Chapter 1195 — Give Me One Too
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Sitting in the car, Yu Xiaoke told Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu a great deal about the orphanage, about how pitiful the children there were; but no words could match the shock of seeing it with one's own eyes.
If Wei Zhao had not wanted to come here today, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu might never in their lives have known that such an orphanage existed in Songshan City. They had donated money often enough in the past, but always to remote mountain regions; never once had they imagined that in a bustling city like Songshan there could be a place this poor.
"It's pretty run-down, isn't it..." Yu Xiaoke said, a little embarrassed. These two were clearly rich young ladies; coming to a place like this, they surely would not be used to it.
"So this is the orphanage? Are there lots of children here? Do they live here every day?" Looking at the dilapidated state of the place, Gu Mengyao could not help asking.
"Yes, this is it!" Yu Xiaoke nodded. "The children really are pitiful. They've had no parents' love or care since they were small. The old director and I can only do our best to look after them... but the funds are limited, so their lives aren't very good either..."
Yu Xiaoke and the others had only just arrived when Xiaoken came running quickly out of the orphanage's red-brick house: "Sister Xiaoke, you're finally back. Xiaoyan has fainted!"
"What!" Yu Xiaoke was startled by Xiaoken's words. Xiaoyan had already had a fever when she left, and her spirits had not been good either. That was exactly why Yu Xiaoke had hurried out to find Er Gou Dan and borrow money. She had never expected that in such a short time Xiaoyan would collapse.
Wei Zhao and Er Gou Dan had by now gotten out of the car. Looking at the orphanage before him, Er Gou Dan believed Yu Xiaoke's words, and felt a little ashamed of his earlier misunderstanding of her. He was a kind-hearted man; had he known that Yu Xiaoke was using the money for these orphans, he would never have thought of making her pay it back at all. He would simply have given her the money.
Wei Zhao had heard Xiaoken's words as well. He said to him, "Take me to see her."
Xiaoken knew Wei Zhao, and this time he did not hesitate; he nodded and led Wei Zhao into the orphans' dormitory. The dormitory was a long, tube-shaped room of the sort found in factories, with dozens of beds laid out in a single hall. The building was old and the bed frames were mottled with rust, but the bedding was all folded neatly.
On one of the beds further inside, Wei Zhao saw Xiaoyan.
The little girl was perhaps ten years old. To be doing the cooking in the kitchen at such a tender age was hard on her. But that was how things were at the orphanage; there was no spare money at all to hire workers, and most of the daily chores were done by Xiaoken and the children. After all, Yu Xiaoke had to earn money, and the old director's health was poor.
Right now the girl's face was somewhat purplish-blue, her forehead hot, and her whole body's muscles were somewhat spasming. Wei Zhao reached out to examine the girl's tongue coating, then felt her pulse, and breathed a sigh of relief: "It can be diagnosed as tetanus. I'll treat the wound first, then write a prescription. Yaoyao, you and Xiaoshu go to the pharmacy and get the medicine for me?"
"Okay!" Gu Mengyao nodded without hesitation. The scene at the orphanage had truly moved her. Earlier she had not quite believed it, but now that she was here, seeing Xiaoyan on the sickbed, she understood how hard and bitter these children's lives were. If she could help them, of course Gu Mengyao would do so without hesitation.
Gu Mengyao had even decided that from now on, her allowance would all be donated to this orphanage, so that she might do her part for these children as much as she could.