Chapter 238: Time To Close The Net?
Kawakami Kyoju’s wife looked at the man sleeping like a dead pig, brought a basin of water, wiped his face, and changed his clothes for him.
In the end, she thoughtfully prepared some food and warm water by his bedside.
Outside the courtyard wall, after hearing Little Ear’s explanation, Cao Weida roughly understood the situation.
Using drugs like those for tigers and wolves to drain the beast’s body, making him addicted to gambling, then getting him hooked on drugs, comprehensively ruining the beast from body to spirit.
Smoking a cigarette, he withdrew his gaze, “Little Ear.”
“Big Brother Cao, you say.”
“It should be about time to close the net, right? What I want is revenge on him, not letting him enjoy himself to death.”
Although that little devil beast is now like a ghost, he lives so dashingly and happily every day.
With the beast’s frail body, Cao Weida was really afraid that the little devil might accidentally get killed sometime.
If he died that easily, would it be pitting him or rewarding him?
Little Ear grinned, “Big Brother Cao, rest assured, it’s time to close the net. Just watch, in a few more days when you come back, that little devil will absolutely have his wife and children scattered, home in turmoil!”
“Alright, I trust you to handle it. Let’s go, I’ll treat you to tea.”
“.”
After tea, Cao Weida sent Little Ear away, called a rickshaw, first went to a pastry shop to buy some pastries, then headed toward Nanluoguxiang.
Nanluoguxiang No. 97 siheyuan.
“Ah, it’s Big Brother Cao! Big Brother Cao is here~~ Zao’er sis, Big Brother Cao is here!!”
Just at the courtyard entrance, a sturdy and spirited child shouted happily.
“Haha, Huzi, hello hello.” Cao Weida carried the box of pastries inside.
His gaze swept over Huzi’s clothes, nodding inwardly.
Although the cloth on Huzi was not good cloth, just the most ordinary coarse cloth of Beiping people, with two patches on the knees of the trousers, it was starched and washed very cleanly and neatly.
His face was also ruddy and shiny, with a bit of softness, compared to the initial dull and gaunt-cheeked appearance, it had changed greatly.
No need to ask, it was clear he was being taken good care of.
“Big Brother Cao.” Several children were playing in the courtyard, and upon hearing the noise, they all ran over.
Among them, a few children still looked a bit reserved, hands at a loss, eyes dodging, not daring to look straight at Cao Weida.
Seeing this in his eyes, Cao Weida felt a pang in his heart; he remembered these children, all rescued by him from human traffickers.
Back then in the hospital, although these children hadn’t been left disabled, they all had more or less injuries on their bodies.
After simple treatment with no major issues, Cao Weida brought them here.
These children, though not very big, weren’t small either; some remembered their home addresses and family situations, and whenever contact was made, notifications were given for them to be picked up.
Those parents’ thousand thanks naturally went without saying; as for the rest, either they didn’t remember their family situations, or there was no one left at home.
In total, nine children had been settled here.
Plus Tian Zao occasionally taking in one or two children, now the number of children in this courtyard had reached 24.
Fortunately the children were still young and didn’t need one room per person, so the courtyard was barely enough to house them.
His gaze turned to one child with no trace of timidity, grinning, “I remember you, you’re Tian Erwa, right.”
This child left a deep impression on him, especially those resolute eyes, which stuck in his memory.
The called child pursed his lips, nodded obediently, “Yes, Big Brother Cao.”
Cao Weida’s eyes narrowed in a smile, “How has it been here this time? Anything you’re not used to?”
Tian Erwa shook his head, eyes flashing with gratitude, “It’s all good, thank you Big Brother Cao. Without you, I… Rest assured, I will repay you in the future!”
Though only seven years old, he was precocious, mentally more mature than ordinary children his age.
He knew very well who treated him well and who didn’t.
This life-saving grace, he always kept in mind, never to forget in his lifetime!
“Haha, alright, then I’ll look forward to your repayment in the future.” Hearing this mature-beyond-years response from the child, Cao Weida was delighted, and felt quite pleased inside.
Who wouldn’t like someone who knows gratitude and repays it.
“Cao Ye.”
At this time, Tian Zao came out from inside the room with several women aged from thirties to fifties.
These women were from the families he had saved but couldn’t afford to ‘repay’; he didn’t help for free, these women came to work off the debt here.
Their main job was to care for the children here, helping with laundry, cooking, and such chores.
