Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 238 It's time to close the net, isn't it?

Kawakita Seishu's wife looked at the man sleeping like a log, brought him a basin of water, wiped his face, and changed his clothes.

Before leaving, she thoughtfully prepared some food and warm water by his bedside.

Outside the courtyard wall, after listening to Xiao Erduo's explanation, Cao Weida had a general understanding of the situation.

They used potent drugs to hollow out the beast's body, then got him addicted to gambling and drugs, completely ruining him both physically and mentally.

He took a drag on his cigarette and looked away. "Little Ears."

"Brother Cao, please speak."

"It's about time to wrap things up. What I want is revenge, not to let him enjoy himself to death."

Although that little devil is now like a ghost, he's living a carefree and happy life every day.

With that beast's physique, Cao Weida was genuinely afraid that this little devil might accidentally die at any moment.

If he dies so easily, is it a trap for him or a reward?

Little Ears grinned and said, "Don't worry, Brother Cao, we're ready to close the net. Just wait and see! Come back in a few days, and we'll make sure that little devil's wife and children are torn apart and his home is in turmoil!"

"Okay, I trust you to handle things. Let's go, let me treat you to tea."

"."

After drinking tea, Cao Weida dismissed Xiao Erduo, hailed a rickshaw, went to a pastry shop to buy some pastries, and then headed towards Nanluoguxiang.

Courtyard No. 97, Nanluogu Lane.

"Oh, it's Brother Cao! Hello, Brother Cao~~ Sister Zao'er, Brother Cao is here!!"

As soon as we arrived at the courtyard gate, a spirited little boy shouted excitedly.

"Haha, Tiger, hello, hello." Cao Weida walked in carrying a box of pastries.

His gaze swept over Hu Zi's clothes, and he nodded to himself.

Although the fabric Hu Zi was wearing wasn't anything fancy—just the most common coarse cloth worn by ordinary people in Beiping—and his trousers had two patches on the knees, they were washed very cleanly and neatly.

Her face was rosy and glowing, and she looked a little delicate. Compared to her initial dull and thin appearance, she had changed a lot.

No need to ask, it's obvious she's being taken very well.

"Brother Cao." Several children who were playing in the yard ran over after hearing the commotion.

Several of the children looked rather reserved, their hands unsure of what to do, their eyes darting away, not daring to look Cao Weida in the eye.

Seeing all this, Cao Weida felt a pang of pain in his heart. He remembered these children; he had rescued them all from human traffickers.

At the time, these children were in the hospital, and although they were not left with any disabilities, they all had injuries to varying degrees.

After receiving basic treatment and finding no further problems, Cao Weida brought them here.

Although these children are not very old, they are not exactly small either. Some of them remember their home address and their family members' information. All those who were contacted were notified and someone was sent to pick them up.

Leaving aside the parents who were extremely grateful, the rest either didn't remember their family situation or had no family members left.

In total, nine children were placed here.

In addition, Tian Zao occasionally takes in one or two children, so now there are 24 children in this small courtyard.

Fortunately, the children are still young, so they don't need to be accommodated in separate rooms. This courtyard is barely enough for them.

His gaze fell on one of the children who showed no fear whatsoever, and he grinned, "I remember you, your name is Tian Erwa, right?"

He was particularly impressed by this child, especially by his resolute eyes, which he remembered vividly.

The child who was called pursed his lips and nodded obediently, saying, "It's me, Brother Cao."

Cao Weida's eyes narrowed with a smile: "How have you been here these past few days? Is there anything you're not used to?"

Tian Erwa shook his head, his eyes sparkling with gratitude: "Everything is fine, thank you, Brother Cao. If it weren't for you, I... Don't worry, I will definitely repay you in the future!"

Although he is only seven years old, he is mature beyond his years and his mind is much more mature than that of other children his age.

He knew very well who was good to him and who was not.

He will always remember this life-saving grace and never forget it!
"Haha, alright, then I'll look forward to your future repayment." Hearing this precocious answer from a child, Cao Wei was overjoyed, and quite pleased with himself.

Who doesn't like someone who knows how to repay kindness?

"Master Cao." At this moment, Tian Zao led several women in their thirties to fifties out of the house.

These women are from families he rescued but who had no money to "repay" him. He wouldn't help them for nothing; these women are here to work and pay off their debts.

Their main job is to take care of the children here and help with chores such as laundry and cooking.

