Begging is the fastest way to make money in the world.
If it was Xia Tong who had just run away from home, he might have believed it directly.
But he's different now! He's Niu Hulu Xia Tong! He's been out there for so long! He's been through so many ups and downs! He's not as easy to fool as he was before!
"Is this true?" Xia Tong expressed some doubt. "Then why don't you go beg for food?"
The stall owner glared at him: "...You've even learned to talk back, haven't you??"
Xia Tong: “Hmm!”
The stall owner pinched his throat and imitated him: "You just said, 'Uncle, teach me how to do it, I will learn it now!'"
Maybe she was annoyed by him, but Xia Tong pouted in frustration, "How could I say that..." He sighed, looking helpless, and turned away, "Okay, then I'll go now."
"Hey, don't run too far! Ask right next to my stall so I can see you. Don't try to sneak away, okay? My old legs can run faster than the urban management!" The stall owner raised his voice and said, "Twenty yuan! When you get it, it's settled!"
Xia Tong nodded obediently, then dragged a small stool and sat down properly not far from the fried skewers stall. She placed the big iron rice bowl in front of her and officially started her journey of begging.
At night, people were coming and going, and business was booming, but the stall owner was very skilled in frying the skewers, and he even had some time to daydream in the middle of the process. He used this time to glance at the little boy begging for food sitting not far away.
With a big rice bowl and a small stool, the little boy didn't say anything, but just looked at the people coming and going with his innocent and smart big eyes. He looked at others but others didn't know what he was doing. At most, they would respond with a smile or a flying kiss because he looked cute. The scene was both desolate and silly.
The stall owner suddenly felt a bit malicious and stopped doing business. He took out a whiteboard and a few oil-based pens from the bottom of his metal cart and walked leisurely to Xia Tong's side.
As expected, the rice bowl in front of Xia Tong was empty. The stall owner sneered and said, "If you're so unwilling to open your mouth and shout, you may not even get 20 yuan by tomorrow morning."
"Open your mouth and shout?" Xia Tong raised her head blankly.
"Yes, you have to have a reason to beg for food or money, right? Otherwise, why would they give you the money they worked hard to earn for free?" said the stall owner.
Xia Tong thought about it and nodded: "What you said makes sense. Should I tell them that I didn't bring any money for the fried skewers?"
"Do you think this excuse deserves a beating?" asked the stall owner.
Xia Tong thought about it again and felt even more aggrieved: "I deserve a beating, because it was my own fault that I didn't bring any money."
"That's right." said the stall owner.
"What should we do then?" Xia Tong asked helplessly.
"So you have to come up with a good reason! Make people give you money willingly." The stall owner said: "Have you ever watched costume dramas?"
"No." Xia Tong shook her head.
"You know, there's that kind of scene all the time." The stall owner enthusiastically pulled a small stool over, sat down next to Xia Tong, and began to demonstrate: "It's like that on the busy street, a poor girl dressed in mourning clothes, with a straw hat on her head, and a white cloth spread out in front of her, with four big words written on it in red pen - Selling herself to bury her father!"
Xia Tong: “?”
Stall owner: "Oh of course, I didn't mean to curse your father."
Xia Tong shook her head: "It's okay, I don't have a father anyway."
Stall owner: “Ah…”
Xia Tong: "I don't have a mother either, don't be afraid."
The corner of the stall owner's mouth twitched: "...I can't believe you're in such a miserable state."
Xia Tong didn't think it was a big deal, and continued to ask, "Sell yourself to bury your father, and then what?"
"And then? Then a great knight would pass by, take pity on her miserable plight," the stall owner continued, his voice cadenced, "and pay for her coffin and funeral expenses, and then a beautiful story would be created!"
Xia Tong's expression of bewilderment grew even more intense: "So?"
"So, the essence of begging lies in two words: playing the victim!" The stall owner said passionately: "Look! I've brought you the props!"
Xia Tong blinked and watched the stall owner pull out a whiteboard and a bunch of colorful oil-based pens from under his butt like a magician waving a flag.
"What's this for?" he asked.
"Play the victim! Make up a miserable story for you." The stall owner wrote frantically on the whiteboard with a flourish of his brush. "That way, people will see your pity and naturally give you money!"
Xia Tong asked in confusion: "Is this considered cheating?"
The stall owner paused, then said shamelessly: "How can starting a business be called a scam?"
Xia Tong was confused: "...How did it become a startup again?"
"I mean, pay back the debt! Pay back the debt!" The stall owner coughed and said, "Aren't you going to pay back my debt?"
The owner of the spicy hot pot stall across the street suddenly sneered loudly and said sarcastically, "Little boy! This old jerk is full of evil intentions! He's trying to trick you!"
"Get lost! Go sell your gutter oil spicy hot pot!" the stall owner roared, and patted Xia Tong on the head: "What's your name?"
"Xia Tong, Xia of summer, Tong of pupil."
"Your eyes are indeed very beautiful." The stall owner said something that was very inconsistent with his temperament, and then he began to write furiously, and soon wrote a full "obituary" on the whiteboard.
"All we need is a title." He pointed to the blank space at the top and said, "You have neither a father nor a mother, so who is the person you are closest to?"
