Chapter 904: Chapter 904

Su Nuoyan introduced the two briefly, and the three sat at the table. The waiter brought out the dishes, Su Nuoyan opened a bottle of wine, and the three slowly had a few drinks together, chatting casually and getting to know each other a little more.

Su Kaicheng was still an active-duty soldier, and his demeanor exuded a strong military aura. When he heard about Ye Qing's past work intercepting drugs on the border, his attitude toward Ye Qing became noticeably warmer. After all, he himself had a Special Forces background and had also spent two years on the border, coincidentally in the same unit as Ye Qing, which naturally gave the two more common ground for conversation.

After a few rounds of drinks, they had grown more familiar with one another. Su Kaicheng toasted Ye Qing with a drink and suddenly asked, "I heard from my third sister that Mr. Ye runs a private orphanage over in Dongzhou. How's that going?"

Hearing this, Ye Qing couldn't help but sigh and said, "Elder Brother Su, to be honest, the orphanage is about to be shut down. The provincial committee held a meeting just a few days ago, and the orphanage failed to get approval. Right now, the province is reallocating, planning to send the children to public orphanages. My place will no longer be an orphanage in the future!"

"Is that so?" Su Kaicheng didn't seem particularly concerned and continued asking, "How was the situation at Mr. Ye's orphanage before? How many children were there, what facilities did the orphanage have, and how were the children living?"

Ye Qing glanced at Su Kaicheng in surprise, unsure why he was suddenly asking these questions. However, Ye Qing didn't hold anything back and described the orphanage situation in full detail. After all, Su Nuoyan had personally witnessed everything, so Ye Qing spoke very thoroughly.

As Ye Qing spoke, Su Kaicheng nodded periodically, seemingly quite pleased with the conditions of the orphanage. After listening, he fell silent for a moment and then remarked, "So it seems, Mr. Ye, your orphanage even surpasses international standards. Your orphanage is practically indistinguishable from a private elite school. In that case, Mr. Ye, the monthly expenses for running the orphanage must be quite substantial!"

Ye Qing nodded and said, "I've calculated it. The initial investment in construction was significant, but once that phase is complete, the running costs won't be as high. Monthly operating expenses come to just over five million yuan."

"Over five million yuan, that's not a small amount!" Su Kaicheng commented. "Mr. Ye, have you ever considered what would happen if, one day, your funding source dries up? How would the children's expenses be covered in the orphanage?"

Ye Qing fell silent for a moment, then replied, "I've thought about this before. However, I own over twenty venues, as well as investments with some friends, which together amount to about three to five hundred million. I've previously planned to allocate three hundred million solely for orphanage expenses. Even if I lose my funding sources, this amount would support the orphanage for a while, ensuring the children don't face immediate ruin. During this buffer period, I could seek new funding sources, and if successful, the orphanage could continue. If not, at least this time would allow me to arrange alternative placements for the children."

"That's a good plan," Su Kaicheng nodded and said, "Mr. Ye, there's one more question I'd like to ask you."

"Elder Brother Su, go ahead," Ye Qing replied. For some reason, he felt that Su Kaicheng was a very upright man, so he answered each of Su Kaicheng's questions frankly.

"To my knowledge, your family situation isn't very good. When you first arrived in Shenchuan City, you were practically penniless. Also, your family currently has four members living in one modest apartment, and the conditions aren't great," said Su Kaicheng, looking at Ye Qing. "Under these circumstances, why was the first thing you did after earning money not to improve your own living conditions or your family's environment but instead invest all your money in these children? Philanthropy is noble, but you must know—it doesn't yield any tangible returns!"

Ye Qing shot a surprised glance at Su Kaicheng and then at Su Nuoyan, confusion evident in his eyes. This was his first meeting with Su Kaicheng, yet Su Kaicheng seemed to know so much about his circumstances. Clearly, Su Kaicheng must have done his research beforehand, including investigating Ye Qing's family situation. But why? What exactly was Su Kaicheng trying to achieve?

Seeing Ye Qing's puzzled expression, Su Nuoyan understood his thoughts and chuckled softly, "Ye, I forgot to tell you this earlier. My elder brother looked into a lot of information about you before coming here. But don't worry, he has no bad intentions. We're all here to help you!"

"Help me?" Ye Qing was even more perplexed. What were they trying to help him with? Ye Qing looked at Su Kaicheng, whose expression remained unchanged. But Ye Qing could tell that, while Su Kaicheng appeared rigid, he was definitely not a bad person. That inherent righteousness in him made people instinctively want to trust him.

