"Hey, boy, go get your director. I've got a score to settle with him!"
The man looked plainly hostile, making Aiwen frown.
He instinctively shielded Boer and Kyle behind him.
Boer clutched the cash box, feeling rather nervous.
To him, the visitor seemed like the sort so common in the East End, someone who saw their orphanage making money and came to squeeze something out of them.
Aiwen was somewhat familiar with people like that.
When the orphanage first opened, it had the government's name behind it, so there had been no major trouble.
But a year later, with the arrival of Lina, Boer, and the others, the orphanage had still attracted some covetous eyes.
They tried every possible way to get money out of Mo Fei.
At first, Mo Fei had lacked confidence himself, so he had thought of paying them off to avoid trouble.
He had never expected that this would only feed their greed.
Later, time and again, those thugs treated the place as a soft target, coming every month to collect protection money.
It was also then that Mo Fei received Mrs. Field's help.
Though the middle-aged woman had not looked particularly imposing, the sight of her standing in front of the orphanage had left a deep impression on Mo Fei.
"You damned scum, this is no place for you to throw your weight around. This is a refuge for children, not some shop you can bully... if you don't leave now, don't blame me for getting tough. I know the wives of plenty of police officers, and I'm sure their husbands would welcome a few more prisoners to increase their income..."
Her words had sent those thugs slinking away in disgrace.
Of course, the main reason was that they also knew Mrs. Field held a special position in the area. If they actually hurt her, they might face a great deal of punishment through official channels.
Even as hooligans, they did not want to spend every day hiding in fear.
After those men left, Mrs. Field had comforted the frightened children, then looked at the guilt-stricken Mo Fei with the same sympathy.
"Child, always giving in to scum like these won't help. It'll only have the opposite effect, so when you need to use other means, use them..."
Mrs. Field's advice had also given Mo Fei a reminder.
So, the very next day, he had gone to the trading company where he used to work and used some of his father's old connections to contact the local gang.
As it turned out, unexpectedly, the local gang had once received some kindness from his mother.
With that connection, those hoodlums had never shown up at the orphanage again.
Aiwen, Boer, and the others had lived through those events, so this man's appearance instantly brought back many unpleasant memories.
Fortunately, Aiwen had grown a great deal too. He was no longer the child who could only hide behind Mo Fei.
He calmed down and, seeing that the man opposite him had no intention of getting physical, patted Boer and Kyle on the shoulders.
"Boer, you two take the box inside and find the director. I'll wait here..."
Then he gave them a meaningful look and, whether they understood it or not, gave them a push.
After being pushed away, the two children soon turned their backs on the pair and started running.
They were back inside the house in a flash.
Only Aiwen remained at the entrance, facing off against the man.
For a moment, Aiwen kept swallowing nervously, sweat threatening to run down his temples.
Seeing this, the man opposite him instead gave a contemptuous smile.
They really were just a bunch of unwanted little wretches, frightened by something like this.
If that director was just as spineless, I could even change my plan again. Giving these children a bite to eat wouldn't be out of the question.
The man kept making plans in his head. He had also eaten the bread Mo Fei made.
It really was much tastier than the bread made in his own bakery.
So his original idea had been to buy the bread here at cost and sell it, making even more money simply by reselling it.
But now, his plan changed once again.
Orphanage, my foot. This place could be my kitchen, with all the kitchen maids making bread here.
There'd even be somewhere for the workers to live, and I could reduce the kitchen maids' wages too.
What about the orphanage's children? I could feed them. A little extra black bread wouldn't cost much anyway...
As for my own building, that would free up more space to sell bread...
As he thought it over, his eyes turned into pound signs.
"This trip was absolutely worth it!"
The man could not hold back a snicker.
His strange behavior only made Aiwen's scalp tighten further, and he could not help taking a step back.
He bumped straight into a solid body.
Aiwen was just about to cry out, but the familiar scent made him relax involuntarily.
It was Mo Fei.
Mo Fei patted Aiwen's shoulder, motioning for him to move to the side.
He himself stepped forward.
In fact, Aiwen could have gone back inside and crowded around the little window with the other children to watch, which would have given the director one less thing to worry about.
But today, he wanted to stand behind Mo Fei.
Perhaps the mysterious martial arts practice that morning had given him confidence, or perhaps it was his trust in Mo Fei. Either way, he did not retreat any further.
When Mo Fei saw the visitor, he keenly sensed something different.
The visitor could not be a street thug, even though Mo Fei had never actually encountered one since transmigrating.
But the London thugs in his memories were still very different from the man before him.
Though the man before him looked full of schemes and nothing like a good person, his clothes did not look cheap. There was also a faint smell of bread about him, mixed with a slightly burnt odor, all of which showed that he was not some unemployed loafer...
Still, the smell of bread? Mo Fei formed his own guess about the man's identity.
"May I ask who you are?"
His voice was quiet and his pace measured, yet every word was clear.
The expression on the man's face instantly froze.
Mo Fei did not seem like someone easy to handle. His revised plan seemed unlikely to work out.
Still, he forced himself to rally and mustered a smile.
"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm the owner of a bakery. My name is Miles Archer." At this point, his voice began to rise, and he started questioning him. "I've certainly never heard of an orphanage being allowed to sell bread. That doesn't seem to follow the rules..."
Then, as though he had convinced himself, he went on, "An orphanage should just accept donations and find suitable families for the children. How can you have a business of your own? And a skilled trade like breadmaking, at that. If what you make gives someone an upset stomach, wouldn't we be held liable too?"
"Put an end to this farce of yours at once, then compensate me for the losses I've suffered during this time. Otherwise..."
The more the man spoke, the more agitated he became, launching straight into accusations before finally revealing his true intent.