The Fool of the Gods

(I urged for more updates yesterday, and I will keep my promise and update more today. I am not a believer in [fraud]!)

The days that followed were mostly like this. In Jiang Wumei's eyes, Lao Jia was not like an ordinary person, but rather a singer and prophet of [fate].

He could predict almost every thought and action of little Cheng Shi, and then resolve them with ease.

In this scam woven by Lao Jia, little Cheng Shi grew up honestly.

He really felt that the world could live well without lies, because all the bad things were blocked outside the home by Lao Jia's lies.

On the eve of the college entrance examination, Lao Jia was picking up beer bottles that others had finished drinking in front of a barbecue stall. When he heard a table of guests talking about their children being the top scorers in the college entrance examination last year, he stared at the man with envy in his eyes for a long time.

Until the man was so scared that he drank the beer and gave him the bottle, he sighed and took the bottle and left.

After returning home, looking at Cheng Shi who was studying at the table, he said nothing and just sat beside him to accompany him.

Cheng Shi felt that Lao Jia was a little strange, so he asked: "Old man, what's wrong, haven't you picked up others?"

Lao Jia sneered and said stubbornly: "How is it possible? I picked up the most, 44. Old Liu, who was slow, picked up 10 at most, and they were all left by me."

Jiang Wumei listened on the roof and nodded with a smile. Indeed, Old Liu picked up 44 and Lao Jia picked up 10, and they were all left by others.

Oh, yes, we have to add the one handed over by the father of the top scholar.

"Why, are you afraid that I won't do well in the exam?"

"Don't think about it. You, just take the exam as usual. No matter how you do, you will be better than your father."

"I think so too."

"You kid..."

Lao Jia slapped the table, and the father and son laughed together.

Later, Cheng Shi was going to school, and the family had no money.

Lao Jia was so worried that he didn't even go to the park. He wandered around the door for three days, and finally knocked on the door of the woman surnamed Sun while Cheng Shi was at school.

Seeing Lao Jia coming, the woman welcomed him in with surprise.

Lao Jia sat on the sofa in silence for a long time, and the first word he spoke was: borrow money.

The woman was stunned, walked into the bedroom, opened the bed sheet, took a few stacks of cash from the bed, put them in her bag and put them in front of Lao Jia.

"I don't need so much... I can't pay it back."

The woman pursed her lips and smiled bitterly: "These are all yours, you don't have to pay them back."

"What I give away is not mine."

The woman was annoyed, pointing at Lao Jia and scolding: "If you reveal a little bit of your skills, Xiao Shi will eat enough for ten lifetimes, why don't you dare?"

Lao Jia touched his forehead and sighed.

"Cheaters don't die well, gamblers don't have a good end, look at me, this is my end, people should be honest, these dirty things can't be touched by him."

"You have enjoyed half your life, and in the end you let a child suffer with you?"

Lao Jia was stunned for a moment, then smiled with relief: "He is not suffering."

The woman was obviously angry at his proud expression. She pointed at Lao Jia unhappily, but finally didn't curse.

"Okay, okay, he is not suffering, I am suffering, how much do you want to borrow?"

"20,000, enough for four years of tuition, Xiaoshi earns his living expenses by himself, I will write you an IOU."

"Can you write?" The woman sneered, with disgust in her eyes.

"......" Lao Jia opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.

She stared at him for a long time, and finally sighed, picked up a piece of paper and started writing. After writing, she skillfully took out a box of brand new, unopened ink and handed it to Lao Jia for him to press his fingerprints.

Lao Jia was really illiterate. He looked at the incomprehensible document and only recognized 20,000 written on it. He counted it ten times to make sure there were no extra zeros, then nodded and asked with a smile:

"You are not loaning money at high interest rates, are you?"

The woman said unhappily, "Are you going to sign it or not? If you don't, you won't get a penny."

Lao Jia hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and pressed his fingerprint.

When the woman saw him sign, her eyes lit up, and she took the document in one hand, covered her chest with joy, and walked into the house, not caring about the "guests" at home.

"Take it yourself, go away, get out of here, I'm annoyed when I see you."

Lao Jia sighed and took out 20,000, not a penny more.

Jiang Wumei was lying on the roof and eavesdropping on the corner of the wall. He was curious about what was written on the paper, so one day when the woman surnamed Sun was strolling outside the door, he pried open her safe, took out the document and took a look at it.

The content is actually very concise. It says:

Old Jia owes Sun Yuying 200000000000 yuan. If he can't pay it back in this life, he will pay it back in the next life.

Seeing this, Jiang Wumei was amused. Who would use Arabic numerals when writing an IOU? Once someone tampered with it, like Aunt Sun did, she would add countless zeros at the end. When the time comes to settle the accounts, they will sayUnclear.

But he couldn't laugh anymore, because he found that from the moment he laughed, the clown was no longer Lao Jia but himself.

He resisted the urge to tear up the sour-smelling receipt and stuffed it back intact.

