Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle

Chapter 1309 628: ?? (Part 4)_2

The little beggar, after finishing the steamed buns, didn't return to the broken temple outside the suburbs but sat quietly at the base of the wall by the back door of Qin's Steamed Bun Shop.

Time did not slow down.

Qin Huai thought a critical plot point had arrived, so he phased through the wall into the backyard to see what was happening in the courtyard. He only saw busy people. The yard was decorated with a lot of red paper, looking festive, but that was all. It wasn't like in the TV dramas, where everything was flamboyantly decorated with red silk everywhere.

This was normal. Although Qin's Steamed Bun Shop was famous outside the border, it was just a pastry shop of moderate renown. To put it simply, it was a snack shop with some wealth but not much. The owner of the Taifeng Building smoked opium so much that he sold the place. Even when Qin Wan and Jiang Chengde got engaged, people said Qin Wan was marrying up. It shows that the Qin Family was just an average, slightly well-off family, not a big house.

Being able to put up red paper all around was already quite a display.

Qin Huai's range of movement was quite limited. He could see people bustling in the yard but couldn't enter the house, nor could he see Qin Wan. Occasionally, Chun He would rush through the yard, always carrying something, and Qin Huai could hear Chun He muttering prayers, hoping it wouldn't snow tonight; otherwise, the road would be hard to travel tomorrow.

The little beggar sat at the corner by the back door of Qin's Steamed Bun Shop all night long.

Heaven cooperated; it didn't snow that night.

The little beggar waited by the back door, guessing Qin Wan would exit from there for her wedding. But there was no reason for a bride to leave through the back door. When the sounds of clamorous celebration, drums, and congratulations erupted outside, with the blaring of trumpets, the little beggar realized the bride had already left and rushed towards the sound.

A bride's marriage is a lively and joyous event anywhere. The streets were crowded with people bustling to join in the fun and offer congratulations, with many children running about. A grubby beggar like the little one, of course, couldn't squeeze into the crowd. He could only watch from afar, watching the wedding sedan pass by, the procession scattering bridal candies into the crowd.

The little beggar couldn't get in, but Qin Huai could. Qin Huai squeezed through the crowd to the side of the wedding sedan, saw Qin Wan inside in her wedding gown with a red veil, saw Chun He standing by the sedan with teary eyes but smiling, saw the musicians playing the suona earnestly, saw Old Master Qin laughing heartily in his formal attire, and saw Qin Yanxing equally joyful, yawning, clearly showing he didn't rest well the night before.

It was very lively.

So lively that Qin Huai didn't have time to ponder what part of this plot was significant. The little beggar, as before, was lost in thought, like a philosopher, neither speaking nor joining in, just a humble observer.

The wedding sedan gradually moved further away.

The crowd followed after, but the little beggar stood still, holding two pieces of candy wrapped in red paper that he had just picked up.

Qin Huai looked at the little beggar; his face showed neither envy nor longing, as calm as before, but there was a bit of unresolvable confusion in his eyes.

Had it been possible to communicate with the protagonist in his memory, Qin Huai would have wanted to ask in Shi Tou's tone: Brother, what are you pondering and questioning all day? Are you philosophers all like this? Begging one moment, philosophizing the next, and it's been a year; haven't you come to a conclusion yet?

No.

The wedding banquet was held in the Taifeng Building.

The little beggar couldn't get in and could only watch from the sides, eating candy as he watched.

Qin Huai couldn't get in either; his range of movement in this memory was minimal. The little beggar was too far; he couldn't even get to the door of the Taifeng Building.

After Qin Wan got married, the little beggar's life track changed slightly.

He still begged every day, but he no longer went to Qin's Steamed Bun Shop; instead, he went to the back door of the Jiang Family residence. Compared to Qin's Steamed Bun Shop, the Jiang family's residence was much larger, with two back doors alone.

The little beggar squatted at the back door for a whole day on the first day, squatting until Chun He came out from the back door. Upon seeing the little beggar, Chun He was taken aback and asked if he got addicted to the steamed buns and followed from Qin's Steamed Bun Shop all the way to the Jiang family.

The little beggar nodded candidly.

On the second day, Chun He started distributing buns at the Jiang family's back door.

The same rules as at Qin's Steamed Bun Shop's back door: two buns for little beggars, one for big beggars, with two extra bowls of hot water given on especially cold or snowy days.

In this manner, the little beggar begged through another winter.

After spring began, just like Shi Tou last year, he pawned his cotton coat at the first opportunity, moved out of the broken temple, and began living rough on the streets. Every day went begging point to Jiang family back door; a two-point routine, regularly clocking in, and apart from begging, he pondered life's questions. The dull plot made Qin Huai quite sleepy, making him want to ask the game system when this memory would end, as the audience was about to doze off.

What Qin Huai didn't expect was that he watched several years of this mundane memory.

In these few years, one batch of beggars after another came and went. The little beggar was like a wild weed in the field; when winter ended, a new batch would sprout in spring.

Chun He got married. To whom, Qin Huai didn't know. He overheard it while watching the little beggar receive buns at the back door. After Chun He got married, Qin Huai never saw her again.

Qin Wan had two sons. The elder was Jiang Weize, and the younger was Jiang Weijin. The little beggar was like a surveillance camera, wandering around the Jiang family. Occasionally, he would catch Qin Wan taking the two sons and sister-in-law Jiang Hui Qin out.

Qin Wan was no longer dressed as a young girl. She had her hair in a matron's style, with three children in tow, portraying the demeanor of a mother. When she went out, she often wore a smile, showing that life was very happy.