Chapter 44: Changing Pastries
The moment the old beggar suddenly appeared, Zhang Yunniang immediately pulled Niuniu behind her.
She looked at the old beggar warily and said, "I don't need any secret recipe, old man, please go find someone else."
The old beggar was not surprised by her reaction, he even turned around and prepared to leave.
When it comes to cheating and deceiving, people always choose the right dish according to the circumstances, or they just bully the weak and fear the strong.
Zhang Yunniang and others came here together, and the old beggar would never cheat such people.
His target has always been single women like Xiao Cai. He doesn't ask for much, just enough to feed his children.
Little Cai gave him twenty copper coins, hoping that he would cheat Zhang Yunniang. Who would risk their lives for such a small amount of money? He could just fool around and that was it.
But Niuniu, who was protected by Zhang Yunniang, suddenly poked half of her head out and asked timidly, "Grandpa, do you really have a secret recipe?"
The old beggar saw that the little girl was cute, so he stopped walking, squatted down, and said with a smile: "I have traveled all over the country for many years and have obtained countless secret recipes. If I were not old, I would have started my own business long ago."
Zhang Yunniang frowned slightly when she heard this obvious boast and asked, "Didn't you just say the secret recipe passed down from generation to generation? What does it have to do with traveling around?"
The old beggar paused after hearing this, and quickly changed his tone and said, "I have a secret recipe passed down in my family, and I also have a recipe given by others. Three years ago, I saved a boy who fell into the river, and he gave me a secret recipe. He kowtowed several times and begged me to accept it, saying that this secret recipe is worth ten thousand gold coins. I, an old man, have a lot of old stuff."
Although she didn't know whether it was true or not, Niuniu listened very seriously and asked, "Grandpa, can you show me your secret recipe?"
The old beggar immediately said, "If the secret recipe is shown to others, how can it still be valuable? Little girl, if you don't plan to buy it, don't tease me."
Niuniu hesitated for a moment and said, "Three taels of silver is too expensive. Niuniu doesn't have it."
The old beggar's eyes lit up when he saw that he could make a second order today. Who would refuse the opportunity to make money? He immediately hinted to Niu Niu with his eyes to go and ask Zhang Yuniang for help.
Niu Niu glanced at Zhang Yuniang but didn't say anything.
Zhang Yunniang thought the old man was a liar, but she couldn't help but feel a little distressed when she saw her daughter's appearance, so she said softly: "If you really want to buy it, it's not impossible."
Zhang Yunniang was already prepared to bargain hard and would only offer the old swindler five cents at most.
The old beggar smiled happily on the spot and said, "Little girl, you have good vision. Having a secret recipe is equivalent to learning a craft..."
Listening to his endless words, Niuniu shook her head and said, "I don't want to waste my mother's money."
The old beggar was stunned for a long time before he said, "Little girl, are you kidding me?"
Niuniu asked a little embarrassedly: "Grandpa, can I exchange the flower cake for your secret recipe?"
As she spoke, she took out the bag of pastries that she had just bought.
The old beggar had been on the streets for so long that he had a pair of sharp eyes, so he could naturally recognize that this package of pastries cost about fifty cents.
Although he felt that fifty cents was not worth it to buy a few cakes, he finally came across a fat sheep and it would be a pity if he didn't take advantage of it.
Just eat pastries. It’s a no-cost business anyway, and it’s profitable if it can fill your stomach.
"Okay, give me this bag of cakes and I'll give you a secret recipe that will satisfy you." The old beggar stretched out his dirty hands. He didn't think it was shameful to deceive the little girl.
But before Zhang Yunniang could stop her, Niuniu took the package of cakes into her arms and said very seriously: "Grandpa, my parents and two brothers haven't tasted this cake yet, so I want to save a piece for them all."
Filial children are always liked by others. Although the old beggar was unhappy, he still said, "Then you keep four pieces, how many pieces do you have left?"
"Three pieces." Niu Niu said in a low voice.
The old beggar nodded and said, "Three dollars is three dollars."
But Niuniu still shook her head and said, "I also want to send Aunt Liu and Granny Qian away."
The old beggar asked in disbelief: "Little girl, you are small but you are very good at calculating. This is a secret recipe, a secret recipe worth a million dollars. You want to exchange it for a piece of cake? How dare you?"
Niu Niu looked ashamed when he asked her this question.
Zhang Yunniang, however, knew him well and asked directly, "Do you want to change or not? If not, leave now. If you don't leave, I will call someone to chase you away."
The old beggar hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I'll change!"
Zhang Yuniang had an expression that said, "As expected."
The old beggar was not embarrassed at all. Instead, he asked Niuniu with a smile: "What formula do you want? Pills, plasters, or secret recipes? I even have the recipe for making ink sticks."
Seeing his shameless look, Zhang Yunniang was too lazy to expose him. It was just a piece of cake after all. The whole bag was bought for Niu Niu to eat. Throwing it to the old beggar was just to make the child happy.
Niuniu didn't think this was a joke. Instead, she frowned and thought for a long time before saying, "I want the secret recipe for food."
The old beggar stretched out his hand to ask for cakes, and Niu Niu handed the pink petal-shaped cake to the old beggar with reluctance in her eyes.
After the old beggar put away the cakes, he casually took out a ball of paper from his pocket and handed it over without even looking at it.
Both parties were actually quite satisfied and felt they had gotten a good deal.
"You have good taste, little girl. Next time I find something good, I'll sell it to you!"
After saying this, the old beggar turned around and dived into the crowd, disappearing in a few breaths.
Although Zhang Yunniang felt that she had suffered a loss, she still acted as if nothing had happened. She had no intention of blaming Niu Niu at all and turned around to continue picking vegetables.
Niuniu tried hard to smooth out the paper that the old beggar had balled up, and then held it to Zhang Yuniang eagerly: "Mom, the secret recipe! The secret recipe for food! You and Aunt Liu can use it to start a business!"
Zhang Yunniang, who was picking vegetables, was stunned when she heard this and asked, "Niuniu, did you buy the secret recipe for me?"
Niuniu nodded vigorously and said softly, "Mom, you want to do business, and someone will come to you with the secret recipe immediately. This means God is blessing you!"
Before Zhang Yuniang could say anything, the vegetable vendor spoke up first: "Little girl, that old beggar stops people on this street every day to sell his secret recipe, and from time to time, people who have been deceived come to him to settle accounts. You have been deceived by him!"
When Niu Niu heard this, her face suddenly darkened and tears began to well up in her big dark eyes.
"What a sin! This damn old beggar even cheated a little girl. Why didn't he get struck by lightning?" said the vegetable seller.
At this time, the old beggar who returned to the dilapidated temple felt around, slapped his forehead, and said, "It seems that I gave the wrong secret recipe. How could I have given away the most important one?"
But then I thought, "I won't understand the recipe if I keep it, so I'll just give it to you!"
After saying this, he sneezed several times in succession and couldn't help muttering, "Who is scolding me?"
After a moment, he shook his head again and said, "Forget it, never mind. I cheat people every day, so it's only right that people scold me."
The old beggar took out the flower-shaped cake from his bosom, went to the dirty child lying in the corner of the dilapidated temple, and said, "My little boy, wake up and eat the cake, and your illness will be cured. I picked you up and I am counting on you to take care of me in my old age."
(End of this chapter)
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