235: Chapter 235 Spending Hundreds of Millions to Build a Welfare Home

Jiang Fan picked up a piece of green vegetable, put it into his mouth, and chewed twice.

Huzi held the "small mountain" piled high with sea cucumbers and ribs, eating until his mouth was covered in grease.

Xu Qingya tapped her bamboo chopsticks against the solid wood tabletop, making a crisp sound.

"Eating vegetables is good. Eating vegetables purifies the mind and curbs desires, saving one from stirring up trouble outside."

Su Yuyan leaned back against the back of the chair, crossing her hands in front of her chest.

"Teacher Xu, what kind of remark is that? Who is stirring up trouble?"

Shen Nian shrank next to Song Siyi, her chopsticks suspended in mid-air, not daring to move.

Song Siyi cracked sunflower seeds, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two of them.

Jiang Fan put his bowl down on the table.

"All of you, eat properly."

His voice wasn't loud, but both women shut up at the same time.

Huzi held his bowl, looked around, and then buried his head back in to continue devouring his food.

Mother Fang sat at the other end of the table, watching and clicking her tongue in wonder.

This brat is something else, he really has some tricks up his sleeve.

Why hadn't she noticed he had this skill before?

After the meal.

Xu Qingya stood up, stacked the empty bowls and dishes on the table, picked them up, and walked toward the kitchen.

Mother Fang walked over to stop her.

"Qingya, leave it to me. There's no reason to make a guest wash the dishes."

"It's fine, Mother Fang. I'll just wash them. I often do these chores at home anyway."

Xu Qingya sidestepped to avoid Mother Fang's hand and walked into the kitchen.

Seeing that she couldn't stop her, Mother Fang turned her head and shouted toward Song Siyi's direction.

"Song Siyi, stop cracking those seeds over there, come over and wash the dishes."

Song Siyi patted the seed shells off her hands and stood up to walk toward the kitchen.

Passing by Xu Qingya, she reached out with both hands and directly gripped the bottom of the stack of bowls and plates.

"Teacher Xu can take a rest, I'm used to doing this kind of work."

"Let's do it together."

Song Siyi didn't decline either, and carrying the bowls, she entered the kitchen.

On the other side of the yard, Su Yuyan walked over to a corner and took Xiaodou from the hands of a teenage girl.

Xiaodou had just finished drinking his milk and was in high spirits, using both hands to grab a lock of Su Yuyan's hair and stuffing it into his mouth.

Su Yuyan didn't dodge, lowering her head to tease him.

Xiaodou let out a couple of giggles, his saliva drooling all over her shoulder.

She wiped Xiaodou's mouth with her sleeve, her movements so proficient that she didn't look like someone who had only interacted with children a few times.

As for Shen Nian, she was pulled to the middle of the yard by Huzi and his group of kids.

"Sister Shen Nian, teach us how to sing!"

Several little girls tugged at her hands.

"Alright." Shen Nian squatted down, meeting the children at eye level, "What do you want to learn?"

"I want to hear 'journey to the west'—wait, 'Flying Insects' that Brother Fan sang last time!" Huzi shouted the loudest.

Jiang Fan walked over and kicked Huzi in the butt with a lift of his leg.

"It's called 'Flying Insects'."

Shen Nian tilted her head up to look at Jiang Fan and smiled.

"I don't remember the lyrics, why don't you sing it?"

"I have other things to do." Jiang Fan looked at her, "I'll give you both the lyrics and the melody later."

Shen Nian's eyes instantly curved into two crescents.

"Okay."

She turned to look at the children.

"I'll teach you that next time, Sister will teach you another song first."

The children cheered and swarmed around Shen Nian.

Jiang Fan watched for two seconds, then turned and walked outside the iron gate.

Li Cheng was squatting on the curb, crushing three cigarette butts under his feet.

Hearing footsteps, Li Cheng looked up and saw that it was Jiang Fan.

He stood up and peered into the courtyard.

"Done eating? A fight didn't break out inside, did it?"

"Get lost, isn't it all because of you."

Jiang Fan walked over and came to a halt beside Li Cheng.

The two of them faced the vacant lot across the road, neither speaking.

Jiang Fan calculated the liquid funds in his hands in his mind; he should still have over 200 million.

He turned his head to glance at the Orphanage behind him.

A three-story old building, although it had been painted with new paint and fitted with new windows,

the foundation was still there. The building's structure was old, the pipes were old, and the space was small.

Patching it up could not solve the fundamental problem.

"Brother Cheng, I'm giving you a task."

"Go ahead."

Jiang Fan raised his hand and pointed to the south of the Orphanage.

"This piece of land to the south, go find the local government and see if we can acquire it."

Li Cheng looked over in the direction of his finger.

That was a large expanse of wasteland, overgrown with weeds half a person tall, and its area was several times larger than the current Orphanage.

"Acquire land?" Li Cheng blinked twice, "What for? Real estate development?"

"I want to build a new Orphanage here."

Li Cheng loosened his two fingers, and the cigarette butt dropped to the ground.

