"One by one, everyone will get some, no pushing, no cutting in line."
Next to the Poorhouse entrance, another line had formed, this one made up of children in tattered clothes.
Lex, holding a cardboard box, stood by as a helper, watching Mr. Hardy, with a faint smile, continuously take pies and sweet iced tea from the box and distribute them to these poor children.
In a moment, that box of food was already distributed, but it was far from enough; there were still many children who hadn't received any food.
So Lex went to a nearby bakery, paid out of his own pocket, bought some bread, and gave it to the remaining children.
He then noticed that these children didn't leave; after receiving their food, they either squatted or sat nearby to eat, and only then did they gradually depart.
"This is what I requested."
Hardy pulled up his collar; as soon as the sun set, the temperature on the street dropped sharply. The old man breathed into his hands and said, "There are police here, and although they don't pay much attention, at least it ensures that the children's food won't be snatched by adults."
"My abilities are limited; I can only help a portion of the children. Although this isn't fair, children represent the future, don't they?"
Lex neither denied nor nodded, for he was not qualified to comment on an old man's actions.
However, from the old man's words, Lex also gathered some information.
Snatching.
It seemed that in the past, when the old man hadn't made such a request, food distributed to children had been snatched away by stronger, more advantaged adults.
This was indeed a sad thing.
Apart from a few inherently malicious individuals, Lex believed that if they weren't desperate, an adult wouldn't stoop to snatching food from a child.
"Alright, let's go home."
Hardy clapped his hands and said, "We've done what needed to be done, and we've tried our best. The rest, we can only leave to fate's arrangement."
"And fate, you and I are powerless to change. Let's go, sir."
The old man patted Lex's arm, then said, "Oh, by the way, I still don't know your name?"
Lex thought for a moment and gave a name: "Rayleigh, you can call me Rayleigh."
"Alright, Mr. Rayleigh. You said you came from Backlund, from that land of hope. It shouldn't be as bad there as Tingen, right?"
No, sir. It's just as bad there, perhaps even worse than here.
Ultimately, Lex still didn't say it. It was already dark and getting cold, and Lex didn't want to make the old man feel more downhearted.
When they reached the exit of Iron Ten Street, the old man suddenly stopped and then smiled, "Rowley is here. Oh, that's my son."
At this point, the old man waved his arm across the street.
So Lex saw a man in his late thirties, dressed in a formal suit and wearing a semi-top hat, walking quickly. On his face, one could vaguely see how Mr. Hardy looked when he was younger.
Rowley Brooke, Hardy's son, looked like a serious person. His lips were tightly pressed, and there were a few shallow lines on his forehead. When he approached the old man, he glanced at Lex before speaking to his father.
"You're here again. How many times have I told you, the security here isn't good, you should know that I worry when you come here often."
He didn't seem like a very approachable person, but his concern for his father was heartfelt; even Lex, an outsider, could feel it.
Hardy, of course, was even more so. He laughed heartily and gently patted his son's hand, "It's alright, I have Mr. Rayleigh accompanying me."
"Who is this gentleman?" Rowley then looked at Lex.
"A reporter, a reporter from Backlund. Don't you want to move to Backlund? Then you should talk to Mr. Rayleigh properly." Hardy suddenly remembered something, let out an "Oh," and said with a bit of annoyance, "Damn, how could I forget."
"Today is Josh's birthday, and I forgot to prepare a gift."
The old man happily said to Lex, "Josh is my grandson, a smart boy, and he also wants to be a reporter."
"By the way, Rowley, may I invite this gentleman to be our guest?"
Lex quickly said, "Thank you for your invitation, Mr. Hardy. However, wouldn't this be inconvenient?"
Rowley said seriously and somewhat indifferently, "It's alright, the more the merrier. Besides, in all these years, this is the first time I've heard him invite someone, so it seems he likes you very much, Mr. Rayleigh."
Hardy laughed, "Because Mr. Rayleigh is also a compassionate gentleman, but most importantly, he knows how to appreciate my pies!"
A faint smile appeared on Rowley's serious face, but it quickly vanished: "Then we'd better hurry, the party is about to begin."
They took a public carriage to Fania Street. It turned out that Hardy's son also lived in this neighborhood, but not next to his father; his family lived closer to the street entrance.
When they arrived at Rowley's house, Lex's inspiration suddenly stirred. He instinctively looked up at the second floor of the terraced house in front of them.
In a window on the second floor, a figure was reflected. It seemed to be a woman in court attire, but since there were no lights on in the window, Lex couldn't make out her face.
The figure quickly retreated and disappeared into the dimness of the room.
Rowley walked up the porch and was about to pull the doorbell when the door suddenly opened, and a woman in her late twenties rushed out. Her features were somewhat similar to Rowley's; she was slightly shorter and wore a black dress and a matching veil.
Lex guessed this should be Hardy's daughter, Rowley's sister, Meredith, who worked as a nurse at the hospital.
Indeed, Rowley held the woman, who almost bumped into him, and frowned, "Meredith, where are you going?"
The woman looked up, nervously gripping her brother's sleeve: "I was just about to look for you, Rowley. Why are you only coming back now? Something happened, Josh he..."
"What happened to Josh!" Hardy rushed forward, pushed his son aside, and gripped his daughter's hand, his face full of tension.
"Dad, Josh fell asleep, but we can't wake him up no matter what," the woman in the black dress gestured nervously.
At this moment, another woman rushed out of the house. She had long brown hair and green eyes, and tears were streaming down her face. Seeing Rowley, she immediately burst into tears.
"Don't cry, Maggie. Tell me, what happened?"
"Josh, Josh said he was very tired in the evening, so I let him take a nap. But when I went to wake him just now, I couldn't wake him up no matter what."
"Meredith went to see him, she tried many methods, but none of them worked."
Hardy exclaimed, "Then what are we waiting for? The hospital, we must take Josh to the hospital."
"I'll call a taxi carriage." Lex immediately went to the street corner, and a moment later, he hailed a taxi carriage.
As Rowley went to carry his son out, Lex glanced into the house and then looked at Meredith, saying, "Ms. Meredith, how many guests did you entertain tonight?"
Meredith looked at him in confusion, then shook her head, "Tonight was just a normal family dinner; we didn't invite any guests. Of course, you are an exception."
Lex looked at the worried Hardy and asked again, "Then, among your family members, is there a female member, around forty years old, wearing court attire?"
Meredith froze for a moment, then shook her head, "No, we don't have such a member."
"In fact, we don't have any other relatives in Tingen. My father and I, plus Rowley's family, all the members are here."
All members are here?
Then who was the woman I just saw?