PFC Chapter 91 Happy Times
Chapter 91 Happy Times
The next morning, Li Wei woke up in a warehouse that looked like a garbage dump.
Although the place was dilapidated, he felt no displeasure whatsoever.
Ultimately, it's because of this group of lovely people living here.
Last night, after all the children were asleep, Jamie quietly approached him, thanked him, and offered to return the money.
However, Li Wei did not accept the money, but let Jamie keep it, since these green banknotes were not of much use to him.
Li Wei got up very early. Looking at the children who were still immersed in their dreams, he quietly got up without disturbing any of them.
Despite his best efforts to be careful, Jamie was still awakened when he went out.
Because this little guy is the oldest, he spontaneously put himself in the role of the older brother.
"Thank you, Mr. Li Wei."
Jamie looked at Levi at the door, his eyes filled with gratitude.
The Asian-looking man not only didn't pursue the theft but also spent a pleasant evening with them.
This kind of treatment was something Jamie had never even dared to dream of in his more than ten years of life.
"Could you wait until everyone wakes up, say goodbye to them, and then leave?"
Jamie looked at Levi expectantly as he spoke, for in his heart Levi was undoubtedly a very good person.
But even the best people might not want to associate with these kids.
After all, in Gotham, children are not a source of hope, but rather a burden.
Jamie's biggest hope was simply to let Levi say goodbye to everyone, so that the children wouldn't be too disappointed.
"???"
Jamie's words left Li Wei completely bewildered. He had only wanted to prepare hot pot ingredients and say goodbye to everyone.
However, he quickly realized that Jamie, that little devil, probably thought he was up to some kind of trick of leaving without saying goodbye.
Li Wei patted the little devil's head and smiled.
"Don't overthink it, kid. I'm just going to prepare some ingredients."
I've been remembering my promise to you guys about the hot pot from last night, so stay here and wait for me to come back.
After giving Jamie a heads-up, Levi walked out into the wind and snow.
Snowflakes started falling again outside, and there were hardly any pedestrians on the road.
Li Wei braved the wind and snow and walked a long way before finally hailing a taxi at an intersection.
Before he had a car, he didn't feel it, but now that he doesn't have a car, Li Wei feels as if his legs have been ripped off.
"Hey buddy, there's something I'd like to ask you for a favor..."
When in doubt, of course you turn to Gordon.
As the Gotham City Police Commissioner, most of Li Wei's problems can be solved by going to him.
As for why he didn't approach Batman or Bruce Wayne, it's because Levi had something more important to discuss with him.
"Well, I returned my pickup truck. You know, in Gotham, not having a car is like losing your legs..."
"I'd like to ask you to help me find some places to buy a used car. The price doesn't need to be too high, a few thousand dollars would be fine..."
"Oh, buddy, you're so kind. I'm a little embarrassed... Thank you, I'll come to your place later..."
After exchanging pleasantries with Gordon for a while, Levi finally managed to get a pickup truck.
He originally planned to ask Gordon to help contact a used car dealer. It's probably only Gordon who would do something like asking the police chief to contact a used car dealer.
However, Gordon couldn't find any used car dealers, but after hearing that Levi didn't have high requirements for cars, he directly said that he had a spare pickup truck at home.
—It's just that it's been a long time; according to Gordon himself, he's a veteran of three reigns, having inherited the position from his grandfather.
As long as there's a car to drive, and it's free, Li Wei doesn't care if it's an old car or not.
After all, he wasn't driving this car to pick up girls; as long as it could run, that was fine.
Given his relationship with Gordon, he didn't stand on ceremony and accepted Gordon's offer, agreeing to pick up the car later.
Half an hour later, Li Wei got the car keys from Gordon's wife at Gordon's house, and then saw the old pickup truck in Gordon's garage.
Li Wei's eyes lit up when he saw the rugged-looking Ford pickup truck in front of him.
If you drove this thing out, it would definitely turn heads.
After thanking Gordon's wife, Levi drove his pickup truck straight to the supermarket; he still had a tough battle to fight today!
When Levi drove his pickup truck, loaded with supplies purchased from Wayne Group's supermarkets, back to the dilapidated warehouse, he received the highest level of welcome from the children.
The pickup truck's rear wheels crunched over the gravel in front of the warehouse door.
The children rushed to the door, their little faces pressed against the rusty iron gate, their eyes shining like shards of glass soaked in light.
Li Wei pushed open the car door, and there was a tall pile of cardboard boxes in the back of the car. In the transparent plastic bag on top, pink lamb rolls were covered in frost, and the marbling of fat and lean meat could be vaguely seen.
