Chapter 205 Construction Site Accident
"Sure, I can go."
Xia Lili nodded without hesitation, her almond eyes bright, "It just so happens that I haven't drawn or doodled for a long time~"
Xia Lili had heard Aunt Chen Shulin mention these children a long time ago, and knew that although they had lost their parents, they were more grateful than anyone else.
The last time the welfare home received the Ocean Park gifts donated by her, the children specially drew thank-you cards, writing every stroke of their blessings.
Aunt Lin smiled and said, "Okay, see you tomorrow morning!"
The night breeze blew gently, bringing with it the coolness of early autumn. Xia Lili watched the two elderly people leave, feeling warm in her heart.
Xia Lili then remembered that Li Qihan was still beside her. She turned around and asked with a smile, "Captain Li, you have a day off tomorrow. Do you want to come with us? It's so much fun to doodle with the kids."
Li Qihan frowned slightly and adjusted his cuffs awkwardly: "No need, I'm not very good at getting along with children."
He paused, his voice lowered a bit: "I'm afraid it will scare them to tears."
Xia Lili nodded seriously: "Well, your understanding of yourself is quite accurate."
With a mischievous smile on her face, she added, "But children love adults who appear fierce but are actually gentle."
Li Qihan coughed lightly and replied with a cold face: "I have nothing to do with the kind of adults you are talking about."
After he said that, he urged Xia Lili to go upstairs, but his ears turned slightly red.
*
The next morning, the morning light was just beginning to rise.
Xia Lili, carrying a canvas bag full of colored pencils and sketchbooks, met Aunt Chen at the bus stop.
Seven children from the welfare home have lined up neatly, wearing the little red hats given by the welfare home.
The oldest of them is only twelve years old, and the youngest is only six years old. Each of them has a homemade name card on his chest with a little sun drawn on it with colored crayons.
"Hello, Sister Xia!"
The children greeted in unison, their eyes sparkling.
They all knew that it was the sister in front of them who brought them Ocean Park peripheral gifts, which were so beautiful!
Xia Lili greeted the children one by one and carefully wrote down their names and ages.
Xia Lili was originally very worried. After all, the graffiti was on the barrier around the construction site. It would be terrible if the child fell or bumped into something, or if a serious accident occurred.
But after looking into the eyes of these children, Xia Lili did not "see" a picture of doom.
She felt relieved.
The bus came slowly and the children lined up in a column to get on the bus. They were so well behaved.
The early morning sun shone on the construction site fence. Xia Lili and the children put on safety helmets, set out their paints and brushes, and prepared to start graffiti.
Du Weifeng, the bearded construction site manager, squatted down and carefully adjusted the hat strap for the youngest child, his movements very meticulous.
"You can draw the fence however you want, but be careful about safety." His voice was low, but with a hint of gentleness.
"Okay!" The children answered in unison, their eyes sparkling, like a group of eager little birds.
Six-year-old Yangyang held a blue paintbrush and painted a crooked shark on the fence. The shark had sharp teeth and round eyes, looking both fierce and cute.
"This is my mother!" Yangyang announced proudly.
Xia Lili squatted down and asked curiously, "Why a shark?"
Yangyang blinked and whispered, "Because I have a shark doll. It slept with me and accompanied me as I grew up."
"Auntie Lin said Mom went to a very far place. I thought Mom must be as powerful as a shark and not afraid of anyone!"
After he finished speaking, he drew a small person next to the shark, holding the shark's fin tightly.
Xia Lili's nose felt sore and she patted his head: "Yes, your mother must be very capable, and so are you."
Aunt Lin told him in the car that Yangyang's mother was a single mother who died unexpectedly while on a business trip when Yangyang was three years old.
After a while, Mingming, who was painting the sun, was not paying attention and was tripped by the paint bucket, and started crying.
Xia Lili quickly ran over, squatted down, gently brushed the dust off his knees, and whispered to him in comfort, "It's because the Earth loves Mingming too much!"
She pointed to the shallow indentation on the cement floor and said, "Look, it secretly kissed your knee."
"Really?"
Mingming asked while hiccuping. At this moment, the other children gathered around and said in unison, "You kissed me when I fell to the ground last time!"
Xia Lili's face lit up with dimples: "This shows that the Earth loves you! It welcomes you to this world."
When the two elderly people, Uncle Chen and Aunt Lin, heard what Xia Lili said, a smile appeared in their eyes, and they liked this kind and lovely girl from the bottom of their hearts.
The youngest daughter, Niu Niu, fell down when she was three years old and got a scar on her knee, so she always wore long pants and long skirts to cover the scar.
Hearing Xia Lili's words, she mustered up the courage to roll up her trousers to her knees and said, "Sister, since this scar of mine hasn't disappeared, does it mean that the Earth loves me so deeply?"
Xia Lili's eyes welled up. She squatted down and gently stroked the scar, her voice soft and gentle, "Yes, the Earth is stamping you. It's afraid such a lovely child would get lost, so it wants to leave the most special mark."
Niuniu immediately beamed: "Then I really like this mark! I won't hate it anymore!"
Niuniu pointed behind Xia Lili and said, "My sister's shoes were kissed too!"
It turned out that when she was squatting, her white sneakers had smeared with paint. The children burst into laughter.
Xia Lili felt that being with these lovely children was so healing.
When I was halfway through drawing the graffiti, a light and dense drizzle suddenly began to fall from the sky.
Fortunately, the paint used was acrylic, which dried quickly and would not fade in the rain. But the children still let out a little exclamation and scrambled to protect the half-painted work.
Du Weifeng, the construction site manager, hurried over with a stack of folding umbrellas in his arms, followed by two workers carrying thermos buckets.
As he distributed umbrellas, he smiled and said, "Come on, don't get wet! Children, go to the control room first to avoid the rain. I've asked someone to prepare hot honey water and snacks!"
Xia Lili took the umbrella and thanked him. Although Du Weifeng looked carefree, he was meticulous and thoughtful, even choosing individually wrapped cakes and fruit candies as snacks for the children.
In the control room, the children held cups of warm honey water and chattered about the painting they had just made.
Du Weifeng stood by the window, looking at the blurred construction area in the rain, frowning slightly, seeming a little uneasy.
Sudden--
"boom!!!"
A muffled sound came from underground, shaking the ground beneath their feet.
The glass windows vibrated and the children shrank back in fright, almost dropping the snacks in their hands.
Du Weifeng's face suddenly changed, and he grabbed the intercom on the table: "What's going on?!"
Rapid gasps and murmurs echoed from the other end of the intercom. "Boss, something's happened! The small excavator in Area 3 misoperated and knocked over the temporary support. Part of the underground passage collapsed, and the staircase and elevator entrances are blocked!"
Du Weifeng's fingers were clenched until they turned white. "How many people are trapped now?"
"Six! All in the B2 tunnel operation area. No casualties reported so far, but the exit is completely blocked!"
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