Chapter 22: Real Soldiers, Wow!

“Taozi, you’re the first one to rush into the canteen again today. Impressive!” Master Zhao gave her a big thumbs-up.

There were seventeen children at the orphanage.

Excluding Xiao Hui, who was still in the hospital, there were sixteen kids who needed to eat every day.

But no matter the day, Taozi was always the first one to dash into the canteen.

If you asked Master Zhao who left the deepest impression on him, Taozi would undoubtedly be number one.

“Hehe, of course!”

“I, Nicholas Su Tao, will always be the first in the canteen!”

“An unbeatable legend!”

After boasting shamelessly, Taozi quickly carried her tray over and asked, “Grandpa Zhao, is there a reward for being first today?”

“Hehe, yes, yes. This little bunny, do you like it?”

Master Zhao chuckled as he brought out a plate with a white mousse bunny on it and let Taozi pick first.

“Wow, Grandpa Zhao, you’re amazing!”

“This bunny looks so cute!”

“I really, really love it. Thank you, Grandpa Zhao!”

Taozi’s face lit up with delight and wonder.

After showering Master Zhao with praise, she picked up a spoon and, with a swift scoop, dug off the bunny’s head and popped it into her mouth.

“Delicious! So delicious, Grandpa Zhao!”

“You really are the top-tier chef Mama Lu brought in. You’re incredible!”

“Hehe, if you like it, I’ll give you another one.”

“Shh, only you get two bunnies. Don’t go telling the others.” Master Zhao whispered.

“Mm-hmm!”

Taozi nodded happily, then used her spoon to scoop off the bunny’s lower half and stuffed it into her mouth.

“Little girl, the bunny is so cute. How could you bear to eat it?” teased Yan Fang from the side.

“Big Sis, precisely because the bunny is cute, I have to eat it.”

“Think about it. If I don’t eat such a cute bunny, it’ll go bad.”

“And once it goes bad, it’ll have to be thrown away.”

“Mama Wu said wasting food is shameful.”

“To protect the bunny, I have to eat it.”

“I’m doing this for its own good.” Taozi spoke with complete seriousness.

“That makes sense.” Yan Fang was instantly convinced.

“Eh, Grandpa Zhao, who are they?” Taozi looked at the two unfamiliar adults in front of her and asked.

“Oh, them? They’re new staff at our orphanage. They’re in charge of security.”

“They used to be soldiers, but now they’re retired and came to work here.”

“Wow, soldiers? Uncle was a soldier, and Auntie too?”

“Oh my gosh, Big Orange Brother, Super Sis, Little Rain Sis, come quick! There are two real soldiers here!”

“Real-life soldier uncle and soldier auntie!”

Zhang Qiang and Yan Fang were momentarily speechless.

They suddenly felt like they were being gawked at in a zoo.

Still, facing the group of excited children, they both smiled warmly and kindly.

“Soldier uncle? Soldier auntie? Are they the kind of soldiers we see on the news, the ones who show up in disaster zones during floods and earthquakes to rescue people?” Wang Zhiyu, walking behind Gu Cheng, looked at the two curiously.

“Of course. Soldiers are the guardians of China. They not only defend our borders but also appear like divine beings when we’re in danger,” Gu Cheng replied.

He was already seven years old, and ever since he was little, he had held a deep admiration and reverence for soldiers.

“I know, I know! I saw it on the news before. Soldiers hold hands in a chain to block floodwaters and protect people.”

“Soldier uncles also fight bad guys and knock them to the ground.”

“They’re super skilled in martial arts. They can kick bad guys and send them flying several meters.”

“Soldier aunties are amazing too, okay…”

In an instant, a group of children surrounded Zhang Qiang and Yan Fang, chattering nonstop.

Despite their different ages and genders, all the kids had the same look in their eyes—admiration and affection for the two.

At that moment, the tall and upright new recruits nearly teared up on the spot.

In that instant, they both felt that all those years of sacrifice had been worth it.

“You little rascals, are you going to eat or not?”

