Chapter 626
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Chapter 626? ? (Part 1)
Upon entering the dream, Qin Huai saw scenes he rarely saw in his dreams.
Heavy snow.
Moreover, it was a heavy snowfall unique to the North.
As far as Qin Huai could see, everything was covered in thick white snow, making the sky appear even bluer and brighter. The world was a vast expanse of white. The snow on the ground was very clean, with hardly any footprints, indicating that it had fallen last night. Of course, it was also possible that the continuous heavy snow had covered up the footprints.
Qin Huai, who rarely saw such heavy snow, tried to catch a falling snowflake, but to no avail. He could only watch the snowflake pass through his hand and fall to the ground.
It was quiet all around; there were no insects chirping, no birds singing, and no human voices. Qin Huai scanned his surroundings and realized that he was probably in the suburbs. He was very familiar with the suburbs; many spirits' memories originated there.
Qin Huai felt he should be at the foot of the mountain, but it seemed all the trees in the area had been cut down, leaving the mountain bare. Not far away was a dilapidated temple covered in heavy snow, looking precarious and on the verge of collapse.
Qin Huai, the protagonist of this memory, may like Chen Huihong and Zhao Cheng'an to be buried in the ground. He has little common sense and hesitates for a moment while hiding in the snow in the dilapidated temple. In the end, he chooses the dilapidated temple and takes a step towards it.
The temple is very small.
The small, dilapidated temple was crammed with more than 20 beggars, all teenagers, their clothes filthy and hair disheveled, making it impossible to tell their genders. Qin Huai guessed they were all boys. An Youyou had explained to Qin Huai after waking up that there were very few girls among the homeless beggars. In an era when human life was cheap, female beggars were more valuable than male beggars and more worthwhile for human traffickers to kidnap for a couple of steamed buns.
The beggars were scrambled together in the dilapidated temple. Some were buried in piles of straw, some were hiding behind stone statues, some were covered with tattered quilts, and some were wearing layers of tattered and dirty clothes. The scene was like a mini-game where you have to find out how many beggars are in the picture within three minutes.
It was already broad daylight outside, but the beggars in the dilapidated temple were all asleep.
An Youyou had also explained this to Qin Huai: Shanghai is in the south, so winters aren't as cold, but there are still a few particularly cold days. In the north, beggars, in order to survive, are always aware of the crisis and will save money before winter to pawn a tattered quilt or coat, because in the north, not having warm clothing in winter means certain death.
It's very unsuitable to beg in cold weather. Sometimes it's not that beggars are unprofessional; it's that wealthy people don't go out in the cold and can't get food. Instead of spending time freezing, walking long distances, kowtowing, and risking being beaten to diligently beg and burn calories, it's better to find a sheltered, slightly warm place, sleep comfortably all day, and conserve energy.
Begging is an art, and only those who master it can grow up safely. Those who don't master it will either fail due to improper operation or bad luck.
The 20 beggars in the dilapidated temple were clearly very knowledgeable about this subject, knowing when to sleep to conserve their energy and when to go out begging for food to survive.
No, there's one who's clearly not proficient.
After scanning the dilapidated temple, Qin Huai quickly focused his gaze on a man leaning against the wall, covered with straw, who seemed to be resting. A closer look revealed that his limbs were exposed, showing no signs of cold, and his clothes were very thin.
Beggars without cotton-padded clothes would try their best to wear layers of thin clothing, even tattered rags, to keep warm. But this beggar was clearly only wearing two layers of thin clothing; he wasn't even pretending.
Most importantly, everyone else was fast asleep, but he was the only one pretending to be asleep.
Qin Huai had been in the dilapidated temple for less than a minute when he impatiently opened his eyes twice to look around. He was clearly a newcomer to the tribulation, confused about the situation and the current circumstances. He had inexplicably wandered into the crowd of beggars and dared not make any rash moves to expose himself, so he could only reluctantly mingle in like this.
For some reason, the more spirits and monsters Qin Huai saw, the more he felt that Chen Huihong wasn't actually that confused.
