82 Not Without Merits

Zhou Xiaoli jumped down from the cart and walked over to help the little girl help the old man up from the ground.

Wei Chiyu and Zheng Yongyan also got off the donkey cart and walked forward to help.

Wei Chiyu frowned slightly and asked, “What happened?”

Wei Chiyu’s temperament was a little cold to begin with, and his serious expression frightened the little girl.

Her voice trembled as she apologized. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. We didn’t mean it. We really didn’t mean it.”

“We came to Wenshui County to seek help from our relatives. My grandfather fell ill. We just wanted to buy some medicine, but we didn’t have enough money so we were chased out by the pharmacy. That’s why my grandfather accidentally fell in front of your donkey cart.”

For some reason, when he heard this, Zheng Yongyan subconsciously remembered what Zhou Xiaoli had said to Shopkeeper Qian when she was collecting the divination consultation fee.

He glanced at Zhou Xiaoli again, his eyes shining.

At this moment, the medicinal shop assistant stood at the side and threw their bags to the ground. “Why are you sick if you don’t have money!”

There were still tears on the little girl’s face. She knelt in front of the shop assistant and kept kowtowing to him. “I beg you. Please help me to save my Grandpa for now. When I find a relative, I’ll definitely send the money to you immediately.”

The shop assistant sighed. “Young lady, this is a pharmacy, not a charity hall. I’ve seen many people like you. If we help everyone, will our pharmacy still be able to do business? Off you go, go.”

As he spoke, he waved his hand and turned to enter the shop.

The little girl was still kowtowing.

The old man hugged his granddaughter with tears in his eyes. “Niuniu, it’s okay. Don’t be sad. I’m old. It’s only a matter of time.”

“No, Grandpa, don’t leave me. You’re my only family.”

The little girl cried inconsolably, making people cry together with her.

However, the shop assistant was right. Such things often happened, especially for the poor.

The surrounding people also looked at it and sighed. They were used to such things happening.

“How much more?”

At this moment, Zhou Xiaoli’s clear voice sounded out. The little girl looked at her with teary eyes.

“How much more do you need to buy the medicine?” Zhou Xiaoli asked again.

“30 copper coins.” A glimmer of hope appeared in the little girl’s eyes.

Zhou Xiaoli did not say anything else. She took out the 30 copper coins that Shopkeeper Qian gave her, squatted down, and placed it in the little girl’s hand. “It’s exactly 30 copper coins. Take it to Grandpa to get the medicine.”

With that, she stood up and said to Wei Chiyu, “Let’s go.”

The three of them got on the donkey cart and slowly left while the little girl kowtowed and thanked them.

Zheng Yongyan looked at Zhou Xiaoli with a complicated expression on his face. “Ahem, I didn’t expect you to be so kind. In that case, it looks like you are not without any merits afterall.”

Zhou Xiaoli was stunned for a moment and immediately retreated. “Oh, you’ve discovered my good points to the point of praising me? Hey, wait a minute. Don’t tell me you’ve changed your mind and you like me now because of this?!”

Zheng Yongyan’s face darkened. “How shameless! I won’t like you!”

Zhou Xiaoli heaved a sigh of relief and patted her chest. “That’s good, that’s good. You almost scared me to death.”

Zheng Yongyan’s face darkened even more. He became a child scholar at the age of eight and was also the son of the village chief. All the girls in the village were enthusiastic about him. He was usually the one to look down on others.

This Zhou Xiaoli; only she alone would make him angry.

As the two of them bickered, they arrived at the entrance of the stone gambling denl in the south of the city.

Wei Chiyu parked the donkey cart at the transit station outside the venue, then led Zhou Xiaoli and the others into a street.

As soon as they turned in, they were stunned by the commotion in front of them.

There were shops on both sides of the street. The doors of the shops were open, and all kinds of raw stones were neatly placed inside and at the entrance of the shops.

Further in, they saw a large open space. There were all sorts of stalls within.

There were many stalls, but they were not messy. Every stall was lined up in a row neatly with a path for walking in the middle.

The customers walked on the road and passed by the stalls. When they found something they liked, they would stop and look at them.

Further in, one could see a few jade shops. Stone cutters were placed at the entrance, and many people were cutting stones. The scene was very lively.

This was the first time Zhou Xiaoli had seen an ancient stone gambling den. It was very novel to her, so she couldn’t help but stay within for a while.

As soon as she looked closely, she saw a familiar figure. It was Zhou Guifen’s husband, Xue Min.

Only then did she remember that Lai Jinniang’s eldest daughter, Zhou Guifen’s husband, was from the Xue family, which owned a jade shop.

Obviously, when Zhou Xiaoli saw him, Xue Min also noticed Zhou Xiaoli. However, he turned his gaze away and spoke to the others as if he did not see her.

At this moment, Wei Chiyu pointed at a jade shop. “This one. I’ll help you ask if they accept pearls.”

Zhou Xiaoli immediately pulled Wei Chiyu back and shook her head, “Not for now.”

Xue Min had already seen her. This was such a big deal. If she sold a pearl here, the news would probably spread in less than a day.

If Xue Min knew, Zhou Guifen would also know. Wouldn’t Lai Jinniang and the others then suspect that Zhou Xiaoli had fabricated the story about their misfortunes being the Dragon King’s punishment for taking the pearl?

Wei Chiyu glanced at Xue Min and understood what Zhou Xiaoli meant. He nodded and said, “We’re going to the prefecture soon. I’ll help you sell it then.”

Zhou Xiaoli nodded. “Alright.”

But what if she was short of money now?

Zhou Xiaoli frowned slightly. Her gaze fell on the dazzling array of raw stones, and she had an idea suddenly.

Zheng Yongyan, who had never liked gambling, did not want to stay here. He said, “Since you’re not selling anymore, let’s leave quickly. This place is too dirty!”

As he spoke, he turned and was about to leave in a hurry.

However, Zhou Xiaoli stopped him. “Hey, don’t. Since we’re already here, let’s take a look. What if we manage to get a treasure?”

Zheng Yongyan frowned in disapproval. He wanted to refuse, but Zhou Xiaoli was already strolling in front of the stalls.

Wei Chiyu walked past Zheng Yongyan and said, “If you don’t want to shop, you can go to the transit station to retrieve the donkey cart first. The parking fee is quite expensive.”

With that, he followed Zhou Xiaoli.

Zheng Yongyan pursed his lips and snorted. “I would not.”

With that, he followed reluctantly.

After going through the stalls one by one, Zhou Xiaoli also saw a few stones that emitted spiritual energy. However, the spiritual energy was very weak. There should be something inside, but not much.

At this moment, she heard a voice from the stall beside her.

“Boss, you asked for 20 taels for this stone. It’s too much.”

“This is a high-quality raw stone. Look, the probability of it producing jade is very high.”

“Hmph, you’re just trying to scam the newbies. Your stone is worth at most five taels of silver.”

Zhou Xiaoli couldn’t help but look at the stone in the man’s hand, her eyes narrowing into slivers.

At this moment, the boss laughed. “Five taels of silver is fine. Do you want it?”

It seemed that the shop owner knew that he had asked for a price higher than what the stone was worth.

After the shop owner finished speaking, the customer smiled and placed the stone down. He shook his head. “I usually don’t buy stones of such grades.”

Then he went to look at the other stones.

After taking another look at the stone, Zhou Xiaoli walked forward and picked it up.