Royal Gold Medal County Magistrate

The days of waiting for the Pope's audience.

Lai Gou'er personally went to Hope's house, while Father Solje, as promised, lived in the slums.

The dilapidated church in the slums was unmanaged.

The previous priest here didn't seem to clean much either, and after who knows how long he had been gone, the church was covered in dust.

That night, Father Solje, recalling what he had seen and heard that day, with indescribable feelings, found cleaning tools in the church and silently began to clean the church.

The next day, the church welcomed the light, and Father Solje had already opened the door, facing the dilapidated scene before him.

There was no one in sight...

According to Hope, the people in the slums worked at sunset and rested at sunrise, so he was not surprised by this situation.

It wasn't until the afternoon that someone saw the church door open and cautiously walked in.

Thus, Solje welcomed his first 'guest'.

Looking at the tired and emaciated poor man sitting in front of him, his back already bent by heavy burdens, yet still hanging his head, telling about his life.

Sending away the first person, welcoming the second person... until nightfall.

Different people, the same fatigue, the same souls.

Clearly, they were only a step away from heaven, yet they could only be trapped here.

That night, Father Solje tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep...

Today, he only received five people, but there were countless others in the slums, and he only had ten days.

What was even more upsetting was that he saw the Mutual Aid Society and other poor people sweeping the streets at the entrance, carrying boards and building shacks everywhere.

And he could only sit in the church and wait quietly for people to enter.

Those busy figures made him feel a twinge of pain in his heart.

Reality... they were truly creating value and changing their lives, while he could only sit in the church and move his lips.

He had to admit that in Taoyuan County, a part of his thinking had been changed.

Before, he could have sat in the church with peace of mind, but now he always felt like he was sitting on pins and needles.

Lying on his side on the couch, Father Solje silently looked at his outstretched palms, and then clenched them tightly into a fist.

"Just do your best..."

.....

The next day, the church door was tightly closed.

A figure appeared on the street, silently sweeping the streets with cleaning tools.

He just swept like that, gathering the garbage into piles on the side of the road, until there were more people in the afternoon.

People on the street looked at Father Solje with curious eyes, but no one dared to step forward and ask questions.

The Mutual Aid Society and the people who usually worked also glanced at him a few times, seeing that he was working attentively and earnestly.

They also picked up tools and joined in.

People gradually increased, Father Solje silently recited prayers, and the people around him listened quietly while working.

The work of the day passed like this.

However, the priest did not forget his duty. As a priest, presiding over weddings, praying for the dying, and hearing confessions were also his responsibilities.

It's just that his time here was limited, and sitting in the church, he couldn't receive many people in a day.

Moreover, these people still had to work at night, and they didn't have much physical strength to spare.

As night fell, he began to walk the streets and alleys, visiting every household, helping people relieve their worries or inquiring about news from the Holy City and the Church.

Father Solje returned to the church late at night and fell asleep.

The next day, he got up, took a stone, drew a line on the wall of the church, and then went out to work.

At first, people were wary of this priest with strange behavior.

After all, no priest in their lives had ever done this.

But after three consecutive days, people got used to it. Although this person's behavior was special, he had no malice.

He spoke very gently, always listening quietly to others telling about their experiences, complaining about the injustice of life.

After the speaker finished, he would slowly enlighten them.

When encountering families with patients, he would even sometimes stay to take care of them and give them some silver coins.

Life in the slums was dark, difficult, and full of fear and pain.

Half of this pain was the scarcity of material things, and half was the barrenness of the soul.

Father Solje was like a ray of light, bringing hope, actively seeking out the homes of the people.

News spread quickly in these slums, especially with the Mutual Aid Society as a central hub for communicating with everyone. Soon, Father Solje's name had spread throughout.

By the eighth day, he had completely integrated into the group.

Father Solje's robe was already full of dirt, his face was also unshaven, and he had lost more than a circle of weight. He had no time to clean himself up.

However, his eyes were no longer anxious, replaced by tranquility.

Everyone looked at him, and even without speaking, they could feel a sense of peace.

On the evening of the tenth day, in an open space in the slums.

A bonfire was burning, and the firewood crackled.

Father Solje sat in the crowd, smiling as he watched the people around him sharing food.

From time to time, someone would hand him some food, but he would refuse with a smile.

Ten days had passed, and it was not yet certain when the Pope would have time to meet him, but it should be a matter of a day or two.

He should leave this place and not waste these people's precious food.

After eating and drinking their fill, some people began to dance and sing around the bonfire, and Solje quietly admired them.

Lai Gou'er and Hope stood not far behind him.

The two often chatted together, and they already knew each other quite well through exchanging information.

These days, the two of them had also come to see Father Solje a lot, but they had never interfered with his behavior.

However, Lai Gou'er secretly found Da Zhuang and Fobert, asking the Mutual Aid Society to secretly take care of the priest.

Hope's cynical state had disappeared, replaced by admiration: "I really didn't expect that the priest could do this. I think he is more suitable to be the Pope than the Pope."

Lai Gou'er looked sideways at him: "Brother Hope, actually I have a question that I have never understood. Logically speaking, you have a background in the upper echelons of the church and have been profiting through relationships. Why do you hate the church so much and secretly help these poor people?"

"......"

Hope was silent for a moment, then sighed: "I have many women around me, but I had a son late in life. My son was personally baptized by the Pope, and I went to watch the ceremony at the time."

"I have been dealing with the church since I started out. I know exactly what the church is like, but I watched my son receive baptism with my own eyes, and I suddenly felt that he was dirty... So I do some good deeds, hoping to help him wash away some of his sins."

Hope smiled self-deprecatingly: "Heh, is it ridiculous? But I think you should also be a father, and you should understand."

Lai Gou'er shook his head: "No, I have never been married."

Hope was stunned, glanced at him sideways, touched his chin and said: "No wonder, no wonder you can hang out with people like the priest."

"What do you mean?"

"People who value relationships are generally not too bad."

.....