The children in the carriage stood up silently, and got out of the carriage one by one. Xiao Yuben was still unwilling, and didn't dare to say anything to the fierce expression of the upper triangle eyes, obediently mixed in the crowd and didn't stand out.
After stepping on the ground again, Kou Dong looked around.
The four carriages seem to have been separated, and there is only the one that got off. They were in a dark alley, and it seemed that the street was not far away, and they could still hear the sound of people buying and selling on the street. The voice sounded really friendly, and it smelled like fireworks.
The child still held the bowl in his hand, and looked at him timidly.
"Old rules," the triangular-eyed eyes hung up, and their sinister eyes flicked over their faces one by one, "Hey, don't talk nonsense, don't try to run away—"
He ticked upwards from the corner of his mouth thinly, as if there was an invisible fishing line hanging up the corner of his mouth, revealing a strange and strange feeling from inside.
"If you come up with other ideas...you go to smoke the wooden man."
"Right now, the circus lacks the most people."
When the circus was mentioned, the people present trembled slightly, and their bodies tensed up involuntarily. Triangle Eyes seemed extremely satisfied with this reaction, looked at them unhurriedly, and finally waved his hand.
"It's done," he said, "then let's go to work."
The children spread out one after another familiarly, and each took a bowl to beg. Kou Dong glanced at A Xue and the two, and the three of them exchanged glances and walked forward.
They walked forward for a while, and when they turned their heads back inadvertently, they could still see Triangle Eye standing at the corner of the street, lighting his pipe and smoking relish.
He has no intention of leaving.
Song Hong said in a low voice: "He is watching."
This is not good news for a few people. Under the eyes of NPCs, many things cannot be tried.
A Xue reminded: "Even if he didn't watch, we have to really get back enough money—otherwise, tonight, it will be our turn to draw the wooden man."
That's true, it's just...
Song Hong asked hesitantly, "Do you have relevant experience?"
Little girl: "No."
Nonsense, who has experience in this kind of thing.
Hearing this, several people were silent for a while. Immediately, Song Hong asked from the bottom of his heart: "Then how do you ask for money?"
"..."
"..."
The three inexperienced people looked at each other, and finally decided to see how other children operate.
Seeing this, they couldn't bear it. Those children followed behind in ragged clothes, shaking the bowls in their hands, begging in a low voice: "Please do me a favor, just give me a little... just a little..."
The person being followed turned his head impatiently, and stretched out his hand to remove the child's hand that was trying to grab the hem of his clothes.
"What are you messing with?" He reprimanded, "Little beggar, I don't know where it came out, and it's dirty all my good clothes!"
The child was scolded, but he still followed him persistently, and his face didn't even change the color because of such humiliation. He was still whining, and put a few small stones in the bowl, the shaking sound was disturbing, "Please, good people are rewarded, I know you are a good person..."
There were also children standing in front of the shops, knocking on doors one by one, shaking the bowls in their hands.
"Give me some, give me some... give me a stutter..."
The boss raised his voice, which could be heard more than ten meters away.
"I want it every day, I want it every day!—What if I am your parents? A group of little beggars, with mothers and mothers..."
The door was slammed shut, and the owner of the shop shooed them away. The child still stood in front of the door and did not leave until the person inside took out a broom and hit his head and face several times, his face was smeared red by the broom, then he moved his heavy steps and slowly walked away from the door.
There are beggars crouching on street corners, and beggars huddled behind pedestrians on the road. These children shuttled among the crowd, almost like a kind of ghost behind the people that could not get rid of.
Such a scene made the three feel a little uncomfortable, and some couldn't do it.
They are not real children, their minds are already adults, so naturally they cannot accept such a way of begging that abandons their dignity.
But the more obvious fact is before his eyes, either get the money or die.
Song Hong hesitated for a while, then whispered: "Otherwise, we also..."
It was extremely difficult for him to say these words, and he was obviously struggling with his self-esteem, but in the end, the idea of survival prevailed.
Axue stood aside silently, with a hint of approval in her expression.
Both of them looked at Kou Dong, only to find that the other was looking at the stores on the street with great interest, as if they were out shopping.
It wasn't until he noticed their eyes that he turned his head back and raised his eyebrows.
"Are you really going to beg?"
Song Hong didn't know why, but his face twitched a little, "Well..."
Adults are fine, but Kou Dong has a child's body right now, coupled with his face like a snow dumpling, and the gesture of raising his eyebrows, it really doesn't make people feel handsome at all.
On the contrary, there is a kind of secondary school feeling of a kid pretending to be old.
