It was no exaggeration to say that it was not easy for the orphanage children to have adequate food and clothing.
May and Caitlyn taught the children.
Besides, kids sent to the orphanage were mostly physically weak. Some had hearing problems, some were deaf–mute children, and some were more serious. It was not realistic for these children to go to school with healthy normal children after all.
“If I find you a place with schools, hospitals, and dormitories, will you go?” Joe was thinking about his plans to build an orphanage.
“I won’t. It costs too much money… No matter how hard I try, I can’t give them all the things that normal kids enjoy.”
“My best hope is to raise them till they’re adults, and that’s enough for me.” May shook her head gently and rejected Joe outright.
Her idea was simple. There was nothing complicated. Just being alive. She was content to keep these children alive.
Letting the children go to university and get a Ph.D. was a luxury.
“It’s alright. Leave it to me,” Joe said with a smile as he waved his hand.
Even animals could be grateful.
Joe was raised in the orphanage by May. Now that he was capable, he wanted to do everything he could to give back to the place that raised him. It was a person’s most basic conscience.
“You! When you were sent here, I knew you would achieve something great. You were bright-eyed, good-looking, and healthy. There were plenty of good families who would like to adopt you. But…” May seemed to think of something suddenly and quickly shut up.
Joe’s originally calm mood was inevitably affected.
“Aunt May, do you mean I was sent here on purpose?” Joe let out a gentle sigh, he deliberately spoke casually as if it were a casual question.
“Umm…” May hesitated for two seconds as if she had something she could not reveal.
Honk honk!
Just then, there was a sudden rush of car horns outside.
Caitlyn and the workers carrying the supplies stopped what they were doing.
Slam! Slam!
Then came the sound of car doors closing.
Soon a group of people showed up at the orphanage entrance. The men were dressed in government uniforms and looked important.
Two security guards approached to ask but were pushed away. Then they showed their credentials.
“They’re from the government.” May recognized the visitor at a glance.
It was the officials in charge of their area.
“Madam, what are they doing here?” The caretakers nearby and two other girls like Caitlyn frowned in concern.
These people would not come here if nothing happened. They looked more like they were here to denounce them.
“Madam Randall, hello…” The leading middle-aged man held the brim of his hat and looked at May.
“Yes… you must be Mr. Hommer…” May recognized him and quickly came forward to say hello.
After all, Bingley Hommer was the chief government officer in charge of this area. His status was not to be underestimated. Although the orphanage was not a for-profit corporation, it was monitored by the government.
Bingley had come to check them out once before.
“We received reports from the public that your orphanage has some illegal operations. And… Your staff members had also beaten up the donors. Is that true?” Bingley asked solemnly, holding a file.
“Mr. Hommer, that’s not the case. Let me tell you…” May paused slightly before opening her mouth to explain.
“I’m asking you. Did you hit anyone?” Bingley asked with a frown, interrupting May with a wave.
May was instantly speechless when she heard that. After all, it was true that Joe hit Ken. May was in no position to argue.
“Catie, I told you. Joe shouldn’t have messed with Ken. Now that they’ve got the government involved, what are we going to do?” A girl Caitlyn’s age could not help but complain.
She was like Caitlyn, who was raised at the orphanage but were not as close to Joe as Caitlyn, of course.
“My brother helped us out. How dare you say that?” Caitlyn asked in reply angrily.
“Oh, it’s best if he can help us settle it. If he hadn’t appeared, we’d just have to suffer for a while, and the whole thing would have been over. But now he messed with the wrong people. How do we end it? How do we settle it?” The girl had a point, even the caretakers nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, Catie. Lisa has a point. Haven’t we pulled through when Joe was absent all those years?”
“We just had to suffer a bit, but things will come down in the end.”
“Joe may mean well by not wanting us to get bullied, but the way he handled things is okay if it ends well. If…” Another girl nearby also spoke up.
She did not finish her speech, but Caitlyn understood.
It meant that if Joe had the power and the ability to get things done, he could do whatever he wanted.
However, if all he did was cause trouble but not fix it, and had May clean up the mess in the end, he might as well not have helped them in the first place.
“My brother can settle this.” Caitlyn bit her lip and said as she withdrew her gaze.
She knew that the girls meant well. However, if Joe could not settle this, it would be a real problem for the orphanage. Both of them wanted what was best for the orphanage. But, Caitlyn believed Joe could settle it.
“Oh, we’re talking about the government… Joe wouldn’t hit Mr. Hommer even if he dared to hit Ken.” The girls shook their heads again.
Joe could take Ken out with his fists. However, he could not handle Bingley in the same way. Unless he wanted to die, of course.
“Anyway, my brother’s tough!” Caitlyn said no more and turned around to look at Joe.
