The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 520 The Beggar

Chapter 520 The Beggar (Part 5)

"Youyou, is there anything else you wish for?"

An Youyou was taken aback by Qin Huai's sudden, seemingly unrelated question. At this moment, she was still immersed in the sadness that the potato and cabbage dumplings were not as delicious as she had imagined, and she was even eating the potato and cabbage buns absentmindedly. When Qin Huai asked her such a question out of the blue, her brain froze.

“Wish…wish?” An Youyou didn’t understand why Qin Huai suddenly asked this question, as she had many wishes.

She wants the pretty dress she saw on a short video a couple of days ago, she wants to go on a beach vacation to go fishing and sunbathe, she wants to have a big, satisfying meal at a shopping mall, she wants to buy the massage chair she's been eyeing for a long time but which costs a whopping five figures, and she also wants to buy the apartment she currently lives in in the Cloud Community.

Can this be said?

An Youyou wanted to say it, but her reason told her she couldn't.

An Youyou could only voice the best wish she could think of: "Can I pack some more potato dumplings to take home today, but not the potato and cabbage filling?"

"Of course!" Qin Huai waved his hand. "Any filling is fine. You think about it first. I'm going to the restroom, and when I come back, I'll make whatever you want to eat!"

After saying that, Qin Huai slipped away, and as he came out of the kitchen, he bumped into Xu Tuqiang, who was walking into the cafeteria in high spirits.

"Good morning, Master Qin. I have some good news to tell you, I..."

Qin Huai was in a hurry to go to the toilet to check his memory, so he interrupted Xu Tuqiang and told him another piece of good news: "Uncle Xu, there are glutinous rice cakes this morning."

"Glutinous rice cake!" Xu Tuqiang's joyful shout almost pierced the sky.

"I'm late today, so I don't have many kinds of snacks. Right now, I only have potato dumplings, glutinous rice cakes, and some potato and cabbage buns. If you'd like some, I can ask An Youyou to get you a couple. You don't need to pay."

"Potato and cabbage dumplings... they're not very tasty, I suggest you don't eat them. You should also eat less glutinous rice cake, as it's not good for your stomach if you eat too much glutinous rice at your age. We'll be selling glutinous rice cake every morning from now on, you don't need to buy too much, just stock up and eat fresh every day."

After Qin Huai finished speaking, he hurriedly ran towards the toilet, leaving Xu Tuqiang standing there, moved, muttering, "Is it a dream that there are glutinous rice cakes every morning?"

"The master's prediction was right! My luck will really change this year!"

Grandpa Qian glanced at Xu Tuqiang speechlessly and complained, "You still give that fortune teller money? Five thousand every year? You really have money to burn. Every year he says you'll have a change of luck, but do you have that much luck every year?"

Xu Tuqiang retorted angrily, "What do you know, you surnamed Qian? Master Zhou is a true master. I bought this luck-changing talisman in January of this year, and my luck has already changed. Tell me if it's effective or not!"

Grandpa Qian: ...

Never mind, as long as Xu Tuqiang is happy.

On the other side, Qin Huai suddenly appeared in the employee restroom, closed the door, locked it, and opened the game system, completing a series of actions in one go.

It had been a long time since Qin Huai had viewed memories in the staff restroom of the Cloud Cafeteria. He vaguely remembered the last time he had viewed memories here was... Since An Youyou's last memory was from a very long time ago, Qin Huai couldn't quite recall the specific details, so he tried to remember it briefly before viewing the memory.

An Youyou is now the boss of the food business in Shanghai. She has even rented a house with bluestone bricks and tiles. She has upgraded her life and is about to live a good life.

Well, to summarize in one sentence what an author spent several chapters writing.

Qin Huai clicked on [An Youyou's Dream] and selected Yes.

[Dream loading—]
"Everyone's here, right? Xiao Si, now it's the boss's turn to speak. No rubbing your eyes, and no yawning. Listen carefully and respectfully to the boss. Remember everything he says, understand?"

As soon as Qin Huai entered An Youyou's dream, he saw An Youyou doing her morning training.

It was already winter, but there was no snow outside, and a biting wind blew every now and then. Just as dawn was breaking, An Youyou, wearing a dirty cotton coat, strolled around in the clean courtyard.

Aside from Jiang Weiguo, the other 12 henchmen stood in a row, some wrapped in blankets, some wearing several layers of clothes, huddled together at the doorway listening to their boss's instructions.

"Besides the cotton-padded coats that I and Thirteen have, we only have two cotton-padded coats now, right?" An Youyou asked.

"Yes, boss," Xiao Jiu answered first.

"So today, just like before, Xiao Jiu and Xiao San, go up the mountain to collect firewood. Collect as much as you can, the more the better. We can sell the extra firewood. Now that it's almost Chinese New Year, the price of firewood in the city is going up every day. Even if we don't have any extra firewood to sell, we can't be short of enough that we have to spend money unnecessarily to buy more, understand?"

