Chapter 117 I Need to Do My Winter Break Homework Winter break homework isn't always done before school starts...

Ji Fengnian didn't wake up until the afternoon of the next day. The first thing he did after waking up was to look for the leftovers he had left the day before, but he couldn't find them anywhere in the kitchen.

This wasn't what truly broke Ji Fengnian; what did break him was that after he woke up and had just eaten a meal, Wen Min said he would take him to the Civil Affairs Bureau's relief center, saying that the center would send him home.

He doesn't want to go home!

If he wanted to go home, his fellow villagers would have sent him back long ago; he wouldn't need to be a wanderer.

“Didn’t you say you absolutely wouldn’t go to an orphanage? But this place is an orphanage,” Wen Min said.

Ji Fengnian's eyes widened: "This...this...this is an orphanage?"

Wen Min: "Yes."

Is this how an orphanage director works? Aren't the children in orphanages supposed to be without parents? Why do the children in this welfare home have grandparents, mothers, and older brothers and sisters?

And... he ran away from his hometown just to avoid going to the orphanage, and now he's delivered himself right to it?

Ji Fengnian stood blankly in the center of the living room for a long time, thinking: "Then... can I work here? I'm quick on my feet, fast, and efficient. If you provide room and board, I don't need a salary."

Wen Min: "Using child labor is a violation of labor laws. We can only adopt minors here."

Ji Fengnian didn't want to go to the orphanage before because he wanted to protect his parents' house. Another reason was that everyone in the village said that the children in the orphanage were miserable. Although they didn't know exactly how miserable they were, it didn't stop them from conveying their fear of the welfare home to Ji Fengnian.

He secretly ran away from home with his fellow villagers to find work so he wouldn't have gone to the orphanage, but he ended up unwittingly wandering into one.

However, he found that the orphanage was nothing like the legend. He even thought the orphanage was great. It had food and clothing, a big house, and everyone was very kind. Before, when he saw Wen Min picking up and dropping off Wen Xinghe from school every day, Ji Fengnian was not only envious but also jealous. He also wanted to be cared for and looked after like that, but he had to protect his own house.

Ji Fengnian: "Then...then I'd better leave."

No government department could allow a minor to become homeless knowingly, especially since welfare homes are specifically for caring for orphans. However, simply keeping him there is not an option. Welfare homes cannot simply adopt orphans; relevant procedures must be followed, and then the civil affairs department will assign the orphan to a specific orphanage for care.

Wen Min said, "Fu Zai, come with me to take him to the shelter?"

An Fusheng said, "Okay."

Ji Fengnian hurriedly emphasized, "I...I just said I was leaving."

Wen Min: "You have no choice in this matter."

As soon as Wen Min spoke, Ji Fengnian had the urge to run away, but An Fusheng grabbed him and didn't give him a chance to escape.

An Fusheng grabbed Ji Fengnian, who couldn't break free. Ji Fengnian then sat down on the ground like a spoiled child, clinging tightly to An Fusheng's leg so that he couldn't move an inch, and seeing how An Fusheng would take him to the rescue center.

The rescue center will definitely send him home. As soon as he gets home, his uncle will bring staff from the orphanage to take him away. Once he leaves, his uncle will definitely seize his house, and then he will never have a home again.

Grandpa and Grandma fully understood Ji Fengnian's determination to hold onto their house. Grandma said, "Why don't we just let him stay here? Give him food, a place to sleep, and let him help with cleaning. It's not like he's working, is it?"

Wen Min: "What does that even mean?"

Grandma was speechless for a moment.

Wen Min: "Whether it's working or being adopted, if he wants to stay here, there must be a proper procedure."

Ji Fengnian: "Can't I just leave without working or staying here?"

Wen Min: "Now that you've entered the gates of my orphanage, I have an obligation to take good care of you."

Ji Fengnian: "Wouldn't it be a proper arrangement for me to leave on my own?"

Wen Min: "No, because you'll continue to wander."

Ji Fengnian: "Why don't you just pretend you don't know?"

Wen Min: "I can't be one, I have to send you to the rescue center."

Ji Fengnian: "You...you're a tyrant!"

Although Wen Min insisted on sending Ji Fengnian to the rescue center, Ji Fengnian clung to An Fusheng's leg and refused to leave. Ji Fengnian was such a big person, and Wen Min couldn't carry him. Wen Min had no choice but to call the rescue center.

It's the Spring Festival holiday now, and government offices are all closed. Only a few people are on duty each day. The staff on duty naturally prefer to avoid trouble. After hearing Wen Min's explanation of the situation and learning that the child refused to go to the rescue center, they asked the welfare home to take care of Ji Fengnian temporarily, saying they would discuss how to handle the matter after returning to work after the holiday. The welfare home is a public institution under the civil affairs department, and the work assigned by the superiors was within her responsibilities, so she had no right to refuse.

Ji Fengnian was temporarily kept behind.

Ji Fengnian could tell that Wen Min didn't want to take responsibility for him and just wanted to get rid of him as soon as possible. He stayed behind against his will, feeling somewhat embarrassed, but when he thought that he wouldn't have to wander around for the next few days and would have food to eat and a place to sleep, he felt that saving face wasn't important.

Taking care of Ji Fengnian is Wen Min's task, but as the director of the welfare home, her main responsibility is to protect the children in the welfare home. Ji Fengnian has a history of bullying children and has also taken things from Wen Xinghe. He wants to stay, so Wen Min makes a three-point agreement with him.

Ji Fengnian readily agreed.

...

