The Three-Life Stone

At the snack stand, there were two bowls of steaming wontons glistening with oil, a bowl of hot noodles with chopped green onions, and three tea eggs.

Chen An was eating happily, his mouth full. He slurped the food as it was hot. He looked at Xia Sheng and asked, "Little old man, why don't you eat the wontons?"

"The old man doesn't like to eat that stuff. I'm used to eating simple noodles that are filling. But you, as a girl, are so anxious to eat. What does it look like?" The old man was peeling a tea egg and looked at Chen An's eating style with disgust.

Ah Jin thought that there was nothing she didn't like about the food, she just wanted to save some money so that she could still help her two children a hundred years later.

If only time could stop, and I could be easily satisfied with happiness. If I hadn't grown up and you hadn't left, I could take you to eat lots of delicious food, and you could watch me grow up step by step. But it's ultimately a delusion.

A Jin ate very slowly, looking at the old man from time to time.

"Master, I gave myself a name. My name is Chen An, because..."

"Oh hahaha, you little kids, you are so smart, you can even give yourself names?" The old man interrupted with a smile, not caring about it at all.

Ah Jin was a little confused, but the old man didn't blame her or have any other reaction. Chen An glanced at the old man nervously, and then he concentrated on eating without saying a word.

"There's nothing to be curious about. No matter what you are called, you are still those two little kids in my heart." The old man looked at the two children lovingly, as if he was looking at two tender seedlings. It didn't matter whether the two children were just playing house or really thought of some good names. The old man couldn't always protect the two children from wind and rain. Maybe they would have to change their names after they found someone else in the future.

"Hehehe, that's right, we will always be Master's little darlings, sweethearts."

A Jin smiled sweetly, and the old man shuddered when he heard the word "sweetheart".

"The old man is just a rough guy, but he doesn't have any sweethearts."

A Jinchen and An smiled at each other.

"Oh, by the way, Master, let's settle down in the next town. We don't want you to be tired of running around for us anymore."

Ah Jin tried hard to recall that Aunt Yan and her husband whom she met in the next town were both the master's most proud disciples.

They lived together in harmony at first, so the old man stayed for another month. When he was leaving, the couple tried to persuade him to stay, but unfortunately, Xia Jin and Chen An were sensible children at that time, but they were still a burden. Xia Sheng had a strong personality and was unwilling to stay.

Xia Jin is no longer a playful child now, and Chen An is a little naughty, but he is still reliable in handling things. As long as the old man can be assured, staying there is also a good choice.

The old man was a little dazed. It's not that he hadn't thought about settling down, but what could an old man with two young children do? Who really wouldn't mind a burden? He would rather suffer a little.

"Hey~ Er Gouzi, oh? Chen An, right? You can't even stop eating, what are you thinking about every day?"

"Old man, I'm serious. Arya and I can do it. We are not a burden. We can support ourselves. We have been learning from you these days and can even sing a few lines on the stage. If you need a role for a child, we can also act as little actors."

A Jin stared at the old man with eyes wide open and a sincere face, and she almost wrote "I am super capable" on her face.

Chen An ate there silently, and if possible, he also hoped to settle down. Now Ah Jin has grown up, and is no longer a three-year-old child who is curious about everything and doesn't know much about the world. When they can't help, the two of them can write and draw on the side, and if someone needs something, they can run errands. They are not a burden, not a drag, and not a parasite.

It’s not just talk that children from poor families have to grow up early.

"Come on, eat your meal first. We just arrived here and don't know when we will go to the next town. We'll talk about it then."

The old man thinks very clearly and takes things one step at a time. There is nothing to be afraid of. Plans cannot keep up with changes, so why think so much?

They didn't stay in this town for long. On this trip, they happened to meet an old lady who invited a troupe of actors to her house for her birthday. The old man greeted them and went with the troupe. The strength of the old actors should not be underestimated. The whole stage seemed to be infused with souls.

Ah Jin and Chen An were reading books and practicing calligraphy in the theater, waiting for the old man. It's not that they didn't want to see the world in the rich man's house, but they had to be very careful when going to a rich man's house. Others paid for it, and two children who couldn't go on stage could only stay in the backstage. There were many rules in a rich man's house. If they violated them, they would get into trouble. It was better not to go.

A Jin knows the basic knowledge of calligraphy and painting, but for Chen An's sake she still has to proceed step by step. They practice together stroke by stroke so that they won't be suspected and can make progress together.

Chen An and Xia Jin study together, eat together, and grow up together. They will spend their childhood relying on each other.

After the preparations for the birthday banquet were completed, the old man took the silver and did not stay for long. He did not want others to think how hard his life was, so he just thought of it as a way to earn some subsidy while traveling.

"Anhe Town"

They finally settled down here. At first they lived in the theater. In order to let the old man see their determination, Xia Jin went out when the old man went out.

