Chapter 10 beggars

Li Shiniang is a famous prostitute in Qinhuai River.Her house is located in the south of Chaoku Street, just one mile away from the river house where Mao Xiang stayed.That area is called "Old Courtyard" by Nanjing people, and it is the place where Qinlou and Chu Pavilion gather.A group of the most valuable prostitutes in Nanjing, such as Li Shiniang, Gu Mei, Li Auntie, Yin Chun, Fan Yu, Sha Cai, Ma Jiao, Gu Xi, Cui Ke, Ge Nen, Li Xiang, etc., were there to compete with each other. Living here, with their beautiful names and beautiful colors, they attract romantic and wealthy guests from all directions.At this moment, the lights are just coming on, and it is entering the most lively and joyful moment of the day.The soft and graceful singing and the sound of the piano and flute floated from far and near with the warm spring breeze, tickling the hearts of passers-by.

Different from Sanshan Street, seventy-eight out of ten shops in this area are in the business of eating and playing.At a glance, restaurants are connected to restaurants, and teahouses are next to teahouses. Under the reflection of the bright corner lights, there are no empty seats in each room, and there is a lot of people.Business is booming in the large and small casinos all over the street.People not only gamble on cards and dice, but also gamble on cockfights, crickets, and quails; the theater is full of gongs and drums, and new dramas are being performed one after another; the graceful and soft Kunshan dialect is all the rage here .As for the people who rely on this market to make a living, they are even more diverse, ranging from divination and face-to-face, sedan chair and boat punters, jugglers and singers, flower and fruit sellers, pedicure and comb heads, to Qingke bamboo strips, monks and priests, There are teachers, aunts, prostitutes, and rogue idlers.They wandered around the market all day long, hoping to try their luck on those luxuriously dressed and wealthy guests, and to get a lot of money...

Because he finally let go of a major matter in his heart, Mao Xiang felt at this moment a relief that he had never felt in a long time.He walked happily and unhurriedly, feeling that the lights in the street market were very bright tonight, and people's faces became very kind and lovely.If it wasn't for a team escorting gifts passing by and catching his attention, he might have walked all the way to Hanxiu Zhai like this.However, he suddenly remembered something, so he stopped, turned his head and said to Mao Cheng who was following behind: "I almost forgot, Uncle Xiong, I went there in a hurry today, and I didn't get any presents. Now that the matter is done, I can't owe this gift. Go back and get some money. I'd rather spend more money, and be more presentable." ——Send it over overnight."

"Yes!" Mao Cheng agreed, and asked again, "Shall we go now?" "Well! We're going home tomorrow, and there's still a lot to do. I'm only a few steps away from here, so I don't need you to follow. Later, you can send me away, or you can come and pick me up at a cost! " Mao Xiang turned around again.He walked carefully by the side of the road to avoid being bumped by the sedan chair rushing behind him, with a kind smile on his face all the time. Gradually, however, a humming murmur rose behind him, a timid, mechanical begging.At first the sound was small and intermittent, then it grew louder and louder until it became an uninterrupted din.Mao Xiang stopped in surprise and turned around.

Behind him, at some point, a large group of beggars gathered, all of them were young children, the oldest was no more than fourteen or five years old, and the youngest was only three or four years old.In the light of the store, they all looked almost the same: scraggly hair, dirty and sharp cheeks, big dull, lifeless eyes.Some of them wore ragged clothes, while others were topless, revealing their thin bones.The younger ones were completely naked, shivering in the cold spring night.They all looked at Maoxiang beggingly, each stretched out their dark and slender claws, swarming in front of him like ghosts...

Mao Xiang took a step back in panic, frowned in disgust, and then stopped again.He thought for a while, and his face became calm.He looked back habitually, put his hand into his arms again, and suddenly froze.It turned out that in order to save trouble and worry, he never carried money with him, and the money was always collected by impostors or other relatives, who followed him anytime and anywhere, paying for him.Just now Mao Cheng left in a hurry, but Mao Xiang didn't even have a copper coin on him at the moment.He shook his head, rolling his eyes resignedly, looking around, hoping to spot someone he knew.However, no.He turned his head and glanced at the group of little beggars who were waiting quietly with anxiety and hope. Suddenly, he turned around and walked quickly to a nearby wine shop.

