Mo Fei's attitude surprised Colleen a little, but not all that much.
This manner seemed perfectly in keeping with the impression he gave.
There was no further change in her, though she grew a little more curious about this man.
Her father, however, became a little more pleased with this man. How had he failed to discover such talent before? Fortunately, even now, it was not too late.
Looking at it this way, Colleen had found herself a very good helper.
Yes, in Earl Winter's eyes, Mo Fei could absolutely become Colleen's helper in the future, helping his daughter expand her influence in the East End. Not just anyone could accomplish something like that, but now he fully believed Mo Fei could.
As things stood, Earl Winter's trivial bit of help seemed to offer a very good return.
Mo Fei had left the orphanage in a carriage, and he returned to the orphanage in one as well.
But his state of mind was completely different.
When he left, he had still felt some simple worries, but now there was only the joy of everything having been settled.
Yet someone else who saw him step down from the carriage was not so happy.
At the street corner, Miles saw Mo Fei get out of the carriage safe and sound, and his face went white.
He had absolutely no idea why this unexpected turn had happened. He had clearly spent a great deal of money greasing palms, and had even asked his brother-in-law to help. Why?!!
Moreover, after Mo Fei left, he had planned to have some Black Snake Gang thugs come harass the children, then secretly plant some contraband inside the house to carry out the next stage of his scheme to frame him.
Just imagine a large quantity of contraband being discovered in the orphanage.
Once the sweeping charge of selling contraband under the cover of selling bread was pinned on him, things would no longer be so simple.
Unfortunately, barely a few minutes after Mo Fei left, Mrs. Field arrived with Aisha, and they comforted the children, who were somewhat panicked by Mo Fei being taken away.
Nor were they the only ones who came. From the start, Mrs. Field had worried that the two of them, one old and one weak, would be unable to protect these children.
So she had also asked Vil-V to find some veteran bodyguards to help.
Thus, two capable veterans followed behind the two women.
With Mrs. Field's help, the situation at the orphanage soon stabilized.
The Black Snake Gang fellows knew nothing about this and still came to the door.
After arrogantly knocking on the door, they found not frightened children but two veterans with exceptional combat skills, leaving them at a complete loss for what to do.
Seeing this, Mrs. Field understood as well.
She immediately ordered the bodyguards to act and drive all the thugs away.
In the process, they certainly gave them a good taste of what they could do.
The two thugs also recognized who they were. Or rather, those in the underworld generally had a good eye for such things. They had to know whom they could deal with and whom they could not.
Veterans like these were the most troublesome. Not only were they astonishing fighters, but, most importantly, they were united enough.
Bully one, and they might have to face a whole crowd afterward.
That was why gang members generally did not make moves against these old fellows.
The two could only leave the orphanage looking thoroughly disgruntled, and naturally, they had failed to plant what they carried.
They were very displeased as well. A supposedly simple job had gone wrong like this, and someone might need to bear their anger. They did not want to provoke the veterans, so who would bear it? What a difficult guess!
Unfortunately, Miles had yet to hear this terrible news.
Still, seeing Mo Fei return to the orphanage unharmed gave him a very bad feeling.
He hurriedly slipped away from the crowd.
Some onlookers had also gathered around the orphanage, and the more knowledgeable among them recognized the coat of arms on the carriage.
Although they did not know which family it represented, such things were privileges reserved for nobles, and so it caused an uproar.
"Why was Director Mo brought back in a noble's carriage? Wasn't he..."
"Looks like Director Mo has had a stroke of luck. The nobles have taken a liking to him, and he's working for them..."
"Then what Mrs. Field said earlier must all be true. How could Director Mo possibly be as awful as they said..."
"I told you long ago how good Director Mo is to the children, and how well-behaved those children are... None of you listened..."
"Shut up, you armchair expert. You said plenty back then too!"
For a time, both Mo Fei's and the orphanage's reputations underwent a dramatic reversal. The matter he had originally intended to ask Mrs. Field to help clarify was resolved in an instant, and word spread outward even faster.
It had also never occurred to Mo Fei that, in this era, anything involving nobles was always the hottest topic.
The effect of Earl Winter's help far exceeded expectations.
Back at the orphanage, Mo Fei pushed open the door and saw Mrs. Field teaching the children sewing skills.
The children were all gathered around Mrs. Field, listening to her tell stories while clumsily learning to stitch the scraps of cloth in their hands.
Surprisingly, the best learners among them were not Lina and the other girls.
Lina actually had little talent for this. She could only stitch the pieces of cloth together, and the awkward stitches made anyone who saw them want to laugh.
Mia did a little better, but only to a limited extent. As for Lucy, there was no need to say more. She was still too young and could only take care not to prick herself with the needle.
Aiwen was quite patient, but his hands were terribly clumsy too, making Aisha beside him laugh nonstop and causing his face to flush with embarrassment.
Boer looked as though he had fleas. Even sitting there, he kept squirming without stopping. If not for the fact that the person before him was Mrs. Field, whom they greatly respected, he would have wanted to run off.
Zane and Jimmy had simply given up. They sat around Tom and kept teasing the little baby, making him very irritated as he constantly babbled in protest.
By this point, everyone had presumably realized that the one with the best sewing skills was actually Kyle, who had remained silent all along.
He had actually sewn several pieces of cloth tightly together with fine stitches, and had even linked the stitches into a pattern.
It was just that the strange pattern left people feeling rather puzzled.
"What are you sewing, Kyle?" Mrs. Field asked outright when she saw it.
"Ma'am, I'm sewing a good-luck bird. I hope this bird can bring the director back safely!"
His childish yet firm words instantly chilled what had been a very steady atmosphere among them.
"Thank you for your good-luck bird. I'm back!"
Mo Fei's voice came from the doorway. He looked at his children with smiling eyes, feeling in his heart that he had come home.
Yes, after spending this time together, he had come to regard this place as his home.
When the children saw Mo Fei, they rushed over and crowded around him, their happiness and excitement coming straight from their hearts.