Chapter 330 Justice
"No one here will stand up for them, and they won't either."
For a moment, Lin Changning couldn't say whether he felt more pity or anger.
They were already a group of homeless orphans, with no parents or relatives to rely on, no skills or money to depend on, leaving them at the mercy of others...
Inside the room was a little girl, about eleven or twelve years old. She was still quite small and thin, as if a gust of wind could blow her over. Only her large eyes shone on her small, palm-sized face.
After leaning against the wall and stepping out the door, he asked tremblingly, "Are you officials?"
Hearing the faint voice, Lin Changning and Qi Rong turned around to look at the little girl. The little girl mustered her courage, stared straight at Lin Changning with her big eyes, and asked in a louder voice this time, "Are you officials?"
Just as Lin Changning was about to speak, Qi Rong interrupted and replied in a deep voice, "Yes, we are officials."
A glimmer of hope seemed to appear in the little girl's eyes. She suddenly lunged forward, knelt on the ground, and began to kowtow repeatedly to Lin Changning and the others.
Before Lin Changning could help the person up, he saw a group of girls run out of the door. They were all young, about eleven or twelve years old, and the girl in the lead knelt down.
The first girl to kneel pressed her head deeply into the brownish-yellow ground. She knelt so hard that a small abrasion appeared on her forehead, and a few drops of blood seeped out.
"Your Honor, please investigate! This humble woman is accusing Liu Zhengyang of raping an innocent girl, colluding with high-ranking officials to force her into prostitution and becoming a concubine, and causing the death of Sister Ah Hong. I beg Your Honor, please investigate thoroughly!!!"
"My lord! Please investigate this matter thoroughly!!!"
The girls kneeling behind them echoed what the girl in the lead had said, their swollen eyes flashing with clear hatred as they stared intently at Liu Zhengyang, who was lying on the ground to the side.
Qi Rong's chest heaved slightly as he bent down and reached out to help the girl in the lead to her feet: "I will investigate this matter thoroughly. Please get up."
Lin Changning slowly helped the girls behind him up. But as soon as his hands touched one of the girls, before he could even lift her up, she fell straight to the ground.
Lin Changning wrapped his long arm around the person and saw that the person's face was sallow and eyes were closed, indicating that he was already unconscious.
Lin Changning instinctively pulled the person into his arms and lifted them up in his arms, saying, "Go get some water!"
After saying that, he carried the person to the room, as he needed to make sure the person lay down first.
A group of girls nervously surrounded Lin Changning and led him directly into the room. Lin Changning placed him on the bed and reached out to take the water that the girls handed him.
After giving the person a few mouthfuls and finding no reaction, a little girl suddenly said, "Candy! Quickly go find some candy!"
As soon as the girl spoke, Lin Changning knew what was going on. It must be that the girl's low blood sugar was caused by long-term malnutrition.
Seeing the unconscious little girl, Lin Changning grabbed a small handful of gold melon seeds from his pocket and shoved them directly into the little girl's hand: "They sell them on the street, go buy some! Hurry!"
Most of the children here are malnourished, and these little girls are no exception; they are all pale and thin, looking as if a gust of wind could blow them away.
The little girl stammered after Lin Changning stuffed a handful of gold melon seeds into her mouth: "Sir, sir, there are too many wives, I can't make change."
Qi Rong, who was standing to the side, glanced at Wen Zhi, who quickly said, "I'm going out. You all wait here."
After saying that, he hurriedly ran out.
The little girl looked at the gold melon seeds in her hand with some reluctance, but still reached out and handed them to Lin Changning: "Sir, here's your money."
Lin Changning sighed, waved his hand and said, "I came here today because I have something to ask you. You can divide these golden melon seeds among yourselves as a gift."
The girls looked at each other, some not understanding what Lin Changning was saying.
After gently placing the little girl in his arms on the bed, Lin Changning asked softly, "My family runs an embroidery workshop, and we are currently making furniture. I wanted to ask if you would like to come with me after you turn 12? I will hire some master craftsmen to teach you embroidery. You will work in the embroidery workshop in the future, and we will pay you wages every month, and provide you with food and lodging."
The girls looked at each other in disbelief.
"Do we need all of us?" The little girl who had been kneeling and begging Lin Changning and the others to make the decision asked, looking at Lin Changning with wide eyes.
Lin Changning nodded: "Yes, we need apprentices for everything, from those serving tea and water in the front yard, to the accountant, and even the embroiderers and painters in the back yard."
Initially, there will be no profit, so we might only be able to provide you with three meals a day. Once we've fully committed, we'll pay you monthly, but the amount will depend on the quality of your embroidery.
"50 coins for the lowest grade, 100 coins for the middle grade, and the best grade gets 300 coins a month. I want to ask you, are you willing?"
A group of young girls knelt down again in the room, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Sir, we are willing."
"Thank you, sir. Having a skill to do is better than living in this den of wolves and tigers."
"Sir, we are willing, we are willing."
"Yes, sir, as long as you provide food, even if it's free, it's fine. We don't want to be married off as concubines. Several of our sisters who went out came back covered in bruises, and within a few months they were wrapped in straw mats and thrown into mass graves. Human life is cheap. As long as there's any chance of survival, we don't want to be sold into being concubines or prostitutes!!!"
With a hint of pity in his eyes, Lin Changning reached out and helped up the little girl who was at the head of the group, whose eyes were red and tears were streaming down her face: "Get up first, you don't need to kneel before me."
Qi Rong stood aside, his face extremely gloomy. The words these girls said were like sharp slaps to his and the Wangfu's face.
Qi Rong's hand gripping the hilt of the knife trembled slightly as he turned to look at the roof: "Go back and tell my uncle that I'm taking on this case. Anyone who dares to plead for him, I'll chop them down!!!"
Qi Ming!! You take your men back right now and interrogate them severely. I want to see who's been doing this under our noses. Drag them out one by one and cut them into a thousand pieces!!!
After speaking, he took a deep breath, his face slightly flushed with anger. After a while, he looked at Lin Changning and said, "Xiao Liu, I will investigate this matter thoroughly."
After speaking, he looked at the girls who were slowly getting up from the ground and softened his tone, saying, "I will give you justice in this matter. Those who did bad things in the orphanage will not escape. I will cut them into a thousand pieces!!!"
After saying that, he strode outside.
They happened to run into Wenzhi, who was delivering candy.
Hearing this, Wen Zhi, holding a large bag of maltose, looked at the angry Qi Rong with some confusion.
Qi Rong glanced at Wen Zhi and said, "You stay here today to handle the aftermath; you don't need to follow me."
Hearing this, he held a large bag of maltose in his left hand, clasped his hands in a fist and nodded: "Yes, Commander!"
Seeing their commander leave in anger, they knew that this matter was probably serious.
It's rare to see your own commander so angry.
After turning around and entering the room, he handed the candy to Lin Changning: "Taiyuan is probably going to be in for a while."
Lin Changning shrugged, then opened the oil paper package of maltose, pinched off a piece, and stuffed it into the mouth of the girl lying on the bed.
"It's good that things aren't peaceful. Killing off the parasites in Taiyuan is beneficial in every way and has no harm whatsoever. It's just right."
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