pjbooks Chapter 164 New Home Turns into Shelter
Chapter 164 New Home Turns into Shelter
Chapter 164 New Home Turns into Shelter
Even before Ellie revealed the truth, Ma Jie had already guessed most of it.
Prison, boarding school, orphans, human control, missing persons case...
If you put these keywords together, even the rats in the Los Angeles sewers would understand what's going on.
In Ma Jieke's understanding, such things usually involve a wide range of things. Pulling out a radish brings out mud, and under the mud is an even bigger radish. As for what lies below that, it's all up to you.
Don't make wild guesses, it would be bad if you guessed right.
So he didn't intend to act impulsively: "Max, what's our relationship? If it were for Pudding, I'd go through fire and water, but now's not the time to talk about that. Those kids are still waiting for Ellie to come back at the camp. They're hungry and being bitten by mosquitoes; they won't last much longer."
"Damn it, I'm so angry I've lost my mind." Max slapped his forehead. "Bubu, hurry up and untie this kid."
.
"You're really willing to help me?" Ellie, now free, seemed a little incredulous.
"Let me correct you," Ma Jie said, tossing her backpack to her. "It's not about helping you, it's about helping the little guys in your camp."
"Can I take these things with me?" She pointed to the stolen goods at her feet. "I swear, I really just borrowed them, and I will definitely return them."
"Take it, kid. You don't need to pay it back. I'll pay for it," Max said generously.
"Thank you, thank you so much, ma'am." Ellie bowed to her excitedly and quickly stuffed all her free shopping spoils into her backpack.
When they passed the toy shelf, Ma Jieke picked up a toy bear and threw it to her. I just saw this on the security camera, and to be honest, it was quite heartbreaking.
Ellie caught the toy bear, too embarrassed to say anything, but just smiled at someone. Although the smile was forced, it was clear that it came from the bottom of her heart.
"Jessica, how much is it in total?" Max asked as he put the items on the counter.
"What?" The black woman looked exaggerated. "What are you talking about, Max? How could I take your money? I really want to help those kids, so consider it charity."
"Are you sure?" Max raised an eyebrow.
"I'm sure, take it, take it, just don't let me see it."
Jessica waved her hand impatiently. No business owner wants to be taken advantage of, but in such special circumstances, the goodwill in a normal person's heart will be released.
"Jessica, you look really cool today. If that's the case, I'd like to give you a hug."
Seeing this, Jimmy took the initiative to go over and throw himself into Jessica's arms. Of course, Jessica didn't let him get away with it and took advantage of him.
However, the boy didn't yell or shout; he simply indulged her little quirk.
The group, some in cars and others on motorcycles, quickly arrived at Ellie's temporary camp, guided by her.
Hearing the commotion outside, Evans instinctively grabbed an entrenching tool from the tent.
"Someone has broken into the camp!" he shouted as soon as he came out, trying to alert the other children.
Sure enough, the kids popped out one after another, carrying all sorts of weapons for self-defense: scrap steel bars picked up from the trash can, baseball bats wrapped with transparent tape after being broken, and simple slingshots made from tree branches and rubber bands.
The funniest thing was a blonde little girl holding a plastic toy water gun.
Sizzle... Max had just jumped down the slope when his chest was soaked by a water gun.
"Hey, calm down, little one, Auntie isn't a bad person."
Looking at the dirty little girl, her maternal love instantly overflowed. After all, she was a mother herself, and she knew very well how pitiful children who lacked love and care were.
"Stop!" Ellie rushed forward and shouted to the boy with vitiligo, "Evans, she's the one we're looking for, Max from the Blue Hair Squad."
Upon learning the other party's identity, Evans finally breathed a sigh of relief and voluntarily placed his entrenching tool on the ground. The other children followed suit, demonstrating remarkable obedience.
"My God, what were you thinking, Ellie? Pitching a tent in a place like this, by the river and in the woods, you're going to get eaten alive by mosquitoes."
As soon as Max entered the camp, he felt his vision go black. He couldn't have done such an incredible thing without ten years of cerebral hemorrhage.
"I know this place is terrible," Ellie explained helplessly. "But it's the best I could find. If I take everyone to the city center, there will be enemies more terrifying than mosquitoes, like human traffickers and other homeless people. It's okay if I'm alone, but..."
"Okay, okay, stop talking, kids. You need to move right now."
After inspecting the cleanliness of each tent, Max frowned and said, "These camping supplies are unusable. There was even a child who urinated on the sleeping mat. How do you manage your campsite? If this continues, someone will get sick sooner or later. If it's an infectious disease, the consequences will be unimaginable."
"But where can I move to?" Ellie looked at her with wide eyes. This kind of hellish dungeon is the same no matter who you are in; all you can do is wait to die.
