Chapter 37

Although everyone in the family thought Xu Mo, the eldest brother, was the smartest, Chang Yan had surprised them several times by coming up with some good ideas.

Gradually, the brothers began to pay more attention to this seemingly reticent fifth son who didn’t seem to have any special skills.

"People like Pang Dashan may look very bad, but they have one thing in common - they sway in the wind," said Chang Yan, slowly adding, "The government officials are very powerful, so he helps them deal with us. If we can give him more, he will also become our helper."

Even if this overture from Pang Dashan was a new scheme by the officials, as long as they could bring more benefits to Pang Dashan, he would switch sides. Chang Yan glanced at Jiang Sheng and rarely complimented her, "You did very well just now with the candied haws."

Winning people's hearts had always been done using these little tricks.

Jiang Sheng's little mouth was open in surprise. She actually hadn't thought that much about it at the time. It was just a fleeting moment of compassion.

"What should we do now?" Zheng Ruqian anxiously asked.

He had obviously taken it to heart.

The corners of Chang Yan's mouth turned up slightly. He only said three words, "New Year's here."

During the New Year, every household kills pigs and chickens, buys flower cloth and new clothes, fries dumplings and stews pastries.

But the beggars have nothing.

Zheng Ruqian suddenly realized, and began to ponder what could be given.

Chang Yan added at the right time, "Don't give unconditionally, lest you feed greed."

Well, it wasn't simple either.

They had to use gifts to win over Pang Dashan, but they couldn't give too overtly. These kinds of sinister maneuvers weren't easy to comprehend for those who weren't constantly immersed in them.

Xu Mo couldn't help but become curious about his own origins as the fifth little brother.

Back at the dilapidated temple.

Everyone started busily working.

They had to shred radishes and mix them into a batter to fry dumplings, coat the vegetables they liked to fry, and cook some rice porridge to paste auspicious characters on the door.

Although Xu Mo could cook now, he still didn't have much kitchen experience. His dumplings were fried to pieces and the vegetables were oily. Jiang Sheng comforted him, "Eldest brother, I just like food with lots of oil. More oil and soup is good, we usually can’t eat oily food."

Xu Mo could only wryly smile.

After so many years of reading books of sages and not finding them difficult, he never thought one day he would be stumped by such mundane cooking.

Fortunately, Zhang Qi had brought them a large package of dumplings and vegetables that afternoon, and carried a piece of beef for them, resolving their predicament.

The broken dumplings and vegetables were not wasted either, they could be packaged and given to Pang Dashan.

To make it look natural, Zheng Ruqian deliberately broke off a piece of broken tile from the dilapidated temple, then went to find Pang Dashan and asked him to help replace it with a new one.

Pang Dashan readily agreed.

He was already seventeen or eighteen, tall and big. Standing on a stool he could easily reach the tiles, it was effortless.

Looking at the few children in the dilapidated temple, the tallest, Xu Mo, only reached his chin. Pang Dashan suddenly felt a strange sense of arrogance and pride.

"Wow, Brother Dashan is so amazing!"

When Jiang Sheng clapped her hands and cheered at the gate of the broken temple, this arrogance and pride reached its peak.

Pang Dashan jumped down from the stool, "It's just a small thing."

Jiang Sheng smiled and brought out the dumplings and vegetables. Some were fried to pieces and some were intact. "It's New Year’s, we don't have much to give Brother Dashan, so here are some dumplings and vegetables for you guys."

Pang Dashan was taken aback.

He was a beggar, but unlike Jiang Sheng who had been wandering since she could remember, he had actually been adopted by a kind family when he was young. At that time, he also had new clothes to wear every New Year, and fried dumplings and vegetables to eat.

But later, his adoptive parents died accidentally, and he became an unwanted wild child again, abused by his uncles and elders, gradually developing a fierce temper.

In order to survive, stealing, robbing and plundering had long been ingrained.

Jiang Sheng was the first person to take the initiative to give him things.

First it was three candy haws, now it was a package of dumplings and vegetables.

Pang Dashan reached out his frostbitten hands hesitantly to take them.

Jiang Sheng still had an innocent sweet smile on her face. She frolicked at the gate of the dilapidated temple, sometimes pulling Wen Zhiyun or Chang Yan, the two quiet elder brothers, to make them move more.

Xu Mo was cooking, Zheng Ruqian was cutting vegetables, and Fang Heng was practicing martial arts.

With these lively people, this broken and small temple no longer looked bleak.

There was a inexplicable sense of home.

Pang Dashan walked away in a daze.

After making sure he had gone far away, Jiang Sheng stopped her pretense of laughter and went to Chang Yan, “Fifth brother, can this move Pang Dashan and make him turn against the officials for us?” Chang Yan looked profound, “It will.”

The more destitute the beggar, the more they craved warmth, and the more reluctant they were to destroy that warmth.

New Year’s Eve.

Jiang Sheng and her brothers were staying up around the small stove, the hot and steaming bone soup inside, taking meat if they wanted meat, taking vegetables if they wanted vegetables, ladling soup if they wanted soup.

The beggar Jiang Sheng never dreamed that she would live this kind of life. She couldn't help but look up at the Buddha several times, afraid that if she closed her eyes she would wake up and find it was all a fantasy.

But until the sound of firecrackers bursting filled the air, the scene before her remained real and clear.

Zheng Ruqian pulled Jiang Sheng up excitedly, "I heard that Master Niu in town spent a fortune to buy a batch of fireworks from Anshui County. Let's go see them, they'll be gone soon!"

Not only them, most of the villagers of Shili Pu Village stood at their doors, gazing longingly at this unseen fireworks, these strange sounds, these gorgeous lights.

"I never thought that fireworks so common in Fengjing would become a rare sight in this small town," Chang Yan murmured.

Fang Heng suddenly turned his head, "What did you say, little fifth?"

"Oh nothing," Chang Yan smiled slightly. "Let's watch the fireworks."

The six children, wearing new cotton jackets, stood shoulder to shoulder at the gate of the dilapidated temple, looking up.

Regrettably, Master Niu's finances were limited, and the fireworks only lasted a few dozen breaths before disappearing.

Zheng Ruqian clicked his tongue, "If I were rich, I would set them off for half an hour."

"Set them off all day, from morning to night," Jiang Sheng said, clenching her fists.

Xu Mo kindly reminded her, "You can't see fireworks in daylight."

Jiang Sheng was dumbfounded.

Zheng Ruqian shouted and laughed loudly without restraint. Xu Mo and Fang Heng also chuckled. Even Wen Zhiyun covered his mouth with one hand.

The dilapidated temple was filled with laughter and chatter.

It was heartbreaking to disrupt it.

Pang Dashan had been hiding behind a tree for a long time, hesitating for a long time, before finally stepping out.

"Oh, Brother Dashan, you came!" Jiang Sheng warmly greeted him. "Have you eaten? Do you want to have New Year's Eve dinner with us?"

At this moment, Pang Dashan also couldn't figure out his own mindset as he nodded blankly, "Okay."

In the corner, Chang Yan pursed his lips and tugged Xu Mo's sleeve.

There was still laughter in the dilapidated temple, but those who should be vigilant had already sounded the alarm.