Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1064 - 519: Beggar (Part 5)_2

"Okay, boss!"

"Xiao Si, Xiao Wu, Xiao Liu, Little Seven, Xiao Ba, you all need to dress warmly today, put on everyone's clothes. Later, I'll give you the Copper Coins and foreign currency, you need to go to the grain depot to buy food. Thirteen said the grain shop will raise prices tomorrow; we also need to buy oil, soy sauce, salt, and vinegar. Buy 20 pounds of rice, 20 pounds of millet for me to eat over the New Year, and with the leftovers, buy beans and sweet potatoes."

"If you encounter robbers on the way, fight them. Little Ten and Little Eleven, you two cover us from the shadows, we have the numbers. This winter, we live in bluestone brick houses, while they squeeze into broken temples. As long as they don't have guns, we can definitely win. If we win, we must rob them too, don't forget to rob the other side, understood?"

"Understood, boss!" the few replied in unison.

"Shi Er, you stay home and help Xiao Si and Sister-in-law Chen with housework."

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

The crowd shouted: "A golden nest and a silver nest are not as good as our beggar's nest, begging is the best job in the world!"

An Youyou was very satisfied, applauding first, the other juniors following suit, clapping vigorously, with Xiao Si clapping so hard his palms turned red.

Qin Huai: ...

What an absurd scene.

An Youyou happily patted the cotton coat on himself, and Xiao Si quickly handed over the prepared straw. An Youyou started stuffing the straw inside the cotton coat, soon puffing it till it looked bulky. At first glance, it gave the impression that the coat wasn't a cotton coat, that it was stuffed with straw, not cotton.

A master of disguise.

Just as Qin Huai was wondering why Jiang Weiguo wasn't at such an important team meeting, Jiang Weiguo came out from the kitchen, wearing relatively clean clothes, only the outer tunic was heavily worn, carrying a bowl of thick millet porridge with an egg in it.

A very hearty breakfast.

The twelve juniors standing in a row were instantly drawn by the porridge in Jiang Weiguo's hands, all staring intently at the egg in the bowl, swallowing their saliva silently.

An Youyou took the bowl without needing chopsticks or a spoon, not bothering to blow on it, and drank it directly, swallowing the egg after chewing it without hesitation.

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

A minute later, the Chen family of five came downstairs, and Sister-in-law Chen didn't forget to smile and nod at An Youyou immediately upon seeing her, showing great friendliness. It was clear that during this time, the beggars led by An Youyou got along well with the Chen family.

"It's truly hard on Brother Jiang, getting up every morning to help us make breakfast," the farmer said.

"You've already paid generously, 20 pounds of sweet potatoes a month is very generous," Jiang Weiguo replied flatly, standing next to An Youyou, waiting for her to finish the porridge.

An Youyou drank the porridge very quickly, finishing the 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.

Given how thick the porridge was, licking the bowl could yield half a mouthful of it. But being the boss, she had to maintain her demeanor and couldn't lick the bowl; she reluctantly handed it to Little Ninth, the closest to her, patted her clothes, and said, full of vigor and pride:

"Let's go, beg in town!"

Jiang Weiguo: ...

Jiang Weiguo smartly followed behind An Youyou, leaving the small courtyard with him.

Once out of the house, An Youyou headed straight for the riverside, skillfully smearing mud on her face and hands, while complaining: "What's going on with the grain prices in town? They've gone up eight times in a single winter; rise again, and there'll be truly no more rice to eat."

"Is begging day in and day out easy for me? I'm the boss and need to support 12 little brothers; I don't even want to be the boss anymore, it's too hard being the boss."

"Not long ago, I still had over 20 silver coins, even after paying the rent I still had a few, now I have less than two silver coins in my pocket. And soon it's New Year's Eve, when I want to eat chicken, duck, fish and pork hocks for the New Year's feast, will I not even be able to eat pork hocks in this year's feast?" As soon as she spoke, the boss's demeanor was completely gone, leaving only a sorrowful poor ghost.

"Boss, have you ever eaten pork hocks for New Year before?" Jiang Weiguo asked.

