When Mr. Xunmei returned, he saw that his beloved student looked listless. He didn't say anything, assigned Sanlang some homework after dinner, and then went back to his room to rest.
Saburo was reciting his lessons under the oil lamp, but his mind kept wandering.
Brother Stone is going out to buy seafood for the evening market. He received a lot of orders today, and he doesn't know if he can buy that much.
We're running out of seasonings too, I need to write them down and go buy them tomorrow.
Early in the morning, the two brothers disappeared again.
As Mr. Xunmei looked at Sanlang's homework from the previous night, his expression gradually darkened.
If he didn't know what those two kids were doing, he wouldn't be worthy of being a teacher.
He'd like to see how long he can hold out!
"Delicious and fresh seafood in broth, don't miss it!" The clear children's voice always attracts a few glances on the street.
It can also attract shady street thugs.
Several homeless children who have been active here for a long time have been eyeing Sanlang and Shitou since yesterday.
They were all teenagers, the oldest being two years older than Shi Tou, and there were many of them.
When the five ragged children surrounded him, Stone knew he was in trouble.
He concealed the money pouch tightly on his person, pulled Sanlang behind him, and said with a fierce but weak expression, "What do you want?"
The boy in the lead walked over, squatted down, picked up a shrimp, popped it into his mouth, chewed it, and smiled with satisfaction.
"We don't need anything. We brothers are starving. We haven't eaten for days and we'd like to ask you for some money to fill our stomachs."
Stone frowned deeply. "No money! You'd better leave now, or I'll call the constables on patrol!"
The boy remained unmoved, and with a wave of his hand, the other children gathered around.
"If you know what's good for you, hand it over right now, or I guarantee you won't be able to take a single penny back today!"
Stone rolled up his sleeves, ready to fight, when a small hand grabbed him from behind.
Saburo emerged from under the stone's armpit, silently glanced at the homeless children, sighed, and took out a few pieces of steamed cake from his pocket, handing them over.
"Little brothers, have some snacks to fill your stomachs first. I'll give each of you a bowl of seafood in broth. You can eat first, and if you're still hungry, Brother Stone and I will go buy some steamed buns and dumplings later."
The boy glanced at the snacks in Saburo's hand, took them, and tossed them to a few of the younger ones beside him.
Saburo served each child a bowl of seafood, and they took it, squatted down, and wolfed it down, even drinking the broth clean.
"He's a sensible person, so I'll take half the money from you!" The boy smiled contentedly, holding the seafood as he sat down next to the rock.
Saburo squeezed through the crowd and sat down with the boy, saying with a hint of embarrassment, "Little brother, this won't do! Even if I give you all my money, you won't have enough for more than a few days, and there are so many of you!"
One of the younger ones is still coughing and will probably need to take medicine.
The boy glanced at him, then turned his back to him.
Saburo moved closer, blinked his bright black eyes at the boy, and said, "You're their older brother, so you should think of a way! I'll give you some money first, go get some medicine for that little brother, and buy some food. Come back to me tomorrow, and we'll figure something out together."
The boy was drinking his soup and nearly choked. He coughed a few times, glared at Saburo, and asked, "You mean, we can come back to see you again tomorrow?"
Saburo nodded, "That's right! It's getting late, we should head back after we sell these."
The boy was still coughing. "We robbed...cough cough, of your money. You dare to come back tomorrow? Cough cough, you dare to make me come looking for you?"
Saburo patted the boy on the back and said, "I'm not robbing you. I'm just giving you some money to buy medicine. I'll bring you some pastries tomorrow, and then I'll think of a way to find you some work. You can't rely on robbing to make a living, can you? If you could really rob someone, you wouldn't have gone without food for days."
The boy chuckled twice, gestured to indicate Sanlang's height, and put his hand on Sanlang's shoulder, saying disdainfully, "A little brat like you, yet you dare to boast about helping us find work, hahaha!"
Saburo pursed his lips and slapped the hand away unhappily. "Don't Brother Stone and I also make money here by doing business? You both have hands and feet, and you're even older than me. Why can't you work to support yourselves? Isn't it better for everyone to make money together?"
The boy's eyes widened suddenly. "You mean...?"
Just then, a customer came over to inquire about the price, and Sanlang pulled the boy back, saying, "Don't block the customer's way. Don't all stand here. Go over there and stand properly."
The boy waved silently, and the group of boys obediently followed him to the place Saburo had designated.
What happened just now was like a minor incident. While Shi Tou was still worried, San Lang was already shouting as if nothing had happened.
"The last few pounds of seafood in broth are left! First come, first served, we'll close up shop once they're gone!"
When the last serving of seafood was sold, Sanlang opened his money bag in front of everyone and poured out a pile of money without counting it, presenting it all to the boy.
"Here, take these. Use them to get medicine for your little brother first. I'll keep the rest for my sister."
The boy stared blankly at the handful of copper coins in his palm, his eyes filled with a rather indescribable expression.
"Brother Stone's snacks are so delicious! I'll bring you some tomorrow so you won't go hungry. And remember, come early tomorrow, or you won't be able to find me if you're too late!"
"What's your name?" the boy asked again, his tone now different.
"My name is Jiao Xian, my nickname is Sanlang, you can call me Sanlang! We have to go back now, goodbye big brother."
As he spoke, Saburo pulled up the stone, ignoring the boy's reaction, and left on his own with the basket.
After walking quite a distance, Stone looked back to make sure no one was following him before letting out a long sigh of relief.
"You scared me to death! Sanlang, you're really amazing. You got rid of them so easily. I thought we were going to lose everything today!"
"Are they really all children without parents?" Saburo's focus was clearly not on that.
Stone nodded nonchalantly, “There are plenty of beggars in Yuzhou City, and many of them are refugees from other places. After their parents died, they were left with only children, so they became wandering orphans. I was picked up by you at the city gate!”
Saburo paused, looking at the stone in surprise.
Shi Tou scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, and said, "When I was four years old, my mother took me here to escape famine. When we arrived in Yuzhou, she was already dying. Before she died, she met the Master, and that's how he took me in and raised me!"
Saburo nodded thoughtfully, then grabbed Stone's hand. "Brother Stone, let's help them!"
Stone was somewhat bewildered. He himself had been picked up and raised by the master. He couldn't possibly pick up a few more and have the master raise them, could he? Wouldn't that be inappropriate?
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