"Ah, it's Brother Hideki!"
A little girl with two ponytails who was playing the ghost hunting game first spotted Xiu Shu. She screamed and ran towards him.
When many children heard this, they realized that it was really Xiushu who came, and their eyes suddenly lit up. They all ran towards him on their short legs and surrounded him.
Hideki seemed to be used to this kind of zombie attack and greeted them patiently.
Although Hideki has basically not stayed in Konoha in recent years, he would occasionally stay in Konoha for a short period of time due to missions or to purchase materials.
And every time he came back, he would visit the orphanage.
The reason why the children were so enthusiastic about him was that every time Xiu Shu came, he would bring them delicious food.
Sure enough, after greeting them, Xiu Shu asked them to make way for him, then took out a few storage scrolls and opened them to unseal them.
Bang, bang, bang…
After a few puffs of white smoke dissipated, there appeared a small mountain of supplies on the ground.
Although they were only daily necessities such as rice, cooking oil, and cloth, there were also a few baskets of fruits and vegetables and several large bags of snacks that Xiushu had just bought from the market.
But in the eyes of these poor children, this was like a feast for all, making them drool.
However, even the youngest child just looked on and did not reach out to take it. He was so sensible that it made people feel distressed.
Hideki, who hated this scene the most, simply stuffed a large bag of snacks into an older child's hand and asked him to share it with everyone. After they finished eating, he moved all the food to the warehouse and kitchen.
After the children happily went to get their snacks, Xiu Shu was able to get away and had the chance to walk to the door of the orphanage. He greeted a middle-aged nun who had been watching with a smile for a long time and said,
"Aunt Kelly, long time no see."
Aunt Kelly is a caregiver at this orphanage and has been working here for many years.
Although she is big and strong, she can beat a kid with one punch.
But Xiu Shu, who grew up here, knew that she would gain weight even if she drank water, and it was not because she ate too much.
"Hideki, you have grown taller again."
Aunt Kelly looked up at Xiu Shu, who was now a head taller than her, and couldn't help but sigh.
"It's hard to imagine that you were so small back then, but now you have grown so big and helped the orphanage so much."
"This is what I should do."
Xiu Shu sincerely said, "After all, without this orphanage, there would be no me now. These small rewards are not worth mentioning."
"No, you've done enough."
Kelly said with emotion, "To be honest, if it weren't for the donations from you, Xiushu, every month, the orphanage would have been closed down long ago..."
Xiu Shu couldn't help but frown when he heard this, and couldn't help but ask:
"Is the orphanage that short of money recently? I remember the last time I came here, the situation wasn't that bad."
"There's nothing we can do. The village hasn't received subsidies for several months. I heard that there's a war going on at the front, so the village's financial situation is not good. And the children here are not native to Konoha..."
Kelly said this, took out a handkerchief and wiped the corners of her eyes.
"Hideki, you may not have noticed, but several of the older children are no longer here."
"They knew the orphanage was in a bad state, so in order to give their younger brothers and sisters more food, they secretly left the orphanage early to make a living on their own. I don't know what's happening with them now..."
Xiu Shu felt a little heavy.
Although the Third Ninja World War has not yet arrived, the shadow of war has begun to affect the lives of the lowest class people in Konoha.
If he had come back a few months later, perhaps the orphanage would no longer exist.
Although Hideki did not have many fond memories here, this was the only place in the entire ninja world that made him feel at home.
Fortunately, Xiu Shu at this time just had a perfect solution to the orphanage's problem.
Xiu Shu said, "Aunt Kelly, is the dean here? I have something to discuss with him."
…
The director of the orphanage is named Kemp, a thin and kind old man who looks a bit like Grandpa KFC.
His main job is to solicit sponsorship for orphanages or help orphans find jobs, but unfortunately his business ability is average.
Simply put, he is a good person with a good heart but limited abilities.
So when Xiu Shu saw the other party, he did not beat around the bush. After a few pleasantries, he got straight to the point:
"Master, I am planning to build a workshop recently and I need a lot of apprentices, so I hope to recruit them from the orphanage."
"Hideki, you are not kidding me, an old man, are you?"
Kamp, who was having a headache over the management of the orphanage, stood up excitedly when he heard what Hideki said.
After all, if the number of children decreases, the management problems of the orphanage can be alleviated.
Being an apprentice in a workshop was the best job that the children in the orphanage could find.
Not to mention that the owner of the workshop is Hideki, who knows the children well, so there is no need to worry about the children being mistreated.
No wonder Dean Kemp was so excited when he heard what Hideki said.
Without waiting for Xiushu to answer, Kemp asked cheerfully:
"So Xiushu, how many people do you plan to have?"
"In the early stages, we'll probably need about fifty people."
Xiu Shu said casually.
"So there are fifty people...wait, fifty?"
As Kemp was talking, he suddenly realized something was wrong, and his eyes widened.
Because there are less than 50 children in the orphanage now...
This... doesn't that mean the whole orphanage will be wiped out?
Kemp's idea was right. In fact, when Xiu Shu first formulated the workshop plan, he had already decided to take over the orphanage.
Because whether it is a workshop or a store, it takes a lot of manpower to operate normally...
Although the manpower problem can also be solved by hiring.
But Hideki's ultimate goal in establishing the workshop is to create a complete puppetry research and development system in Konoha with himself as the core.
This also means that after the scale expands, he will not be able to do everything himself like he does today, and he will need a large number of assistants who can understand and implement his ideas.
Coupled with the issue of technical confidentiality, assistants like this must be cultivated from an early age.
That's why Xiu Shu took a fancy to the orphanage and planned to transform it into his own talent training base.
Anyway, the workshop has just started, and the most difficult product production tasks will be completed by students who work part-time to earn money for their studies.
Therefore, if they are only responsible for assisting in the work, the children in the orphanage are capable of doing the job.
Moreover, Xiushu had already inquired that the surrounding land, including the orphanage, belonged to the village.
Therefore, as long as we can get the approval of the Third Generation, it would be a very good choice to directly build a workshop here...
Afterwards, Hideki easily convinced the director to agree to the cooperation between the orphanage and the workshop.
After all, he was born here, and with the years of selfless donations, Kamp didn't believe that Xiu Shu would do anything that would be detrimental to the orphanage.
He even volunteered to bring back those children who had to leave the orphanage early because the orphanage had no money, in order to fill the 50 vacancies.
Before officially building the workshop, he also provided a spare room in the orphanage to Hideki as a temporary studio.
In this way, the problems of location and manpower for the workshop were also solved. Now the only thing the workshop lacks is students who can work part-time to earn money for their studies.
Therefore, Hideki's next goal is already very clear.
That was a lie... No, it was to make the students willingly apply for work-study programs and join Hideki's puppet workshop family...