Xia Jin brought Chen An and a few followers. They first used ropes on the street to make people participate in a small interaction of Yin-Yang buckle, and then performed a small magic trick of passing a ring through a chain. Next, they performed a small magic trick of tying thumbs with wire and passing them through a bamboo pole. They cooperated with Chen An to balance bowls and dance with swords. They earned more than 300 coins in two days. Xia Jin wanted to do it for a few more days, but unfortunately she didn't know much, so she just wanted to make some money for something new.

With these more than 300 people, they set up a stall and played a small game. They prepared fifteen stones with numbers written on them, just like the current lottery. They wrote a string of numbers from one to fifteen and picked out nine stones at random. If there were more than seven identical numbers, regardless of the order, it would be considered a win, and the ticket could be won. If the order was the same, the amount of winning would be determined based on the multiple of the tickets purchased.

The grand prize is that the more participants you have, the more silver you can get. Several people write down numbers at the same time, and if the order and numbers of the stones are correct, you can take away all the silver you have participated in.

Or the two teams randomly place bets on the size of the stone, and the winner can share the loser's share. Then they close their eyes and randomly pick out stones.

This is a small gamble that can only make money and not lose money. The gamble is small, the cost is low, and people don't lose money from it. You can spend ten cents to give it a try. Few people are really serious about it, and the money earned is not much, but people still come to ask and give it a try.

A Jinchenan and a few other little beggars kept rotating around for a few days. Not many people really cared about it, and there were many onlookers. There were one or two who got angry out of shame, but they were no match for the agility of the kids. It was inconvenient to chase them because of the large crowd of people, so the small team had more people working together inside and outside, and they disappeared in the crowd in a flash.

Chen An was particularly excited to see that he had made a net profit of three or five taels of silver in just a few days.

The old man was not happy about the money, but looked solemn instead.

"Who did you learn this opportunistic skill from?"

"Master, this is called a delaying tactic. We have already stopped, so you can rest assured."

A Jin knew the old man's worries. He was afraid that they would get involved and someone would come to take revenge. With several children and an old man, could the people in the troupe really come forward to protect them?

"This is simply nonsense!" Xia Sheng felt that the children were too bold. It seemed that he had been negligent and didn't know when they learned these messed up things.

"Master, let's do the food business. People are like iron and food is like steel. This way, we can easily solve the problem of food and make money."

Ah Jin looked at the old man with light in her eyes. No matter whether she had ideas that needed to be put into practice or not, an adult would definitely have to step forward.

Xia Sheng thought that Xia Jin's idea was too simple. It was not that easy to open a store. The old man just thought that children did whatever they wanted without considering the consequences. As an elder, he should stop them.

"Let's talk about it when you are older. Merchants are not like farmers. Nothing is easy. I still have a few acres of land. I can't make much money by renting it out to others for a year. If it doesn't work out, I can just go back to farming."

"Master, listen to me... I am not saying this casually. This small amount of silver is a little less in terms of capital, so let's live a hard life in the early stage and set up a stall. We have everything we need and it doesn't matter if it's a little simple and hygienic. If we make money in the future, we will open a small shop and slowly make it bigger. You don't have to worry about the manpower problem. Hehe, I have several younger brothers here. You just need to provide them with food. We will share the money with them when we make money..." Ah Jin was talking so fast that he couldn't stop. The old man didn't know how to interrupt her.

Chen An's eyes were sparkling with stars. On the way, he was listening to A Jin talking about her plan. She started to implement the plan since she arrived in Anhe Town. In the first few days, he didn't understand why A Jin came out to stroll around in the evening when she was free. Later, he understood that she was observing the terrain here and also observing the... beggars here.

If it weren't for the situation, no one would be willing to become a beggar, but there were many people who wanted to get something for nothing and change their current situation. After a few days, she began to popularize her plan to a few sturdy beggars. There is strength in numbers, and even if the two of them won, the money might be robbed away.

Some people are kind while others are always ambitious.

A Jin selected the good beggars who could cooperate with her for a long time, provided them with food and clothes, and the little beggars helped her with work.

Nine out of ten people will lose in gambling, but small gambling can bring joy. Ah Jin warned the beggars from the beginning that gambling was not a long-term solution. If anyone used this method and got into trouble in the future, she would not be responsible. However, if anyone was willing, she would take everyone to have enough food to eat. For beggars, having enough food and clothes to wear is enough.

"The food we make doesn't need to be too complicated. We can also expand the simple noodles into many varieties. For example, wontons and dumplings can be sold in limited quantities. What's more, workers care about what they do. They do physical labor every day and earn their money through hard work. So they must care about being affordable and full. We don't need to have many dishes every day. We can prepare a few dishes according to the situation every day as a set meal. It is nutritious and filling, and it won't be complicated..."

Oh, by the way, the most difficult thing is to be the cook. Although we can help, it is too difficult for us to be the real chef. We can hire someone or see if there is anyone we know who can do the job..."

Just like that, after A Jin talked a lot, a preliminary plan was decided. Xia Sheng knew that the two children were not acting rashly, and he would naturally support their efforts.