Chapter 50 The Infant Home
"Help! Help! Waaah!"
"Murder! Child killed!"
"We didn't hear anything."
...
Among the children Song Jin captured, the youngest was the only little girl, who looked to be only four or five years old, while the oldest was the ten-year-old boy she was carrying with one hand.
The clothes worn by the group were made of ordinary material with patches of various sizes. Their heads were adorned with simple red thread and rough wooden hairpins, clearly indicating that their family was of modest means, or even poor.
But these guys are incredibly audacious, daring to venture into these deep mountains; they must think they're too tough for their lives.
Song Jin and Qi Zheng did not notice anyone at first.
The little chicks huddled in the weeds, motionless, their occasional movements barely registering their presence, much like pheasants, utterly inconspicuous.
But Huanghuang is different. Even if it's just across this small slope, or even a completely different mountain, it can find it. When it's lying there playing, it keeps twitching its ears and looking towards the other side of the hill; it's obvious there's something there.
Song Jin and Qi Zheng noticed the difference, but initially thought it was just a passing by and didn't pay attention, letting them leave on their own. Turns out the meat was still there even after it was fully cooked.
We need to pull them out and see what they're planning.
This pull
Okay, that's just making trouble for yourself.
Looking at the row of wailing children standing from left to right, from shortest to tallest, and then at Song Jin already happily eating roasted meat, Qi Zheng paused slightly.
Why did he want her to bring the person back? Any one of the three people nearby would have been more reliable.
Thinking this, Qi Zheng's expression grew increasingly cold and stern. Sitting there, he was like a reef on the edge of a cliff, cold and sharp, almost piercing, making people hesitant to speak to him. Meanwhile, Song Jinle leisurely ate his food, seemingly easy to talk to, but his vicious actions in arresting people earlier had already proven his rebellious nature.
The Song brothers, Song Anzhi and Song Qingzhi, and Li Qingshan seemed easier to talk to, but none of them had much experience in comforting children. Looking at the five crying children standing in a row, they were both surprised and at a loss, and none of them spoke first.
The five children just stood there crying and wailing, looking at this 'murderer,' a female bully, and a man-eating tiger, their cries were heart-wrenching.
Master, stop looking for them. If we can't find them, they'll fall into the tiger's den tonight.
They were wrong.
...
The little brats' tears streamed down their faces like a river, and their wailing was so loud it gave everyone a headache. Song Jin had had enough of the show, so she stuffed a piece of meat into her mouth, wiped her hands with a handkerchief, pulled out a stick as thick as a child's arm from the side, and snapped it in half right in front of them.
"If you cry again, this is what will happen to you."
The crying at the scene stopped
Song Jin raised her eyebrows, looking smugly at the others, about to speak and boast, when an even louder cry than before rang out.
"Master, Master, help me!"
"Don't eat us, we have no meat, we don't taste good."
"Waaaaah"
Song Jin scoffed, tossed aside the piece of wood she was holding, slapped her thigh, pointed at a few kids as if to threaten them, and then quickly stuffed a strip of grilled meat into their mouths.
She turned around, and Qi Zheng looked at her expressionlessly: "Just eat yours."
Song Jin was a little unconvinced, but after chewing the jerky in her mouth, she stopped threatening the children and just muttered to herself, "Should I send them back again?"
Qi Zheng remained silent, simply watching her.
Song Jin turned her back and obediently began to eat.
While this uncertain problem here is resolved, others are still crying out about their real troubles.
The remaining four looked at the children with distress, and finally, Qi Zheng, the one of the most distinguished, spoke up: "Don't cry, we're not bad people."
He tried to use a gentler tone, and his expression softened, but the difference remained the same—from the sharp reef to the large rock on the mountaintop, both remained cold and hard. Especially considering his tall stature and the long sword at his waist, he looked like someone who could easily skewer them with his sword without warning.
The children burst into tears, muttering their last words.
Song Jin was laughing so hard she was shaking, and almost choked on the meat strips.
