novelaction Chapter 258 Little Beggars
Chapter 258 Little Beggars
The originally quiet refugee crowd suddenly became boiling, as if hot oil was poured with cold water. "There's porridge, there's porridge, finally there's porridge to drink."
Before the food was even put into the pot, the refugees, old and young, lined up in front of the big pot with their bowls in hand.
Soon, long queues formed in front of the six large pots, and refugees from nearby areas all came.
The two men looked at each other, then stepped forward immediately, one team at a time, to check one by one.
Unfortunately, after six teams went around, they still couldn't find anyone, and no one was nearby.
Zhou Guo ate the cake in her hand bite by bite. She had no taste for it, but she still had to find someone, so she had to force herself to eat. How could she have the energy to eat if she wasn't full?
Zhou Da Cang took a bite of the cake and looked at the city gate and said, "We have finished searching outside the city. Should we go into the city?"
Zhou Guo originally thought that there was no need to go in, but then he thought that since he had come all the way here, it would be a shame not to go in and look for it just because there was a wall between them. What if it was inside?
Nodding, he said, "Come in, after all, we are here."
This is what Zhou Dacang meant. It would be unreasonable not to go in after coming here.
The two chose to enter the city just as the porridge was being made. The city gate was in a mess. The soldiers saw that the two were dressed properly and were leading horses, so they symbolically collected a few copper coins and let them pass. I don't know if they forgot to ask or were too busy, but they didn't even ask about the pass.
Zhou Dacang, who was following behind, did not spend the silver he had secretly held in his hand and entered the city smoothly.
The two had never been to the city before. When they first arrived in Beiyuan Prefecture, they only stayed outside the city for a few days.
After entering the city, I found that the provincial capital was very different from the county town. Not only was the city gate much higher, but the streets were also several times wider than those in the county town, and three carriages could run side by side.
At this moment, the city gate was finally no longer dilapidated, and there were neatly arranged houses on both sides. However, there were relatively few people on the streets. I didn’t know if it was because it was too early, but no one had gone out to the streets yet.
The two men were walking on the street, leading their horses.
The further you go in, the more lively it becomes, and there are more and more people. There are restaurants and shops on both sides, and small stalls and vendors on the street are one after another. After all, in this era, if there is a war, the city gate will be the first place to suffer. Who would be so foolish as to open a shop there?
Still adhering to the principle of saving as much as possible, the two wandered around for a long time and found a small, old and dilapidated inn. They asked for a herringbone room, which was the cheapest among the single rooms. Downstairs was a large bunk bed.
Although Zhou Guo really wanted to save money, there was really no need to save to this extent. He should just forget about sleeping on a bunk bed with strangers.
But even though this inn is so old, it costs eighty cents to stay in a room like this for one night.
The two put their luggage into the room, and without staying there for a moment, they went out.
Zhou Dacang looked at the huge city and sighed. Where could he find people to work in such a large area?
Zhou Guo turned his head around, picked a random path, and walked away, pulling Zhou Dacang's clothes. "Let's go to those inconspicuous small streets and small temples in civilian areas to look for them first."
The most prosperous place Zhou Dacang had ever been to since he was a child was the county town. Now that he had suddenly entered this huge city, he suddenly felt as if he had lost his footing, a little uneasy, and dizzy, unable to find his way.
Looking at his little niece who was holding his clothes in front of him, her light feet landed on the ground again. He was no better than a child.
Then she changed her mind and realized that she was not an ordinary child, she was more adult than ordinary adults. The little bit of shame that she had finally aroused fell back in an instant. She followed behind with a clear conscience and felt somewhat relieved.
When Zhou Guo turned around, he saw Zhou Dacang's face turning red and white. He couldn't help but lean over and whispered, "Uncle, are you...going to the toilet?"
Zhou Dacang didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "We just came out of the inn, why do we have to go to the toilet? What are you thinking about all day long?"
Zhou Guo said: "That's good. I saw your face was red and white, and I thought you were holding it in."
The two walked along the street and met many ragged beggars on the way, most of them were big beggars, but small beggars were rare. They turned another street, which did not have as many people as the previous one and was not as prosperous, so there were more small beggars here.
Whenever they saw the little beggar, their hearts would skip a beat. They would stop and take a closer look. If they saw that it was not him, they would walk away disappointedly.
"Brother, brother, please give us some food. Please give us some. I haven't eaten for many days."
As the two were about to leave, a dirty little beggar came up to them with a broken bowl, begging for food pitifully. His face was covered with bruises and his features were hard to see, but judging by his height...
Zhou Guo secretly compared them and found that he was about the same as her.
Zhou Dacang frowned and looked around. Seeing that all the little beggars were looking at this side, he believed that if he gave money, all the little beggars on the street would gather around him. Where would they get so much food? The bread they brought from home was almost finished, so he wanted to leave.
Zhou Guo also looked around and saw that all the people there were children. He rolled his eyes and took out half a cake from his bag and said to him, "As long as you do me a favor, this half cake will be yours."
It is said to be half a piece, but half a piece is really big. After all, it is made in the home pot. After eating half of it, the remaining half is as big as several ordinary pancakes, and it is made of pure white flour.
The little beggar stared at the half piece of cake and swallowed madly.
She looked around at the other little beggars. They were all eager to move. A piece of bread would make them unable to walk.
"How about it? If you help me, this half piece of cake will be yours." Zhou Guo asked again.
The little beggar pulled his eyes away from the cake with great difficulty, patted his chest and said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"
Zhou Guo smiled and said, "I don't ask you to do anything, you just need to find someone."
He told Zhou Su's height, age and name, and then said, "As long as you can help me find this friend of mine, I will not only treat you to cakes, but also meat."
The little beggar's eyes suddenly lit up.
Zhou Guo smiled slightly and uttered two words, "Enough!"
"Oh!" The little beggar jumped up excitedly, "Wait for me a moment." Then he turned around and ran away.
The little beggars around also ran away.
She raised her eyebrows, it seemed that this child still had some say among the beggars.
Zhou Da Cang counted the bread in his hand and said, "The bread we brought from home is only enough for us to eat for another three days. This kid probably has quite a few people under his command. If he can provide enough, it would be more cost-effective to cut the meat."
Zhou Guo said with his hands behind his back, "Let alone cutting meat, if they can really find someone in this city, I will give them two pigs."
Zhou Dacang smiled and said yes.
The two stood there and waited slowly.