"The closest one..." Xia Tong pointed a finger at her chin and thought for a moment before saying, "It's the captain of our team!"
"Oh~~Captain!" The stall owner seemed to be thinking about something, then he wrote with a big brush "Selling myself to bury the captain" in a conspicuous place!
"From now on! You must truly believe it! Your beloved captain! He's passed away!" The stall owner shoved the whiteboard into Xia Tong's arms and said earnestly: "You must immerse yourself in that sorrow! Only then will others believe that you are truly miserable! And not just trying to scam people out of money! The performance must be real! It must be natural! You must convince yourself first! Only then can you convince the audience!"
Xia Tong: “…”
The stall owner continued with great emotion: "Think about it! That captain who cared about you so much! He showed up when you needed help the most! He comforted you when you were most sad! He was your safe haven! He guided you on your path to growth! But he was so unfortunate! Ah! Because of an unexpected illness! He passed away! From now on! You will never see his vibrant face again! You will never hear his deep, magnetic voice again! You will never be able to hold his warm, strong hand again—"
Maybe what he said was too close to reality. Xia Tong somehow remembered Lin Mingfei sitting alone in front of the table that night, preparing some eye drops.
At that time, he felt that Lin Mingfei was standing on a steep cliff, about to fall, but there were thousands of mountains and rivers between him and Lin Mingfei, and he could not cross it no matter how hard he tried, and it was futile to try to stop her.
He didn't find a way to get into the Alpha's heart, nor could he help in any way. If he continued to be useless, he would really lose the Alpha he loved at any time.
The more he thought about it, the more real it became, and the sadder he became. The feeling of emptiness, bitterness, and loneliness was unbearable. Xia Tong burst into tears instantly, "Woo-wah--" tears fell like beads with broken string.
The stall owner was very excited: "Yes, yes! This is exactly what we want! I want tears that are so real. Come on, sit back down and hold on to the billboard. You are the rising star of the film industry!"
Lin Mingfei carried a gas canister across the crowded food court and stopped in front of the sign for "Lao Gu Fried Skewers." He deftly unloaded the heavy canister from his shoulder and helped Gu Dongsheng replace the empty canister whose counter had been reset to zero.
Gu Dongsheng was the godfather he recognized when he was young and ignorant. He was a famous film director in the 1980s. He made many well-received and highly-rated films. He was talented, but also a bit crazy. Because of his tough personality, he had a group of enemies in the circle. Later, he retired from the film industry in anger and started selling fried skewers instead, because selling fried skewers gave him freedom.
It is quite free, the kind of freedom where you can curse at someone in the street if you are unhappy with them.
That's right, tonight, this eccentric godfather left his keys at home, and the gas tank was not full, so he had to call Lin Mingfei, who had just fallen asleep, for help in the middle of the night. This really brought the absurdity of filmmakers to the extreme.
Gu Dongsheng, holding a toothpick in his mouth, leaned over and watched Lin Mingfei change the gas tank. He smiled and said, "When you were in school, you broke into the house and picked the locks. I beat you with a stick a lot. Now look, hey! You have a skill that is quite useful! Hey! My godson has grown up! The saying of raising a son to provide for your old age is really true!"
"You've got more and more dramas coming your way, so you should just continue being a big director. Why are you selling fried skewers?" Lin Mingfei rolled her eyes at him. "Also, remember to bring your keys next time. I'll be very busy and won't have time to help you with these trivial matters."
"I understand." Gu Dongsheng said indifferently.
Lin Mingfei tilted her head and saw a crowd of people gathered not far away. "What's going on over there? Is someone causing trouble or something?"
"No!" Gu Dongsheng was quite excited when he mentioned this. His eyes lit up slightly and he nudged Lin Mingfei with his elbow. "Hey, let me tell you, Zero. Today I caught a little boy eating and drinking for free. He looked silly, but he was pretty. I wanted to teach him a lesson, and I was itching to show off my skills, so I staged a heartbreaking drama for him! His crying was so real - you should go and see it! It's absolutely eye-catching!"
"Are you crazy?" Lin Mingfei looked at Gu Dongsheng as if he was a psychopath, but was forcibly pushed away by Gu Dongsheng.
"Make way, make way!"
The crowd was pushed aside, and Lin Mingfei's ears were filled with the heated discussions of passers-by. Some were wondering if this was performance art, some said that the little boy was so damn cute and cried like a tearful pear blossom, and some said that the child might have been cheated and the police should be called. Then he saw a familiar figure sitting on the ground.
"Xia Tong?" he blurted out, his pupils shaking violently.
The crowd was noisy, and the little Omega obviously didn't hear what he said. He was still sobbing with real emotion. In front of him was a clanging iron rice bowl, and in his arms was a whiteboard covered with slogans.
The big words "Selling myself to bury the captain" suddenly caught my eye!
Lin Mingfei: “………???”
"Look at that crying scene! What a great scene!" Gu Dongsheng exclaimed beside him, "He's the rising star, Zero! I almost believe he has a dying old captain!"
Lin Mingfei: “…”
It goes without saying that the inexperienced Xia Xiaotong has been fooled again.
And his godfather is worthy of being his godfather.
He wanted to cheat a couple and even spared his godson.
The author has something to say: Lin Mingfei: He really died on the spot.
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