Chapter 45: Kowtow Children's Sincerest Thanks
It was not the natural relationship between father and daughter as Yuan Mingan thought. It was all a conspiracy between the man and his family. On his daughter's first birthday, the man again proposed to have a boy.
This time, the reasons were more reasonable, saying that one child is too lonely, and two children will be companions when they are old. They also said that the elder sister was bullied by her husband's family, and the younger brother could support her.
Yuan Mingan has a brother, but when she was beaten by her husband's family during the confinement period, what was her brother doing? He was gloating over her misfortune and scolding her for what she deserved. Who made her refuse to listen to her family and sell her to the old man in exchange for the bride price? As a result, he can't even afford the bride price and can't get a wife.
What's wrong with old men? Only old men know how to care for people!
Yuan Mingan knew very well that all these were just excuses, so she did not compromise.
Then the man started to abuse her. The man seemed to be able to grasp Yuan Mingan's bottom line. He only beat Yuan Mingan and never beat his daughter. Every time after beating her, Yuan Mingan would cry bitterly and even kowtow to apologize.
It's not that Yuan Ming'an hadn't thought about divorce, but it showed that the man still had a conscience towards his daughter and still knew how to love her. So she just accepted her fate and considered it a bad fate. As long as her daughter lived well, it was fine.
The days went by in this way, and before they knew it, their daughter was three years old. Seeing that Yuan Ming'an would not change his mind no matter how much he was beaten, the man and his family tried every possible means and turned their attention to their daughter.
That was the first time the man beat their daughter, and it was also the first time Yuan Mingan fought back. She absolutely could not tolerate anyone hurting her daughter, and she wanted a divorce.
Yuan Ming'an's firm attitude made the man panic. He found that no matter how humble he was this time, Yuan Ming'an would not forgive him, so he changed his strategy.
The man snatched the child away from Yuan Ming'an. Since the two were in the cool-off period for their divorce and were still considered husband and wife, when Yuan Ming'an went to the police or the court, no one could do anything.
During the marriage, the father of the child also has the right to take care of the child.
The man again proposed that Yuan Mingan give him a son, and he would return his daughter to her, but Yuan Mingan refused again.
This time, in order to eliminate the man's hope, she went to the hospital for a sterilization operation, which would be irreversible for the rest of her life.
When Yuan Ming'an, who had just finished the operation, dragged his weak body and slapped the operation sheet on the man's family's forehead, the man's family went crazy and they wished they could tear Yuan Ming'an to pieces.
Yuan Ming'an didn't care. She thought that they could finally be reunited as mother and daughter, but then the man's family told her that they sold their daughter to a passing human trafficker in order to make Yuan Ming'an give birth to a son for them.
They had originally planned to wait a while before telling Yuan Ming'an, thinking that after she knew her daughter had been sold and could not be found again, she would give up and give birth to a child for them. However, they did not expect that the woman who had always been weak and vulnerable would suddenly become tough and go all out and have a sterilization operation.
The man's family had no idea about the human trafficker, and their child could not be found. Although Yuan Mingan sued the man's family, it was of no use; her precious daughter was still not found.
After the divorce, Yuan Mingan started on the journey to find his daughter, but such days did not last long. Natural disasters struck and the end of the world came.
The entire world became a prison. Yuan Mingan’s daughter was only three years old at that time, an age where she might not survive even if there was no apocalypse.
But Yuan Mingan did not give up. Even at the end of the world, she kept looking for her daughter. She was afraid that her daughter was still alive, suffering, waiting for her mother to rescue her, so Yuan Mingan did not dare to die.
Even as an ordinary person, Yuan Mingan traveled through one city after another and through one street after another in the apocalypse.
It's a rare opportunity that she ran into the family of a man who was supposed to be in prison.
Although the man's family did not have super powers, they all lived in good order. Yuan Ming'an was angry, so she pretended to be scared and begged the man's family to take her with them, and then one night she drugged the man's family.
Afterwards, the man and his family were thrown into a pile of zombies. Unfortunately, the man woke up in the middle of the fight and bit Yuan Ming'an while struggling with him. At that time, the man had already been bitten by a zombie.
Yuan Ming'an began to transform into a zombie, but she refused to do so. She still wanted to find her daughter. How could she find her daughter if she turned into a zombie? Would her daughter still recognize her?
With this strong belief supporting her, Yuan Mingan managed to survive and even survived the last moment of transformation into a zombie, awakening her water-based abilities.
At that time, when Yuan Ming'an was transformed into a zombie, all she thought about was her daughter. She thought that water was the source of life. If only she could awaken her water-related abilities, after finding her daughter, both of them would be able to survive as long as they had water.
