Chapter 376 Nothing Is Easy

There are four cities in Chang'an. As Chang'an has become more and more prosperous in recent years, Jingzhao Yin has gradually increased its efforts in urban planning. The four cities in Chang'an that were originally confused have gradually become separated. For example, the North City is generally focused on the trade of bulk goods. The largest brothel in Chang'an is in the East City. The West City is dominated by some elegant restaurants and teahouses. Of course, there are restaurants and teahouses in every city, but the West City is relatively high-end, and it only faces officials, scholars, Rich businessmen are those who can afford big money.

As for Nanshi, it is a little less elegant than the other three cities, but has more fireworks. It is also the largest place among the four cities. The food here is mainly snacks, including roadside buns, noodles, Various foods such as steamed cakes and sweet cakes are not expensive and taste good.

The area where most beggars live is also in Nanshi, which is also Lu Bu's favorite place to come on weekdays. The other three cities do not have the fireworks of Nanshi.

When the sun was high in the sky, Ma Chao was so hungry that he couldn't walk. Looking at the various kinds of food on the roadside, the greedy worm in his belly couldn't help but urge him to look for food. However, Ma Chao was penniless and wanted to eat but couldn't. He just stared at it. His eyes were a little bright as he looked at the food.

"Are you going to buy it or not?" The short man selling steamed cakes saw Ma Chao staring at this place for a long time, but refused to buy it. He didn't say anything after asking several times. He gradually became impatient and spoke in an authentic Sichuan language. accent said.

Ma Chao licked his lips and shook his head silently. The words for food came to his throat several times, but in the end he did not say them out.

Although his clothes were rough, his skin was fair and he didn't look like a beggar. Naturally, no one took him for a beggar.

Gululu~

With a muffled sound in his stomach, Ma Chao turned around and prepared to leave. The longer he stayed here, the hungrier he became.

Ma Chao wandered aimlessly in Nanshi, stopping several times, but never said anything about begging. Finally, Ma Chao found a place to sit down and bask in the sun.

After being hungry for a while, he was finally no longer so hungry. Ma Chao just closed his eyes and fell asleep after a while. He slept until the evening, when he fetched water from a well in Fangshi and drank as much as he could. This first day in the city has finally passed.

Maybe I can survive a month like this. The Lord doesn't seem to have said how he will spend this month.

After comforting himself in this way, Ma Chao did not go to the temple where he offered sacrifices. He just lay down on the corner of the street and slept all night. It was much colder here than in the temple, and since he had not eaten for a day, he did not sleep soundly.

On the second day, Ma Chao, who just drank a lot of water, felt a little weak all over, and his nose was filled with the fragrant aroma coming from all around. He mustered up the courage several times to beg, but in the end he couldn't save his face, so he was in the sun again. After sleeping in it for a day, it was really comfortable to sleep in the sun.

He was beaten by Ma Chao on the second day, but on the third day, he really couldn't stand it anymore. The feeling of hunger in the house made him want to eat when he saw everyone, and his remaining sanity prevented him from doing anything to snatch it. action.

Walking on the street in a daze, suddenly, a stall attracted Ma Chao's attention. Several diners paid and left, but there was still a lot of uneaten food on the table. Ma Chao's eyes shone, and he went up to pick up the remaining food and eat it. .

"Who are you? Who asked you to eat?" The waiter was about to clean up when he saw a beggar suddenly rushing out to eat. He was immediately dissatisfied and reached out to drive him away.

"Sigh." The owner of the shop stopped him. This is a big restaurant in Nanshi. The owner of the shop is from Bingzhou. He is tall and quite bold: "I don't think this little brother is either." You must be a beggar in trouble. I happen to be short of a waiter here. If you don’t give up, little brother, I can help you here for a few days. Not only will I provide you with two meals a day, but also give you fifteen coins a day."

Ma Chao found with some shame that he was actually moved. After all, after Fu Bo, the son-in-law of the current Taiwei would be moved by the idea of ​​two meals a day plus fifteen five-baht coins!

