Chapter 391: Chapter 391: The Boy Who Carried Sacks
This time, Ji Huan had made a special trip to Yeyang to inspect the finished work.
Wang Daguan had finished his work two days ago, and today was the day the Wooden Old Man was to deliver his.
Ji Huan carefully inspected every nook and cranny. Once she confirmed there were no issues, she had them help her move all the counters and shelves into the newly renovated storefront. After they had arranged everything, she paid them their wages in full.
The Wooden Old Man took the extra red envelope Ji Huan gave him and bowed several times in gratitude.
Back in the courtyard, the Wooden Old Man gave Zhou his share of the wages, then stuffed the red envelope into his hands as well.
"The proprietor paid us well, and I don’t have much to spend it on. You take this. It’s getting cold—go buy yourself some warm clothes."
Even in this cold weather, Zhou was still wearing a tattered, thinly padded jacket covered in patches. It was ill-fitting, as if he had picked it up from somewhere.
Zhou waved his hands in refusal. He would only take his own share. He stubbornly refused to accept what wasn’t his, no matter what the old man said.
"This boy..."
The Wooden Old Man was helpless and had no choice but to give up.
"So, where will you go after this?"
The work here was finished, and there was no telling when the next job would come. The Wooden Old Man could help him for a time, but he couldn’t keep him around forever.
Zhou shook his head. "I don’t know yet. I’ll keep looking..."
The Wooden Old Man sighed. "Try to find something a little less strenuous. Don’t go back to the docks..."
Zhou didn’t say anything, simply lowering his head and starting to clean up the courtyard.
He gathered all the leftover scraps into a pile. He also carried a few unused pieces of lumber to the corner of the wall.
As he was carrying the last piece of lumber, he accidentally snagged his jacket. With a loud RRRIP, a large section of it tore open.
Ji Huan was just coming in from the front shop and immediately saw Zhou’s sharply protruding shoulder blades, as well as the dense web of scars and whip marks covering his back and shoulders.
’She finally remembered where she’d seen Zhou before—at the docks! He was the boy who had been hauling sacks!’
"Oh, no! It’s such a big tear. Can it even be sewn back together?" The Wooden Old Man looked even more distressed than Zhou himself.
Zhou put down the lumber, craned his neck to look back at the tear, and said a single word: "Yes."
’It didn’t matter if it looked good or not. As long as he could stitch it together, he could still wear it.’
Ji Huan walked over and saw that the fabric was completely worn out. No wonder it couldn’t withstand the slightest snag.
"There’s no way to patch that. Why don’t you..."
She was about to suggest he buy a new one, but she suddenly stopped short.
’With the small amount he’d earned, how could he possibly afford a new padded jacket?’
Ji Huan didn’t blurt out an offer to buy him a new one. Instead, she suggested, "Aren’t there second-hand clothing shops in the city? They buy and sell used garments, so it would be cheaper."
Zhou thought for a moment but still shook his head. He had other uses for the money; he couldn’t even bring himself to spend it on used clothes from a second-hand shop.
"Thank you, Proprietor, but I can still wear it if I mend it."
Just then, Ping’an, who had some free time, came over to visit. When he saw how torn Zhou’s clothes were and that he was unwilling to buy a new jacket, he went back to get some of his own old clothes for him.
Though they were "old clothes," they were a hundred times better than what Zhou had been wearing. They were clean, without a single patch, and it was a genuine cotton-padded jacket.
Ping’an had shot up over the past two years, so the jacket was too small for him, leaving his wrists exposed. He had originally planned to take it to a second-hand shop, but since a coarse-cloth garment like that wouldn’t fetch much money, he’d been too lazy to bother and had put it off.
Having helped supervise the work these past few days, he had grown rather fond of Zhou, so he didn’t mind giving the jacket to him.
But Ping’an was several years older and quite a bit taller than Zhou. While the jacket was a little small on him, it was a size too large on Zhou.
Ping’an had anticipated this and brought a sash with him. He tied it around Zhou’s waist and rolled up the sleeves a few times, making the jacket a passable fit.
Zhou looked uneasy. It was just too new; he had never worn anything like it.
Ping’an asked, puzzled, "The county allocates a fair amount of money to the Orphanage every year, right? And all those wealthy families donate clothes and supplies during the holidays. How is it that you all..."
The public’s reaction was much like that of people in later times, who were well aware of societal ills and systemic corruption. They knew what was happening, but they could do little more than complain amongst themselves or vent their frustrations from a safe distance. Beyond that, they were powerless.
In the vast city of Yeyang, most people still believed the Orphanage was a charitable and blessed institution.
Of course, there were also those who had long since seen through the corruption, and they felt either sympathy or anger.
But what good did that do? You couldn’t fight the powers that be. If you wanted to keep living in Yeyang, you had to keep your mouth shut.
Ji Huan had been lucky that time. She had run into two men from the countryside, and since they were outside the city gates, they spoke without much restraint. Otherwise...
The Wooden Old Man and Ping’an left one after the other, but Ji Huan asked Zhou to stay behind.
She asked Zhou, "Last winter, were you working at the docks outside the city, hauling sacks for people?"
A flicker of nervousness crossed Zhou’s face. He didn’t answer her question directly. "I’m not at the Orphanage anymore."
Ji Huan was confused. "Doesn’t the Orphanage care for you until you’re sixteen?"
Zhou corrected her. "Boys, until fifteen."
"Even if it’s fifteen, you can’t be that old yet."
"I... I’ll be fifteen come the new year."
Ji Huan was shocked.
She had always thought Zhou was in his early teens, around Hu Dacheng’s age at most. She never imagined he was already fourteen!
’He’s so small and frail for his age...’
’But on second thought, it made sense. He never had enough to eat at the Orphanage, so he was malnourished. Then he was kicked out to work and earn money, so he was overworked. Of course his growth and development would be stunted.’
Take Dabao, for instance. Even after a full year of her carefully nursing him back to health, he still looked a little more fragile than other children his age.
"So, that means they kicked you out before you even turned fifteen?!"
Ji Huan was incensed.
Zhou’s situation brought her back to her own experience last year.
Back then, she had been desperate to find Dabao and had forced her way into the Orphanage’s inner courtyard. She had seen with her own eyes what kind of life the children there led. Even toddlers a few years old were being forced to fold paper offerings for the dead.
But at the time, aside from offering some cheap sympathy, there was nothing she could do.
Her only channel to the highest levels of management was Village Chief Meng, but he had warned her that the waters were too deep to wade into.
’Perhaps because she was used to living alone in her past life, she had become too detached. Her first instinct was always to weigh the personal risks. She was also too rational; if she knew something was impossible, she would decisively give up.’
She had pulled back the foot she’d extended, stopped paying attention, and didn’t dare to look into it any further.
’After all, for an adult, knowing how to protect oneself and avoid trouble is basic common sense.’
Now, she was still just an insignificant person, but at least she knew someone who had access to the top official in Yeyang.
’It felt a bit like being generous with someone else’s resources, and Ji Huan didn’t want to force her own agenda on others.’
’But,’ she thought, ’I should at least try.’
’I’ll discuss it with Xin Ziqi. If something can be done, we’ll do it. If not...’
’Then when I have money in the future, I’ll help those children in my own way.’
Zhou was perceptive and saw right through Ji Huan’s thoughts.
’He knew this proprietor was a kind person. From the very beginning, she had shown concern about him working at such a young age. Now that she knew he was from the Orphanage and had worked at the docks, would she go... ’
"Proprietor, can you please not go looking for them?"