"Shopkeeper!" He bowed his hands to a white-haired old man sitting behind the counter, "I want to borrow ten slings from Baohao to use it, and I have the right to use it as a mortgage. I don't know if it is okay?" A fine gold and emerald ring that came down was placed on the counter. The old man glanced at Maoxiang, picked up the ring, squinted his eyes and looked at it for a while, then raised his head to look at Maoxiang again.Finally, he put on a smile: "It's easy to say, easy to say, dare to ask the distinguished guest Gao's name? Is this ten sling money urgent?"

"Xiaosheng Rugao, Maoxiang, lives in a house not far from the river below. Today, because he went out in a hurry, he never brought any money with him, so I asked the old man to help. These ten hanging coins—" He pointed and stood in the middle of the street, far away The group of little beggars who were watching this side, "I also asked the old man to distribute them for Xiaosheng. When Xiaosheng comes to get the token tomorrow, there will be another reward!" "Oh, Mr. Mao originally wanted to do good deeds. The little old man should do his best. How dare you take the word 'reward'!" The old man showed a respectful look.After a pause, he looked at Mao Xiang, blinked his eyes, somewhat embarrassed: "This ring, I wouldn't dare to let Mr. Xiang keep it, it's just..."

Maoxiang smiled slightly: "Old man is willing to help, Xiaosheng is very grateful. The ring must be kept, so please hurry up and implement it!" "This—the little old man is bold enough to obey!" The old man suddenly became happy, he solemnly put away the ring, then took the pen and paper, wrote a note, handed his hands to Maoxiang, and moved a chair himself, Ask Maoxiang to sit down, then turn around and hurried to the back. After a while, two young men came out, moved two Eight Immortals tables and two benches, and set them up outside the shop door. Then, together with the old shopkeeper, they carried out the ten hanging coins from the back room and piled them on the Eight Immortals table. superior.

The group of little beggars had been waiting anxiously for a long time. Seeing this posture, they immediately "coaxed" and rushed forward without waiting for greetings.The two young shop assistants were already ready. They stood in front of the Eight Immortals table, stretched out their hands, and stopped the little beggars. The shopkeeper standing behind the table was not in a hurry to distribute the goods. He cleared his throat and said loudly: "Everyone! Please listen to what the little old man said: the weather is not correct recently, floods and droughts are frequent, the four villages are far and near, the barren land is thousands of miles away, the grains are not harvested, the starvation is full of roads, the eyes are full of desolation, and the news is passed on. It is not a day. Thinking of pity, doing all kinds of relief, but the hungry people are getting more and more people, and there is nothing to pay for it. This is also obvious to all. Now there is Mr. Rugao Mao, who has a well-known literary name. He has been in the hometown for a long time, and he is hungry and drowning. I can't bear to sit back and watch, and donate generously so that the people who are waiting to be fed can live on. It is really a great merit! Xiaolao is now here to distribute money for Mr. Mao. I hereby let you know that I hope that the benevolent people from all over the world will work for those who are capable, and those who are rich will lose. Cai, save the catastrophe in case..."

