“By the way, Granny, didn’t Pann arrange for someone to buy you a house back then? But now…” Robin asked.
He had specifically made that arrangement for it.
However, looking at Granny’s patched clothes, it didn’t seem like she was having a good life.
“That house was demolished. They said they wanted to build some kind of entertainment venue, so I left,” Granny explained bit by bit.
“Demolished? Did you receive any compensation?”
“Yes, but they didn’t give it to me. They said the funds were still being allocated and would be distributed later. It’s been more than two years, and every time I ask, they use the same excuse.”
Granny spoke angrily, but also weakly.
After all, she was old.
She couldn’t argue or fight.
“Two years!”
Robin furrowed his brow. Waiting two years for compensation? They were clearly taking advantage of Granny’s age and deliberately withholding the money.
“Granny, what about Pann’s salary card?” Robin asked again.
That was the most important thing: Pann’s salary card, which should have in it several tens of millions in pension payments.
“I don’t know how to use that card. Jimmy my neighbor helped me, but he told me there were only two thousand, and he withdrew it all for me,” Granny recalled.
“Two thousand.”
Robin frowned.
There should have been at least twenty million in Pann’s salary card. How could it suddenly become two thousand?
Robin turned his head to look at Jeff Reczek and ordered, “Investigate this Jimmy and I need to know what’s going on.”
“Yes.”
Jeff Reczek immediately went to find Matthew Grant.
In this area, Matthew Grant’s power was still useful.
“Granny, it’s not too late. Let me help you push the cart back,” Robin said, putting his hand on the cart.
“No need, no need.”
Granny repeatedly refused.
However, in the end, she couldn’t resist Robin’s insistence. When they returned to her residence, they found it was in a dilapidated neighborhood, with broken-down buildings everywhere.
Even the walls had cracks.
The graffiti everywhere added to the sense of desolation.
“Sir, this is the outskirts of North Town. This area has been abandoned,” Nick reported. He used to live in such a place and understood the situation.
Although the environment was poor, the rent was cheap.
Some abandoned houses didn’t even require rent.
“Kelly, where are you? We have some guests today at home.”
Granny called out, and a young woman in her early twenties with a mature look came out of a room.
“Who are you?”
Kelly walked over, glanced at Robin, and asked.
“They are your father’s comrades. Your father asked them to visit us. Misters, this is my granddaughter, Pann’s daughter, Kelly,” Granny introduced.
However, upon hearing this, Kelly sneered, “That guy’s been gone for so many years, does he even remember we exist? And he sent these people to check on us? Why doesn’t he come back himself?”
Her tone was full of dissatisfaction and a hint of grievance.
“When is that guy coming back?”
Kelly’s gaze returned to Robin, her big eyes filled with discontent.
“Busy.”
Robin didn’t know what else to say, so he uttered this single word.
“Busy? Too busy so he has to abandon his family, not coming back for so many years? He didn’t even come back for my mother’s funeral! What kind of father is that? I won’t acknowledge him.”
With a bang, Kelly turned and went back to her room, slamming the door shut.
She was furious.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry, I haven’t disciplined this girl well… She has a bad temper,” Granny quickly apologized.
“It’s fine.”
Robin waved his hand, knowing he had been like that too.
At that moment, a young boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old, wearing a junior high school uniform, returned. He was covered in dust, and his face had some bruises.
“Dear grandson, did you fall again?”
Granny hurried over to brush the dust off the boy’s clothes.
“Yes.”
The boy nodded. “The road was slippery today, and I fell several times on my way home.”
“What’s the matter with you? Why do you keep falling?” Granny said with concern.
Then, she introduced Robin and his friends to the boy: “These are your father’s comrades.”
The boy glanced up and then ran away.
“Rain!”
Granny called out repeatedly, but she couldn’t stop him. Finally, she turned to Robin and apologized, “I’m sorry. This boy is Pann’s son. I don’t know why, but he’s been a bit disobedient today.”
“It’s fine.”
Robin waved his hand.
After a while, under a large pagoda tree, there was a rather shabby swing. The boy was sitting on it with his head down, swinging silently.
“What’s the matter? Did you get into a fight and lose?”
Suddenly, a voice sounded behind the boy.
The boy was startled and quickly jumped off the swing, turning around to see Robin. He immediately said with dissatisfaction, “What are you doing here? I don’t like you people.”
“Why?”
Robin walked over and sat on a rock, speaking slowly, “Is it because your father hasn’t come back for years? But if it weren’t for him, the country might have been destroyed, and you, your sister, and your grandmother would all die.”
“I… I…”
The boy was at a loss for words.
“Clean yourself up first.”
Robin tossed the boy a bottle of medicine he had bought earlier, which could treat some pain and injuries.
The boy held the bottle, looking a bit dazed.
“What, don’t know how to use it?”
Robin asked.
“It’s not that. No one has ever bought it for me before.”
“Why?”
“I’m afraid of making my grandmother worry, so I always say I fell when I come back and cover my wounds. Such a bottle isn’t cheap; it could buy a lot of meals. My sister had to drop out of college to work and take care of us because we didn’t have money. I don’t know what my father is doing on the battlefield – did he really abandon us?”
As the boy spoke, he began to cry.
Robin felt sorry for him and pulled him into his arms, “It’s okay. Even if your father isn’t here, I’m here.”
“But why did you fight?”
After a pause, Robin asked.
It was clear that this wasn’t the first or second time the boy had fought.
“They called me a bastard. My father is still alive, he just hasn’t come back. Why do they call me a bastard? Because tomorrow is the parent-teacher conference, they mocked me for not having anyone to attend and blocked my way home. I couldn’t help it, so I fought, but I was alone, and I couldn’t win.”
“Rain, tomorrow, I’ll go with you to the conference.”
Robin patted the boy’s head.
Leslie’s parent-teacher conference was just like this, he and Pann were truly scoundrels.