Cockfight

Zhou Wulang and the others were impressed by Manbao's skills and asked, "Manbao, how did you figure it out?"

Zhou Liulang, feeling embarrassed, said, "I've been trying to figure it out for a long time, but I just can't."

Da Ya testified, "When we still had four or five baskets left, Uncle Liu started calculating." By the time we finished, he still hadn't figured it out.

Manbao then counted on his fingers and said to them, "It's quite simple. There are a total of twenty-four baskets, each costing five coins." So, twenty baskets amount to one hundred coins, and two baskets cost ten coins. "Four baskets make twenty coins, so one hundred coins plus twenty coins equals one hundred and twenty coins, right?"

Wulang and the others, with puzzled expressions, counted on their fingers for a long time but still didn't understand. "Why are twenty baskets worth one hundred coins?" They asked.

Manbao confidently replied, "Because ten baskets cost fifty coins."

Wulang and the others became even more confused.

Despite everything, they had still earned a significant amount of money.

Wulang put all the money into a bag for candy, feeling the excitement as he touched it. He had never felt so much money before.

Liulang, upon seeing this, also wanted to touch it. So, the five of them took turns touching the copper coins, feeling satisfied. "We have money now," they said.

Wulang held the bag close and asked Manbao, "Younger sister, what do you want to play? Tell me, and I'll take you to play."

Manbao said, "I want to buy a big rooster."

Wulang instinctively covered the bag with his hands. "Why do you want to buy a large rooster?" He asked.

"To nourish mother," Manbao said, her eyes shining. "Father said that mother has suffered too much in the past, so she needs to nourish her body to get better." A big rooster can help with that.

Wulang felt reluctant as he held the bag. "But that big rooster costs sixty-five coins; it's too expensive."

Da Ya and Er Ya also thought it was too expensive and nodded in agreement.

However, Manbao insisted. She thought that money was easy to earn, and what could be more important than her mother's health?

Wulang couldn't argue with her, so he said, "Let's buy a smaller one instead." After all, it's only for my mother to eat, and she can't eat that much in one meal. "It's cheaper this way, and we can buy a few more."

Manbao thought he made sense. "Where can we buy a rooster?"

Of course, it was the street they had just come from, which specialized in selling various chickens, ducks, and vegetables. However, Wulang rarely visited the county town and had no desire to return to that street. So, he looked around and pointed ahead, saying, "Let's go and see; maybe we'll find something cheaper."

Everyone agreed.

Wulang held Manbao's hand and hugged the bag, while Liulang held one niece in each hand, joyfully leading everyone to play.

Manbao saw many people for the first time and was extremely excited. She wasn't shy and would go wherever there were many people.

At first, Wulang held her hand, but soon she was pulling him along. In the end, Wulang was the one chasing after her.

Liulang also had his own place to play and followed behind for a while before getting lazy and giving up. After all, it was just one street, and they would eventually find something by walking forward.

Da Ya and Er Ya also didn't want to chase after them, so they happily played with Liulang.

But Wulang was worried. He had to worry about someone touching the money in his bag and about Manbao getting lost. Most importantly, he also wanted to play!

Manbao ran back and forth within the crowd, unsure of where she had disappeared. When she saw a group of adults shouting loudly, she became very curious and pushed her way through the crowd to see what was happening.

Wulang, sweating profusely, couldn't squeeze in with the bag on his back, so he could only jump to see what was going on inside. When he saw what was happening, his face turned pale, and he didn't care about anything else. He dropped the bag and squeezed in.

As soon as Manbao squeezed in, she saw two chickens in the middle, their feathers standing on end, fighting. Manbao was puzzled. What was so interesting about two chickens fighting?

The adults watching were excited, clenching their fists and shouting, "Peck it, peck it, use force, peck its eyes, peck its eyes… oh!"

Manbao looked at the excited adults on the left and then at the frustrated ones on the right, feeling confused. "What are they doing?" "Should I go and tell the chickens to stop fighting?"

The system said, "It's best for the host not to go." This is what is known as cockfighting.

Manbao curiously asked, "What is cockfighting?"

"It's a form of gambling where two chickens fight, and the owner of the defeated chicken loses," the system explained, giving a brief history of famous cockfighting legends.

For example, there was an emperor who loved cockfighting. Someone spent a lot of money to gift him a chicken, and for that, a famous minister scolded him.

Manbao watched for a while, and Wulang finally squeezed in. He hugged Manbao and covered her eyes, saying, "Manbao, who let you come here? This is gambling; we can't act like Fourth Brother."

Manbao pulled his hand away from her eyes just as the fight was over. One of the chickens had been pecked blind and was now flapping its wings and running away, while the other chicken, like a triumphant rooster, proudly raised its head and crowed.

The owner of the fleeing chicken was so angry that he kicked it to the ground and took out a silver coin from his pocket to give to the other person.

Manbao widened her eyes, looking at the man and then at the chicken, deep in thought.

Wulang was afraid when he saw Manbao's expression and pulled her to leave.

But Manbao was not happy. She said, "I won't be as foolish as Fourth Brother." What is so enjoyable about watching chickens fight? "It's not like watching people fight."

Wulang was shocked. "Do you... do you want to watch people fight too?"

Manbao curiously asked, "Is there really a way to watch people fight and gamble?"

Wulang had never seen it, but he had heard Fourth Brother talk about it. Would he dare to tell Manbao?

Wulang shook his head repeatedly. "No!"

Manbao said, "Oh," and broke free from his hand, saying, "I'm going to talk to that man."

Saying that, she went to the man who had lost the bet and appeared upset. Manbao was small, standing in front of him, only reaching up to his thigh.

The man, though annoyed, wasn't angry with the child. He frowned and shouted to the people around, "Whose kid is this?" "Get her out of here."

Wulang caught up and tried to drag Manbao away, but she pushed him away and shouted to the man, "Big brother, do you still want to buy a rooster? It's very beautiful, a very beautiful rooster."

The man looked down at Manbao, frowned, and asked, "Do you have chickens at home?"

Manbao nodded vigorously. "I saw a very, very beautiful, big rooster." Its feathers are red with black, its eyes are bright, and its comb is straight and bright red. "It's so beautiful, so beautiful."