After Descending the Mountain, Seven Big Brothers Spoil Me - Chapter 613

Chapter 613: Targeted
Perhaps because the opening had been so smooth, Qin Bei felt a surge of ambition. Beside him, the aroma of the nearby food street made Zhouzhou’s mouth water.

She tugged at Qin Bei’s sleeve, saying, “Sixth Brother, I’m hungry.”

She hadn’t eaten before leaving home and had followed her Sixth Brother in search of food, walking such a long distance that she felt she could devour an entire ox.

Qin Bei, full of confidence, declared, “Wait here, I’ll get us some food!”

“Mm-hmm! Thank you, Sixth Brother, you’re the best.” Qin Bei, flattered by her praise, strutted towards a fried chicken shop with an air of superiority.

At the window, he stood on tiptoe and raised his bowl. “Uncle, could you give me a drumstick?” he asked.

Remembering Zhouzhou’s appetite, he quickly corrected himself, “Please give me ten drumsticks, ten burgers, and three cups of cola.”

The shopkeeper gave him a disdainful look. “Go away, don’t disturb my business,” he snapped, waving him off impatiently.

Qin Bei, stunned by the rejection, stood there dumbfounded. Zhouzhou, more experienced in such matters, was unfazed.

She had begged for food before joining the Qin family. She ran over to Qin Bei, pulling him away, “It’s okay, Sixth Brother, we’ll try somewhere else.”

This first setback dampened Qin Bei’s enthusiasm. Zhouzhou consoled him, “It’s alright. It took Master Mingtong and me a long time to get a few buns.”

Qin Er chimed in, “If we can’t get food for free, we’ll work for it.” Zhouzhou, her eyes brightening, nodded vigorously, “I can wash dishes, I’m good at it!”

As Zhouzhou recounted her previous experience of being detained for eating without paying, Qin Bei listened in disbelief.

Qin Er, meanwhile, rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Eating a lot and just washing some dishes? Not a bad deal.

He started considering which restaurant to target next. Zhouzhou, reading his thoughts, hurriedly stopped him, “Brother Dafu, deliberately dining and dashing will get you struck by lightning.”

Master Mingtong hadn’t known her appetite when they accidentally dined and dashed. Doing it on purpose wouldn’t be right.

Hearing those words, Qin Er sighed, abandoning his previous thoughts.

If he dared to go, his father would surely uphold justice over family ties and lock him up in a small, dark room.

Zhouzhou wouldn’t speak up for him either — she might even sell him out for a reward.

If she knew what he was thinking, Zhouzhou would definitely be furious.

Is she really the kind of person who would sell her own brother just for money?

Hmph!

It’s precisely because she doesn’t know that their fragile sibling bond still exists.

Zhouzhou demonstrated for Qin Bei, visiting a few places.

The little girl, sweet-faced and charming, managed to beg for three steamed buns.

She glanced at her two brothers and handed each one a bun.

Qin Bei, feeling the pangs of hunger, took a big bite.

But after the first taste, he frowned and handed the bun back to Zhouzhou. “I don’t want it. You can have it–it’s too dry.”

Zhouzhou blinked at his words, then shook her head.

It seems Sixth Brother isn’t cut out to be a beggar.

They’re out here begging for food—there’s no room for being picky.

Seeing his distaste, Zhouzhou took the bun without hesitation and ate it herself.

Unfortunately, even after downing two buns, she was still hungry. It wasn’t nearly enough to fill her stomach.

Rubbing her belly, Zhouzhou said, “Brother Dafu, Sixth Brother, let’s keep going.”

“Alright.” Qin Bei perked up again, resuming their search for food.

Seeing someone nearby toss an empty bottle after finishing their drink, Qin Er quickly pulled out a sack and started collecting it, not forgetting to rummage through a few trash cans as well.

Noticing this, Zhouzhou approached curiously. “Brother Dafu, what are you doing?”

“Bottles can be sold for money.”

At his words, Zhouzhou’s eyes lit up. Money!

She immediately pulled out a sack of her own. “Let’s search together!”

Begging for food was tough, but surely picking up trash wasn’t much easier.

The former relied on others, while the latter relied on themselves.

Qin Bei, still a bit confused, followed along. Weren’t they just begging for food? How did they suddenly switch to scavenging?

