Chapter 141 Buy and Sell

"Stop slandering me! I think you failed to beg from the beggar and are blaming me. Don't even think about putting the blame on me!"

The bun vendor had a rather grim expression on his face. It was true that he was possessed by evil spirits at the time, but who in his right mind would want to make such an embarrassing scene by having to go to the government office?

Seeing Cheng Weiyao coming, Goudan quickly began to support her: "Madam, I can testify that he hired us to go to the stall and disrupt your business!"

"So can I! He's the one who promised us that if we could make it yellow, we'd get buns!"

"That's right! He's even cheating and won't give me the buns at the back!"

As soon as Goudan, the leader of the children, took the lead, the children started to talk at once and began to perform their duties. The bun vendor, who was humiliated, was so angry that his face turned red.

"You guys! You're all in cahoots. You're a bunch of ungrateful wolves. Now that you've had your fill, you're turning around and biting me, right?!"

The bun vendor's fingertips, which were pointing at Goudan's nose, were trembling constantly, while Cheng Weiyao brushed his hand away nonchalantly.

"Alright, why are you getting mad at a bunch of kids? Even though the soup dumplings business is booming, we can only serve a limited number of customers at a time, and it's not convenient for customers to take them to eat. The novelty will wear off after a few days. Your buns are easy to take on the go, so there's no conflict between us..."

The bun vendor was stunned when he heard this. He had already made up his mind to break up with Cheng Weiyao, although it was indeed embarrassing to argue with a woman.

But no one expected that Cheng Weiyao, apart from saying she would report the matter to the police at the very beginning, would then analyze the pros and cons in a kind and gentle manner.

"So what do you mean by coming here?"

"I won't pursue this matter. After all, we all make a living in Qingshi Town. We'll see each other sooner or later. I don't want to make things too awkward. Let's each walk our own path and not trip each other up. What do you think?"

Cheng Weiyao had a kind smile on her face. She didn't know how long Wen Chengyun's plan would take to be implemented, but she was afraid that he would have to stay in Qingshi Town for a long time.

If she wants to live a better life with her family, she has to understand some social conventions, and she doesn't want things to become too awkward.

"Okay, I accept your kindness. Let's move on. Let's move on."

The bun vendor pursed his lips and finally nodded. As for the buns he had promised Goudan and the others, he naturally delivered as promised.

After this incident, Goudan completely let down his guard against Cheng Weiyao. Since she was so tolerant even when someone was trying to steal her business, she must not be a bad person.

Cheng Weiyao followed this large group of children to their so-called home, a dilapidated temple. As the temple door opened, the wind blew up the fallen leaves on the ground, and a gust of cold air blew over.

"Children, how was your harvest today? Dinner will be served soon..."

There were only three elderly beggars in the temple, cooking dinner in a worn-out iron pot.

Cheng Weiyao followed the children into the house. She looked at the pot of unknown sticky substance with her brows furrowed. There was a sour smell in the pot, and the porridge was probably not drinkable.

"Grandpa, you guys take a break, leave it to us. We'll have a snack tonight!"

"Grandma, I brought you some buns. They're clean. I didn't steal them. I earned them myself!"

As soon as Goudan and his friends got home, they got busy and took over the work of the old beggars. The only beggar lady led some of the beggars to do the cleaning.

"What are you doing?"

Goudan's grandfather noticed Cheng Weiyao and spoke hesitantly.

"Grandpa, this is the wife of the soup dumpling vendor on West Street. She's such a kindhearted person. From now on, we'll help her out and just shout things out. It'll be a job for her!"

Goudan spoke first, his brows full of excitement.

But his grandfather obviously didn't think so. He looked Cheng Weiyao up and down with a pair of shrewd eyes, with a frown on his face.

Being able to come in with the children only means that you have won their trust, but it does not mean that you are necessarily a good person.

"Old man, I'm not a bad person, but I remember that the imperial court has a regulation that every county government office should have a relief center..."

Cheng Wei Yao looked around as she entered the room. Not to mention sheltering from the wind and rain, she even doubted whether the dilapidated temple would collapse if there was a strong wind or heavy rain.

When she closed her stall and went to look for the bun vendor, she glanced at the notice on the wall. The emperor had issued an edict a long time ago. In order to demonstrate the emperor's benevolent rule, a relief home should be set up every thirty miles in the prefecture and county governments, providing rice for cooking and two meals a day.

"Madam, you are from outside the city, right? Land in Qingshi Town is very expensive. The government office is not willing to give us land to live on. We can't afford to buy it, nor can we pay the rent."

Goudan's grandfather laughed, as if he was defeated by Cheng Weiyao's naivety. In the eyes of the people in the yamen, beggars were all lowly, no different from stray dogs on the street.

When you are in a good mood, you can give them a bite to eat, or when you need to build momentum, you can come out to increase the number of people and shout along. Otherwise, no one cares whether you are dead or alive.

Cheng Weiyao heard it, but felt uncomfortable. Indeed, in the eyes of those who are blinded by greed, a fly, no matter how small, is still meat.

Even though the courtyard where the Qingping Palace family lives is in a slum and the location is not good, they still collect a lot of money.

"I know what's going on, old man. The food in your pot is all spoiled. The children are still growing. If they eat this, they will be starving when they come to work for me the next day. This is a small token of their help today. Please keep it."

She sighed softly, reached into her sleeve, and with a flick of her mind, a large bag of rice appeared in her hand. The climate on QQ Farm changes much faster than in real life. She sows and harvests according to the four seasons. This is all high-quality rice that has been processed and harvested.

The rice grains are plump and white, and are obviously top-quality. According to Goudan, the soup dumpling stall owner, even if he runs a small business, is just an ordinary citizen. How can he afford such expensive rice?

Could it be a spy sent by Zhang Daming? He was sent to infiltrate the inner circle and find out the situation.

Goudan's grandfather's face changed slightly. The last time someone brought such good rice was to buy a child, and he specifically wanted a girl.

The worst thing was that he was careless last time and really thought that the court was merciful. He had already eaten something and there was no way to return it. In the end, after arguing for a long time, several girls took the initiative to follow the people from the government office.

After he left, there was no news of him again.

"We don't sell any servant girls here. We don't want your things. Don't touch the children."

He turned around and wanted to tell the beggar lady not to bring the girls out.

Only then did Cheng Wei Yao realize that the little beggars following the beggar grandmother were almost all fair-skinned girls. However, in order to make it easier to beg, they were covered in dust and deliberately dressed like boys.