Seeing Zhang Qiang and Yan Fang looking overwhelmed and emotional, Master Zhao couldn’t help but tap his big spoon and ask.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, all eyes turned toward him.

Everyone nodded in unison.

Then, one by one, they picked up their trays and lined up.

Taozi, of course, had already taken advantage of the distraction to get her food and was now sitting at a table with her tray.

As for the second bunny Master Zhao had given her, she hadn’t touched it yet. It was still sitting on a small plate in front of her.

“Uncle, Auntie, you can go ahead of us. Soldiers first.”

“Yeah, yeah, you go first.”

The other kids nodded in agreement and even took two steps back in unison.

“Thank you, but we’ve already eaten. You all go ahead and eat.” Yan Fang smiled at them.

“Oh, okay then.”

“Everyone, enjoy your meal. When we get a chance later, we’ll teach you some self-defense moves. Want to learn?” Yan Fang asked.

“Yes!”

“Wow, really? If we learn, does that mean we can fight bad guys like you?”

“Mm-hmm. If you learn well, you can.”

“But remember, to learn self-defense, you have to eat well, sleep on time, and take care of yourselves.”

“Can you do that?” Yan Fang asked.

“Yes!”

“Then go eat.”

“Mm-hmm!”

“Uncle, Auntie, you can have my bunny.”

After struggling with the decision for a long while, Taozi finally clenched her teeth and offered her mousse bunny to them.

“Thank you, Taozi, but we’re full. You eat it.”

“Then I won’t hold back!” Taozi immediately picked up her bunny and ran back to her seat.

“~~~” The two of them and Master Zhao were speechless.

This little girl really was adorable.

After Zhang Qiang and Yan Fang left, the canteen quieted down.

All that remained was the sound of children eating with their heads down.

Master Zhao looked at the scene in front of him, a satisfied smile playing at his lips.

Then, he couldn’t help but frown slightly.

Sigh. The attacks and insults against Teacher Yuan online were getting worse.

Some people had even started targeting the orphanage itself.

They said the orphanage director must be out of their mind to hire someone with questionable character.

Others claimed the director couldn’t be a good person either—after all, there’s a saying, “Birds of a feather flock together.”

Some speculated that by tomorrow, the orphanage would release a statement saying Teacher Yuan was just an intern, trying to dodge responsibility.

Someone even dug into the orphanage’s past directors and accused the current director, Lu Qingqiang, of harming the previous one to take over the position.

With a director like that, no wonder they’d hire someone like Yuan Yuan.

Then someone boldly claimed they lived near the orphanage.

They said they often heard children crying miserably from Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage.

They suspected the orphanage was abusing children.

Once that post went up, netizens went wild with speculation.

“Oh my god, no way! Could the director actually be a child trafficker?”

“Not likely a trafficker. She wouldn’t dare. I think she’s mentally twisted and beats the kids every day.”

“I saw a news story once. It said some people have weird fetishes. They like raising orphans and training them from a young age.”

“PS: By training, they meant daily beatings, insults, punishments like kneeling or standing for hours.”

“Once they’re trained up, they can be sent out to earn money.”

“If anyone disobeys, they break their legs and throw them out to beg.”

“Terrifying. Can someone please call 110 already?”

“By the time the police get there, they’ll have cleaned everything up. The kids will be coached to say the right things. What can they even find?”

“That’s easy. Just have the police separate the kids at the orphanage and question them one by one. Sooner or later, something’s bound to come out.”

“Upstairs is a real expert.”

“…”

The comments below were getting more and more ridiculous, making Master Zhao’s brow twitch in frustration.

That’s it. He couldn’t hold back anymore. He was going to jump in and shut these people down.

Damn it, what kind of nonsense was this?

They didn’t know a thing, yet they were acting like brainless trolls, bouncing around online like they owned the place?

What were they trying to prove?

Even the police need evidence to solve a case.

But these people? They open their mouths and start handing out verdicts like it’s nothing?

Just wait and see. Now that Master Zhao was stepping in, he was going to tear these keyboard warriors apart!