Under the scorching sun, some cicadas were lazily chirping on the top of the old locust tree.
Zhou Yufeng walked around the Suns.h.i.+ne Orphanage, looking around, in a trance. A large group of children followed her and talked to her, but she had forgotten many things and did not recognize me. The most she said was something like "Who are you, little boy or girl?"
Ning Tao and Su Ya stood at the gate of the orphanage in case Zhou Yufeng "ran away from home" because she didn't remember this place.
With tears in her eyes, Su Ya said in a broken voice, "For me, director Zhou is like my mother, but she... She doesn't even remember me."
"Give her some time. She will be better." Ning Tao comforted.
"Can she recover her memory?" Su Ya asked sadly.
"I don't know, but she'll get used to the life here if you and the kids tell her more about what she did here. She is kind by nature, and she will go back to being the director Zhou that you know. Don't be sad. The fact that your loved ones are alive and healthy is the happiest thing in the world," Ning Tao stated while he thought of his parents, who had pa.s.sed away. He was overcome by sorrow, but his face showed no emotion.
Su Ya turned her head and looked into Ning Tao's eyes. There were tears in his eyes, but burning with fire.
"What?" Ning Tao asked, embarra.s.sed.
Su Ya suddenly threw her arms around Ning Tao.
The intimate squeeze and alluring touch made Ning Tao, who had never experienced this before, suddenly nervous. He didn't know what to do with this sudden situation. In this case, he actually had two choices— one was to put his arm around Su Ya's waist, and the other was to implicitly push her away. However, he did nothing.
"Thank you." Su Ya whispered in Ning Tao's ear.
The hug and thanks made Ning Tao feel that everything he did was worth it. He knew that this was Su Ya's heartfelt grat.i.tude, which was incomparably sincere and pure.
"You've got some nerve!" Li Xiaoyu's voice sounded all of a sudden.
Su Ya hurriedly released Ning Tao, and half of her face that was still a little childish turned red immediately. She flied into a shameful rage, glared at Li Xiaoyu and stammered, "What... What are you doing here?"
It was easy to put the foot in one's mouth in a tense situation.
Li Xiaoyu brushed her cheek with her finger, while saying, "What a shame! You hugged Uncle Ning. Are you going to kiss him next? I am still a kid, and you will mislead me."
Su Ya covered her face and ran away, not because of Li Xiaoyu, but because she couldn't face Ning Tao anymore.
Ning Tao gave a wry smile and said, "Xiaoyu, it's not what you think."
Li Xiaoyu replied in all seriousness, "I know, but stupid things happen to people when they are impulsive. I'm protecting her. She's too young."
Ning Tao found himself at a loss for words.
That was not like a kid talking! She was unusually smart!
Ring, ring, ring...
Ning Tao's cell phone rang again.
Ning Tao took out his cell phone, and didn't even look at it, before he answered the phone, "You're here?"
"Where are you, Doctor Ning?" Jiang Yilong's voice came from the phone. "I'm in Happy Community. I beg you, help me... I kneel down to you!"
He did kneel down. Ning Tao could clearly hear his knees. .h.i.tting the concrete ground.
Ning Tao, with a cold smile on his lips, said, "Keep kneeling there. I'll come to you now. If you make me a little unhappy, I won't even give you a glance."
"No, I won't... I was wrong, I was really wrong..." Jiang Yilong cried, sounding close to tears.
Ning Tao hung up the phone, put the phone away, and said to Su Ya, who had stopped but didn't turn to look at Ning Tao. "I'm going to the Happy Community, and I'll come back later. You take good care of Aunt Zhou, okay?" He asked.
Su Ya agreed, but still did not look back.
"Uncle Ning, shall I go with you?" Li Xiaoyu asked with expectations.
Ning Tao stroke her little head and gently said, "Xiaoyu, stay here with Sister Su Ya to take care of Aunt Zhou, and I'll buy you some candies when I come back, all right?"
"Good!" Li Xiaoyu answered obediently.
Then Ning Tao left the Suns.h.i.+ne Orphanage and walked towards the Happy Community.
Only then did Su Ya turn to look at Ning Tao's back.
"You are too young," Li Xiaoyu sighed, acting as if she had seen through the emptiness of the material world.
Su Ya waved to Li Xiaoyu and said, "Xiaoyu, come here. I have something to talk to you."
Li Xiaoyu shook her head, saying, "You're lying. You actually want to beat me."
"Oh, well, I'll give the candy to other kids." Su Ya said lightly.
Li Xiaoyu immediately ran to Su Ya while shouting, "Give me, Sister Su Ya, give me the candy."
