Chapter 468 Kindness Towards Orphans
Something was written on the paper, “It is easy to hide things in corners one frequently neglects.” On the other side of the paper was a string of numbers. Spurred by her curiosity and boredom, she decided to figure it out.
She eyed the bookshelves. Each book had been assigned a numeric code. Following the numbers on the paper, she searched for the corresponding book code. Next, she looked for the specified page number and word, which was coincidentally another number. She combined all these numbers, which made up the string of numbers “258614.”
What do these numbers mean? Could they be the PIN to an ATM card? What about that mysterious message on the paper? What is it trying to hide?
Her gaze swept across the room. The layout of the room was very simple— bookshelves, books, desks, and desk drawers. She opened the drawers, which were empty.
Nothing seemed to be amiss with the table lamp or tea set as well.
She looked at the bookshelves. She took out the books according to the order of the numbers—the second, the fifth, the eighth, the sixth, the first, and the fourth. Still, nothing happened.
She placed the books back on the shelf, suddenly noticing that the bookshelf at the end seemed out of place. The coding system was applied like the rest, but the books were haphazardly arranged. For example, humanities and calculator usage manuals had been grouped. And yet, a similar usage manual was grouped with the world classics.
Since she had nothing better to do, she decided to rearrange the books. She removed everything on the first shelf, and she saw a panel with the number one displayed in the center.
A light bulb went off in her head. Acting on her hunch, she removed all the books from the bookshelf. There was a nine-grid panel before her, with the numbers one through nine written on each grid. She pressed the panel following the numbers “258614.”
Click, click, click. The bookshelf suddenly opened up. Bai Rong looked at the gold and jewelry stored within, and she broke out in a cold sweat. We’ve found the fifth person we were looking for.
I don’t think Gu Mingchen could’ve ever imagined that person would be his own father—Gu Tianhang. No wonder our previous visit to Tangqian Village was so closely monitored by Gu Tianhang.
When we first investigated Lu Xingzhou, he only came after me and didn’t lift a single finger against Gu Mingchen. If Gu Mingchen hadn’t noticed the oddities, nothing would’ve happened to him.
No wonder all ours leads ended at Lu Xingzhou. Everything seems to clear up with this revelation of Gu Tianhang’s identity.
It makes so much sense now that I think about it. Xing Bachuan and Gu Tianhang have always been quite close. But why didn’t he give away Gu Tianhang’s identity?
Was it because Gu Tianhang promised to take care of Xing Jinnian?
We also made another error—the treasure was no longer at its original location. Maybe when Gu Tianhang had picked up my diary two years ago, he’d already moved everything here. Bai Rong immediately called Gu Mingchen.
“Give me an hour. I’m almost done. I’ll go shopping with you later,” Gu Mingchen replied gently. Bai Rong took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. Gu Mingchen seemed to sense her discomfort and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Gu Mingchen, remember the last culprit involved in the Tangqian Village genocide? I’ve found him. It was your father, Gu Tianhang.”
Gu Mingchen paused for a long moment before finally asking, “H-how did you find out?”
“I found the treasure in your father’s basement. It looks like he moved them all home ages ago. I’ll take a photo of it and send it to you.” Bai Rong hung up and took photos of the scene, and sent them to Gu Mingchen.
She closed the bookshelf and placed all the books back, organizing them by category this time. She tidied the books with a heavy heart.
Governor Cheng, Lu Xingzhou, Lu Liangcheng, Xing Bachuan, Gu Tianhang— the five culprits are finally identified. All of them are no longer alive due to various reasons. Would the people of Tangqian Village finally be able to rest in peace?
I don’t know if they will, but I do know that this treasure is the very symbol of corruption. Gu Mingchen rushed back an hour later, just as Bai Rong had finished organizing the books. “Do you want to see it?” asked Bai Rong.
Gu Mingchen shook his head and replied, “I’m taking you shopping.”
On the car, she could see the somber mood written clearly on his face. “Mingchen, we can use that money to do charity, right?”
“They’re all gold—it’s difficult to clear it off our hands. Unless we open our own jewelry shop and process everything for sale, we can never convert this into money for charity,” Gu Mingchen answered solemnly.
“Then let’s open a jewelry shop. I can be in charge of it. Once we start making money, we can take in orphans or build schools in poor areas. Help poor families and build job factories for the disabled. Open roads in the mountainous areas so the people living there can have access to the outside world. How does that sound? We’ll treat it as our way of atoning for our father’s sins.”
“Actually, G City is doing well financially. My father’s actions were probably rooted in his desire to build his own power, so he could match up against Shen Ao and Sheng Dongcheng,” Gu Mingchen surmised.
“We can’t control other people’s thoughts, but we can decide for ourselves. Sometimes, right and wrong are merely separated by a thin line. Maybe your father regretted his actions, or he had his own reasons. Anything he has done—bad or good—has become nothing more than history when he died. Don’t beat yourself up about it,” Bai Rong tried to comfort him.
Gu Mingchen took a deep breath. “Opening a jewelry shop is too troublesome. I’ll get Stephen to help us convert this into clean money. I’m thinking of getting rid of these jewels through the black market.” “The black market?” Bai Rong asked in shock.
“These people are accustomed to making dirty money. I’ll be doing good things with the money I’ve earned off them, and the jewels can return to the country. It’s a win-win situation for everyone,” Gu Mingchen reasoned.
“Won’t you be taking a huge risk?” Bai Rong was concerned.
“The people in Tangqian Village, the culprits behind the genocide, and anyone else who knows about the incident is gone. So, there’s very little risk involved. I’ll let you take charge of the charity projects,” Gu Mingchen said seriously. “Ok, I promise I’ll do a great job.”
Gu Mingchen accompanied Bai Rong as she bought folic acid supplements, along with sesame seeds, walnuts, and some other nuts. She had the nuts ground into powder forms, which could prevent calcium deficiency and were vitamin-rich as well. She also bought raisins, lotus seeds, and other foods which were recommended for prenatal care.
She even bought a maternity radiation apron. They were about to head to Shuiyue International for a meal when Gu Mingchen’s phone began ringing. It was an anonymous call.
Gu Mingchen answered the call. “Daddy, this is Xin. Mommy bought me a new phone. This is my new number.” “Ok,” answered Gu Mingchen.
“Daddy, when are you coming to see me? You haven’t come to visit me since the last time I was kidnapped. I miss you so much,” Gu Ruoxin whined. Gu Mingchen knitted his brows, hesitating.
Bai Rong caught part of the conversation. She coaxed, “You should go. We want to be kind towards orphans, but you should start with your own kid.”
