He was originally born in a wealthy family and had no worries about food and clothing. Unfortunately, both of his parents became seriously ill a few years ago and even after consulting many famous doctors, they could not get better. On the contrary, in order to provide medical tr

Du Xiaosheng, a scholar in a small town in the south in the late Ming Dynasty.

He was originally born in a wealthy family and had no worries about food and clothing. Unfortunately, both of his parents became seriously ill a few years ago, and even after consulting many famous doctors, there was no improvement. On the contrary, in order to provide medical treatment to his parents, the family's savings were all used up and everything that could be sold was sold, leaving only a large mansion.

Du Xiaosheng was very filial and planned to sell the house to his parents for medical treatment. His father, Old Man Du, firmly disagreed and said to his son with tears in his eyes, "Son, it is your parents who have caused trouble for you. You must keep this house."

Mother He also tried hard to persuade him, insisting that he did not agree with his son selling the house. He also said that it was the lifeblood of the Du family and he must keep it.

The next day, my parents died.

Du Xiaosheng cried bitterly and relied on the help of villagers to organize the funeral for his parents.

Looking at the empty mansion, Du Xiaosheng sighed. He was a weak scholar who could not carry his shoulders or lift his hands, so he had to take the imperial examination.

How can I calm down and read a book when my stomach is empty? Besides, going to the provincial capital to take the exam is a big expense...

Thinking of this, Du Xiaosheng sighed again.

One night, Du Xiaosheng went into the mountains to dig some wild vegetables to satisfy his hunger. As soon as he finished cooking, he heard someone knocking on the door.

He was very curious as to who else would be there at this time, but he still strode over to open the door.

An old man and a young woman stood outside the door.

The old man's body was stooped and his face was pale. The woman's face was delicate. When she was confused, the woman blushed and saluted, "My daughter, Lian'er, I'm sorry to bother you. We, father and son, are passing by here and want to stay overnight. I don't know if that's okay."

Finished speaking. , Lian'er sighed slightly, with a sad look on her face.

Du Xiaosheng was thoughtful and could tell at a glance that the old man was ill. He would have given him warm hospitality in normal times, but now he was also in trouble. He hesitated for a while and then said, "Girl, Xiaosheng, please tell the truth. Something happened at home." , too poor to even afford food, and now only this empty house is left. If you two don’t dislike it, you can stay here.”

The two of them were overjoyed after hearing this, and quickly thanked them.

There were many empty rooms in the house. Du Xiaosheng chose a spacious and bright bedroom for the two of them. Then he brought two bowls of freshly cooked wild vegetable soup and said with a guilty face, "I'm ashamed to say that Xiaosheng drinks this too." To satisfy our hunger."

The two of them looked at each other with complicated expressions, and Lian'er was even more puzzled, "Originally, I thought you came from a wealthy family, but I didn't expect you to be like this. It's really disturbing."

Lian'er didn't bother you in those days. During my free time, I drank medicine for my father and then followed Du Xiaosheng into the mountains to dig wild vegetables.

It's just that the old man's condition has not improved, but is getting worse.

One night, the old man steeled himself to find Du Xiaosheng and wanted to kneel down for him.

Du Xiaosheng quickly helped him up, "Uncle, if you have any questions, just tell me, Xiaosheng will do his best to complete it."

The old man saw that he was humble and polite, and there was a hint of joy in his eyes, "I know that my time is running out. , Please also ask Mr. Du to take good care of his little daughter Lian'er."

Du Xiaosheng heard this with mixed feelings. In fact, he was interested in Lian'er, but he was too poor to even afford food, so he had no spare money to marry a wife.

The old man saw what he was thinking and handed him a yellow handkerchief with a pair of jade bracelets wrapped inside. He said solemnly, "Speaking of it, Lian'er is not my biological daughter. I adopted her back then." I found it when I was in my infancy. It should be worth a lot of money if you sell it."

Du Xiaosheng took the jade bracelet and took a closer look. The jade was moist and transparent, and it felt warm and moist when he held it in his hand. It was indeed extraordinary. Taste.

"Uncle, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Lian'er, but this jade bracelet belongs to her, and I can't make the decision." The old man nodded frequently after hearing this.

The next day, the old man passed away, and Lian'er cried bitterly.

