Chapter 346 Caring for Beggars

Chapter 346: Caring for the Beggar Children

Chi Yu subdued Manager Zhang in a few quick moves. "Fulang, right after you left, this old bastard was cursing you behind your back."

Manager Zhang was alarmed and uncertain. "Who are you people? What exactly do you want to do?"

Meng Wan paced slowly through the courtyard, observing his surroundings. The front yard was eerily quiet—not a single child came out to move about. He said as he walked, "You don't need to know what we're up to. You just need to know that from now on, the Charity School has no place for you. Understood?"

Hearing this, Manager Zhang immediately started shouting, "On what grounds! You say I'm out, so I'm out? Who the hell do you think you are?"

The main gate was wide open. Meng Wan pointed with a slender, fair finger at the stone stele standing at the entrance of the Charity School. "Read what's on it, and you'll know exactly who I am."

There were only four characters on the stele. Two were "Charity School," and the other two were...

Meng Wan.

Manager Zhang's legs went numb with fear. "You... you... you are Meng Fulang?"

The small door between the front and back courtyards was locked. Meng Wan stood before the tightly shut wooden door, his tone relaxed, yet each word was heavy with menace. "If you come clean now, you might still walk away from this alive. Otherwise, you know what's coming—you remember what happened to the Zhang family, don't you?"

"Fulang, there are only seven or eight children in the back courtyard, all around three to five years old, gaunt and sallow—who knows how long it's been since they had a proper meal. In the storeroom, there's only a tiny bit of cotton and coarse cloth, and two bolts are the ones we just bought." Chi Yu rattled off what he had discovered.

Manager Zhang could no longer hold himself up. His knees gave way, and he dropped to the ground before Meng Wan. "Meng Fulang, spare my life! It was all my own greed. Please spare my entire family!"

Though he was a descendant of a convicted official, he had still been able to marry and have children. Over the years, he had built his own small family—he even had grandchildren now.

Meng Wan ignored him for the moment, letting Manager Zhang tremble until his breathing grew tight. The smarter someone is, the better they are at scaring themselves.

"Chi Yu, open the door."

Chi Yu darted over with light steps, then delivered a clean, decisive kick. With a loud crash, the heavy wooden door collapsed.

Meng Wan fanned away the dust with the folding fan in his hand before stepping over the threshold.

The back courtyard was spacious, laid out similarly to the Charity School in the prefectural city, but far more barren.

Chi Yu had been there earlier and directly led Meng Wan toward one of the small doors. Two women in their forties stood guard in front of it. Chi Yu gave each one a kick to the chest, sending them both tumbling to the ground.

"Fulang, those kids are locked in here!"

The door wasn't locked, but the children inside didn't dare run out or resist—they had likely been beaten into submission. Meng Wan's eyes darkened as he pushed the door open and went in.

Inside, as Chi Yu had said, there were eight children. Their ages were unclear—somewhere between three and five—though two of them, despite their evasive eyes, were clearly more mature than the other six, at least seven or eight years old. They must have been so thin that they looked younger.

They were small children to begin with, but their faces were so gaunt they were almost unrecognizable. Gray, dusty skin stretched taut over bones, and their large eyes were filled with numbness, fear, and longing—it was a downright creepy sight.

When they saw Meng Wan enter, they all shrank back in unison. But the empty room held only a heap of straw on the floor—where else could they hide?

Meng Wan bit the inside of his cheek with his white teeth. "Chi Yu, go report this to the magistrate."

Magistrate Ding, who hadn't yet left for the countryside, was forced to work again. He had only recently taken office and didn't know that Meng Wan had been funding a Charity School in the county. At first, he silently thought Meng Wan deserved having his funds embezzled by his own man—but when he saw those eight skeletal children, he fell silent.

Over the past five years, Manager Zhang had used the Charity School's money to buy a house and find a wife for his son, embezzling who knows how much. Moreover, most of the beggar children taken in by the school had been sold far away by Manager Zhang in collusion with human traffickers. Only these eight, the ones the traffickers had rejected for being too small, were left behind and nearly starved to death.

Meng Wan reported a rough figure to Magistrate Ding and let him decide the sentence.

According to the laws of the Yu Kingdom, combining the stolen amounts for sentencing, theft reaching one hundred and twenty strings of cash warranted one hundred strokes of the cane and exile to three thousand li away. Manager Zhang had committed a full three times that amount—he was to be sentenced directly to death by hanging.

Back when the Zhang family was convicted of crimes, he had narrowly escaped disaster. He had started a family and had children, and even his son was wed. Whether it was resentment or greed that drove him, he had once again walked into danger and brought about his own ruin.

Per the verdict, the Zhang family was to have their ill-gotten gains confiscated by the authorities. Manager Zhang's family had already spent most of the money he had embezzled, so the over one hundred taels of silver still in their hands had to be returned to Meng Wan, and their properties and farmland were to be transferred to him as well.

