If they hadn't been hungry, the grandfather and grandson probably would have slept until early the next morning.

When they woke up, it was past mealtime at the inn, and there wasn't much food left in the kitchen. They managed to make enough noodle soup for the grandfather, grandson, and driver for ten people, with a dozen or so poached eggs in it.

After Zhao Qinglin and the coachman each filled a large bowl, the rest was all for Huang.

Obviously, it's impolite to eat while holding the bowl. Huang's large bowl was emptied in no time, and then another bowl was ordered.

Even the shopkeeper who was doing the accounting was stunned.

He thought to himself, "Where did this glutton come from? He can eat so much. It's lucky his family is rich, otherwise, he would have eaten his family out of poverty long ago."

What the shopkeeper didn't know was that there weren't just three good-for-nothings in this household.

After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, Huang was in high spirits. Since the area around the inn was quite bustling, she took her granddaughter out for a stroll.

As for the driver, he was exhausted from driving these days. After eating and drinking his fill, he wanted to go back to sleep. With permission, he went back to his room to sleep.

"Grandma, the city is so wonderful! Even so late, there are still people doing business. Grandma, it looks like they're selling sugar figurines over there. I'd like to buy a few."

Zhao Qinglin said excitedly.

Huang frowned.

"I think these things are available in our town, right? What, you've never bought them before?"

Zhao Qinglin pursed her lips.

"Oh, don't even mention it. Before, I wanted to buy things but couldn't afford them. Later, when I had money, I was so busy every day that I didn't have time to go shopping."

Then I went home.

When I first returned to the village, the girls there approached me and asked if I had fun in town. I could only nod and say "yes" in a dry, forced tone.

Actually, I really don't know what's so good about the town; it seems to have more houses and they're better built than in our village.

Mrs. Huang listened to her granddaughter's pitiful story.

"Alright, see if there's anything you want to buy, and I'll pay for it."

But don't buy too many of those sugar figurines.

"Just pick a nice-looking one and buy it to satisfy your craving. You can't eat that stuff, and it'll melt and be hard to wash off anywhere."

Zhao Qinglin asked, puzzled.

"Isn't that made of sugar? Why can't we eat it?"

Mrs. Huang was at a loss for words. She really wanted to pry open her granddaughter's head and see if the girl had been blinded by excitement.

"What do we do? We run a food stall."

You know better than anyone how clean our things are.

Look at the hands of that sugar maker, they're so black! And he blows the sugar out of his mouth.

To put it bluntly, his very nature permeates the sugar figurine. How could you bring yourself to eat it?

Zhao Qinglin turned her head to look at the hands that were making sugar figurines, and then looked at the sugar figurine that was being blown.

Zhao Qinglin has lost all desire to buy anything now; the more she looks at it, the dirtier it seems, and the more she thinks about it, the more upset she becomes.

"Grandma, you're so mean."

Buying a sugar figurine has been my childhood dream. And you've ruined it like this! Give me back my perfect sugar figurine…

Huang smiled and, despite Zhao Qinglin's strong reluctance, bought her two sugar figurines.

Holding one in her left hand and one in her right, Zhao Qinglin played with the candy figurines until she was done, then handed them to a little beggar by the roadside.

He squatted down and said,

"Little brother, if you don't mind, you can play with these two sugar figurines."

Why are you here all alone? Where are your family members?

The little beggar took the sugar figurine, thanked him, and

"Sister, I'm a little beggar, I have no home. Why did you ask such a stupid question?"

One sentence left Zhao Qinglin speechless.

Huang laughed and squatted down as well.

"The old woman's surname is Huang. She came to our prefectural city to buy a piece of land from the prefect to build an orphanage."

Sales homes are specifically designed to take in homeless children.

There, they can have food, drink, and books to read. Naturally, when the children learn a skill or grow up, they can work for my family to repay the favor.

Do you have many friends? You can invite them over; Grandma will treat you to steamed buns tonight.

I'll go over to that stall up ahead and ask how many steamed buns they can make tonight.

The little beggar's eyes lit up. "Madam, are you telling the truth?"

Huang nodded.

"Of course it's true. If you don't believe me, go back and tell your friends to come and get some steamed buns."

The orphanage I just told you about wasn't a lie.

My family has already opened a shop in Qingyang County; you'll find out if you ask around.

Tomorrow I will go to the prefectural government office to talk to Lord Duan about this matter. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to see the prefect.

Okay, go find your friends, I'll go order some steamed buns for you guys right now.

After getting a definite answer, the little beggar took off running.

"Little Whirlwind, why are you only just getting back? Did you get anything today? Hurry up and put it in the pot to cook together."

The one speaking was the leader of the group of children.

Because he was so thin, his head looked a bit big, so his younger siblings called him Big Head Brother.

The child nicknamed Little Whirlwind handed over two candy figurines with a grin.

The children were so excited, their mouths were watering!

Some children even remembered that they used to buy sugar figurines when their parents were alive, and they started to cry.

Little Whirlwind never expected that just these two sugar figurines could make everyone cry. He scratched his head.

"Big Head, Little Stone, Green Girl, don't cry, I have good news to tell you..."

So she repeated what Huang had told her.

Big Head is older than the other kids, and he thinks more.

Are you sure this is true?

Cui Niu, He Hua, you're girls, so stay home and don't go out. I'll go with Xiao Xuanfeng and Hu Zi to take a look.

If it's true, let's grab the food first. If they're kidnappers, we can run fast enough. Alright, we're heading out now.

After saying that, he led his group of underlings straight to the location designated by Huang.

The steamed bun vendor had initially thought Huang was lying to him.

How could anyone be so stupid as to invite a group of little beggars to eat? And what happened? More than twenty little beggars showed up.

When Huang saw Little Whirlwind arrive, she said,

"Boss, open the pot. The guests are here, two steamed buns each."

The shop owner, with a blank expression, said, "Okay, I'll get the steamed buns for them right away."

The boss's wife quickly put the freshly made steamed buns into the steamer.

"Children, line up. Each of you can get two steamed buns. Don't rush," said Mrs. Huang.

Big Head, true to his elder brother status, quickly organized the team. Their purpose in coming here was to expose Huang's lies, but it turned out to be true.

After all the children had received their steamed buns, Da Tou came to Huang Shi and bowed to her with his brothers.

Madam Huang accepted the bow.

"Children, my surname is Huang, and my husband's surname is Zhao."

"Your purpose in coming to the prefectural capital has probably been told to you by that young man, right?"