Jin Shanyao led her two children through the crowd. In the center of the circle stood a gaunt man holding an iron chain, the other end of which was tied to a monkey.
The monkey was emaciated, with an iron ring around its neck, the fur around it worn away, revealing a patch of reddish skin.
Only his eyes were unusually large and wet.
It shivered from the cold, looking around warily, and turned to the man in alarm at the slightest movement of the chain.
Seeing that a crowd had gathered, the man shouted, "My Monkey Treasure and I have just arrived in your esteemed land, but we've run out of money halfway there. Fellow villagers, please be kind enough to help us. If you have money, please donate; if you don't, please show your support. My brother and I are very grateful."
His words drew laughter from those around him. "You're really funny... calling a monkey your brother!"
"Brother, don't underestimate this monkey; it's very intelligent... You'll see," the man shouted, pulling on the chain. " Monkey Treasure, bowing to all our distinguished guests to wish them a Happy New Year."
The Monkey Treasure shuddered, instinctively straightening up, clasping its front paws together, and stiffly arching its back in all directions. After doing so, it hurriedly looked at the man. Seeing that the man wasn't angry, it secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
A series of exclamations arose from the surrounding crowd. "My God, has this monkey become a spirit? It can actually understand human speech!"
Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci exclaimed in surprise, "Auntie, Auntie, look... this monkey is amazing!"
Jin Shanyao didn't speak, continuing to watch the acrobatics. Dahuang and Xiaoli nestled obediently at her feet, their bamboo baskets beside them, filled to the brim with all sorts of novel trinkets and food.
The monkey show continued. The man pulled a faded little red hat and a crumpled red jacket from his tattered bag. " Monkey Treasure, stick your head out."
As soon as he finished speaking, the monkey indeed stretched its head out, a move that drew cheers from the surrounding crowd. The man grinned and tossed his mandarin jacket to the monkey.
" Monkey Treasure, put your clothes on."
Monkey Treasure took it and started putting it on by itself, the iron chain around its neck rattling as it moved its arms.
The surrounding people gasped again, "My God... this is so incredibly intelligent!"
"The monkeys I've seen before either scratch or bite people, nothing like this one is so well-behaved... No, I have to give it a reward," the man said, pulling out five copper coins and throwing them at the monkey's feet.
Seeing this, the people around took out their coins and threw them at the monkey's feet. Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci also took out a few coins and threw them over, happily asking the man.
"Uncle, what else can he do?"
Seeing the reward money scattered on the ground, the man grinned, revealing his big teeth, and said, "Our Monkey Treasure knows a lot!" As he spoke, he pulled on the iron chain, " Monkey Treasure, do a somersault for everyone!"
Upon hearing this, Monkey Treasure immediately started doing somersaults, causing Little Red Riding Hood to fall to the ground, making everyone around burst into laughter. "Look! It's actually trying to pick up that hat!"
The man picked up the hat, ruffled the Monkey Treasure's hair, and chuckled, "Here, let's do a few more high flips for our distinguished guests."
Upon hearing this, the Monkey Treasure jumped even more energetically. The man didn't tell it to stop, so the Monkey Treasure continued to tumble. Because the ground was too cold, its bare hands and feet pressed against the ground.
It was so cold it wanted to bare its teeth but dared not, so it could only endure the biting cold and continue somersaulting, while the people around it clapped and cheered.
The coins rained down with a clatter, and the man, pleased with the effect, laughed, "Alright... we won't do any more somersaults for them. Here, put them on and wish all of you a Happy New Year."
He held up the little red hat, swung it twice in the air, and Monkey Treasure hurriedly ran over, took the hat with both hands, and began to wish everyone a Happy New Year.
After finishing, the man handed a tray to the Monkey Treasure, Monkey Treasure held it up in a very serious manner and began to ask for a reward. When it walked up to the Jin Shanyao, it...
It habitually raised its paw, preparing to bow. But the moment it looked up, its movement froze in surprise. Then it dropped the tray and knelt on the ground with a thud.
It frantically Jin Shanyao, and its little head bled from the impact. Meng Anzhi and Meng Anci startled and quickly took out their reward money to give it to it.
"Alright, alright... stop kowtowing, we've already given you some money..."
As if it hadn't heard Meng Anzhi's words, Monkey Treasure continued to Jin Shanyao. Seeing that she was unmoved, tears instantly rolled down its cheeks. It kept kowtowing and kowtowing.
It even reached out to pull at the hem of the Jin Shanyao robe, but as soon as it raised its hand, it heard a low growl. Turning its head, it met the Xiaoli's pair of shimmering golden vertical pupils, which startled it so much that it quickly withdrew its hand.
" Monkey Treasure..." The man noticed something was wrong and shouted angrily. He then pulled hard on the chain, and Monkey Treasure was dragged back to the man's feet, tumbling and crawling. The last bit of hope in its eyes instantly turned to ashes.
The man looked at Jin Shanyao and apologized, "I'm sorry... Monkey Treasure must have seen that you have money and wanted to ask for more..." He nudged Monkey Treasure with his foot a couple of times.
"I wish our distinguished guest a Happy New Year... as an apology."
Monkey Treasure dared not disobey, so he quickly stood up, put his hands together, and bowed to the Jin Shanyao.
Jin Shanyao couldn't bear to watch any longer and said to the two children, "Let's go..."
Meng Anci stared at the Monkey Treasure's blood-red forehead and asked the man, "This monkey looks quite novel. How much are you willing to sell it for?"
The man exclaimed, "Young sir, you flatter me! This Monkey Treasure has been with me since it was a cub; how could I bear to sell it?"
People around whispered, "This kid, he comes up here wanting to buy someone's monkey, isn't he just taking away their livelihood?"
"Absolutely... you want everything that looks good."
"He's rich... and spoiled at home. This clever little monkey is only interesting to him for a couple of days; who knows what he'll do later?"
Seeing this, the man quickly smoothed things over, "Alright, alright, the kid just said it offhand. I'll have Monkey Treasure do a backflip for everyone."
Meng Anzhi was about to call out a price when Meng Anci. If they bought now, they would be branded as thieves regardless of whether the stall owner sold to them or not.
They squeezed through the crowd. Dahuang was still staring intently at Monkey Treasure when Xiaoli kicked him on the head. "Stupid dog, let's go..."
Monkey Treasure glanced at Dahuang and Xiaoli out of the corner of his eye, his eyes filled with envy and disappointment... An overwhelming despair made him ignore the command.
The pain jolted it awake when the man pinched its arm hard with his large hand.
Top Scholar Tower, Jin Shanyao and Meng Anzhi celebrated Meng Anci's birthday.
Happy birthday, my little scholar.
Meng Anci and said, "It's a pity that next year isn't an Ox year, otherwise I could have tested my mettle in the provincial examination."
Jin Shanyao her head and smiled, "What's the rush? Learning is like brewing medicine; only when the heat is right will the medicine be effective. You're young and inexperienced, so you should take advantage of these two years to read more books."
Meng Anzhi nodded in agreement, "That's right. Do you think the provincial examination is like our academy, held every three months? If you don't build a solid foundation, you'll have to wait three years, you understand?"
Meng Anci's ears turned slightly red from the comment. "I was just saying, I just don't want to participate a few more times."
Jin Shanyao chuckled, "Little rascal, it's a pity you missed the Year of the Ox; you'll just have to wait it out..."