Chapter 84 The orphanage has food! Wang Youfan hopes the author lives to be a hundred years old...

Shanghai, orphanage.

Jiang Mo and Bina sighed as they looked at the last two ounces of rice left in the pot. They had been saving as much as they could during this period, but it was still no match for the fact that they had no money to buy food and could only take in food without giving it out.

"I'll go look for that guy surnamed Fu again..."

Bina spoke in broken Chinese, and Jiang Mo frowned and refused without hesitation:

"That man is the kind of person who won't release his hawk even if he sees a rabbit; you won't get any food in return even if you offer it up."

Previously, Pina was appointed as the director of the orphanage because her foreign face would give the higher-ups some face. But now that Pina's true nature as a paper tiger has been exposed, it's better for her to stay hidden in the orphanage. Going there on her own initiative is like a lamb entering a tiger's den.

"I still have a ring, which can be exchanged for some money."

Jiang Mo glanced at the empty kitchen, then looked at her fingers. This time, it was Bina who shook her head and refused.

"Your jewelry has all been sold. This is the last one, so you can't touch it."

Bina had been with Jiang Mo for several years and knew that this ring was Jiang Mo's only remaining attachment, so she resolutely refused to let Jiang Mo take it out to exchange for money.

The two were arguing when the child, who was supposed to be lying down to conserve energy, suddenly ran over:

"Aunt Bi, Aunt Jiang, there are so many people at the door!"

The two thought it was a child's joke and went out with some doubt. Bina was then warmly shaken by a short, stout middle-aged man wearing a melon-shaped hat. Even the extremely loud sound of clapping couldn't drown out the man's voice. The two, however, didn't react at all, staring intently at the long line of carts behind them... loaded with grain.

"Oh my, this must be Miss Bi. She's truly beautiful inside and out..."

After a long string of small talk, the two finally understood that the man was now the new fundraiser for the orphanage, while the previous one surnamed Fu had been dealt with swiftly for misappropriating orphanage funds.

The man's purpose in coming today was simple: to establish a good image for himself in front of the reporters by delivering the food and money that should have been distributed to the orphanage long ago.

The man continued to ramble on about his concern for the orphanage, promising that future funding and food would be distributed regularly. Jiang Mo and Bina exchanged a glance, seeing the same thought in each other's eyes: Has a windfall really fallen from the sky?!

But the grain really did go into a warehouse so full that rats could starve, and the heavy silver dollars in their hands couldn't be faked. They didn't believe in any talk of regular distribution, but just for this batch of goods, the two were willing to cooperate with the propaganda.

After seeing off the man who had taken enough footage, one of them rushed to the public stove to buy hot water, and the other rushed to the warehouse to carry flour—steaming rice takes time, but edible batter only requires pouring flour into boiling water and stirring, and if the amount is small, it doesn't even require cooking.

The entire orphanage had been struggling to survive for a long time. The adults could manage to hold on, but the children were at risk of collapsing at any moment. If a child were to starve to death while the food was still cooking, the orphans would never be able to get over it.

"Eat quickly, others need it."

The two urged the children on. The five children puffed out their cheeks and tried to cool the paste in the bamboo tubes. The bowls and chopsticks had long been pawned along with the beds and tables to buy food. These few bamboo tubes were collected with great effort. Fortunately, they usually only had one meal of thin porridge a day from the disaster relief efforts of He Kun to barely keep them alive, so there was no risk of them being unable to chew cold rice.

"Aunt Jiang, Tiger has fallen!"

When the bamboo tube was passed to the third batch, a girl's scream suddenly came from behind. Jiang Mo snatched the bamboo tube from a child's hand and rushed towards Hu Zi, feeling only relief.

Luckily, they made a batter; if they had actually cooked rice, it wouldn't be cooked yet.

Tiger fainted from hunger. The porridge was forced down her throat and her face was patted. Once the little girl had food in her stomach, she woke up. After Jiang Mo confirmed that she was temporarily alright, she put her in the group of children who had eaten the porridge. She scooped out another portion of porridge for the child whose food she had taken from her mouth. The child calmly took it and blew on it with puffed-out cheeks.

This kind of fainting from hunger happens frequently, and the child is used to it. It's just that he eats first, not a lot, so it's not a big problem.

Each child ate the dough to fill their stomach and then, as if on cue, returned to the haystack to lie down and conserve energy—the beds had been replaced with food, and the blankets were only enough to barely cover them; the straw provided a little warmth.

Jiang Mo and Bina scraped the batter off the bottom of the pot to fool their mouths, and then rushed out – the orphanage had little security, and the food and silver dollars were delivered with great fanfare; if they didn't distribute some of it quickly, they'd be waiting for theft, robbery, and extortion.

Moreover, the orphanage really did need to rebuild its belongings. Selling everything that could be sold to raise food was not just an empty promise: the children had no beds, blankets, pillows, or clothes; the kitchen had no pots, bowls, vegetables, or salt. Even the cheapest items would cost a lot once the scale was built up... Their wages had been paid, and they wanted to redeem the pawned jewelry if they still had it.

Don't talk about slow and steady wins the race. After buying things, you'll just have to pawn them at a reduced price. These days, orphanages are like children carrying gold; if you don't spend it all, you'll have no future.

"Being broke and having no food is a worry, but having money and food is still a worry. We are born to be worry-prone."

