Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1070 - 522: Beggars (Part 8)

After a simple breakfast, An Youyou led her younger brothers out for work, full of vigor and confidence.

There's no denying that a person's aura requires henchmen to complement it. A few days ago, when An Youyou went begging alone, Qin Huai felt An Youyou didn't have the boss demeanor or aura, and even the begging didn't yield good results.

Today, leading a group of cronies into town, the aura was completely different, and before they even entered town, they had a good start—encountering another begging team.

Qin Huai guessed that An Youyou and the boss on the opposite side were old acquaintances and definitely had a grudge. Early in the morning, before any business opened, both sides started a fight. In the fight, An Youyou showcased her boss demeanor by handling four opponents, pounding them onto the ground with extra strength.

Of course, An Youyou's cronies were also impressive. Little Ninth, who had been with An Youyou the longest, was the tallest and a formidable fighter, capable of taking on two opponents at once.

The youngest, Xiao Si, was very savvy; as soon as the fight started, he ran away so far that Qin Huai couldn't even see him.

The brawl ended in a great victory for An Youyou's side. Since the opponents hadn't begun begging and were dirt poor, An Youyou followed the principle "since we're here," took the other boss's shabby cotton coat, tossed it to her cronies, and walked away triumphantly.

Once in town, An Youyou headed straight to the Cheng Mansion.

As for why Qin Huai knew it was the Cheng Mansion, primarily because it had a plaque, though he couldn't understand what the owner of this Western-style villa was thinking—insisting on hanging a plaque at the gate typical of a Northern courtyard showing just the simple, clear words "Cheng Mansion."

At the Cheng Mansion, porridge was being served. Old Mrs. Cheng, dressed in thick fur, was leading the ladies, directing the household servants to serve the porridge, which was neither too thick nor too watery. As the servants scolded the begging crowd not to push, cut in line, or make noise, the old lady would smile gently asking the servants not to be harsh, generously portraying benevolence.

Qin Huai knew An Youyou had a plan for begging; she was among the few beggars who used their brains.

On regular days, An Youyou begged according to a schedule, not to mention the particularly important New Year's Eve, when she surely planned everything before leading her cronies.

Jiang Weiguo's criticism of An Youyou wasn't entirely incorrect—if An Youyou devoted her efforts at begging to other things, she could succeed in anything.

Due to the early service at Cheng Mansion, not many beggars had gathered at the door. An Youyou divided her men into two groups, one staying with her, and the other pretending not to know her, pushing forward.

The cronies, well-fed and strong from recent days, stood out like robust warriors compared to the usual skin-and-bones beggars and quickly made it to the front.

Noticing the commotion in the queue, the servant hurriedly yelled, "What are you doing? No squeezing, grabbing, or chaos! Line up properly; only those in line will get porridge. Our old lady does charity for good karma over New Year; those receiving porridge should remember our old lady's kindness and not cause trouble!"

Old Mrs. Cheng sat on a fur-covered wicker chair, with her young granddaughter-in-law standing by her.

"You don't need to say that; we practice Buddhist charity for a reason, no need to shout about it everywhere. It's not good if Buddha finds out." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Seizing the opportunity, An Youyou rushed forward, shockingly dropping to her knees before the servant could even speak and kowtowed thrice with a loud DuangDuang sound, blood streaming from her forehead, as she shouted out, "Thank you, Old Mrs. Cheng, for serving porridge! Your great kindness and virtue, I will forever remember. My sister wouldn't have survived last winter without your charity. Quick, Xiao Si, thank Old Mrs. Cheng."

No sooner had An Youyou finished speaking, than Xiao Si, pretending to be crippled, struggled out of the crowd. Given her youth and small size, Qin Huai had no idea when she squeezed to the front.

"Tha...nk...you..." Xiao Si, feigning inability to speak properly, stuttered nonsensically.

"Hurry and kowtow to the old lady; she's your life-saver!"

Xiao Si quickly kowtowed, doing it dramatically but without much contact with the ground.

Since An Youyou was the lead actress, she couldn't use a stand-in and had to be genuine in her act—the more realistic, the better the effect. That's why her first three kowtows were so loud which even caused a head injury.

Xiao Si's part was collaborative acting, not that crucial; the gesture was enough, as the old lady, due to her age and distance on the wicker chair, couldn't see whether Xiao Si kowtowed or not.

The servant, initially stunned, finally realized he should push them out after Xiao Si finished, but just as he showed an evil look and took a few steps, the old lady quickly stood with the granddaughter-in-law's help, joyfully asking, "Did you have the porridge our family served last year?"

The old lady having spoken, the servant dared not drive them away and promptly stepped aside.

An Youyou continually nodded, tears and snot flowing, as she replied, "Last winter was bitter cold; my parents are long gone, leaving me with only this foolish sister. Last year she broke her leg and could only crawl around. I thought we couldn't survive until hearing about Cheng Mansion's porridge charity, hoping just for a bowl, as long as the Manager didn't beat us."