The Beggar's New Clothes
After eating a bowl of hot porridge, Ling Xiuqing felt that her frozen limbs had finally warmed up, and a long-lost strength surged in her body.
Steward Wang didn't leave immediately. Instead, he stood by, watching with interest as she slowly finished her bowl of porridge. The more he watched, the more he felt that this orphan was extraordinary. What ordinary beggar wouldn't wolf down their food, fearing it might be snatched away? Yet, her every move exuded a calmness and refinement that seemed out of place in this place.
"Girl, your skills are pretty good. What's your name?" Manager Wang asked.
"A Xiu." Ling Xiuqing replied, her voice still calm.
"A nice name." Steward Wang nodded. "My last name is Wang, and I'm the steward of this porridge stall. I see you're so young and frail, and it's not a good idea for you to stay out all the time. How about this: you come to the porridge stall and help out, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, and I'll take care of your three meals a day. How about that?"
A low commotion and envious chatter erupted from the crowd queuing around them. Being able to find work in the porridge stall meant no longer having to endure hunger and cold; for these low-class refugees, it was a godsend.
Ling Xiuqing knew that the other party was interested in her craftsmanship and wanted to recruit her for his own use. This was exactly the opportunity she had been waiting for.
"Thank you, Manager Wang." She didn't refuse too much and agreed to it.
Manager Wang nodded with satisfaction and told a waiter to take her to the utility room behind the porridge shed.
Although the utility room was simple, it could at least shelter her from the wind and rain. Ling Xiuqing finally had a temporary place to stay.
She stayed in the porridge shed for the next few days. During the day, she worked diligently on odd jobs, not saying much, but her hands and feet were very nimble, which made the workers, who had originally been a little reluctant to exclude her, gradually accept her.
But her fame spread in the slums in an unexpected way.
The cause was an old beggar who had lived in a dilapidated temple in the south of the city for decades.
The old beggar was a celebrity in the area, not because of anything else, but because of his tattered cotton-padded jacket, a family heirloom. The jacket had been worn for decades, covered in patches and patches, its color faded, and in winter, it leaked air everywhere, not keeping him warm at all.
That day, the old beggar was so cold that he couldn't stand it anymore. He heard about the miraculous story of Ah Xiu exchanging a piece of rag for a bowl of good porridge, so he took his tattered cotton jacket to Ah Xiu with the mentality of giving it a try.
"Girl... please help me warm up, it's too cold..." the old beggar said tremblingly.
The guys around laughed and said, "Old Zhang, your clothes are almost torn into strips. Even a god can't mend them!"
Ling Xiuqing took the cotton-padded jacket that was almost falling apart. She didn't mind the dirt and odor, but just looked at it carefully for a moment.
Then she said to the old beggar, "I can mend it, but I need some colorful threads."
The old beggar was in a dilemma. Where could he find the colored thread?
At this time, Manager Wang came over. He seemed to want to see Ah Xiu's skills with his own eyes, so he ordered someone to go to the cloth shop and buy a few bundles of the cheapest multicolored threads.
So, in the corner of the porridge shed, Ah Xiu began an amazing creation.
She did not simply sew up the holes like ordinary people would do. Instead, she used the entire cotton jacket as a canvas and the holes as a starting point to begin her own conception.
Her needlework was so fast that it was dazzling, and colorful silk threads shuttled through her fingertips like a painter's brush.
An hour later, when she stopped sewing, everyone around her was stunned.
The tattered cotton jacket now looked brand new. All the holes were cleverly patched up, and on the front and back, where the damage was most severe, two exquisite patterns suddenly appeared.
On the chest is a painting of "Magpie on Plum Blossom Tree", in which the magpie is lively and the plum blossom is proud, both of them are lifelike.
On the back, there is a painting of "Carp Leaping Over the Dragon Gate". The carp's scales are gleaming in the light, as if they are about to break through the clothes at any time.
How could this be just a tattered cotton-padded jacket? This is clearly a work of art that is incredibly well-made!
The old beggar was so moved that he burst into tears. He took the clothes tremblingly, looking at them over and over again, and kept muttering to himself, "God! It's really a god's trick!"
He carefully put the cotton-padded jacket on and immediately felt different. Not only did the jacket no longer leak air, but wearing it actually gave this old beggar a sense of dignity.
From then on, he was reluctant to wear this "new clothes" to beg. He treasured this "artwork" and only took it out to dry in the sun when the weather was best, which made the beggars around him envious.
This matter spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred.
"A fairy who can embroider has come to the porridge stall!"
"She can turn rags into dragon robes!"
Ah Xiu's fame spread throughout the lower classes of the southern city. Every day, people would come to her with their own rags and rags, begging her to "turn stone into gold."
Ling Xiuqing accepted everyone, but she had her own rules. She only accepted a minimal fee for thread or a few steamed buns. She wasn't greedy; she wanted to hone her body's feel and make the name "A Xiu" known to more people.
She was waiting, waiting for an opportunity that would allow her to truly get out of this quagmire.
And this opportunity came soon.
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