The man looked at him and said, "You can get to know other people first."

The man called a child over and asked him to introduce them, then went outside.

Upon hearing this, the other little beggars gathered around, introducing themselves enthusiastically, a stark contrast to their earlier demeanor.

There are eleven children in the temple, the oldest being thirteen and the youngest five, seven boys and four girls.

"My name is Wang Er. What's your name? I'll take you to the city to beg. Don't be afraid. We'll take care of you."

"Is this your sister? She's so cute!"

Seeing Qi Nuan smile at them, Jiang Yu felt a little uncomfortable and turned Qi Nuan's face towards her. "Don't touch her, she's shy."

She wasn't shy at all. Qi Nuan thought that they would be living here in the future, so of course they had to get along well with these friends.

"My name is Jiang Yu, I'm nine years old, this is my little sister Xiao Niba, and who is that uncle?"

"We all call him Big Beard, he's very capable..."

Qi Nuan listened attentively to the little beggars, trying her best to gather useful information.

The man who just arrived here two years ago drove away all the other beggars in the temple and lived here alone. He never went out to beg and slept all day.

At first, Wang Er and his group tentatively lived near the temple, and seeing that he didn't react much, they gradually moved in.

The bearded man didn't say anything.

One day, when some beggars tried to drive Wang Er and his group out and take over their territory, the bearded man got angry and beat them all up.

He also said that no one else was allowed to live there, except for children under the age of fifteen, who had to keep quiet and give him 30% of the money they collected each day.

These little beggars were very happy. With the big-bearded man protecting them, the other beggars didn't dare to bully them.

But they were also afraid of the bearded man, and a fourteen-year-old beggar who lived with them often bullied the other beggars in secret.

He took all their money for himself, and because he was taller, the other beggars didn't dare to say anything.

Until the bearded man discovered him, he broke the man's hand and kicked him out.

From then on, the little beggars living here dared not do anything sneaky anymore.

After figuring out the situation, Jiang Yu found a secluded corner, cleaned it up, and then put Qi Nuan on the ground to change her diaper.

Qi Nuan felt a little embarrassed, but she was used to it now.

A short while later, the bearded man returned, carrying a bowl in his hand.

"This is goat milk, feed it to your sister."

The bearded man handed the bowl to Jiang Yu, and before he could speak, he turned and went back to the corner.

Jiang Yu hesitated for a moment, but still fed the milk to Qi Nuan.

The goat's milk smelled fishy, ​​but Qi Nuan was very happy. This bearded man looked like a legendary master, and perhaps Jiang Yu's luck would turn around.

Time passed little by little. Jiang Yu would go out with these little beggars every morning and return at night.

Sometimes he would be injured, but the bearded man never interfered with their affairs outside.

Apart from the bowl of goat milk on the first day, they didn't offer them any help or say anything to them.

He only fed Qi Nuan when Jiang Yu went out.

Qi Nuan also behaved very well. When she was hungry or needed to pee, she would just whimper a couple of times and rarely cried.

However, Qi Nuan would pester Big Beard. Big Beard was a good person, but he always felt detached from the people in the temple.

Aside from dealing with people who came to cause trouble, he usually slept in his corner and didn't go out begging. He ate food brought back by other little beggars.

Aside from spending money on Qi Nuan, all of Jiang Yu's earnings were stored in Qi Nuan's personal space.

Qi Nuan was over a year old that year. She started learning to walk and talk, and she always felt a sense of urgency when she thought of the famine in the book.

She slowly crawled to the bearded man's side, tugged at his clothes, and cried out.

She gestured to the bearded man that she wanted to walk and asked him to lead her.

The bearded man glanced at her, then stood up helplessly and took her hand. He wondered if all children were like that, so full of energy.

With a thud, Qi Nuan fell down again. She had lost count of how many times she had fallen since she started walking.

A figure rushed over and hugged him tightly.

"Little Muddy is learning to walk again, that's great!"

Jiang Yu is ten years old this year. Although they don't have much food now, he has grown a lot more than before.

Seeing that Jiang Yu had returned, the bearded man naturally went back to his corner.

Qi Nuan held Jiang Yu's hand, "Learn..."

Then she pointed to the bearded man. She knew that the bearded man was very skilled in martial arts and could read. Sometimes the bearded man would hold a book and read it, but Qi Nuan did not recognize traditional Chinese characters and did not know what kind of book it was.

But she knew that the bearded man was definitely not a simple person, and more importantly, she wanted Jiang Yu to learn something.

Yes, they all knew how powerful the bearded man was, and it wasn't like no one had asked him to teach them martial arts, but he had refused them all.

However, Qi Nuan didn't want to give up so easily.

Therefore, whenever Jiang Yu returned, she would instruct him to seek out a master to learn martial arts.

Although Qi Nuan couldn't speak, strangely enough, Jiang Yu could understand what she was trying to say.

Looking at the boy holding Qi Nuan.

The bearded man said, "You really want to become my disciple?"

Jiang Yu knelt down, his eyes filled with unwavering determination.

"Please accept me as your disciple. I am willing to serve you as a father."

Looking at the brother and sister in front of him, the bearded man actually disliked Jiang Yu. Judging from this young man, he was capable and intelligent, but his character was hard to fathom.

In less than a year, the children in the temple took him as their leader, and were even somewhat afraid of him.

However, looking back over the past year, he has taken meticulous care of Xiao Niba, far more than himself, which shows that he is a kind and righteous person.

Moreover, he couldn't bear to let the child's talent go to waste.

This child is frighteningly intelligent; he only made a few moves, but the child was able to imitate his actions exactly.

The important thing is that he had seen him learning to write, practicing on the ground with a twig every day.

If properly taught, they can become great talents.

Life is only a few decades long, so why worry about the future? How much worse can things get?

“I can teach you, but you don’t have to call me your teacher. I will teach you everything I know, but how much you learn depends on your own ability.”

He glanced at the other children in the temple; their eyes were filled with longing.

No one understood the importance of learning better than them, and no one ever wanted to be a beggar, but they were all afraid of the bearded man.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "When I teach him, you can listen in from the side."

The bearded man thought to himself that he was a kind person after all, and his master had decreed that he could only take one disciple, so he wasn't breaking the rules.