Chapter 099 – A meal’s grace


Just as he stepped onto the street, not having gone far, Li Changqing saw a crowd gathering in the distance, making a ruckus. Curious about the commotion, he made his way through the crowd, only to see a shop assistant from a bun shop across the street cursing loudly.

“Do children eat for free?”

“And, you knocked a whole tray of buns onto the ground. You think saying you have no money will solve it? I tell you, if you don’t pay today, don’t even think about leaving. You think you can dine and dash here? Do you know whose business this is?”

Several shop assistants were aggressively surrounding two people.

One of them was a thin man, oddly dressed in a fur coat. Behind him, a little girl was hugging his waist, her face showing fear.

The man was of very ordinary appearance, with traces of hardship etched on his face. The shop assistants were poking his chest with rolling pins, but he didn’t dodge.

“I can work off the debt,” the man finally said after a long silence.

“Work?” The shop assistants sneered. “Do we need your help?”

“Stop talking nonsense. If you don’t pay, leave your knife here. It looks valuable,” one of the shop assistants said, his eyes greedily fixed on the short knife with a beautiful blue sheath at the man’s waist.

“That’s not possible,” the man firmly refused.

“Either give the knife or the money. It’s not that complicated,” another shop assistant chimed in.

Many onlookers were enjoying the spectacle. From their conversations, Li Changqing learned that the little girl behind the man was so hungry that she had tried to steal buns from the shop. When the shop assistants discovered her, they tried to catch her. In her panic, she knocked a whole tray of buns onto the ground.

“I’ll pay for the buns.”

Upon learning what had happened, Li Changqing stepped forward. He didn’t know who these two were, but seeing the man protecting his daughter touched him.

Another father struggling to make ends meet.

It was just a basket of buns. Since Li Changqing had witnessed it, he decided to lend a hand.

“Painter Li?”

The shop assistants were surprised to see Li Changqing intervening in such a trivial matter.

When Li Changqing stepped forward, the man also looked at him, seemingly surprised.

Without a word, Li Changqing tossed a silver coin to one of the shop assistants, who clumsily caught it.

“Is that enough for the buns? Also, prepare some more buns for this father and daughter,” Li Changqing ordered.

“Okay, okay, it’s more than enough.”

A whole silver coin could buy ten baskets of buns. The shop assistant’s face broke into a smile.

“Thank you.” The man, who seemed to be a man of few words, managed to squeeze out these two words.

“Thank you, uncle.” The little girl, who had been hiding behind the man, also peeked out. Her face was a bit dirty, but her eyes were very bright. She seemed a bit shy.

“How old are you?”

Li Changqing asked, squatting down with a smile.

“Five,” the girl whispered.

At this moment, the shop assistant came out with a bunch of buns wrapped in oil paper and handed them to Li Changqing.

Li Changqing took the buns and handed them to the man, saying, “Take it. Your child is starving, and you must be hungry too.”

Looking at the steaming buns handed over by Li Changqing, the man hesitated for a moment. But he felt the little girl gripping his hand tighter, clearly longing for the buns.

“Thank you,” he said again, only two words.

“Eat,” he took a bun from the oil paper and handed it to the girl.

The little girl, who had been salivating, didn’t care about her dirty hands and started eating voraciously.

She ate as if she hadn’t had a meal in a long time.

Seeing this, Li Changqing sighed softly.

He reached out and patted the girl’s head.

“Don’t steal in the future, okay?” Li Changqing patiently advised, “Stay with your father, and things will get better.”

The little girl nodded, not fully understanding.

“I have to go now. We’ll meet again,” Li Changqing said, glancing at the man.

The man didn’t say anything, just nodded at Li Changqing.

The girl, still eating her bun, watched as Li Changqing walked away.

Originally, he wanted to give the poor father and daughter some silver, but after thinking about it, Li Changqing gave up the idea.

There were too many people in the world like them, and he couldn’t save them all.

Everyone has their own fate.

Providing a meal was already enough.

After wandering around the street, Li Changqing couldn’t find any trace of Old Luo Dao. Then he found someone at a crossroad who helped people write letters.

Li Changqing took out the letter he had written and had it copied.

He then made another trip to the Cangyuan Escort Agency and sent an anonymous letter to Li Hengsheng in Dao Mountain Ancient Land.

After finishing these tasks, Li Changqing returned to Yan Residence.

But when he arrived at the entrance of Yan Residence, he was surprised to see the father and daughter again.

“It’s you?” Li Changqing looked at them in surprise. “Why are you here?”

“Did you not have enough to eat?” Li Changqing couldn’t help but ask.

“We’re full. The buns were delicious, uncle. You’re a good person,” the little girl said, her eyes full of innocence.

“I’m looking for you.”

The man spoke up at this moment.

“Can you… provide a place for us to eat and live?” The man hesitated for a moment, then said, “I can kill for you.”

Upon hearing this, Li Changqing couldn’t believe his ears.

Kill?

But looking at the man’s serious expression, Li Changqing didn’t think he was joking.

However, Li Changqing understood that the man was mainly trying to find a place where his daughter could have three meals a day.

Li Changqing could understand this feeling.He could tell that this man was one with a resolute heart, likely not the type to easily beg others. Yet, at this moment, a hint of pleading was clearly hidden in his eyes.

“Even if it’s murder.”

Sighing at the state of the world, Li Changqing shook his head.

Seeing Li Changqing shake his head, the man’s eyes revealed a trace of desolation. He glanced back at his daughter, as if apologizing to her.