Qi Zheng: ...
Seeing that the two ringleaders were not making any difference, Song Anzhi, who seemed the most gentle, delicate and beautiful, spoke softly: "Little ones, stop crying, your faces are all messed up from crying. Are you hungry or tired? Do you want something to eat?"
Several children cried
"Don't eat us!"
"A monster! Waaah, the flower fairy has become a spirit!"
Song Anzhi naturally resembled a beautiful woman, and in this era that valued masculinity, he often suffered ridicule. He especially hated people making comments about his face.
Now, with several children staring him in the face and saying he looked neither male nor female, he smirked and turned to Song Qingzhi with a forced smile, saying, "How about we just roast them?"
"No, they're just praising your looks, Third Brother. You really don't know how lucky you are," Song Qingzhi laughed heartily, patting Song Anzhi's shoulder. He wasn't so annoyed by the crying little brats anymore.
He glanced at the tattered clothes on the group, pondered for a moment, then pulled a small gold bean from his pocket and tossed it into the air right in front of them.
Whoever stops crying first gets the golden bean.
The effect was immediate; the children stopped crying in no time, tightly covering their mouths, staring intently at the golden bean, and even hiccuped from crying.
Money is always useful.
Song Qingzhi raised an eyebrow triumphantly at the others, handed the gold coins to the ten-year-old boy who was leading the group, and said, "Here you go. As long as you don't cry and talk nicely, I'll give each of you another tael of silver later."
The little boy, hiccuping, said, "Thank you, thank you adults. We won't cry, you're good people."
The other little ones nodded in agreement.
These individuals vividly demonstrated what it means to be greedy for money.
Song Jin was amazed, then peeked over from the side, about to speak to the little brats.
Qi Zheng quickly handed her a piece of meat to shut her up, then looked at the children and asked, "What are your names and what are you doing here?"
The little boy who was leading the group sobbed, "Yes, yes, sir, my name is Yang Yongsheng, and they are Xiaobing, Xiaomo, Xiaoshu, and Xiaohua. We are...we are lost."
Hearing this, Song Jin, who was eating, raised an eyebrow. When she went to catch them, their reactions didn't seem like those of lost children. Besides, this was the deepest part of the mountains, with terrain completely different from the outside. Getting lost here would be quite difficult.
Qi Zheng's expression shifted slightly, but he didn't expose them. He simply asked, "Yang? Are you from Upper Yang Village or Lower Yang Village?"
Yang Yongsheng wiped his wet face, looked at the group of people who looked like they were from important families, and said honestly, "Sir, we are from Shangyang Village. We are all children from the village's orphanage. We were thinking of going into the mountains to see if we could get some meat for our younger siblings, but we got lost. We didn't mean to eavesdrop on your conversation."
Song Jin raised an eyebrow: "Eavesdropping? How could you hear what we were saying from that far away?"
Yang Yongsheng paused for a moment, then shook his head, stammering, "Well, it's just that the tiger was howling so loudly that we were scared."
Song Jin raised an eyebrow: "Really? You're afraid of tigers but not bears, leopards, or venomous snakes? You little brats are brave and lucky. If it were a real tiger, you wouldn't be standing here like this."
These cubs would be a good meal for a wild tiger.
Yang Yongsheng's eyes welled up with tears again: "I, I, I..."
"Don't hit my brother, don't hit him, it's all my fault..."
As she spoke, the youngest flower rushed over and kowtowed on the ground, wailing pitifully.
The little girl was small in stature and dressed in tattered clothes, but upon closer inspection, one would find that she was exceptionally beautiful, with big eyes, a small face, and fair skin; she was clearly a little beauty in the making.
Not just her, all five children present were quite good-looking, with big eyes and high noses. Although their skin was tanned from sun exposure, they also had a clever and lively air about them.
Seeing the little girl kowtowing and crying, the others paused for a moment, then also kowtowing.
Yang Yongsheng knelt down, hugged Xiaohua, and cried, "We were wrong, boohoo, we won't do it again next time, please don't kill us."