Then it was time for Cheng Shi to go to college. The father and son said goodbye at the school gate. Cheng Shi embraced a new life, but Lao Jia did not leave.

Perhaps because he was worried that Cheng Shi could not support himself by doing odd jobs, he found a place to live in a nearby urban village and secretly did odd jobs to save some money for Cheng Shi. Although it was not much every month, according to Jiang Wumei's estimate of Cheng Shi's living expenses, it was enough and just right.

Until one day before Cheng Shi graduated, Lao Jia had an accident.

When he was going home at night, he suddenly fell on an empty road. Jiang Wumei watched this scene and squatted on a tree without daring to move.

As expected, Lao Jia stood up after lying on the ground for a long time. He patted the dust off his body and spat fiercely at the ground.

"Is Lao Jia inhuman or really inhuman?"

After saying that, he walked back with his hands behind his back.

But Jiang Wumei saw that Lao Jia was not faking it, and his body was really not good.

Lao Jia seemed to know something about his body, but he still gritted his teeth and stayed beside Cheng Shi's school for a while.

Finally one day he couldn't hold on any longer, looked at Cheng Shi's dormitory from a distance at the school gate, and took a bus back home.

He first took the cleanest shower in the bathroom of Sun Yuying's house next door, and then gave her a tape recorder, and then went home and lay on the bed that belonged to him and Cheng Shi, smiling and closing his eyes.

No one expected that a man who looked quite strong would suddenly die.

That afternoon, Cheng Shi called back.

Seeing Lao Jia's phone vibrating on the bed, Sun Yuying, who had no strength to cry, gritted her teeth to hold back her tears, answered the phone, and turned on the recorder at the same time.

Cheng Shi's voice came from the other end of the phone immediately.

"Hello? Old man, I'm about to find a job. I tell you, this company pays well, and my colleagues are... okay. The boss probably likes me and asked me to have a second interview."

The recorder paused for two seconds, and Lao Jia's voice came out.

"Oh, oh, very good, very good, I understand, you can't be proud, you have to be kind to others, work seriously, and be honest!"

"Okay, I've been repeating it for so many years, my ears are all calloused.

Hmm? No, old man, why is your voice weird?

You're not crying, are you? Hahahaha, don't cry, when I make money, our family will have a good life."

"Bullshit, I'm not crying."

"I don't have a mother, so I can't fart."

"......Xiao Shi, you will be an adult in the future, don't say these irrelevant words, it's not good for your colleagues in the company to hear."

"......Oh , OK, I'll change it. "

"I don't know you, your mouth is the most obedient in your body, what else is there, hang up, your Aunt Sun is knocking on the door again."

"I say, old man, Aunt Sun is so rich, what does she see in you, you don't have to lie to me, I've seen it a long time ago, she has waited for you all her life, you two can just make do with each other, well, not really, living with Aunt Sun is not okay, if she can be my mother, I'll be a rich second generation!"

Sun Yuying was listening from the beginning to the end, she pinched her legs tightly and dared not make a sound, but she couldn't help sobbing after hearing this, fortunately her hands were quick and she immediately covered her mouth.

Cheng Shi paused for a moment after hearing the voice. After a moment's silence, he seemed to think of something and asked with some trepidation:

"Old man, am I calling at a wrong time?"

The recorder was silent for a few seconds, and then it burst into a roar of curses:

"Bullshit, the little bastard needs to be punished again. I am innocent, and I am not worthy. Don't go around talking nonsense so that your aunt Sun can hear it."

"......Oh, then I won't say anything."

"Alas, you need to be more careful with your mouth. Remember, that's enough. I'm hanging up. I'm busy."

"Come on, what are you busy with? The old men playing chess in the park are almost dead...

Well, I'm used to it. I'll change. I won't be so talkative anymore.

That's it. I'll bring good news to Aunt Sun. After I sign the contract, I'll go back and treat Aunt Sun to a meal. I've been eating away at her for so many years, and I can finally pay her back."

"Tsk."

"Beep beep--"

The moment the phone was hung up, Sun Yuying threw herself on Lao Jia and cried loudly.

Jiang Wumei's scalp tingled when he heard this, and his whole mind was confused.

He couldn't believe how someone could predict things so well.To the point that Lao Jia had anticipated almost every word and every reaction of Cheng Shi, and even left time for silence in the recorded reply.

Could this really be something that a human being without any blessing from [Them] could do?

The last sentence recorded in the recorder was a sneer. Jiang Wumei didn't know whether Lao Jia was sneering at Cheng Shi's random matchmaking, or at his own life, or at this fate that he couldn't change.

Or, at himself?

Did he see me?

Jiang Wumei trembled all over and was a little scared, but he was also more excited, because he found that he had found the most exciting dream since he became a dream-seeking ranger. If he dedicated this memory to Him, he didn't know what kind of reward He would give.

Thinking of this, he couldn't wait.

But a perfect story needs an ending, so he suppressed his excitement and continued to watch.

...