Chapter 1337 - 1332: Orphanage
"I told my mom that I wanted to stay here, but she wouldn't agree no matter what. She even said that if I stayed, she would sever all ties with me!" Li Qin sighed and said.
The greatest sorrow in life is when no one understands or supports what you want to do and even threatens to cut all ties with you.
This must be the greatest sorrow in life!
"Li Qin, I've always thought you're brave. You're doing what others dare not do. Although I don't have as much courage as you, I will help you with all my strength!" Shang Lin said determinedly.
"But how can you help?" Li Qin said with a bitter smile. "You're still young, and although you have a family business, it's not yours; it's your uncle's. You can't make the decisions, and it's not something that can be helped easily!"
Shang Lin couldn't help but sigh as she faced the situation, wondering what she, a mere office worker, could do.
Seeing Shang Lin looking so aggrieved, Lai Xiaole felt a rush of warmth in his heart and said, "Shang Lin, I want to help the orphanage, but you all have to agree to one condition of mine."
Upon hearing this, a smile immediately appeared on Shang Lin's pretty face as she said, "If you can help, that would be great. Just tell us your condition."
Lai Xiaole looked at Shang Lin and then at Li Qin and said, "My condition is that I'll invest funds into this orphanage and become its largest shareholder. I want to reorganize everything here. Especially the orphanage and the school; I want to become the absolute legal person in charge."
The reason Lai Xiaole made this condition was that he already had an idea.
"Are you treating the kids as assets to be divided?" Li Qin frowned and said, "This isn't right, is it?"
"Whether it's right or not, the school is in this state now. If you want to talk about profitability, that's out of the question. So for the sake of future considerations, I'm making this suggestion. If you don't agree, we'll just have to find another way!" Lai Xiaole said with a smile.
Li Qin smiled and said, "The whole school is almost under my control now. Even if I don't agree, there's no survival path left. The education bureau is planning to merge our two schools into one. Even if you don't inject capital, we'll eventually go bankrupt. It's better to cooperate with someone familiar!"
"Alright then, it's settled. If there are no leftover issues, I'll send my assistant to organize your accounts tomorrow. If your accounts are clear, the funds can be transferred by the third day!" Lai Xiaole said with a smile, "We always act swiftly here!"
"That's the best. But our orphanage is struggling to keep afloat right now. Can you help us first, and we can deduct it from the fixed funds later?" Li Qin said, looking at Lai Xiaole.
"Haha, we've settled the big matter, so the small ones are naturally no problem!" Lai Xiaole said, pulling a card from his pocket, "What's your school account number? I'll transfer a hundred thousand first. It should support you for a while!"
"That's great, thank you so much. You've solved my pressing problem!" Li Qin said gratefully to Lai Xiaole, "You're the savior of this school!"
"That's too much, I just like to speak frankly. It's mainly because of Shang Lin that I'm doing this. Otherwise, I wouldn't have done it!" Lai Xiaole said with a smile, "Don't take it the wrong way; I'm just being honest!"
"It's rare to hear someone speak so candidly these days!" Li Qin said emotionally, "Even if they don't want to invest, they'll find other excuses. No one dares to put it this way!"
"Haha, alright, I'll go with Shang Lin to see the children. You go ahead with your work, okay?" Lai Xiaole said with a smile.
"Sure, sure!" Li Qin said happily. She hadn't expected to meet such a benefactor today, resolving issues that had long gone unsolved in just a couple of sentences. However, she still hadn't asked what Lai Xiaole's occupation was.
After leaving the office, Shang Lin looked a bit unhappy and said, "Aren't you taking advantage of the situation?"
Lai Xiaole smiled and said, "Don't misunderstand, I'm not taking advantage. I intend to..." he leaned in and whispered a few words into Shang Lin's ear.
"You rascal! After all that talking, it's just an excuse for your money. Even finding psychological comfort takes so much time. But don't mess around here; this is a charitable endeavor. If it gets too commercialized, there will be public scrutiny. The power of public opinion is immense!" Shang Lin said worriedly.