Who would believe it?

But Lu Bu made it clear that he was only allowed to beg and not work. Ma Chao's heartbeat was suppressed, he grabbed four buns and ran away.

"Oh, you are robbing someone, stop here, otherwise I will report you to the police!" The clerk was furious and wanted to chase him, but was stopped by the boss.

"That's all, I just came here to eat the leftovers. I didn't make any rude requests. They are probably from a noble family in trouble. They are not fresh. They will be honest in a few days. If you are not busy in the future, just take your time to clean them up. If he wants to come, let him eat. Just save it." The boss shook his head.

"You said these scholars are the same. They are young, strong, and have hands and feet. Without their family background, they seem to be unable to do anything." The clerk complained while cleaning up.

The boss shook his head and sighed: "Easier said than done?"

Ma Chao ran like crazy, stuffing buns into his mouth until the last one was stuffed in. Seeing that no one was chasing him, the people around him subconsciously avoided it, and then he sat silently on the side of the road, chewing in his mouth. The steamed stuffed buns, but the eyes are a little sore.

In the next two days, Ma Chao would wander there every day. When he saw someone had leftover food, he would go up to grab it, but the waiter didn't chase him away. This discovery made it difficult for Ma Chao to go there again.

After eating for two consecutive days, Ma Chao didn't feel as uncomfortable as the previous two days, but he still liked to bask in the sunniest place.

"Tsk~" A familiar voice sounded. Ma Chao looked up and narrowed his eyes. It was Dian Wei and a man with a leopard head and ringed eyes who were looking at him with disgust. The lord once said that you can't meet people you know. Now, I wanted to avoid it.

"What do you think is wrong with this young man now? He has hands and feet, but he is just a beggar. Anyone who works harder in Chang'an city will not be hungry. I can tell you, Yide, when you see those old and young, It’s just food, but young people like this deserve to starve to death, so don’t give it to them!” Dian Wei stopped Zhang Fei’s hand from giving the food.

But it was Dian Wei who took Zhang Fei to visit the market. Zhang Fei saw a beggar and couldn't help but wanted to give him something, but Dian Wei stopped him.

What does Dianwei mean? Could it be that the master wanted him to pretend he didn't see him?

Ma Chao looked puzzled as Dian Wei dragged another man away cursing, with a look of confusion on his face.

He subconsciously touched his face, but felt that it was greasy and there were stubble pricking his hands. Ma Chao was stunned and quickly looked for a place with water. He stared at the reflection in the water, but he saw unkempt hair and unkempt beard. Where could he find anything? The style of Jin Ma Chao in the past?

Not to mention Dian Wei, even his own father might not be able to recognize him now.

Ma Chao suddenly smiled bitterly, why did he inexplicably end up like this? Why did the Lord let himself beg?

Although he was puzzled, probably because no one would recognize him, he felt inexplicably cheerful. He had seen other beggars begging for food in the past two days, so he found a broken bowl and a place to sit down. If you can't talk to someone directly, you can only lower your head and pick up the bowl. When someone comes over, you will lower your head and say some nice words. But after half a day, someone will throw him a five-baht coin.

And the only five baht money was taken away by a passerby.

Ma Chao was furious and wanted to get up to argue, but was stopped by a beggar passing by.

"To be a beggar, you must have the consciousness to be a beggar. I've been watching you for a long time. How can I beg like you?" The beggar frowned and looked at Ma Chao.

Ma Chao recognized this man as the beggar who wanted to teach him a lesson outside the temple that day. He didn't seem to recognize himself at the moment. He sat down next to him and sighed: "How about calling me big brother and I will teach you how to beg?" "

"You still need to learn this thing?" Ma Chao said disdainfully.

"Hey~" The beggar was unhappy: "Watch it!"

After saying that, he took Ma Chao's broken bowl, knelt on the ground with a bang, and started sobbing softly. When an old man passed by, he saw that he was crying pitifully and threw a copper coin to him.

