Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1065 - 520: Beggar (Part 6)

An Youyou's begging business is not going well.

It might be because there are fewer pedestrians on the street during winter. At this time, students have already gone on holiday, and the rich young masters and young ladies are too lazy to go out in such cold weather. Farmers stay at home for the winter, and the shops on the street are relatively quiet.

The shopkeepers, because of poor business, are all in a foul mood, and if the employees slack off a bit, they get scolded, which in turn makes the employees bad-tempered too.

The shopkeepers scold the employees, and the employees can't scold the customers, so they can only take a broom and go out to beat and scold the beggars near the shop. An Youyou can be said to have not stayed in one place for long, not having met a target customer or gotten even a copper coin before being chased away to the next place, spending a whole day walking but not getting much money.

No wonder An Youyou would complain to Jiang Weiguo that even her little brothers can't get food for the day when they go out begging.

This really is the off-season for begging.

After a whole day, no matter how cleverly An Youyou spoke, how good her acting was, or how maxed out her dodging skills were, she only managed to get a bowl of cold mixed bean porridge and 8 copper coins. Yet another day where her ins were less than her outs.

Perhaps it's because of the poor performance that she needed to extend her working hours. Qin Huai remembered that An Youyou used to call it a day in the evening, begging on her way home against the sunset, just in time to reach home before dark.

But that was at the turn of summer and autumn when it got dark late. Now it's winter, the days start late and end early, if she hurries home before dark, there really isn't much time to beg.

An Youyou stayed in the city until after dark, until many miscellaneous goods shops had closed. Qin Huai guessed it was already past 8 p.m., yet An Youyou showed no intention of heading back. Instead, she walked further into the city, all the way to Fujian Restaurant, and crouched against a wind-sheltering wall a good two or three hundred meters away.

This was not in line with An Youyou's begging style. She was never the conservative type to beg. She always stood in the most prominent, busiest places, ready to spot potential customers at any time, and once she locked in, she would pester them persistently, even crying and rolling on the ground.

An Youyou sat somewhat pensively at the base of the wall, lost in thought, her dedicated begging bowl placed in front of her. Inside was the half-bowl of bean porridge she'd gotten earlier, long since cooled and starting to congeal.

Three or four meters away from An Youyou were two other unsuccessful beggars. Whether they knew An Youyou, or An Youyou had already made her notorious name as a beggar known throughout Shanghai is unknown. These two beggars were not far from her, but they dared not spare an extra glance her way, as if afraid that looking at her might bring harsh retaliation.

An Youyou sighed deeply, feeling quite melancholic.

"Another day where ins are less than outs."

"Where did you learn that phrase? I've never heard you use it before." Jiang Weiguo appeared at the base of the wall at some point. From where Qin Huai saw him standing, Jiang Weiguo probably came straight here from Fujian, likely a meeting spot for him and An Youyou.

Jiang Weiguo held a slightly worn, patched, but very clean cloth bag, partly filled with what seemed to be food leftovers from Fujian.

Seeing the cloth bag Jiang Weiguo held, An Youyou felt more despondent: "I used to be the one carrying the cloth bag, but now a bowl is enough. You don't beg anymore, yet you're the one bringing things home."

Qin Huai: ... I really don't understand this strange competitive spirit you beggar Three legged Golden Toads have.

Jiang Weiguo wore the same bewildered expression as Qin Huai: "Boss, I've told you long ago, a stable job is much better than begging."

An Youyou got angry: "Nonsense! Didn't you just chant the slogan this morning and now you've forgotten it? Begging is the best job in the world, and you'll have to chant it too, you're the one who should chant it the most."

Jiang Weiguo didn't want to chant the slogan, so he chose to ignore An Youyou, quietly skipping over the topic, and asked the previous question again: "Boss, where did you learn the phrase for ins being less than outs?"

An Youyou got up and patted the dirt off her body, even though her clothes were already dirty enough that there was no point. She really wanted to take the cloth bag from Jiang Weiguo, pretending it was all her hard-earned spoils, but feared it might really contain good food and didn't want to dirty it by holding it, so she awkwardly held onto the bowl.

"I heard Tailor Li say it when I was begging at the door of the tailor shop today," An Youyou said.

"Boss, you've got a great memory. You never forget a word you hear, and you recognize words even if you can't write them. Just by watching from the doorway, you learned how the accountant does the abacus calculations. You even remember how much you earned a year ago one day from begging in a place and how much grain you bought and its price. With talent like this, calling you a prodigy isn't an overstatement."

Seeing Jiang Weiguo sincerely praising her, An Youyou immediately perked up again, lifting her head proudly, radiating with confidence: "Of course, I'm the boss, the boss can handle anything."

"So boss, do you really not consider seriously learning a craft and finding a stable job?" Jiang Weiguo hadn't given up trying to persuade An Youyou to quit begging and embrace stable employment.