I didn’t expect that Yuan Mingan really awakened her water-related abilities. I wonder if it had something to do with her overly strong intentions at the time.
The end of the world did not stop Yuan Mingan's determination to continue looking for her daughter. Unfortunately, after visiting one city after another, Yuan Mingan still couldn't find her daughter.
When everyone became younger after awakening their special powers, she was the only one who could not resist aging despite awakening her special powers.
There were no tears in Yuan Ming'an's eyes when he said this. Perhaps over the years, his tears had long since dried up. If they shed again, all that would be left was his body of flesh and blood.
Yuan Mingan no longer has the despair she had when we first met. She has become peaceful and kind. "Later, Commander Gu introduced me to you and asked me to help you take care of these children. This gave me hope again."
"It made me understand that even in the end times there are still good people and bad people, and the good people are still willing to help everyone they can help." Yuan Ming'an looked at Ji An with gratitude and hope to find his daughter in the future.
"I think no matter what the reason is, as long as I am willing to help others a little more, others will also be willing to help others a little more, and this will create a virtuous circle. Maybe one day, because of my unintentional small good deeds today, I can help my daughter and save her life."
In the end times, everyone is struggling to survive. In order to survive, they may abandon their lives, give up their conscience, and even end the lives of their closest people. However, there are still some people who insist on the kindness in their bones and are willing to sacrifice their lives for a better tomorrow that they don't know whether it will appear or not, and they have no regrets.
Ji An sincerely blessed her, "I believe your daughter must still be alive somewhere at this moment. She may be living a hard life, or she may be living a happy life, but she is definitely alive. You and your daughter will be reunited one day."
Yuan Mingan, who had been showing no emotion until now, suddenly burst into tears and choked up when he heard Ji An's words.
"Thank you, thank you for your blessing." Yuan Mingan said crying.
The children who had been listening to the story silently all started to move. Little Rose stood up and tiptoed to wipe Yuan Mingan's tears. The little child's eyes were full of sincerity. "Dean mother, don't cry. You will definitely find your sister."
Little Stone also ran over and hugged Yuan Mingan with his small and thin body, "Dean Mom, you are so kind and treat us so well. My sister will definitely be treated so gently by others."
The other children followed suit and came over to hug Yuan Mingan, wishing her a reunion with her daughter.
They were obviously young children, not even with tender bodies, but these twenty or so children hugged Yuan Mingan tightly, making Yuan Mingan, an adult who was stronger than the children, feel a seemingly indestructible force in such an obviously fragile embrace, as if a small boat that had been drifting helplessly for many years finally found a harbor to dock.
With tears pouring down, Yuan Mingan said in a choked voice: "Yes, I will. I have the most sincere blessings from you children, and I will definitely move God to bless me to reunite with my daughter."
Yuan Mingan cried for a long time in the children's small bodies. No one was impatient. They all stayed with her quietly, waiting for her emotions to calm down.
After calming down, Yuan Mingan's face flushed. He wiped his eyes embarrassedly and looked at Ji An, "Am I embarrassed? I actually cried in the arms of my children."
"No." Ji An shook his head. He felt that Yuan Mingan was very strong from the bottom of his heart. "You are very strong. You are a hero, your daughter's hero."
Yuan Mingan suddenly felt his eyes moist and wanted to cry. He pressed his fingers hard on his eyes, trying to hold back the tears. When the tears passed, he said, "I was just talking about my own things and didn't tell you about the children's recent situation. Let me tell you."
Yuan Mingan waved to the children, "Little Stone, Little Rose... come here, you should still remember this brother, he and the other brother saved you."
Little Stone, Little Rose and the eight children that Ji An had rescued at first all ran over. They obviously knew Ji An and were very close to him and grateful to him. They all grinned at him foolishly, trying to make Ji An understand that they were grateful to him.
"Brother, thank you for saving us. Without you, we might have died." Xiao Shitou pulled all the children to kneel down suddenly and kowtow to Ji An.
Ji An naturally refused, but he couldn't support so many children with just his two hands. He could only use his mental power to transform into eight large palms, holding up the children's heads one by one to prevent them from really knocking their heads down.
These children are ordinary people who have not awakened their superpowers. They cannot see the big hand transformed by the psychic power, but they can feel that they are being dragged by a mysterious force. They find it novel and interesting and look under their heads curiously.
But even so, no one was willing to get up.
Little Stone said stubbornly: "Brother Ji An, please let us kowtow to you. Our heads are worthless. Otherwise, we don't know how to thank you. Only by kowtowing will we feel at ease."
Ji An did not leave his name when he saved the man that day. The reason why Xiao Shitou knew it was that he took the initiative to ask Yuan Mingan about it and kept it in mind.
