The wharf of the canal is always very lively day and night, and both sides are densely packed with all kinds of shops, restaurants and warehouses. There are at least 1,000 large and small cargo ships and passenger ships that enter and leave the wharf every day. There are also the largest number of Cao Gang disciples gathered here, some of them are coolies who unload, move and transport goods in coarse linen clothes, some are shopkeepers wearing cotton robes and the abacus is rattling, and some are boatmen who have a short fight and are full of fishy smell

Of course, there are more disciples than the Cao Gang, and there are merchants from all walks of life, travelers, vendors selling all kinds of food, and of course, there are also unkempt beggars with broken bowls interspersed.

It was almost dusk, and a little beggar of twelve or thirteen years old was begging in the crowd with a broken bowl, and after many curses, white eyes, and spittle, at last a lady gave him two rough black breads. He happily took the bowl to the eaves of a storehouse, where a tattered straw mat was spread, and an old beggar in tattered clothes lay facing the wall.

The little beggar pushed him on the shoulder, and said with a grin, "Hey, old man, don't sleep, there is something to eat." He picked up one of the black bread buns from the bowl and handed it over.

The old beggar lazily rolled over and sat up, wiping his messy beard, which almost covered half of his face. took the black bread handed over by the little beggar, and put it in his mouth and chewed it.

The little beggar laughed, sat down beside him, and began to eat in large gulps. Look, what he eats is very sweet, and the coarse black bread seems to be the supreme delicacy. The old beggar sighed, and broke the other half from his own piece of bread. Put it back in the little beggar's bowl.

The little beggar smiled and said, "Old man." Why don't you eat such a delicious thing? ”

The old beggar scoffed: "What's so delicious about this kind of thing that eats and hurts?" When I swallow it, I still slap my throat. ”

The little beggar took another big bite, and said vaguely while eating: "Anyway, I think this is delicious, and I am hungry." ”

The old beggar solved the half of the black-flour bun in his hand in two bites, then patted the crumbs on his hands, crossed the toothless clogs on his feet, licked his old face and said: "That's because you haven't eaten the oily crystal elbow, the sweet suckling pig with sliced skin, the smooth steamed mandarin fish, and the spicy and refreshing stir-fried rabbit meat." A vigorous casserole with simmering deer tendons. What else is the golden custard, osmanthus steamed chestnut flour cake, poria cake, jade bean cake, mixed fruit ice bowl. Wow, I can't say it, and besides, I'm going to drool. ”

The little beggar was so stupid that he forgot to bite the black-faced bun while holding it. swallowed his saliva in a daze, and asked with envy: "Have you eaten all these delicious foods?" ”

The old beggar crossed Erlang's legs and shook the clogs on his feet. said leisurely: "Of course, I used to rinse my mouth with shark fin and swiftlets for supper." The Lord who gnawed on the big elbow and didn't want it. ”

While the two were talking, someone suddenly sneered and said, "I can't even eat this black-flour bun." You stink, blow it when you're old! ”

It turned out to be a few coolies dressed in coarse linen clothes, specially responsible for loading and unloading goods. Carrying their own buns, they gathered around. As soon as they unloaded a shipload of goods, they took advantage of this gap to hide in this small open space to rest, and by the way, they padded their stomachs.

Most of the food in their hands is this kind of black bread, and a few are mixed with yellow bread. It's just that most of the buns in their hands have some pickles, or mixed vegetables, and one person actually has a fragrant fried egg in the yellow flour bun. In any case, it will be easier to eat this way than eating all the steamed buns.

Seeing that one of them was still carrying a large coarse porcelain teapot in his hand, the old beggar who was slamming his throat by the half of the black-faced steamed bun hurriedly picked up his broken bowl and handed it over, and said unceremoniously: "I just happened to be thirsty, enjoy the tea and drink it!" ”

Everyone immediately laughed, and someone joked: "Aren't you gargling with shark fin, swiftlets are the masters of supper, how can our coarse tea get into your mouth." ”

The old beggar was not angry, but only laughed and said: "That is not the past, now there is a coarse tea to drink, very good, very good." ”

Everyone laughed again, but jokes are jokes, and everyone will not be stingy with a sip of coarse tea. So someone poured a bowl of yellow tea into his broken bowl. This tea is brewed from the broken tea leaves discarded by the tea merchants, and it has a slight tea taste in the bitterness, but it is not very delicious. But it's better than drinking the murky water. The old beggar drank half a bowl himself, and the remaining half bowl was handed to the little beggar.