Song Jin raised her eyebrows, clicked her tongue twice, and this time, without needing anyone else to say anything, she automatically shut her mouth, not forgetting to give Song Qingzhi a look.
Give me the money.
Song Qingzhi's lips twitched, but he still obediently pulled another small gold bean from his pocket: "Stop crying, let's see who it is."
Good heavens, before he could even finish speaking, all five of them covered their mouths, staring at him with their wet eyes, their palms outstretched in perfect unison.
Song Qingzhi's lips twitched. He placed the golden tears in Xiaohua's hand: "Alright, stop crying so easily. Come sit down and have something to eat with us. We'll take you home."
The children nodded excitedly, "Thank you, sir! We'll repay you even if we have to be your slaves in our next life!"
Hearing this, Song Jin pouted, just about to mutter that she could repay him in this life, why did it have to be in the next?
Qi Zheng turned his gaze away from Xiao Jindou, his face expressionless: "Just eat yours."
It wasn't her who paid for it.
But it wasn't him who paid for it, that stingy guy.
Song Jin pursed her lips, then quickly picked up the cooked mushrooms and ate them one by one, so that she wouldn't have any left to eat when those little brats came over.
The idea of letting little brats out of the way doesn't exist in her mind.
Qi Zheng shook his head, then looked at the crowd gathered around the fire, sighed inwardly, and continued to maintain a cold expression as he turned the pheasant over...
**
Shangyang Village is a large village
The village has a total of 2,192 people in 274 households, averaging 8 people per household. This is all supported by the large families that have not yet separated. The largest family in the village has 72 people, while the smallest is an orphan whose parents have passed away, leaving only one person in the family.
However, when it comes to debate, the largest population in the village is still the orphanage standing on the edge of the village. Currently, there are 236 children there, the youngest being no more than a month old and the oldest being 27 years old. They were among the first batch of children at the orphanage.
The orphanage started when a fisherman who had lost his parents, wife, and children found a six-fingered child on the frozen riverbank. He couldn't bear to see the child suffer, so he took him home. Then, one child followed another, and eventually, his home could no longer accommodate all the children.
In Shangyang Village, where most residents belong to the same clan, kind-hearted individuals would occasionally lend a hand. With the support of many other kind-hearted people, the orphanage gradually expanded to its current size of over two hundred people.
If it weren't for the support of kind-hearted people outside, they wouldn't have been able to survive.
The children inside were both boys and girls, some with health problems and others perfectly healthy. Even the orphans had their own distinct personalities. Because there were so many children, the caretakers were often overwhelmed, so some of the more mischievous ones would wander off.
These children were generally among the most pampered in the orphanage; they were usually cute, charming, and clever, which made them more lovable and also more daring and mischievous.
But it's not a big problem. The kids in the village are all free-range, running around in the mountains and rivers, so nothing serious will happen. The adults at the orphanage will just be angry for a moment, then give them a good scolding when they get back; they're not too worried.
As the village chief, Yang Youyang was responsible for both the Tonghua Inn, which the village had jointly built, and the orphanage. He knew every child in the orphanage, especially the main troublemakers—they were capable of anything from climbing walls and crawling through holes to swimming; they were always causing trouble.
That day, he was in the inn when he saw Zhang, the scholar, rushing over in a hurry, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"
Zhang, the scholar, was the same scholar who had eaten at the Tonghua Inn on that rainy day. His family was of modest means, and he had spent a considerable amount of money traveling to the capital for the imperial examinations over the years, so he tried to save money wherever possible. He was helping out at the orphanage, and although he had to teach for two hours every day, he felt it was acceptable since food and lodging were provided.
This wasn't his first time helping out here; he knew how difficult these kids were, but he hadn't expected this batch to be this troublesome.
Scholar Zhang said somberly, "Xiao Hua and the others said there's a good-natured tiger in the mountains, and they want to bring it back to the orphanage to guard it."
