Chapter 24: Su Zhixing

“Copy that, go ahead.”

“Sister Yan, Sister Yan, someone just rushed in saying he’s the director’s older brother. He said it’s urgent and he needs to see her.”

“But he didn’t ask where she is right now. If you see him, could you guide him over?”

“Got it, got it.”

Yan Fang, who was patrolling the courtyard, immediately switched into search mode upon hearing this.

Meanwhile, Lu Jianshen had no idea what was going on.

He had sprinted all the way to Lu Qingqiang’s office and was now pounding on the door.

No response.

Without hesitation, he pushed the door open and barged in.

The room was empty.

Not a single person.

Just a hollow, echoing silence.

Only his own slightly ragged breathing could be heard.

He pulled out his phone and tried calling Lu Qingqiang again.

The ringtone came from a nearby desk.

Lu Jianshen didn’t feel any relief. On the contrary, his anxiety only deepened.

What kind of situation would make someone leave the house without even taking their phone?

The answer: when they’re mentally out of it.

Damn it, that foolish sister of his better not be thinking of doing something stupid.

Cursing under his breath, Lu Jianshen turned and ran out again.

“Hello, sir. Are you looking for our director?” Yan Fang asked as she approached him.

“Yes. Where is she?”

“She’s by the lake right now. Just follow this path south and you’ll see her. She’s—”

Before she could finish, the man had already rushed off.

Yan Fang stood there, stunned.

What’s with this guy?

Can’t even wait for someone to finish a sentence?

It’s not like the director went to the lake to throw herself in. Why so panicked?

Forget it. She might as well follow along.

Just in case something really did happen, maybe she could help.

At the lakeside.

Lu Qingqiang was leading a group of Little Radish Heads in a fish release ceremony.

Yes, releasing fish!

After a month of hard work by a professional construction crew, the artificial lake she had planned was finally completed.

Strictly speaking, it was more of a large pond.

As for the fish release, it was simply stocking the pond with various types of fry they had purchased.

From the beginning, Lu Qingqiang had wanted to build the lake for aquaculture.

Raising her own fish and shrimp, then catching and eating them herself—how healthy is that?

And while she was at it, she could grow aquatic vegetables and plants around the pond. Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Things like wild rice shoots, water celery, lotus roots, water chestnuts, arrowhead, water caltrops, and fox nuts.

She could even plant a row of fruit trees by the pond.

Peach trees, pear trees, cherry trees, nectarines, persimmons, and so on.

Just thinking about it made her feel happy.

And since she had the idea, Lu Qingqiang went ahead and made it happen.

After all, she was in charge of the orphanage now. She could do whatever she wanted.

Heh (^o^)/~

Sure enough, after she shared her plan with the Little Radish Heads, they were all thrilled.

Especially Taozi, who literally jumped three feet into the air with excitement!

Even Gu Cheng, the group’s little leader, couldn’t help but smile.

Now that the pond was finished, it was time to release the fish fry they had bought.

“Mama Lu, what kind of fish is this? Is it tasty?”

“That’s crucian carp. It’s delicious and nutritious, great for soup, and the meat is tasty too.”

“Wow, I love it! What about this one?”

“That’s carp. It’s considered one of the five tastiest fish in folk cuisine.”

“Wow, I really love it! Can you braise carp in soy sauce?” Taozi asked curiously.

“There are lots of ways to cook carp. You can braise it, steam it, make it sweet and sour, spicy, cook it with pickled vegetables, make soup, and so on.”

“Is sweet and sour fish as good as sweet and sour ribs?” Taozi was already starting to drool.

“Of course,” Lu Qingqiang said with a laugh.

This Su Tao—whenever food came up, she instantly turned into a little curious kitten.

“Mama Lu, what about this one?”

“Little Taozi, are you planning to point at every bucket and make Mama Lu tell you what kind of fish it is?”

As soon as she said that, the surrounding kids all burst into laughter.

“I don’t know what they are. What’s wrong with asking?”

“Do you know them?”

“I remember everything Mama Lu said.”

“Me too! I remembered it all!”

“Not bad. Looks like you’ve all been paying attention. I’ll explain in more detail, and then I’ll quiz you later.”

“Okay, okay!”

By the time Lu Jianshen finally reached the lake, he was nearly out of breath.

But when he looked up, what he saw was…

Not the devastated, hollow-eyed, despairing sister he had imagined, the one ready to end it all.

Instead, she was surrounded by a dozen laughing children, smiling and playing.

Her smile was bright and carefree.

The children around her all wore innocent, joyful expressions.

Suicide? Despair? Emotional breakdown?

All complete nonsense!

He should’ve known better than to believe his mother’s worries, thinking Lu Qingqiang was some fragile little vine.

This girl, raised wild in the countryside, was far tougher than he’d ever imagined.

He really was acting like a dog chasing mice—meddling in things that didn’t concern him.

Worried for nothing!

And after all that, he’d sprinted all the way here from the entrance.

Nearly killed himself doing it.

“Hey, Lu Qingqiang, what are you doing?”

After catching his breath for a long while, Lu Jianshen finally asked, his tone annoyed.

At the sound of his voice, the group immersed in their fish release and lessons all turned to look.

“Wow, Mama Lu, who is that? He’s so handsome!” Su Zhixing’s eyes sparkled.

Su Zhixing was almost four years old, with delicate, well-defined features, fair and smooth skin, and slightly wavy hair. She was always neat and tidy.

Even at her young age, it was clear she’d grow up to be a real beauty.

“Him? He’s kind of my second brother.”

“What do you mean ‘kind of’? I am your second brother,” Lu Jianshen snapped, his tone worsening.

“Ah, right, right. That was a slip of the tongue.”

“Everyone, let me introduce you. This is my second brother—Lu Jianshen.”

“Hello, Brother Lu!”

“Dummy, you should call him Uncle Lu.”

“No, he’s Mama Lu’s brother, so we should call him Uncle-Uncle, right?”

“What do you mean Uncle-Uncle? Mama Lu’s brother should be called Uncle!”

“…” Listening to the kids debate his title, Lu Jianshen felt his age multiply on the spot.

Seriously, kids are the worst.

“Let’s just stick with ‘brother.’ My second brother is so young and handsome, how could you call him uncle or anything like that? Don’t you agree?” Lu Qingqiang said.

“Yes, yes, Mama Lu is right!” Su Zhixing nodded rapidly.

Such a good-looking brother—no matter what his age, he had to be called “brother.”

“You guys keep playing. I’m going to talk to my second brother for a bit.”

With that, Lu Qingqiang walked over to Lu Jianshen.

“Second Brother, what brings you here today?”

“Did you come alone?”

“If half a person came, I’d probably scare you to death,” Lu Jianshen snapped.

“???” Lu Qingqiang blinked.

“You think I wanted to come? If Mom hadn’t seen something online and freaked out thinking you were going to off yourself, she never would’ve sent me. You think I came here willingly?”

“Second Brother, your hair’s a mess.”

“???” Lu Jianshen froze for a second, then immediately pulled out his phone to check his reflection and started fixing his hair.

“Oh, actually, it’s not messy. I was just joking.”

At that, Lu Jianshen’s expression turned even more wounded.

He couldn’t help but reach out, aiming to give her a light smack on the shoulder in revenge.

But to his surprise…