132: Chapter 130: Have You Noticed a Problem?
132: Chapter 130: Have You Noticed a Problem?
The Orphanage Liu Shanshan spoke of was located in a somewhat remote area of the Eastern Suburbs, which could be considered the civilian area of Donglin City, with rather dilapidated buildings.
The Orphanage was not very large; it was a converted abandoned primary school and had only gone through some basic renovations, so it still looked a bit worn and the conditions did not seem great.
Through Liu Shanshan, Tangyu also learned some information about the Orphanage.
In fact, it was a privately established institution.
With not a bit of state aid, the Orphanage sustained itself entirely on the goodwill of some charitable donors and some enthusiastic citizens, which meant the conditions were quite tough.
The children living here rarely had the luxury of a hearty meal.
In total, there were twenty-three orphans in the Orphanage.
This number was not small, and for such a self-sufficient private institution, it undoubtedly meant a significant daily expense.
Keeping it going was indeed not easy.
Tangyu felt a sense of concern in his heart; money really was quite important, but unfortunately, he had none on him.
His master had only given him a thousand yuan before he left, and after deducting the travel expenses, he had spent the rest on a meal with his colleagues.
Now, he only had the ten thousand yuan reward from the company.
Tangyu pursed his lips, suspecting it might be time for him to start earning some money.
Liu Shanshan was right, there would always be times when a man needed money, even if not for himself, then to help others.
There were still many good people in society, and Tangyu had a certain admiration for the director of the Orphanage.
According to Liu Shanshan, the Orphanage had been in operation for five years.
The expenses for those five years alone were definitely a large sum.
“Wow, there’s a car coming, what a beautiful car.”
“Eh, it’s Sister Shanshan, everyone, come over, Sister Shanshan is here to see us again, quick, go call the Director.”
As soon as Tangyu drove into the yard, the children playing around swarmed up, each one curiously peering into the car, and when they saw Liu Shanshan sitting inside,
the children became as ecstatic as if they had seen their long-lost parents, dancing with joy and huddling around, their faces breaking into happy smiles.
Seeing the pure, joyful smiles of the children, Liu Shanshan also got out of the car with a smile.
Tangyu got out of the car as well, but as soon as he did, he noticed several gazes on him that timidly retracted upon contact.
Seeing these children, dressed simply, even shabbily, all of them gaunt and sallow, it was clear they were not well-nourished.
This was the age when they should be growing, and without proper nutrition, it was hard for them to look robust.
Seeing these poor children, Tangyu’s heart grew even heavier with concern.
“Come on over, everybody, I want to introduce you to a big brother, you all can call him Brother Tangyu from now on.
Today, he brought you guys lots and lots of gifts,” said Liu Shanshan, waving to the children, who formed a circle around them.
The children varied in age; the oldest were fourteen or fifteen, with the youngest being only five or six.
There were more girls, making up about two-thirds of the group.
In front of Liu Shanshan, the children clearly had few inhibitions and were quite bold.
A few of the older girls even clung directly to Liu Shanshan’s side as if they had found an older sister.
Liu Shanshan tenderly stroked their heads.
“Thank you, Brother Tangyu.
Everyone, let’s thank Brother Tangyu,” said the oldest girl.
Her words seemed to carry some authority, and the other children immediately began to chant, “Brother Tangyu.”
Being called by so many children felt quite nice; Tangyu, too, smiled and said, “These gifts were bought by me and your Sister Shanshan together.
Go check out the gifts now.” His gaze fell upon the oldest girl.
This girl was probably a year or two older than Zhao Yaya.
Although she was underdeveloped, she had a good height of around 1.6 meters.
Just too thin.
But her skin was fair and tender, akin to that of a baby’s.
Delicate features, a standard beauty with an oval face, a clear face, and large eyes that sparkled with an amiable look.
Aside from being skinny, the girl did indeed give off a pleasant impression.
Just from the look in her eyes, Tangyu could tell that her mental maturity was beyond her years.
She definitely had the makings of a beauty.
“Yay, gifts!”
“I want to eat lollipops.”
The children all became excited and followed Liu Shanshan towards the car’s trunk.
However, they were orderly and did not scramble.
Liu Shanshan handed out the items one by one, and the children who received something happily moved aside.
Soon, the car’s contents were nearly all distributed.
Looking inside the car, there seemed to be gifts left for two people, probably those who had gone to fetch the Director.
Seeing the children’s happy faces, Liu Shanshan also smiled broadly, her smile joyful, radiant, and charming.
Seeing such a smile, Tangyu also smiled along, proving that laughter is indeed contagious, and happiness even more so.
Helping others is a joyful thing.
Perhaps because he was an orphan himself, Tangyu felt a strong affinity for these orphans and now wanted to help them too.
“Brother Tangyu, are you Sister Shanshan’s boyfriend?” the oldest girl suddenly came over and asked him.
She was somewhat bold and not shy like the other children.
When she asked this, the other children also turned their faces full of curiosity to look over.
Some of the children, not understanding, asked those nearby, “What’s a boyfriend?
Can you eat it?”
Liu Shanshan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time.