After collecting the silver from the county office, Meng Wan directly told Chi Yu to check out of the inn. In the coming days, he would personally go to the Charity School to set things in order.

They laid out the bedding from the carriage in an empty room in the front courtyard of the Charity School and settled in temporarily.

There were still some of Meng Wan's snacks left in the carriage—dried fruits and candied preserves, along with half a sack of polished rice.

With too few hands available, Meng Wan also brought in Yu Geer, who had been anxiously pacing at home, to help with the work.

"Zhifan, go out with Chi Yu to buy supplies. Get one dan of coarse rice and one dan of polished rice first, plus some coarse flour, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. Get the food ready today, and tomorrow go to the cloth shop to buy coarse cloth and cotton."

"Yu Geer, go find a doctor nearby and bring him back to check on these children."

Meng Wan stood in the back courtyard giving orders, his voice loud and clear, deliberately speaking for the frightened children to hear.

The eight children still huddled in the room, refusing to come out. Beaten and tormented until they were as thin as sticks, their exposed skin was covered in bruises—purple and blue pinch marks. It was a horrifying sight, and they definitely needed a doctor to apply some medicine.

They were all beggar children, just like those at the prefectural city's Charity School. Those children supported themselves and treated each other like siblings, and though they rarely tasted meat, Widow Dai had raised them to be better behaved than children with parents. Yingniang taught them to read and write, and over the past five years, those children had learned a great deal.

Compared to the children at the Charity School in Guyang County, it was like one group was in heaven and the other in the depths of hell.

Meng Wan had founded the Charity School with good intentions, and to see it ruined by such heartless, ungrateful people—there was no way he wasn't angry.

Losing the silver was one thing, but the children who had been sold could never be found again.

The kitchen at the Charity School was basically just for show, with only a single iron wok. Meng Wan poured all the remaining rice into the pot without even rinsing it, added water directly, and started cooking.

When he was done, he went to the corner room and called out to the children, "Hey, do you want to eat? If you do, bring some firewood over and help build the fire to cook some porridge."

The children acted as if they hadn't heard, only shrinking further into the corner.

Meng Wan's brows furrowed. These children must have been frightened like this before. Now the door was wide open, sunlight spilling onto the floor, yet they only hid from the light, curling up in the dark corners.

They didn't dare run, and they didn't dare respond.

Meng Wan started the fire himself. When the aroma of rice wafted out, the smallest child whispered, "Hungry."

The two older ones quickly covered his mouth. They couldn't speak—they'd be beaten, or sold.

When they had first arrived, they had been given thick, sticky rice porridge and clean new clothes. But those who wore the new clothes were taken away and never came back.

And they had never tasted such fragrant porridge again.

The county town was small, and the shops for rice, flour, oil, and grain were all nearby. Chi Yu and Zhifan returned quickly, loaded down with supplies.

Yu Geer, who had gone to find the doctor, came back even before them. By now, the doctor had already taken each child's pulse and sent his young apprentice to the shop to fetch ready-made ointment for external injuries.

"Their bodies are too depleted—medicine won't work. Nourishment will have to be built up slowly. These poor children." When the Charity School had first been established, it had caused quite a stir, with people praising and criticizing it. Over time, everyone knew something shady was going on. It wasn't until Meng Wan reported Manager Zhang to the county office that the truth of such profiteering came to light. The Master behind it all had truly done his best—it was just a pity that it had fallen into the hands of wolves.

With a healer's compassion, the doctor also pitied the children's many wounds, large and small. They would have been better off remaining beggars.

Meng Wan paid the consultation fee, but the doctor refused it. "Fulang is a righteous man. I'm not one to be blinded by money—forget the consultation fee."

The smaller the place, the warmer the hearts of the people. Meng Wan wasn't short on money anyway. Since the doctor wouldn't take the consultation fee, he at least paid for the ointment and courteously saw him to the door, saying that if the children ever had any minor ailments in the future, he would trouble the doctor again.

Zhifan organized the rice, flour, oil, and grain in the kitchen, while Yu Geer, though unsure what the Charity School was for, didn't idle either and helped with the tidying.

Meng Wan transferred the pot of thick porridge into a large wooden bucket, and Chi Yu carried it to the table in the main hall of the front courtyard—the only place in the entire yard with tables and chairs.

"Chi Yu, go inside and call those children out to eat. If they won't move, carry them out if you have to." Meng Wan instructed Chi Yu, then went back to his room to wash up and change clothes.

He wouldn't stay long in Guyang County, so there was no time to gently train these children. He had to use some forceful measures, at least to keep them from starving for now.

By the time he finished bathing, it was already dark. Zhifan had just stir-fried some cucumbers with eggs and tossed a big plate of cold purslane salad.