"Jack, come with me for a second." Max didn't respond to her immediately, but instead pulled Jack aside.
"Aren't you quite familiar with Valentina?" Max didn't mince words and stated his intention directly: "Please ask her to help us find shelter for these children."
"A shelter?" Ma Jie looked at her like she was an idiot. "If Valentina were the director, she could indeed manage it, but she's just a temporary worker, not even a permanent employee. How can she accommodate them? If they were adults, we could try to find a way, but they are children. The moment you get them to the shelter, someone will contact Angel City."
"Don't forget they all ran away. If they get caught and brought back, all of Ellie's previous efforts will be wasted. This isn't helping them; it's harming them."
After listening to Ma Jieke's analysis, Max looked helpless: "So according to you, hotels won't work either, since that's also in the public eye."
"Exactly. If I were a hotel manager and I saw a bunch of beggars barging in, do you think I wouldn't call the police?"
With both paths blocked, Max made a desperate decision: "I've got an idea. Let's bring the kids home. It's our own house; surely we're safe, right?"
Seriously, sis? Eleven people, that's a whole football team! Aren't you afraid they'll tear the roof off?
Ma Jieke was speechless. Saving people was understandable, but making a mess of himself in the process was putting the cart before the horse.
Seeing that he didn't intend to express his opinion, Max thought for a moment and said, "It's settled then. I paid the most rent, so I have the most say. It's just eleven more people. You can give up your room and sleep in the attic with Jimmy. That way, at least three children can be accommodated, one big one taking care of two little ones."
Damn... I haven't even settled in yet, and you've already thrown me into this mess?
Before Ma Jie could speak, she continued, "Fiona's room should also be offered up so she and Sandy can make do for now. That way, we can accommodate three more people."
"The two youngest live with me, and I take care of them personally."
"Three plus three plus two, that's only eight. There are still three grown men left. How are you going to deal with them? Hang them on the fan?"
"Why can't it be solved?" Max rolled his eyes at him. "Can't you sleep on the sofa? Can't you sleep in the RV? As long as you don't give up, there's always a way. Anyway, this is how I've arranged it. This isn't a discussion, it's a notification. When you get back, clean up the unhealthy things in your room and don't let the kids see them."
What unhealthy things could possibly be in my room? At most, I might occasionally appreciate the teachers' acting skills, but even that's done critically, okay?
Half an hour later, they returned with a full load. All eleven little homeless children, under the cover of the crowd, slipped away from the community security guards and sneaked into the house.
I thought these kids would run wild and make a ruckus when they arrived at Xintiandi, but surprisingly, not one of them caused any trouble.
The older children held onto the younger ones tightly, preventing them from running around.
"What's wrong? Everyone doesn't seem happy?" Max looked bewildered. Isn't this a million times better than living in a tent?
"I think these kids are used to being restricted by the strict school rules in Angel City."
Ma Jieke guessed helplessly: "In addition to Ellie's discipline, everyone has become very well-behaved, or rather, they have lost some of their childlike innocence and nature."
"Yes, that's right," Ellie added from the side. "I don't want to be too harsh on them, but for survival, I have to teach them to follow the rules."
"Of course, that's understandable." Hearing their conversation, Max methodically instructed, "Jack, see what's left in the fridge. You're in charge of cooking something for everyone. These poor little guys look starving, but before we eat, we need to clean them all up first."
"Jimmy, take these boys to take a bath."
"The rest of you little guys, come upstairs with me, Lettsdog."
This new type of housing typically has two bathrooms, one in the living room and one in the master bedroom.
Ma Jieke opened the refrigerator door, tied an apron around his waist, and instantly transformed into a rock 'n' roll chef.
Considering that these children have been wandering outside for three weeks, sometimes hungry and sometimes full, they may suffer from anemia and severe malnutrition.
Ma Jie didn't dare to cook anything fancy like grilling or deep-frying, but instead used the available ingredients to make a nutritious beef and vegetable soup.
Halfway through, the door was opened from the outside, and Fiona and Sandy, with their bulging shoulders, laboriously put themselves on the sofa.
When I opened it, it was full of children's clothes and shoes.
"Why are there so many?" Ma Jieke was a little confused.
"Who are you asking?" Fiona wiped the sweat from her forehead. "That girl at the shelter is crazy. She's been stuffing our bags with stuff, saying that since they're all donated by kind people, they're just taking up space."
"Exactly, she's clearly using us as laborers, making us clear out her inventory." Sandy sat down on the sofa, looking at Jack Ma with unfriendly eyes. "Tell me honestly, how far has your relationship progressed? No wonder you've been ignoring me lately, so you're seeing someone else!"
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