Chapter 153: 327
After buying two sets of steaks, Lin Huang gave one to the boy.
"The one you're holding is already are holding is already dirty when it touched the floor earlier during your fall. Throw it away."
The boy was holding the steak, hesitating for a moment.
"Come, give it to me." Lin Huang extended his hand.
The boy hesitated a little but still, he gave it to Lin Huang.
Lin Huang took it from him and threw it into the rubbish bin.
The boy stared at the rubbish bin and seemed like he was reluctant to throw it away.
"Alright, don't look at it anymore. You will get sick if you eat something dirty." Lin Huang patted the boy's shoulder. "If you're still hungry, I'll buy you more food."
He shifted his gaze as soon as he heard that, devouring the steak with pure bliss in his eyes.
The boy finished the steak after only two or three bites. He then lifted his head to look at Lin Huang's steak.
"Damn, so fast?" Lin Huang was shocked that he ate really fast.
He tore off part of his steak and gave the remaining half to the boy.
The boy started gobbling the steak down his throat.
Both of them walked for just a short while and the boy finished the second piece of steak. He raised his head and looked at Lin Huang again.
"You’re not full yet?" Lin Huang was surprised.
The boy nodded his head.
"Alright. I'm not feeling that full as well, let's go look for some more food." Lin Huang did not feel full because he ate less than one-third of his steak. Then, they wandered around in the night market.
After walking for a while, the boy stood still in front of a stall.
Lin Huang took a look at it and realized that it was another barbeque stall.
"Does this little brat like grilled meat so much?" Lin Huang was kind of speechless. Still, he ordered two steaks for the boy and bought himself a few kebabs.
Both of them headed towards the exit of the night market as they ate.
Within a short while, the boy finished both his steaks. He looked like he was still hungry as he raised his head to look at Lin Huang once again.
Lin Huang had no choice but to give him two of his remaining meat skewers.
"You're like a bottomless pit." Lin Huang could only eat two of the fist-sized steaks that he ate earlier and yet, the boy did not feel full even after eating four of them.
As they walked along the street, the boy suddenly stopped in front of a room.
Lin Huang thought that he saw some food in the room. However, when he looked at it, he realized that it was the kitchen of a barbeque shop. They were slaughtering a swine beast in the kitchen.
The boy stared at the beast.
Lin Huang frowned, "Don't tell me you want to eat the raw meat."
He brought the boy along with him and bought him more grilled meat. Then, they walked towards the exit of the night market.
Lin Huang was already felt full as he had eaten so much junk food. However, the boy hadn’t stopped eating since they met.
Lin Huang counted and realized that he had already eaten 16 steaks, not including the junk food that he had eaten. His appetite was abnormally good. However, he ate only meat and did not eat vegetables or fruits at all.
Lin Huang thought about the way he looked at the swine beast earlier. A thought suddenly crossed his mind, "Could it be? Is it possible that the adults only gave him raw meat at home?"
"What's your name?" Lin Huang suddenly thought of asking the boy's name.
The boy raised his head, looking at Lin Huang and spoke for the first time, "327."
"I'm asking you your name. What's the meaning of those numbers?" Lin Huang could not understand what he was talking about.
The boy then pointed himself with his finger and said, "327."
"Your name is 327?" Lin Huang frowned because somehow, it sounded like a code for something.
The boy nodded his head.
Lin Huang kept quiet for a moment. Normal parents would definitely not give their children a code name. He felt like prisoners were the only people who would usually be given a code name. This was an indication that the boy came from a troubled family.
The boy was about nine or ten years old. Lin Huang was worried to let him go home.
He hesitated for a moment, thinking about the fact that he would be leaving this place after 20 days. He worried about bringing the boy away from this place as well so he decided to stay there and wait patiently.
After waiting until slightly after 2 a.m., the night market gradually became quiet after most of the people had left.
They waited until the last street lamp switched off which was at about 3 a.m. However, nobody came to claim the boy.
Lin Huang looked at the boy helplessly and said, "I think you might have to follow me to the hotel for one night. We will go to the Union Government office tomorrow morning and see if we can retrieve your identity."
The boy nodded his head.
Lin Huang brought him back to the hotel room.
"You can go to bed after taking your bath." Lin Huang went to the bathroom and prepared the water for him to take his bath. He then took kid-sized pajamas from the hotel and placed it in front of the bathroom. "Put on these pajamas after bathing. I'll wash your clothes later and it should be dry by tomorrow."
The boy then took off his shirt and went to the bathroom. Lin Huang took his clothes and threw it into the washing machine.
"That is your room. I have put on some sheets on your bed. You can go to bed now." Lin Huang pointed at the bedroom.