Su Ya suddenly caught Li Xiaoyu, and gave her a slap on her small a.s.s...
The sun blazed overhead and there were no pedestrians on the road except Ning Tao. He took out the ledger of bamboo slips and opened it. The ledger showed that there were 107 points of sins of evil intention, 169 points of merits of good intention, 276 points of rent balance, 76 points of available balance.
"The available balance?" Ning Tao felt a mixture of exasperation and amus.e.m.e.nt. "Are you a cellphone bill?"
In fact, the available balance was easy to understand. The rent of this month was 200 points, and he had earned 276 points. The total amount of the account minus the rent of this month was 76 points, and the 76 points of good and evil value was what he could use.
"To open the two doors would be to use the available balance. One door needs 5,000 points of available balance, and two doors need 10,000 points in total. When am I going to save 10,000? No wonder Chen Pingdao never got there. This is not so much an opening fee as a robbery!" Ning Tao got angrier and angrier as he thought about it.
Another reason for his displeasure was that the ledger showed Jiang Yilong's name while not showing Zhou Yufeng's. Obviously, this was a reminder that his contract with Jiang Yilong was not yet complete!
Jiang Yilong was kneeling at the gate of the Happy Community. As if to show his sincerity, he did not even kneel under the tree, but under the burning sun. His driver went to give him an umbrella, Jiang Yilong scolded him before the driver returned to the car.
A horde of villagers gathered at the gate of the Happy Community, and many villagers came to see the scene of bustle. Soon a wall of human chain formed around Jiang Yilong.
"Isn't that Jiang Yilong?" Jiang Yilong was recognized by a person in the crowd who did not know what had happened.
"Yes, it's him. What is this b.a.s.t.a.r.d doing here?"
"To whom is he kneeling? Is his father dead or is his mother dead?"
"This b.a.s.t.a.r.d is a horrible man. Why didn't he die when he cheated us so badly?"
In the harsh curses and taunts, Ning Tao came to the gate of Happy Community, but he didn't see Jiang Yilong. All he saw was a circle of people and heads. He pushed his way into the crowd and finally came to Jiang Yilong's side.
Jiang Yilong was wearing a black long-sleeved s.h.i.+rt and a glove in such hot weather. His clothes and trousers were wet with sweat, and he was shaking and might faint at any moment from the heat.
Ning Tao's gaze fell on the wrist of Jiang Yilong's left hand. Between the cuff of his s.h.i.+rt and the glove, he saw a dark gray skin. In addition, he could smell a foul odor coming from Jiang Yilong's left arm.
This was the phenomenon of necrosis of flesh.
This startled Ning Tao himself. "I only used the Sacred Needle to Nasty Diseases to p.r.i.c.k him once. With only a few hours, he's going to lose his left hand. The Sacred Needle to Nasty Diseases is too evil!" He said to himself in the heart.
Although this method was used to punish the wicked, but it was really very evil and cruel!
On the other hand, how could a wicked man like Jiang Yilong have come here to kneel before him without such wicked and cruel means?
Then Jiang Yilong also saw Ning Tao. For a moment he was like a drowning man holding on to a life buoy. Not daring to get up, he moved to Ning Tao on his knees and put his right arm around Ning Tao's legs. His tears and mucus instantly flowed down. "Doctor Ning, I was wrong... I was wrong, please help me." He begged.
"Now you're begging me, what did I tell you?" Ning Tao said in a cold voice.
With a thud, Jiang Yilong kowtowed to him. Then the second one, and the third. "I was wrong," he begged while kowtowing. "I dare not do it again. Please, help me."
"It's no use kowtowing to me. Do you know what to do?" Ning Tao asked indifferently.
Jiang Yilong said quickly, "I know! I will pay compensation to the villagers right now! I will also allocate funds to rebuild this community!"
The noisy villagers suddenly fell silent, dumbfounded.
What was going on?
As the villagers stared in amazement, Jiang Yilong kowtowed to them three times in a row and then said in a weeping voice, "Folks, I was wrong. I tore down your village by force, and I cheated you of your hard-earned money. I'm not a man! Please forgive me and give me a chance to redeem myself."
"Jiang Yilong, are you mad?" Cried an elderly man. "Are you trying to trick us again?"
Jiang Yilong denied hurriedly, "No, no, no. I'm not lying. Just give me your bank account number. I will transfer the money to you right away!" After a pause, he continued anxiously, "Hurry up, could you give me your bank account number? I'll transfer the money to you! I beg you, I kowtow to you. Please!"
Thud thud...
The crowd watched him, their mouths gaping open.