Chapter 131 - 108: Young Wade
Chapter 131: Chapter 108: Young Wade
Vance thought for a moment. "That dish has to be worth at least two hundred yuan. Beiluo City has strict public security ordinances—theft requires a tenfold repayment. He’d have to pay back a huge sum, his credit score would drop, and he’d get a criminal record. It’d be hard for him to find a good job after that."
"It’s that serious? Then why on earth would he steal leftovers?" Ning He found it hard to understand.
Vance shook his head; he didn’t know either.
But they would soon find out.
At three in the afternoon, a few of Ning He’s little acquaintances came looking for her.
Seeing the seven "dwarfs" she hadn’t seen in a while, Ning He was pleasantly surprised. She welcomed them into the restaurant, getting ready to make them something delicious.
But to her surprise, the kids just blinked their big, dark, watery eyes, grabbed the corner of her shirt, and looked up at her with pleading faces.
"Sister Ning, please forgive Wade. He really didn’t mean to."
"If he can’t become a peace officer, he’ll be so sad he’ll cry his eyes out in secret!"
"He’s been crying a lot lately, and he hasn’t even been going to school."
"Wait, wait, wait. You guys didn’t come to see me?" Ning He felt like her sentiment had been wasted.
"Our parents wouldn’t let us come. They said your restaurant is really busy and we’d just be a bother," Knight explained. "We snuck out by ourselves to get here."
"Just to put in a good word for Wade?" Ning He said, a little sourly.
The small, honest Knight nodded, then quickly shook his head. "Actually... we really missed you too, Sister Ning."
Ning He finally felt a little better. "Alright. For that, I’ll give you a chance. Let’s talk inside."
Ning He herded the children upstairs like a flock of chicks and had them sit at a long table, facing her. The kids, who had never been in a restaurant like this, couldn’t help but look around curiously. But soon, their attention was fixed on Ning He, each one looking like they were bursting to speak.
"One reason each. Let’s start with Knight. Go on, tell me why I should forgive him."
Knight quickly spoke up. "Wade is really nice to us! When kids at school tried to bully us, he was the one who protected us! He’s definitely not a bad kid!"
The second little one nodded in agreement. "Uncle Gull is really sick. He’s already moved to Anle House. Wade never steals things. He took that food for the people at Anle House to eat!"
"And my dad said Uncle Gull is amazing! He used to be the captain of the peace officers! Back then, there wasn’t a single thief in our entire North Third District!"
"Uncle Gull saved my mom once!"
"Uncle Gull got sick saving someone’s life!"
As the seven children chimed in one after another, Ning He listened to everything and started to get a clearer picture of the father and son.
’This Guer sounds like a remarkable person.’
"Then why did this Uncle Gull leave the peace officer team?"
The children didn’t know the inside story, of course, and just shook their heads.
Ning He recalled the expressions on the faces of the neighborhood auntie and the peace officer. She was starting to understand. It seemed nobody wanted to see the young man punished.
In truth, Ning He’s loss wasn’t significant. But just letting it slide so haphazardly went against her principles.
She thought for a moment, then said, "Alright. Tomorrow, I’ll go check out the situation myself. If he’s truly in a difficult spot, I can withdraw my complaint."
The children immediately let out a cheer, jumping up and throwing themselves at Ning He in a hug.
"Thank you, Sister Ning! You’re the best!"
Pleased by their coaxing, Ning He generously treated the little ones to the most deluxe malatang with a tomato soup base, and in the end, had Old Zhang drive them home.
「The next morning.」
Ning He personally made a trip to Anle House in the North Third District.
Before she went, she’d looked it up online. Anle House was a facility provided by each district for its residents who were terminally ill, incurable, and facing financial hardship. It offered support for their last three months of life—sounding a lot like a hospice.
Even though she had prepared herself, when she arrived and saw the place, Ning He couldn’t help but feel a wave of melancholy.
Anle House was an old, four-story building with three wings, located behind the community pharmacy. The people moving through the hallways walked slowly and with great difficulty. Beneath their clothes, their bodies were bent and stooped, emaciated to the bone, and their faces were heavy with sickness.
But their faces showed no fear of death, nor the agony of their suffering—only a profound numbness.
Ning He observed from the entrance for five minutes, and the scene could be summed up in two words: utterly lifeless.
The people here were all waiting for death, whether actively or passively. In that sense, the scene was to be expected.
Ning He took a deep breath, found the room number the nurse had given her, and knocked on Guer’s door.
A fit of coughing sounded from behind the door, followed by a weak voice: