From Beggar to Emperor: My Profession Has Its Own Characteristics

Chapter 2 Negative Effects

At dusk.

The beggars on Qingshui Street had gathered together.

Zhang Cheng, the beggar leader, looked strong and burly, not at all like a beggar.

He's a true martial artist; otherwise, he wouldn't have become the head beggar of Qingshui Street.

"Those whose names are called, come forward." Zhang Cheng's beggar-scholar under his command began to call out names and register.

If you can read, even if you're a beggar, you can still live a decent life.

At least the beggar scholar didn't have to beg and could eat his fill every day.

"Wang Daniu, Wang Daniu! Where is Wang Daniu?"

"Wang Daniu seems to have starved to death," a weak voice came from among the beggars.

"He's dead. What a pity. Wang Daniu could have become one of our elite beggars very soon." The beggar scholar shook his head.

Zhu Yuan, standing behind the pile of beggars, silently watched all of this.

The term "elite beggar" refers to a threshold set up by Zhang Cheng, the head of the beggars.

Any beggar on his street who can accumulate 300 coins a day is considered an elite beggar.

Of course, being an elite beggar is not just a title; it also has its advantages.

The advantage is that you can spend 1,000 coins to buy a household registration in Qingyang County from Zhang Cheng.

Zhu Yuan remembered that the little beggar had handed in a total of 155 coins in the past two months, and he could only pay three coins a day for 35 days.

For ten out of those thirty-five days, the amount was exactly three coins, and after handing over the sun money, there was nothing left to eat.

In other words, he only had food to eat for 25 days out of the two months.

He is now 145 coins short of 300 coins, which is almost 50 days away. It is almost early autumn, and the next season will be winter.

Compared to other seasons, people are not only more likely to starve to death in winter, but also more likely to freeze to death.

Zhu Yuan's primary goal is to obtain household registration in Qingyang County before this winter.

One thousand coins plus one hundred and forty-five coins equals one thousand one hundred and forty-five coins. The timeframe is fifty days, assuming no food is consumed each day…

Zhu Yuan made an estimate in his mind.

"On average, I need to beg for 23 coins a day. Adding 3 coins would make it 26 coins, which is 10 coins more than what I begged for today."

Not long after.

Zhu Yuan then heard the beggar scholar call his name.

"Zhu Yuan? Zhu Yuan!"

"They're here!"

Zhu Yuan responded first, then went to the beggar scholar, took out three coins from his tattered clothes and handed them over.

Three coins were placed on the wooden table, at which point a hoarse voice could be heard.

"Boss, I'm reporting that Zhu Yuan managed to beg for food."

Zhu Yuan was unfamiliar with the beggar's voice. He turned his head at the sound and saw that the beggar had high cheekbones and a wide chin.

He didn't even remember this guy's name.

He was certain that the little beggar had no connection with him.

"oh."

Zhang Cheng, the beggar leader, walked towards Zhu Yuan, his tall figure completely looming over him, and said in a commanding tone:

"Tell me what happened? Have you forgotten the rules here?"

If all beggars go begging for food, where will they get their sun money?

Their rules also apply to beggars on all streets in Qingyang County.

"No, boss, I didn't beg. I was starving, and she gave me food because she felt sorry for me," Zhu Yuan explained, looking somewhat nervous.

"who is she?"

"I don't know, I was just focused on eating, and by the time I finished, everyone had left."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cheng glanced at the record of the money Zhu Yuan had handed in the past two days. It was two coins the day before yesterday and one coin yesterday. If he couldn't beg for three coins today, he might really starve to death.

Knowing what was going on, Zhang Cheng looked at the beggar he had just reported.

"Zhao Guangyao, I ask you, did he beg voluntarily?"

At this moment, Zhang Cheng's gaze exerted considerable pressure.

Zhao Guangyao shuddered, and finally spoke in a trembling voice, "Boss, I remember now, he didn't seem to be begging on purpose."

Who gave him the food?

"She is the second young lady of the Situ family."

"So it's this second young lady." As if realizing something, Zhang Cheng immediately understood the reason. "Zhu Yuan, right? You're lucky, and I've always liked lucky people."

As he spoke, Zhang Cheng patted Zhu Yuan on the shoulder.

Zhu Yuan appeared flattered.

Besides having good eyesight, begging also depends on luck. If a beggar fails to beg for more than three coins for three consecutive days, he might as well die.

In this day and age, there is no shortage of vagrants, and vagrants are the most likely to become beggars.

A minor incident has passed.

Zhang Cheng gestured for the beggar scholar to continue, and upon seeing this, Zhu Yuan immediately retreated back into the beggar's line.

He glanced at the beggar who had just reported him out of the corner of his eye.

The beggar named Zhao Guangyao was looking down, seemingly lost in thought.

The little beggar had already starved to death. It would have been impossible not to tell whether he was actively begging or not. In other words…

This is a negative effect of the beggar's profession: people without compassion are more likely to be hostile towards him.

This is the third one he's seen today; the footprints of the first two are still on him.

Zhu Yuan didn't have any particular thoughts about the first two. After all, he was a beggar, and the treatment he received when begging was simply due to bad luck and poor judgment. But Zhao Guangyao was different.

If Zhang Cheng, the beggar leader, were a physically strong but simple-minded person, wouldn't he have been led astray by him?

Fortunately, Zhang Cheng, who became the leader of the beggars, at least had the ability to distinguish right from wrong. For Zhu Yuan, the good thing was that Zhang Cheng was at least a normal person and not without any compassion.

If Zhang Cheng had no compassion at all, and was influenced by his talent, then his start would be a complete disaster.

The beggar and scholar have finished registering, and the process of handing over the sun money for today is now complete.

Zhu Yuan was about to leave.

Zhao Guangyao walked past him, leaving behind a sentence that only he could hear.

"You just wait, kid."

She finished speaking and glared at him fiercely.

Zhu Yuan couldn't let him get away with this. Even though he had no power and nothing to his name, he still had a mouth.

"Boss, I'm reporting this! This Zhao Guangyao just threatened me."

Almost all the beggars in the arena turned their attention to this.

"I didn't! You're lying!" Zhao Guangyao quickly shook his head in denial.

"Zhao Guangyao, what's wrong with you today? You keep targeting people. I don't remember you two having any grudges."

An aged voice came from among the beggars.

This time, it was an old beggar who spoke up. He was considered a veteran among the group of beggars, and it was said that he had been a beggar for twenty years.

Everyone knows his surname is Liu, but no one knows his given name. The beggar scholar records him as Old Man Liu.

Zhu Yuan knew immediately that this person was speaking up for him.

He gave the old beggar a grateful look, and the old beggar returned the smile.

"Zhao Guangyao!"

Zhang Cheng, the beggar leader, was already a little angry. He hated people who broke the rules the most.

One of the rules he set was to prevent infighting among them.

Instead of fighting, it's better to beg more so you can pay your dues every day.

Zhang Cheng quickly approached Zhao Guangyao.

Zhao Guangyao looked at Zhang Cheng, who was approaching him in horror, and retreated repeatedly.

"Hey, hey! I really didn't!"

"You say you didn't, then why did you approach him? There's so much space here, why did you have to walk right in front of him!"

"This...this..."