He even wanted to pinch the other person's face a little bit, to see if he could pinch him to cry.
Song Hong could only think about it, but the villain was sitting on Kou Dong's shoulder, tilted his head, and stretched out his hand to pinch his face. Kou Dong's cheeks were slightly sunken by his fingers, and he was not angry, but he said vaguely: "Why?"
Song Hong was a little dazed.
How else could they get money
Kou Dong felt at a loss from the bottom of his heart, "We are different."
"..."
which point
Kou Dong raised his head and waved his hands firmly.
"We have face!"
Song Hong: "..."
Ashue: "..."
They hesitated to think, is the face the man mentioned, the face they thought...
Kou Dong touched his cheek and asked doubtfully, "Aren't I cute?"
It shouldn't be, when he was a child, he would be cried by his seven aunts and eight aunts when he went out, so he should look good.
Song Hong: "...cute."
He just didn't understand, what does this have to do with being cute? It's not that you are cute, people will take the initiative to give you money...
The old God Kou Dong educated him on the ground, "You don't understand, it's very useful."
"...?"
Kou Dong pointed out a new direction for him.
"Just by looking good, we can make money."
…and the NPCs love him for that.
This task is a hard mode for others, but for Kou Dong, it is really a simple mode.
Kou Dong has reason to believe that when he sits on the curb and cries a few times, someone will rush to send him money.
Could it be that he couldn't get it
It's just because he doesn't want to!
Song Hong didn't understand at all, and still looked at him blankly. Until Kou Dong asked him: "Is it acceptable to work part-time without begging?"
Of course, it's just, "Which store would hire a kid like us?"
Dirty, small, and unable to do much work.
Kou Dong replied: "Of course I have to go to a place where I can get news."
He had caught a glimpse of a teahouse just now, and there was a storyteller in it, and there seemed to be quite a few people sitting there.
"That's it."
The two followed him, still somewhat disbelieving.
The attitudes of these store owners are clear just now. These children come to beg every day, no matter how kind the boss is, they can’t stand it—after all, they are also open for business, not a porridge shed for free. To feed. Not to mention that these are not two or three children at all, but a group, and no one cares about them, wandering the streets all day long.
Who can withstand the demands of a group of beggars every day
So as soon as he saw a few little beggars coming over the high threshold with difficulty, the shopkeeper's tone was not very good, "What are you doing? There is no other money for you."
The voice was quite fierce, and Song Hong's heart trembled when he heard it, knowing that it might not be easy to do it.
He was the first to lower his voice and said: "Shopkeeper, listen to us..."
The shopkeeper didn't listen at all, and just reached for the broom. Several waiters in the courtyard also surrounded them, trapping them in the middle, frowning and daring to go outside like chickens.
"What to say, I don't want to hear a word! Hurry up, this is not a place for you to ask for money!"
Song Hong still wants to fight: "No, we..."
"What are you?" The shopkeeper shouted, "Believe it or not, I really hit you?"
Song Hong really couldn't help it, now that he was thin and short, he couldn't push this group of strong young people, so he could only cast his eyes on Kou Dong, hoping that he could do something. But Kou Dong stood in the middle, turned up his little face, and said, "Boss, listen to us."
Song Hong almost yelled at him.
Is the kid out of his mind—he just said that! It's useless at all!
He desperately shook his head at Kou Dong, but Kou Dong pretended he didn't see him, and still raised his head, staring at the person in front of him.
Song Hong's heart sank, and he decided to change his method.
This obviously won't work.
If the trick of selling miserably works, there won't be children all over the street who can't ask for money. This group of townspeople are obviously hardened—
Before he finished thinking, he heard the voice of the shopkeeper, who was still fierce just now, softened, as if someone had pricked him and put him off.
The airbag deflated rapidly, and the shopkeeper's face couldn't stand anymore.
"That's it," he said dryly, threw away the broom, folded his arms silently, "I'll hear what you have to say."
Song Hong: "..."
Damn, that's not what you said just now!
What about your attitude just now
What about the posture you were about to hit someone just now
This is so clearly the exact same question, why did they get a completely different response? ?
Song Hong was full of disbelief, and even wondered if Kou Dong knew some kind of hypnotism and hypnotized the NPC. On the contrary, the little girl was not surprised at all, and listened calmly.
Kou Dong raised his face and made it clear first, "We're not here to ask for money."
He tiptoed to look inside, then looked at the shopkeeper.
"Can we come here to be the second child? We are very capable, just give us some money."
"you?"
