The door of the courtyard house has been welded dead

"If you are healthy, it's your turn to adopt someone else, but he's already been taken away~!"

The staff at the orphanage looked at the couple at the door with smirks on their faces, took a quick look at them, and sneered.

The couple were in their thirties or so, dressed decently and looked like they had read some books. The woman was more reserved, and when she heard someone say that, she subconsciously pulled her husband's arm, probably feeling embarrassed.

"I'm telling you, you're not the only one who wants to adopt. They've all registered and are waiting in line. You can either register as well, and then we'll contact your unit and notify you when a suitable one is found, or...!"

The staff has seen a lot of couples like this. Either the man has health problems or the woman has health problems. Divorce is like a shackle now. Not everyone gets divorced because of this. Of course, there are also those who get divorced. It all depends on the loyalty of the couple. It's hard to say for sure.

It is not easy to find a suitable adoption. After all, it is not like in the past few years, when families could not afford to raise the children, they would just find a place to abandon them, and finally they would end up in an orphanage.

It's not that they really can't afford to raise their children, but if they don't have enough food to feed them, no mother would give away her own flesh and blood for nothing. Of course, there are some children who are born with disabilities.

There are some problems with the eyes, arms, and head, and if there is no immediate examination, it is not surprising that the baby will be born in any way if the pregnant woman is malnourished. Not everyone gives birth in the hospital, and without records, it is more likely to be lost.

The male comrade felt aggrieved for a moment, and when he heard about registration and notifying the unit, he trembled even more.

I was somewhat worried. If the call was made to my workplace, it would be embarrassing for either the man or the woman. Who knows what colleagues would say behind my back? It would break my spine.

"Comrade, that is, is there anyone older who can accept it?"

The man gritted his teeth and ignored his wife's pulling. His bottom line was lowered a little, and there was a hint of pleading in his tone.

"Zhihong, mom said we can't keep a child who's older. He'll remember things when he's sensible, and we can't keep him well~!"

The female comrades were all a little anxious and covered their faces for fear of being seen by passers-by. They probably felt embarrassed.

The staff member's expression didn't change at all. Perhaps they had heard similar words countless times while working here. They understood it, but they also couldn't help but ridicule.

"You insist on wanting a boy. What's this thing saying? Is there a throne in the family?"

"Whose boy wouldn't be a treasure? The girl still loves him when he grows up. There's an eleven-year-old boy. He's twelve this year and was sent here. He's in great health~!"

With a wry smile on his face, the staff member remembered the one that had been delivered recently, which was chubby, edible, and not at all restless.

"That's right~!"

"Her mother committed a crime and was targeted. You guys...!"

"Forget it, forget it, thank you, thank you comrade~!"

When the couple heard the last sentence, they were dumbfounded. The man couldn't stand it anymore, waved his hands, and fled out of the welfare home with his wife in a panic as if escaping.

"Be healthy, boy. I hate those who favor boys over girls. Humph!"

After closing the door, the staff looked at the children in the room, listened to their healing laughter like silver bells, sighed helplessly, and a hint of softness and numbness appeared on their faces.

Logically speaking, for example, the orphanage always hopes that there will be more loving people like the couple who adopt children, so that every orphan here can feel the warmth of home.

But not all couples are as happy as imagined. Many are forced by the environment. They can't stand the gossip about not having children, so they come here and still avoid people like thieves.

They may not have a strong sense of responsibility, and may not treat the adopted child as their own after taking the child home. This is especially true if an accident occurs and they have another child. That would be even more tragic. They may even insist on sending the adopted child back.

Especially the older generation, don't talk about gender equality, they don't believe it at all. They are influenced by feudal ideas and prefer boys to girls, which leads to more girls being lost.

There are liberated couples who don’t mind whether it’s a boy or a girl and who sincerely want to take one home. The people in the orphanage can see that and welcome them with open doors.

Just like what I did just now, I came here on impulse and wanted to take a boy home to raise. The healthy and young ones had already been taken away by those who were truly willing to register.

Just like in the afternoon, near Wangfu# department store, another girl, another six-year-old, was sent here by a kind-hearted person. As a female, she really couldn’t accept this.

But you still have to accept it.

As the sky gradually darkened, the staff comforted the crying children and, after dinner, told them stories to put them to sleep.

This job truly tests human nature and patience. The methods are different for different age groups, and it is even more difficult to manage those who are a little older.

"Jia Geng, Jia Geng~!"

"Where has this kid gone again~!"

