Dressed as a widow, raising cubs, farming and building infrastructure in Ming Dynasty

Chapter 41 The Beggar Boy
Qin Liu settled accounts in the private room of Yanzi Building until late at night. He stretched and was about to go back to the main room to rest when he heard rustling sounds in the kitchen.

She thought it was Madam Ma who was still busy at work, but when she walked into the kitchen, she saw a dirty, thin, frail, and ragged beggar stealing something - putting a piece of pickled beef on the table into his arms.

Seeing Qin Liu appear, the beggar panicked and wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to hide - the only door he could go out was blocked by Qin Liu.

Qin Liu helplessly held his forehead: This old man Lou is becoming more and more unreliable. Didn't he say that no thieves would dare to come without him?
Because Old Man Lou and the little mute lived in the backyard, she was not too afraid. Instead, she pointed to the steamer on the stove and said, "The steamed buns inside should still be hot. You can get some more."

The beggar couldn't stand such a magical operation, and he froze in place without daring to move.

Qin Liu left the kitchen door indifferently and found a chair in the hall to sit down: "Don't take too much, it won't be good if it breaks."

The sound of the steamer lid being opened and closed came from the kitchen. The beggar came out of the kitchen, glanced at Qin Liu who was sitting upright, and then went out through the door.

Qin Liu frowned and kept looking at the beggar.

Judging from his body shape, the beggar was a boy of about fourteen or fifteen years old. He had bare feet and shaggy hair, and his whole body was black and dirty. His hands and feet were covered with frostbite and pus, and he was slightly lame when walking on one leg.It's much worse than the little mute's situation before.

Qin Liu sighed slightly.

Old Man Lou's voice came faintly from behind: "The shopkeeper feels sorry for that piece of soy beef?"

Qin Liu glared at him: "Have the children gone to bed? Will you accompany me?"

Old Man Lou agreed happily: "We are all asleep, let's go!"

At night outside the customs in early March, the temperature was still freezing, and the watery moonlight added to the chill.

Qin Liu immediately shrank his shoulders when he went out, took the thick cotton-padded jacket handed over by Old Man Lou, put it on, and walked with him in the direction where the beggar disappeared.

The further we walked, the more desolate the surrounding area became. Everywhere we looked were ruined buildings and withered grass.

Qin Liu was at a loss.

Old Man Lou paused, pointed in one direction, and quietly pulled Qin Liu behind half of the earth wall.

Looking in the direction that Mr. Lou pointed, not far away, in the corner of a right-angled earth wall half a meter high, two people, one old, two young, were sitting, eating and chatting happily.The older one is the beggar boy who stole something just now.

A child said excitedly: "Wow! There is meat! Brother Zhao, where did you get it?" The voice sounded young, and he sounded like he was six or seven years old.

Qin Liu thought to himself that by calling each other by his last name, the beggar boy and these two children were not from the same family.

The young beggar said: "It's a donation from a kind person. Eat quickly. When you are full and have strength, you can follow me to the pass."

Another child about eight years old raised the food in his hand and handed it to the beggar's mouth: "Brother Zhao, eat meat!"

The young beggar smiled and said: "Brother Zhao has eaten, you can eat."

The six-year-old child said: "Brother Zhao, you are so awesome! Every day you meet kind-hearted people who give you food. We don't meet kind-hearted people when we go out."

The young beggar said: "Don't go out. You are weak. You can't beat someone who snatches your cotton-padded jacket."

The eight-year-old child asked: "Brother Zhao, you are older than us, why do you eat less than us every day? My brother and I can eat two steamed buns a day, but you only eat one steamed bun?"

The young beggar said: "Brother Zhao is older and more powerful, so he eats less."

The eyes of the two children were shining: "We must grow up quickly and be as powerful as Brother Zhao!"

... Qin Liu raised his head slightly and leaned against the cold earth wall behind him, suppressing the sourness in his nose.

For the sake of her family's survival, she has been trying her best to ignore the fact that there are still a group of people struggling to survive in the city.

She told herself that her abilities were limited and she could only take care of the people around her and not get into trouble, lest it bring unnecessary trouble and disaster to herself.

There is an ancient saying: "Everyone sweeps the snow in front of his own door, but who cares about the frost on other people's houses?"

She has always instinctively believed in this set of creeds of prudent self-preservation and exquisite self-interest and practiced them personally.

But the crippled and dirty beggar who stole things from her shop, in this corner of the ruins with broken walls, personally practiced another saying of the ancients: "You are as young as I am young, and you are young as well."

She has property and money, and is considered a successful person in Shabaozi Town.

She is also a doctor from modern society who has traveled through time, is a college teacher, and is educated and knowledgeable.

But morally speaking, is she taller and stalwart than that beggar?
not at all.

Ma Ang was able to rescue their mother and son only by relying on the love of his neighbor, at the risk of disobeying his superiors and abandoning his official position.

Relying on a light employment relationship, the little mute took personal risks and broke into the trap set by Master Zhang of Qianhu to save their mother and son.

The young beggar boy not far away can give the fragrant soybean beef to his younger brothers, and the few surviving steamed buns to the younger brothers, and he survives on one steamed bun every day...

From a human perspective, which one of them is not more glorious than her?

Qin Liu wiped the wetness from the corners of his eyes, stood up and walked towards the three people in the corner.

Under the moonlight, Qin Liu smiled lightly: "I have more steamed buns in my store. If you want to eat them every day, why not come with me."

The beggar boy stood up vigilantly and blocked his thin body in front of the two children: "Don't believe it! It might be a flower photo shoot!" This was what he told the two children behind him.

Qin Liu paused for a moment and looked himself up and down.

Do you look like a trafficker?
She looked at Old Man Lou behind her, who was hunched over his shoulders and sleeves with his hands, and said helplessly to the children in front of her: "I am the shopkeeper of Ma Li Dumpling Shop in the city. My husband's surname is Li and my maiden name is Liu. I also own a restaurant. A restaurant called Yanzilou. Now a new inn is being built and needs manpower.

I have opened a store in the town for a year, and no one has ever accused me of kidnapping a child.I also have two children at home, why should I abduct someone else’s?

If these guys are willing to come work for me, they won't get any wages for the time being, but they will have a house to live in, three square meals a day, and new clothes, shoes, and socks.

If you don't want to do it anymore, you can leave at any time.

If you are interested, come and see me in my store.Brother Zhao, you know where my store is.By the way, this old man once lived on the streets like you, and now he is my buddy. "

After Qin Liu said this, he turned around and left.

When she got home, she didn't go to bed directly. Instead, she went to the warehouse to dig out the extra bedding, found a small room and cleaned it with Old Man Lou, making the room habitable, even throwing a few handfuls into the bed. The firewood was lit - the weather was getting warmer day by day, and it seemed a bit irrational to burn the kang now.

Returning to his west room, Qin Liu found the little mute sitting by the kang, with the sleeping brothers Da Lang and Erlang lying on the kang.

She waved her hand and said, "Go back to sleep quickly. If you have anything to say, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

The little mute was a man of few words, so he closed the door for her and left without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)