He turned to look at Jiang Fan's profile.

This wasn't the previous patching and renovating, nor was it just installing a few air conditioners.

Jiang Fan was usually very thrifty with what he wore and used, didn't buy luxury cars, didn't buy houses, and only took taxis or rode in his hundred-thousand-yuan commercial vehicle when going out.

He had heard Shen Nian mention it once before in the car, but he didn't take it seriously.

Words spoken by a young girl were just things to listen to.

Now Jiang Fan was saying it himself.

"The new construction you mentioned... on what scale?"

Jiang Fan's gaze remained fixed on that wasteland.

"An academic building, dormitory buildings, an activity center, a cafeteria, a playground. Fully equipped with heating, air conditioning, and a fresh air system. It'd be best to include a library as well."

Li Cheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"Mother Fang has been doing this alone for over twenty years. This place has taken in over a hundred children, and very few of those who walked out turned out well. It's not that the children are no good; it's that the basic conditions are terrible."

Li Cheng didn't speak. He looked at the wasteland, and his brain had already started calculating accounts.

"Brother Fan, that piece of land in the south is at least a few dozen mu. Acquiring the land and building the structures will probably cost a few hundred million."

Li Cheng reported a figure.

"You don't need to worry about the money." Jiang Fan interrupted him, "You go run the paperwork first and negotiate the land."

"Alright." Li Cheng patted the dust off his trousers, "Tomorrow I'll go check out the situation at the district government."

The status of the person before him in his heart rose to a new height once again.

Making money and not buying luxury cars or villas, but taking hundreds of millions to build an Orphanage.

"Yeah, spend money where it should be spent, and find people where they need to be found." Jiang Fan patted Li Cheng's shoulder and turned to walk back into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, a slight situation arose over at Su Yuyan's side.

Xiaodou wriggled twice in her arms and burst into tears with a wail.

Su Yuyan looked down, and a large patch of her trench coat's hem was soaked.

The girl nearby ran over and took Xiaodou away.

"Sister Su, I'm sorry! Xiaodou didn't mean it."

"It's fine, it's fine." Su Yuyan pulled a few tissues and pressed them against her trench coat.

Jiang Fan walked over.

"Go wash up in the restroom, it's on the left side of the first-floor hallway."

Su Yuyan acknowledged, crumpled the tissues into a ball and threw them into the trash can, then turned and walked toward the restroom.

Xu Qingya stood at the kitchen doorway, wiping the water off her hands as she watched Su Yuyan's back.

"President Su doesn't usually look after children, so it's inevitable that she's a bit rusty. With more practice in the future, it'll get better."

The restroom door slammed shut with a bang.

Song Siyi moved her small stool over to Jiang Fan's side.

She lowered her voice.

"These female confidantes of yours all possess extraordinary skills. How do you plan to wrap this up in the future?"

Jiang Fan looked at Shen Nian, who was teaching the children how to sing in the yard, and Su Yuyan, who had just emerged from the restroom.

"Don't worry, I've got it under control."

Song Siyi reached out and hit his arm.

"Who are you acting like a big brother to?"

"Just manage the company's accounts well. You don't need to worry about anything else. After journey to the west starts filming, I'll be with the crew most of the time, and all company matters are handed over to you."

"I couldn't be bothered to care."

At 8:30 in the evening.

Mother Fang began shooing the children off to wash up and go to sleep, and everyone else prepared to leave.

Three cars were parked outside the iron gate.

Li Cheng's commercial vehicle, Su Yuyan's G-Wagon, and Xu Qingya's Alphard.

Several people stood at the iron entrance.

Xu Qingya pulled open the door of the Alphard and turned sideways to look at Jiang Fan.

"I'm on the way, I'll drive you back. Just in time to go over the script with me on the way."

Su Yuyan leaned against the door of the G-Wagon, spinning the car keys around her index finger.

"My car is faster. Besides, Times Media still has a few contract details to discuss with you."

Shen Nian stood between the two of them, her mouth opening, but nothing came out.

She had no car, and no excuse.

Li Cheng sat in the driver's seat of the commercial vehicle and rolled up the window.

He stared at the windshield ahead, closing his eyes to play blind.

Jiang Fan didn't look at anyone, walking straight toward Li Cheng's commercial vehicle, and pulled open the passenger door.

"I'm leaving first, you guys figure it out yourselves."

The four women stood at the iron entrance, watching the commercial vehicle start up.

Xu Qingya let out a cold snort, and she turned to look at Shen Nian, who was still standing frozen in place.

"Shen Nian, Siyi, come over. I'll give you a ride back."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment before being pulled by Xu Qingya and shoved into the car, just as she wanted to come back to pull Song Siyi.

Meanwhile, Su Yuyan quickly linked arms with Song Siyi.

"Sister Siyi, ride in my car."

Song Siyi didn't refuse either, pulling open the door of the G-Wagon and getting in.

The engine roared, and the G-Wagon rushed onto the road first, its taillights flickering twice in the night before disappearing completely.