Jiang Mo said with a wry smile, and Bina nodded in agreement. After the two bought the iron pot, one stayed at the orphanage to watch over it and cook a proper meal, while the other went out to continue looking for cheap and good things. Despite the threats from thieves and robbers, Jiang Mo displayed amazing efficiency and completed all the purchases before nightfall, even paying for the money and food.

That night, the children in the orphanage were finally able to fall asleep tremblingly without having to tighten the straw ropes around their waists. As for Jiang Mo and Bina, who had eaten their fill... the two of them held kitchen knives and chopped off five hands and eight legs in one night, reminding people once again of the orphanage's infamous duo of Chinese and foreign villains.

Those who wanted to take advantage of the situation lacked the resources, while those with resources looked down on the small amount of wealth. The orphanage finally achieved temporary peace. The two thought they could continue to live peacefully, but then one, two, or three wealthy merchants arrived with large amounts of grain and money, and groups of people came to deliver gifts... The orphanage didn't even offer incense to the God of Wealth.

The two puzzled individuals didn't falter. While inquiring about the reason, they happily accepted all the items, increased security, and made sure to take advantage of the current leniency to find some handicrafts for the children to do—regular appropriations were nonsense, donations were like water that would run out after a while, and a steady income was the most reassuring.

The two women found out easily: Bao'er's story spread quickly. After reading the story in the newspaper, they remained silent for a long time, sorted out their accounts, and took in another batch of children to raise—they couldn't support all the homeless children, but every one more was better than nothing.

In a small corner of the orphanage, a wooden sign appeared, with a crooked incense stick made of mud standing in front of it. The sign only had the three words "Miss Qiu" on it.

...

Wang Youfan felt that he had been very lucky lately. He received fewer scornful looks when begging for money and food than before, and he got much more things. Even though it was not the New Year, there were porridge distributions on the street from time to time. He originally thought that he was the only one who had been lucky recently, but after discussing with other homeless children, he found that everyone was in the same boat.

He didn't know what had happened and wasn't interested in finding out. He just focused on storing the food that could be stored for a long time and went with his companions to find straw and pick cattails to keep their lodgings warm. He had originally thought he wouldn't make it through the winter and hadn't made any preparations, but now he felt he could live a little longer.

The story of Bao'er was being discussed everywhere. Even without deliberately inquiring, Wang Youfan gradually pieced together the cause and effect: someone had written an article about the story of these homeless children, and many people who read the story felt sorry for them, which is why they were so kind and generous to them.

Wang Youfan hopes there will be more articles like this, and she also hopes that the person who wrote this article will live to be a hundred years old. She is not the only homeless child who thinks this way.

...

The editorial department of Daping Daily received a lot of money every day, from copper coins to silver coins, from banknotes to checks. Most of it was for repairing Bao'er's grave, and some was for funerals or offerings for other characters in the story. Daping Daily was in a dilemma for a long time, but finally the problem was solved by a letter sent by Yao Xiaoyu, who discovered something was wrong. Half of the money was used to buy coarse grains for the orphanage, and the other half was used to make porridge on the street.

...

Yao Xiaoyu witnessed the commotion caused by Bao'er, but she didn't find it strange that such a big commotion was so significant. This article was intended to raise funds, and in order to evoke emotions to the greatest extent, she used Bao'er as a thread to depict the various aspects of life.

The title "All Beings" sounds grand and sophisticated, but it's actually a group portrait. However, because Bao'er is a central character throughout the story and occupies an absolutely dominant role, the title uses a minimalist approach to portray the characters. Yao Xiaoyu put in her best efforts to ensure that people from all walks of life and social classes can resonate with a particular character in Bao'er's story.

A homeless girl who was raised as a child bride and eventually starved to death; a rickshaw puller who fell to the ground while pulling his cart and never got up again; a homeless boy who was kicked to death after robbing Bao'er of her food; a wealthy young lady who was married at first sight and then had her funeral... Readers may not sympathize with Bao'er, but they will definitely feel more moved by those who have similar experiences and tragic ends.

However, Bao'er's story isn't without its flaws: when writing this article, Yao Xiaoyu was unconsciously influenced by her previous work on infinite flow ensemble stories, and her infinite flow ensemble stories are similar to a famous comment on the internet—

People with similar ideals gather from all corners of the country, sparking dazzling brilliance, and then some die, some die, some die... A bunch of people at the beginning, a bunch of graves at the end; the reader happily eats at a hundred families' feast at the beginning, and at the end weeps at a hundred families' graves with tears in their eyes.

So in Bao'er's story, men, women, old and young, good and evil all died. Yao Xiaoyu was even more outrageous than a certain woman who killed so many that only the title of the play remained, because because of the title of her story, her protagonist also died.

If I had to pinpoint a difference: Yao Xiaoyu's previous group portraits depicted greedy people who squandered their fortunes and died, narcissistic people who died with their appearance ruined, skilled doctors who couldn't save themselves, and cowardly people whose first attempt at moving forward was also their last...

But no matter what, everyone has burst forth with dazzling brilliance, like the explosion of a falling star, or the final leap and cry of a blue whale. Even if it's only for a moment, it's enough to leave an indelible mark.

In Bao'er's story, everyone dies easily, sometimes even absurdly. But when you consider the current society, no one can laugh when someone is hit or shoved – that's really how the world is!

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Author's note: Back in the day, Little Fish was a notorious knife-wielder.

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