Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 1149 - 553: Beggars (Part 11)_2

Seeing Jiang Weiguo return, An Youyou weakly sat up from the hay and asked, "What are we eating today?"

There was no longer the freshness or desire in her tone about what to eat that day.

Jiang Weiguo didn't say anything, just silently opened the cloth bag and took out the dried cornbread to distribute to everyone. Each younger brother got half a cornbread, and those who were starving immediately stuffed it into their mouths, while the more perceptive ones, like Little Ninth, first reacted by grabbing a broken bowl to fetch cold water once they received their cornbread.

The younger ones wouldn't drink cold water; the leader must drink it.

An Youyou, as the leader, could eat two cornbreads. Jiang Weiguo didn't eat any; he had already eaten at the restaurant.

Along with the cornbread, there was a small amount of dried radish brought back, not much, so if it were to be divided, each young brother would only get a lick before it was gone; thus, Jiang Weiguo simply gave all the dried radish to An Youyou.

"Did Sister-in-law Chen eat something today?" Jiang Weiguo asked.

"Don't know, feels like she only drank a few sips of water." An Youyou said, "I spent the day begging in the city and only came back in the evening."

"It's really hard to beg for food now; all the friendly shopkeepers have closed down and returned to their hometowns. All that's left are those who beat you up, yet you still can't get food from them. Those wealthy households don't offer porridge or money anymore; I could feel it last year during New Year when I didn't get much, but I didn't expect it to be this hard this year."

"The rice price is ridiculously high—are those rice grains made of gold? How can it be so expensive!"

"It's not wartime now; during those previous years of fighting, you could reason it out, but isn't it peacetime now? Why can't we get food?"

"Didn't you beg for food during the fighting?" Jiang Weiguo asked.

An Youyou took a bite of cornbread and saw Little Ninth fetching a bowl of cold water back, then shoved the other cornbread to Little Ninth, asking him to deliver it to Sister-in-law Chen next door, saying, "I'm not foolish. Bullets and cannonballs don't have eyes; where could I beg for food?"

"I stayed hidden in the mountains during the war, only dared to come out after several years. If this continues, I feel I'll have to return to the mountains; at least there I can eat enough, but in this world, you can starve even when begging."

Jiang Weiguo was silent for two minutes before saying, "Chen Shun sent me a letter yesterday."

An Youyou: ?

"Why did he write to you and not me? Is it because he thinks I can't write? Though I can't write, I can read words, and I do know how to write those basic dozens of characters. What does his letter say? Could it be that he didn't earn money over in Jinling, and won't be sending money this month, asking me to first help him pay his debt? Their family has to pay three silver coins each month; where am I supposed to conjure money to give him?"

"I can barely support myself, and rely on you for sustenance. There are so many young ones out there on the street waiting to be taken in, but I dare not take in even one. I only regret not having trained in a few skills before; if I had, I could have stolen a bit while begging, and at least gotten something instead of spending a whole day begging and still coming home empty-handed." An Youyou poured out her grievances to Jiang Weiguo.

If she used to maintain her image as the leader and pretend a bit, now An Youyou couldn't be bothered to pretend at all.

Qin Huai: …

Three-legged Golden Toad, you're really not planning to learn any decent skills, are you? If it's not stealing, it's begging; earlier you even considered becoming a mountain king, just wanting to learn quick solutions to make money.

Jiang Weiguo was rendered speechless by An Youyou's words; seeing as the younger brothers didn't agree, An Youyou could only continue to rant:

"I truly don't understand, your wage increased, but I'm losing younger brothers, yet we're becoming poorer."

"Before, when you only earned two silver coins a month, I had to support thirteen younger brothers, renting four rooms. At that time, we could eat our fill every day; I drank millet porridge every meal and could eat pig's elbow during New Year."

"Now, you have a total monthly wage of six silver coins, and including you, we're only six younger brothers. Seven of us squeeze into a single room, forget about millet porridge; we can't even eat rice bran every meal."

"No war now, aren't other places fighting? How did life become so hard?"

An Youyou's face was riddled with confusion; she was truly bewildered.

To this question, no one in the room could answer her, and Jiang Weiguo could only remain silent before dropping more bad news.

"Fu Ji is closing?"