After Ji Fengnian stayed, An Fusheng discovered that Ji Fengnian's ability to eat wasn't just limited to the first meal when he was starving; he could eat a lot at every meal. Every day, he would dawdle while eating, and once everyone else was full, he would transform into a glutton and devour all the food.

His grandparents and mother told him to eat whatever he wanted, and that they could make more if he wasn't full, so he didn't have to wait for others to finish eating before he could eat. Ji Fengnian said he understood, but he reverted to his old ways at the next meal.

However, with Ji Fengnian cleaning up after each meal, An Fusheng didn't have to clean up anymore. But Ji Fengnian would eat all the leftover food and soup every day, making An Fusheng always feel that he hadn't cooked enough.

"I'm really full," Ji Fengnian said.

An Fusheng: "Does your daily food intake vary depending on the amount of leftovers?"

Ji Fengnian replied matter-of-factly, "Yes."

...

Ji Fengnian was right; he was fast at running and fast at doing things.

It's cold, and there's not much to do, so everyone gets up late in the mornings. Lately, every morning when everyone wakes up, they find that Ji Fengnian has already cleaned the entire building.

Ji Fengnian not only voluntarily helps with housework, but also helps take care of the children when they get up.

Every morning after finishing his work, he would sit at the top of the stairs. As each child came down the stairs, he would pick them up and take them away. Of course, he would also run over and pick up any children who hadn't come down yet, like Wen Xinghe.

Wen Xinghe has been forced to go out to play by Ji Fengnian every day recently, and he hasn't had time to do his winter vacation homework. "I don't want to go out to play today."

Ji Fengnian: "How can you not go out and play? Why are you always locked in your room?"

Wen Xinghe: "I need to do my winter break homework."

Ji Fengnian: "Don't we usually do our winter vacation homework the night before school starts? It's still early before school starts, what's the rush? Come on, let's go out and play. Grandma says that children need to go out and play more so they can grow up quickly."

When Ji Fengnian took the children out to play, he didn't take them to the park like grandparents do; instead, he led everyone to walk around the perimeter of the welfare home.

Wen Xinglan and Wen Xingrui were unsteady on their feet, and Wen Xinghe was blind and could not walk fast. Ji Fengnian had no patience to wait for them to walk slowly, so he carried Wen Xinglan and Wen Xingrui on his back, held Wen Xinghe by the hand, and pushed Wen Xing and Bai Mangmang ahead, walking briskly, like training new recruits.

Wen Xinghe usually stays in his room and rarely walks. He can't walk more than half a circle before he gets tired. "Where should we go to play?"

Ji Fengnian: "We're playing right now."

Wen Xinghe: "So...we're just walking?"

Ji Fengnian: "Yes."

Wen Xinghe: "...I can't walk anymore."

Ji Fengnian: "Look at you, you can't walk anymore after only a short while. It's because you don't walk enough usually. You should walk more now. Keep walking, don't be lazy."

Wen Xinghe: "..."

Wen Xinglin and Bai Mangmang, who had also mentioned that they couldn't walk any further, exchanged a glance and silently continued walking.

However, Ji Fengnian slowed down his pace a bit.

"Were you bullied over there?" Wen Xinghe suddenly asked.

Ji Fengnian: "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Didn't you say that if someone beats you up in one place and you can't beat them, you'll go to another place? You were near our school before, and then you came to the orphanage."

"Oh, this one? No, not this time."

"Then why this time?"

"I just came because I wanted to."

Ji Fengnian didn't move because he couldn't beat the other person. He moved because of the food. Wen Xinghe used to bring him food every day, but then he suddenly stopped coming for a few days. He realized it was winter vacation, and he didn't know what he was thinking. He just decided to come along. Maybe he thought Wen Xinghe would still give him food? He wasn't sure. Anyway, he just acted on impulse and followed the bus.

He remembered that Wen Min and Wen Xinghe took the No. 2 bus every day, so he followed the No. 2 bus. If he lost track of it once, he would wait for the next one and continue to follow. However, he couldn't find Wen Xinghe even after searching for three days.

Instead, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar place, where he was not familiar with the environment, could not find food, and was always hungry. Later, when his mind cleared from hunger, he stopped looking and found a park to settle down temporarily. Unexpectedly, he got involved with An Fusheng because of the garbage-grabbing incident. Later, he followed the smell of meat and walked to the entrance of the orphanage. What he didn't expect was that Wen Xinghe was actually from the orphanage, and he was even briefly taken in by the orphanage. It was truly a case of finding something after searching high and low.

Ji Fengnian glanced at Wen Xinghe. What did he want with her? Was he hoping she would feed him? That didn't seem to be the whole story. What else could it be? Ji Fengnian couldn't figure it out.

Wen Xinghe noticed that Ji Fengnian's pace had slowed down a bit. She assumed that she had distracted him by talking to him, which was why he had forgotten to walk quickly. She continued to chat with him: "Your name is Ji Fengnian, is it the 'Nian' in Chinese New Year?"

Ji Fengnian: "Yes, because I was born on my mother's birthday during the Lunar New Year. It's a holiday, so I'm called Fengnian."

Wen Xinghe: "So, is your birthday during the Lunar New Year?"

Ji Fengnian: "I guess so."

Wen Xinghe: "Then you didn't eat the cake, nor did you make a wish."

Ji Fengnian: "I don't celebrate my birthday."

Wen Xinghe: "Why? You can make a wish on your birthday."

Ji Fengnian saw a small pit in front of Wen Xinghe, lifted her up to cross it, and said, "Concentrate on walking. If you still have the energy to talk, walk faster."

Wen Xinghe: "..."