The shopkeeper subconsciously wanted to sneer, a group of children who were not even as tall as the table were doing the same thing—but when he met the dark eyes of the child in front of him, it seemed that his heart was stupefied with honey in an instant, and he couldn't even utter a word of the ridicule just now. The words I finally uttered were as soft as sugar silk, and my voice subconsciously softened, "Aren't you afraid of hard work? Where are your parents?"
Kou Dong lowered his head, looking sad, "...not here anymore."
Just these few words are enough to make up a bunch of plots in one's mind. The thought of both parents dying alone and begging on the street for a living instantly flooded into the shopkeeper's mind, plus the child was unexpectedly strong, he didn't want to get something for nothing, but relied on his own hands and honest labor to make ends meet.
Not to mention, life is painful...
At this moment, he saw the child's eyes were red, as if he was about to cry.
"..."
This was simply the last hammer to break the dam, and the shopkeeper's line of defense completely collapsed into scum.
"Come on," his voice became amiable, and he even reached out to touch Kou Dong's head, "Poor kid, come in—what are you doing? Are you hungry? I'll ask someone to cook you something... "
This change of attitude left Song Hong completely dumbfounded. Kou Dong walked forward with the people, but also took care of his friends, "They are all my friends..."
The shopkeeper finally remembered that there were two other people here, turned his head, and just looked at them, his tone became a lot colder, "Then you come in too."
The friends dragged Kou Dong's blessing into the door, still deeply shocked.
How did he do it? It can't really be because of the face, right
Taking advantage of the fact that the shopkeeper went to serve Kou Dong food in person, Song Hong couldn't help asking: "How do you know that he will definitely let you in?"
Kou Dong was silent for a while, and answered him seriously: "Because there is true love in the world, and true love in the world?"
"..."
It's nonsense to hear this.
Song Hong sat up straight again, and after a while, he saw the shopkeeper bring up a tea tray with several plates of snacks in it, and put the plate in front of Kou Dong.
Obviously, it's not for them.
Song Hong was also hungry, and had hardly eaten anything in the house the day before. But the shopkeeper didn't have the slightest intention to let them eat, so he just kept stuffing it into Kou Dong's hand, "Look at how skinny you are..."
The child's hands are small, and both hands are full of snacks. The remaining two were empty-handed, and their stomachs could not help but growl.
Kou Dong broke off two pieces and shared them among them. The shopkeeper made a long face, and the boss was reluctant, staring at the two who shared the food.
But I heard Kou Dong's milky voice asking childishly: "Shopkeeper, we heard that there is a circus here?"
He swayed his legs like an ordinary child, looked a little yearning, and said, "I really want to go and see it, but I don't have the money..."
The shopkeeper thought for a while, but he understood, "You mean the one that came recently, right? I haven't seen it before. ——It's not cheap, it costs more than a dozen silver dollars to get in."
There was a guest on the table next to him who was drinking tea. Hearing this, he couldn't help poking his head over, and interjected: "But it's really worth seeing. I went to see it, oh, what a big battle!"
He gestured with both hands, his face flushed with excitement.
"Such a tall bear! Has a human face, can talk and sing..."
"And that snake, just like the beautiful snake in the book, you can still wrap it around your neck for another five silver dollars."
"Oh, by the way, and the person growing in the vase, whoops, that's really something I've never seen before..."
His voice grew louder, and gradually others joined in.
"I've seen it too. Not only can the bear man sing, but he can also jump through the ring of fire and breathe fire from his mouth. It's amazing."
"That big-headed doll can walk a tightrope!"
"For a little more money, you can even pet him!"
"It's amazing, it's amazing..."
"Eye-opener, eye-opener!"
The shopkeeper also joined the topic, and said with great interest: "Really? If so, then I have to take a look."
Kou Dong lowered his eyes and didn't speak. He clearly knew that the group of people in front of him were innocent, and they didn't know that those were made of children—but for some reason, he still felt a kind of physical nausea.
Wrapped in thick fur, when those children performed for them with fear and humility, when they looked at the surprised and excited faces below, what were they thinking in their hearts
"Speaking of which," someone said enthusiastically, "I heard that in the past two days, there will be new additions to the circus."
Kou Dong suddenly paused and raised his head.
The man couldn't wait to reveal the answer.
"I heard it's a singing dog!"
"Dog?" the shopkeeper asked curiously, "Dogs can sing too?"
"Why not!" The man introduced with spit, "That's what happened in the past two days. The people in the group told me—hey, that's really a rare treasure. I don't know how much they paid for it. I just found—”
Kou Dong suddenly felt nauseated. He turned his head and glanced at the two people beside him, their expressions were equally ugly.