The boy nodded his head and turned around to go to the bedroom.
Lin Huang hung the clothes up. Then, he went back to his room and slept.
The next morning, Lin Huang woke up at 8 am.
He was shocked the moment when he opened his eyes. The boy had changed back into his own clothes and stood at the head of the bed. Lin Huang had no idea how long he had been standing there.
"Little brat, you should not stand there next time. You can play in your room or the living room after waking up." Lin Huang sat up in bed and said.
Lin Huang knew why he was standing there now that he saw the boy was unwilling to leave.
"Are you hungry?" Lin Huang asked.
The boy nodded his head.
"Wait for me. Let me wash up first and we'll go downstairs for breakfast."
After about 10 minutes, Lin Huang was washing up and changed his clothes. He brought the boy to a buffet restaurant.
"Take whatever that you want to eat. Don't take too much. It'll be wasted if you can't finish it…" Once he finished the sentence, Lin Huang began feeling like what he said was totally and utterly unnecessary.
Lin Huang took an empty plate and took some food before he looked for a place for them to sit down.
The boy took an empty plate as well. After walking around at the restaurant, the boy finally took an entire plate of fried eggs and sat in front of Lin Huang. Lin Huang was amazed that the boy could build a stable stack of fried eggs that stood at a height of 20 centimeters.
Many of the people in the restaurant looked at him, expressing their dissatisfaction with the boy. Some of them even complained to the staff.
Within a short while, a waitress came.
"Mister, your child is going to waste food. We may have to give you a fine if he does."
"Don't worry. He's not going to waste your food." Lin Huang smiled and said, "Hey, show them."
The boy nodded his head and started to eat the fried eggs quickly. He had no idea how many eggs were there on the plate but he ate all of them in less than two minutes.
The waitress and the guests were all stunned.
"Are you full now?" Lin Huang asked as he was eating his fruits.
The boy shook his head.
"Do you want another plate?" Lin Huang asked.
The boy nodded his head.
"The fried eggs are not enough. Please serve us another plate of fried eggs." Lin Huang requested.
"Sorry…" The waitress took a while to respond and left immediately.
Lin Huang noticed the boy's eating habits. It seemed like he was only interested in eating meat and eggs. He was pickier than the Fatty, Yin Hangyi.
Lin Huang brought him along to get some more food. The boy managed to eat all of the meat they had there. Lin Huang then left the restaurant together with him in satisfaction.
"All these years, I've never managed to eat enough food to justify the price I pay. Today, I finally did it!"
After having their breakfast, it was already 9.30 a.m. Lin Huang and the boy rode the Viridian Wolf and hurried to the Union Government's office.
Soon, they found the relevant department after one of the service staffs led them there.
The one who was in charge of registration was a middle-aged woman.
"What's your name?"
The boy hesitated for a moment and looked at Lin Huang.
"She is asking for your name." Lin Huang nodded his head.
"327."
"What?" The woman was puzzled.
"327." The boy repeated.
"I'm asking for your name." The woman frowned slightly.
"He's saying that his name is 327. I've asked him before yesterday. Aside from these numbers, he doesn't know how to speak." Lin Huang who was standing beside him explained.
The woman glanced at the boy and turned her head towards Lin Huang. "Then tell me, when and where did you find him."
"Yesterday at midnight, slightly after 12 a.m…" Lin Huang explained everything that happened in detail. "I brought him along and waited at the exit of the night market until 3 a.m. but nobody came for him and I had to bring him to my hotel to stay the night. We came here after having our breakfast."
"Where is his Emperor's Heart Ring?" The woman asked.
"No, he didn't have it with him when I found him." Lin Huang noticed this on the first night when he saw him.
"He has to go for facial recognition then. However, I have to inform you that facial recognition might not be able to accurately identify him. If his identity cannot be determined, you will have to register with us and bring the child with you. We'll contact you if his parents or guardian comes for the child." The woman explained.
"But I'm leaving this foothold in 20 days." Lin Huang frowned. "Can't the child stay here?"
"There are more than hundreds of children like him sent to our place each day. We don't have a proper place for him. I believe that you're a kind-hearted person. We have confidence in your abilities to take care of him if he were to follow you. If you are facing any financial problems, we'll financial compensate you…" The woman explained patiently.
"Alright. Let him go through facial recognition first." Lin Huang agreed.
Soon, a staff took the child away. After about 10 minutes, the staff and the child came out.
"Sorry, the boy's identity could not be identified by facial recognition." The staff told him the result of the test.
"Then the child has to follow you. Please register your name." The woman gave Lin Huang some documents to fill up.
"Alright…" Lin Huang was trapped because he could not just leave the boy alone and stranded.
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