Chapter 105: Jingsi

“Director, let me do it. These little ones have been out playing all day, they must be exhausted,” Aunt Liu stepped forward and volunteered.

She was now a certified childcare worker officially employed at the orphanage.

Even her salary was now being paid by Director Lu.

Before, she had just been someone sent over by the Lu Family to help out, and her wages came from them—paid as a servant.

But ever since she got her childcare certification, her paycheck came from the orphanage.

And the orphanage paid her nearly two thousand yuan more than what she used to earn at the Lu Family.

That’s an extra two thousand a month, which adds up to twenty-four thousand more a year.

For someone working to make a living, who wouldn’t want to earn a bit more?

Back when she worked at the Lu Family, the atmosphere was fine.

There wasn’t any scheming or backstabbing.

But there were a lot of servants at the Lu Family, and she was just one of the many—nothing special.

Things were different at the orphanage.

There were only so many people here.

Everyone greeted her warmly as “Aunt Liu.”

She was surrounded by these adorable children.

Her workspace was the entire orphanage.

She was genuinely happy working here.

The duties of a childcare worker were actually quite varied, including but not limited to ensuring the children’s health and helping them with daily needs—feeding, changing diapers, bathing, and so on.

But the kids at the orphanage were all very independent. She hardly ever needed to do any of that.

Her daily routine mostly involved helping with cleaning, washing the children’s clothes, towels, and blankets, and disinfecting them.

Once she became familiar with the children’s eating and sleeping habits, she would assist Teacher Yuan with whatever she could.

She’d follow Director Lu to water the vegetable garden or feed the rabbits.

It wasn’t too busy, but it was fulfilling.

Of course she could handle something like making formula.

After all, she had raised her own little grandson by herself.

“Alright, then I’ll trouble you with it, Aunt Liu.”

“Vivi, you’re such a sweet and kind child. You’re really amazing.”

“But it’s too late today. Let Aunt Liu help this little brother with his formula.”

“Next time, when there’s a chance, we’ll let you do it.”

“Okay then.” Xu Wei nodded and turned her gaze to the child they had just taken in.

They had probably been picked up by Mama Wu in the same way, hadn’t they?

Their pasts… probably weren’t so great either.

They were all orphans. Children abandoned by their parents.

But it was okay.

Mama Wu and Mama Lu had both said it wasn’t their fault.

Maybe their parents had their own struggles, maybe something happened, and they had no choice but to leave them at the orphanage.

Or maybe their parents were just new to being people and hadn’t yet learned how to be decent, upright, and morally sound.

All of that… didn’t really matter.

Even though they didn’t have parents, they had a home.

The orphanage was their home.

They had Mama Lu, Teacher Yuan, Grandma Feng, Grandpa Zhao, Aunt Liu, Grandpa Zhang, Grandma Liu, and so many others.

They were all one big family.

They had brothers and sisters.

Everyone in the orphanage was a sibling to one another.

After Aunt Liu finished preparing the formula, she turned the bottle upside down and let a drop fall on the back of her hand.

Once she confirmed the temperature was right, she handed the bottle to Doctor Feng.

Doctor Feng, who was sitting and holding the child in her arms, began to feed him.

Sure enough, once the bottle touched his lips, the child finally stopped crying.

He lay quietly in Doctor Feng’s arms, drinking the milk one sip at a time.

“Grandma Feng, the little brother is so cute,” Xu Wei couldn’t help but say.

The child was thin and frail, but his skin was fair and tender, and his big black eyes sparkled with life.

When he looked at people, the corners of his eyes curved like he was smiling.

His little mouth moved as he drank, making soft smacking sounds—super adorable.

“Looking at him like this, he really is quite cute.”

“What a pity… sigh.” Doctor Feng couldn’t help but sigh again.

Such a beautiful little baby, yet already sick.

It really tugged at the heartstrings.

“Doctor Feng, at least he’s still alive. As long as he’s alive, there’s hope.”

“Given his condition, if we treat him properly and don’t give up, there’s still a chance he could recover, right?” Lu Qingqiang asked.

“There’s definitely hope. But the person taking care of him will need to be especially attentive and patient.”

“If he really does have developmental delays, even if surgery restores his right arm, the follow-up nutritional support and rehabilitation will be a long process.”

“Of course, that’s the worst-case scenario.”

“We’ll need to take him to the hospital for a full check-up to know exactly what’s going on.”

“Alright.”

“Teacher Yuan, take everyone back to wash up and get ready for bed.”

“I’ll stay here with Doctor Feng and wait for the police,” Lu Qingqiang said.

“Okay. Vivi, Orange, let’s head back~”

“Director, I’ll take everyone back to rest then.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Not long after Yuan Yuan left with the Little Radish Heads, the police arrived.

They asked questions, took photos, investigated, and reviewed the surveillance footage.

The cameras had indeed captured the moment the child was abandoned.

It was a woman dressed entirely in black.

She wore a hood attached to her black clothing and a black mask over her face.

She appeared thin and frail.

After placing the child at the orphanage gate, she didn’t leave immediately.

She squatted in front of the child, covering her mouth and staring at him for a long time.

From the look of it, she was probably crying.

Before leaving, she turned back for one last look.

Then, with a determined expression, she ran off.

“We’ll do our best to find this person as soon as possible.”

“In the meantime, could I trouble you to take care of the child for tonight?” the officer asked after finishing the investigation.

“Aunt Liu, are you available tonight?” Lu Qingqiang asked.

“Director, don’t worry. Leave him to me—I’ll take good care of him.”

Seeing that Aunt Liu genuinely wanted to care for the child, Lu Qingqiang turned to the officer and said, “That’s fine.”

“Thank you all for your cooperation.”

“I just got another report I need to respond to, so I’ll have to head out.”

“I’ll come back tomorrow to take him for a medical check-up. Please take care of him tonight.”

With that, the officer left in a hurry.

At that moment, in Lu Qingqiang’s mind, Xiao Yi asked her with a hint of confusion:

“Host, Aunt Liu is technically your employee. Since she’s being paid by you, she should do her job. Why did you bother asking her first?”

Lu Qingqiang replied patiently.

“Even though she’s paid by me, she’s just here to work, not to sell her life to me.”

“Before assigning a task, I should at least ask whether she’s willing to do it.”

“Strictly speaking, caring for infants isn’t part of her official job description.”

“Let alone one this young—taking care of a baby is no easy task.”

“If she’s willing, then I know she’ll take good care of that child. Mm, the one you called Jingsi.”

“And another thing… I said before that I want to be a humane and considerate boss, not a capitalist.”

“If Aunt Liu does a good job, I’ll arrange a bonus for her at the end of the month.”

“Is that so? Host, you really are a good person,” the system praised.

“Xiao Yi, you mentioned before that this child is special. What exactly did you mean?”

Accepting Xiao Yi’s compliment by default, Lu Qingqiang finally asked the question that had been on her mind.