"Dear fellow villagers, I have encountered a famine and am living in Guanzhong. My father is dead, my mother is dead, my wife who depends on me is gone, and now I still have a son who is seriously ill. I beg you, fellow citizens..."

After all the misfortune, Ma Chao believed it and even felt a little guilty. The beggar soon collected more than 20 yuan. Ma Chao was a little stunned when he saw it. It wasn't until there were fewer people around that he took Ma Chao to another place. .

"How?" the beggar said with a smile.

Ma Chao looked at him doubtfully: "Are you a liar?"

"How can you call it a lie? My parents did die long ago." The beggar shrugged and said, "It was just many years ago."

"Then your son..." Ma Chao frowned.

"My mother-in-law is watching at home. In a few years, I want to see if I can send him to school. After all, this bowl of rice is not a glorious job. If possible, I don't want him to eat it." The beggar sighed.

"It's still a lie from afar." Ma Chao said disdainfully.

"What else? If I were the same age as you, I would also be a regular businessman, but now, I have no capital for small business. If I work, I may not be able to make money as quickly as this beggar."

Ma Chao stared at him in surprise: "Is this a quick way to make money?"

"It definitely won't work like you." The beggar supported his arm on one leg and straightened the other leg. He looked at Ma Chao and said with a smile, "How about it? I'll teach you how to beg. From now on, I'll share 30% of the money you get every day!"

Ma Chao frowned and wanted to refuse, but he hesitated and nodded. Lu Bu wouldn't let him do anything else, but there seemed to be ways to be a beggar, but he had never heard of it. There were still more than twenty days, and he really I don’t want to go hungry anymore, and besides, I can learn a new ability.

"Okay, today I will teach you how to get started in the beggar's trade." The beggar said with a smile.

"Getting started?" Ma Chao looked at himself: "Am I not counted?"

"If you want to join this profession, you don't just have to be in rags and have unkempt hair." The beggar said with a smile.

"Then how do I get started?" Ma Chao was puzzled.

"If you want to join the beggar's profession, you must first learn to be shameless!" the beggar said with a smile.

"?" Ma Chao looked at him without saying a word, but his eyes were filled with contempt.

"If you are as arrogant as you, who will feed you? People's hearts sympathize with the weak and fear the strong, but the most disgusting thing is that people who are weaker than themselves are arrogant than themselves. If you want to get benefits from them, you have to give up. You are in your position, you are a beggar, you want their money, what can you do with face? When you are very hungry, can face satisfy you?" The beggar asked a series of questions that left Ma Chao speechless. He nodded silently, but when he was most hungry, his face seemed to have no effect.

"To put it bluntly, this business involves exchanging one's face for food and money." The beggar's words seemed to make sense.

Under the urging of the beggar, and after these days, Ma Chao had really put down his dignity, and finally asked the first person to pay, but was ruthlessly rejected.

Ma Chao looked a little ugly.

"Next, you are a beggar. Isn't it right for people to reject you? Don't have too much hope before you speak. This will make you feel better." The beggar said with a smile.

Ma Chao nodded silently and asked for them one by one with a stiff expression. At the end of the day, he only got ten coins.

"Don't compare yourself to me. I owe you a favor. I owe you ten coins!" The beggar shook his head, took three coins from the bowl and said, "Think about how I asked for it. Don't tell me." What a lie, people just fall for it. Let me tell you, these people may not know that it is fake, but so what? They have to prove that they have a conscience. Also, try to find people who look kind. If you go and ask for it, the chance of them being soft-hearted is greater.”

Ma Chao nodded silently, feeling vaguely touched in his heart. He followed the beggar back to the temple where he was offering sacrifices. This time, the unpleasant smell was much lighter, or... he had already blended into the smell.

Tomorrow is another new day. Ma Chao touched the seven coins in his arms, but his heart felt a little less confused...