That's a living player.
They were clearly still alive, but they couldn't confirm whether this was really better than death.
Several people cheered up and reluctantly served the dishes in the teahouse a few times, and the shopkeeper gave them some money first. The other two are just a few copper coins, but Kou Dong has silver dollars in his hand.
The guests in the building felt sorry for them, they came out to work at a young age, and gave a lot. Song Hong held the copper coins, heaved a sigh of relief, turned around and saw Kou Dong holding a basket full of money.
Even so, there are still customers who put money or even the entire purse into the basket, and still ask him to eat more with kindness.
Song Hong: "..."
There are still differences between people.
Kou Dong, who is favored by all NPCs, keeps his clothes full, hiding his achievements and fame.
The triangular eyes outside have seen them a few times, seeing them walking among the guests, they only thought they were begging, and they didn't take it seriously, turned their heads and left. But the shopkeeper said suspiciously: "I don't know what that person does, and he doesn't come in for tea."
He vaguely suspected in his heart that the other party was a thief who came to step on the spot, so he secretly made a note, but suddenly he heard a burst of opera singing coming from the open window. The voice was straight and round, it was clearly a man, but it was charming like a woman, it was a Tsing Yi. With a melodious voice and a clear singing voice, she read: "The wind in the palace of water is coming, and the autumn wind is tight, and the moon shines on the first floor of the palace gate. The twelve railings are all gone, and the lonely porch is dark at night... The beauty is empty, there is hatred for the country, when will we see the person in the eyes again! "
The shopkeeper poked his head out to listen, then pulled back and said to Kou Dong, "You didn't ask me just now? Well, this is where they are performing to attract customers. If you want to go, go and have a look."
When Kou Dong heard it, he realized that the circus was actually on this street. He was overjoyed, thanked the shopkeeper, and hurried away with the other two.
But saw that there were already many people around that door, the three of them were small in size, peeked into the gap and got in, squeezed to the first row, only to realize that it was the beautiful snake singing.
His face was extremely beautiful, and now the long satin-like hair was hanging beside his face, at first glance, he was really a beauty.
It wasn't until a glimpse of the snaking figure that one could tell that he wasn't fully human. He has neither feet nor arms, and is only in an iron cage, crying and singing that fold of "Xi Shi". Kou Dong couldn't understand opera, but judging from the reactions of the people around him, it seemed that he sang very well. Many people cheered loudly, and coins of all sizes rained down like raindrops.
The beauty snake stood up and smiled. After he finished singing this fold, he held his head up and thanked everyone.
It is rare for a snake to speak, let alone sing. Someone yelled: "One more! One more!"
He sang another song, this time with a different tone, it was more soft and charming than before, it was Kunqu opera, the most famous song "Dream" in "The Peony Pavilion".
"Flying in the morning and tired in the evening, Yunxia Cuixuan..."
He slowly lifted those eyes up, right in the middle.
Kou Dong had an intuition that he was looking at himself.
There was a deeper smile on the corners of Beauty Snake's lips, and she said slowly: "It's rainy and windy, and the eyes are full of flowers..."
Kou Dong was stared straight at him, as if he had stepped into a cold pool of water. He frowned slightly, but heard Ye Yanzhi on his shoulder suddenly said in a deep voice, "That's not right."
Kou Dong: "What?"
Ye Yanzhi stared at the golden python closely.
"The eyes are wrong."
he said.
Kou Dong is standing at this position now, when he saw the beauty snake happened to be facing the sun, he couldn't see clearly, he could only feel that the other side looked away.
He asked in a low voice, "What happened to his eyes?"
Ye Yanzhi watched closely for a long time before shaking his head.
"It's gone again."
Kou Dong believed his words, and said: "If there is another one later, you can tell me again."
After a while, the Beauty Snake turned her gaze back again, and landed on Kou Dong again.
This time, Kou Dong heard Ye Yanzhi's voice suddenly increased: "Here we come! - It's pupils!"
Kou Dong: "What about the pupils?"
"His pupils have changed!" said the little man, leaning forward slightly, "while looking at you, he—"
Kou Dong's eyes were a little uncomfortable from the sunlight. He blinked, trying to hold back the tears that came close to his eyes.
With this layer of hazy water light, he finally understood what his cub meant.
— only when looking at him.
The pupils of the beauty snake slowly elongated, gradually elongated, squeezed...
He turned into the vertical pupils that only real snakes can have.
The author has something to say:
Kou Dong: Today is also a day that is favored by NPCs, smile.