Though there were only two dishes, the portions were big and filling.

The porridge was also divided into two basins—one cooled with well water for the four adults, and one cooked thick for the eight children.

Whatever Chi Yu did, the children all came, but they refused to sit at the table, huddling in the corner of the hall, still in the same posture as before. Even in the middle of summer, they didn't seem to mind the heat.

Zhifan filled eight bowls of porridge. Meng Wan picked one up and pressed it into the smallest child's hands. "Hold this. Eat!"

His voice was loud enough to startle the child, who instinctively took it and took a sip.

The warm rice porridge slid down his throat, and even when the older ones tried to snatch it away, he wouldn't let go.

The other children, tempted by the smell, eagerly gulped down their porridge when it was handed to them.

Meng Wan then carried the plate of cucumber and eggs he'd set aside for them and squatted down in front of them. "Don't rush. One piece of egg for each of you. Hold out your bowls."

This time, all eight children obediently extended their bowls, and in no time, the porridge was nearly gone.

Meng Wan added eggs to each bowl—bigger pieces for the older ones, smaller pieces for the younger—along with a few slices of cucumber.

Once they were all served, he stopped watching them and sat down at the table to eat himself.

Maybe it was from working hard all day, but he had a good appetite. He drank two full bowls of thin porridge and helped himself to plenty of the dishes.

"There's no extra bedding here. I've had Chi Yu take you home for the night. If you still want to come tomorrow, I'll have him pick you up," Meng Wan said to Yu Geer after the meal.

Yu Geer said quietly, "I'd like to come and help again tomorrow." He didn't fully understand the purpose of all this, but it felt better than staying at home, and his cousin's wife was willing to smile at him. Yu Geer was a bit clever—he knew his future sister-in-law might not be reliable, so he'd have to rely on Meng Wan, his cousin's wife.

Sure enough, a hint of a smile showed in Meng Wan's eyes. "Alright."

Before bed, the children, who were only half-full, were herded by Chi Yu to the well, where they washed up with warm water one by one. Afterward, Zhifan dried them off and put medicine on each one. Zhifan was gentler than the rough Chi Yu, and his voice was kinder than the stern, harsh Meng Wan's. As the children were being treated, the smallest one suddenly burst into tears and threw his arms around him.

Zhifan's eyes reddened as he held the bare-bottomed child and soothed him again and again.

Over the next two days, every single one of them was put to work helping out by Meng Wan. The money originally used to furnish the Charity School had been pocketed by Manager Zhang. Apart from the reception hall, which was still decent, the other rooms were empty—some had brick beds (kang), some didn't.

He sent Chi Yu and Zhifan to the carpenter's shop. They bought a few ready-made beds first, then ordered custom redwood cabinets and tall wardrobes at an extra cost. They also went to a clothing shop and bought more than a dozen sets of hemp clothes.

They also bought ready-made bedding for the kids—bathing tubs, washbasins, pillows, oil lamps... They spent several days buying bits and pieces, with deliveries arriving at the school's gate every day.

The children had lice in their hair, so Meng Wan shaved each of their heads and had Chi Yu drag out the straw from the corner room and burn it. He arranged for them to stay in the largest back room with a big communal sleeping platform—spacious and bright.

Eight bedrolls were laid out on the platform, with new mattresses and pillows. Since the weather was hot, the quilts were stored in the newly made cabinets, and the children covered up with thin hemp blankets.

With three simple meals a day provided by Meng Wan, the children finally stopped cowering in a daze. At first, they only dared to follow around the kindest one, Zhifan, but gradually they started talking to Chi Yu and Yu Geer too—though they were still a bit afraid of Meng Wan.

"Tonight, let's make cold noodles with green beans and ground meat sauce. Simmer chicken broth on the stove and serve the kids hot noodles in the broth." Since the weather was hot, Meng Wan didn't like going into the kitchen, so he had Zhifan and Yu Geer knead and roll out the noodles inside while he sat on a small stool by the front door to snap green beans.

The front door was wide open, creating a breezy entrance. Sitting under it was cool with a cross-draft that made it especially comfortable.

After a while, eight children gathered around him to help snap the beans. Meng Wan called to the oldest one, "Take your younger siblings to fetch some small stools and sit down to pick the beans."

The oldest one gave a quiet "Mm," led the younger ones away, and soon they each returned carrying a small wooden stool.

There were about twenty of these small stools in the yard, all made by the carpenter from scraps left over from the beds, bed frames, cabinets, and tables. He'd given them for free, for the kids to sit on and play with.

They were quite practical around the school, and Meng Wan loved sitting on them.

"Wan Geer, snapping beans, are you? My family's cucumbers came in nicely—I picked a few for the kids." With the school's front door open, neighbors stopped by to chat.