Chapter 35 Dry Land Barren Years (6) Downstairs, a little beggar who looked eight or nine years old and was wearing the same tatters as Chen Huihong, but much cleaner than her, was nimbly avoiding the pursuit of the waiters on the first floor. Seeing that the woman and Qin Yanxing had both come down, the man who was chasing the little beggar quickly stopped and immediately complained and shirk responsibility: "My boss, this little beggar is sneaky and dishonest. I saw him eating our cakes early in the morning. He was wandering around the shop, and he just slipped in. I knew he was going to steal something and I caught him red-handed!" Qin Yanxing shouted with a dark face: "Shut up!" Then he immediately switched to a smiling face and looked at the woman: "Sister, look..." The woman ignored him, walked straight downstairs, bent down and took out the little beggar hiding under the table, and said softly: "Maybe he is just hungry, and he smelled the fragrance and wanted to come in to beg for something to eat." After saying that, the woman lowered her head and said, "But it's wrong to sneak into other people's stores. The store is open for business and welcomes customers. If you come in, it will affect the store's business." The little beggar said nothing. "In my opinion, he is just young and ignorant. Just drive him out. There are many victims in the city recently. He probably escaped with his parents. He is already very pitiful." After saying that, the woman patted the little beggar and asked him to go out.
The little beggar trotted out reluctantly. After going out, he glanced at Chen Huihong, who was still sitting at the door playing with the wooden horse, and glared at her with a warning look. Chen Huihong gave the little beggar a look, did not fight back, and continued playing with the Trojan horse. Qin Yanxing saw not only a beggar sneaking into the store, but also one sitting outside the store. He immediately became angry and scolded: "Get rid of the one outside quickly." The guy was obviously a good eater. He heard the rumors about Chen Huihong circulating on the street today, so he came up and whispered a few words. Qin Yanxing frowned, obviously he didn't dare to offend the legendary crazy lady who ran away from a wealthy family, so he could only point to the black-faced pastry on the counter. "Take two and invite her away." The waiter hurriedly went to get it, picked two of the smallest black dough dumplings and stuffed them at the door to Chen Huihong: "Okay, can you sit and play somewhere else?" Chen Huihong took a look and found that it was black, so she didn't answer it, but she still stood up consciously, patted herself and planned to change a place to sit and taste the fragrance. The woman came out carrying the food box. Chen Huihong didn't look at the road for a moment and almost bumped into the woman. The little beggar who had already run to the street glared at Chen Huihong again. Chen Huihong knew she was in the wrong and quickly said: "I'm sorry, I'll pay you this." After saying that, he snatched the black dough pastry from the waiter's hand and gave it to the woman. Guy:? The woman smiled when she saw this, took the black dough dumpling, took out the handkerchief and wrapped it, and said softly: "The dumpling made by my brother really doesn't taste good. I'll trade it for you with the dumpling made by my husband and me." After saying that, the woman squatted down and opened the food box, took out two fist-sized white steamed buns that were obviously made from fine grains and were slightly gray in color from the top shelf and handed them to Chen Huihong. Chen Huihong took the steamed buns in a daze, showing hesitation for the first time, with words written all over her face: Did I succeed in begging? Qin Huai praised Chen Huihong's innate talent for begging. In one sentence, black-faced steamed buns turned into white ones. The little beggar on the street has his teeth broken. The woman also saw the little beggar on the street, waved to him, and the little beggar ran over quickly. The woman handed him the black-faced steamed bun wrapped in a handkerchief, took out a white-faced steamed bun from the food box, and slowly closed the food box.
