freeallnovels Chapter 3727 Leaving the Cabinet
Chapter 3727 Leaving the Cabinet
Chapter 3727 Leaving the Cabinet
For Zi Ling's mother, even if she had not been back for a long time, when those memories that were deeply rooted in her bones appeared one by one, it was no exaggeration to say that she could find the way to the dean's office even with her eyes closed.
——Xiaoling, you took your brothers and sisters out to act wild again. There’s no dinner for tonight!
——Stand outside the door until midnight!
——Your skin is itchy again, right? You want to eat a feather duster, right? Turn around and stand still!
"It hasn't changed in all these years. There's still a feather duster at the door..." Zi Ling's mother smiled and picked up the feather duster outside the dean's office, muttering, "Who are you trying to scare, old woman?"
The door of the dean's office was not completely closed. Zi Ling's mother pushed the door with a little force and it opened.
But the dean was not in the office.
She blinked and tiptoed into the office... There was actually a small room inside, which was the dean's room.
Since she was very young, Ziling's mother felt that the dean was a workaholic and always had endless energy.
At this moment, she heard some noise coming from the small room inside.
I gently pushed the inner door open a little, and saw the dean sitting beside the bed, bending over... and a scent of Yunnan Baiyao came in.
The dean began to tear off the waist patch, but he seemed to have trouble finding the right position and failed several times.
"Old lady, do you need help?" Zi Ling's mother pushed open the door, leaned against the door frame and asked with her head tilted.
"Help? I'll be glad if you don't piss me off to death." The dean's shoulders trembled slightly, but he didn't turn around. "Didn't I tell you to go back? Why haven't you left yet?"
Zi Ling's mother rolled her eyes, walked over, picked up the Yunnan Baiyao, sprayed it on the dean's waist, and began to rub it vigorously.
"Hiss...you damn girl, you want to kill someone!"
"How can we disperse the blood stasis without using more force?" Zi Ling's mother said, "You taught me that, Dean!"
The dean seemed to be speechless and simply kept silent. Zi Ling's mother tore open a new ointment and slapped it hard on the dean's back, "Any other places?"
The dean didn't say anything, but just twisted his waist silently.
Zi Ling's mother said angrily, "Old woman, you are just being stubborn. Don't you realize how old you are? You dare to pull such a big stool back in the rain on a tricycle. Do you think you are still young?"
"You are here to pick a fight, right?" The dean flew into a rage. "Get lost. We are not happy here..."
The dean turned around and saw Ren Ziling shedding tears.
“…Forget it, I’m afraid of you.” The dean sighed, “You can stay as long as you want. Just remember to pay the accommodation fee. We don’t have the money to support idle people here!”
Zi Ling's mother wiped her eyes. This time she was really angry. "You old woman, can't you just say something nice?"
"Sure, add more money!"
"..." Zi Ling's mother was so angry that she laughed again: "Is the welfare home in financial difficulty? I remember that my godfather gave a large sum of money before... and there should be a lot of donations during this period, right?"
"That was in the past." The director frowned and said, "Over the years, wages, food, and children's education, can you tell me which one doesn't cost money? There are not as many donors as you think! Next year, the welfare home will have to lay off one more person!"
Zi Ling's mother was stunned. "Has it become so difficult?"
The dean said angrily, "This place is too remote, young people don't want to come here. If we only use local villagers, they can do things efficiently, but what's the use? They don't know how to teach children! If children don't get a good education when they are young, how can they make a living in the society in the future? If you want capable people to come here to work, you have to pay more wages, right?"
Zi Ling's mother thought for a moment and said, "Since it's like this, why not just tear it down? Didn't Sister Liu say that the developer is willing to help rebuild a new welfare home? The conditions should be pretty good, right?"
"Did Liu Susu tell you this?" The dean frowned.
Zi Ling's mother pondered and said, "Why, Sister Liu is hiding something?"
The director shook his head and said, "The conditions promised by the developer are indeed good. In fact, I was tempted. But the problem is, before the new welfare home is built, where will we live? Where will the dozens of children here live? I don't agree with their attitude of not providing resettlement and just giving money and everything will be fine."
"What's going on?" Zi Ling's mother asked in astonishment, "Are they planning to demolish this place first?"
"Anyway, if you don't give me a satisfactory solution, I will not sign this letter no matter what!"
The dean said in a deep voice, "I know why Liu Susu was so anxious to get me to sign. Her son is getting married and needs money to buy a house in the city. Others have also more or less received the benefits promised by the developer."