Qin Huai began to stare at the little beggar, and the more he looked, the more he felt that this person was not very professional.
Her clothes weren't tattered enough, her hair wasn't dirty enough, and her face was even quite clean, clearly indicating she washed her face regularly. This was absolutely taboo in the begging business. Before each begging trip, An Youyou would smear mud on her face, turning herself into a mud ball. If you're a beggar, how can you beg if you're not dirty, don't look pitiful, and don't smell bad? How can you get those fierce-looking people to stay away from you out of disgust?
The unprofessional little beggar couldn't keep up the act after pretending to be asleep for 20 minutes, so he simply opened his eyes, sat up straight, and stretched his arms and legs.
Then he accidentally kicked his teammate on the left.
The companion on the left was already cold and hungry and was half asleep. When the little beggar kicked him awake, he opened his eyes with some difficulty. He subconsciously tugged at his tattered coat, shivered, and shoved some more of the little hay he had on himself. He also took the opportunity to snatch a few handfuls of hay from the little beggar. The little beggar didn't seem to care and just sat there in a daze.
After being awake for about two minutes, his companion opened his eyes slightly, struggled to get up, glanced at the situation in the dilapidated temple, then craned his neck to look outside, muttering, "Damn it, it's snowing again."
After saying that, his companion kicked the sleeping beggar next to him: "Dog, wake up."
The beggar did not react.
His companion kicked him again, but when he still didn't react, he pushed him and discovered that the beggar lying next to him had frozen to death in the middle of the night; his body was stiff.
It's quite normal for beggars to die in the winter snow. Of all the followers An Youyou took in, only a few survived. Seeing another fellow beggar die, her companion showed no sadness but rather great joy. Before the others noticed, she immediately began to strip the little beggar of his clothes and put them on herself. After finishing, she glanced at the little beggar, thought for a moment, and reluctantly took off a piece of her own clothing and threw it to him.
"Hey, this is for you."
"Dog didn't save enough money to buy a padded jacket in the fall, and he froze to death last night wearing seven layers of thin clothes. You only have two layers, how did you survive?" his companion asked.
The little beggar reluctantly put on his thin clothes and said indifferently, "I'm not afraid of the cold."
His companion chuckled and began searching the surrounding area, trying to find the money the dog had hidden. As he searched, he whispered, "I've seen plenty of you down-on-your-luck young masters. So what if you've had two more years of good life than us and are still healthy? Let me tell you, once you get through this winter, you'll be just like us."
"Dog's father used to be the owner of a pharmacy, but he still died from opium addiction. Dog even went to school and can write, but what good is that? He can't beg for food and still freeze to death before he saves enough money."
"I'm not afraid of the cold," the little beggar repeated.
His companion gave him a look that said, "You're just being stubborn," and continued searching. When he couldn't find any money, he got a little angry and craned his neck to look outside again. He then realized that the snow had stopped sometime earlier.
"Hey, the snow has stopped. I know a good place where there's food, there's always food when it snows. I was planning to take my dog there, but he's dead now. Do you want to come with me?"
"Go." The little beggar stood up.
His companion looked him up and down, noticing his thin three-layered clothing, and muttered under his breath, "He really isn't afraid of the cold."
After saying this, his companion stuffed a few more handfuls of straw into his tattered coat before reluctantly crawling out of the straw pile. He shivered as he reached the entrance of the dilapidated temple and struggled to get out.
Once outside the dilapidated temple, his companion's voice grew a little louder as he instructed the little beggar, "I took you to this great place today. According to the rules of our trade, since I brought you there, you have to share half of whatever food you get there with me from now on."
"You have to finish your food when you're out, otherwise Scarface will find it when you get back to the temple and you'll have to hand it over. Damn it, he didn't even build the temple. He's just relying on his strong fists. What's with the attitude of a boss? If he's so capable, he should go to the city and take over some territory."
"Hey, what's your name? I only took you in because you're as honest as Gouzi. You're lucky you met me in winter, otherwise you would have frozen and starved to death outside. Now that Gouzi is dead, you'll be with me from now on. If anyone beats us up, you'll step forward and shield us. In our line of work, the underlings are always there to take punches for the boss."
