Chapter 067: Taking in an Orphan
Seeing Chen Ran’s unapologetic demeanor, Sister Marian, who was playing the role of the good person on the side, couldn’t help but walk over to the child. She knelt down and wiped the child’s dirty, cat-like face with a handkerchief, pleading, “Your Excellency High Priest, he’s just a child after all…”
“So what if he’s a child—” Chen Ran snorted. He had to remember, at this age, he already knew how to download torrents and visit all sorts of inappropriate websites…
However, he didn’t plan on being too hard on the kid. His tone softened a little as he said, “Stop crying. Don’t be like a sissy. Tell me, why did you steal? Was it just because you were hungry?”
Hearing Chen Ran’s words, the boy actually quieted down. He wiped his nose, brushed away his tears, and rubbed his sore bottom, saying stubbornly, “What other reason do you think I have for stealing? I wouldn’t come to a kitchen if I wasn’t hungry.”
“Stealing is wrong, no matter what,” Chen Ran said, walking over and patting the boy’s head. Looking at his somewhat delicate face, his attitude softened a bit. After all, he wasn’t a ruffian now; he had to act like a high priest. He said gently, “The purpose of our hands is to create value, not to steal the fruits of others’ labor. If you swear not to steal from others anymore, and if it’s just because you’re hungry, I can take you in here. But you must help Sister Marian clean and tidy this church.”
Hearing that Chen Ran had no intention of sending him to prison, a glimmer of light flashed in the boy’s eyes, reflecting the magic lamp’s glow, making them exceptionally clear.
“Really? You can keep me from going hungry?”
“As long as you’re willing to work, you’ll have food. If you do well, I can have Sister Marian make more delicious things. Of course…” Chen Ran dragged out his words and said seriously, “If you do nothing and just wait to eat black bread, I won’t take in a bunch of pitiful worms who only know how to be taken care of. Understand?”
“Hmph!” The little fellow was provoked by Chen Ran’s last words. He rolled up his sleeves and said, “I’m no pitiful worm! I can work for you, but you have to keep your word!”
Chen Ran shrugged indifferently, as if it were a small matter.
“By the way!” The little fellow seemed to have other requests. “Do you have any other spots here?”
Chen Ran quickly understood the implication. “There are other little rascals?”
The little fellow nodded.
“As long as they behave in the church, don’t make trouble, and can work steadfastly, I can take in as many mouths as there are. Remember, this is not a shelter. Don’t just call any cat or dog. I don’t welcome parasites here.”
Chen Ran had made himself clear, his tone serious, his words as good as gold.
“Then it’s settled. I’ll come back tomorrow morning.”
The little fellow nodded repeatedly, seeming very satisfied with this result. Just as he was about to leave, Chen Ran called out to him again and said to Sister Marian, “Get this little fellow something to eat from the kitchen, so he doesn’t starve to death on the road.”
Then, ignoring the little fellow’s resentful gaze, he couldn’t help but yawn again and said lazily, “I’m so tired. I can finally go back and get a good night’s sleep.”
As he left, he saw the little rascal making faces at his back.
The night finally passed peacefully.
Sunlight streamed in from the windowsill, shining on the quilt Chen Ran was sleeping under, making it incredibly warm.
The most pleasant thing in the world was to sleep until one woke up naturally and to count money until one’s hands cramped. After he no longer had to do morning service, Chen Ran was always the last one in the church to get up.
However, a series of rapid, light knocks on the door once again woke him from his sweet dream.
“I’m dizzy, who is it?” Chen Ran threw on his clothes and opened the door. He saw Sister Marian standing in front of the door with an embarrassed look on her face. She said, “Your Excellency High Priest, they’re here.”
“What ‘they’?” Chen Ran was in a daze, clearly not fully awake from his dream.
“The little fellow from last night. He brought a group of friends.”
Sometimes, being a good person was not so easy. Chen Ran sighed, rubbed his eyes, and said, “Wait for me a moment. Take me there in a bit.”
When he arrived at the church’s hall, a group of little beggars were gathered. Chen Ran counted them. There were about ten children in total, not too many, both boys and girls. Most of them were thin and wore ragged clothes. They were definitely the type to be an eyesore in the city.
The leader was naturally the boy from yesterday. It seemed he was indeed the leader of this group of children, even though he wasn’t the oldest. When he saw Chen Ran approaching, the boy jumped down from his seat and went up to him. “I’ve brought the people. You high priests have to keep your word.”
The boy was quite clever, using the high hat of a high priest to put pressure on him right from the start.
“Alright,” Chen Ran said, not wasting any time. He looked at Sister Marian and said to her, “Please make the arrangements first. Let these children take a bath and get cleaned up.” Then, he took out a few gold coins from his clothes and handed them to her, instructing, “Separate the boys and girls, and use this money to buy them some clean clothes. I’ll have to trouble you with these matters.”
“Yes, Your Excellency High Priest,” Marian was clearly very attentive to this matter. She smiled and led the children to take a bath. Perhaps it was because of her own bleak past that she had no contempt for these children.
Of course, Chen Ran’s time was still very precious. He went back to his room and began to refine his materials. It was only at noon, when he went to the dining room for a meal, that he went to check on the little ones.
Besides Chen Ran, Marian, and Uncle Dili, the gatekeeper, there were many more faces at the dining table today.
After putting on clean clothes, the children were much more spirited. They were happily enjoying their first official lunch, even though it was just some eggs and bread.
Sister Marian walked over, placed Chen Ran’s plate, and said to him, “Your Excellency High Priest, you see, they are all very cute little ones. I wonder what you have in mind for them to do next?”
“That’s simple, Marian. You can arrange some tasks for these little ones later. Small things like cleaning don’t need to trouble you and Uncle Dili (the old gatekeeper) anymore. Your task is to specifically teach these little ones how to do their part. You’ve worked hard these past few days, taking care of the entire church’s sanitation. Delegate these small tasks to them as much as possible. Your main task now is to supervise them and then give some rewards like candy to the best performers.”
“No problem,” Marian nodded and said, “Why do you insist on them working, Your Excellency? Actually, cleaning is a small matter. I can do it all by myself.”
“I just don’t want the children to develop a habit of laziness from a young age,” Chen Ran explained seriously. “I know you’re kind-hearted, but you have to know that their lives are already harder than ordinary children’s. Most of them don’t have parents, so they need to understand the principle of obtaining the fruits of their labor with their own hands even more. Even if there’s nothing else to do in this church, you have to find things for them to do to encourage their sense of accomplishment.”
