From the time she could remember, Jiang Sheng knew she was an orphan.
She rummaged through the trash, stole dog food, and even broke into people's backyards.
When she was five years old, she went to the kitchen of a wealthy family to steal leftover food. She was discovered by a maid, who called three or five strong men to surround her and beat her severely before throwing her over the mansion wall.
The little girl, whose legs weren't even as long as her own, lay hunched over for three whole days before she recovered.
The first thing I do when I get up is to find something to eat.
Jiang Sheng knew that people could only live if they ate.
At the age of seven, Jiang Sheng learned to find joy in hardship.
Although she had no parents, no one to love her, she could eat at the homes of many, and she could stand on the street and choose whether to go to Li's restaurant to pick up scraps of food or to Zhou's braised meat shop to fight dogs for bones.
After much deliberation, she set her sights on the kitchen of "Yihongyuan," a famous brothel in the city.
Little Jiang Sheng is shrewd. She knows that the guests who go to Yihong Courtyard are not there for the food. They often order a table full of fish and meat, but they don't even touch it much.
After the guests left, the pimp and the maid would first share the more complete parts of the chicken, while the remaining tough parts, such as chicken heads, necks, and feet, would be thrown into a large bucket in the kitchen.
This was a rare delicacy for Jiang Sheng. Every time she ate and drank her fill, she would pick up a bagful and take it home to slowly savor.
"Slurp." Recalling the wonderful memory of gnawing on chicken feet last time, Jiang Sheng slurped her saliva and rubbed her palms together.
Climb over this wall, and you'll find the kitchen of the brothel.
Unfortunately, she wasn't tall enough and could only crawl through a dog hole.
Jiang Sheng lowered her head, trying her best to find the small hole she had entered and exited last time, but she couldn't find it no matter how hard she looked. Oh no, could it have been blocked by someone?
Just as she was feeling troubled, the back door of the brothel suddenly opened, and someone shuffled out.
Xiao Jiang Sheng was so frightened that she quickly curled up in the grass, praying that no one would see her; she didn't want to get beaten up.
Fortunately, the man didn't look in their direction. He just said viciously, "I can't afford to support you, and this brothel can't afford to support you either. Get out of here, and don't tell anyone you know me, and don't come back here."
Something fell to the ground.
Immediately afterwards, the back door opened and closed again, and was bolted shut again.
Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously peeked out, only to see an eight or nine-year-old boy sitting there, dressed in a fine cloth robe, looking bewildered.
Oh, it's because the young master has been abandoned by his family.
Jiang Sheng craned her neck, inexplicably certain that he was very sad.
People who have never had parents don't know how good parents are, so they don't miss their parents.
But if someone who once had a mother's love is then abandoned by her, they must feel an emptiness and sadness in their heart.
It's like... you just picked up a big meat bun, only to have a stray dog jump out and snatch it away.
"Sigh." Jiang Sheng sighed.
The young master turned his gaze towards her, staring blankly, speechless.
Jiang Sheng felt sorry for him, but she couldn't care less about him.
She found the dog hole, right behind the thick grass.
The seven-year-old girl used both her hands and feet to nimbly move into the kitchen and retrieve the fish from a large bucket as tall as a person.
Chicken heads, necks, feet, fish tails—everything edible was scooped out and wrapped in a small cloth.
Jiang Sheng didn't have time to taste it today because a pimp noticed the commotion and came over shouting, "Where did this little thief come from?"
Terrified, she clutched the small rag tightly and ran away as fast as she could.
After passing through the dog hole and crawling into the alley, the young master was still sitting in the same spot.
The pimps were already opening the back door; they were even discussing how to teach the thief a lesson.
Jiang Sheng thought, "The young master is so dazed, he might get beaten to death."
She couldn't bear it, so she rushed over, pulled him up, and ran away.
The pimps were still shouting behind them, but Jiang Sheng, relying on her knowledge of the terrain, first went through three alleys and then four streets, finally managing to shake them off.
Having finally found a quiet corner, Jiang Sheng shook off the young master's hand, fell to the ground, and gasped for breath.
The young master was also panting, but he was more surprised, and his eyes were full of inquiry as he looked at Jiang Sheng.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Jiang Sheng ignored him. She was already hungry and had been running for so long; all she wanted to do was replenish her energy.
Hmm, what should we eat first? Let's start with the fish tail, since it has bones and doesn't keep well.
She picked out the fish tail from the small cloth, carefully sucked off the skin, ate the fish meat, and even sucked on the tail.
The young master watched with wide eyes.
"Are you hungry too?" Jiang Sheng reluctantly handed over a chicken foot. "Eat it, don't waste it."
She wasn't a very generous person, but she knew what it felt like to be hungry. When you're hungry, you feel dizzy, lightheaded, and weak.
After being brutally beaten, during the three days when she was on the verge of death, Jiang Sheng made a wish.
She hopes that no one will ever go hungry again.
She liked the chicken feet very much.
Jiang Sheng stood up and threw away the fish tail, which was so clean that not a single piece of meat could be found.
"Where are you going?" The young master, who was gnawing on a chicken foot, finally spoke, his voice hoarse and indistinct.
Jiang Shengqi was surprised. "Of course, I'll go home."
"Home?" The young master opened his mouth, and suddenly tears streamed down his face. "I have no home anymore."
The boy, barely a teenager, was wailing while clutching a chicken claw.
Jiang Sheng herself had never cried like that.
Holding the leftover food she had collected, she felt a pang of pity for the young master. "Don't cry anymore," she said, "I'll give you half of the family property."
In this way, they all have a home.
The young master slowly stopped crying. "Really?"
"Of course it's true, but my house is a bit run-down, I hope you don't mind." Jiang Sheng had traveled a long way to bring the young master home.
It was called a home, but it was actually just a dilapidated temple.
It had been in disrepair for years, with drafts coming from the east and rain from the west. There were no wooden beds, so everyone slept on the floor.
But for Jiang Sheng, this is her home.
"Now, this is your home too," Xiao Jiang Sheng proudly introduced. "My name is Jiang Sheng, what's your name?"
The young master stared blankly at her. "My name is Zheng Ruqian."
So, from now on, this will be Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian's home.
That evening, Jiang Sheng shared half of the chicken neck with Zheng Ruqian.
Zheng Ruqian took out two gold coins from his pocket. "These are all I have."
Jiang Sheng was immersed in the pain of "having to share half of the food from now on" when she suddenly caught sight of the shimmering golden color and almost jumped up on the spot.
Although she had never owned gold, she had seen guests at the brothel take out ingots of gold, and they were this color.
The little girl imitated the madam and took a bite.
Yes, it really hurts.
For the first time, Jiang Sheng felt that giving away half of her home was not a loss at all. She exchanged a chicken foot and a chicken neck for two gold beans.
“However, we don’t have the ability to protect the gold. We need to hide this money.” Jiang Sheng, like a little adult, wandered around the dilapidated temple.
I don't feel at ease anywhere.
After much thought, it was finally placed at the feet of Buddha.
May Buddha bless us so that the gold will never be lost.
Jiang Sheng kowtowed earnestly, and also prayed that she would always have enough to eat.
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