The Farm Girl’s Charismatic Fortune

Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Prosperity Chapter 24: Chapter 23: Prosperity Hearing Xuanbao mention seeing Mrs. Zhao, Ruo Shui looked over subconsciously and saw the sign for the gambling house, his face darkening instantly.

However, considering that Mrs. Zhao was hardly ever home except during meal times, either staying in one gambling house or roaming to another, or at least watching a group of men gamble in the village, it was no surprise to him.

It truly was unfair that his third elder brother had been tricked into marrying such a wife.

If Mrs. Zhao’s character had been even slightly better, his third brother wouldn’t have looked down on her, and they wouldn’t have been sleeping in separate rooms all the time.

Ruo Hang, “That’s a gambling house, third aunt went to the gambling house again!”

Ruo Xuan peeked over curiously, “It seems like fun inside.”

Out of all the shops in town, this one had the most people inside, and they all seemed very excited.

Ruo Shui was startled and cursed Mrs. Zhao for being a bad influence on the children, seizing the opportunity to educate them:
“The gambling house is not a good place. Being addicted to gambling can lead to losing one’s fortune and ruin, to the destruction of one’s family. You all must remember never to engage in gambling, understand?”

Ruo Zhou was also startled by his sister’s curiosity, feeling the need to properly educate his siblings. After all, with an aunt like that around, it was best to prevent them from following her example: “I’ve seen Erlaizi from the next village become addicted to gambling. When he lost and refused to accept defeat, he owed the gambling house silver and they chopped off one of his fingers. Just like that, with a snap, he was left with only four fingers.”

With Ruo Zhou’s accompanying “snap” action, he scared several of the children.

Ruo Shui, “That’s still considered light. Some people lose all their family’s wealth, can’t repay the gambling house, and even get their legs broken, forcing the entire family to leave their hometown! So, when you grow up, remember never to touch gambling!”

The children nodded furiously.

Ruo Bo, “I heard from Gouzi that third aunt used to steal silver from home to gamble. Her father chased her with a knife, wanting to kill her!”

“Third aunt would steal silver?” Ruo Xuan thought of Mrs. Zhao having recent financial troubles.

“Often! She was frequently chased and beaten by her father for stealing silver! But her father is also addicted to gambling, their whole family likes to gamble.”

“Then we need to keep our silver more secure.” Ruo Xuan said.

“Of course, grandma has already warned everyone.”

…

Inside the gambling house, Mrs. Zhao also saw Ruo Shui and the others. She quickly hid away.

Only after Ruo Shui pushed his cart away did she come out of the gambling house to take a look at what was on the cart. She had glanced at the cart full of items earlier!

Mrs. Zhao stared from afar at the colorful brocade boxes on the cart, astonished at the entire load of items.

What had Ruo Shui sold in town today to make so much silver?

Those brocade boxes looked very valuable, and who knew what was inside them!

Mrs. Zhao’s heart was itching like a cat’s scratch, wanting to return to the Ruo Family to take a look, but she was afraid Ruo He would catch her and make her see a doctor.

While she was hesitating whether to rush back home or not, a man inside the gambling house shouted loudly, “Fatty, place your bet! Are you betting or not?”

Mrs. Zhao quickly replied, “Of course I’ll bet! Why wouldn’t I? I’m on a winning streak!”

This morning, she had helped her father sell pork and secretly pocketed a few dozen coins. After selling the pork, she had run to the gambling house and, after a few rounds, had won nearly a hundred coins.

She was on a roll!

Mrs. Zhao immediately ran back to the gambling house, tossing brocade boxes to the back of her mind.

She could always sneak back to check on the brocade boxes after winning all the silver!

She only wanted to win a thousand coins and then go back, so she bet all her hundred-plus coins on the high.

But when the game turned out low, she lost everything!

Mrs. Zhao felt she was jinxed, “It must have been running into that luckless Ruo family! They’ve caused me to lose everything!”

She walked out cursing and swearing.

