Director Yang nodded slightly, not asking any more questions about her mother. He arranged the work for the day. "We haven't finished checking yesterday's statistics yet. You take care of that first. Then, come with me to the orphanage in the city to conduct research."
"Do an investigation?" Gong Linglong raised his eyebrows.
"Some time ago, some corrupt officials took advantage of the relief food, causing orphanages and other places to be starved of food. We are going to investigate the actual situation."
Seeing that the leaders had begun investigating the matter, Gong Linglong immediately seized the opportunity to submit a report: "Before I came to work here, I visited an orphanage. Those children were so pitiful. They couldn't even have thick porridge to drink. There were only a few grains of rice in a large pot of vegetable porridge. The director told me that food was often in short supply and they couldn't even afford to eat. The thin porridge that they had was obtained by the children begging."
"Is it so serious?" The faces of several leaders changed.
Gong Linglong nodded repeatedly, and said angrily, "It's very serious. The dean told me that the food has been in arrears for more than just the past two months. It's a regular arrears. The food supply is always insufficient, and we have to worry about food for at least ten days every month."
"I went to the orphanage that day and bought them a bag of food and some vegetables. The director said they could survive for a week."
"When I went back the following week, the director told me that officials from the subdistrict office said they couldn't supply food, and they had to figure out a solution on their own for the next month."
"The director also told me that it wasn't just them. The Glorious Home and the Nursing Home were all the same. They were all out of food. If I hadn't sent some food over, they would have had to go out begging en masse."
After she finished, Secretary Yan slammed the bowl on the table, his face gloomy. "Director Xiao, Director Yang, and Deputy Director Liang, the three of you will take Xiao Gong, Xiao Li, and Xiao Qin out for an investigation today. You will be assigned to different areas and investigate the matter in detail. Submit the results to my office before leaving get off work."
"good."
Since they had something to do, everyone quickened their eating pace and immediately went their separate ways after finishing their meal.
Gong Linglong and Director Yang were in a group. They were in charge of the orphanage and the Glorious Home that Gong Linglong had donated to. She rode a bicycle with Director Yang and went straight to the orphanage.
"elder sister."
Xiaojiu had just returned from collecting firewood outside. When he saw her, he smiled and was no longer as timid and fearful as when they first met. He happily told her, "Sister, we have food. The PLA uncles sent us a lot of food. We won't starve anymore."
As long as they were not hungry, the children were very happy. Gong Linglong felt sad when she saw this and reached out to touch his head: "You will never be hungry again."
After that, he asked him, "Xiaojiu, is the director's grandmother here?"
"Yes, I'll go call her."
Xiaojiu glanced secretly at Director Yang, then ran into the yard with firewood on his back.
The dean came out quickly and saw Gong Linglong with a smile on his face: "Xiao Gong, I heard that you found a job and started working?"
"Dean, how do you know?" Gong Linglong was slightly surprised.
"Your mother came over the evening of the day before yesterday. She said she had received her salary and bought us a few pounds of fat meat. She also weighed out three pounds of meat for us to eat. The children were very happy."
The dean had been gloomy a few days ago, but now that the food problem has been solved, the heavy burden on his heart has been lifted. Today, he smiled easily. Seeing that she had brought someone with her, he quickly asked, "Xiao Gong, who is this comrade?"
"Director, this is Director Yang from the Civil Affairs Department, my superior. I'm here with Director Yang today to investigate the orphanage."
Upon hearing that it was the leader of the Civil Affairs Department, the dean hurried forward and said, "Hello, Director Yang."
"Dean Fang, thank you for your hard work over the years."
Director Yang stepped forward to shake her hand and apologized, "I'm sorry. It was our negligence that allowed corrupt officials to take advantage of the situation, leaving the children hungry."
The dean didn't understand what he meant and turned his head to look at Gong Linglong.
Seeing that the children were hiding in the house and peeking, Gong Linglong said, "Dean, let's go inside and talk. I'll tell you in detail later."
"Okay." The dean quickly invited the two into the house.
There were two large bunk beds in the room, which were simple but quite tidy. However, the quilts on the beds were so worn out that they were unsightly. The children's clothes were patched up with patches on top of each other. They all looked pale and thin, as if they were malnourished.
Director Yang was heartbroken to see these children shyly hiding in the corner when they saw her. She sat down casually on the bench and said, "Dean Fang, please sit down too. I'm here to understand the situation today. I'll ask you some questions later. Please tell me the truth and I'll arrange to resolve them as soon as possible."
Gong Linglong sat beside her, nodded to the dean imperceptibly, and took out a notebook to take notes.
Director Yang is a diligent and rigorous person in his work. He conducted a very thorough investigation. In the morning, he only visited two places, the orphanage and the nearby Guangrongyuan. At noon, the two of them had some steamed buns and flower rolls, and then hurried to visit the third place.
When passing by Dongjiang Park, Director Yang remembered that Gong Linglong was going to give her mother steamed buns, and said, "Xiao Gong, go to the South Gate. You go give your mother steamed buns, and I'll go visit the elders."
"Director Yang, are your elders also in the sanatorium?" Gong Linglong asked.
"He is an old friend of my father. I go to visit him during the holidays." Director Yang replied simply.
Normally, outsiders are not allowed to enter the nursing home, but they had work permits and were visiting their elders and relatives, so they registered their information at the door and were allowed in.
"mom."
Bai Shuixian was eating at the dormitory door with a bowl in her hand. Seeing her daughter coming, she stood up with a smile on her face: "Linglong, why are you here? Have you eaten yet?"
"I've eaten. I'll bring you some steamed buns."
Gong Linglong came over with a small basket. She picked out two vegetarian dishes, a small portion of white tofu, and a small portion of carrots. She said, "Mom, you should eat better every day. Buy some meat dishes and don't be so frugal."
"Don't worry, I usually eat pretty well. I was busy a little late today, and the canteen ran out of meat dishes, so I bought two vegetarian dishes."
Bai Shuixian pulled her into the house. She lived in a small single room, only seven or eight square meters. It had a bed and a desk, and was very clean. She pulled her to sit on the bed and asked, "Linglong, is there something you need today?"
"Nothing special, I really came to give you some Hanamaki."
Gong Linglong handed her the small basket and took out a few boiled eggs from the space, peeling them while talking to her.
Seeing that she was passing by for work, Bai Shuixian waited for her to finish speaking before urging her: "Linglong, go to work quickly and don't keep your boss waiting. We can talk about other things when we get home the day after tomorrow."
"No rush, I have an appointment with Director Yang. We will meet at the door in ten minutes."
Gong Linglong put the eggs in her bowl and whispered to her about the donated food and the changes in the space.
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