Chapter 12 Go, all go, it's good that you're gone, I'm so tired!

Xingchen Children's Welfare Institute was originally a private orphanage founded by Mr. and Mrs. Wen in the 1990s. After Mr. and Mrs. Wen passed away, the orphanage was taken over by their only daughter, Wen Min. Later, the orphanage was incorporated by the government and renamed Xingchen Children's Welfare Institute, with Wen Min succeeding as director.

When the Wen family founded the orphanage, they had high hopes for its future development. Although their economic conditions at the time only allowed them to build one large building, they did everything they could to buy a large plot of land, hoping to have enough space to expand in the future.

The Wens' wishes were beautiful, but reality was very cruel. It wasn't until the orphanage started operating that they discovered that private orphanages, without government backing, had difficulty obtaining social donations, and almost all of the orphanage's expenses were supported by the Wens' private property.

When Wenmin took over the orphanage from her parents, the orphanage was on the verge of closing down. Fortunately, it was taken over by the government in time and received financial subsidies.

In recognition of the Wen family's contributions to children's charity, the government preserved the Star Orphanage and renamed it the Star Children's Welfare Institute. Thus, although the Star Orphanage is small and its facilities are incomplete, it has survived to this day.

Due to a lack of rehabilitation and medical facilities, Xingchen Welfare Home can only care for a small number of orphans who are able to take care of themselves. Even so, the welfare home building is already very old. Wen Min has been trying to apply for funds to renovate the building, but the application has not been approved. At most, it can only be repaired.

The large plot of land originally purchased for expansion has remained vacant, making the entire welfare home appear quite desolate.

Initially, in an effort to improve the environment, Wenmin bought some turf to cover the area, but because no one took care of it, the grass died quickly, making the place look even more desolate... so he stopped caring about it.

After Uncle Du arrived, he couldn't bear to see the land lying fallow, so he dug out a small plot to grow vegetables.

To make watering and harvesting vegetables easier, Uncle Du also opened a door from the back of the kitchen, connecting it to the vegetable garden.

Lou Lan walked into the kitchen. The back door was open, and she saw Uncle Du sitting in the vegetable garden smoking.

The rice cooker was in keep-warm mode. Lou Lan opened the rice cooker and saw a bunch of steamed buns packed tightly together.

Lou Lan was surprised, not expecting that today's breakfast would not be plain porridge.

She removed the basket, revealing a large pot of warm white porridge underneath.

Moreover, because they didn't eat dinner last night, there was a lot of leftover rice, so today's porridge was plentiful and thick.

Lou Lan: ...The congee may be late, but it will arrive eventually!

Lou Lan brought the steamed buns and porridge to the table and called Uncle Du to have breakfast.

Uncle Du waved his hand, telling them to eat first.

Lou Lan didn't bother to be polite with them; she was used to Uncle Du always waiting for others to finish eating before she ate herself.

She went upstairs to call the children down for breakfast.

The children all looked like they didn't want to eat breakfast, but they were all surprised when they saw the steamed buns on the table.

"We have steamed buns today!" Wen Xingmou said.

"Yes, but you should also drink porridge." Lou Lan served breakfast to the two children who couldn't get down from their seats.

"Oh." Wen Xingmou slumped weakly onto the dining table.

After breakfast, Lou Lan rushed to the hospital.

The child I found the day before yesterday was only one and a half years old. He had just undergone major surgery and was very fragile, needing constant care.

The hospital director has been staying at the hospital for the past two days. Lou Lan wanted to help her, but she was too busy with her own work.

Fortunately, Bai Miaomiao returned yesterday, Friday, and Lou Lan asked her to go to the hospital to help out.

She's going to the hospital today to relieve them so they can come back and catch up on their sleep.

Lou Lan carried breakfast into the ward, where Wen Min was feeding the baby formula.

The child was holding the bottle in both hands, drinking milk in big gulps. He was so thin and small that the blanket covering him on the hospital bed didn't even show his curves.

Bai Miaomiao was doing her homework on the bedside table next to her hospital bed.

Lou Lan knocked gently on the door.

“You’re here,” Wen Min said.

"Aunt Lou." Bai Miaomiao stopped doing her homework and greeted Lou Lan.