Zi Ling's mother was puzzled and said, "My foster father handed the orphanage to you... and he handed it over to you because he trusted you. I just don't understand, how could Sister Liu and others get benefits from the developer?"
"You don't know, ever since your godfather gifted this place to me, in order for the welfare home to continue operating and for the employees to do their work better, I have given 30% of the ownership to Liu Susu and others free of charge." The dean sighed.
"No wonder..." Zi Ling's mother suddenly realized and immediately became angry, "How could Sister Liu be like this? She didn't even explain this to me clearly!"
"She watched you grow up, how could she not know your character?" The dean said unhappily, "If she tells the truth, can you agree to let her come back this time to persuade you?"
Zi Ling's mother was still angry, "How can I keep this kind of thing secret? Once I tell you about it, you'll know everything!"
The dean said, "I think she will come to you privately soon."
"No, I'll scold her!" Zi Ling's mother said angrily.
"Liu Susu has her own difficulties." The director shook his head. "Her husband had a stroke a few years ago. Although he recovered, he was left with a chronic illness and is bedridden. He is basically unable to work. As for her son, he finally found a wife, but he still has to take care of her... The salary from the welfare home is simply not enough."
……
Not long after coming out of the dean's office, Zi Ling's mother saw Sister Liu in the corridor outside.
Sister Liu grabbed the corner of her clothes and looked over here nervously, wanting to say something but stopping herself.
Zi Ling's mother sighed and walked over.
"Zi Ling...you know everything?"
"Sister Liu, can we talk for a minute?" Zi Ling's mother said softly, "We are here to solve the problem, right?"
……
Sat down in an empty classroom.
Liu Susu was surprised and asked, "You...what did you say? You want to buy the property rights of the welfare home above my head?"
"What's the matter? Is it not possible?" Zi Ling's mother nodded, "Don't worry, I will buy from you according to the amount you could have originally gotten, and you won't lose out."
"That's not what I meant!" Liu Susu waved her hands and said, "Hey, you said I did it... I'm not afraid of you laughing at me. I've never been so embarrassed in my life. Last time I went to see you, I went there with a stiff upper lip... I, I don't have the face to see the dean, and I don't have the face to see you, I... I'll kneel down for you."
"Sister Liu, let's not do this, okay?" Zi Ling's mother grabbed Liu Susu's hands and said, "Actually, this is where I grew up. I wouldn't want to see it demolished. Since the developer isn't as good as you say, I'm not happy about it!"
Liu Susu cried, "If it weren't for my family...how could I bear to leave? I have to stay here for most of my life. I really can't face anyone."
"Let's not talk about that." Zi Ling's mother shook her head and said, "Let's talk about deeds instead of intentions. You have made an invaluable contribution to the welfare home's existence today... Come on, tell me about the family situations of the other people who have also obtained some property rights from the director, besides you. If possible, I want to buy the 30% of the total property rights first."
"How much money are you going to take out this time?" Liu Susu asked hesitantly.
Ren Ziling came from the Sunshine Welfare Home and was adopted by the big shot in Hong Kong. But Liu Susu knew that something seemed to have happened between them later and they almost broke off their relationship.
"I'll find a way." Zi Ling's mother smiled and said, "I've been working for so many years, I have some savings... I'll find a way, just tell me what you know first."
"……Oh well."
Rumble, rumble.
Suddenly, a long thunder sounded, and the classroom suddenly turned black and white. Long shadows instantly spread from the window of the classroom and covered Zi Ling's mother and Liu Susu.
"what's the situation……"
Zi Ling's mother has had extraordinary courage since she was a child. In the midst of the thunder, in the corridor outside the classroom, the children whose faces turned pale due to the thunder were now sticking to the window outside the corridor, looking into the classroom.
Boom, boom, boom!
But the children outside the window suddenly disappeared.
Sister Liu seemed to be frightened at the moment, but Zi Ling's mother rushed out of the classroom door. However, there was no figure in the corridor at all.
"They're running pretty fast, huh?" Zi Ling's mother muttered, "What happened to those kids just now?"
Liu Susu subconsciously said, "Maybe they woke up during lunch break and passed by to go to the toilet... I didn't see their faces clearly, I'll go ask them later."
Zi Ling's mother shook her head and said, "Let's forget about it, it's not a big deal... Sister Liu, let's continue talking about the matter."