"Don't worry, I know that!" Lai Xiaole said with a smile, "I won't be too arrogant. It's just that taking on the responsibility of this many people's school alone, even though I can handle it, feels a bit unfair. It's better to find someone to collaborate with."
"Well, you should manage that well. Don't go too deep into it. I'm just here to do some volunteer work, and it's hard to define what's charitable." Shang Lin said with concern.
Lai Xiaole felt a bit frustrated. Just a moment ago, when someone was pitifully asking for his help, they weren't worried. Now that he's agreed, they're worried again. Women are really peculiar creatures.
Lai Xiaole smiled and said, "No worries, it's a small matter. After all, I've experienced ups and downs. By the way, when the funds arrive, you'll need to help my assistant handle matters here."
"I know, it's quite simple!" Shang Lin said with a smile, "Isn't it just a little matter? You're giving so many instructions. For someone as capable as me, I'll definitely complete the task for you!"
"Aunt Shang, how's the director's mood?" As they were speaking, a little girl, Xiao Lan, ran over and said to Shang Lin, "I don't know how to console the director. I'm too young to be of any use!"
"Xiao Lan, don't speak like that. As long as you're good, the director will be happy, right? The director is staying here just to look after you all, isn't she?" Shang Lin said with a smile, "Kids, don't overthink it. As long as you're happy, we're happy!"
"But so many teachers have left us. We haven't had lessons for three or four days!" Xiao Lan said, "Only the director is teaching us!"
"The teachers have their own children to care for too. Once they've settled their kids, they'll come back to teach you. Don't worry about it, go play!" Shang Lin thought to herself, how profound their thinking is for such young children; who made them like this?
"It's truly sad. Other kids this age don't understand anything, but they're already starting to see the world for what it is!" Lai Xiaole sighed and said, "Why are their parents so heartless?"
"Haha, people in this world are hard to figure out. Some are heartless, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. The best we can do is care for them and tend to each person around us. It's a small thing, but it's all we can do!" Shang Lin laughingly embraced Lai Xiaole's arm.
Shang Lin's affectionate gesture made Lai Xiaole a bit uncomfortable, and he quickly backed away.
Realizing her impropriety, Shang Lin's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at Lai Xiaole.
"Sister, brother, come play with us!"
As the two stood awkwardly, a little boy ran over and smiled at them, "How about we play on the seesaw?"
"Sure, but I'll definitely outweigh you!" Shang Lin said with a laugh, "Let's go, let's play on the seesaw!"
The school's facilities were rather basic, just a few exercise machines and a quite worn-out soccer ball, but the kids were happily playing with them.
"Xiao Lan!" Lai Xiaole turned to see Xiao Lan sitting alone with a book, and walked over with a smile, "What's your name? Can we be friends?"
"Sure, I'm Kong Lan, and I know your name is Xiao Le brother!" Kong Lan said with a smile, "Aunt Shang is really nice!"
Every time Lai Xiaole heard this, he felt a bit awkward. Calling Shang Lin an aunt but calling him a brother made him feel like he was Shang Lin's son or something!
"What's wrong, is there something bothering Xiao Le brother?" Kong Lan said adorably, looking at Lai Xiaole with concern, "Don't overwork yourself!"
"Not at all!" Lai Xiaole said with a smile, "Why are you sitting here alone? Why aren't you playing with the other kids, do they not want to play with you?"
"No, I want to read more. I don't want to fall behind in my studies while the teachers are away!" Kong Lan said with a smile, "See, I'm reading geometry in math!"
"How old is Lan Lan? You're so hardworking in your studies, you'll surely achieve great things!" Lai Xiaole said with a smile, "Do you have any dreams?"
"I'm twelve years old today. I don't have any big dreams; I just hope that when I grow up, I can become a volunteer or a teacher at the orphanage like the director auntie and sister Shang Lin, to help them read and write more!"
Lai Xiaole's assistant, of course, is Yan Xin'er. He had met her in Jiangbei City a couple of days ago, and even had a conflict with her. Since he agreed to help the orphanage, he needed to find Yan Xin'er first.
Only now did Lai Xiaole think of Yan Xin'er, unaware that she was currently facing great danger.