"In the future, remember to ask for food at the door if you don't want to go in, or you will be beaten. Do you understand?" The little beggar nodded and whispered: "Thank you." Then he ran away. Chen Huihong thought for a while and then said, "Thank you." Then he ran away too. The woman looked at the backs of the two people running in both directions, smiled, seemed to be in a much better mood, and left with the food box. Of course Qin Huai left with Chen Huihong. Even if he wanted to follow the little beggar, he couldn't. This dream belonged to Chen Huihong, so he could only follow the owner of the dream. Ever since Qin Huai entered the dreamland, he had rarely seen Chen Huihong eat any food other than tree bark. Chen Huihong always stayed away from the bugs and earthworms that Huiniang dug up. She occasionally took a bite of the unknown fruits that she picked up. Po Zhang gave them sweet potatoes without even tasting the skin. Now the woman gave her two white-flour steamed buns that were obviously good-looking. Chen Huihong hesitated while holding the buns, but finally couldn't resist the temptation and took a bite. With just one sip, Chen Huihong's eyes lit up. It goes without saying how delicious this steamed bun is. Without any hesitation, Chen Huihong stood on the roadside and wolfed down the remaining steamed buns. After finishing the meal, she smashed the buns into her mouth without any hesitation. He glanced at the other steamed bun, hesitated, and put it in his arms. Passers-by who had heard the rumors about Chen Huihong saw that Chen Huihong was eating so deliciously and couldn't help but sigh with their companions: "Miss Crazy is hungry." "That pastry looks really good, it's white." "It's just a piece of cake." Chen Huihong turned a deaf ear and continued walking on the street. But this time, he seemed to have a direction. He was not wandering aimlessly on the street, but heading back towards the remote suburbs of the city. After leaving the bustling streets, the number of beggars and refugees increased, and Chen Huihong also blended in. She was no longer the famous crazy lady on the street, but became one of the ordinary refugees. Chen Huihong looked around, seemingly thinking about something. While walking, Chen Huihong grabbed a refugee who looked relatively strong and asked, "How to get to the soup kitchen?" The refugee subconsciously showed a fierce expression. When he saw that Chen Huihong was stronger than him, he immediately gave directions. "There, it is said that some prince gave it to me. It is the thickest there, with more rotten beans and less sand." Chen Huihong walked in the direction pointed by the refugees. The refugees did not lie to Chen Huihong. The porridge shed there may indeed be recognized by everyone as the best. According to reports, the number of refugees here is almost several times that of other places. The queues are chaotic and crowded, and some people are even stepped on and crushed under their feet. There was a constant wailing below. There are a few brightly-dressed stewards at the porridge shed. They don't do much. They sit with their legs crossed and drink tea leisurely. They only take a look at how many beans are left and when the work is done. From time to time, they grab a few handfuls of sand and sprinkle it into the pot. Chen Huihong squeezed in the crowd. The refugees thought she was trying to jump in line. Seeing that she was strong, rosy-cheeked, and capable of beating, no one dared to provoke her, so they all silently tolerated her and let her squeeze in. After squeezing and squeezing, Chen Huihong heard a familiar voice. "Sister Chen!" What caught the eye was Hui Niang's surprised face. "Eat?" Chen Huihong asked concisely.
Hui Niang shook her head: "There are too many people to queue up. And..." Hui Niang pointed to a few big men near the porridge shop: "When I get to the queue, I have to give them half a bowl. If I don't give them, I will be beaten. I don't dare to push forward." Huiniang's figure was pretty good among the refugees, so if she pushed forward hard, she might have already drank. Upon seeing this, Chen Huihong grabbed Huiniang and led her through the crowd of people grabbing porridge to a corner where there was no one around. "Eat this." Chen Huihong took out the steamed bun that had been pressed into a pancake and handed it to Hui Niang. In Hui Niang's shocked eyes, the steamed bun slowly rebounded and returned to its previous shape. "Wow!" Hui Niang exclaimed. "White-faced steamed buns are really not white!" Qin Huai:… Huiniang, what you sigh is a bit strange. But who is this steamed bun master? Why is he so awesome? His dough making skills are so good. It can bounce back even after being pressed like this, what a unique skill! Hui Niang couldn't wait to take a bite and said loudly: "It's sweet!" “Sweeter than a sweet pole!” Hui Niang finished the whole steamed bun in a hurry and asked with some anticipation: "Sister, have you gone to the inner city?" "Gone." "Is it fun?" “It’s okay, it’s quite lively and there are many people.” "I don't dare to go. They all said that if we look like us, we will be beaten if we go to the inner city." "It's okay. As long as you don't go into that..." Chen Huihong thought for a while, "The pastry shop won't be beaten. If you sit at the door, someone will give you something to eat and let you leave." Hui Niang opened her mouth in admiration and let out a silent exclamation. "Have you found your parents?" "No, they may not have come to Peking." Hui Niang said cheerfully, "Sister, do you like it here? Do you want to stay here?" "Probably." "Then can I continue to stay with you, sister? I don't dare to spend the 7 copper coins you gave me for fear of being robbed. From now on, sister, you can wander around, and I will go to the inner city to beg for you." Chen Huihong: "...As long as you are happy." Qin Huai felt that what Chen Huihong might really want to say was that she didn't want food. "Sister, where are we going now?" "I'm going to get some clothes."
"Why are you looking for clothes?" "Because you said you would be beaten if you entered the inner city wearing this dress." "elder sister…" Qin Huai left the dreamland. (End of chapter)