Abnormal Gourmet Chronicle-Chapter 873 - 434: Life (Part 1)_2

Yes, in such a place where the sky is the blanket and the ground is the mat, where human traffickers gather to sell goods, there are thieves.

A thief specialized in stealing food.

Initially, what was stolen were beans, cakes, sweet potatoes, these miscellaneous grains. When these things went missing, the traffickers didn't mind much, as the quantity was small, thinking perhaps some of the more daring goods ate them secretly. Anyway, these goods would soon be sold, and the traffickers were too lazy to fuss over it.

But when the porridge in the pot started to decrease, the traffickers felt something was wrong and began to question and search, thinking this thief was really audacious, daring to steal all kinds of food. The porridge in the pot was mixed with millet, which they usually couldn't afford to eat!

After a few days of investigation, the thief wasn't caught, and even more food went missing, even including left-overs bought by a certain trafficker surnamed Zhang with a substantial investment.

Furious, Zhang released harsh words, saying if the thief is caught, he must break his legs and throw him into the well.

Of course, this was just an angry rant, throwing someone into a well is a rather prestigious way to die. Throwing into a well means the water from the well can't be drunk for a while, and digging a well costs quite a bit, what kind of household conditions would throw someone into a well.

"This thieving scoundrel definitely isn't from our area, most likely a petty thief from the city. I really can't understand, which thief is so idle to leave the city's stuff untouched and instead steal from us, and even took a whole bag of my leftovers!"

"It cost me a full 50 copper coins! That could have treated me to a meal at the Second Meat Shop!" Zhang grew more agitated as he spoke, almost pacing and clutching his chest.

"Exactly. Business is tough these days, and people's prices drop day by day. Around this time last year, a maiden sold to a wealthy family as a maid could fetch five taels of silver; now, even selling into the alleys only gets four taels."

"Meeting those well-fed and well-drinked, calculating the cost in the end doesn't earn a profit and goes into deficit, and now even getting targeted by a thief. Why doesn't this thief dare to rob a Prince Mansion, a government house, but comes to rob us poor souls."

Qin Huai: …

'Poor Souls'

Qin Huai glanced at the goods lying on the ground, uncertain if alive or dead, and then looked at the group of traffickers surrounding the pot, speaking loudly, spitting everywhere, raising their voices when excited, with faces red and necks thick, only feeling at that moment Beiping was truly a ridiculous place, absurd within the city, equally absurd outside it.

This place was the gate of Beiping City's Outer City, and Qin Huai guessed it after observing the nearby people and hearing the accents of these traffickers.

Having gone through Chen Huihong's memories, Qin Huai followed and almost ran through the Inner City and Outer City of Beiping, greatly understanding the city's architecture and local accents of the time.

Combining it with what these traffickers said about the drought in Jin, severe enough for cannibalism, government suppression, devastation, people's livelihood unbearable to the extent traffickers dare not venture into numerous places. Qin Huai roughly judged the time of Mayfly's memory to be several years later than when Chen Huihong last came to Beiping City.

It was uncertain whether there was still the legend of the Crazy Lady in Beiping City at this time, whether Chen Huihong had left Beiping City.

Qin Huai continued listening to these traffickers curse the thief, yet his thoughts floated elsewhere.

Now Qin Huai roughly guessed the time and place, only missing the most crucial character.

Where is Zhao Cheng'an?

It was Qin Huai's first time entering memory and failing to find a person.

Where is he???

This place naturally isn't short of people, with just traffickers numbering over ten, the scattered goods easily tallying a hundred. It's because there are many people and they're mixed, with various items, each appearing gaunt and grimy, plus Qin Huai didn't know Zhao Cheng'an's appearance in his first lifetime.

Directly causing Qin Huai to face the biggest issue since checking memory, unprecedented.

Unable to find the main person.

Not as buddies, even as Mayfly, isn't this a bit absurd?

