From as far back as she could remember, Jiang Sheng knew that she was an orphan.
She rummaged through trash, fought over dog food, and even sneaked into people's backyards.
At the age of five, she went to the kitchen of a wealthy household to steal leftovers, but was caught by a maid. She was then surrounded by three or four strong men who beat her mercilessly before throwing her out of the estate.
The young girl who hasn't grown legs yet hunched her body, and it took her three whole days to recover.
The first thing Jiang Sheng did when she could get up was to find something to eat.
She knew that only by eating could one survive.
At the age of seven, Jiang Sheng learned to make the best of her situation.
Although she had no father, no mother, and no one to love or care for her, she could eat at various households and stand on the street to choose. Should she go to Li's Restaurant's kitchen to pick up food scraps or go to Zhou's Braised Meat Shop to fight with dogs for bones?
After careful consideration, she set her sights on the renowned brothel in town, the "Yi Hong Yuan," and its kitchen.
Jiang Sheng was shrewd. She knew that the customers at Yi Hong Yuan didn't come for the food. They often ordered a table full of fish and meat, but rarely took more than a few bites.
After the customers left, the kitchen staff, starting with the head chef and the maidservants, would eat the relatively intact leftovers, while the harder-to-chew chicken heads, necks, and feet would be thrown into a large bucket in the kitchen.
For Jiang Sheng, these were rare delicacies. Every time, she would eat her fill, take a handful with her, and bring them home to savor slowly.
"Slurp." Remembering the delightful memory of gnawing on chicken feet, Jiang Sheng licked her lips and rubbed her hands together.
On the other side of this wall was the kitchen of Yi Hong Yuan.
Unfortunately, she wasn't tall enough to climb through the door, so she had to crawl through a dog hole.
Jiang Sheng lowered her head and diligently searched for the small opening she had used last time, but no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find it. Could it be that someone had blocked it? She was worried.
Just as she was in distress, the back door of Yi Hong Yuan opened suddenly, and someone walked out.
Jiang Sheng was frightened and quickly hid in the bushes, praying not to be seen. She didn't want to get beaten up.
Fortunately, the person didn't look in her direction. They just angrily said, "I can't afford to raise you, and Yi Hong Yuan can't afford to keep you. Get lost! Don't tell anyone that you know me, and don't come back here."
Something fell to the ground.
Then, the back door closed again, and the bolt was fastened.
Jiang Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and cautiously peered out. She saw a boy who looked eight or nine years old, sitting there in a daze, wearing a fine robe.
Oh, the young master had been abandoned by his family.
Jiang Sheng stuck her head out, inexplicably certain that he was feeling very sad.
People who had never had parents didn't know how good parents could be, so they wouldn't miss them.
But those who had experienced a mother's love, only to be thrown away by her, would surely feel empty and miserable.
It was like... just when you had picked up a big meat bun, a wild dog came out of nowhere and snatched it away.
"Ah." Jiang Sheng sighed.
The young master shifted his gaze towards her and stared blankly, unable to say anything.
Jiang Sheng pitied him, but she couldn't afford to care about him.
She found the dog hole, hidden behind dense green grass.
The seven-year-old girl used her hands and feet skillfully, crawling into the kitchen and fishing in a large bucket that was about her height.
Chicken heads, necks, feet, fish tails—she fished out everything edible and wrapped them up in a small cloth.
Today, Jiang Sheng didn't have time to savor it because there was a commotion caused by the guards, shouting, "Where did this little thief come from?"
She was frightened and held the small rag tightly, rushing to escape.
Passing through the dog hole and into the alley, the young master was still sitting in place.
The guards had already opened the back door, and they were even discussing how to teach a lesson to the little thief who stole things.
Jiang Sheng thought that the young master, being so foolish, might even be beaten to death.
She couldn't bear it in her heart, so she rushed over, pulled him up, and they ran together.
The guards were still shouting behind them. Jiang Sheng relied on her knowledge of the terrain, going through three alleys and four streets, finally managing to escape from them.
Finally finding a secluded corner after much difficulty, Jiang Sheng let go of the young master's hand and sat down on the ground, panting heavily.
The young master was also panting, but he was more amazed, looking at Jiang Sheng's eyes with curiosity.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Jiang Sheng ignored him. She was hungry to begin with, and after running for so long, all she wanted now was to replenish her energy.
Hmm, what should she eat first? How about the fish tail? It has bones and doesn't keep well.
She picked out the fish tail from the small rag, carefully removed the fish skin, ate the meat, and even sucked on the fish tail, savoring it thoroughly.
The young master stared at her in astonishment.
"Are you hungry too?" Jiang Sheng reluctantly handed him a chicken claw. "Eat it, don't waste it."
She wasn't a very generous person, but she knew what it felt like to be hungry. When you're hungry, you feel dizzy, your vision blurs, and you have no strength.
After being beaten and left to die, Jiang Sheng made a wish during those three days on the brink of death.
She hoped that no one would ever go hungry again.
Even with that chicken claw, she really liked it.
After throwing away the fish tail that was cleaned down to the last bit of meat, Jiang Sheng stood up.
"Where are you going?" the young master, gnawing on the chicken claw, finally spoke, his voice hoarse and indistinct.
Jiang Sheng was puzzled. "Of course, I'm going home."
"Home?" The young master opened his mouth, and suddenly tears started flowing. "I don't have a home anymore."
A boy of seven or eight years old, crying while holding the chicken claw.
Jiang Sheng had never cried like that herself.
Holding the leftovers in her arms, Jiang Sheng felt a bit sorry for the young master. "Stop crying, I'll share my home with you."
That way, they would both have a home.
The young master slowly stopped crying. "Is it true?"
"Of course it's true, but my home is a bit rundown. I hope you don't mind." Jiang Sheng traveled a long distance and brought the young master back to her home.
It was called a home, but it was actually a dilapidated temple.
Years of disrepair, drafts from the east, leaks from the west, no wooden bed, just sleeping on the floor.
But for Jiang Sheng, this was her home.
"Now, it's your home too." Jiang Sheng proudly introduced herself, "My name is Jiang Sheng, what's your name?"
The young master stared at her blankly. "My name is Zheng Ruqian."
So, from now on, this would be the home of Jiang Sheng and Zheng Ruqian.
At night, Jiang Sheng divided the chicken neck in half and gave one half to Zheng Ruqian.
Zheng Ruqian took out two golden beans from his pocket. "These are all I have."
Jiang Sheng was still immersed in the pain of "having to share food from now on," when she unexpectedly caught sight of the glittering gold, almost jumping up on the spot.
Although she had never owned gold, she had seen the guests at the Yihong Courtyard take out ingots of gold, just like this color.
Little girl takes a bite like a madam.
Mmm, grinding her teeth, it was real.
One chicken foot and a piece of chicken neck exchanged for two golden beans. Jiang Sheng felt for the first time that giving away half of her family was not a loss at all.
"But we don't have the ability to protect gold. We must hide this money," Jiang Sheng, like a little adult, paced around the dilapidated temple.
She was worried everywhere.
After thinking it through, she finally placed it at the feet of the Buddha.
Hoping that the Buddha would bless her, that the gold would never be lost.
Jiang Sheng bowed earnestly, also praying for herself to always have enough food to eat.