Why did this question follow her everywhere?
It was one thing for adults to ask, but why were these little kids getting involved too?
“Tongtong, come over here, stop talking nonsense.
Your Brother Tangyu and I are good friends,” said Liu Shanshan.
Wang Tongtong “Oh”ed and walked over to Liu Shanshan’s side.
Tangyu smirked secretly; this little girl had quite an eye.
“The director is here.”
Someone shouted, and both Liu Shanshan and Tangyu looked over to see an elderly gentleman, over sixty years of age with graying hair, walking rapidly towards them with the guidance of a boy about the age of ten.
The old man’s body was slightly hunched, and the years had etched wrinkles deeply into his face.
His face wore a kindly smile and his eyes, soft and non-aggressive, were like those of a baby.
Such an old man gave off a very positive impression, definitely a very approachable person.
“Director,” Liu Shanshan greeted with a smile.
The director chuckled, “Shanshan, you’re here.
The kids were looking forward to seeing you yesterday, and they were hoping again this morning.
I was starting to think you wouldn’t come this week.
Hehe, now every week the kids are all looking forward to it.
Look at you, buying so much stuff again; don’t break the bank every time.”
Liu Shanshan shook her head and laughed, “Don’t worry about it, Director.
I’m just doing what I can, and this time I also had a rare opportunity.
By the way, Director, let me introduce you to my friend Tangyu, who really helped me today, otherwise, I really wouldn’t have known how to carry so much stuff over here.”
“Oh haha, Tangyu, nice to meet you,” the director said, turning his attention to Tangyu.
“Director, nice to meet you.
On the way here, I’ve been hearing about you from Shanshan, and your compassion is truly admirable,” Tangyu said.
The director waved his hand, “Talking about compassion makes me feel quite ashamed, sigh, it’s hard on the kids here.”
“Please, Director, don’t say that.
Without you, their lives would be much harder.
You’ve already done so much for them,” Liu Shanshan said.
“Let’s go inside and sit; don’t just stand out here,” suggested the director.
The three of them entered into an indoor activity room converted from a large classroom, where the facilities were extremely simple.
The children were very obedient and didn’t follow inside, but there were still a few peeking in from outside the door, curiosity about new things written all over their innocent faces.
“Hehe Shanshan, this is your boyfriend, isn’t it?
He’s a good-looking young man,” the director said with a smile as they sat down.
Liu Shanshan felt like fainting.
Why did every single person she met always assume Tangyu was her boyfriend?
It wasn’t written on her forehead, so why had this been said by so many people?
“It’s not like that, Director; we’re just friends, not in the way you think.
Sigh, why does everyone say that?
Can’t a girl walk with a male friend?” Liu Shanshan said.
“Oh, not so?” The director seemed somewhat surprised, looking Tangyu over a few times before saying, “Maybe not now, but I think it’ll be the case in the future.
The moment you two walked over here, I felt as if there was an inseparable magnetic field between you.
The two of you walking together look wonderfully matched as a handsome man and a beautiful woman.
A perfect match indeed.”
“Hehe, the director really has a discerning eye; you even noticed that,” Tangyu laughed.
Liu Shanshan glared at Tangyu and said with slight shyness, “Who knows what the future holds, let’s not talk about this right now, Director.
By the way, where’s Niu Niu?
I haven’t seen her around.”
When Niu Niu was mentioned, the director’s expression immediately turned somber, and he sighed lightly before saying, “Niu Niu is sick, she’s resting in bed.”
“Ah, Niu Niu is sick, what illness?” Liu Shanshan asked with concern.
The director shook his head, “I don’t know, she’s not running a fever and it’s not a cold, just physical weakness.
She gets soft in the legs when standing, so these past few days I’ve let her rest in bed.”
“Haven’t you seen a doctor?
What does the doctor say?” Liu Shanshan asked.
The director shook his head again, “This child Niu Niu, I wanted to take her to see the doctor, but she refused to go at any cost.
Unable to persuade her in the end, I allowed her to rest for a couple of days to see how things would go.
If there’s no improvement by today, I plan to take her to the doctor anyway.”
Liu Shanshan also sighed lightly and shook her head, “Niu Niu has always been a sensible child; she must not want to spend the money, so she refuses to go to the hospital.
Director, please take us to see Niu Niu.”
“Mm, Niu Niu is resting in my room.
Come on,” said the director, standing up to lead the way.
Tangyu nudged Liu Shanshan lightly and said, “Shanshan, haven’t you noticed something?”
“What is it?” Liu Shanshan asked, perplexed.
“You see, everywhere we go people say we’re a perfect match, destined to be together.
If we’re not actually a match, wouldn’t that disappoint a lot of people?
Could it be the will of heaven, hehe,” Tangyu said.
Liu Shanshan glared at Tangyu and responded, “You still have the mood for jokes at a time like this.
I can’t be bothered with you.” Yet, her heart also felt a touch of sweetness.
Could it be that Tangyu was making a subtle confession to her?
But it was so indirect!
After all, she was a girl, not someone who’s easily swayed.
With her thoughts in turmoil, Liu Shanshan tried hard to push aside the distractions.