered, "Zhao Bao, hurry up and call for help."

"Where can I get help?"

Grandpa Song said anxiously: "You have a sincere belief in the gods, and the gods will definitely respond to your prayers."

Zhao Bao thought that the immortal had gone to pick watermelons and might not be back in a short time, but he still raised his head and said with great piety and expectation: "I beg the immortal to save me. From now on, I will be your most loyal believer. I..."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a cute baby-faced girl appear in the sky. The girl's eyes were round and big, watery, and looked particularly sweet, but her expression was angry, "How abominable! Can't you just be quiet and live in peace? The master just left, and you are bullying the weak. It's so annoying..."

While complaining, Ye Keke reached out and pushed down the men with sticks.

However, the handsome man seemed to be an awakened one. At the moment when he was about to be pushed down, his body automatically turned into a human-shaped water stream...

Just like a pair of scissors cannot cut a waterfall, Ye Keke's palm cannot stop the flow of water. She exclaimed "Huh" in surprise and looked at the handsome man.

Unfortunately, the man couldn't see her.

The handsome man looked gloomy and said, "Who is hiding his head and showing his tail and dares to attack my people? We are the guys of Qianmo Tavern. If you know what's good for you, get out of here quickly. Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"

Ye Keke laughed angrily, "Ha, a mortal dares to threaten me?"

Ye Keke has always been kind to others, but that doesn't mean she is a soft persimmon. She doesn't dare to kill people, but she can bully others.

Ye Keke stretched out her hand and pushed down all the men who were collecting debts. Whoever stood up was pushed down again. Some of them hit their arms, legs, and even heads while falling.

Only the handsome and cool man was safe and sound. He turned into water again and again to avoid Ye Keke's "attack", but his face looked particularly ugly, because he could not see where the enemy was at all. All his men were knocked down, and he was the only one who still had the combat effectiveness. But it was of no use at all. At this time, his gaze shifted to Zhao Bao and Grandpa Song, and a hint of ruthlessness flashed in his eyes.