Lou Lan smiled and nodded at Bai Miaomiao, handed her the breakfast, and then asked Wen Min, "How is it?"

"Much better. There were no adverse reactions after the surgery, and the recovery is going very well. I can be discharged in a few days." Wen Min asked, "Any news from over there?"

Lou Lan knew she was asking about the police; the missing person notice had been posted for two days, and still no one had come to claim the person.

Lou Lan shook her head: "Not yet, probably not so soon."

Wen Min seemed to have already anticipated this outcome, and calmly said, "In this situation, it can almost be concluded that it was deliberately abandoned, and it is estimated that no one will come to claim it."

"Should I update the information to say that the child's illness has been cured?" Lou Lan asked.

“I don’t believe they didn’t know the child’s illness could be treated with surgery before they abandoned him. I guess they abandoned him because of the medical expenses. Even though the child is cured now and they’ve come to claim him, they’re afraid the government will ask them to compensate for the medical expenses, which are not low. Anyone who could afford that wouldn’t have abandoned their child. But you can try. We’ll do our best and leave the rest to fate.”

"good."

After discussing this matter, Lou Lan thought it over and over again and told the dean about Uncle Du's situation.

“I know he has done a lot, and I’ve seen it all, but he may not be really suited to getting along with children. If this continues, I’m afraid it will affect the children’s growth,” Lou Lan said tactfully.

Wen Min sighed deeply: "Actually, he doesn't have bad intentions. He just suffered a lot since he was a child, and his ingrained ideas can't be changed overnight. I'll go back and talk to him."

"Okay." Lou Lan said no more.

After breakfast, Lou Lan stayed at the hospital, while Wen Min took Bai Miaomiao back to the orphanage.

Half of the ground floor of the welfare home building is an open space, sheltered from the sun and rain, and it is very spacious, where the children usually like to play.

The ground floor was tiled, and the children would often lie on it, which made the floor shiny and smooth over time.

As soon as Wen Min entered the orphanage, he saw the children lying on the ground in various places, including Wen Xinghe and Wen Xingrui.

Wen Xinghe is a girl, seven years old this year. She is already sensible. Because she is blind, she sits quietly wherever she is, afraid of falling and even more afraid of troubling others.

Wen Xingrui is a child with cerebral palsy. He is three years old and still cannot speak or walk, but he crawls very fast. He is usually kept in a fenced enclosure, but occasionally he is let out. Like a calf released from its pen, he is excited and crawls around everywhere. If you don't look at him for a while, you won't know where he has crawled off to.

Wen Xinglin was kneeling and leaning on the stool in front of him doing his homework when he looked up and saw Wen Xingrui crawling to the edge of a puddle that hadn't dried up from the rain a couple of days ago. He shouted, "Xingrui, don't go there! That's a puddle!"

Wen Xingrui just wanted to play in the water and wouldn't listen to him at all. He continued to climb towards the puddle with a grin, even waving his arms and legs faster.

Wen Xinglin quickly ran over to pull him away, but Wen Xingrui was determined to go forward, and he couldn't stop him at all. "Sister Mangmang, come and help me!"

Seeing this, Bai Miaomiao ran over and dragged Wen Xingrui back.

"Sister!" Bai Mangmang was overjoyed to see her sister return.

Bai Mangmang and Bai Miaomiao are biological sisters. They originally had a younger brother, but after their parents passed away, their uncle adopted the brother and sent the two sisters to an orphanage.

"Sister Miaomiao!"

"Mother Wen!"

The children shouted.

Wen Min laughed and said, "Go ahead and play your games."

Uncle Du was hanging up laundry when he heard the children calling for Wen's mother. He turned around, saw Wen Min, and smiled, "Little Min is back."

Seeing the clothes hanging haphazardly on the clothesline, Wen Min said helplessly, "Uncle Du, aren't there clothes hangers? Why are you just hanging the clothes directly on the clothesline? The clothesline isn't clean."

"I've already wiped them all down," Uncle Du said with a smile. "That's how it's done back home. I'm used to it. I'm not used to those clothes hangers."

Uncle Du always says he wipes the clothesline clean, but every time he takes the clothes down from the clothesline, there's a dirty stain on them.

