Chapter 225: The Orphanage’s Predicament (Part 2)

Chapter 225: Chapter 225: The Orphanage’s Predicament (Part 2)

"Don’t argue here. If you’re going to argue, take it outside."

"Don’t wake Grandma. Let her sleep a little longer."

"She can’t handle you two making such a racket right now."

Jiang Fan rubbed his face, then pushed and ushered the two of them out.

He then gently closed the door and sat down on a stone bench in the center of the courtyard.

"Alright, talk. Tell me exactly what happened at the orphanage to make Grandma worry so much that her health has completely deteriorated."

Jiang Fan sighed. He could feel his temples throbbing.

"Stop crying for a minute!"

"And you, stop yelling at her!"

Seeing Jun Yue about to open her mouth again, Jiang Fan reached out and stopped her.

He pulled a pack of tissues from his pocket and tossed it to Li Qian’Er.

"But..."

Jun Yue wanted to say more, but Jiang Fan shot her a glare.

"Worry clouds your judgment. Now is the time to solve the problem. You don’t know anything, so what’s the use in scolding her? Will that solve anything?"

Jiang Fan’s tone had become stern.

"Hmph."

Seeing that Jiang Fan was genuinely getting angry, Jun Yue snorted and sat down as well.

She was suppressing a tremendous amount of anger.

Sobbing nearby, Li Qian’Er also wiped her tears.

"It’s about the orphanage kids’ schooling."

"Before, Grandma and I would teach the kindergarten classes for the younger children."

"The older kids all attend nearby schools."

"And they’re fairly spread out."

Jiang Fan nodded. It had been the same back when he lived at the orphanage.

The spots for them to attend school had always been forcibly squeezed in.

You couldn’t place too many in one school; the school administration wouldn’t agree.

After all these years, it was still the same.

"But just because of schooling? How could that make Grandma this worried? Is it about money?"

Jun Yue couldn’t hold back from asking.

"No, the orphanage isn’t actually short on money right now."

"But a lot of the kids need to move up to the next grade, and there are no spots for them."

"A large portion of the kids at the orphanage will have no school to attend after this semester."

"Grandma said we can’t let anything get in the way of the children’s education. It’s the only way out for them in the future."

"So Grandma and I have been trying to handle this, running around everywhere. But it’s the schools’ decision, and we have no way to influence it. We’ve tried calling in a lot of favors, but it’s been useless."

At the mention of Grandma, Li Qian’Er’s tears started falling again.

"That shouldn’t happen. It’s just a normal grade promotion. How could there be no school for them? How could there be no spots?"

Jiang Fan’s brow furrowed tightly.

"There isn’t something more to this, is there?"

"The orphanage has always kept to itself. We haven’t offended anyone."

Jun Yue was also puzzled.

A situation like this was obviously sabotage.

But Jun Yue’s words sent Jiang Fan deep into thought.

’I’ve actually offended quite a few people recently. It would be simple for those rich folks to investigate me.’

’And if they investigated me, they would naturally find the orphanage.’

’So, is someone using the orphanage to send me a warning?’

’If the orphanage was implicated and these children were harmed because of me...’

’...I would never forgive myself.’

’But on second thought, that’s probably not it.’

’The only one recently was Li Fengming, and he’s still unconscious in the hospital after the beating I gave him.’

"Could you two be overthinking it? Maybe it really is just an issue with the schools?"

"Because all the schools told us the same thing at the same time."

Li Qian’Er said weakly from the side.

"Let’s not worry about the reason for now. We don’t have much time."

"If this isn’t resolved properly, the kids will be out of school."

"How about this: I’ll make a trip to the schools first. I’ll see if giving them more money can solve the problem."

Jun Yue stood up. With her current wealth, she could honestly crush anyone into submission with money.

She just personally hated the feeling of doing so.

"That’s the only way for now. Also, let’s see if we can find out the specific reason. How about this: you go to one school, I’ll go to another, and then we can compare notes when we get back?"

Jiang Fan also stood up and pulled out his phone to check the time.

"Qian’Er, your job is to take good care of Grandma and the kids at the orphanage."

"You don’t need to cook for them today. Go buy them food."

"Give the older kids some money for breakfast and a little spending money."

"You don’t have to be so frugal."

Jiang Fan instructed after a moment of thought.

"Okay."

"If Grandma wakes up, just tell her we’ll be back in a little while."

Then, Jiang Fan and Jun Yue were about to leave.

But Li Qian’Er called out to him, "Are you two in such a hurry you’re not thinking straight?"

"If you don’t take one of the kids with you, do you even know where the schools are or how to get there? Do you know any of the teachers?"

Her reminder made them both realize their mistake.

Worry clouds judgment. They were both completely disoriented by the rush.

"Call two of the kids from the nearby schools to come over."

"We’ll take them with us."

Li Qian’Er nodded. Many of the children were already up and getting ready for school.

A short while later, she brought back a little boy and a little girl.

He had to admit, the recent improvements to their diet were really paying off.

When Jiang Fan first saw them, they were sallow and thin. Now, they were visibly plumper, and their complexions were much healthier.

"Fan, Junyue."

"Qing, you go with Junyue. She’s going to your school to talk to your teacher about something."

"Tian, you come with me. I’m going to your school."

"Okay."

The two were both in middle school now, a demanding time for their studies. Although they didn’t know why their "brother" and "sister" were going to their schools, they quickly packed their things, slung on their backpacks, and led the way.

Jiang Fan first met with Tian’s homeroom teacher. The teacher was clearly taken aback to see the boy suddenly show up with a guardian.

"Tian, this is...?"

"Bai, this is my brother. He needs to talk to you about something."

"Fan, this is our homeroom teacher, Bai."

Tian made the introduction.

"So you’re Bai, correct? I have a small matter I’d like to ask you about."

Jiang Fan said with a smile, quickly extending his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh, Tian’s brother, you don’t have to be so formal."

"Um, Tian, you should hurry to your classroom. Morning reading has already started."