“It’s already a loss for our team that you can’t go to the city to beg for food in winter. We absolutely cannot spend extra money if we can’t get any.”

"Xiao Jiu, Xiao San, you must come back down the mountain before dark. If you die in the mountains, we'll lose two more cotton-padded coats. Do you understand?"

"We heard you! Boss, we definitely won't die in the mountains. If we're going to die, we'll bring our cotton-padded clothes back with us!" Xiao Jiu and Xiao San swore in unison.

An Youyou nodded with great satisfaction, then turned her gaze to the youngest child, Xiao Si, who was wrapped in a quilt: "Xiao Si, your task is the same as before: stay home and clean, and help Aunt Chen with chores. Say nice things, and it would be best if Aunt Chen would cover your lunch. Every meal saved is a meal saved, understand?"

“I know, boss!” Xiao Si said firmly, straightening his back.

"Little One, Little Two, it's your turn to wash the clothes today. My jacket must be washed with soap. Use sparingly, because I specially bought soap that costs twelve copper coins a piece!"

"Good boss!"

"Little Four, Little Five, Little Six, Little Seven, Little Eight, dress warmly today. Put on all your clothes. I'll give you copper coins and legal tender later. We need to go to the granary to buy grain. Thirteen said the grain shops will raise prices tomorrow. We also need to buy oil, soy sauce, salt, and vinegar. Buy 20 jin of rice and 20 jin of millet for the New Year. The rest can be used to buy beans and sweet potatoes."

"If we encounter anyone trying to steal our grain on the road, we'll shoot them. Xiao Shi and Xiao Shiyi, you two will provide cover from the shadows. We outnumber them. This winter, we'll live in brick houses, while they'll crowd into dilapidated temples. As long as they don't have guns, we're sure to win. If we win, we'll steal from them too. Don't forget to steal from them, understand?"

"We heard you, boss!" the group said in unison.

"Twelve, you stay home and help Xiao Si and Aunt Chen with the chores."

"Let's say it again, what is our slogan!"

The crowd shouted, "There's no place like home! Begging is the best job in the world!"

An Youyou was very satisfied and took the lead in clapping. The other underlings responded by clapping vigorously, and Xiao Si clapped so hard that his palms turned red.

Qin Huai: ...

What an absurd scene!

An Youyou patted her cotton-padded coat with satisfaction. Xiao Si quickly handed her the prepared straw, and An Youyou began stuffing it with straw, soon making it bulge. At first glance, it looked like the coat wasn't cotton-padded at all, but filled entirely with straw.

She's very good at disguising herself.

Just as Qin Huai was wondering why Jiang Weiguo wasn't at such an important team meeting, Jiang Weiguo, dressed fairly cleanly except for a badly worn jacket, came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of thick millet porridge with an egg in it. A very hearty breakfast.

The twelve henchmen standing in a row were instantly drawn to the porridge in Jiang Weiguo's hand, all staring intently at the eggs in the bowl, silently swallowing their saliva.

An Youyou took the bowl and, without even blowing on it, began to drink it in large gulps, chewing and swallowing the eggs directly into her mouth.

"Brother Chen, Sister-in-law Chen, breakfast is ready, you can come down and eat." Jiang Weiguo called up to the second floor.

A minute later, the Chen family of five came downstairs. Mrs. Chen smiled and nodded at An Youyou the moment she saw her, showing great friendliness. It was clear that An Youyou and the beggars had developed a good relationship with the Chen family.

"Brother Jiang, you've really worked hard, making breakfast for us every morning," the farmer said.

"You've already paid me, 20 jin of sweet potatoes a month, that's quite generous," Jiang Weiguo said casually, standing next to An Youyou and waiting for her to finish her porridge.

An Youyou ate the porridge very quickly, finishing a bowl of thick millet porridge in less than two minutes. From An Youyou's eyes, Qin Huai could tell that she really wanted to lick the bowl clean.

This porridge was so thick, you could lick half a mouthful just by licking the bowl. But An Youyou was the boss, and a boss has to maintain their composure; she absolutely couldn't lick the bowl. So, with a heavy heart, An Youyou handed the bowl to Xiao Jiu, who was closest to her, patted her clothes, and said proudly:
"Let's go into town and beg for food!"

Jiang Weiguo: ...

Jiang Weiguo wisely followed An Youyou and left the courtyard with her.

As soon as she left home, An Youyou went straight to the riverbank, skillfully smearing mud on her face and hands while complaining, "What's going on with the grain prices in the city? They've gone up eight times this winter, and they're still going up. If they go up any more, we really won't be able to afford to eat."

"Is it easy for me to beg for food every day? I'm the boss, and I have to support 12 underlings. I don't even want to be the boss anymore. Being the boss is too difficult."

