The group of beggars had not finished their discussion when the Coachman lifted the carriage curtain.
To the astonishment of the beggars, the Ugly Girl stepped down. If they hadn't lived with her for over ten years, they would never have recognized that this clean girl was the Ugly Girl whose complexion was usually indiscernible.
“Ugly Girl? Why are you returning by carriage?” The first to step forward and ask was Ya Dan'er, who usually stayed closest to the Ugly Girl.
The two were close in age and the best of sisters; they always saved a little of whatever food they found for the other.
Ya Dan'er had returned early today because she had been beaten up; although it wasn't enough to keep her down, the beating was severe.
“Ya Dan'er, why are you back so early?” The Ugly Girl didn't answer her question but asked curiously. If they hadn't managed to beg for food, they wouldn't have returned this early. Moreover, there were several younger children in the Ruined temple whom they usually looked after; because of this, the two of them usually wouldn't return until dark, after the restaurants had closed down and they could go scavenge things the restaurants threw away.
“Ugly Girl older sister! Ya Dan'er older sister was beaten! She’s bleeding!” Before Ya Dan'er could speak, several little ones nearby started to chirp chirp about it.
“Yes! Ya Dan'er older sister’s leg was limping when she came back!”
There were six of them, looking at most seven or eight years old. They had all returned exceptionally early today because they had been begging near Ya Dan'er older sister and ran back scared after witnessing her being beaten.
The other beggars, those who were too old to go out begging, or those who had already returned with food, all crowded around the front of the carriage.
When the Ugly Girl heard that Ya Dan'er had been beaten, she quickly jumped off the carriage and rushed forward to check. Upon seeing Ya Dan'er covered in wounds, she instinctively covered her mouth and burst into loud Crying.
“Don’t cry, it doesn’t hurt! It really doesn’t hurt anymore!” Seeing her older sister cry, Ya Dan'er spoke up to comfort her.
The Ugly Girl was a few months older than her, which is why she always called her older sister.
After Ye Qingcheng woke up, she sat in the carriage to compose herself. Then she heard the chirp chirp outside and soon heard the Ugly Girl's Crying. She quickly got out of the carriage to check.
“What’s going on here?” Ye Qingcheng got out of the carriage and walked to the Ugly Girl’s side, seeing her looking at another person who was crying.
“Madam…” Seeing Ye Qingcheng descend, the Ugly Girl forced her tears back and called out softly.
“Injured? She was beaten, wasn't she?” Ye Qingcheng knew at a glance that she had been beaten. However, the person who hit her was quite vicious, actually using a whip; the wounds covered her body. If these wounds weren't treated, they would surely fester.
“Ugly Girl, hurry and wash her wounds. I have medicine here; applying it will make her fine!” She couldn't bear to watch. Although she didn't have much special medicine left, people should not be judged by their status, and she still needed to save this Little girl.
“Ugly Girl older sister, let’s go find water!” The oldest among the six little radishes, a Little girl, quickly led a few others running out.
Ye Qingcheng noticed that there were no boys among them; they were all girls.
Perhaps this was also due to favoring sons over daughters? Did they abandon female infants upon birth?
Soon, the little ones brought back clear water. Fortunately, it was the height of summer, so cool water was fine. The Ugly Girl carefully washed Ya Dan'er's wounds.
While this was happening, Ye Qingcheng took out the special medicine from her Medicine Garden Space, and after the washing was done, she applied the medicine to her.
Ya Dan'er felt that the wounds stopped hurting almost immediately. She just felt that after applying the medicine, she would get better right away.
She didn't think about anything else because, usually, when they caught a cold or got injured, they just endured it; they couldn't afford medicine at all.
“Thank you, Madam, for applying medicine to Ya Dan'er!” The Ugly Girl dropped to her knees with a thud and started kowtowing.
“Alright, alright, get up! It’s not a big deal! But if you don't give those meals to them, they’ll spoil!” Ye Qingcheng waved her hand and reminded her, realizing the food had been forgotten by the Ugly Girl after she focused on Ya Dan'er's injury.
Upon hearing this, the Ugly Girl snapped to attention and stood up. “Madam, I completely forgot about this good thing! Thank you for reminding me, Madam!”
Then, with a turn, she ran toward the carriage. After eating her fill, this girl’s strength had returned; the swiftness of her movements stunned the surrounding beggars.
Soon, the fragrant meals were brought out by the Ugly Girl. The first to drool were those few Little girls, who kept sniffing hard, unwilling to let even a tiny bit of the aroma escape.
“Hurry over here, sit properly! Time to eat!” The Ugly Girl beckoned for the six Little girls to run over.
The six Little girls obediently and well-behaved came over. Just like usual, they sat down, not fighting or snatching, staring intently at the food in the Ugly Girl older sister's hands, waiting for distribution.
The other beggars, although they wanted to eat, knew there were rules here: unless someone offered it to them, they couldn't grab it.
If they snatched it, she would be kicked out of the Ruined temple and have nowhere to stay in the future.
Although Ye Qingcheng's special medicine was potent, it wasn't an elixir of immortality; it couldn't heal wounds instantly. It was best to take a few doses of traditional medicine and let the wounds recover properly.
Ya Dan'er's wounds no longer felt burning hot; instead, they felt cool and refreshed, and she had already cast the injuries aside, focusing only on the food.
“Listen up, everyone! This food was packed for us from Taoran Residence by Madam! It’s not leftovers from someone else! It was specially packed! You know Taoran Residence, right?”
The Ugly Girl, who was meek as a little quail in front of Ye Qingcheng, displayed full Big Sister demeanor in front of this group of younger sisters.
Except for crying uncontrollably when she first saw Ya Dan'er injured, she was the strongest among them.
“Wow… Taoran Residence? I know, I know! But they usually scold us just for walking past the door! How did Ugly Girl older sister manage to get food from there?” Little girl number one asked curiously.
She was extremely envious of Ugly Girl older sister for managing to get food from Taoran Residence and for having such good food to give them.
“I know too! That gatekeeper slapped me last time!” Little girl number two raised her hand.
“Alright, alright! Stop talking, get ready to eat!” The Ugly Girl waved her small hand, and everyone immediately quieted down.
“Ya Dan'er older sister was injured today, so give her a little extra!” The Ugly Girl started distributing the food. “Da Ni'er, Xiao Ni'er, did you manage to get any food today?”
“We… someone was offering copper coins, but when they saw Ya Dan'er older sister being beaten, we ran away!” Da Ni'er pouted.
The Ugly Girl gave the two of them slightly larger portions, but Ye Qingcheng estimated it wouldn't be enough to fill them up.
The Ugly Girl asked everyone in turn if they had begged for food. In the end, no one had gotten any, so the plan to save some for the next meal was dashed. They had no choice but to distribute all the food.
Fine! Let them eat their fill just once, like she did.
Since they were born, these beggars had truly never eaten such delicious food.
Ye Qingcheng watched the Little beggars wolfing down the food, feeling even more moved than when she watched the Ugly Girl eat earlier.
In an instant, she felt her own image become grander; since arriving in this ancient era, she had even learned how to alleviate poverty.