The anti-Qing movement began with the looting of the Eight-Nation Alliance.

As soon as Tan Ya reached the dock, a group of children immediately surrounded him. They stared at him expectantly, and the bolder ones clamored for steamed buns.

"Shut up, all of you, listen to me." Tan Ya stood on a rock and clapped his hands.

The children immediately quieted down, and Tan Ya nodded in satisfaction. "You little ones have encountered a wonderful thing! Our master saw how pitiful you orphans are and decided to adopt you. Your good days are about to begin. You'll never have to wander and beg again!"

"From now on, you'll have food to eat every day, clothes to wear, and a place to live. Are you willing to do that?"

After Tan Ya finished speaking, there was complete silence below, and the children stared at him blankly.

"What, you're not willing?" Tan Ya frowned.

"What kind of good deal is this? Is it a scam? I heard that some people eat children, they must be trying to trick us into eating them!" A voice whispered from the crowd, scaring several children nearby to death.

"Do we really get to eat steamed buns every day?" a snotty-nosed boy in front of him asked, looking up.

"Of course, I'll take anyone who's willing to go eat steamed buns right away. I'll also take you shopping for clothes." Tan Ya nodded.

"Brother Tan Ya, can my sister go too?" Shi Tou held his sister's hand tightly. Before, some families had offered to adopt him, but his sister was too young, so they refused.

"Sure, I'll take any size!"

“Okay! Let’s go!” Stone stepped forward with his younger sister. The dozen or so little ones who had just eaten steamed buns also stepped forward.

"I do!" "Me too!" "I want to eat steamed buns!" A chorus of voices immediately erupted from below. Dozens of children rushed to the front. However, dozens more stood hesitantly at the back, looking around.

"Alright! Those who want to go, follow me. I'll take you to eat steamed buns first!" Tan Ya waved his hand and led the way forward. The children followed behind in a large group.

The remaining dozens of children stared at each other blankly for a moment, and then, without anyone knowing who led the way, they all swarmed after them.

"Uncle Lin, are the steamed buns ready?" Tan Ya led the children to the steamed bun shop.

"Tan Ya, you bought these steamed buns for them to eat?" Uncle Lin's mouth dropped open when he saw a group of naked beggars.

“That’s right, give one to each of them first! Uncle Lin, this is all the master’s arrangement.” Tan Ya nodded, and seeing that Uncle Lin was about to lecture him again, he quickly said.

"Alright! Children, come and line up to get steamed buns! Line up properly, don't fight, everyone gets one." Tan Ya quickly called the children to line up.

Upon receiving the fluffy white steamed buns, the children, ignoring the heat, immediately began to devour them.

Tan Ya didn't mind the children who hesitated earlier and let them take the steamed buns.

While Tan Ya was busy taking care of the children, five or six thugs surrounded them.

"Tan Ya, you've struck it rich! You even have money to buy steamed buns for these beggars. Instead of wasting this money, you should use it to buy drinks for the brothers!" said the leader of the leper gang.

"That's right, that's right! You should spend your money on us. From now on, we brothers will protect you at the docks!"

Tan Ya glanced at them, then turned and left.

"Wait, Tan Ya! You're not giving your brother any face at all!" Lai Zi reached out and stopped Tan Ya.

"You bastard, get out of here if you don't want to die!" Tan Ya said coldly.

"Damn it, you think I'm being rude? Get him!" Huang Laizi gave the order, and several thugs surrounded them.

"If you want to die, go ahead and do it! Think about it, do you think you can afford to offend someone who can support over a hundred children?" Tan Ya dusted off his clothes and said casually.

For a moment, the thugs hesitated and stood there, all turning to look at Huang Laizi. Huang Laizi was momentarily intimidated and felt a little guilty.

Tan Ya ignored them and turned to watch the children eat.

"Boss, what should I do?"

"Hmph, let's follow him and see what he's up to. If he dares to fool me, I'll kill him." Huang Laizi said viciously.

In no time at all, the children had finished the steamed bun. Of course, Tan Ya couldn't let them eat any more, so he gathered the children together again.

"Alright! You're all too weak to eat too much at once, or you'll choke to death."

"Next, I'm going to take you shopping for clothes. Like I said before, those who want to enjoy themselves with me, come over here. Those who don't can leave now. Consider the steamed buns from earlier as a freebie."

After a while, four or five of the older children left, and the rest stood quietly in place.

Tan Ya nodded in satisfaction and immediately counted the children. There were a total of one hundred and eight children. Ninety of them were boys, and only eighteen were girls.

Tan Ya called over a few of the older children to maintain order, and then led a large group of children into the city.

"Oh! Brother Tan is here!" Huang Shiren, who had been waiting anxiously at the pawnshop entrance, hurriedly came out to greet him.

"Well, Manager Huang. Are all the clothes ready? Take them out!"

"Ready, ready!" Huang Shiren hurriedly called to his men to bring out several large bags.

"It's not convenient here, let's go outside and look!"

Huang Shiren, of course, had no objection and personally carried a bag of clothes behind him.

"Brother Tan, you buy clothes just for these beggars?" Seeing the two rows of homeless children standing outside, Huang Shiren felt a little overwhelmed.

"Why, can't it?"

"Sure, of course!" Huang Shiren didn't care who you were buying it for, as long as you paid.

"Now tell me! How much are these clothes?" Tan Ya opened the bundle and began to examine the clothes.

"Hehe! There are fifty-six sets of clothes in total, and I'll charge you one hundred coins per set. That's five taels and six mace in total, but I'll round it down to five taels. How about that? Pretty fair, right, brother?"

"How much? Five taels? You're really asking for the moon!" Tan Ya angrily threw down the clothes in his hand.

“Brother Tan, these are all top-quality materials! Look at this one, and this one, they’re all made of silk. You couldn’t make a new one for less than half a tael of silver,” Huang Shiren said, picking up two garments from the bundle.

“Look at them! Do you think the material matters?” Tan Ya raised his chin.

"Besides, you know exactly how much money you made when you pawned it! Or I can teach you how!"

“Write: Eaten by insects and gnawed by rats, bare and hairless, a tattered cotton-padded coat…” Tan Ya shouted in a high-pitched voice, which made the children below burst into laughter.

Even Huang Shiren, with his thick skin, couldn't help but feel a flush. "Then how much do you want?"

"I'll offer a maximum of twenty coins!" Tan Ya held up two fingers.

"What? Twenty coins!" Huang Shiren jumped up upon hearing this.