The little beggar did not dislike it, took a sip and drank it dry, then wiped his mouth clean, and said, "Old man, when you come home, can you invite me to taste those dishes?" ”

"Of course it works, I'll treat you to it every day." The old beggar patted his chest and promised, but in a blink of an eye he showed a trace of melancholy: "But I just can't remember where my home is." ”

"You just stink!" Someone laughed mercilessly: "Stinky boy, don't believe this old thing, he's scolding you!" The little beggar grinned, and didn't care much, but his eyes flashed, and he picked up the black bread and ate it fragrantly.

The two beggars, one old and one young, had been on the wharf for many days, and when they were hungry, they would ask the merchants who came and went to beg for some food, and when they were sleepy, they hid under the eaves and slept. In addition, the old beggar was quite knowledgeable and spoke funny, so he quickly became acquainted with these men who were also bitter.

Several people sat together, and each began to eat the bun in his hand, and one of them was kind-hearted, and took out a piece of pickle from his bun and handed it to the little beggar. After a few pieces of steamed buns were eaten, a new cargo ship entered the dock, and the steward shouted, and they stood up and went to work in twos and threes. Only the old beggar and the little beggar were left under the eaves, and the old beggar closed his eyes slightly and took a nap.

The little beggar finished eating the piece and a half of the bun and the piece of pickles, but he still felt a gurgling in his stomach, and there seemed to be a bottomless pit in it that could not be filled. He involuntarily began to lick his fingers, reluctantly reminiscing about the remaining salty taste on them.

Suddenly, he pulled out his wet fingers from his mouth, pointed to a pagoda-like black figure in front of him, and exclaimed in surprise, "Old man." You see, that's the Pu Helm Master. The old beggar opened his eyes and looked. He snorted and tried to close it again.

Just listen to the little beggar muttering. He said to himself with great yearning: "When I grow up and have the strength, I will also join the Cao Gang, give Pu Duo an affair, and become a big hero like him." ”

The old beggar smiled and said sarcastically: "What a stupid boy, a few copper plates will buy you." In these years, there are many people who know people, faces, and hearts. ”

The little beggar, who had always been cowardly, suddenly turned red. He said angrily: "Dead old man, Master Pu Helm is obviously a big hero, a big hero, I don't allow you to say that about him." ”

The old beggar rolled his eyes, couldn't help but bend his finger and hit him on the head, and said: "Stinky boy, old man, I have eaten more salt than you have eaten, I have walked more bridges than you have walked, and I can see people more accurately than you." ”

The little beggar suffered. Holding his head, he pouted and complained: "Dead old man, you have been saying that you are from a rich background, but you still want me to beg for food to feed." I think you're the biggest liar in the world. ”

"You!" The old beggar was furious. wanted to knock him again, but the little beggar glared at him angrily, not to be outdone. The old beggar met his dark, clear-cut eyes. Suddenly, my heart softened. He smiled wryly and withdrew his hand. said, "Alright, alright. Your Pu helmsman is a big hero, a big hero, so it's done! ”

When the little beggar heard this, a bright smile finally appeared on his face, and he turned back excitedly to look for the burly figure in the crowd. The old beggar smiled helplessly and said, "What a dead eye." ”

However, when the two were arguing, Master Pu had already disappeared. The little beggar pouted unhappily, and his sparkling eyes began to unconsciously look back and forth in the crowd.

"Huh!" The little beggar's eyes widened suddenly, and he jumped up, patted the dust on his ass, and said excitedly, "Hey, dead old man, there's a boat over there that sells fruit." I'll see if I can pick up some fruit and eat it. So saying, he ran to the shore. In the end, a boy who is growing his body is still more passionate about food than anything else.

Now that the weather is hot, the fruit will inevitably rot and deteriorate after being transported by water for long distances. If these rotten fruits are placed together with the good fruits, they will surely cause the good fruits to rot quickly along with them. Therefore, when the merchants were transporting, they would pick out the rotten fruit and throw it away. And these discarded rotten fruits can often make the little beggar have a good tooth sacrifice.