But he didn’t question it too much. After all, Zhouzhou and Second Brother were much better at making money than he was. He simply needed to follow their lead.

The three children spent the day collecting bottles and begging for food. By evening, they managed to sell the bottles for thirty yuan. They bought a big bag of steamed buns and, with the pickled vegetables they had begged for, sat by the roadside to eat.

Despite complaining about the dryness of the buns earlier, Qin Bei couldn’t resist anymore and began devouring one without hesitation.

Earlier in the day, Qin Bei had complained about the dryness of the steamed buns, but now he couldn’t hold back and was devouring them. As he ate, he couldn’t help but pout. “Zhouzhou, I want to eat meat.”

Zhouzhou, happily munching on her bun, replied, “But we don’t have money for meat.”

Forget meat—they couldn’t even afford proper vegetables.

With only thirty yuan between the three of them, that was ten yuan each, and it wasn’t even enough for her to feel full on steamed buns.

“Ah…” Qin Bei sighed as he chewed on his bun, feeling on the verge of tears.

He had thought he would make a lot of money today.

But no– begging was much harder than he had imagined.

Yet, the worst was still to come.

Qin Er suddenly asked, “Where are we sleeping tonight?”

Qin Bei froze. “Aren’t we going home to sleep?”

As soon as he said it, both Zhouzhou and Qin Er turned to him, staring as if he were a fool.

He blinked, confused. “W-what’s wrong?”

Zhouzhou looked at him and said, “Sixth Brother, do you know what being a beggar means?”

“It means someone without a home.”

“Well, since we’ve become beggars, we have to do it right. We’ll just find a random spot to sleep tonight.”

At her words, Qin Bei felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

No home?

In that instant, a surge of homesickness hit him, and a flicker of panic crept into his heart.

Zhouzhou and Qin Er exchanged a sly glance. Heh, the ten thousand yuan was almost theirs.

True to their word, they didn’t go home. They were really giving it their all for the ten thousand yuan.

Pretending not to notice Qin Bei’s crestfallen face, Zhouzhou and Qin Er pulled him along, wandering the streets in search of a place to stay.

By chance, they once again encountered the beggar they had seen earlier in the day. He was now gliding along on a wooden board, heading in a certain direction. The children glanced at him briefly before turning their attention away.

A nearby park caught their eye, and they found a few benches inside.

“We’ll sleep here tonight,” Zhouzhou suggested.

Qin Bei was on the verge of tears. With no one around and the streetlights dim, he felt a wave of fear wash over him, but he didn’t want to show it. Forcing a brave face, he said, “Sure.”

He quickly lay down on one of the benches, trying to appear unfazed.

Zhouzhou, lying on the bench beside him, was starving after a long day of scavenging and begging. Seeing that Qin Bei wasn’t paying attention to her, she slyly reached into her bag, pulled out a pack of cookies, and quietly began nibbling on them.

Qin Bei, hearing the faint rustling beside him, was too scared to move. After a while, he couldn’t hold back his fear any longer and whimpered, “Z-Zhouzhou, there’s a rat.”

“What?” Zhouzhou was startled. “Where’s the rat?”

“I think it’s right next to me. I can hear it eating.”

Zhouzhou blinked in surprise, then slowly realized—he was talking about her.

Fearing that he might discover the cookies her grandmother had secretly given her, which would ruin their whole plan, Zhouzhou quickly hid the cookies behind her back and stopped eating.

She picked up a small rock and tossed it in the air, pretending to throw it away. “Don’t worry, I scared the rat off.”

Qin Bei listened closely, and when the sounds stopped, he finally relaxed. “O-okay, it’s gone.”

Zhouzhou breathed a sigh of relief and lay back down, glancing at the cookies with reluctance. But in the end, for the sake of their plan, she resisted the temptation to eat.

Time passed slowly, and the surroundings grew quieter by the minute.

Suddenly, from behind a nearby wall, a head popped out.

“Is it them?”

“Yes,” another voice whispered. It was the same beggar Zhouzhou had encountered earlier.

Eyeing the children, he lowered his voice and said, “I’ve been watching them all day. These kids don’t have any family around, and they look clueless. They’re good-looking too—if we break their legs and use them to beg, we’ll make a fortune!”