Chapter 138 It’s too late
After Qianhuan finished saying these words, the group of little beggars looked at each other, but no one dared to take the first step.
In the end, it was Pumpkin who first walked behind Qianhuan. He said, "Brother Shanbo, I believe in you. I am willing to sign a contract to sell myself and acknowledge you as my master."
When the other children saw Pumpkin walking over, they followed him one after another.
Finally, there were three children left standing there without moving. Qian Hua asked, "Are you guys planning to continue being beggars?"
The child who had been asking for more than an inch said disdainfully, "Signing a contract to sell yourself is equivalent to selling yourself to others as a slave. You will have no freedom at all. In the future, the master may be in a bad mood and will beat and scold us at will and force us to do a lot of work. Although I have to look at people's faces when begging for food every day, I don't have to do any work at all. If I meet a kind person who gives me more, I can have several meals. I would rather beg for food every day than sell myself as a slave."
When the other two children heard what he said, they were frightened by the words "maybe the master will beat and scold us at will", and they also agreed that although being a beggar requires to please people, in fact they don't have to do any work, they can get food by just pretending to be pitiful, so the two children immediately said that they were unwilling to sell themselves.
In fact, Qianhuan had already seen that the child who spoke first had the idea of getting something for nothing. Even if he wanted to go with her, she would not want him. Even if such a person was trained, he would probably be an ungrateful person in the future, and might even harm you.
As for the other two children who were frightened by his words, first of all, they were too timid, had no opinions of their own, and were hesitant in character. It is difficult for such people to accomplish great things. Secondly, they were probably people who were afraid of hardship.
Sometimes in this society, the bold ones will die of overeating and the timid ones will die of starvation. People with a kind nature, some courage, and the ability to endure hardships are the ones she wants.
Qianhuan counted the number of children who were screened out. Yes, it was a screening. Qianhuan deliberately said that they would only be given food to ensure that they would not starve to death. She deliberately did not describe the arrangements for them too well, in order to eliminate those who could not endure hardship and just wanted to eat and drink for free.
Qianhuan has always felt that kindness also requires wisdom. A kind person should not unconditionally agree to every request of the recipient, but should understand how to help the other person and make the other person feel grateful.
Including Pumpkin, a total of twelve children were selected who were willing to follow Qianhuan.
Qianhuan looked at the selected children and said seriously, "Since you choose to believe in me and follow me, you no longer have to be beggars on the street. I will let you live an upright life and become someone who can earn money with your own hands and live a good life."
Then, she told them the real plan for the future. "In the future, I will spend money to hire people to train you. After you learn, you must do your best to help me. Although you will not be paid at the beginning, I will take care of your food, clothing, housing and transportation in the early stage. In the later stage, I will pay you monthly wages according to your ability and performance. The better the performance and the greater the ability, the more monthly wages will be paid. So, as long as you follow me and are willing to work hard, your future will be bright."
As the saying goes, it is better to teach a man to fish than to give him a fish. Only by teaching these children how to survive can they create wealth through their own efforts and always have food to eat.
When the little beggars heard their master's arrangements and plans for them, happy smiles appeared on their faces. They felt that although they needed to sign a contract to sell themselves, their new master would take care of their food, clothing, housing and transportation, and spend money to train them. Most importantly, they would be paid based on their performance in the future. This was a life they had never dared to imagine before. It was simply pulling them from hell to heaven.
Qianhuan continued, "And as long as you are loyal to me and work hard for me, I will give you a chance when the time is right. You can use money to redeem your indentures. The money for redemption will definitely be within your means. And for those who perform outstandingly, I will directly give them the indentures for free, allowing them to become free."
Qianhuan's words were like a bright light in the darkness, lighting up the hope in the hearts of these little beggars. They all showed longing looks on their faces, as if such good days were just around the corner.
Pumpkin immediately knelt down and kowtowed, saying with gratitude: "Pumpkin greets the master, thank you for giving me a chance to make a new choice and change my life. Pumpkin has no way to repay you. I will study hard in the future, just to repay the master's great kindness."
The other children followed Pumpkin's example, greeted their new master, and expressed their gratitude in a solemn manner.
At this time, after the other three children knew Qianhuan’s real arrangement for them, they all regretted very much that they had not chosen to agree.
One of the children came forward and whispered to Qianhuan, "I am willing to sell myself, too. Can you take me with you?"
Another child said the same thing, and the child who had said earlier that he would rather be a beggar than sell his body was afraid that he would lose his chance when he saw both of them say the same thing.
He immediately put on a flattering face, ran up to Qianhuan, knelt down and kowtowed, "I am also willing to sign the contract to sell myself, and beg the master to take me in. I will definitely work hard in the future to repay the master's kindness."
Qianhuan looked at the people kneeling on the ground and said coldly, "I'm sorry, I just gave you a chance, but you didn't take it. You should continue to be beggars who don't have to work and are free. You don't have to worry about being beaten or exploited by your master."
The three children regretted their decision, but it was too late. They could only watch the other little beggars pack up their things and prepare to start a new life.
Young Master Cai also asked his brothers to pack up their things and go to the teahouse with him.
Young Master Cai originally had more than twenty brothers under him. Ever since Young Master Cai fell into trouble and had no work to do, some of the brothers who had families had gone back home to farm, and some of them went out to find their own way out.
Now, there are only eight brothers who are still following Young Master Cai wholeheartedly. These eight people are about the same age as Young Master Cai. They are a group of orphans without parents and have not yet started a family.
In fact, they had nothing to pick up at all. Although Young Master Cai could earn a lot of money a day by collecting stall fees, he had too many brothers under him, and after dividing the money among everyone, he didn't have much left.
So he usually just provided the little beggars with a bowl of porridge every day, and anything else he wanted to do was beyond his ability.
So, apart from having a small wooden house provided by Mr. Cai to live in and not freezing to death, these orphans also had a bowl of porridge to drink every day even if they didn't get anything to beg for, so they wouldn't starve to death. Otherwise, they didn't even have a change of clothes.
After a while, everyone had packed up, and then Qianhuan took everyone to the teahouse.