"Give me a hand." Li Wei bent down and lifted the heaviest cardboard box, which contained two buckets of concentrated hot pot base, with bright red chili pepper patterns printed on the labels.
He never imagined that he could buy hot pot base from his homeland in a supermarket on the other side of the ocean.
He felt very happy to be able to enjoy the taste of his motherland with these lovely children.
Jamie was the first to rush forward, grabbing the edge of the cardboard box with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force.
Other children also gathered around, some grabbing the handles of the plastic bag, others standing on tiptoe trying to support the bottom of the box.
The small, thin figure squeezed against the side of the carriage, like a swarm of tiny ants surrounding honey.
The youngest girl, Lily, was squeezed at the back. She stood on tiptoe for a long time before finally grabbing a string of fish tofu skewered on a bamboo stick.
She smiled, revealing two chipped front teeth.
There were no suitable pots in the warehouse, or rather, the children's warehouse simply didn't have any pots at all.
He went to the supermarket again, bought a pot, and then used some bricks he had picked up to build a stove to make sure the pot wouldn't tip over.
The children squatted beside him, watching him take a large cabbage wrapped in plastic wrap from the cardboard box, still covered with fresh water droplets.
Several bright yellow potatoes were covered in dirt, their skin pitted and uneven. A bunch of enoki mushrooms were in a transparent bag, their mycelium fluffy like little umbrellas.
There were also several bags of colorful meatballs; the plastic packaging reflected a faint glimmer in the dim light, making the children's eyes shine even brighter.
"Water." Li Wei gestured with his chin towards Jamie.
Jamie immediately understood, picked up a bucket with a broken edge from the corner, and ran towards the water tap outside the warehouse.
The water pipes were already rusty, their surfaces covered with mottled rust marks.
After turning on the valve, the water flowed intermittently, carrying a rusty smell, and dripped into the bucket with a pattering sound.
He filled a bucket halfway with water and jogged back, his trouser legs brushing against the dust on the ground.
Two dark marks were left behind, and fine beads of sweat seeped from his forehead, mingling with dust as they slid down his cheeks.
The children spontaneously divided the work, with some squatting by the bucket to wash vegetables.
The mud spots on the vegetable leaves were rubbed off little by little with my fingers, and a layer of turbid sediment quickly floated to the surface in the clear water.
Some sat on the ground tearing enoki mushrooms, the delicate mycelium falling onto their worn-out coats like a thin layer of snow.
They would raise their hands to pat it from time to time, but they could never get it clean.
Li Wei squatted beside the fire, stuffing the firewood he had gathered into the makeshift stove made of a few bricks.
The moment the match was struck, the orange-red flame leaped up, making the children's cheeks blush.
They instinctively moved closer, feeling the warmth from the flames.
Li Wei poured water into the iron pot and then tore open the packaging of the hot pot base.
The dark red paste slid into the water and quickly melted into a thick soup.
The spicy aroma gradually spread, making the children's noses twitch.
When the water boils, white steam rises up, carrying a rich aroma.
The children unconsciously moved closer, some even standing on tiptoe.
Li Wei first added potatoes and radishes, cut into large pieces so they could be cooked until soft and tender in the pot.
Then came the lamb rolls, a whole plateful poured on top.
The pink slices of meat tumbled in the boiling broth, quickly turning light gray.
The fresh aroma, mixed with the spiciness of the base sauce, lingered in the warehouse for a long time.
"Line up, children."
Li Wei picked up a stack of freshly washed bowls and gestured for Jamie to give each child a bowl.
The children immediately lined up, walking very quietly, as if afraid of knocking over the bowls.
Lily was last in line, her little hands gripping the rim of the bowl tightly, her knuckles white, her eyes fixed on the fish balls floating in the pot.
Li Wei picked up two fish balls for her and scooped out a spoonful of soup.
When she took the bowl, her fingers touched the scalding hot bowl and she quickly withdrew them, but she still held the bowl tightly in her arms.
He blew on the bowl gently, brought his lips close to the rim, and tentatively took a small sip. His eyes lit up instantly.
Jamie stood to the side, watching the children wolf down their food.
Some of them had oil stains on their lips but didn't bother to wipe them away. Some children ate too fast and choked, but still couldn't bear to put down their bowls.
Li Wei handed him a bowl, but he shook his head and reached out to give the last few pieces of mutton in the pot to the little boy next to him.
