Dudian saw the joy in his eyes and the few white hairs scattered among his hair. He suddenly felt that although they had adopted him, he hadn't fulfilled his duty as a son. Although the incident of arranging his engagement with the Ivy family three years ago had left some shadows in his heart, as time passed, the hatred in his heart had long since faded away. His father often said, "No one is perfect. Who can be without faults?"
"You've lost so much weight just after being away for over ten days." Jura looked at Dudian with heartache.
Greg smiled and said, "Come and sit down and talk."
Dudian nodded slightly, put down his bag, and came to the dining table. He accompanied them to chat about some of the things he had seen and heard in the commercial area. As for the mission, it was confidential, so it was better not to talk too much about it with them.
"You said you were appreciated by the consortium and got a promotion?" Greg was a bit surprised when he heard Dudian's words. Was it possible to get a promotion after just the first mission? It was too fast, wasn't it?
Dudian took out the key from his pocket and said, "The consortium has allocated a house to me. In the future, we can move to the new house."
Jura was stunned and said, "Allocate a house directly? That's so generous!"
"Tsk, tsk. No wonder it's the Mellon Consortium!" Greg had obviously heard some news or stories about the Mellon Consortium. He let out a sigh and then shook his head slightly, saying, "However, your mother and I have lived here for too long, and we're very familiar with the neighbors around. Moving to a new place will make us feel a bit uncomfortable. Moreover, my workplace is not far from home."
"I see. Then I'll have to live alone in the commercial area." Dudian said with regret.
"Well, you're almost at the marriageable age, and you should learn to be independent... Hmm? Wait a minute. What did you just say? Living in the commercial area? Do you mean the house allocated to you by the consortium is in the commercial area?"
"Yes."
"You, you... Well, when can we move there?"
"…Anytime is fine."
"Haha..." Greg burst into laughter immediately. All his life, he had been longing to live in the commercial area and experience the life of the upper class. He never expected that such a wish would come true so unexpectedly.
Jura covered her mouth and chuckled. Her eyes, as she looked at Dudian, were filled with care and relief. She also never expected that Dudian would give them such a big surprise.
Seeing how happy they were, Dudian couldn't help but smile too. Suddenly, he thought of something and took out a gold coin from his pocket, saying, "I earned this during this mission. I borrowed a lot from you before. The extra is for you as a token of my filial piety."
Greg and Jura were surprised when they saw the gold coin. They never expected that in just over ten days of a mission, Dudian could earn a gold coin, which was much higher than their salaries and simply incomparable.
"Did you earn this?" Jura still couldn't believe it and couldn't help asking, "What was your mission? Was the work very difficult? You were taken for training before and were also a guard. Could it be that your mission was very dangerous?" Years of life had taught her that there was a direct proportion between effort and gain. There was definitely no free lunch in the world. Even if there was, it would be in the trash can.
Dudian smiled and said, "It's not like that. We're not at war, so there's no danger. The mission was just more complicated, so it required training. Ordinary people couldn't do it." As he spoke, he grinned.
Jura looked at him, half-believing, and asked, "Really?"
Dudian nodded with great certainty.
Seeing this, Jura finally felt relieved and smiled, saying, "So, you really are capable. When I first saw you, I thought you were different from other children..." As she said this, she suddenly felt her husband nudge her arm and give her a meaningful look. She immediately realized that she shouldn't continue talking about the orphanage to avoid bringing back Dudian's memories.
Dudian noticed Greg's little gesture but didn't care. Instead, he felt a bit guilty in his heart. Because he knew that although he could be good to them, he would never forget his biological parents and his elder sister who had loved him since he was a child. They had firmly occupied too much space in his heart, and no one could replace them.
"After we move to the new house, I'll get you both a position in the consortium." Dudian said to the two of them, "In this way, you don't have to work, and you can still receive a basic salary every month. You don't have to be so thrifty anymore. Eat what you should eat and use what you should use. I will earn a lot of money in the future." This was also one of his privileges as a hunter. As long as he used some connections, he could find a vacant position in the various industrial chains of the consortium.
Greg smiled and said, "I'm still strong. I don't need you to support me in my old age. Although you earn a lot, you can't spend money recklessly. Save it for getting married and having children in the future, you know?"
"Speaking of this." Jura suddenly smiled and said, "Dean, a few days ago, I met an aunt who is very nice. Her daughter is also almost at the marriageable age and wants to meet you. What do you think?"
Dudian couldn't help but blush and felt rather embarrassed, saying, "Well, this, this..."
"You're almost at the age. You should start thinking about it." Greg also said.
Dudian felt a bit ashamed. He was still a quarter of a year away from being twelve years old. Thirteen years old was the legal marriageable age. Moreover, in his worldview, even at thirteen, one was still just a kid and had nothing to do with getting married and having children!
However, in this era, people aged quickly, and problems such as diseases and disasters claimed a large number of lives every year. Even when the radiation in the body accumulated to a certain level, people would lose their fertility. So people got married very early, but he couldn't get used to this.
"I'll think about it when I reach the age." Dudian said euphemistically.
Jura saw the determination in Dudian's eyes and said helplessly, "All right. I won't force you if you don't want to. But are you really not going to meet her? Her daughter is very pretty. I've seen her. She's definitely a little beauty."
"I agree with that." Greg laughed.
Jura rolled her eyes at him.
Dudian shook his head repeatedly. It would be even more hurtful to reject the girl after meeting her. However, in his heart, he suddenly thought of the figure who had sat side by side with him in the pavilion in the garden under the moonlight that night, looking up at the grayish moon and chatting all night. His heart couldn't help but beat a little faster. He secretly wondered what she was doing now. Would it be too abrupt if he went to find her directly?
Thinking of these things, he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.
...
...
He accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Jura and chatted until very late that night. Early the next morning, as soon as it was dawn, Dudian's biological clock woke him up on time. After a simple wash and breakfast, he greeted Mr. and Mrs. Jura and went out. He took a carriage and headed for the slum area.
Jura had mentioned the orphanage last night, which made him feel a sense of urgency. Although he had only lived with Barton and the others for a few months and the faces in his memory had become blurred after three years, he still remembered that when he first came to the orphanage and felt lost and confused, they were the ones who stayed by his side.
He knew very well what kind of treatment an orphan would face once they exceeded the age for adoption.
Now, he was eligible to adopt them. Moreover, he had just accumulated enough funds and was ready to start building his own laboratory. He was in need of a few helpers. There weren't many people he could trust. Besides Mekin and the other two, it was these disabled orphans who had helped him earliest.