Li Changwei looked at the group of children with a smile on his face. "Yes, just these. Besides them, there's another child named Lin Xiaoxiao. She's at Haicheng University now and comes back every weekend."
When mentioning Lin Xiaoxiao, Li Changwei's expression and tone carried a hint of pride.
"Lin Xiaoxiao."
Su Ci repeated the name, her eyes gleaming.
This was our Ye Chen's childhood friend, the female protagonist with the lowest presence among the many female protagonists.
Her existence seemed designed merely to make up for Ye Chen's childhood.
After all, when Ye Chen returned to Sea City, the first thing he did was never to look for his former childhood friend or the Orphanage that had adopted him.
Instead, he went around showing off, slapping faces, and wooing the female protagonists.
He seemed never to have taken it to heart.
If Ye Chen hadn't accidentally recognized Lin Xiaoxiao's identity in a bar, triggered by the scar on her hand that brought back childhood memories...
...then her status as one of the female protagonists would have been questionable.
"Why has the Orphanage become such a mess?"
Su Ci's question caused a flicker of awkwardness to flash across Li Changwei's face. He looked at Qin Shiyao, who was listening quietly, and sighed helplessly.
"I took over this Orphanage from my mother."
"Initially, our family had some assets and could afford to do charity work, so we founded this Orphanage."
"But the good times didn't last. The family business went bankrupt shortly after, but my mother didn't give up on the Orphanage and devoted herself to its development."
"She passed away fifteen years ago. Her only dying wish was to see the children of the Orphanage grow up happy and healthy."
"Since then, the Orphanage has been in my hands, and I will continue to run it as her successor."
As Li Changwei spoke, tears welled up in his eyes, perhaps as he thought of his mother.
Looking at the children lined up for their physical exams, he wiped his eyes and continued with a self-satisfied smile.
"However, as times get better, fewer and fewer children are ending up in Orphanages. Such a large place has become vacant and requires maintenance everywhere. We are simply powerless to prevent the Orphanage from falling into its current state."
As he spoke, a hint of shame appeared on his kind little face.
Su Ci just listened, letting it go in one ear and out the other.
Listening carefully to Li Changwei's rhetoric, one could actually find many loopholes.
Isn't it strange for a formerly wealthy company to stick to an Orphanage while going bankrupt?
One must know that Qingshan Welfare Institute covers an area of 2,000 square kilometers. In a place as large as Sea City, even just selling the land would yield several hundred million, which could have revitalized the dying business and possibly led to a comeback.
As for the children in the Orphanage, they could have been transferred to a public Orphanage.
It would have been a win-win situation, unless Li Changwei's mother was a fool who chose an Orphanage over her assets.
For the sake of charity?
Please, with money, you could build as many Orphanages as you wanted.
Li Changwei also had issues. There aren't many orphans now; he could have just sold the Orphanage land and moved to a smaller place to continue running it.
Although this area is currently within the demolition zone, with the government issuing compensation funds through Cheng Mingliang's hands to be distributed to the displaced residents.
Although Cheng Mingliang would drive the price down, according to what Su Ci learned from Captain Qin, the price was only about thirty percent lower than the market rate.
This amount was still a significant sum for Li Changwei, enough to support these children and give them a better life.
This was also the reason Cheng Mingliang fell out with Ye Chen, eventually leading to the destruction of his family by Ye Chen.
Unless Li Changwei and his mother had overflowing compassion combined with innate intellectual deficiencies, there was no reason to do this.
Otherwise, Su Ci could only think that Qingshan Welfare Institute had other, greater interests that made them hold their ground.
Of course, this wasn't just Su Ci's idle speculation; in the plot, the Li Changwei before her was no good person.
After all, it was Li Changwei who introduced the female protagonist, Su Xiaoxiao, to work at the bar.
What kind of normal parent would introduce their child to work at a bar?!
Especially a bar where underground forces gathered.
Furthermore, in a plot point where Ye Chen slapped faces at a casino, he also encountered Li Changwei and even helped him make a fortune.
Li Changwei had money to gamble, but no money to build the Orphanage?
Or was he using the money meant for the Orphanage to gamble?
Su Ci was currently unclear about the answers to these questions, as the plot hadn't detailed them.
However, she could completely use this to gain Lin Xiaoxiao's favor.
Qin Shiyao opened her mouth but hesitated.
"Director Li, are you there? Li Changwei, where are you!"
A coarse voice came from behind Su Ci and the other.
Turning around, they saw four or five burly men with fierce expressions walking over aggressively; they clearly didn't look like good people.
The burly man leading them wore sunglasses. Before even seeing the people behind Su Ci, he began shouting: "Li Changwei, our Cheng Clan gave you six days to consider. Time's up. What's your decision?"
"120 million is no small amount. Be careful you have the life to take it but not the life to spend it."
Noticing Su Ci and the other, a playful smile appeared on the man's face. "Oh, the Orphanage has guests today. Tsk tsk, another two suckers with more money than sense, here to donate or work for free?"
Su Ci didn't take the man's sarcastic words to heart.
Looking at this situation, they must be here to discuss the land with Li Changwei.
As for which faction the group of men belonged to, there was no need to guess; they were definitely Cheng Mingliang's lackeys.
Cheng Mingliang had already been locked up in the Patrol Office and had no chance to send word out.
Transferring usage rights involved people above Su Ci, and the process took time, so the notification hadn't been delivered yet.
Su Ci actually wanted to watch a dog-eat-dog drama now.
But with Qin Shiyao by her side, she certainly couldn't.
Seeing that the newcomers were the burly men, Li Changwei's expression soured. He stepped in front of Su Ci and the other and said to the men, "Wang Wu, I've told you, no matter how much money you offer, I won't agree."
Turning around, Li Changwei complained to Qin Shiyao, "Miss Inspector, you must stand up for us! Look at him, he dares to threaten my personal safety right in front of you."
The act of 'the fox assuming the tiger's might' was displayed by him to the absolute fullest.
The children undergoing physical exams also gathered around, as if to form a small human wall to build a solid barrier for Li Changwei.
Qin Shiyao was already troubled by Cheng Mingliang's case.
She hadn't expected that Su Ci bringing her here today would lead to such a coincidence.
Wasn't this just walking right into the line of fire and getting caught red-handed?
Qin Shiyao stepped forward, blocking the way in front of Li Changwei and the children, and pulled out her inspector ID again.
"Mr. Wang, please repeat what you just said."
While Li Changwei was complaining, Wang Wu realized something was wrong. Hearing Qin Shiyao's words, his whole body shuddered, and his pupils dilated as he took off his glasses. "Holy crap, Captain Qin, why... why are you here?"