“I can eat only one meal a day, just one bun per meal, no, half a bun is enough,” the little girl hurriedly said.

She thought Li Changqing was put off by her eating too much.

“You don’t need to kill for me. Let’s do it this way, since we’ve met, it must be fate. You and your daughter can help me clean the courtyard and tend to the flowers and plants in the yard.”

Li Changqing was not a saint, but he couldn’t help but soften his heart when he encountered such a father-daughter pair.

Did he lack people to clean his courtyard in the Yan Residence?

More than that, Li Changqing couldn’t bear to see such a small child wandering with her father, unable to even eat properly. He thought of his son, Li Hengsheng, who had left home at the age of eleven or twelve and wandered alone for several years. What kind of life had he led?

So, Li Changqing decided to take in this father and daughter.

As for whether this man was a bad person?

Li Changqing wasn’t worried at all.

Even if he had ulterior motives, he would need the ability to carry them out. If there was any unusual movement, he would let Fei eat him as a midnight snack, and no one could blame anyone else.

“Thank you.”

A smile finally appeared on the man’s face.

“What’s your name?” Li Changqing asked.

“Zhang Fuguang.” The man looked down at the little head below him and said, “This is my daughter, Zhang Siyao.”

“Come with me.”

Li Changqing led the two into the Yan Residence, had someone change their clothes, and arranged for them to live in his courtyard.

He had someone prepare hot water for Zhang Siyao to take a good bath.

After she was clean, the little girl Zhang Siyao looked even more charming.

Like a delicate doll.

Seeing his daughter clean, a smile also appeared on Zhang Fuguang’s face.

“Daughters are really good.” Li Changqing sighed. In his previous life, he had also hoped to have a daughter. Later, even though the two-child policy was implemented, he couldn’t afford it at that time.

Raising a child was too expensive.

“Uncle, thank you. You are the kindest person we’ve met on our journey,” Zhang Siyao sweetly said.

“Thank you.” Zhang Fuguang also said with a fist salute.

“You just work here, clean the courtyard, tend to the flowers and plants, and I will give you five silver coins as wages every month.”

“Yes.” Zhang Fuguang was still a man of few words.

“By the way, where are you two from? Why are you still wearing fur coats?” Li Changqing was somewhat surprised.

“The Great Yuan Dynasty.”

Zhang Fuguang said, “The Great Yuan Dynasty has cold weather all year round, so we need to wear fur coats.”

“Oh?”

Li Changqing raised his eyebrows. They were from the Great Yuan Dynasty.

That place was not far from Path Mark City. Cross a river, climb over a mountain, and you would be in the territory of the Great Yuan Dynasty. Li Changqing had read about it in books before. The Great Yuan Dynasty was a real snow dynasty, cold all year round, almost like Siberia, but this dynasty was very powerful.

The people there were also very strong, and the soldiers were brave and good at fighting in various harsh environments.

Today, he had seen a real person from the Great Yuan Dynasty, and Li Changqing suddenly became interested.

He then pulled Zhang Fuguang to sit down in the courtyard, had someone bring a pot of tea, and chatted with Zhang Fuguang about the Great Yuan Dynasty.

Zhang Fuguang didn’t expect Li Changqing to be so interested in the Great Yuan Dynasty. Although he was a man of few words, he answered all of Li Changqing’s questions.

Zhang Siyao saw the adults chatting and played by herself on the side, looking at the fish in the pond in the courtyard. She was very curious and watched for an entire afternoon.

Li Changqing also wanted to learn more and see if he could find some business opportunities from there.

As evening fell.

Li Changqing had someone bring dinner to the courtyard. He specifically asked them to make more. Li Changqing could tell that the buns from before were all eaten by Zhang Siyao, and Zhang Fuguang didn’t eat at all.

He must have been starving.

But this resolute man didn’t say a word.

Seeing a table full of dishes, Zhang Siyao’s mouth was watering. She had been hungry and full on the way here, and she had never seen so many rich dishes.

“Come and sit.” Li Changqing beckoned.

“Sir, I can pick some vegetables for my daughter and eat on the side,” Zhang Fuguang quickly said.

“There are not so many rules here. We eat together at the table, it’s more lively with more people.” Li Changqing shook his head, “And why eat vegetables? Look at Siyao, she’s so thin. She definitely needs to eat more meat to grow. Siyao, don’t you think so?”

“Mm-hmm.” Zhang Siyao quickly nodded.

“Thank you, sir.” Since Li Changqing had said so, Zhang Fuguang also nodded.

His daughter was indeed growing.

“Fuguang, help me try this dish.”

At this time, Li Changqing pushed a dish in front of Zhang Fuguang.

“Taste the dish?” Zhang Fuguang looked at the red dish in front of him. The aroma was very enticing, making one’s mouth water.

At the same time, Zhang Fuguang also smelled a very familiar scent from it.

It seemed to be… chili?

“Try it and see if it suits the taste of the people of the Great Yuan Dynasty.”

Li Changqing learned from Zhang Fuguang that the Great Yuan Dynasty was extremely cold, and people usually used chili to make some dishes. But the variety of dishes in the Great Yuan Dynasty was very limited, and the people there preferred things like roast meat, which was also convenient to eat.

A large amount of meat to supplement fat could help them better resist the cold.

So, Li Changqing wanted to see if this dish of boiled pork slices would suit the taste of the people of the Great Yuan Dynasty.

Some people die, but they are not completely dead…


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