38: Chapter 38 Peaceful Orphanage

With no classes in the afternoon, Chen Mo carried two large black plastic bags and headed to Pingan Orphanage.

Pingan Orphanage became Chen Mo's new home after his parents passed away.

It was the place that had accompanied him for ten whole years, starting from when he was ten years old; it could truly be considered Chen Mo's second home.

He rang the doorbell, and the elderly security guard at the entrance set down his thermos.

Seeing that it was Chen Mo, he immediately unlocked the gate and asked with a beaming smile,

"Chen Mo, here to see the kids again?"

"Yeah, Uncle Zhang. I brought you a carton of cigarettes. It's nothing fancy, but it'll do."

Chen Mo took a carton of cigarettes out of the plastic bag and handed it to Uncle Zhang.

Uncle Zhang took the cigarettes, his tea-stained teeth showing as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh my, there's no need to bring me anything every time you come. It's not easy living on your own; you should buy yourself some good food instead."

Uncle Zhang pulled open a drawer, took out two packs of beautifully packaged Soft Chunghwa cigarettes, and slapped them into Chen Mo's palm.

"This… Uncle Zhang, I'm so embarrassed. These cigarettes are so expensive."

"Just take them, take them."

"Alright!" Chen Mo nodded.

The cigarettes he gave Uncle Zhang cost 120 yuan, while the two packs of Soft Chunghwa were worth 136 yuan; he had essentially earned 16 yuan in the exchange.

Before him stood a small, two-story white building. Although the space wasn't large, it could accommodate 50 orphans.

After Chen Mo walked in, a large group of children immediately surrounded him.

"It's Brother Chen Mo!"

"Brother Chen Mo is here to bring us yummy food again!"

"Hurry, hurry!"

A large group of little boys and girls, their running accompanied by their own sound effects, pushed open the orphanage gate, their faces brimming with joy.

A 40-year-old woman followed behind them. She picked up a little boy who had fallen to the ground from over-excitement and walked toward Chen Mo as well.

The fastest little boy, sporting a mushroom haircut, had his fists clenched tight, his eyes filled with anticipation.

Chen Mo patted his little head, took a hamburger out of the plastic bag, and handed it to him.

The little boy took it and hugged it to his chest.

To him, this hamburger was like some priceless treasure that had to be cherished.

Before Chen Mo could react, a little girl with pigtails suddenly tackled him to the ground.

The little girl wrapped her chubby hands tightly around Chen Mo's waist, burying her little head into his chest, her cheeks flushed red.

"Brother Chen Mo, I missed you so much!"

"Xiaoyu, have you been studying hard lately?"

"Of course! I can do multiplication now! One times one is one, two times two is four!"

Hearing Xiaoyu recite the multiplication table, Chen Mo couldn't help but think of the Vending Machine Ghost.

"Vending Machine Ghost, if we meet again next time, I'll teach you what the 'chickens and rabbits in the same cage' problem is."

"Xiaoyu is amazing." Chen Mo also patted Xiaoyu's little head.

The surrounding children all climbed onto Chen Mo, as if he were a giant toy, bullying this adult who was much taller than them.

This group of children found it very fun.

"Stop messing around, you little rascals. Do you still want to eat hamburgers or not?" Chen Mo threatened them directly with the gifts.

The little girl who was grabbing Chen Mo's bangs, preparing to braid two horns on top of his head, immediately let go.

She stood obediently on the ground, revealing a very healing and innocent smile.

"Brother Chen Mo, we want to eat hamburgers!" A little girl with a mushroom cut in the front, sucking on her finger, had drool almost dripping down to her chin.

"I really can't do anything with you guys. Is Brother handsome?" Chen Mo asked.

"Handsome!" the children shouted in unison.

"Is Brother smart?"

"Smart!"

"Be good and line up. One by one." Chen Mo waved his arms, striking a pose like a pilot taking off.

The children immediately and obediently formed a line.

Chen Mo took a hamburger out of the large black plastic bag and was just about to hand it to Xiaoyu, who was at the front of the line.

It was snatched away by a pair of hands.

His gaze followed the hand wearing a purple ring as it moved upward, and Chen Mo's eyes successfully locked onto the owner of the hand.

"Ah, Director Li, you're here too!" Chen Mo straightened up and scratched his head in slight embarrassment.

Li Li stood with her hands on her hips, looking quite aggressive.

A little boy with a pacifier in his mouth was sitting on her shoulder; he threw the pacifier at Chen Mo.

Gripping the hamburger, Li Li scolded him in a critical tone: "Chen Mo, how many times have I told you not to feed them this junk food? They are still growing."

When the surrounding children saw that Director Li had arrived, they all hid behind Chen Mo.

Although their eyes were full of reluctance, they still obediently placed all the hamburgers Chen Mo had given them on the ground.

There was no helping it; here, even if an alien came, they would have to listen to Li Li.

Li Li, the director of Pingan Orphanage. Although she was over 40, she was still full of charm, perfectly defining what a mature, attractive auntie is.

"But Director Li, these hamburgers... I made them myself." Chen Mo pointed to the packaging bag clutched in Li Li's hand.

Li Li was a bit surprised upon hearing this.

She immediately opened the bag and took a look; sure enough, the lettuce and tomatoes inside were very fresh, and the meat wasn't too greasy.

There was no ketchup, only a bit of soy sauce for seasoning.

"Because last time I bought them hamburgers, you scolded me, so this time I cooked them myself. Children's taste buds aren't fully developed yet; they just think eating a hamburger is a happy experience."

"And... buying them outside is too expensive. It's better if I make them myself, and I can save a lot of money, hehe." Chen Mo laughed.

"This!" Knowing that these hamburgers were handmade by Chen Mo, Li Li was at a loss for what to do.

"Auntie, this is Brother Chen Mo's hard work."

"Yeah, yeah! Auntie, if you don't let us eat them, you're the big villain from the cartoons!"

"Alright, fine... I've been outsmarted by you kid again." Li Li smiled and nodded.

"Yay!" The children all jumped up happily.

Seeing them eating the burgers he made, with genuine expressions of happiness on their faces, Chen Mo also smiled.

Of course, Chen Mo had also bought gifts for these little ones.

"Wow!" Seeing the beautiful gift boxes Chen Mo took out of the plastic bag, the children all excitedly circled around him.

Xiaoyu couldn't wait to open hers, but upon seeing the line of text written on it, her expression changed drastically.

"Elementary School Math Exercise Book?"

"Don't want your child to fall behind others?"

"Learning programming starts from childhood!"

Seeing book after book related to studying inside, the children instantly felt the hamburgers didn't taste as good anymore.

"Brother Chen Mo, can we not have this gift?"

"Of course you can, but if anyone can learn everything inside before I come next time, I'll consider giving them a toy car model or a Barbie doll."

"I must study hard! Improve every day!"

Hearing Chen Mo's guiding words, a few little boys all started fighting over the math problems.

"Chen Mo, I'm not as good as you, sigh... Every time you come, these little brats fall in love with studying." Li Li shook her head.

"It's just a few little tricks." Chen Mo looked at those happy backs. "I am their senior, so naturally, I hope to see them grow up healthy."

"Just bringing some things is enough. Although the orphanage is short on funds right now, it hasn't reached the point where we can't put food on the table."

Li Li grabbed Chen Mo's hand and returned the bank card to him.