Lawrence took a breath and immediately became suspicious as to why an orphanage regularly purchased oats and bran.
Ya'an also saw Lawrence's suspicion and explained:
"According to the owner of the grain store, old Mario himself said that he raised some livestock in the orphanage to supplement his income. However, because the orphanage never receives visitors, no one knows the truth."
Lawrence closed his eyes, rubbed his temples with his fingers and thought deeply. For some reason, he always felt that he had heard the name of this orphanage somewhere.
After a long period of recollection, Lawrence suddenly remembered that it was in the parliament in early February.
Ciro did not express an opinion on most ordinary bills, but expressed strong opposition to a bill to reduce the budget allocation for orphanages, which made Lawrence very strange at the time.
"Ciro Russell, you can't be the one who still has the conscience to save orphans, right?"
Lawrence thought like this, feeling that he had touched the thread of the truth.
At this time, Anna saw that neither Lawrence nor Ya'an spoke, so she hesitantly took a step forward and said:
"Well, sir, were you talking about the Ajaccio orphanage?"
"Huh? Do you know that place?" Lawrence asked somewhat unexpectedly.
"Know something." Anna whispered:
"I once heard from a child who escaped from there. He said that they do not accept orphans from outside. They will only actively adopt healthy boys and girls. Also, it is strictly forbidden to go out without permission."
Lawrence frowned and asked: "Anna, can you contact the child?"
Anna shook her head with a depressed expression and whispered:
"The child was taken back less than a month after he came out."
"grown ups!"
Ya'an looked at Lawrence solemnly. Although he didn't say much, he was always thinking. Anna's words and the existing information made this orphanage quite suspicious.
"It stands to reason that the orphanage would be eager to have those children taken away to save money, but this one is the complete opposite."
Lawrence sneered and said, he was already 80% sure, and Anna's words had already made him decide to explore this so-called orphanage tomorrow.
"By the way, Ya'an."
Lawrence suddenly stopped Ya'an who was about to leave and ordered:
"Before you take people to the orphanage tomorrow morning, stop by the dessert shop and buy some snacks like cheese, bread, and cakes."
"Dessert shop?"
Although Ya'an was very puzzled, he still nodded and took Lawrence's order to heart, and then left Lawrence's house.
...
In the morning of the next day, according to Lawrence's order, Ya'an had brought about twenty people to the Ajaccio Orphanage in advance and sealed off the entire building, preventing anyone from entering or exiting.
This orphanage is located at the junction of Xicheng District and Nancheng District. It covers a large area and has a three-story stone main building. On both sides of the main building are wooden cabins, and in front is a courtyard facing the gate.
Because it is close to Xicheng District, the environment is very harsh, but the only advantage is that the land price here is cheap enough.
When Lawrence arrived, Ya'an had already sent people to guard the gate of the orphanage, and seemed to be having a conflict with the guard.
Lawrence did not rush to join the conflict, but first walked around the orphanage.
According to his observation, this building should have had doors in the southeast and northwest directions. There were obvious signs of demolition and modification on the surrounding wall, and in the end only one main door remained.
In addition, the wall here is obviously much higher than the original one, and the boundary between the two walls is very clear.
In addition, Lawrence stood outside the fence and could not hear any movement inside, as if there was no stranger in this huge courtyard.
After a brief reconnaissance, Lawrence came to the main entrance and showed his identity to the guards who were confronting the patrols.
"What happened?"
Lawrence frowned and asked Ya'an, who had even drawn his sword, and seemed to be on the verge of a fight with the several guards holding iron bars in front of the iron gate.
Before Ya'an could answer, one of the leading guards had already shouted loudly:
"You are Captain Bonaparte, right? You don't know why the patrols surrounded the orphanage. Don't you know that there are some poor and lonely children here? Do you want to continue to threaten them?"
The confrontation between the patrols and the guards had already attracted many people to watch, and after Lawrence appeared, many people came to watch the fun.
The guard's words also made many onlookers nod their heads, and some fragile women even began to take out their handkerchiefs to wipe away the tears from the corners of their eyes after imagining those poor boys and girls.
"Yan, put your sword away."
Lawrence calmly ordered, knowing the importance of public opinion, he would not have a direct conflict with the orphanage before revealing its secrets.
Since it was Lawrence's order, Ya'an had no choice but to sheath his sword.
At this moment, a short, fat, white-haired old man shakily walked out of the courtyard. He was wearing an old priest's robe, which was full of patches and stains that were difficult to wash away. It seemed that he had been wearing this all year round.
Same as old clothes.
As soon as the old man came to the door, the onlookers recognized him:
"Look, it's Mario, the dean."
"His hair has turned a lot whiter. It seems he has been working too much on the children."
"After all, it's not easy for one person to manage such a large orphanage."
...
Lawrence squinted his eyes and looked at old Mario, then took two steps forward, extended his right hand in a friendly manner, and said with a smile:
"You must be Dean Mario. I have long admired your name."
Old Mario slowly stretched out his hand and held it with Lawrence, forced a smile on his wrinkled face, coughed and said:
"Ahem, Your Excellency Bonaparte is the one. I wonder why you are here today...?"
"I have official duties, so please forgive me, Dean."
"On official business?"
Old Mario suddenly pulled his hand back, pretending to be panicked and said in a voice that all onlookers could hear:
"Are you here to arrest people? God, apart from innocent children, I am the only one left here. How can there be criminals? The rest are these guards. They are all here. You are
Who do you want to arrest?"
Before Lawrence could reply, there were already whispers among the people watching:
"Old Mario is right. Apart from the children, the only people in the orphanage are him and a few guards."
"That is, the children are not allowed to go out, and old Mario is a devout believer who has sworn an oath to God. What are the patrols doing here?"
"Perhaps Monsieur Bonaparte will also make misjudgments sometimes."
...
Lawrence's expression did not change, he still looked at old Mario with a smile, and slowly took back his right hand without being disrespectful.
Originally he was a little skeptical, but after seeing Mario's performance up close, Lawrence was 100% sure that there was definitely something in this orphanage that Mario didn't want him to know.
