The old man was searching for herbs while he said, "I don't have much left, you can use it first, but I don't have kelp, loquat leaves, and Fritillaria, you have to go to the outer city to look for them."
"Thank you, old man."
Song Yin asked again: "But if you don't charge money, how will you live?"
"Your words are really underestimating the people who are guarding the city."
The old man said with some pride: "We, the hundred defenders of the city, don't care about gains and losses. We are all kind to others. We do good deeds for free to gain merit. Why should we charge money?"
Song Yin nodded thoughtfully, said thank you, and was about to walk out.
"Hey, your medicinal herbs!" the old man shouted from behind.
"Thank you for your kindness, old man. I'll get it when I come back."
After Song Yin finished speaking, he ignored the old man and walked straight out of the herbal medicine shop.
"Brother, these medicines are free, why don't you use them?" Zhang Feixuan asked puzzledly.
"No merit, no reward. This place is peaceful and prosperous. We have no protection or help for them. It is not good to take their things for no reason."
Song Yin shook his head and looked to the west: "Let's have a meal first, and then go visit Master Napude."
Having said that, he continued walking forward.
The main street was obviously a main road with many shops. After walking for a while, they saw a restaurant.
"Brother, let's go here." Zhang Feixuan said, pointing to the nicely decorated restaurant.
Song Yin shook his head and said: "You don't have much money, and this place seems to cost a lot, so try to save some money.
"Brother, you are very considerate." Zhang Feixuan could only bow.
Although it is a border city of Nanping State, it has a large population. It is dinner time and the main street is full of people, pulling carts, eating, and hawking goods. It is very lively.
After passing the main street, it was a little quieter, and Song Yin saw a food shop and walked over.
The restaurant was small, with simple decoration and only a few tables, but it was packed with customers. Just then, a table of customers finished their meal and walked out, patting their bellies, leaving an empty seat.
"My three guests, what would you like to eat?"
A middle-aged woman inside saw the three people at the door and approached with a kind smile, but her face was a little thin and she looked a little malnourished. Her loose clothes were baggy on her and didn't fit her well.
"Please, just serve some ordinary food." Song Yin smiled and walked in.
"Please take a seat. The food will be served soon."
The middle-aged woman quickly cleared the dishes on the table, wiped the table with a rag, and asked the three people to sit down.
While wiping the food, a customer at a nearby table suddenly said, "Madam Boss, your dishes are getting worse and worse. The soup is too bland. When will you serve something better? If you don't serve something, I won't eat here next time."
"Yeah, it's getting worse. If you keep doing this, I won't come anymore."
"Yes, yes, we will pay attention next time." The woman nodded and bowed, then hurried into the back.
Not long after, the woman came up with a tray and served a few dishes.
These dishes were just very ordinary meals, two plates of wild vegetables fried in oil, a plate of what seemed to be offal, and three large bowls of brown rice.
Seeing this thing, Zhang Feixuan and Wang Qizhen were both a little unhappy.
We used to live in the mountains with a hard life. There was not much to eat around, but that was fine.
But when they come to the human world, as Qi cultivators, can they still eat these things
But the senior brother didn't seem to care at all. He picked up the bowl and started drinking quickly. Seeing him eating, the two of them didn't know what to say, so they could only imitate him and start eating.
"Madam boss, let's go!"
At this time, another table of guests finished their meal, wiped their mouths, patted their bellies, stood up and were about to leave.
"I'm sorry for not welcoming you. Please take care. Please come next time."
The proprietress watched the guests leave with a smile. She walked to the table with some expectation and found it was empty again. She sighed, took out the rag from her waist and started to clean the table.
One after another, guests from other tables also finished their meal, wiped their mouths, said hello and left.
There were only three of them left in the restaurant eating.
“Cuckoo—”
Song Yin's ears twitched and he looked towards the proprietress, but then he noticed something and looked back.
At the corner of the counter, a little girl was seen with most of her body hidden inside the counter. She only poked her head out and drooled at Song Yin while he was eating.
Her face was also very thin, just like the proprietress's, both looked malnourished.
Song Yin picked up a piece of wild vegetable, waved it towards the little girl, and asked, "Little girl, do you want to eat it?"
The little girl nodded quickly but then shook her head.
"Come"
Song Yin waved at her.
The little girl's eyes lit up and she appeared from the counter, revealing her extremely thin body under her loose clothes.
The body was as thin as skin and bones, which reminded Song Yin of the little girl who transformed into a "mourning girl" when he was in the Pijia Gate.
The little girl trotted towards Song Yin, but she seemed to have lost her balance and stumbled and fell. Song Yin was quick to reach out a hand and help the little girl up.
As soon as the girl stabilized her body, she couldn't wait to open her mouth and bite the fried wild vegetables.
“You can’t eat it!”
But at this moment, a loud shout rang out.
The proprietress yelled, ran over quickly, snatched the child away, and shouted, "Who told you to eat it? You can't eat it!"
As she said this, she quickly turned around and gave Song Yin an apologetic smile: "This is my daughter, you eat yours, don't worry about her."
Song Yin frowned, looking at the obviously thin mother and child, and said: "It's time for you to eat, you can be busy, but don't let the child starve. After all, you run a food store, how come the child is so thin."
The little girl looked up weakly and said to her mother: "I haven't eaten for two days, Mom, I'm really hungry."
Two days?!
Song Yin's eyes shrank, but before he could react, he saw the proprietress grit her teeth, suddenly kneeled down, and said, "Master, please be kind. I see that you are dressed luxuriously and don't look like ordinary people. Can you give some money for this table?"
"What money do you want?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the curtain at the back was pulled open, and an equally thin man staggered out, pulling the mother and daughter apart, and angrily said to them with red eyes:
"Why are we asking for money at this time? This is a merit-making meal. They've paid for it, so how can we accumulate merit?"
"Her father, my child is so hungry that she can't stand it any longer!" The woman cried, "Just give us a meal. We haven't eaten for two days. Look at you, you're walking so lightly."
"Just bear with it a little longer, just bear with it a little longer!"
The man gritted his teeth and said something to them, then turned around and nodded to Song Yin and the others: "Uncle, don't worry about them, we don't charge money, this is a merit meal, specially for people to fill their stomachs."
The woman suddenly stood up, her eyes also red, and pointed at the man as if she was about to say something, but suddenly she remembered something, glanced at her daughter in her arms, lowered her head, and said no more.
"no."
Wang Qizhen couldn't stand it anymore, and raised his eyebrows and said to them, "You don't need money to eat, right? You can't live like this even if you don't need money. What merits are there? You're so hungry, and you don't even give us a bite to eat. What merits are there?"
A little late, sorry.