After finishing their morning work, Yan Heqing and the store manager took the afternoon off.
After the rain stopped, Yan Heqing still took an umbrella with him as usual.
Rainbow Bridge Welfare Home is half an hour away from the nearest subway station. When we exited the subway station, the road surface was still wet and puddled with water. The first few streets were fine, but when we turned into a small road, the road condition worsened.
The half-dug road is covered with yellow mud and dirty water. All the shops on the roadside are very dilapidated. Most of them have closed down. Only a few small shops are still open.
One of them is a convenience store.
Yan Heqing pushed the door open and walked in. The boss was the cashier and was watching a TV show. The sound of a woman crying on the computer was so engrossed that the boss didn't even react when the guests came.
Yan Heqing took the largest shopping basket and walked to the shelf. He didn't look at the brand and started taking it from the first row.
Bread, biscuits, wafers, chocolate... and fresh yogurt.
Yan He clearly remembered that Lin Fengzhi used to like strawberry yogurt, which was sour and sweet, with a little bit of strawberry pulp. Every time Lin Fengzhi would lick the box clean, and then look at him eagerly, "Brother, I still Want to eat!"
Every time he would save his own money and leave it to Lin Fengzhi.
Yan Heqing took many boxes of yogurt, of various flavors, with large pulp, and two boxes of pure milk.
When he went to check out with his things, the boss was shocked.
This street used to be prosperous, but it has declined in the past ten years. There is basically no business, and everything is sold to neighbors. The reason why she still runs this small shop is because she owns the shop space and does not need to rent. , I can't rent it out anyway, so if I open my own shop, I can barely make enough money to make a living in a day.
This is a big list that I haven't had in a long time!
The boss smiled happily and gave Yan Heqing a few dollars.
"Welcome next time!"
Yan Heqing walked out of the convenience store carrying two large plastic bags in his left hand and two boxes of milk in his right hand.
Continue walking along the road for about two hundred meters, and at the end is the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Institute.
It used to be a large-scale welfare home with a large front door, but now there is only one old man in the guard booth.
Yan Heqing wanted to register, but the old man didn't even raise his head. He lowered his head to light the stove and said, "Come in directly."
Yan Heqing entered the orphanage. It had just rained and the playground was very quiet. No one was running around outside.
But even if the weather is nice, no one will actually be running outside.
As long as the orphans who come to the orphanage are healthy and have sound limbs, they will be adopted soon. Most of the remaining orphans are children with physical disabilities or mental problems.
There are very few staff in the welfare home. One person has to take care of a large group of children. Just taking care of them three meals a day is a headache, and they rarely let them out for playground activities.
Moreover, the playground is just a bare, relatively large cement floor. There are no slides or other recreational facilities that children like, and there is no sports equipment.
Just like in Yan Heqing's memory.
Yan Heqing walked under a roof and the ground was clean. He put down the snacks and milk and called the contact person, "Hello, I'm at the orphanage."
"You walk straight in from the gate and see a light blue five-story building. Go up to the second office on the second floor."
Yan Heqing picked up his things again and continued walking for a few minutes until he came across the light blue building.
It was quiet all the way up. The door of the second office on the second floor was open, and a man in his early forties was sitting in front of the computer.
Yan Heqing stopped at the door and said politely, "Hello, I am Yan Heqing."
The man raised his head and caught a glimpse of what Yan He was carrying. He tapped his chin on the coffee table and said, "Put the things over there. Come and talk."
Yan Heqing put away his things and walked to the desk. There was a chair prepared for visitors. Yan Heqing opened it and sat down.
While Yan Heqing entered the house, the man kept looking at him and sighing silently in his heart.
This boy is more delicate and beautiful than the ID photo, with tender skin and tender flesh. Can he do the hard work of an orphanage?
In the past few years, there has been an endless stream of college students applying to be volunteers, some to earn credits, some fresh, and some who really want to do charity.
But without exception, I couldn't get in touch after a few visits.
Men understand too.
The children left in the orphanage are different from normal children. They are simply deaf and mute, which is the best situation. Most of them cannot take care of themselves. They are children with Down syndrome who have low intelligence and cerebral palsy. Some children also hit people and throw things. , yelling and cursing all night long.
As long as they are old employees, they just want to work hard, otherwise they really can't stay, which will be both physical and mental torture.
The man had already concluded that Yan Heqing wouldn't come a few times, but he still followed the procedure and asked again while typing on the keyboard. "Your resume says you are a student of Beijing University. Is this a one-time study or a long-term study?"
"long."