Little Rose also said: "Yes, Brother Ji An, I don't know if others would be alive today if you hadn't appeared that day, but I definitely wouldn't.
I knew I was going to die that day. I could feel it. Although I was reluctant to leave this world and although life was very difficult, I still missed it very much, but I knew I was going to die.
It was your appearance that saved me. Without you, I might have been eaten by those adult homeless people, and there wouldn't even be a complete corpse. It was you who saved me. I really want to kowtow to you."
Perhaps kowtow itself is seen by many as a cowardly, undignified, and even humiliating act. But for these children, it is the only way they can express their gratitude to their savior.
Ji An was very moved, not only because of the fact that the children wanted to kowtow to him, but also because of the children's sincere and honest hearts.
However, he did not ask the children to kowtow to him. Instead, he said, "If you really want to thank me, then don't kowtow to me. Always remember your gratitude today. Then tomorrow and in the future, you can still hold on to your gratitude today and try your best to help those around you who you can help."
That is the greatest gratitude to me and what I hope for the most.”
Little Rose and the others looked at Little Stone, not knowing what to do. Little Stone immediately raised his hand and swore, "I, Little Stone, swear here that from now on, I will do my best to help everyone around me who needs help. If I break this oath, I will…"
An invisible big hand covered Little Stone's mouth, preventing him from continuing to swear.
Ji An was not happy or relieved after hearing his oath as Xiao Shitou thought. Instead, he looked at Xiao Shitou seriously and said, "Don't make such an oath. My original intention is just to help more people. I don't want you to disregard your own life, your family, or even your children in order to help others.
If that's the case, you're worthy of the people you helped, but are you worthy of your family who silently accompanied you and suffered with you all the way? Are you worthy of your heart and life that you struggled so hard to survive in the end times?"
Little Stone tilted his head and looked at Ji An, with a puzzled look in his eyes. Ji An explained: "I just want you to help more people within your ability. If it is beyond your ability, or if helping the person in need will bring pain to you or the people around you, then forget it."
Little Shitou understood this time. He nodded very seriously and said, "Brother Ji An, I'll take note of it."
Ji An smiled again, "Okay, then you guys can stand up and stop kowtow to me, because your promise to help others within your ability is already the greatest reward you can give me."
Little Stone looked at the children who were also looking at him, and then he stopped insisting.
After getting up, Xiao Shitou expressed his determination once again, "Brother Ji An, I will definitely help others within my ability in the future and will not bring harm to myself and the people around me."
"Okay, I believe you." Ji An looked gentle and gently rubbed Xiao Shitou's head.
Xiao Shitou's head is now bald, probably because he got lice due to years of wandering. All the children here, both boys and girls, have their heads shaved bald.
When Little Shitou had his head rubbed, he smiled shyly. Instead of avoiding it, he rubbed against Ji An's palm like a kitten, being particularly well-behaved and lovable.
The children who were not rescued by Ji An, but were sent here by genius, were fine, and did not have much feelings. The children who were rescued by Ji An were different, and they were particularly envious of Xiao Shitou. Ji An was the god who gave them life again, and they also wanted to be rubbed on the head by Ji An. One by one, they followed Xiao Shitou and rushed to swear, and then looked at Ji An with expectant eyes, wanting him to rub their heads as well.
Ji An rubbed them patiently one by one, and gently called their names and said a blessing for their future.
Even though it was just a simple blessing, the children would jump for joy after receiving it, and would secretly compare who received the better blessing. It seemed that at this moment, Ji An was the incarnation of a god, and his blessing was a prophecy for the children's future.
Yuan Mingan waved to the remaining children, "Come over here too. Haven't you always wanted to personally thank the person who first proposed to open the orphanage? This is him.
He is also one of the scientists you admire the most. The space storage prop that you all like and want to own is researched by Brother Ji An!"
The space storage props were not kept secret at first, and Ji An opened a store in West City. Now the space storage props are selling well, and everyone in the streets and alleys knows about the space storage props. Naturally, Yuan Mingan, who is a half-insider, also knows the inventor.
It can be said that space storage props are now a symbol of status, because they are so popular that you can’t buy them just because you have money, you also need to have power.
"Wow!" the children exclaimed.
Especially the children who were rescued by Ji An were so happy that they jumped up and down. Little Shitou was so happy that he seemed to have invented the space storage props, and he clapped his hands until they turned red.
"I knew that Brother Ji An was not only kind-hearted, but also a very capable person. It turned out to be true." Little Stone spun around happily. "In the future, I want to be like Brother Ji An and help more people."
