Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 1303 626: ?? (Part 2)

The maid Chun He reluctantly responded with an "Oh," then raised her voice to shout inside, "Miss, don't heat the water yet, wait for me to finish distributing the buns and I'll go back to heat it."

After speaking, Chun He put on a stern face, slightly raised her chin, and looked down at the beggars lying on the ground. Her eyes showed no disdain, only pure displeasure and impatience.

"You little beggars, why are you still lying down, pretending like that? It's only because our Miss is kind-hearted that she gives you buns every day during the festival. You've all heard it, right? There will be hot water later. You have it easy, you can leave after getting the buns and drinking the hot water, but I have to wash the dishes, and I have to wash the ones you've touched several times."

The companion lying at the front quickly got up with nimble hands and feet, a smile on their face: "Sister Chun He, you are the kindest. Please be generous, give me a couple more buns. It's cold now, one bun really can't sustain me. I've come from the suburbs, it takes three to four hours to go back and forth. If there's only one bun to eat every day, in a couple of days you won't see me anymore because I'd have frozen to death at night."

Chun He scolded with a stern face: "Who is your sister? You little beggar, don't try to get close. The number of buns distributed every day is set. Our Miss said, two for each person, no more."

Though Chun He said this, she also acknowledged the companion's clever words by lifting the cotton cloth covering the bamboo basket, picking out two large black steamed buns, and tossing them in front of the companion.

The buns were still steaming, and when they rolled in the snow, the steam didn't dissipate; it was clear they were freshly steamed.

Seeing that they received two large black steamed buns, the companion was delighted and quickly picked up the buns, tucked one into their chest, stuffed the other into their mouth, and sat back down on the ground to eat.

Soon there would be hot water to drink, so they couldn't leave now.

Qin Huai understood Chun He's way of tossing the buns. An Youyou also mentioned that a qualified beggar should never touch a noble person when begging, not only because of dirtiness but also because beggars are infested with fleas, insects, parasites, and many of them are carrying diseases, possibly infectious ones.

The first thing to learn when begging is to read people's faces. Those who can't read faces, accidentally bump into a noble person, or touch them, would be kicked or beaten to death soon after.

The companion said nice things and got two big buns, while the little beggar didn't speak and got just two regular buns.

The little beggar wasn't interested in the black steamed buns, took one and started eating like the companion, and gave the other one directly to the companion. The companion appreciated the little beggar's tact and immediately promised to bring him to beg tomorrow and to teach him some begging skills later on.

From the little beggar's expression, Qin Huai could tell he had no interest in begging nor did he want to learn any skills.

After the buns were distributed, Chun He's bamboo basket still had a few extra, which she randomly threw to a few beggars she found pleasing, including the companion and the little beggar.

Throwing to the companion might be because he said pleasant words and was remembered, throwing to the little beggar...

Qin Huai guessed it was because the little beggar was wearing too little, just three single-layered clothes. In this heavy snow outdoors, whether beggar or not, passers-by couldn't help but take a look and wonder why they hadn't frozen to death. Chun He, when tossing the black steamed buns to the little beggar, clearly paused, sized him up and down, and after confirming he was only wearing three single garments, even showed an expression of admiration.

There was no disdain for the beggar, only admiration for this freezing-resistance strength.

After handing out the buns, Chun He carried the bamboo basket inside, not forgetting to close the door behind her, and Qin Huai followed her in.

The back door of Qin's Steamed Bun Shop wasn't quite like Qin Huai imagined.

Qin Huai thought it would be the back door of a shop, leading to places like a kitchen, courtyard, or woodshed, but it wasn't.

Inside was obviously a place where regular people lived. This Qin's Steamed Bun Shop wasn't big. The front was the shop, and the back was the residence. Chun He went straight to the kitchen after entering to help her Miss heat the water.

Qin Huai knew Chun He's Miss.

It was Qin Wan, Jiang Chengde's wife, the mother of Jiang Weijin, Jiang Weiguo, and others.

The current Qin Wan was wearing a light blue embroidered cotton coat, had a delicate gold bracelet on her hand, a gold hairpin and a silver hairpin in her hair, and pearl earrings dangling from both ears. Her hairstyle was clearly that of a young maiden, looking young and not weak, with well-colored lips.

She looked like a typical girl from a relatively well-off family.

"Chun He, are all the buns distributed?" Qin Wan was clearly not a young lady who wouldn't touch any menial tasks. Her fingers had slight calluses, and though wearing a thick cotton coat, it was noticeable that her figure wasn't frail. Most importantly, her fire-stoking and wood-adding movements were very deft, obviously someone who often helped in the kitchen or cooked meals.

"Miss, they're all distributed. It's a good thing you made a bit more today. You wouldn't believe it, I got a shock when I opened the door and saw that the outside was full of beggars. Miss, you really shouldn't keep giving out buns like this. If it continues, I'm afraid the beggars will end up lying in the street, and if Master finds out, he'll definitely scold you."

"I think those beggars are doing it on purpose, all pretending to be about to starve lying by the door. Once I start handing out buns, they become spirited."

Qin Wan laughed softly, "That shows that the buns I've made these few days are useful. If they weren't full, how could they get their spirits up?"