In addition to the little beggars, several other beggars were also huddled together, picking the better ones among the rotten fruits discarded by the merchants. The little beggar moved quickly, he quickly picked out a few that were not all broken, smiled and held them, and ran to the place where the old beggar was resting. He didn't see that on the other side of the dock, a convoy was hurrying up

The dozen or so carts were all pulled by mules, and the carts were piled with cages one by one, tied firmly with thumb-thick hemp rope. The drivers kept waving their whips and shouting loudly, so that the speed of the convoy was so fast that the dust on the ground was thrown in all directions, and the pedestrians on the road were all dodging.

But the little beggar was only salivating over the fruit in his hand, and when he heard a strange sound and looked up, the leading mule cart had already arrived in front of him. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but shout: "Be careful! Get out of the way. ”

The little beggar had already been bluffed and his hands and feet were weak, and he could not move at all. The old beggar opened his eyes when he heard the sound, and when he saw this scene, he was shocked and stood up violently. At this moment, it was too late to rush over to save his eyes, and it happened that there was a pile of rocks and a few wooden sticks that had been discarded indiscriminately at his feet. These wooden sticks were all used by the disciples of the Cao Gang to carry goods, and they were all round and as thick as a forearm.

The old beggar didn't think about it, but picked up a stick and struck it at a stone the size of a bowl on the ground, which struck the mule cart with a whistling wind.

Almost at the same time, a piece of silk cloth flew out from the second floor of a nearby restaurant, wrapped around the waist of the little beggar and pulled quickly, and the little beggar flew up like a cloud.

Almost at the same time, the stone that the old beggar had struck struck struck the big black mule on the head. The big black mule screamed, and after a few steps of inertia, he fell to the ground with a bang. Its massive body twitched for a moment, its legs kicking and screaming for its life. If you are careful, you can see that the big black mule's head is deep into a large pit on one side, and it has been stoned to death by the stone.

The big black mule died suddenly, causing the car it was pulling behind to roll over. The coachman didn't have time to react, so he fell out with him. Like a gourd rolling on the ground, he made several laps on the ground before stopping. The other coachmen who followed behind were all taken aback by this, and they tightened their reins.

The old beggar rushed over, he tore off the silk cloth around the little beggar's waist three or two times, pinched the little beggar's arms and thighs up and down, and asked anxiously, "Stinky boy, where are you hurt?" ”

The little beggar was still dazed at the moment, he did not speak, only shook his head in a daze. The old beggar touched all over his body, and when he found that he was not missing an arm or leg, he put down a big stone in his heart.

The coachman lay on the ground and it took him a long time to come back to his senses. He struggled to get up, and the crowd of onlookers found that his face was torn, his clothes were blocked, and even his hands were worn out by the rough road.

The coachman snorted, spit out a mouthful of bloody spit, bared his teeth and roared: "Okay, you stinky Hanako, you dare to kill the big black mule in our house, destroy the goods in our house, don't kill you." As he spoke, he raised his hand and threw a punch at the old beggar.

When the old beggar saw that this man had a fierce face and a fierce look in his eyes, he knew that today's affairs could not be good. However, he is not a bodhisattva made of clay, although he is old, he is quite hot.

He raised his hand suddenly, pinched the driver's arm, and sneered: "What's the matter, you are blind, rushing around in a crowded place, and almost killing someone." is still so rude, do you want the old man to teach you a lesson? ”

The old beggar's hand slowly tightened like iron pincers. The coachman immediately felt a pain in his wrist, and he couldn't help but be furious and said, "Stinky Hanako, hurry up and let me go, otherwise the master wants you to look good." ”

The old beggar grabbed his wrist harder and harder, and shouted angrily: "Okay, old man, I want to see why you want me to look good." ”

As soon as they saw that there was going to be a fight, the people on the dock who were dispersed by mule carts suddenly became interested, and a large number of people gathered around Hulala. Seeing this, the dozen or so mule cart drivers who were forced to stop behind all had malicious smiles on their faces, threw down the reins in their hands, and also surrounded them. (To be continued......)