Free Web NovelChapter 100: Chapter 100 The Begging Child
Wang Hao hadn’t expected to run into a familiar face in the county town bookstore.
He approached Chen Hongying to greet her and noticed she was engrossed in a book about parent-child harmony.
"Wang Hao?"
Chen Hongying was surprised to encounter Wang Hao in the bookstore as well.
She wondered what the young man was doing in the county town instead of digging for herbs on the mountain.
The last time he sold Lingzhi, Peng Lao gave Wang Hao his business card right in front of Chen Hongying—it was clear he wanted to bypass her and deal directly with Wang Hao.
Because of this, Chen Hongying had been unable to let it go.
Now that Wang Hao had come to the county town in person, she began to suspect he might have found something valuable and was here to make a trade without going through her.
"Sister Hongying, I really owe you for finding a buyer last time. I came to the county town just to thank you, but I got held up by some trouble as soon as I arrived."
Wang Hao spoke politely, his words a mix of truth and falsehood.
"Oh? Is that so?"
Chen Hongying certainly didn’t believe him; with her years of experience hustling, she could easily see through such pleasantries.
She gave a noncommittal response and picked up her book to go and pay for it.
After paying, she left the bookstore without even saying goodbye to Wang Hao.
Wang Hao knew well that Chen Hongying was still upset about the previous Lingzhi incident.
But he remembered Su Zhenping’s advice to not make enemies, so he decided to visit Chen Hongying’s company the next day.
"Big Brother Hao, I want all these!"
No sooner had Chen Hongying left than Qi Shihan came running over with a pile of books in her arms.
It seemed she wanted to take home the entire bookstore, and Wang Hao thought to himself that this young lady saw him as nothing more than a packhorse.
"This..."
At the checkout, even the cashier gaped in astonishment and offered some well-intentioned advice.
"Classmate, I notice that many of these books are similar. There’s really no need to take so many; you won’t be able to finish them all. Just pick the key ones," the cashier suggested.
"Really? Could you help me choose then?"
Qi Shihan happily replied, dumping the stack of books in front of the cashier to help her pick out the best ones.
Wang Hao instantly felt a wave of relief, thinking the ordinary cashier suddenly looked much more beautiful—perhaps her kindness made her even more appealing.
If not for the cashier’s reminder, he might not have been able to carry all those books with both hands.
In the end, with the cashier’s help, Qi Shihan bought a total of six books.
Wang Hao felt like the cashier was an angel from heaven, having saved him for the day.
After paying, Wang Hao naturally picked up the bag of books, not expecting Qi Shihan to help carry them. Relying on her to take initiative was probably harder than reaching the heavens. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"Wow, Big Brother Hao, look at all the delicious food over there!"
Not far from the bookstore, they came upon a snack street.
Seeing all the snacks, Qi Shihan’s mouth watered, and she dashed over immediately.
"I’ll take this one, this one... and all of these too!"
Qi Shihan was in charge of ordering, while Wang Hao followed, paying the bills.
"Alright already, if you buy so much, aren’t you going to have dinner?"
Seeing Qi Shihan with her arms full of food, yet still lingering over other treats, Wang Hao quickly reminded her.
"It’s fine, if I can’t finish it, I can take it home to eat. After all, you’re going to buy it for me because I am your... your sister!"
Qi Shihan paused briefly, then stated defiantly.
Wang Hao simply smiled at her, knowing he had spent a fair amount of money, but as long as Qi Shihan was happy, it was all worth it.
"Brother, Sister, please give us some money!"
As the two were enjoying themselves, two children approached them, dressed in tattered, filthy clothes, as if they had never been washed.
On closer inspection, both children were quite pretty, with a pair of large, watery eyes looking pitifully at Wang Hao and Qi Shihan.
"How pitiful!"
Qi Shihan was still a child at heart, and the sight stirred her compassion, so she gave all her snacks to the two kids.
"We don’t want these; can you give us some money instead?"
The two children stared longingly at the snacks yet refused the food Qi Shihan offered, again asking them for money.
Wang Hao thought this was strange—these kids were so young, how could they turn down food? Why did they only care about money?
"Folks, you’re not from around here, right? These two are scammers; don’t fall for their tricks!"
A kind-hearted stall owner warned them.
"They’re from the nearby orphanage, where they have food and drink; they’re not as pitiful as you think."
The surrounding vendors all nodded with knowing smiles, as if they were all aware of these children’s backgrounds.
But upon closer inspection, Wang Hao noticed that the older child’s face was somewhat swollen, as if they had been struck.
So, Wang Hao thought, perhaps they had their reasons for behaving this way.
Wang Hao always felt something was off, so he followed them.
But afraid of startling the kids by being discovered, he kept his distance, watching to see what they would do with the money they begged for.
The children had just been exposed by the vendor and seemed very frightened, running ceaselessly.
The older boy pulled the younger girl along, and since she was smaller, she tripped and fell to the ground at one point.
"Waaa—"
The girl was both shocked and scared and began to cry loudly as she got up.
"Little sister, don’t cry, don’t cry, big brother will protect you."
The little boy looked to be only six or seven years old, but he was exceptionally mature, carefully comforting the girl.
"You little brat, you can’t even protect yourself, and you want to protect someone else?"
At that moment, a teenager around fifteen or sixteen emerged from an alley, wearing denim all over, punctured with holes, and with an explosive hairstyle—one could tell at a glance that he was into the popular non-mainstream culture of the time.
Upon seeing the teenager, the little girl immediately stopped crying and hid behind the boy, shaking all over, her eyes filled with terror.
"Feng Ge, I... we... didn’t manage to beg for any money today!"
The boy stuttered out.
"What? No money? If you don’t have money, don’t even think about going back!"
The teenager towered over them threateningly, pointing at the boy’s forehead and yelling.
"You two can leave when you get the money!"
The girl, frightened by the teenager’s menacing demeanor, had tears streaming down her face but dared not make a sound, clinging to the boy’s clothing.
"Feng Ge, people here almost recognize us already; we can’t beg anymore. Please let us go back!"
The boy said timidly, his hands protectively in front of his sister.
"Can’t beg? Then you steal! Don’t you have a brain?"
The teenager cursed through gritted teeth while slapping the boy’s cheek.
"Don’t hit my brother!"
Seeing the boy being hit, the girl cried out in fear.
"Cry cry cry, is that all you do? Stop playing the victim in front of me! You only act like that in front of me; why don’t you act that way in front of others, huh?"
As he spoke, the teenager prepared to strike the little girl.
Seeing the teenager about to hit the little girl, the boy immediately stepped forward to grab his hand.
"You looking to die?"
Furious, the teenager shook free and was about to hit the boy.
"Hit me if you must, but don’t hit my sister!"
The little boy stared down the teenager, positioning the little girl behind him.
"You little thing, with no money to offer me, you have the nerve to be insolent in my presence—I think you’re tired of living!"
Provoked by the boy’s defiance, the teenager, suddenly in a rage, picked up a stick from the side and swung it at the boy.
As the teenager lifted his arm, it felt as if something had grabbed it and he couldn’t move it.
When he turned around, Wang Hao was standing behind him...