"Huh?" Everyone exclaimed in surprise.

"Why? Why is it suddenly closing? Isn't Fu Ji a big restaurant? Isn't business good? Aren't you busy until around 9 p.m. every night before coming back?"

"Business is indeed good, but the taxes are exorbitantly heavy." Jiang Weiguo sighed, "The boss not only has to pay government taxes every month but also the army's taxes, the money to appease the police, and can't skimp on what's paid to the gangs either."

"But I heard that's not the main reason; it's actually because the higher-ups above the boss fell, and a lot of debts can't be collected. The Young Master got addicted to gambling."

"Fu Ji will close next month; the boss already sold the land rights."

Though it was dark, Qin Huai could still vaguely see everyone's expressions as if the sky had fallen.

Jiang Weiguo's wage was the most stable income for An Youyou's begging team; everyone relied on Jiang Weiguo's wage each month to pay rent, and on Jiang Weiguo to bring food home after work. Jiang Weiguo's unemployment was undoubtedly a huge blow to the begging team, potentially driving everyone back into the dilapidated temple.

No, they might not even be able to return to the dilapidated temple.

Now An Youyou doesn't have as many younger brothers, and they're not as robust and able to fight as before; the dilapidated temple should have been occupied long ago by other begging teams.

An Youyou sadly glanced at her beloved bed, knowing this was her last time sleeping in it; in the days ahead she might not even get to sleep on clean straw.

"Then let's pack up." An Youyou said, "Though there's nothing much to pack, Little Ninth, from tomorrow don't bother begging; you won't get anything anyway."

"You and Little Ten go to the outskirts and find a place to stay, ideally where you can shelter from rain."

"Xiao Yi, mistress, Little Seven, you go look in town. While finding a place to stay, check where the roots are sweet; forget about tree bark—it's too hard to swallow."

"All right, Leader." Five younger brothers replied in unison, indicating they'd rather sleep in the dilapidated temple and eat roots than leave the leader.

Jiang Weiguo: …

"I only said Fu Ji was closing; it doesn't mean I'm unemployed." Jiang Weiguo said somewhat helplessly, "Master Ding has already found another place and said he could take me along, but I'd have to start as a laborer."

"Board and lodging included, sleep at the shop, one silver coin worth of wage a month."

An Youyou understood: "So Thirteen, you plan to go solo?"

Jiang Weiguo: "... Leader, I've only begged for six months, and all along I've been solo."

An Youyou: …

"I mentioned earlier that Chen Shun sent me a letter; he said over in Jinling, there's a rice shop hiring an accountant, specifically a female accountant."

"Because the rice shop's owner is a woman, the accountant needs to accompany her on business trips, and due to gender differences, hiring a male accountant might harm her reputation, so they particularly require hiring a female accountant. The requirements are literacy, calculations, good articulation. Chen Shun thinks you've got everything, asking if you're willing to go to Jinling."

An Youyou: ?

"Going to Jinling to be an accountant?" An Youyou was bewildered, pointing at herself, "Me?"

"I'm a beggar, an honest-to-goodness beggar; how can I not do my proper duty and go become an accountant?"

Jiang Weiguo: …

It could be seen that over these years, Jiang Weiguo had always been trying to brainwash the leader, advising her not to be immersed in begging, but to find a proper job.

"Leader." Jiang Weiguo went on earnestly, "Begging ultimately isn't sustainable."

"I deeply appreciate when you found me, took me in as a younger brother, fed me and saved me. When times were good, begging allowed us to survive, but now with these bad years, you can feel it; if begging could sustain life, there wouldn't be so many stray kids on the street you wouldn't take in."

"You're literate, you can calculate, have a good memory, you're strong—under such conditions, you can live through anything; there's no need to get stuck in begging and trap yourself."

"You can't beg your whole life; Little Ninth and the others can't either."

"The fate of begging… is in the end to become a corpse lying on the roadside; the difference is merely between a young beggar and an old beggar."

"You should find a proper job."

"Nonsense! Begging is the most…" An Youyou began to argue reflexively but was at a loss for words.

An Youyou fell silent.

Qin Huai could see that the leader wavered.

Truly times are tough, even forcing the Three-legged Golden Toad to not want to beg but to get a regular job.