At that moment, a man approached her, “Fatty, you’ve got good luck, why not borrow a few taels of silver and turn your luck around?”

Zhao’s lady was just about to refuse, as she was aware the silver from the gambling house shouldn’t be borrowed carelessly, and she had no silver to repay.

Usually, she would leave as soon as she lost everything.

The other party had been paying attention to Zhao’s lady for a long time and realized she was truly addicted to gambling, beyond saving, frequenting various gambling dens every day. He continued to persuade her, “Look, that person borrowed five taels from me and has now won ten taels. I’ll lend you five taels of silver, and I won’t charge you interest for five days. As long as you win within these five days, you just need to pay me back the five taels.”

No interest for five days? Zhao’s lady was tempted!

She thought of the cart full of brocade boxes Ruo Shui had recently, and didn’t Ruo Chuan earn five taels of silver the other day?

Even if she lost, she wouldn’t be unable to repay the silver within five days.

Seeing her hesitation, the man immediately coaxed her further, and Zhao’s lady couldn’t resist accepting the five taels of silver from him. She made her mark on the IOU and turned back to join a table!

“Place your bets, place your bets! Hurry up and finalize your wagers…”

*
Ruo Shui bought two sugar figurines for each of the children, and Xuanbao finally got to eat the sugar figurines of rabbits and goats she had been yearning for.

With the first bite, Xuanbao bit off the rabbit’s mouth, then went on to nibble at the goat’s mouth.

Her little mouth chewed vigorously, exactly like a rabbit or a goat munching on grass.

She looked ferociously cute!

Several brothers: “…”

Why did Xuanbao always look so fierce when eating rabbits and goats? Could it be that rabbits and goats had offended her in a past life?

Seeing her brothers looking at her, Xuanbao asked, “Brothers, why aren’t you eating?”

After speaking, Xuanbao took another bite of the sugar rabbit’s head.

“We are eating, starting right now!” The brothers lowered their heads to figure out where to start.

The boys didn’t like soft and fluffy animals like rabbits and goats. They all chose fierce and imposing ones like steeds, tigers, and eagles. The one thing they had in common was that they each picked a sugar figurine shaped like a steed.

Unlike Xuanbao, the brothers were too reluctant to munch directly. They merely licked with the tips of their tongues and were content.

After buying the sugar figurines, Ruo Shui took the children for some tofu pudding and then headed back to the village.

Half an hour later, the group finally left the official road and returned to the village.

Ruo Xian immediately said, “Dad, wait a moment. We’re going to take our sister to the mountain to pick wild fruits!”

Ruo Hang and Ruo Bo also nodded, “Uncle Four, we’re not going home. We’re going directly to the mountain to pick wild fruits.”

Ruo Zhou then said, “Uncle Four, don’t worry. I’ll look after my younger brother and sister.”

The village was surrounded by mountains; it was common for village children to play at the foot of the mountains.

Mountain kids, after all, grow up amidst nature. These children were sensible, so there was little to worry about. Ruo Shui stopped the cart and cautioned them, “Don’t run too deep into the mountains! Take good care of Xuanbao.”

“Got it!” The children replied in unison as they jumped off the cart and ran off like chicks freed from a cage, quickly disappearing into the distance!

“Xuanbao, let’s go collect turtle eggs first,” Ruo Xian suggested.

The brothers had discovered that ever since the floods last year, turtle eggs could often be found in the sandy area by the lakeshore, sometimes finding twenty or thirty in a single nest. None of the other village children had found them; only they knew.

Of course, this was also because the adults in the village seldom allowed their children to play by the lakeshore, beating them whenever they went. Thus, the discovery remained unnoticed by the villagers.

“Okay.” The children hurriedly ran towards the distant lake.

Being the oldest, and more steady, Ruo Zhou took the empty baskets from the cart and followed them.

The lake was quite far away, and they had to cross a grassy wetland. Xuanbao, following behind her brothers, stopped abruptly as she ran through the wetland.