The old man chewed on his words, and talked a long story, shaking his head complacently while talking, regardless of whether the people around him understood or not.Mao Xiang couldn't help being amazed, thinking: So this old man has studied for a few days, but it's so funny to show off at this moment!It is not uncommon for Gu Tu's generation to have a little proficiency in writing and ink now, but it is rare for him to export written writing in a dignified manner.So, when the old man finished speaking, he arched his hands and made a half bow, and then turned around and bowed deeply to Mao Xiang, Mao Xiang smiled approvingly and made a gesture asking him to let him go. The old man became more energetic after receiving this encouragement.He turned his head, looked at the group of little beggars, and said majesticly: "The relief will start now, and each person will have a hundred coins. No crowding is allowed. Whoever wants to crowd, not only will not be there, but the big stick will be opened!" These few words of the old man really had an effect. The little beggars who were ready to rush and grab suddenly became submissive.One by one, they came up to collect the money, and then walked up to Maoxiang and kowtowed in thanks. Mao Xiang nodded kindly, or made a gesture to get them up.It is not the first time he has done such a kind deed.Three years ago, when he came to Nanjing to take the township examination, he temporarily adopted a group of street orphans in Taoyehe House, and later donated a sum of money to send them to the monastery for resettlement.Compared with that sensational act of kindness, this small fact is nothing.However, he is in a very good mood now, "What a coincidence, why I forgot to bring money with me, otherwise, I can put a few taels of silver in it!" He thought.So, he began to plan that as soon as his father's business was completed, he would send people to Yangzhou, invite a troupe, and go to Rugao to sing operas for a few days, and thank God to fulfill his wish.At that time, I will give it away in a decent way... "Well, although I have sold a lot of family property in the past six months, it seems that this expense is still unavoidable." After making the decision, he raised his head and looked at the hotel manager handing out with peace of mind.However, there are too many little beggars, and each one is getting dirtier and uglier than the last one, which is very uncomfortable to watch.Gradually, Mao Xiang became tired and let them kowtow, too lazy to answer.After sitting for a while, Maoxiang finally stood up, said goodbye to the old shopkeeper, entrusted him to finish the work, and then continued to walk forward by himself. Mao Xiang walked unhurriedly, while listening to the voices of the guys behind him singing and giving out, at the same time, he also felt the pointers and approving eyes of passers-by.He was filled with a kind of satisfaction and joy after doing a good deed.This feeling blended with the two cups of fine wine that he drank earlier, making Maoxiang's head a little dizzy and his steps a little light. When Maoxiang came to Chaoku Street, excitedly planning to walk to the old courtyard, he was suddenly taken aback—he found that another group of beggars had already chased him.This time it was not just children, there were men, women and children, and they were aggressive.As soon as Maoxiang stopped for a while, they immediately surrounded him and begged loudly.Bursts of filthy and unpleasant stench emanated from their tattered clothes, and the middle-aged man wanted to vomit, so Mao Xiang hurriedly covered his nose with his sleeve and hurried forward. "Over there, over there!" he said, waving his hands. "No more!" "The dispatch is over!" "Hey, sorry to see you..." "Please do me a favor, please!" Mao Xiang wanted to say: "Then I can't help it!" But at this time, he saw several shadows approaching him.He became frightened, panicked, stopped abruptly, and shouted: "Stop! Don't come! What do you want? Ah? What do you want?" The group of beggars stopped hesitantly after being shouted at by him. "The dignified place to stay in the capital has officials and laws! Could it be that you dare to rob it in the street?" Mao Xiang stared and asked angrily. Beggars, you look at me, I look at you, and start to shrink back.Some people hid back, some lowered their heads, and the few standing in front knelt down with a "plop". "Please calm down, Mr. Xiang. The villain dare not offend Mr. Xiang. The villain is a law-abiding and good citizen. I just ask Mr. Xiang to show mercy..." An old man kowtowed tremblingly. "I...we are safe, safe and good people, I hit the river...Henan, the place eats... eats and eats people, I am afraid, no, no, no... dare to eat, I am safe...safe and good people ..." A tall man stammered and argued, his face could not be seen clearly in the dim light. "Master Xianggong, please pity this fatherless child!" A thin woman screamed, holding up the crying child in her arms, "Four of our family of seven died, and I and his father died together!" I managed to escape with him. His father worked as a bodyguard for others. He never looked back when he left last month. I heard that he met a thieves on the way and was killed! Oh...how can we live without our mother!... "She beat her chest in pain and burst into tears. Mao Xiang silently listened to these miserable cries, and his heart became heavy.He couldn't help but sighed, and his voice finally softened: "I don't blame you all, get up. It's not that I don't want to give it to you, but I came out in a hurry, and I didn't bring any with me. Just now..." He suddenly stopped Having said that, he waved his hand, turned around and walked out. This time, the beggars did not follow.Mao Xiang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.But he still hurried away, not daring to look back. "He said no, why not?" When he was about to enter the back door of the old courtyard, Mao Xiang heard such a sentence from behind him. "Oh, forget it!" An old voice said, "Whether you give it or not depends on what people like." "But he said no!" A young voice retorted unconvinced, "He sighed and pretended!" "That's right!" The other person raised his voice, as if he wanted Mao Xiang to hear him on purpose, "He said he has no money, and if he doesn't have money, he can still go shopping in brothels and find a whore? Could it be that the bitch's X is given to him for free? ?” Mao Xiang stopped abruptly.For a moment he could hardly believe his ears.Then, a nameless anger rushed straight up from the bottom of my heart.He wished he could go back immediately and give these despicable beggars a lesson, who didn't deserve pity at all!However, when he turned his head and met those vicious gazes from afar, he suddenly felt shy and timid again.So, he had no choice but to grit his teeth, hold back his anger, quicken his pace, and walk towards the old courtyard.