An Ning stood in the doorway and called out to the man at the front gate, who was currently in a standoff with the big rooster.
The man raised the bowl in his hand, his voice weak and hollow. "Spare some food?"
A beggar.
An Ning wasn't surprised. A beggar would come by the village every ten days or so.
Each time, Lin Cuihua would give them a bowl of rice, but never anything more.
"Wait here."
An Ning turned and went back inside. She looked at the leftover rice from lunch in the pot, scooped out a bowlful, topped it with some leftover vegetables, and went back out.
The little wolf cub, Xiao Lang, having woken up at some point, trotted plumply at An Ning's heels. He tumbled over the threshold and followed her outside.
An Ning walked up to the man with the rice and said, "I'll pour it into your bowl."
"Thank you."
The man held up his chipped, empty bowl, and An Ning poured the food from her bowl into it.
"Are you all alone?"
