Clang, clang.
A half-string of copper coins piled into a stack, fell into the palm.
"Each person gets twenty copper coins. Take them and move forward. Line up at the back, no pushing! There's sweet green bean soup ahead."
"Children? Children count too, as long as it's a head, it counts if they come. They can't walk? Counts if they're held in arms." Old Man Cui finished speaking, moved a stool to stand on the table, and shouted to the people behind, "Children count too! As long as it's a head, it counts!"
His tone was clear, his voice loud, not at all like an old doorman on his last legs.
The crowd surged like a tidal wave.
"Thank you, Old Mr. Xu, thank you, Old Mr. Xu!"
"May Old Mr. Xu's fortune be as vast as the East Sea, and his life as enduring as the Southern Mountains."