Yang Youyang's heart skipped a beat: "Huh?"
Scholar Zhang: "Those guys didn't show up early this morning. I thought they just went out to have some fun, but I didn't know they'd gone deep into the mountains. That brat Yang Yongya knew but didn't say anything."
It's said that wherever there are people, there's a social dynamic, and the orphanage is no exception.
Those kids split into several groups, each one fiercely competitive. They compared everything except academics—who was the bravest, who could do the most work, who could make the most money…
I can let go of those trivial matters on ordinary days, but going looking for a tiger is tantamount to courting death!
Zhushan is one of the large mountain ranges around the capital. It belongs to the royal family and every year hunting teams go into the mountains for training. Not to mention wild boars, roe deer, and small deer, even tigers and bears can be found there.
Yang Youyang's face changed, and he cursed angrily, "These brats really need to be taught a lesson. Scholar Zhang, you've had a hard time. Tell the kitchen to add an extra dish for you tonight. I'll send someone into the mountains now; it'll be troublesome once it gets dark."
Seeing his hurried manner, Zhang Juren's lips twitched, and he pressed the man down, saying, "...No need, the person is back now, that's enough, that's enough."
"What do you mean, 'what'?"
Yang Youyang's eyelids twitched as he listened, fearing that his children might leave home perfectly fine only to return missing limbs.
Before Zhang could finish speaking, he rushed to the orphanage. To his surprise, he found the area outside crowded with villagers, all pointing and whispering about what was happening inside, where the cries were deafening.
The five people who were supposed to go into the mountains to search were now leaning against the wall, upside down, each with whips strapped to their arms, their hands trembling as they supported themselves, sobbing uncontrollably.
Besides them, there were also five people, including Yang Yongya, who knew about the incident but did not report it.
Ten children stood upside down in two rows, facing each other. Someone carried a bamboo pole behind them for temporary support, but only temporarily. If they didn't move their feet after a count of ten, the pole would be pulled back up, and they would cower and pull their legs back, relying entirely on their hands for support. Judging from their trembling arms, they had been upside down for quite some time.
Fortunately, despite the trembling, my arms and legs were still intact.
Yang Youyang instantly breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to look at the others. Seeing a group of familiar faces standing there, he straightened his clothes and strode over. Upon seeing the golden tiger obscured by the crowd, he took a step back in fright.
"Tiger Tiger Tiger Tiger"
"Don't worry, he won't bite. Look, he's on a leash, isn't he?"
Song Jin patted Huang Huang's head and then showed Yang Youyang the rope around its neck—a rather perfunctory-looking belt.
This belt is so tight it can't even catch a dog, let alone a tiger.
Yang Youyang's lips twitched, but he quickly composed himself. These days, there are many opera troupes, and some of the larger ones even keep tigers, frequently taking them on performances to collect money.
Although Huang Huang was quite large, it looked delicate and cuddly next to Song Jin, with a round head, round belly, and swaying ears. It didn't seem wild at all and appeared very affectionate.
Yang Youyang: "Greetings, esteemed gentlemen. Your presence has brought honor to our village, though we apologize for the commotion. These children are quite mischievous; if we don't discipline them, who knows what trouble they might cause?"
Looking at the pitiful children who had been captured, Song Jin showed no sympathy whatsoever, but nodded in agreement: "They really need to be dealt with. I don't know where they got the guts to come all the way to the deep mountains to try and bring my Huanghuang home to guard the house. Don't they even know if they're good enough for two of its mouths?"
She said these kids were acting strangely, and it didn't seem like they were simply lost, but they were just kids after all, so there was no need for them to make a big deal out of it. They just brought them back to see what was going on.
Unexpectedly, upon returning, his sworn enemies, Yang Yongya and his gang, immediately confessed to Huang Huang's actions, revealing that Xiao Hua and her children had gone into the mountains to catch a tiger.
Good heavens, what audacity!
The owner of the orphanage dealt with people without a second thought, leading to the current situation.