Du Xiaosheng lent money to the old man for the funeral, and Lian'er was extremely grateful.

During this period of time, the two got along and developed feelings for each other. Du Xiaosheng simply held a banquet, and they were considered married.On the day of their wedding, Du Xiaosheng gave the jade bracelet to Lian'er. Lian'er said he would sell it. Du Xiaosheng hesitated for a while, thinking that the pair of jade bracelets might be related to Lian'er's life experience. He said he would take a look after some time. .

One day, when Lian'er was cleaning the room, she found that a piece of floor was loose. She pried it open curiously and found a wooden box hidden inside, and quickly called Du Xiaosheng to come over and take a look.

Du Xiaosheng was also puzzled. He had lived there for more than 20 years and found nothing unusual. He opened the wooden box and found an ingot of gold inside. There was also an IOU on it, which said that the town's rich man Liu owed their family one hundred taels of silver.

"Ms. sir, now we are rich." Lian'er was pleasantly surprised.

Du Xiaosheng was also very happy. No wonder his parents told him not to sell the house before they died. It seemed that they had saved it.

With this gold, Du Xiaosheng paid off all the money he owed to the villagers, and then he decided to visit Mr. Liu's house.

Mr. Liu’s home is at the east end of the town, still about twenty miles away. Du Xiaosheng walked all morning before arriving.

The person who received him was Mr. Liu's concubine Pan.

It is said that due to old age, Rich Man Liu left all the household affairs to his concubine Pan.

Mrs. Pan is fair-skinned and beautiful, but she is deep-seated and acrimonious.

Du Xiaosheng respectfully handed the IOU to Pan, thinking that he was about to receive one hundred taels of silver, and couldn't help but feel happy.

Unexpectedly, Mrs. Pan showed a sly smile after reading the IOU, hurriedly asked him to sit down, and asked the servants to bring tea. Then a pair of beautiful eyes stared at him and said with a smile, "Master Du, you are tired from the journey, please have a cup of tea first."

Du Xiaosheng saw that Pan was not only beautiful, but also so polite, so he quickly bowed and saluted, " "Madam, you're welcome."

Pan held the tea in his hand and handed it over. Du Xiaosheng quickly took it with both hands. He didn't know whether Pan was intentional or not, but the tea suddenly spilled out and wet the IOU in his hand.

"My sin, my sin, is that I was negligent." Pan rushed to grab the IOU, but Du Xiaosheng was caught off guard, and the IOU was torn in half.

The IOU had been there for a long time, and the paper had turned yellow. I don’t know what was put in the tea, so in the blink of an eye, the handwriting on the IOU was blurred.

Suddenly, Mrs. Pan changed her face and said in a bad tone, "Master Du, look at the unclear writing of this IOU. Are you thinking that Rich Master Liu is old and want to deceive him?"

Du Xiaosheng understood. He came over and regretted that he shouldn't have taken the IOU, but fell into Pan's trap. He said angrily, "You...you want to default on the debt!"

"Someone, drive this liar out." Pan waved his hand, and two big men immediately kicked him out.

Du Xiao was so angry that he could not speak.

On the way back, we passed a market and there was an open space surrounded by many people.

Du Xiaosheng was feeling depressed and thought about walking over to take a look and relax.

A young man with a sharp mouth and monkey cheeks, holding an old cow, boasted to everyone, "This is a sacred cow. It was hit by lightning and was still unharmed. It happened to be discovered by Feng."

Everyone sneered after hearing this. Some people said, "Since it is a sacred cow, how can you catch it."

The young man said with a smile, "Look at the chain around its neck. It was bought by Feng from an expert."

Du Xiaosheng took a closer look. There is indeed an iron chain around the old cow's neck that exudes a primitive atmosphere.

At this time, Lao Niu opened his eyes and looked at him motionlessly, his eyes were moist, and a tear slowly dripped down.

Du Xiaosheng was shocked when he saw it. They all said that everything has spirituality. Could it be... could this cow beg me for help?

After some hesitation, Du Xiaosheng took out the only two taels of silver in his pocket and asked the young man how much the cow would cost.

The young man answered simply, "It only takes three taels of silver."

Du Xiaosheng looked embarrassed, "This little brother, Du only has two taels of silver on him. Look..."