Qin Huai watched his companion spout nonsense with a straight face and couldn't help but sigh in his heart that An Youyou was truly a rare and conscientious leader in the beggar industry.
"I told you, I don't have a name, and I haven't decided what to call myself," the little beggar said calmly. He had this expression ever since he opened his eyes and sat up. To be precise, he had no expression at all; only a hint of despair could be vaguely seen in his eyes.
Qin Huai guessed that this person had just arrived in the mortal realm to undergo tribulation and was learning the rules of the human world, but he didn't really want to learn the rules in a beggar's den, and he couldn't find a good place to go for the time being, so he could only make do like this for now. As for his companions' suggestion to acknowledge him as their leader, the little beggar didn't take it to heart at all. Unlike the three-legged golden toad, he didn't consider being a beggar his life's pursuit, and he had no interest in being a subordinate.
"Alright, hey, be careful when we get there. If anyone tries to steal your buns, you have to protect them. You have to give me half of the buns you get!" His companion repeatedly emphasized, then looked at the little beggar's clean face with some disdain and asked, "You didn't secretly wash your face yesterday, did you?" The little beggar didn't answer, tacitly agreeing.
"How can you wash your face when you're begging? Who would feed you if you're so clean? You really are... Sigh, never mind, even Gouzi was like this when he first started begging. You're lucky. This winter is so cold, so be careful when you're sleeping at night. If someone next to you freezes to death, quickly strip them of their clothes, and we'll take half."
"If Scarface could freeze to death, that would be great. His coat is so thick, I definitely wouldn't freeze to death this winter if I wore it. And if Scarface died, I could become the boss, and everyone could give me half a bun every day, then I would..." The companion was so happy with himself that he imagined that he would have an endless supply of buns every day after becoming the boss.
Little beggar: ……
The little beggar took a step back silently, somewhat disgusted, to distance himself from his companion.
The two beggars entered the city one after the other.
Although they were entering the city, it wasn't particularly prosperous, at least not on the same level as Shanghai and Beijing, which Qin Huai had seen. But that was normal; in this era, what city could compare to Beijing and Shanghai? Those two cities were so prosperous that they were like two different worlds compared to other places.
Because of the heavy snow, Qin Huai couldn't quite make out the situation in the city; everything visible to the naked eye was covered in snow. In such cold weather, no one would be idly strolling the streets; even beggars were huddled in warm, sheltered spots. Only a few shops along the street were open, though the restaurants and eateries were bustling with activity and warmth.
The little beggar and his companion looked like a pair of reckless fools.
My companion glanced enviously at the shop on the street. The shop sold food, and the doors and windows were covered with thick cloth for insulation. Even through the cloth, my companion could feel the warmth inside and smell the aroma of food and wine.
"If I could ever eat at a place like this, I'd die happy," his companion exclaimed.
The little beggar followed his companion's gaze to the small shop, but didn't react.
"Hey, have you eaten there before?" his companion asked.
"No," the little beggar shook his head.
"Your family wasn't that rich before, were you? Gouzi said he used to go to that restaurant all the time. He said their pig's head was so fatty and fragrant, their steamed buns were delicious, and they had mutton soup too." His companion swallowed hard as he spoke. "What do you think the steamed buns taste like? Are they really not hard on the throat at all, fragrant, soft, and sweet? What does it feel like to eat a piece of pig's head? How fragrant is the mutton soup? If I could eat all three of these in one meal in my life, I'd be way cooler than Scarface."
The little beggar didn't say anything.
The companion's fantasy ended as they passed the shop. He swallowed hard, his stomach growled, and he slowed his pace. The roads were difficult to travel in the snow. They had walked for nearly two hours from the dilapidated temple on the outskirts of town, and even in his tattered coat, the companion was now quite cold.
As a spirit who had successfully transcended tribulation, the little beggar's physical condition was significantly better than that of ordinary people. Wearing only three thin layers of clothing, he still moved with incredible speed, his face clearly showing that he was in good health and not afraid of the cold.
