The gate shuddered with every impact, looking as if it might collapse at any moment.
The older boy pressed his weight against the door with all his might, while the younger ones crowded around A-Xing. "Brother A-Xing, so many, so many people are coming!"
"How many?" A-Xing asked the gatekeeper.
The gatekeeper’s expression was grim. "I'd estimate thirty or forty."
Hearing this, A-Xing frowned.
Only a few people had come the previous two times; to think so many had arrived today. Their side had a fair number of people, but they were mostly the elderly and the very young—not a single one of them could fight.
Looking at the gate, which was being struck with a deafening roar, A-Xing felt uneasy. He turned his head to advise Lin Hao, "There are too many of them. You should go inside the house and stay there."
Lin Hao’s expression remained calm. "Since we've caught it in time, we might as well watch."
"What if a conflict breaks out in a moment? What if they hurt you?"
Gazing at the precarious gate, Lin Hao spoke in a detached tone, "They didn't come here to fight."
A curious child nearby asked, "Then what are they here for?"
Lin Hao looked toward the child who had asked the question.
It was a boy of about six or seven. Although he was thin and small, wearing coarse cloth clothes that were somewhat oversized, he was clean and tidy; there wasn't a trace to be seen of him ever having been a beggar.
"They're just here to be obnoxious," Lin Hao explained, reaching out to pat the boy's head.
A-Xing pursed his lips slightly upon hearing this and strode forward.
Seeing him approach, the boys bracing the door looked to him with pleading eyes.
"I'll count to three. You must immediately pull out the door bolt and move to the sides. Do you understand?"
The boys nodded.
"One, two, three—"
As A-Xing shouted "three," the boys scrambled to the side. The gate swung open violently, like a flood breaking through a levee, and a stream of people surged in instantly.
They tumbled over one another, falling face-first inside the gate in a clumsy heap.
"Hahaha—" The scene caused many of the children to clap and laugh.
A-Xing looked out the gate expressionlessly. He saw the beggar who had led the previous two visits standing outside, about half a zhang away from the threshold.
"What exactly do you want?" A-Xing walked past the few beggars struggling to crawl up and stood before the leader.
The leader was a middle-aged beggar, dressed in rags with muddy, clouded eyes. Facing A-Xing's interrogation, he suddenly began to wipe away tears. "Please, let us stay inside. We'll freeze to death out here in this weather..."
As he cried, the beggars following him began to wail as well.
A-Xing remained unmoved. "I told you the first time you came knocking: we only take in beggars under the age of twelve or over the age of fifty. You do not meet the criteria."
"They are human beings! Are we not human beings? Are we meant to just freeze to death on the streets?"
The middle-aged beggar's words immediately incited indignation among his companions, who began to chime in one after another. "That's right! We are also poor, homeless people. The snow hasn't stopped falling these days; we can't hold out much longer. Since you are performing an act of charity, why not go all the way and give us a way to survive!"
Lin Hao watched coldly, whispering a few instructions to Bao Zhu.
Bao Zhu nodded, shoved the fire poker into Lin Hao's hand, and slipped away amidst the chaos.
The beggars' pleas infuriated A-Xing.
A-Hao was right; these rogues didn't dare to lay a hand on them; they were purely here to be obnoxious.
It wasn't an exaggeration to call these beggars rogues, given they continued to harass them despite being explicitly rejected. They were neither ignorant toddlers nor frail, sickly elderly; the reason they had fallen into beggary was mostly because they didn't want to work.
Of course, a small minority were forced into it, like A-Xing and his brother. When they first ended up on the streets, A-Xing had tried to find work to support his brother, only to find that his own good looks had become their greatest misfortune. Not only did he constantly encounter people trying to take advantage of him, but his brother had been targeted by kidnappers because he had no one to watch him; A-Xing had fought desperately to get him back. With no other way out, A-Xing had blackened their faces to become beggars, so that whether for good or bad, they would at least be together.
Back then, his greatest wish was for his brother to grow up quickly so they could earn a living through manual labor.
Because of this, A-Xing held a particular contempt for those who had limbs but refused to work.
"So you mean if you freeze to death, it's our family's fault for not giving you a way to live?"
The middle-aged beggar pleaded with a mournful face, "If it's really not possible, just give us a corner of your eaves to shield us from the wind and rain."
A-Xing understood perfectly well. These pitiful-sounding words were merely a tactic used by these beggars to coerce people. If he were to soften his heart and let them stay, they would turn around and demand food the very next moment.
"What kind of wind and snow can a corner of an eave shield?" A-Xing's lips curled into a sneer. "Isn't there a shelter for beggars? It only costs one wen for a night. Can't you beggars earn even one wen in a day?"
"Oh, we are beggars, not laborers. There's no telling how much we'll beg in a day," the middle-aged beggar explained aggrievedly.
A-Xing exposed him without hesitation. "It doesn't snow every day. If you saved the money you earned on warmer days, wouldn't you have enough to pay for the shelter?"
He had seen this scenario many times: beggars who had earned money would gather to drink and eat meat, indulging in immediate pleasure.
The middle-aged beggar faltered, thinking to himself, *How does this kid know so much?*
Naturally, he couldn't recognize that this youth, who looked like a young nobleman, had once been one of them.
"How would a young master know the hardships of us beggars? Occasionally we might beg a few extra copper coins, but if we fall ill, it's all gone. Where would we find extra money to stay in a shelter?"
A-Xing had no desire to entangle himself with these rogues and said coldly, "Then go ask other houses if they are willing to give you a corner of their eaves to shield you from the wind and rain."
Seeing A-Xing turn away, the middle-aged beggar suddenly knelt and grabbed his legs. "Young master, please have mercy on us! Saving a life is worth more than building a seven-story pagoda!"
As he knelt, more and more beggars knelt down to beg.
A-Xing's face darkened as he fought the urge to kick them.
Just then, a squad of officials arrived. The leading officer barked, "What is going on here?"
Whether it was A-Xing, the beggars who refused to leave, or the onlookers, everyone was stunned.
Aren't officials supposed to show up only after a matter has been settled?
The crowd watched blankly as the squad of officials approached, hearing the leader ask, "Who reported this?"
Lin Hao stepped forward and said calmly, "It was me."
A-Xing's expression shifted.
*A-Hao is solving trouble... this directly?*
The middle-aged beggar was a rogue; unlike ordinary citizens who would act flustered upon seeing officials, he knew the benefits of striking first. He immediately changed the direction of his kneeling and cried, "Officer, we haven't done anything wrong! The master of this house has taken in many beggars, and we have come to ask this great philanthropist for a way to survive!"
Kneeling to beg wasn't illegal, so what if the officials had arrived? At most, they would just disperse them. If they were dispersed now, they could just come back tomorrow and see who lasted longer.
The other beggars chimed in, "Yes, in this cold weather, we're going to freeze to death, wahhh..."
Just as the middle-aged beggar expected, the leading officer merely waved his hand. "Disperse, disperse! What kind of sight is it, gathering in front of someone's door!"
The kneeling beggars stood up, preparing to make their exit.
"Wait, they cannot disperse."
Everyone looked toward the girl who had spoken.
Lin Hao stared at the leading officer in shock. "Officer, they forcibly intruded into a private residence. Are you not going to do anything about it?"