Before everything goes out

Where did all these children come from?

While Li Fei was surprised, he also realized what was happening.

He had found it strange when he was walking around the village earlier. There were so many people in the village, but he hadn't seen a single child. It turned out they were all crammed together here.

At first glance, the age range is quite large.

The youngest was only one or two years old and walked unsteadily, while the oldest was around ten years old and already had a few pimples on his face.

Children of all ages, from kindergarten to primary school, can be seen here.

Men and women, tall and short.

The only thing they had in common was that they were all pale and thin, and their figures were a size smaller than the children of the same age that Li Fei remembered.

What is this?

Is this the children's welfare home in Shuanghe Village?

"Teacher Lin!"

"Teacher Lin is back!"

The children swarmed around Lin Wen, chattering excitedly.

Li Fei consciously took half a step back, making room for him.

It's clear that these kids aren't afraid of him.

Perhaps it's a case of ignorance is bliss, or more likely it's that they simply didn't know he was a "ringer".

"uncle."

Li Fei turned his head.

Unbeknownst to them, a quiet and well-mannered little girl had appeared amidst the lively atmosphere around Lin Wen.

She was eight or nine years old, with short hair, wearing a gray dress and small cloth shoes.

He was dressed in tattered clothes, but his eyes were bright.

The most striking feature was a red butterfly hair clip on her head. Although it was described as red, the red paint had been mostly worn away, revealing patches of dark red rust underneath.

It can be considered another kind of red.

"Uncle, how are you feeling?"

Bai Xiaowu stepped forward, her movements hesitant and timid.

"It's almost healed."

Li Fei nodded.

He realized what was happening the moment the other person spoke.

The little girl in front of him was the one who appeared with Lin Wen when he was unconscious...

That tone, that voice.

And that expression—a mixture of fear and courage.

It is clear.

Unlike other innocent and lively children, this little girl knew that he was "Huanzi" and even knew that her mother had been kidnapped by the original owner and was now missing and her fate unknown.

"Let's go inside and talk inside."

Lin Wen noticed this and, after glancing at Bai Xiaowu with a complicated expression, pulled Li Fei into the house.

Inside, things were not much different from what Li Fei had imagined.

It was a simple bungalow, a bit bigger than Wang Guodong's house, but much more cluttered.

There are three rooms in total.

Entering from the living room, the bedroom is on the left.

There were beds of all sizes, and the sheets on the beds were mixed together, but there was no strange smell.

As for the right side of the living room...

Still in the bedroom.

However, the previous bedroom belonged to the older children, while this one belonged to Lin Wen and the younger children.

A large bed was surrounded by several smaller beds.

In the corner by the window, there was a broken stroller with only three wheels left. Li Fei guessed that it probably belonged to the youngest child.

Aside from the two bedrooms, there is only the living room.

The living room was divided into three areas, but in reality, it was just a simple partition made of wood.

One area includes a blackboard for use in class.

One area includes a stove for cooking rice.

There is another area.

It was filled with all sorts of toys and odds and ends, making it a general area.

"This place isn't great, but it's not bad for one person to take care of so many children."

That's what Li Fei thought.

The world has ended, and life is already hard enough, let alone for a woman.

He definitely couldn't do that.

"Uncle is a friend of the village chief. He arranged for him to stay with us for two days. Everyone is very happy to welcome him."

Standing in the middle of the living room, Lin Wen introduced Li Fei like this.

The children glanced at Li Fei, clapped happily, and then asked him all sorts of questions.

such as.

How old is Li Fei?

Is Li Fei a good person or a bad person?

He was bombarded with all sorts of strange questions, and he was almost unable to answer them.

"Ah Xin, go and practice your writing."

"Er Ya, go play marbles."

"Stop crowding around Teacher Lin and Uncle, it's time to cook."

Bai Xiaowu called out and dispersed the children.

As the oldest child here, if the hut is truly considered a children's welfare home, and Lin Wen is the director, then she could be considered a deputy director.

Li Fei understood this.

In rural areas, when there isn't enough manpower to take care of children, older children usually take care of younger ones. Older women like this have to shoulder many of the responsibilities of parents.

After the children dispersed, Lin Wen went to the stove.

Li Fei followed behind her, intending to see if he could lend a hand and find out something along the way.

"Teacher Lin, these children are all..."

"They are all my students; I teach them to read."

Lin Wen moved nimbly.

Lifting the lid, you'll find a large pot of stewed cabbage and potatoes inside.

"Uh, that's not what I meant. I meant, whose children are these? Why are they all living here with you?"

Li Fei picked up a piece of firewood and threw it into the fire.

"orphan."

Lin Wen skillfully flipped the dishes.

"These children have no parents, so they all live with me. Now I'm kind of their...teacher and stepmother?"

Lin Wen smiled.

Li Fei nodded thoughtfully.

It turned out to be the case.

This room is full of orphans.

That makes sense, considering that there are left-behind children everywhere in these remote mountain villages.

After the disaster, the children's parents who were working away from home probably couldn't come back, which resulted in a group of orphans.

Then, these orphans were taken care of by the kind-hearted Lin Wen.

and many more.

Something seems off.

Li Fei frowned slightly, but quickly realized what was happening.

The disaster happened 10 years ago. The oldest of the children here is only seven or eight years old. In other words, all the children were born after the disaster, so there is no such thing as "left-behind children".

Whose children are these?

Where are the parents?

"It's Tai Sui."

Seemingly sensing Li Fei's confusion, Lin Wen took the initiative to explain.

"These are all children of the 'Tai Sui,' orphans from birth. God entrusted them to me, giving me an opportunity to do good."

"Tai Sui? Who's that?"

Li Fei was a little confused.

Born an orphan, meaning the parents died after giving birth?

How did the children in the back come about?

"It can't be explained in a few words, you'll understand later."

Lin Wen smiled.

The food in the pot was already heated up, steaming and smelling delicious.

Li Fei then realized that he hadn't eaten anything for several days, or at least hadn't eaten anything himself.

Although it was just cabbage and potatoes stew, with little oil, it still made his mouth water.

"Everyone's come over for dinner~"

The room wasn't big, but when Lin Wen called out, the children gathered around her again.

Once the dishes were served and the children had all settled into their seats, Li Fei counted that there were 11 children in the room.

I didn't notice it when we spread it out a moment ago, but now that they're all crammed together around the table, it's quite a sight.

"In Shuanghe Village, we thank 'Tai Sui' before meals. I'll say a line, and you repeat after me."

Lin Wen clasped her hands together and held the chopsticks between her two thumbs.

Li Fei didn't understand the situation, but he imitated her actions, just like the other children.

"Thank you, Tai Sui."

"Thank you for protecting Shuanghe Village, allowing us to have orderly seasons and abundant harvests."

Oh.

So that's what it means. It's a bit like Christian pre-meal prayer?

That's to be expected, since this place is dependent on the weather, and you can't really ignore these things.

Having figured out the situation, Li Fei followed behind Lin Wen and recited the poem with the children.

"Thank you for leading us through the dark wilderness."

"Thank you for dispelling the fog and illuminating the path ahead."

"We will cherish food, we will uphold human ethics, we will follow your guidance with piety, and we will fight against all evil in the long night..."

"Before everything goes out."