The two walked for another half an hour, with the companion leading the little beggar through the city in a maze of twists and turns, until they finally arrived at the entrance of a pastry shop.
Qin's Pastry Shop.
The signboard was very familiar, and the appearance was very familiar. Qin Huai had seen the exact same signboard in Chen Huihong's memory.
Is this Beiping?
Qin Huai was a little confused when he saw the sign. He thought that Beijing didn't look like this.
The city of Beiping was far more prosperous than this small town. There were many shops and upscale restaurants along the streets. No matter how cold it was, there were always people on the streets, and no matter how thick the snow was, there were always vendors hawking their wares.
However, this city isn't exactly a small city. If you had to compare it to others, Qin Huai felt that this city was more prosperous than the provincial capital that Qu Jing remembered visiting.
Of course, Qin's Pastry Shop might be a chain store, because Qin Huai had seen one in Qu Jing's memory, and the owner of that store was a strange and eccentric person. However, the signboard of that Qin's Pastry Shop was different from the one in Beiping, while the signboard of this store was clearly the same as the one in Beiping. Qin Huai even suspected that the two signs were the same.
While Qin Huai was staring blankly at the signboard, his companion had already pulled the little beggar to the back door of Qin's Pastry Shop and lay him down on the ground.
Yes, he just lay down on the ground, looking very weak, like he was about to starve to death. His acting was so superb that Qin Huai and the little beggar were dumbfounded.
Seeing the little beggar still standing there in a daze, his companion said with exasperation, "What are you still standing there for? Lie down next to me!"
"Why are you lying down?" the little beggar asked.
"You're starving to death, how do you still have the energy to stand? Listen to me, lie down quickly. Do you remember what those people in the temple looked like, so hungry they couldn't even lift their hands? Imitate them. If you can't imitate them, bury your head in the snow. Hurry, grab a good spot while no one's around!"
"Thank goodness you woke me up. If I had overslept, I wouldn't have gotten a good spot and would have gone hungry again today."
The little beggar didn't understand, but he did as his companions did, lying down in the snow. His head wasn't completely down, but tilted to the side, looking at the back door of Qin's Pastry Shop, clearly wondering what use lying there would be.
Qin Huai: ...
Qin Huai watched as the two men lay stiffly at the back door of Qin's Pastry Shop, just like two corpses that had suddenly collapsed.
What Qin Huai didn't expect was that this was just the beginning.
In less than the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the area in front of Qin's Pastry Shop was filled with beggars.
There were big ones and small ones, but of course, most of them were little beggars. Some were as skilled actors as their companions, while others were genuinely too hungry to walk, and after struggling to crawl to the entrance of Qin's Pastry Shop, they collapsed on the ground, looking like they were about to starve to death at any moment.
Qin Huai was curious to see how the people at Qin's Pastry Shop would react when they came out through the back door and saw the scene before them.
Qin Huai soon found out.
Shortly after the 17th beggar lay down at the door, the back door of Qin's Pastry Shop moved. After a rustling sound, probably from moving things away and unlocking the door, a girl who looked to be in her teens, wearing a cotton coat, with plain hair and no silver hairpins or jewelry, dressed somewhat like a maid, pushed open the door carrying a bamboo basket. Upon seeing the strange sight at the door, she shouted inside.
"Miss, there are many more beggars lying outside."
“Miss, you really can’t keep sending these buns away like this. If you keep doing this, all the beggars in the city will know. I’m afraid that when I open the door tomorrow, there will be even more beggars outside.”
The voice that answered the maid was clear yet steady.
"Chunhe, it's snowing and cold today. After you finish distributing the buns, please give each of them a bowl of hot water."
"These were just dark-colored steamed buns I used for practice. They'll leave after they've taken them; they all know the rules. Don't make a fuss, or Father will scold you if he hears you."
"Hurry up, there probably isn't enough hot water. I'll go to the kitchen and boil some more."
(End of this chapter)