They had no salary, but three meals a day, with enough to eat.
“Big Brother Cao! You finally remembered us! I thought you’d forgotten us!” Tian Zao pouted, throwing a little tantrum in dissatisfaction.
“You this maid, what kind of talk is that, I’ve just been busy.” Cao Weida glared at her; this maid was clever as a fox, though their time together wasn’t long, she had pretty much figured out his temper.
Though complaining on her lips, she grasped the measure just right, expressing dissatisfaction without making him angry, truly clever as a fox.
He turned his gaze to those women, “You may have no salary, but don’t hold grudges in your hearts; that’s because it’s to offset the costs I spent helping you, so you must take good care of these children, no slacking.”
“Cao Ye, you’re joking, we’re grateful to you and can’t wait, rest assured, we’ll treat the children like our own.” The women waved their hands repeatedly; actually, they not only had no grudges, but were full of gratitude.
Jobs in Beiping were scarce, and there were many people, so not just women, even many men couldn’t find work and could only do hard labor to support their families.
These women, at home on ordinary days, besides laundry, cooking, and cleaning, had nothing else to do.
Now working here, though no salary, three meals a day, able to eat their fill each time, and not that mixed grain!
To put it bluntly, in these times, three meals a day with enough real grain, such a good thing, who knows how many people beg for it in vain!
They weren’t brainless, how could they mind?!
“Good then.” Cao Weida nodded; the women knew, and he was clear in his heart, but it didn’t matter, just a few more mouths to feed, he wasn’t that stingy.
“You go ahead and get busy, I’ll just look around.”
After sending off the women and children, Cao Weida took Tian Zao to inspect each room,
“In a couple days, I’ll hire a literate mister to come teach the children to read, you learn well too then.”
“You’re the big sis among the children, don’t end up not keeping up with a bunch of kids, or I’ll laugh at you.”
“Ah? Hire a teacher?” Tian Zao immediately lit up, grabbing his arm excitedly, “Big Brother Cao, you said it, no taking it back!”
Unlike the future New China, where conditions for schooling existed but no one wanted to study.
Children these days, if they had a chance to study, would be over the moon.
With knowledge and literacy, they’d be cultured people!
From ancient times to now in China, the yearning to learn culture was bone-deep.
“Of course my word counts, you think I’ll run away?” Cao Weida was amused, “Once the children learn the basics, then I’ll figure out ways for you to learn more knowledge.”
He hadn’t thought of sending these children to school; one reason was so many children, hard to place all at once.
Another reason was that in elementary schools these days, Japanese was a mandatory required course.
The little devils wanting to occupy China wasn’t a hot-headed decision, but deeply considered.
They knew well that to thoroughly occupy a country, first comes cultural identity, that is, cultural invasion.
In any occupied territory of the little devils, Japanese was a required school course; they wanted not only to conquer China physically, but to fully assimilate in language and cultural identity.
From military suppression, to script identity, then to all communication in Japanese, then habit formation.
It could be said, if the little devils gained a foothold in China, after two or three generations, they might actually succeed.
He definitely wouldn’t let these children be brainwashed by that disgusting culture; in a year’s time, the children’s foundations would be solid, and by then the little devils would have surrendered, whether to send them to school or hire a dedicated teacher, that could be decided later.
“Wow! Big Brother Cao, you’re too good!” Tian Zao excitedly hugged him, “If you didn’t have so many concubines, and treated us this well, I’d want to marry you as your wife!”
Unexpectedly met with Cao Weida’s disdain; he pulled her down, looked her up and down, chuckled, “Forget it, with your stick-figure body that has nothing, I wouldn’t want it.”
These words enraged Tian Zao, who punched his arm several times like tickling to vent her anger.
After a tour, Cao Weida didn’t stay, directly called a rickshaw and left.
Two hours later, in a tea house private room.
Cao Weida roughly explained Liu Rusi’s situation.
Not that he didn’t know the importance of special agent confidentiality, but telling Xu Jin’ge was harmless.
If Xu Jin’ge were caught and couldn’t withstand torture to rat him out, by then knowing Liu Rusi’s identity or not wouldn’t matter.
Xu Jin’ge flicked cigarette ash, pondered a moment, then said:
“She’s not on our line, I can only try to help you check.”
“But her issue probably isn’t too serious, but I’m just afraid because of you… you get what I mean.”