They don't get paid, but they are provided with three meals a day, all you can eat.

"Brother Cao! You finally remembered us! I thought you had forgotten about us!" Tian Zao pouted, throwing a little tantrum.

"What kind of talk is that, girl? I'm just busy." Cao Weida glared at her. This girl was shrewd and clever. Even though they hadn't known each other for long, she had already figured out his temper pretty well.

Although she complained, she managed to strike the perfect balance, expressing her dissatisfaction without getting angry. She was incredibly shrewd.

He then turned his gaze to the women: "Although you don't receive a salary, don't be upset. It's because it's to offset the expenses I incurred for you. So, you must take good care of these children and not be careless."

"Uncle Cao, you're too kind. We're more than grateful to you. Don't worry, we'll take good care of the children as if they were our own." The women waved their hands repeatedly. In fact, they felt nothing but gratitude.

Jobs were scarce in Beiping, but there were too many people, which meant that not only women, but many men could not find work and had to do manual labor to make a living.

These women had nothing to do at home except wash clothes, cook, and clean.

Now they come here to work, and although they don't get paid, they get three meals a day, and it's not the mixed grain kind!
To put it bluntly, these days, being able to have three full meals a day, and real grains at that, is something that countless people would beg for but could never have!

They're not stupid, why would they mind?!

"That's good." Cao Weida nodded. He knew what the women knew, but it didn't matter. It was just a few more mouths to feed, and he wasn't going to be so petty.

"You guys go ahead and get busy, I'll just take a look around."

After sending the women and children away, Cao Weida, accompanied by Tian Zao, toured the various rooms.
"In a couple of days, I will invite a literate teacher to come and teach the children to read. You should also learn from him."

“You’re the big sister of the kids, don’t end up not being able to keep up with them, or I’ll laugh at you.”

"Ah? Asking for a tutor?" Tian Zao was overjoyed and grabbed his arm excitedly, "Brother Cao, you said it yourself, you can't go back on your word!"

Unlike the later Xinhua Kingdom, now that they have the opportunity to study, they don't want to study at all.

These days, children are overjoyed if they have the opportunity to study.

If you learn knowledge and can read, then you are a cultured person!

Throughout history, the Chinese people have always had a deep-seated yearning for learning and culture.

"I always keep my word. Do you think I'll run away?" Cao Weida said, both amused and exasperated. "Once the children have learned the basic characters, I'll find a way to teach them more."

He didn't plan to send these children to school, firstly because there were so many children, it would be difficult to place them all at once.

Another reason is that Japanese is a compulsory subject in elementary schools these days.

The Japanese devils' desire to occupy China was not a decision made on a whim, but rather a well-thought-out one.

They knew that to completely conquer a country, the first step was cultural assimilation, or cultural invasion.

In any occupied area, Japanese was a compulsory subject in schools. They not only wanted to physically submit to China, but also to completely assimilate China in terms of language and cultural identity.

From violent suppression to written language recognition, to communicating entirely in Japanese, and then to the formation of habit.
It could be said that if the Japanese had gained a foothold in China, they might have actually succeeded after two or three generations.

He certainly wouldn't let these children be brainwashed by that disgusting culture. In a year, the children would have a solid foundation. By then, the Japanese would have surrendered. Whether to send them to school or hire a private tutor would be something to decide later.

"Wow! Brother Cao, you're so kind!" Tian Zao excitedly hugged him. "If you didn't have so many concubines and you weren't so good to us, I would want to marry you!"

Unexpectedly, Cao Weida looked her down, pulled her down, sized her up, and chuckled, "Give me a break. With your figure that has nothing to offer, I wouldn't even consider having you."

These words enraged Tian Zao, who punched his arm several times as if tickling him to calm her anger.

After circling around, Cao Weida didn't linger and immediately hailed a rickshaw and left.

Two hours later, in a private room at a teahouse.

Cao Wei Da gave a brief account of Liu Rusi's situation.

It wasn't that he didn't know the importance of secrecy for spies, but rather that telling Xu Jingge was completely harmless.

If Xu Jingge is arrested and fails to withstand torture, revealing his identity, then whether or not he knows Liu Rusi's true identity will no longer matter.

Xu Jingge flicked his cigarette ash, pondered for a moment, and then said:
“She’s not on our side, so I can only give it a try for you.”

"However, her problem shouldn't be too serious, but I'm worried because of you. You know what I mean."

(End of this chapter)