The man thought he heard wrongly. He stopped typing and turned his head to look at Yan Heqing, "Long term?"
Yan Heqing nodded calmly. "Well, long term."
The man looked at Yan Heqing in wonder for a while. After a while, he turned off the computer, stood up and said, "Well, I'll take you for a walk first, and then you can answer me after you look at it."
The man helped carry a bag of snacks and a box of pure milk, and led Yan Heqing to the third floor. "Our accommodation here is divided into three floors, and the floors are allocated according to different situations."
"The higher you go, the less ideal the children's conditions are, such as epilepsy and very serious mental illnesses, especially girls. Most of them are congenital, and a small part are acquired."
"These children have usually been abused and abandoned, and have severe psychological shadows, so they are very wary and repulsive towards us. Two days ago, a child scratched our art teacher until he bled..."
We were introduced to the third floor. From this floor onwards, iron doors were added to the stairwell. This floor was not locked, and the sound of laughter and slapstick could be vaguely heard.
The man walked towards the first room skillfully, "The children on this floor are relatively easy to take care of. Some are less courageous. If you take the initiative, it will be easier for them."
Opening the door, there were about thirty children inside, with a higher proportion of girls. When they saw Yan Heqing, they all looked over curiously. When they saw the snacks he was carrying, their eyes shone with desire.
They rarely see snacks, and occasionally groups or caring individuals donate, and it only comes once every few months.
A few brave ones had already rushed over, calling Yan Heqing enthusiastically.
"Welcome brother!"
"Hello, brother!"
...
Most of them were timid, hiding behind and watching Yan Heqing quietly.
"Come on, come on, this is the bread and milk that this brother brought for you..." The man put the things on the table and called to the children who took the initiative, "Stand in a row and line up to get them."
Yan Heqing took the initiative to distribute them to those introverted children.
The man observed silently, and was a little surprised to see Yan Heqing communicating with the introverted child calmly and skillfully. He did not expect that this young man was really patient. Seeing this, the man began to hope that Yan Heqing could stay after the visit. As a long-term volunteer, the welfare home is really in need of volunteers, and the children are also in need of fresh teachers.
After handing out the things, Yan Heqing told a few stories to the children, and everyone listened attentively.
Time passed little by little, and the man decided to take Yan Heqing to the fourth floor to have a look.
When they got to the fourth floor, the iron door was locked. The man made a phone call, and a gray-haired woman came to open the door. She was wearing an apron and dyed with large patches of paint. She glanced at Yan Heqing and said: "What's going on? Teacher Xu is in class."
The man didn't come in. "The new volunteer, show him around."
The woman smiled, "That's strange, I haven't had any volunteers for a long time."
Yan Heqing nodded politely, "Hello, my name is Yan Heqing."
The woman smiled back at him, "Just call me Aunt Zhang."
The man handed the remaining snacks and milk to Yan Heqing, "You and Sister Zhang have a look on the fourth floor. When you are done, come to me on the second floor."
The man went downstairs first. Yan Heqing stepped into the iron door. Aunt Zhang locked the door again and walked to the front to introduce, "The children are in art class now. You can go in and hand out things after class."
"Okay." Yan Heqing replied.
Different from the bustle on the 3rd floor, the 4th floor is very quiet. There are about 20 easels in a very large classroom, and about a dozen children are painting quietly inside. At the front of the classroom, stands a tall and thin man. The woman is in her early 40s. She is wearing a blouse, holding a paint tray, and is teaching a little girl to color.
"That's Teacher Xu from the school, teaching art." Standing at the door, Aunt Zhang shook her head slightly, "Now she is the only teacher left in the orphanage. She has been working hard for more than ten years, and she doesn't want a salary."
Across the glass, Yan He looked at the woman quietly.
Xu Qiaoyin, Lu Muchi's biological mother.
Half an hour later, get out of class was finally over. With a rumble, the sky began to thunder again. Aunt Zhang knocked on the door gently and said, "Teacher Xu, there are volunteers here to distribute milk to the children."
When Xu Qiaoyin heard the stranger, she immediately lowered her head and quickly packed away her painting tools. Aunt Zhang was used to it, so she greeted Yan Heqing, "Come in with me."
Yan Heqing entered the classroom.
Compared with the 3rd floor, the children on the 4th floor are quieter because most of them are deaf-mute children.
Yan Heqing distributed bread and milk to them one by one along the drawing board. When he got to the last girl, Yan Heqing handed something to her. She took it but didn't eat it and put it carefully into her pocket.
"Aren't you hungry?" Yan Heqing gestured.
The girl stared at Yan Heqing's lips and started signing nervously.