"Mr. Ye, can you answer my earlier question?" Su Kaicheng asked.

Ye Qing paused for a moment and then raised his head to look at Su Kaicheng, saying, "Elder Brother Su, since you've already learned so much about my family situation, you must know the purpose of my coming to Shenchuan City, right?"

"I've gathered some information," said Su Kaicheng. "Regarding your younger brother's situation, I'm truly sorry. But since there are still leads, you'll surely find him someday!"

Ye Qing realized that Su Kaicheng undoubtedly knew everything about his affairs. Without holding back, he recounted his experiences upon arriving in Shenchuan City, focusing entirely on those related to the children, including the situation at Shenchuan City's orphanage, as well as the Beggar King and Lin Tianhao's exploitation of children for profit.

Su Nuoyan was unaware of how dark these matters were until she heard Ye Qing mention the piles of children's corpses found on Lin Tianhao's farm. She couldn't help but curse angrily, "People like that—despicable!"

Su Kaicheng, though seemingly calmer, was visibly furious. He was simply better at restraining himself than Su Nuoyan, showing greater composure.

Ye Qing recounted everything in detail, finally sighing as he concluded, "At the time, most of the children were reunited with their families. But for those left behind, with no family to take them, what could they do? Continue wandering the streets? Be sent to an orphanage? Honestly, after everything I've seen, I've completely lost faith in the public orphanages. They're nothing more than places exploiting these kids for profit. So, I decided to build my own orphanage to take in these children."

At this point, Ye Qing paused and looked at Su Kaicheng. "Elder Brother Su, I'm just a poor man. For me, life only requires a full belly and a warm place to sleep—that's enough. My family has a roof over our heads, food to eat, clothes to wear, and that's plenty. We don't need much more. But these children are different. If I spent all the money on myself and didn't take in these children, they might starve or freeze to death on the streets. Could I just stand by and watch that happen? Elder Brother Su, you were wrong in saying this is philanthropy. For me, this is about responsibility—I can't just let them die on the streets!"

"Well said!" A sharp light flashed in Su Kaicheng's eyes, and his respect for Ye Qing deepened. He raised his glass and said, "Ye brothers, I'll toast to you!"

When he first arrived, Su Kaicheng addressed Ye Qing as "Mr. Ye," but at this moment, he had shifted to "Ye brothers," indicating he now regarded Ye Qing as a friend.

Ye Qing clinked glasses with Su Kaicheng, placed the cup down, and said, "Philanthropy yields no returns, but if no one does it, what will happen to those children? I can't do much, but I'll give it my all!"

Su Kaicheng nodded and said, "Your words reassured me!"

"Reassured?" Ye Qing was momentarily stunned, glancing at Su Nuoyan in confusion, unsure what Su Kaicheng meant.

Su Nuoyan simply smiled at Ye Qing, looking quite pleased, but she didn't offer an explanation.

Su Kaicheng didn't address Ye Qing's confusion either. Instead, he stood, took out a map from the backpack behind him, and unfolded it to reveal a map of Shenchuan City.

"Ye brothers, can you point out the location of your orphanage on this map for me?" asked Su Kaicheng.

Though Ye Qing was puzzled, he walked over and pointed out the orphanage's location on the map. Su Kaicheng's map was quite detailed, even clearly showing Eryao Town.

After asking about the surroundings and finding out the orphanage was surrounded by wasteland, Su Kaicheng seemed very pleased, nodding repeatedly, though his intentions remained unclear.

Su Nuoyan was observing from the side, appearing even happier than Su Kaicheng. She occasionally winked at Ye Qing, leaving him even more perplexed.

Ye Qing was utterly bewildered by the siblings' behavior, unsure of their intentions, but he trusted that Su Nuoyan wouldn't mislead him.

After finishing his inquiry, Su Kaicheng set the map aside and took out his phone, dialing a number and speaking directly in the room.

"Dad, I've checked everything out here. It's just like Nuoyan said—the person is excellent, and everything else checks out. Yes, that's settled. Alright, I'll go inspect it myself!"

Ye Qing still had no idea what Su Kaicheng was talking about, while Su Nuoyan quickly chimed in, "Brother, the provincial government has issued orders. They're saying the orphanage will soon be shut down, and the kids will be transferred out!"