The young man saw that Du Xiaosheng was so polite, and he hesitated before nodding, "I see you are a scholar. , Two taels of silver will do."

Just like that, Du Xiaosheng took Lao Niu home.

Halfway through, Lao Niu suddenly stopped walking and kept shaking his neck vigorously, as if he was shaking something off.

Du Xiaosheng was shocked. He observed it for a while before suddenly realizing it. He hurriedly walked over and took off the chain from the old cow's neck.

As soon as the iron chain was taken away, the old cow roared as if he had been reborn. Suddenly, a dark cloud floated in the sky, followed by thunder and lightning, and lightning as thick as an arm struck the old cow, knocking Du Xiaosheng aside. Dumbfounded, he quickly backed away.

Half an hour later, the clouds disappeared and the air was filled with a burning smell. The old cow once again let out a long cry. In a trance, it turned into an old man.

The old man bowed to Du Xiaosheng and saluted, "Thank you so much for saving my life. Lao Niu finally succeeded in overcoming the tribulation."

"Overcoming the tribulation?" Du Xiaosheng looked confused. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never believe it. What just happened is true.

"My dear friend, you are going to have great luck." The old man suddenly changed the subject and said with a smile.

Du Xiaosheng sighed, "If you can't get your money back, what kind of luck will you have?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the old man disappeared.

After returning home, Du Xiaosheng told what happened during the day, and Lian'er also looked angry. Now that the IOU is gone, the one hundred taels of silver will probably not come back.

At night, Du Xiaosheng had a dream. In the dream, the old man I saw during the day slowly walked over.

"Hello, Niu Daxian." Du Xiaosheng bowed and saluted.

The old man smoothed his gray beard and said with a thick smile, "Young man, it's true that I said you have good luck. Show the pair of jade bracelets to Rich Man Liu tomorrow and he will know all about it."

"Why?" Du Xiaosheng looked puzzled. The old man slowly disappeared without explanation.

The next day, Du Xiaosheng told his wife Lian'er what happened in the dream. Lian'er also looked confused and muttered, "What does this jade bracelet have to do with Mr. Liu?"

"Never mind it." Du Xiaosheng was still there. Depressed about the IOU, "I'm going to find Mr. Liu to ask for an explanation this time."

With the experience last time, Du Xiaosheng learned wisely this time. He lay at the door of Liu's house, waiting for Mr. Liu to go out, and went immediately She explained her purpose to him and took out a pair of jade bracelets.

When Mr. Liu saw the pair of jade bracelets, he was stunned and speechless. After he recovered, he quickly asked him where the jade bracelets came from.

Du Xiaosheng was also surprised why Mr. Liu had such a big reaction and told him about his wife.

Suddenly, Rich Master Liu wept with joy, "That is my biological daughter Lian'er."

It turned out that twenty years ago, Rich Master Liu's family came to the south to escape the war. They encountered ruthless bandits on the way. He guessed that he would not be able to escape. He had no choice but to tearfully put his one-month-old daughter in the grass with a pair of jade bracelets in her swaddling clothes, hoping to meet a kind-hearted person to adopt her.

It may be that Mr. Liu was lucky, so he pretended to be dead and escaped.

Over the years, he has been searching for his daughter's whereabouts. Now, he is naturally very happy to hear the news that her daughter is still alive.

"You are lucky to have married my daughter, and now you are my son-in-law, Mr. Liu." Rich Man Liu laughed.

Du Xiaosheng was overjoyed after hearing this. His wife Lian'er finally found her family, and he no longer had to worry about his livelihood and could read a book.

When Du Xiaosheng and his wife arrived at Rich Master Liu's house, Mrs. Pan looked ashamed. She thought she could avoid paying the debt by being clever, but she never thought that this stupid young boy turned out to be Rich Master Liu's son-in-law.

Over the years, Mr. Liu turned a blind eye to Pan's mischief. Now that he saw that she was becoming more arrogant and domineering, he kicked her out of the house unceremoniously.

In the end, Du Xiaosheng devoted himself to studying, and finally won the gold medal, won the Jinshi, and became a high official to benefit the people.

Du Xiaosheng kindly took in Lian'er and his daughter, and also rescued Lao Niu. Now he has finally received a generous reward, and it can be considered that good deeds are rewarded.