"Family members, pay respects!"
In a simple mourning hall, Chen Ying sat blankly on a cushion, mechanically tossing paper money into the brazier in front of her.
Although he didn't want her to endure this kind of hardship at such a young age, she was, after all, an eleven-year-old girl. Trying to appease her with childish words was obviously not going to work.
Chen Meiyun's death compensation came very quickly. Obviously, both the military and the government wanted to settle this matter quickly. Whether it was the destroyed houses, cars, or casualties, everything was dealt with swiftly. The compensation was in place in less than two days.
Of course, the reason the compensation came so quickly was that General Ross must have put in a lot of effort. After all, he certainly didn't want this matter to become a blemish on his record. With such a powerful figure watching over them, those lazy government agencies finally showed some efficiency.
However, Li Qingyuan maliciously speculated that it had a lot to do with the relatively small losses this time. Because the total number of deaths hadn't exceeded a hundred, it wasn't even as many as died in a gang fight.
As for the destroyed buildings, they were even less worth mentioning. Abomination had only smashed low-rise buildings under three stories. He hadn't even destroyed a single high-rise, which was truly a bit regrettable.
"Xiao Ying, don't be sad!" Wanda walked over to Chen Ying and tugged at her arm.
"..."
Chen Ying didn't answer and continued to add paper money to the fire pit, her movements mechanical.
"Big brother!" Wanda timidly walked over to Li Qingyuan and tugged on his clothes.
"Let Xiao Ying calm down for a while. What she needs most right now is time to calm down!" Li Qingyuan affectionately stroked Wanda's head. No one could help Chen Ying in her current state.
After all, Chen Ying was different from Wanda. Wanda at least had Pietro, her biological brother. Don't let Wanda's grumbling about Pietro fool you; she cared more about her silly brother than anyone!
Chen Ying had been relying on Chen Meiyun since she was a child. Now that her mother was suddenly gone, it was normal for her to be overwhelmed.
Unless he possessed the memory-altering ability of a certain bald-headed [G] Demon, he couldn't make her happy instantly.
Doing that is actually crueler than killing someone. If a person loses their personality and memories, can they truly be themselves?
So, don't let that bald guy fool you with his constant talk about compassion; he acts like a saint, but his heart is black!
There weren't many people in the mourning hall. Chen Meiyun had no family or close friends here, so only a few dozen neighbors came. After offering incense and comforting Chen Ying, they left when they saw she didn't respond.
Originally, there were two guys who didn't look like good people, trying to subtly ask about Chen Meiyun's compensation money, but when Li Qingyuan stood in front of them and flexed his rock-solid biceps, they immediately ran away with their tails between their legs.
Of course, a couple of poisonous bugs crawling onto those two guys was a trivial matter!
"Xiao Ying, get ready. We should send your mother on her way," Li Qingyuan called to Chen Ying after waiting for about half an hour without anyone else coming to pay their respects.
"Okay," Chen Ying nodded blankly. At such a young age, she already understood that she couldn't act spoiled anymore, which was heartbreaking.
"Wait, wait!" Just as Li Qingyuan was instructing people to prepare the coffin, a guy with black-rimmed glasses and Big Gold Teeth rushed in from outside.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave. Our boss is coming to offer incense. Hurry up and get this done!" Big Gold Teeth immediately shouted, ordering the workers to put down the coffin, acting like he was the one in charge.
"Don't!" Seeing Jill preparing to confront them, Li Qingyuan pulled her back.
Although the other party's attitude was arrogant, they were still here to pay their respects. As long as they weren't intentionally causing trouble, it could be tolerated.
Big Gold Teeth set up the incense burner and then scurried outside. He was probably going to greet the boss he'd mentioned.
After a moment, a spirited old man entered, leaning on a cane, with Big Gold Teeth standing beside him, supporting him like a lackey.
"Sorry, I'm late!" The old man greeted Li Qingyuan with a slight nod as soon as he entered, clearly seeing that he was the one in charge here.
"It's okay, it's not yet the auspicious time." Li Qingyuan also nodded slightly, feeling curious about the relationship between this old man and Chen Meiyun.
The old man walked to Chen Meiyun's coffin and looked at it silently, then lit three incense sticks and bowed slightly.
"My name is Lei Gong. The old neighbors in Chinatown call me Uncle Seven out of respect. What do I call you, young man?" After paying his respects to Chen Meiyun, Lei Gong walked over to Li Qingyuan and asked.
"Li Qingyuan!" Li Qingyuan lowered his head slightly to look at the old man in front of him. So this guy was Uncle Lei!
"I'm a few years older, so I'll call you Little Li, is that alright?" Uncle Lei spoke on his own, without waiting for a reply.
"I met Meiyun a few times when she first came to Chinatown. I even played matchmaker once, trying to get her to remarry my nephew. Although it didn't work out, we still have a bit of a connection. Her daughter is so young and can't take care of herself. I plan to take her as my adopted granddaughter. What do you think, Little Li?"
So that's how it was!
Li Qingyuan stroked his chin. No wonder Chen Ying, though a police officer in Chinatown, was so familiar with Uncle Lei, who was involved in the underworld. It turned out they had such a connection.
Of course, although Uncle Lei took Chen Ying as his adopted granddaughter, it was really just a protective measure for her. They would probably only meet once during the holidays, and there wouldn't be much contact on weekdays.
After all, as an eleven-year-old girl, suddenly having hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash without any relatives, Chen Ying would never have lived to adulthood without someone like Uncle Lei to protect her.
The security in Chinatown was certainly much better than in Hell's Kitchen and Queens, but it wasn't exactly paradise either.
In a place like New York, it's impossible to find a neighborhood completely free of connections to the underworld.
Uncle Lei was the Chinatown Godfather. Anyone who had dealings with him generally had to give him some respect.
Those who didn't need to give Uncle Lei face, well, they probably wouldn't care about a measly two hundred thousand in compensation!
"I appreciate Seventh Uncle's good intentions on behalf of Chen Ying, but I've already decided to adopt her, and she doesn't object. So, I'll have to remember this favor for now." Li Qingyuan clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, even though the other party meant well, he didn't want to be automatically subservient.
As for adopting Chen Ying?
Well, whether it was one sheep or two sheep, it was still a shepherd's job. Raising one more loli wasn't a big deal!
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