If it were an ordinary family where adults disciplined their children, Song Jin and the others could try to persuade them. But these children raised in the orphanage had no parents to rely on and would have to fend for themselves in the future, which meant their lives would be much harder than those of other children. If they didn't endure hardship now, they would face endless suffering later.
These days, human trafficking is legal and regulated, and there are all sorts of shady places involved.
Song Jin looked at the children in the orphanage. Although their clothes were patched with various sizes, and some fabrics were even see-through, the children were all clean and had chubby faces, indicating that they had a good life.
The headmaster pulled them out to watch the other children being punished, and even though they were beaten like this, they weren't too terrified; some even seemed gloating. It was clear that children weren't usually punished like this.
It was clear that these punished children were repeat offenders. Although they cried louder and louder than the last, after being upside down for half an hour, apart from trembling hands, their complexions were perfectly normal, without any flushing or fainting—they definitely had a background in martial arts.
No wonder they were so bold as to go into the mountains, even trying to catch a tiger; they were clearly prepared. They were just a bit reckless and didn't realize that with their mediocre skills, going in would just be suicide missions.
Song Jin looked at Yang Youyang, the village chief, and asked, "Does your orphanage teach martial arts?"
Yang Youyang smiled awkwardly: "Out-of-towners often pass through the village. Some guests, if they encounter difficulties on their journey, will stay in the village temporarily. They teach these children all sorts of things, from calligraphy and painting to tailoring, martial arts, etiquette and music, and carpentry. The children can learn something from whatever they touch."
The pressure of having so many children is still immense. Food and drink are manageable, but hiring a cook is expensive, and their skills aren't always up to par. So they took a different approach: targeting hotel guests, using persistent persuasion until they found someone with a soft heart.
Song Jin raised an eyebrow: "So your orphanage is practically an academy now?"
Yang Youyang modestly replied, "Not at all, not at all. We mostly learn miscellaneous things; not a single one of us is seriously studying."
Studying really depends on both talent and effort. Their orphanage has been running for so many years and hasn't produced many scholars; they're still far from it.
Seeing this, Song Jin turned to look at Qi Zheng, who nodded slightly. As they looked at each other, they tacitly dispelled their previous doubts.
It seems it really was just an accident.
Although the kids are mischievous, when I think back to my own childhood, what they're doing is nothing.
Meanwhile, Song Qingzhi and Song Anzhi emerged from the orphanage. Neither of them were interested in disciplining the child—mainly because it reminded them of their own childhood—so they simply took a stroll inside.
The orphanage was quite large, with children divided into several groups, each group starting at five years old. Generally, four to twelve children lived in each room, both inside and out. The rooms were spotless, and the beds were neatly arranged.
It was almost dinnertime, and the rice was being cooked in the kitchen.
The staple food was simple cornmeal and sorghum porridge, and the side dishes were some cold wild vegetables, boiled cabbage, and mushroom soup with a few slices of meat, along with a large bowl of wild fruit. It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad either.
These days, most ordinary people's homes are like this.
This orphanage is really well done.
Song Qingzhi was a businessman and knew the ins and outs of the business inside and out. If it were truly a shady operation that made money off children, it certainly wouldn't be like this.
He came out, looked at the children still hanging upside down beside him, walked up to Yang Youyang, and said, "Do you have the orphanage's ledger? I'd like to donate some money so the children can have warmer clothes and blankets when the seasons change and it gets colder."
Yang Youyang stared at his signature green eyes for a moment, then gave him a deep bow.
"I am deeply grateful for the Fifth Young Master's great kindness. Although it is somewhat difficult to say, I am indeed worried about the future survival of the children in the orphanage after Lord Song's accident."
Song Qingzhi was taken aback: "What do you mean?"
Yang Youyang smiled wryly: "Fifth Young Master, don't you know? The orphanage has been funded and cared for by Lord Song all these years."
Song Qing subconsciously looked at Song Anzhi
The two brothers remained silent for a long time.
They were also adopted by Song Shang.
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