"You... want to bring..." Yan Heqing carefully identified, "for your... good friend?"
The girl's eyes were bright, and she nodded vigorously this time.
At this time, Aunt Zhang came over. She saw the little girl's bulging pockets and said with a smile: "She is good friends with a little girl on the fifth floor. She wants to leave it to her."
Yan Heqing's eyebrows were a little gentler, and he gave the little girl another piece of bread and yogurt, "One for you and one for your good friend. You can eat it."
The little girl blinked happily and gestured in sign language, "Thank you, brother!"
All of this fell into Xu Qiaoyin's eyes.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier. When Yan Heqing returned to the second floor, it was already dark at around five o'clock in the afternoon and the lights were turned on.
"You've finished the tour." The man asked Yan Heqing, "Now tell me your answer. Do you want to come here for a long time?"
"Yes." Yan Heqing nodded, "I can come once a week."
The man was quite surprised and even more happy. The orphanage was really short of supplies and manpower. He extended his hand and said, "You are welcome to join."
The phone rang, and the man picked up the phone. After listening for a few seconds, his excitement was visible to the naked eye, "Dean, are you kidding me?"
"Haha no, I'm so happy."
"No problem, I'll do the statistics right away and send it to you."
After hanging up the phone, the man sat down and turned on the computer. After typing on the keyboard for a while, he realized that Yan Heqing was still there. He patted his forehead and said, "Look at me, I will forget about you if there is corporate sponsorship. I have nothing to do today. You can go back first. From now on, every week Just come and do it."
He opened the drawer and handed a blue work ID card to Yan Heqing, "Take the photo and name back and fill it in yourself."
Yan Heqing took the work permit, said goodbye and left the office.
There was no glass in the corridor, but a barbed wire fence. The heavy rain drifted into the corridor through the wire, and a lot of water had accumulated on the ground.
Yan Heqing went downstairs against the wall. As he approached the first floor, he saw Xu Qiaoyin's back.
Xu Qiaoyin stood under the eaves with her bag in hand, quietly looking at the heavy rain.
Suddenly, she was about to walk into the rain.
Yan Heqing trotted forward and said, "Teacher Xu." He opened the umbrella to cover Xu Qiaoyin's head.
Crackling.
The rain fell on the top of the umbrella.
When Xu Qiaoyin saw Yan Heqing, his pale face was a little at a loss.
She remembered that this boy was a new volunteer today. He looked...a few years younger than her son.
Thinking of Lu Muchi, Xu Qiaoyin forgot to run away for a moment, so Yan Heqing thrust the umbrella into her hand first, "It's raining heavily, please walk slowly, I'll leave first."
After Yan Heqing finished speaking, he put on his hat and ran forward into the rain.
"You..." Xu Qiaoyin wanted to catch up, but the boy ran very fast, and was gone in the rain in an instant, out of sight.
Xu Qiaoyin silently held the umbrella handle tightly, stepped into the rain, and left slowly.
At the same time, the door of the dean's office on the first floor opened, and the dean nodded and bowed to send Lu Lin out, "Mr. Lu, thank you so much for your enthusiastic support of Rainbow Bridge. We have been short of libraries and medical offices for many years, especially In the infirmary, there is an emergency..."
The dean stopped. He followed Lu Lin's gaze and looked into the heavy rain. He could only vaguely see a silhouette that was far away. The dean whispered, "Mr. Lu?"
Lu Lin withdrew his gaze and said, "My assistant will follow up later. If you have any needs, please contact him."
The dean was so happy that his eyes stopped laughing. "This is great."
The Maybach stopped in front of the dormitory building, and the driver got out of the car and opened an umbrella to pick up Lu Lin.
The dean sent Lu Lin into the car and left. Today, my heart was finally settled.
With hundreds of millions of subsidies, children will be guaranteed to read when they are sick in the future!
There is also a new dormitory building that can accommodate more orphans.
The dean touched his chest and thanked Lu Lin again.
...
After coming out of the orphanage, Yan Heqing was mostly wet. The rain was really heavy, so he ran to the convenience store and bought a jam bread and a bottle of water. He stood on the eaves in front of the convenience store to take shelter from the rain.
After tearing open the packaging bag, Yan Heqing quietly bit into the bread. What he got was blueberry jam bread, which was so sweet that Yan Heqing didn't like it, but he didn't want to waste food, so he chewed it slowly.
Not far away, the Maybach stopped slowly, the door opened, the driver opened his umbrella and trotted towards the convenience store.