"... This year is different. This year, I'm not even sleeping in a broken temple, I've moved into a bluestone brick house, can't I eat a pork hock for New Year's Eve?" An Youyou only felt a wave of sadness, finishing smearing the mud and heading into town.

Jiang Weiguo still followed behind An Youyou, his clean, somewhat decent cotton clothes forming a sharp contrast with An Youyou's now dirty beggar attire.

"Boss, actually you could let everyone go out to beg," Jiang Weiguo said, "In winter, farmers can stay home hibernating or go work in town, but beggars still need to beg on the streets. Although there are fewer beggars on the street in winter than at other times, there still are."

"Of course I know, how long have you been a beggar now? You didn't last a few months begging before you started working odd jobs at Fu Ji, and now you've transitioned to being a chopper... what do you know about begging? Begging is viable at any time, not just winter, even during Qingming, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-autumn festival, Lantern Festival, New Year's Eve, you can beg."

"During New Year, the alms are better, as long as you're not afraid of getting beaten up, whether out of charity or not wanting the bad luck of beggars dying in front of their doors, wealthy families will always give something, but this year is not the same."

"In previous years, living in broken temples, begging during winter was still death, not begging was certain death. Begging might cause you to freeze to death, not begging definitely leads to starvation, every winter in town hundreds of beggars die. Sometimes it feels like beggars are like crops, sprouting in spring."

"Previously Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu froze to death in winter, every spring I could pick up new ones."

Jiang Weiguo ignored An Youyou's ramblings, directly asking: "What's different this year?"

"Nobody died this year!" An Youyou shouted, "Wasn't it your suggestion to rent a house? This year they all live in a bluestone brick house, nobody died in winter."

"Usually at this time of year, it'd be nice if I had 8 little brothers left, but this year all 13 of them are here. It's a pity to lose them to begging, plus their begging skills aren't great, not to mention winter isn't a good time to beg, going out to beg for a day and not knowing if you'll get enough to eat. If they get sick, I'll have to buy medicine, and I still truly have money."

"I'm down to two silver coins, and I still want to drink millet porridge, eat eggs, and eat white rice. What if some of these little brothers gain stable incomes like you in a few years, contributing two silver coins to me each month? I could earn 26 silver coins a month just by doing nothing, I could have pork hocks every month, no need to wait for New Year's Eve."

An Youyou almost laughed aloud, truly adept at daydreaming.

Jiang Weiguo caught on again: "So boss, you also think finding a steady income job in the city is more secure than begging, right?"

An Youyou: ?

An Youyou immediately got angry: "Little Thirteen, what do you mean? When did I ever say such a thing, I can't possibly say that! Don't think just because you're now chopping at Fu Ji earning three silver coins a month, with three meals a day, that Master Ding buys you new cotton clothes, and lets you bring back scraps, offal, and vegetable leaves, I'd think your job is better than mine."

"Let me tell you, begging is the best job in the world, you're all supported by my begging."

"Haven't you heard the saying 'Don't forget the well-digger when you drink water'? Just because you're well fed now, don't forget what you relied on to survive."

Jiang Weiguo: ...

Jiang Weiguo's face was full of confusion over why the boss was so fixated on begging, feeling that if this persistence was channeled into anything else, success would follow.

After declaring her loyalty to begging, An Youyou continued her sorrowful mumbling, "How much is a pork hock these days? Can I get a wealthy young master to give me 10 British Pounds today?"

"How am I this poor? Obviously, I had four silver coins last month, and now just two, where did all the money go?"

Jiang Weiguo remained silent, merely trailing behind An Youyou.

Turning back, An Youyou looked at Jiang Weiguo: "In Fu Ji, what's the step above being a chopper?"

"Cook."

"How much does a cook earn per month?"

"8 silver coins."

"Can you work hard and quickly get promoted to that cook position?"

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

"But boss, I'm Little Thirteen, you're the boss, why should I work hard?"

An Youyou: "..."

"If I tell you to work hard, you work hard, is it wrong for the boss to ask you to work hard?"

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

"You should respond now with, 'Yes, boss.'"

"Yes, boss."