Qiao Risheng explained, "It's like this, Mayor Yan, we still have a few teachers behind us. Could you drive over and pick them up?"
"Okay, okay, no problem."
Yan Huaizhi and Yan Wu each got on their bicycles, and Yan Wu sat in the back.
Yan Wu's temples were gray, indicating he was not young. Everyone looked around and considered having someone else ride him.
Hua Changle had indeed ridden one before, but her skills were only so-so. There were many slopes on the mountain road, and she was afraid of taking everyone on the bike into the ditch, so she just said she couldn't ride it well.
Qiao Song stepped forward: "I know how, I'll do it, Mayor Yan, you can just sit down!"
Qiao Risheng also said, "Yes, Ah Song will come. He'll be fine."
Everyone then got into their cars and started driving back.
Hua Changle looked at Qiao Song driving in front and suddenly remembered something:
Spirits have extremely long lifespans. Although they manifest the age of the body they possess, their actual age may not be that.
In other words, Qiao Song could be much older than Qiao Risheng!
No wonder! Even these modes of transportation, which were gradually phased out in the early stages of a natural disaster, would be affected.
Two cars picked up ten people, and they all headed into town. The production crew's car followed behind.
As Hua Changle passed the entrance to the town, he noticed only a weathered stone tablet by the roadside, with four large characters engraved on it in dark red paint.
—A nostalgic, rural town.
Yan Wu arranged accommodations for them. Yan Wu's family could accommodate two groups, Yan Huaizhi's family could accommodate two groups, and the other deputy mayor Yan Chong's family could accommodate one group.
Qiao Risheng and Hua Xiange's two groups stayed at Yan Wu's house, Lin Xuanyao and Nian Jingliu's two groups stayed at Yan Huaizhi's house, and Liang Chengyu and his wife lived separately outside.
As they walked, they kept thinking about the mission and taking in the whole town.
"Teachers, please take a rest. Tonight, the villagers have prepared a welcome feast for you. Let's make our humble village shine with honor!"
"Thank you for your help, Mayor Yan."
They exchanged glances and pulled the mayor aside: "Mayor Yan, you should know that we are here on a mission."
"We know, we know. The teachers are here to help us with the case and to help us with the celebration! We will definitely give them our full support!"
Hua Xiange said, "Then could you please trouble Mayor Yan to tell us about the case from back then?"
Yan Wu nodded: "Okay, let's sit down and talk."
Everyone sat down, and Yan Wu took a puff of his vintage pipe, slowly exhaling a cloud of white smoke:
“The case occurred about sixty years ago, and I myself was a witness to it.”
"Our Huaixiangye Town was originally established by a group of people who migrated from the border of the old market town. They cleared land and established Huaixiangye Town."
This place is deep in the mountains and forests, and there are many wild animals and exotic species on the mountain. The environment is quite harsh, so it has always been very poor. Those who come here to live are basically people who want to escape the world.
There are also some children.
As he spoke, Yan Wu's loving gaze fell on a few children peeking out from a distance.
Hua Changle asked, "Mayor Yan, may I ask a question? What is the situation of the children in the town?"
Shen Xiao, who was next to her, was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Yan Wu was also taken aback for a moment, then smiled bitterly:
"Did the teacher notice?"
Hua Changle nodded: "Yes, from what I've observed along the way, the townspeople are mostly older people and children, and these children are mostly running around the town in groups."
It seems...like...
orphan.
She didn't say those two words.
Yan Wu said, "You're not mistaken. There are quite a few children in the town, but more than 90% of them were picked up by the townspeople or abandoned by unknown people at the entrance of our town."
They are all special children.
Qiao Song's eyes flashed, and he hit the nail on the head with a single sentence:
"Are they all... 'powerless'?"
Everyone was stunned.
"Powerlessness," a term that emerged during times of natural disasters along with the rise of supernatural abilities.
This refers to people who are born unable to awaken their special abilities, or whose special abilities are so weak that they are completely unable to advance.
The very name of this type of person—"Powerless"—predetermines their lowly status and difficult circumstances in such an era.
It's not that there are no people who are "powerless" to succeed through their own efforts, but they are extremely rare.
In an era when both internal and external martial arts evolved into supernatural abilities, and science combined with supernatural abilities, "powerlessness" was a kind of original sin.
Despite the protection of basic human rights laws, the phenomenon of "helpless" abandonment, especially in impoverished areas, is still not uncommon.
【My goodness, so many kids are like that?】
[Isn't this incredibly inhumane? Abandoning their own children?!]
[It's cruel, but... it was a necessity of the times.]
Objectively speaking, it is very difficult if one has no ability of their own.
How do you participate in training while attending school? What should you do if you encounter alien dangers anytime, anywhere? How many jobs are available for you? Even if some positions do not require superpowers, would an employer choose someone without superpowers instead?
Realistically speaking, abandonment by suffering families should not be condemned; what needs to be changed is the systemic nature of our entire society. However, this is not something that can be accomplished overnight; we need time, and time is precious during natural disasters.
[…I understand, saving data: there's no other way.]
Thanks for the comment above, I understand now.
Yan Wu continued, "These children would find it very difficult to survive normally in the outside world."
We tried sending them to schools outside the town, but they were easily bullied and struggled to keep up with the curriculum. In the end, they all stayed in town, helping with farming and selling goods to make a living.
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