……
……
The buildings of the welfare home are connected and then opened up, and the entire opened up part is in an L shape.
Walking out of the staff dormitory without getting wet in the rain, Luo Qiu and the maid easily arrived at the comprehensive building on the other side.
There is an open space at the front of the first floor, with corridors extending on both sides, probably places like various activity rooms.
"Master, this seems to be a photo of Miss Ren when she was a child."
The walls of the entrance lobby of the complex building were covered with photos. The photos were quite old, and some were even yellowed... Luo Qiu walked to the place where the maid had discovered it.
In the photo, there is a ten-year-old girl with pigtails, who looks vaguely like Zi Ling's mother now.
Luo Qiu reached out and lightly touched the photo.
In the world of thinking, it seems as if I have traveled through time and arrived at the moment when this photo was taken.
The sun was shining brightly at that time. A group of boys and girls were trying hard to tidy up their simple but clean clothes. They lined up quietly and nervously faced the first photo shoot in their lives.
The camera was a second-hand one that the dean bought from somewhere… or even a third-hand one. All you had to do was press a button. It was a very popular [point-and-shoot camera] at that time. It used rolls of film and was a [Kodak] brand…
"Summer of 2003. Now thinking about it, years have passed in a flash. Time flies."
"Hello, Dean."
Luo Qiu slowly opened his eyes and woke up from his state of wandering in time.
——Just now, the dean also walked in from outside.
The dean nodded and said in a friendly tone, "Young man, you are a good person. What is your name?"
"My name is Luo Qiu, the dean."
"Sure enough..." The dean was stunned. "Your father is Rocky, right? When I first saw you, I felt that you two looked alike... I realized you are already this big now."
Luo Qiu's heart moved and he asked, "Dean, do you know my father?"
The dean smiled and said, "Come with me."
Soon, the dean led Luo Qiu and the maid to a room on the first floor of the comprehensive building...a place similar to a reading room.
"I remember putting it here." The dean muttered, searching for something in the cabinet in the room. "...Oh, look at my memory. It turned out to be here... Got it, found it."
She took out a thick photo album and opened it on the table.
Luo Qiu's interest had already been piqued, and as the dean moved, his eyes had already fallen on the photo album.
“These photos are…”
The dean smiled and said, "Children who grow up here are almost all without parents, let alone a home. Some children... especially girls, when they grow up and find a good family to marry, will marry from here... Here, this is a photo of Zi Ling when she got married."
As he spoke, the dean took out the photo from the album and said, "This must be your father. I met him before. He was a nice guy."
"I... don't have this photo." Luo Qiu said softly, taking it from the dean with both hands solemnly and hesitantly.
The dean thought for a moment and said, "The film seems to have been damaged. This should be the only one left... Young man, you can take it back. It can be regarded as returning it to its original owner."
Luo Qiu took a deep breath, resisting the urge to wander through time, and looked at the Dean's grandmother in front of him, "Dean, if you have any wish you want to fulfill, it doesn't matter what it is... I can do it."
The dean was stunned, but shook his head: "What are you doing? Photos leave people with memories. Compared to me, it is obviously more important to you. I said, this is just returning the item to its original owner... If you really want to, you can donate some old clothes or something like that to this place in the future!"
Luo Qiu said softly: "No matter when, my promise will always be valid."
"You kid." The dean shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry, and then said with a smile: "By the way, do you want to visit the room where Zi Ling got married?"
"Is it convenient?" Luo Qiu said subconsciously.
"It's not inconvenient." The director smiled and said, "That room has always been used by girls when they get married. Several girls in the orphanage have used it. Zi Ling also used it back then...but she was the last one. Speaking of which, it seems that the orphanage hasn't held any weddings in these years."
Following the dean's footsteps, Luo Qiu and the maid followed on the left and right.
On both sides of the corridor, children's figures stood side by side, extending to the end of the corridor... They watched silently, in silence.
The dean seemed to have never seen any of this and knew nothing about it.
The maid's dark blue eyes lit up slightly, and the figures on both sides of the corridor instantly disappeared like smoke... As for Luo Qiu, his eyes were only looking forward from beginning to end.
……
"This is the room."
The dean took out the key and opened the door of the room.
It also opened up the time sealed here.
——"Open the door, open the door, open the door!!"
——"You give me a red envelope and I'll open the door. The bigger the red envelope, the more beautiful the bride! Is the bride beautiful? How beautiful is she?!"
"My father... once stood here, too."