Little Rose grinned as she watched Little Stone jumping up and down. "I want to be as good as Brother Ji An and be someone who can help others."
Suddenly Ji An thought of how when he rescued the two children, Little Rose seemed to have promised to marry Little Stone when she grew up. At this time, the two little ones really had the feeling of husband and wife following each other, he was making trouble and she was laughing.
However, considering that the two little guys were only eleven or twelve years old, no matter how precocious they were, they were still just two little brats, so Ji An did not make any teasing remarks.
Yuan Mingan continued, "In addition to the funding from the base, our Salesian Home has also received a large sum of money from Brother Ji An. A large part of the credit for your current life of worry-free food and clothing goes to Brother Ji An."
Now the remaining children also sincerely wanted Brother Ji An's head pats and blessings. Ji An satisfied the children equally, and gave corresponding blessings to each of them based on the feelings he had after the brief contact.
After blessing, Ji An asked Yuan Mingan, "Is everything OK here? Are there any problems with the children's food and clothing?"
"No." Yuan Mingan's eyes lit up when he mentioned this. "Mr. Ji, do you know about nutritional supplements?"
"I know." Ji An said.
Yuan Mingan smiled and said, "Now our Salesian Home has started to supply nutritional supplements. There are a variety of small flavors, and the children like to eat them. One stick can fill them up for a day and can also provide the most basic nutritional needs for children's growth.
These children have been eating the medicine for nearly a month. Although they have not gone to the hospital for check-ups, many of them have rosy complexions and have grown taller. The fastest growing one has grown nearly one centimeter taller.
I think taking nutritional supplements is more effective than taking grains. Now the children are full of energy every day, can run and jump, and their physical fitness has improved."
“Although I don’t know which researcher came up with this, I am really grateful to him.”
Yuan Mingan's eyes sparkled with hope. "I really hope that the nutritional supplement can be promoted nationwide as soon as possible. The price of the nutritional supplement for ordinary people is so low. By then, people all over the country will be able to have enough food, and there will be more people willing to do good deeds.
Is there anyone willing to buy a few for those poor children on the street? Maybe my daughter is one of them and can eat some. From now on, she won’t have to worry about being hungry and not being able to find food, and she can grow up healthy. "
"Yes, we will." Ji An said: "The auction is over, there are no other major events in the base. The next step is to fully promote the nutrient supplement. By the end of this month, at least our base will be able to cover most areas."
"That's great!" Yuan Mingan felt more hopeful about being reunited with his daughter.
Ji An said, "By the way, I brought some early childhood education books for the children. When you are free, you can teach them to read and write. Usually, you can write and draw on the sand table. Children who perform well can be rewarded with paper, pens and toys."
Maybe children who have experienced hardship are particularly precocious. Before the end of the world, if a child heard that the reward for good study was paper and pen, he would probably immediately lose interest in studying hard.
But the children in the Salesian Home not only did not do that, but they actually looked forward to it seriously. Toys and paper and pens were equally attractive to them, and they all wanted them.
Little Shitou raised his hand at this time, "Brother Ji An, I learn the fastest and best. I can write now."
"Really?" Ji An said with a smile, "What can you write? Write it for me to see. If it's good, I will give you a reward right now."
Little Shitou immediately picked up his sandbox and began to write on it carefully. Although his handwriting was crooked and immature, it was written very carefully without any missing parts. Every stroke clearly showed that the two words were Ji An.
When these two words were written by Xiao Shitou, Ji An's heart was beating fast. It was as if the name that the aunt in the orphanage had casually given him at that time was endowed with a different kind of power. It was equivalent to a name that a parent had flipped through all the books and carefully selected as if they wanted to give their child all the beautiful blessings in the world. It was even more so, filled with the most sincere blessings from all the children in the orphanage for him, and was more beautiful than the stars at night.
Xiao Shitou did not stop after writing Ji An's name, but wrote three more words neatly next to this name - Gu Jinsheng.
Gu Jinsheng's name has relatively more strokes, so Xiao Shitou found it a little difficult to write, but he still got it right.
Ji An smiled from the bottom of his heart and was really touched.
He knew that Xiao Shitou was truly grateful to them. If it was not for this, and it was Ji An who came, Xiao Shitou would not have to write Gu Jinsheng's name. However, he still wrote down this name, which meant that in his heart, he also regarded Gu Jinsheng as his savior. This child was a grateful person with the purest heart of a child.
Ji An squatted down next to Xiao Shitou and said softly, "Xiao Shitou is awesome. He is one of the smartest kids I have ever seen. So can Xiao Shitou write his own name?"
Little Stone blushed and said ashamedly: "I'm sorry, Brother Ji An, I don't know how to do it yet."
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