"Uncle Du, please come to my office after you've finished hanging up the clothes." Wen Min said, rubbing his temples wearily as he walked towards his office.

Uncle Du frowned, casually draped the clothes he was holding over the clothesline, and followed Wen Min.

"Uncle Du, please have a seat."

Uncle Du sat down somewhat awkwardly in the chair in front of Wen Min's desk, feeling uncomfortable in the serious atmosphere.

"Uncle Du, you've been working at the welfare home for almost two months now, how are you finding it?"

"It's great, it's great," Uncle Du said with a smile.

Wen Min continued, "Other welfare homes operate on two shifts, or even three shifts. Our welfare home has few staff members, so let alone shift work, one person has to do the work of several people. I want to thank you for coming to help me."

Since you came here, you've done everything – cooking, laundry, cleaning – and even started a vegetable garden to grow vegetables, saving me money. I'm truly grateful to you.

"Of course, of course," Uncle Du said.

“You are my elder, so I will speak frankly. First of all, I hope you will stop criticizing the children. As you know, they were abandoned by their parents, and some are even ridiculed because of their congenital defects. This is their fate, but it is not their fault.”

Fate has been unfair to them; we should help them fight against this unfairness, not use it to suppress them.

I know you didn't mean any harm; you were just trying to educate them. But I hope you can be more careful about your methods in the future, okay?

Uncle Du said excitedly, "I understand what you're saying. Don't give me that official talk. I'm only helping you because of your parents. I don't care if I'm tired or not. Why are you saying I'm not good to them?"

Am I not good to them? I cook for them every day, do their laundry, and bring them food to their hands. I only eat the leftovers myself. Am I not good to them?

I sometimes see them being irresponsible, so I'll say something, but it's out of a sense of responsibility to educate the younger generation. I can honestly tell you that I raised my own son and grandson in the same way!

Why do I seem to be the one bullying them when you talk to me!

Wen Min tried to suppress her temper and said, "Uncle Du, please don't get agitated. Listen to me. I've said it before, they are different from ordinary children. They are very sensitive. You can't treat them like this."

"How have I treated them? I've raised my own son and grandson the same way..."

Having likely expended too much energy at the hospital, Wen Min's patience ran out, and she couldn't suppress her irritability any longer, shouting:

"I don't want to know how you raised your son and grandson, and I don't care whether they are good or bad. I only care about my children now, and I won't allow anyone to treat them like this!"

Uncle Du lost face after being yelled at by a younger person, and yelled back sarcastically, "Your children? Did you give birth to them? You treat them well, do you think they will be grateful to you? Your parents went bankrupt raising so many children, and you are over thirty years old and you haven't even gotten married. You just support them. In all these years, has any of the children you raised ever come back to help you?"

What do you mean "over thirty"? She's clearly not even thirty-five yet, she's still young!

Wen Min's hands trembled with anger, but he said seriously, "We did these things not to ask for their repayment. Does their not coming back mean they are ungrateful? I don't think so."

Perhaps in your eyes, repaying kindness means being grateful to the benefactor, but in my eyes, remembering kindness and warmth in your heart and passing it on is also a form of gratitude.

Many people in this world who help others may not receive a reward from that person, but that reward may happen to someone else, and that's enough.

"Keep being stubborn. Wait until you're old and no one's taking care of you, then we'll see if you regret it!" Uncle Du stormed off.

"Alright, that's enough."

Wen Min stayed in the office for a long time. When she came out, Bai Miaomiao told her that Uncle Du had left and said he was no longer going to serve these ancestors and that Wen Min should find someone else to serve him.

"Understood." Wen Min nodded calmly: "Go and rest."

Wen Min walked wearily into the room, closed the door, threw himself onto the bed, and sighed wearily, "Go, all of you go, it's good that you're gone."

She quickly sent a message, tossed her phone aside, and pulled the blanket over herself. "So tired!"

A note from the author:

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The long explanation of the orphanage's background at the beginning made my tongue tie itself; it was a bit wordy. I'll come back and condense it when I've improved my writing skills.

Why not save this post before you go? You never know, the later parts might be really good! (^_^)