“I clearly had more than 20 silver dollars before, and after paying the rent, I still had several silver dollars left. Now I only have less than two silver dollars in my pocket. The New Year is coming soon, and I want to have New Year’s Eve dinner. I want to eat chicken, duck, fish, meat, and braised pork knuckle. Am I not going to be able to afford braised pork knuckle for New Year’s Eve dinner this year?” As soon as An Youyou opened her mouth, all her boss demeanor disappeared, leaving only a sad pauper.

"Boss, have you ever had braised pork knuckle during Chinese New Year before?" Jiang Weiguo asked.

“…This year is different. I’m not sleeping in a dilapidated temple anymore. I’m living in a house with bluestone bricks and tiles. Can’t I even have a braised pork knuckle for New Year’s Eve dinner?” An Youyou felt a surge of sadness. After wiping off the mud, she hurried on her way into the city.

Jiang Weiguo continued to follow behind An Youyou, his clean and decent cotton-padded clothes contrasting sharply with An Youyou's now filthy and tattered clothes.

“Boss, you could actually let everyone go out begging,” Jiang Weiguo said. “In winter, farmers can stay at home to hibernate or go to the city to work, but beggars still have to go out on the streets to beg. Although there are fewer beggars on the streets in winter than at other times, there are still some.”

"Of course I know. How long have you been a beggar? You only begged for a few months before you got a job as a handyman at Fu Kee, and now you've become that kind of cutter... cutter. What do you know about begging? Of course you can beg anytime. Don't just be in winter, you can beg during Qingming Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, Lantern Festival, and Lunar New Year's Eve."

"During the New Year, the food is even better. As long as you're not afraid of being beaten to death, wealthy families will give a little bit of food, whether they want to be kind and give alms to beggars or they don't want the beggars to die in front of their doors because they think it's bad luck. But isn't this year different?"

“A few years ago, I lived in a dilapidated temple. In winter, begging for food meant certain death, but not begging meant certain death. If you begged for food, you might freeze to death, but if you didn’t, you would definitely starve to death. Every winter, a thousand or eight thousand beggars would die in the city. Sometimes I felt that beggars were like crops in the field, which would sprout up in the spring.”

“The fifth and sixth babies died of freezing in winter, and I can find new ones every spring.”

Jiang Weiguo ignored An Youyou's rambling and asked directly, "What's different this year?"

“No one died this year!” An Youyou exclaimed. “Didn’t you suggest renting houses? We’ve all moved into brick and tile houses this year, and no one died in the winter.”

“In previous years, I would be lucky to have eight of my underlings left by this time, but this year I have 13. It would be such a pity if so many of them died while begging. Besides, they weren’t very good at begging, not to mention that it’s not easy to beg in winter. After a day of begging, I don’t know if what they bring back is enough for them to eat. If they get sick, they have to buy medicine, but I happen to have money now.”

“I only have two silver dollars left. I still need to eat millet porridge, eggs, and white rice. If these underlings can have a stable income like you after a few more years and hand over two silver dollars to me every month, then I can earn 26 silver dollars a month without doing anything. I can then live a good life of eating pork knuckle every month. Why wait for New Year’s Eve?”

An Youyou almost burst out laughing as she spoke; she was quite adept at daydreaming.

Jiang Weiguo once again grasped the key point: "So, boss, you also think that finding a stable job in the city is more secure than begging, right?"

An Youyou:?

An Youyou immediately became angry: "What do you mean, Little Thirteen? When did I say such a thing? I would never say such a thing! Don't think that just because you're still a butcher earning three silver dollars a month, with three meals a day provided, and that Master Ding even bought you a new cotton coat and makes you bring back scraps, offal, and vegetable leaves every day, I'll think your job is better than mine."

"Let me tell you, begging is the best job in the world. You are all supported by begging."

Have you ever heard the saying, "When you drink water, don't forget the well-digger"? We can't forget how we lived before just because we're full now.

Jiang Weiguo: ...

Jiang Weiguo's face was filled with "I really don't understand, boss. Why are you so obsessed with begging? If you put this kind of persistence into other things, you would succeed in anything."

After expressing her loyalty to begging, An Youyou continued to mutter sadly, "How much does a pork knuckle cost these days? Will some rich young master give me 10 pounds today?"

"Why am I so poor? I had four silver dollars last month, but now I only have two. Where did all the money go?"

Jiang Weiguo didn't say anything and silently followed behind An Youyou.

An Youyou turned and glanced at Jiang Weiguo: "What's above your Fu Ji Stew?"

"Cook."

How much does a cook earn per month?

"Three dollars."

"Could you try harder and get promoted to that kind of cook as soon as possible?"

Jiang Weiguo: "...I'll try my best."

"But boss, aren't I thirteen? You're the boss, why should I have to work hard?"

An Youyou: "..."

"I told you to work hard, so you work hard. Is it wrong for the boss to tell you to work hard?"

"Why are not you talking?"