Thinking that someone was coming to take shelter from the rain, Yan Heqing silently stepped aside and was eating bread. The driver ran to him with an umbrella and said with a smile: "Mr. Yan, my boss invites you to get in the car."
Yan Heqing was confused. Following the direction pointed by the driver, he saw a car parked on the side of the road, but the rain was too heavy and he could not see the license plate clearly.
Yan Heqing swallowed the bread and asked, "Who is your boss?"
The driver cautiously replied, "Mr. Lu."
Yan Heqing only knows one Mr. Lu, Lu Lin. Lu Muchi called Mr. Xiao Lu.
Meeting Lu Lin at the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Institution was outside of Yan Heqing's plan.
The original article did not mention whether Lu Lin knew about Xu Qiaoyin's whereabouts. Lu Lin had an indifferent relationship with his brother. He did not care about his family affairs at all, and he and Xu Qiaoyin only met once at the wedding.
But Yan Heqing speculated that with Lu Lin's skill, he must know that Xu Qiaoyin had been in the Rainbow Bridge Welfare Institution for the past ten years, but he didn't care.
Then why did Lu Lin appear here at this time?
Yan Heqing guessed and followed the driver to the car.
The driver opened the rear door, and Yan Heqing looked inside, and happened to meet Lu Lin's deep black eyes.
Yan Heqing looked down at his muddy shoes and trouser legs, but did not get in the car. "Mr. Lu, I unexpectedly ran into you here. Do you have anything to do with me?"
Lu Lin glanced at the young man's face, which was turning blue from the cold, his eyebrows slightly condensed, "Get in the car first."
Yan Heqing pursed his lips, "My shoes and pants are stained with mud."
"It doesn't matter." Lu Lin reached out and turned up the heating, "Get in the car."
Yan Heqing bent down and sat in, and immediately felt the warmth. He sat near the car door, where mud and water inevitably fell on the place where his shoes stepped.
The driver closed the door and ran back to the driver's seat. He started the car and asked, "Mr. Lu, do you still want to go home?"
Lu Lin looked at Yan Heqing. The light was dim before, but now he noticed that the boy's hair was like exploding popcorn. It was full of curls and looked a little more youthful than usual.
Lu Lin asked: "Where do you live?"
Yan Heqing didn't hesitate. Once he got in the car, he reported his address gracefully.
Lu Lin didn't need to speak, the driver immediately navigated.
Maybach continues to move forward in heavy rain.
The car became quiet again, and Yan Heqing's trouser legs kept dripping water. He lowered his head slightly, and his long eyelashes swept across his skin from time to time.
Lu Lin broke the silence first.
"I saw you in the orphanage."
Yan Heqing turned his head, his pupils reflecting the lights on the roof of the car, "Were you in the orphanage just now?"
"There is cooperation." Lu Lin said.
Yan Heqing nodded, the corners of his lips raised slightly, "I'm here to sign up as a volunteer. I've spent some time at the Rainbow Bridge before."
He didn't think it was a shameful thing, and said openly: "My parents died in an accident when I was very young, and my relatives were unwilling to take me in. It was the orphanage that temporarily adopted me."
Lu Lin was surprised that Yan Heqing's life experience was so bumpy, but there were traces to follow. If he didn't have to support himself, Yan Heqing wouldn't work around.
Besides, if Yan Heqing's parents were still alive, they would not be willing to spare his hard work.
Lu Lin was silent for a moment, then changed the topic, "Your hair is curly."
"Oh, yes." Yan Heqing had forgotten about this, and he smiled slightly, "My hair tends to be naturally curly when it is wet. I probably inherited it from my mother." There was nostalgia in his eyes, "I remember her hair. It's natural volume."
After getting in the car for a while, Yan Heqing's lips were still blue. Lu Lin took the thermos cup, unscrewed it, poured a cup of ginger tea and handed it to Yan Heqing, "I haven't drunk it before."
The implication is clean.
"Thank you." Yan Heqing took it and took a sip. It was a little hot and spicy, but it was very comfortable. His eyelashes trembled slightly, "The last time I was in the valley, it seemed to taste like this."
After a moment of silence, Lu Lin said: "Every time I see you, you are in trouble."
Yan Heqing smiled slightly and said, "Indeed, but believe it or not, I rarely get into trouble."
At this time, the driver finally found the opportunity to speak. "Mr. Lu, come downstairs to Mr. Yan."
The Maybach had been parked in the rain for a few minutes.
Lu Lin felt a little depressed.
So fast.
Just as his lips moved, Yan Heqing spoke first, "Mr. Lu, it's raining so hard, why don't you come to my house for a cup of hot water?"