In the corridor, the teachers' voices all sounded a little impatient. This job was stressful enough. One person had to look after a classroom of 20 or 30 children. When they encountered older or naughty ones, it was even more worrying.

Some of them are old and don’t want to stay here anymore, so they climb over the wall and run away secretly. Some can come back, but some can’t, and we don’t have the energy to take care of them.

As night falls.

The little angels curled up their bodies and lay obediently on the kang in rows, listening very well to the teacher.

Don't think that children are ignorant. In fact, when they grow up a little, they will already read the adults' expressions. Teachers will like obedient children. Even if it is just a little bit of love, it is what they strive for. Having lost the love of their parents, they stay here cautiously, hoping that one day, the teacher will come with their own parents and take them to a warm home.

"Go to sleep, go to sleep, my dear baby~!"

Amid the gentle singing, the little angels fell asleep. The teacher checked the quilt and then closed the door.

On the top of the orphanage's brick wall, a dark shadow stepped on the upper half of the hollow wall. With his red, frozen hands, he pushed hard, and the accumulated snow on the wall fell down.

"Bang~!"

With the heavy sound of the floor falling to the ground, Banggeng's shrewd eyes swept across the empty yard.

“I’m back, I’m back~!”

A few children, about the same age as Banggeng, both boys and girls, came out from somewhere. They heard the sound of the ground falling.

"Did you bring food?"

"Sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes, all here, roasted~!"

He opened his cotton-padded jacket and all the food in his arms fell onto the snow. Banggeng looked at the children who gathered around him, and felt a little proud as they couldn't wait to pick up the food and put it into their mouths.

They were all teenagers, not small in stature, and one of them had a disabled arm, but they wolfed down the food that Banggeng brought back without even wiping off the carbon ash on it.

The orphanage does have one meal in the evening, but for children of their age, if they finish eating at six o'clock, they will be hungry at nine.

"I'm telling you guys, if you hang out with me, you'll be guaranteed to have delicious food and drinks. I've even brought you whips. Tomorrow, when I go out again, who of you will come with me... to ride a bicycle? The total is fifty yuan...!"

It hasn't been long since then, and Banggeng, who was beaten black and blue, has become the leader among the kids. I don't know if it's because of his uncle Zhuzi's savings, but he has grown taller and gradually gained weight again.

They had almost finished eating and discussing, and a group of young boys sneaked into the house.

Until the lights in the corridor suddenly turned on.

"This afternoon, a kind-hearted person brought back a girl. She had pigtails and double eyelids. She was very pretty~!"

"Yes, yes, it's my daughter. It must have been her mother who did it for her~!"

"You are so grown up, how can you be so careless? Where did you lose it? What color is the child's hairband?"

"Red, red, her mother likes red. There were too many people buying things at that time, and they got squeezed and dispersed without paying attention~!"

"Then you have to thank the kind-hearted people for not running into a human tooth. Otherwise, if you were to be killed, you wouldn't have any place to cry~!"

Under the window sill, a few half-grown children heard the noise in the house and suddenly became quiet. They looked at each other and were all silent. Some even almost cried and could only cover their mouths.

A situation like tonight's might be a dream they have had countless nights ago. It is very similar: their parents did not lose them on purpose, they just got separated from them and they haven't found them yet.

Just didn't find them.

Unlike the other children hiding under the windows, Banggeng had a blank expression on his face.

He knew that he was not abandoned. Others still had hope and a thought that one day they could find their lost parents, but there was no hope for him.

His father, Jia Dongxu, had been dead for several years, and his mother, Qin Huairu, was a spy and was shot to death. He saw it with his own eyes.

His home is gone and he can never go back.

But Sha Zhu had at least taught him some skills, such as climbing through windows, breaking into doors, and picking locks. He wanted to develop these skills here and lead the team to move on from here.

"Baby, Daddy is here to take you home~!"

The teacher yawned and took the comrade to a classroom. After matching the color and style of the clothes, the child's name, and the unit's name were all arranged, the child could be taken away.

Who knew that at the door of the classroom, the male comrade was caught off guard, bent down, clapped his hands gently, and said this.

It's too late to stop it.

There is nothing wrong with saying this. It shows that the father loves his child and feels guilty about his lost child, so he tries to make up for it with a gentle voice.

But you have to know, there are twenty or thirty children in this classroom!

After hearing what the man said, the sleeping little angels all climbed up from the kang at the same time. In the dark night, pairs of eyes full of hope all looked towards the door.

This scene is undoubtedly suffocating... (End of this chapter)