Life countdown begins, ice queen bursts into security room

Jiang Fan picked up a piece of green vegetable, put it in his mouth, and chewed it twice.

Tiger held the "mountain" of sea cucumber and pork ribs in his hands, eating with gusto.

Xu Qingya tapped the bamboo chopsticks on the solid wood table, making a crisp sound.

"Being vegetarian is good. It brings peace of mind and fewer desires, preventing you from getting into trouble outside."

Su Yuyan leaned back against the chair, her hands clasped in front of her.

"Teacher Xu, what are you saying? Who started this trouble?"

Shen Nian shrank back next to Song Siyi, her chopsticks hovering in mid-air, too afraid to move.

Song Siyi ate sunflower seeds, her gaze shifting back and forth between the two people.

Jiang Fan put the bowl on the table.

"Eat your food properly, everyone."

The voices weren't loud. But both women shut up at the same time.

Tiger looked up at the bowl, then buried it again and continued eating.

Fang Xiulan sat at the other end of the table, watching with amazement.

That kid's got some skills, actually.

How come I never noticed he had this skill before?

After finishing the meal.

Xu Qingya stood up, stacked the empty bowls and plates on the table, picked them up, and walked towards the kitchen.

Fang Xiulan went over to stop them.

"Qingya, let me do it. There's no reason to make a guest wash the dishes."

"It's alright, Aunt Fang. I'll wash it. I do these things all the time at home."

Xu Qingya dodged Fang Xiulan's hand and walked towards the kitchen.

Seeing that she couldn't stop her, Fang Xiulan turned around and shouted in Song Siyi's direction.

"Song Siyi, stop chatting there and come wash the dishes."

Song Siyi patted the sunflower seed shells off her hands, stood up, and walked towards the kitchen.

As she passed by Xu Qingya, she stretched out her hands and directly held the bottom of the stack of bowls and plates.

"Teacher Xu, you should take a break. I'm used to doing this kind of work."

Let's go together.

Song Siyi didn't refuse and took the bowl into the kitchen.

On the other side of the courtyard, Su Yuyan walked to a corner and took Xiaodou from a teenage girl.

Xiaodou had just finished drinking milk and was in high spirits. He grabbed a strand of Su Yuyan's hair with both hands and stuffed it into his mouth.

Su Yuyan didn't dodge, but instead lowered her head to tease him.

Xiaodou giggled twice, drooling all over her shoulder.

She wiped Xiaodou's mouth with her sleeve, her movements so practiced that it seemed like she was only interacting with a child a few times.

Shen Nian was pulled to the middle of the courtyard by Hu Zi and his group of children.

"Sister Shen Nian, please teach us to sing!"

Several little girls were holding her hands.

"Okay." Shen Nian squatted down to be at eye level with the children. "What do you want to learn?"

"I want to hear Brother Jiang Fan sing 'The Insects Fly' again!" Tiger shouted the loudest.

Jiang Fan walked over and kicked Hu Zi in the butt.

"That's called 'flying insects'."

Shen Nian looked up at Jiang Fan and smiled.

"I don't remember the lyrics, why don't you sing them?"

"I have something to do." Jiang Fan looked at her. "I'll give you the lyrics and music later."

Shen Nian's eyes immediately curved into two crescent moons.

"OK."

She turned to look at the children.

"I'll teach you that next time. Let me teach you a different one first."

The children cheered and surrounded Shen Niantuan.

Jiang Fan looked at it for two seconds, then turned and walked towards the iron gate.

Li Cheng was squatting on the curb, with three cigarette butts under his feet.

Hearing footsteps, Li Cheng looked up and saw Jiang Fan.

He stood up and glanced into the courtyard.

"Finished eating? Hope there wasn't a fight inside?"

"Get out, it's all because of you."

Jiang Fan walked over and stood next to Li Cheng.

The two men faced the open space across the street, neither of them speaking.

Jiang Fan calculated in his mind that he should still have at least two hundred million yuan in readily available funds.

He turned his head and glanced at the welfare home behind him.

The three-story old building has been repainted and has new windows installed.

But the fundamentals are what they are: the building structure is old, the pipes are old, and the space is small.

Repairing the problem won't solve the fundamental issue.

"Brother Cheng, I have a favor to ask you."

"you say."

Jiang Fan raised his hand and pointed to the south side of the welfare home.

"Go talk to the local government about this piece of land to the south and see if you can get it."

Li Cheng looked in the direction he was pointing.

It was a vast wasteland, overgrown with weeds half a person tall, several times larger than the current welfare home.

"Acquire land?" Li Cheng blinked twice. "What for? Development?"

"I want to build a new welfare home here."

Li Cheng loosened his grip on the cigarette butt with two fingers, and it fell to the ground.