Li Wei didn't say anything, but added another half bag of meatballs to the pot.
The broth bubbled and sizzled, and the splashes of oil landed on the edge of the iron pot, making a sizzling sound before quickly disappearing onto the cold iron.
After lunch, the snow stopped, and sunlight streamed in through the broken windows of the warehouse.
The light cast dappled shadows on the ground, and dust swirled within the beams of light.
Li Wei led the children to the open space behind the warehouse, where a thin layer of snow had accumulated and crunched underfoot.
He found a rope, tied both ends to a utility pole, and then rummaged through the car for a few old sandbags.
These sandbags were sewn from tattered cloth, filled with sand, and made a dull thud when dropped on the snow.
"Kids, split into two teams." Li Wei bent down and drew a line in the snow. "Whoever throws the beanbag across the line first wins."
The children immediately split into two groups, with Jamie and Tommy each leading one group.
When the sandbags flew up, the children screamed and dodged.
Snowflakes were kicked and scattered everywhere, landing on their hair and shoulders like a layer of white sugar.
Lily ran too fast and fell in the snow, her cotton pants getting covered in snow at the knees.
She paused for a moment, then got up, patted herself, and ran forward with a smile, her short legs moving very fast, her face full of excitement.
Li Wei stood to the side, occasionally bending down to pick up the fallen beanbags and tossing them back among the children.
A little boy threw a sandbag at him, and he fell down, pretending to be hit, clutching his chest with his hands and frowning.
The children laughed so hard they were doubled over, clapping their hands around him.
Some even pounced on him, patting his arms with their tiny hands.
The sunlight shone on his face, and you could see tiny snowflakes sliding off his hair, melting into water droplets, and trickling down his cheeks.
When the children got tired of playing, they sat down to rest on the snow.
Some brushed the snow off each other, while others shared the remaining candies in their pockets, the candy wrappers reflecting colorful light in the sunlight.
Li Wei took out several bottles of mineral water from the car and gave them to the children. They unscrewed the caps and gulped them down.
Because they drank too quickly, water droplets ran down their necks from the corners of their mouths, causing them to shrink back slightly, but they still laughed happily.
In the afternoon, Li Wei taught the children how to clean the warehouse.
They moved the dilapidated cabinet to a corner. The wheels at the bottom of the cabinet were long broken, so several people had to work together to push it, making a creaking sound.
Some children used rags to wipe the dust off the cabinet. The rags were black, but after wiping, the original color of the cabinet was revealed.
Some children moved discarded electrical appliances to the warehouse entrance, piled them up, and planned to throw them away at the garbage station later.
—In fact, most of the things here do come from there.
The younger children helped pick up scraps of paper and plastic bags from the ground, their little hands red from the cold, but they still bent down to search diligently.
Jamie found some planks and nailed them together to make a simple table.
The nails were hammered in crookedly, and the tabletop was uneven, but the children were very satisfied.
He wiped the table with his sleeve and then smiled happily.
The children placed the remaining ingredients on top and arranged them neatly by category.
The cabbage was placed on the far left, the potatoes were piled in the middle, and the meatballs and sliced meat were placed on the right, all neatly arranged.
Levi unloaded several thick blankets from the pickup truck; they were old items he'd found in Gordon's garage.
The quilt had a faint camphor smell, and the edges were somewhat worn.
He distributed the blankets to the children and had them spread them out on the prepared cardboard boxes to make makeshift beds.
"I can finally get a warm night's sleep." Tommy snuggled up to the blankets, his cheek pressed against the soft fabric, a smile playing on his lips.
The children lay down on their own "beds," some rolling around, others pulling at each other's blankets.
The warehouse was filled with their laughter, drowning out the howling wind outside.
Li Wei leaned against the corner of the wall, looking at everything in front of him, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the phone in his pocket.
As dusk fell, the wind carried fine snowflakes that pounded against the metal door of the warehouse.
Li Wei rekindled the fire, and it burned even brighter than at noon, with orange flames leaping and illuminating most of the warehouse.
He heated up the leftover hot pot broth from lunch and added new vegetables and noodles.
The noodles tumbled in the boiling broth and were quickly cooked, releasing a subtle wheat aroma.
The children sat around the pot, some leaning against the blankets, others sitting cross-legged.
Their faces were still flushed from playing, and their eyes were fixed on the food in the pot.
The youngest, Lily, lay on Levi's lap, her little hands clutching the hem of his clothes.
She would glance up at him every now and then, then look down again, staring at the noodles in the pot.