The Legend of the Condor Heroes: From Being Expelled from Peach Blossom Island

Chapter 3 Fancy Begging
"It smells so good." A childish and weak voice brought Fang Xiu back to consciousness.

Fang Xiu turned his head and saw that the little girl had woken up. He also heard the rumbling sound in her stomach.

"You must be hungry. The young lady from the Zhao family gave me some food today. I cooked it into porridge. Ah Ku, get up and drink it. Your illness will be cured."

At this time, the mixed vegetable porridge in the earthenware pot had already boiled, and several kinds of leftovers of unknown origin were mixed together. According to Fang Xiu, these were all slop that was used to feed pigs in the previous life.

As the water temperature rose, an indescribable smell filled the abandoned house. It was very complex and it was simply a torture to Fang Xiu's current sense of smell, but the little girl was drooling at the smell.

"Brother Fang, you eat first. Ah Ku can't go out today. You need to eat enough to have the strength to beg for food."

"Brother has just eaten a steamed bun. These are left for Ah Ku. Only after Ah Ku eats them can heal his illness and go out begging with brother."

Ah Ku was very sensible and said nothing more. Fang Xiu poured the mixed vegetable porridge from the clay pot into a bowl and brought it to Ah Ku, watching her eat it in big mouthfuls. Ah Ku ate very happily, smiling and shaking her head.

There are always kind people in this world, but it’s a pity that kind people are suffering and there is nothing we can do about it.

After Ah Ku finished all the mixed vegetable porridge, a little color finally appeared on his pale face. He said a few words to Fang Xiu and fell into a deep sleep again.

Looking at the sky outside, it was almost noon. Fang Xiu struggled to stand up with the help of a wooden stick, holding a broken bowl in his other hand. He first used his sensitive hearing to make sure there was nothing unusual around him, and then he left the abandoned house with one foot high and one foot low.

But the food in the morning was not enough for three people to eat for a day. Fang Xiu had already made a work plan, and noon was the key time to achieve the KPI.

During the Song Dynasty, shipping was well developed, and Gushan County, close to the sea, became increasingly prosperous. The people were relatively wealthy, and the most lively place here was the market town in the center of the county.

The market town is full of restaurants, teahouses, food shops, grocery stores, wineries, businesses, etc.

Fang Xiu had already decided on the first stop for the day, Hongyun Restaurant, which was packed with guests and toasting.

Fang Xiu walked to the door of the restaurant and stood three feet away. He was tactful enough not to cross the threshold. He first bowed deeply, then held the bowl in his left hand and a small wooden stick in his right hand, and beat the beat rhythmically. When he attracted the attention of the restaurant guests, he began to sing the Suolaibao.

"Step forward and enter the street. You'll see good business going on in every street and alley. There are buyers and sellers, and there are also banners and signs.

The sign is like a dragon playing in the water, and the stalls are like a purple gold platform. If the abacus hits the money tree, I wish the shopkeeper great fortune.

Don't be afraid, big boss. A poor person can't benefit much. A big restaurant, a golden sign, the big boss has made a fortune. You get rich, I get rich. You eat meat, I drink soup.

First I bow to the gentleman, second I bow to the minister, and third I bow to the shopkeeper, the magnanimous person. If the person is not magnanimous, I will not bow. If the flowers do not welcome the spring, they will not bloom. Whether you give or not is not a big deal... "

After singing a short passage, Fang Xiu bowed deeply again and said, "Boss, please be kind and give me some food. I wish your business will be prosperous and your wealth will flow into the world. I am here to pay my respects to you."

Suolaibao originated in the Ming Dynasty. During the Southern Song Dynasty, beggars would at most say a few auspicious words when begging for food, and no one had ever performed this trick.

When Fang Xiu was in his twenties, he was a pseudo-literary youth. He especially liked the Beijing People's Art Theatre's drama "Teahouse". After watching it over and over again countless times, he could recite the dialogues in it fluently. The paragraph just now was the classic line sung by beggars in the teahouse when begging for food.

Fang Xiu sang in his childish voice, which had not yet changed, and added the accent he learned from a certain gang society. It sounded very nice and immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the restaurant.

"Where did this beggar come from? Why are you making so much noise here?" The waiter came out and tried to chase the beggar away, but was stopped by the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper looked at Fang Xiu and said with interest, "Good boy, you speak so eloquently. I am happy to hear you speak. It must be good for you. If you can speak a few more paragraphs, I will give you a few copper coins."

Fang Xiu didn't say anything more. He bowed respectfully, clapped his hands again, and said to the shopkeeper.

"Shopkeeper, I wish you:
Auspicious times and months bring good fortune like the wind, and abundant years and abundant months bring prosperity like the wind. Increase blessings, increase wealth, and increase life span, and live long and healthy lives.

May you be rich, wealthy and have noble sons, and may your sons be filial and your grandsons be virtuous, bringing glory to generations.

Wealth and splendor will come every year, and you will have money, power and a bright future."

As soon as he finished speaking, the people in the restaurant cheered and the restaurant owner smiled as if he was about to bloom. These few words were really festive.

The shopkeeper asked the waiter to bring a few steamed buns and half a bowl of salted fish, then looked at Fang Xiu, especially his broken left leg, and took out ten copper coins from his sleeve.

“From the way you talk, you seem to have only been educated for a few days and have also suffered a lot. It’s a pity.

I keep my word. I will give you the food and copper coins today.

If you want to beg for food in the future, just come to me. You don’t have to please me. Just serve my guests. As long as you can make them happy, I will take care of their lunch.”

Fang Xiu was very happy to receive the food he begged for. This was considered a way to make a living. It was a bit like going to a restaurant to tell stories. He would come here to tell a few stories in the future, such as Jin Ping Mei and Yu Fu Tuan. There were so many things he could talk about.

Or after A Ku recovers, he can teach her to wear slippers when getting on the kang, so that she can be his supporting actor. At least he won't have to worry about food until his leg injury heals.

And there are these 10 copper coins. Every time Ah Ku passes by here and sees the big meat buns next door, he drools. 10 copper coins are enough to buy 5 buns.

Two for A Ku, two for himself, and the remaining one was for Taoist Mo. After traveling through time to the present, he finally had a meal without having to eat slop.

Next, Fang Xiu picked a few shops to sing and even went to explore the Qingshui River. He gained more or less, at least he earned enough food for the day.

After walking around the market, Fang Xiu's legs started to hurt again. He found a corner to sit down, munching on a steamed bun while imagining Ah Ku's smile when he saw the meat bun.

In a trance, he suddenly heard someone talking through the wall.

"Brothers from the neighboring county branch sent word that Gang Leader Hong has recently appeared in our area. They told the brothers to be careful and stop all their usual activities. If the news gets out, we will all be dead."

"What should we do about Qingyu Temple? They need the goods urgently, and they are offering a lot."

"I don't think Boss Hong will come over so soon. I'll just prepare the goods and send them over in the next few days, and then I'll stop immediately."

After hearing the conversation between the two, Fang Xiu suddenly sat up, narrowed his eyes slightly, and became fully alert.

In this world where force is paramount, even if you accidentally overhear someone's conversation and it is obvious that the other party is up to something, you might end up in danger of death.

The voice was very clear, as if there was a completely soundproof wooden wall between Fang Xiu and the person he was talking to. But Fang Xiu knew that the person he was talking to was at least seventy or eighty meters away from him, and there were at least two or three streets between them. As long as Fang Xiu didn't do anything stupid, they would never know of his existence.

Fortunately, after the other party finished talking about delivering goods to Qingyu Temple and asked their men to find out the whereabouts of Gang Leader Hong, they left separately and did not pass by the intersection where Fang Xiu was.

Originally, the food I begged for was steamed bread, but I suddenly woke up last night and realized that the steamed bread I had seen was made of cornmeal, and corn was not introduced until the Ming Dynasty. After searching on Baidu, I found that it can be made with other flours, which requires some technological skills.

So in order to be more rigorous, the word "wotou" was changed to "chuibing" before the announcement early in the morning. At least there was a witness like Wu Dalang to prove that there really were chuibings in the Song Dynasty.



(End of this chapter)