He turned to look at Jiang Fan's profile.

This is not the previous repair and renovation, nor is it the installation of a few air conditioners.

Jiang Fan himself is very frugal in his daily life. He has not bought a luxury car or a house. When he goes out, he only takes taxis or rides in his minivan worth a few hundred thousand yuan.

He had heard Shen Nian mention it briefly in the car before, but he hadn't taken it seriously.

Just listen to what the little girl says, but don't take it too seriously.

Now Jiang Fan has said it himself.

"What scale are you referring to when you say 'new construction'?"

Jiang Fan stared at the wasteland.

"Teaching buildings, dormitories, activity center, canteen, and playground. Equipped with heating, air conditioning, and a fresh air system. Ideally, it would also include a library."

Li Cheng swallowed.

"Aunt Fang has been doing this all by herself for over twenty years. This place has taken in hundreds of children, but very few of them have made it big. It's not that the children aren't good enough, it's that the basic conditions aren't good enough."

Li Cheng didn't speak. He looked at the wasteland, his mind already calculating the costs and benefits.

"Brother Jiang, that piece of land to the south is at least several dozen acres. Acquiring the land and building on it will probably cost several hundred million."

Li Cheng announced a number.

"You don't need to worry about the money," Jiang Fan interrupted him. "You go and handle the paperwork first, and negotiate the land deal."

"Okay." Li Cheng dusted off his pants. "I'll go to the district government tomorrow to check things out."

The person in front of him held an even higher place in his heart.

Instead of buying luxury cars and villas, they used hundreds of millions of yuan to build welfare homes.

"Yeah, spend the money if you need to, and find the people if you need to." Jiang Fan patted Li Cheng on the shoulder and turned to walk back into the courtyard.

In the courtyard, Su Yuyan encountered a bit of a problem.

Xiaodou squirmed twice in her arms and then burst into tears.

Su Yuyan looked down and saw that the hem of her trench coat was soaked.

The girl next to her ran over and took Xiaodou away.

"Sister Su, I'm so sorry! Xiaodou didn't mean it."

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Su Yuyan tore off a few tissues and pressed them onto her trench coat.

Jiang Fan walked over.

"Go wash up in the restroom; it's on the left side of the first-floor corridor."

Su Yuyan responded, crumpled the tissue into a ball and threw it into the trash can, then turned and walked towards the restroom.

Xu Qingya stood at the kitchen door, wiping the water off her hands, watching Su Yuyan's back.

"Mr. Su doesn't usually take care of children, so it's understandable that she's a bit rusty. She'll get better with more practice."

The bathroom door slammed shut.

Song Siyi moved a small stool to Jiang Fan's side.

She lowered her voice.

"These women of yours, each possess unique skills. How do you plan to handle this situation?"

Jiang Fan looked at Shen Nian, who was teaching the children to sing in the yard, and Su Yuyan, who had just come out of the bathroom.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Song Siyi reached out and slapped his arm.

"Who should I call 'brother'?"

"You just need to manage the company's accounts. You don't need to worry about anything else. After filming for Journey to the West starts, I'll be spending most of my time on set, so I'll leave all the company matters to you."

"I can't be bothered with it."

8:30 p.m.

Fang Xiulan started urging the children to wash up and go to bed, and everyone else prepared to go back.

Three cars were parked outside the iron gate.

Li Cheng's minivan, Su Yuyan's G-Class, and Xu Qingya's Alphard.

Several people stood at the iron gate.

Xu Qingya opened the door of the Alphard and turned to look at Jiang Fan.

"I'm going that way anyway, I'll give you a ride home. We can go over the script on the way."

Su Yuyan leaned against the door of the G-Class, twirling the car key around her index finger.

"My car is fast. Also, I have a few contract details with Times Media that I'd like to discuss with you."

Shen Nian stood between the two, opened her mouth, but said nothing.

She had no car, and no excuse.

Li Cheng sat in the driver's seat of the van and rolled up the window.

He stared at the windshield ahead, pretending to be blind with his eyes closed.

Jiang Fan didn't look at anyone, walked straight to Li Cheng's van, and opened the passenger door.

"I'm leaving now. You guys figure it out yourselves."

Four women stood at the iron gate, watching the van start.

Xu Qingya snorted coldly and turned to look at Shen Nian, who was still standing there.

"Shen Nian, Si Yi, come here. I'll give you a ride home."

Shen Nian was stunned for a moment before Xu Qingya pulled her into the car and tried to pull Song Siyi back.

Su Yuyan quickly took Song Siyi's arm.

"Siyi, get in my car."

Song Siyi didn't refuse and opened the door of the G-Class to get in.

With a roar of the engine, the G-Class sped onto the road, its taillights flashing twice in the night before disappearing.