Failing to find anyone, Qin Huai chose to crouch by the pot and wait for someone. The spirit also needs to eat and drink coming to the human world, avoiding petty theft within the city, instead targeting these traffickers outside, undoubtedly it's Zhao Cheng'an.

Rather than making the first move, might as well wait for the rabbit, anyway, Zhao Cheng'an surely comes for porridge. Not knowing how Zhao Cheng'an manages not getting caught despite many watching him, Qin Huai could only keep an eye on the pot, besides the pot there was nothing else to watch.

Thus Qin Huai followed the traffickers and waited all afternoon, until the pot's porridge was done, the traffickers began distributing porridge, the sound of drinking porridge merged with the sound of swallowing saliva endlessly, yet Zhao Cheng'an didn't appear.

Seeing the porridge unharmed, the first trafficker Qin Huai noticed proudly said, "Sure enough Brother Liu's method worked, with so many of us guarding the pot, that little thief doesn't dare come near."

"Brothers, endure a few more days, these sharp goods will soon be sold. Whatever remains we'll handle casually, us few will head to the city to the Second Meat Shop and have a good meal!"

"Just to the Second Meat Shop? Cai Tou, you really lack ambition, if going there, might as well go to Babaozhai for a meal!"

"Still Babaozhai, why don't you mention Yonghe Inn and Taifeng Building, can you afford it? Do you know how much a plate of peanuts costs in the tavern?"

As they boasted, the one who appeared most normal among them, also the wealthiest, dressed best, mostly holding high-end goods trafficker suddenly screamed.

"Where's my pig head meat? My offal?? My yellow wine?? I spent 80 big coins at the Second Meat Shop buying the finest pig head meat, that damned thief, how does he know I bought these!"

"What? You eat so well?"

"Where'd you hide the stuff?"

"My corn bread is gone too!"

"You also hid corn bread?!"

"That damned thief, my white steamed bun!"

"You even have white steamed bun?!!"

After chaos, traffickers fearfully discovered their porridge was protected, but their private stash for personal dining vanished entirely.

Most lost items, a few didn't because they had nothing to lose, the thief this time hit East to Strike West, directly targeting the capital, scoring big with a single thief spree.

Furious and dissatisfied, Cai Tou parted with these traffickers who ate well and wealthy, returning to his own turf, immediately irked seeing the inferior goods lying there.

Among these traffickers, he's one of the few daring without talent trafficking solely low-quality goods; originally aiming for a big profit, arriving in Beiping realizing even these inferior goods are hard to sell, not to mention big profit, not getting stuck is considered lucky.

Returning to his turf, seeing one half-dead good after another, Cai Tou's anger surged, nearly kicking the closest child, then realizing it was the most valuable medium-grade good with the hope of profit, quickly stopping, switching to yelling:

"Where's the water? Don't know how to get water, just know how to lie there waiting to eat all day right? Damn bad luck, picking you lot, all the way eating mine, drinking mine, grain's been eaten lots, yet not sold one."

"I'm telling you, if like this tomorrow still half-dead can't sell, I'll sell all of you into coal kilns and brick kilns, guarantee not lasting three months tiring alive till death."

"Get energized!" 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

"Go fetch water, damn it, thirsty and want to drink!"

Several barely movable children struggled up, one of them was almost bought in the afternoon, staggered holding the jar to fetch water.

"Phooey." Cai Tou spat on the ground, "Had I known returning was so hard, detouring wasting half a month's more grain, might as well buy cheap ones nearby."

"Damn it, one cries poverty, yet privately eating better one than another, even eating white steamed bun, pig head meat, drinking yellow wine, damn me hardly tasted a bite of white steamed bun, rightly it should steal yours!"

Finishing the scolding, Cai Tou went to check his stockpile, the next second, a shrill scream came from here.

"That damned thief, having white steamed bun and pig head meat yet unsatisfied, stealing even my black bread! All ten breads stolen, that's my four days of food supply!"

"My bread!"