Chapter 4: Personally Inviting Help

After breakfast, Aunt Liu came by to tidy up.

A few of the children from the orphanage got up to help her.

Aunt Liu quickly waved her hands. “No, no, it’s fine. I can do it myself.”

“Aunt Liu, let us help you.”

“We’ve always been self-sufficient at the orphanage. If you don’t let us help, we’ll feel like we’ve got nothing to do.”

“Exactly, Aunt Liu! Let us help!”

“Well… alright then.”

Lu Qingqiang’s adoptive parents had passed away six months ago.

They were farmers from Peach Blossom Village and made a living off the land.

Before they died, they never knew that the daughter they had raised with such care wasn’t their biological child.

To be honest, they had treated Lu Qingqiang quite well.

But over the years, her adoptive mother, Mrs. Deng, had been in poor health and constantly needed money for medical treatment.

Their only income came from farming. If there was a natural disaster, their harvest would be pitifully small.

So life had been hard for Lu Qingqiang.

Every school break, she had to help out in the fields or find part-time work.

Because of the family’s financial situation, they could only afford to eat meat once or twice a month.

At school, she got by on free steamed buns, cheap soup, and simple vegetables.

Her clothes were all cheap ones, costing just a few dozen yuan at most.

After Mrs. Deng passed away, her adoptive father fell into a deep depression. While out shopping, he was hit by a car and died as well.

Lu Qingqiang took care of their funerals and stayed at home for a while before heading to Jiang City alone.

She did receive some compensation after her adoptive father’s death.

But after paying off the debts that had piled up over the years, she was left with only a thousand yuan.

And even that was stolen by a pickpocket at the train station the moment she arrived in Jiang City.

By a twist of fate, she ended up at Jiang City’s Loving Heart Orphanage, where she started as a helper.

And now, she had somehow become the orphanage’s director.

As the new director, Lu Qingqiang made it clear…

Even though conditions had improved, she wasn’t going to spoil the children.

Sooner or later, they would all leave the orphanage and step into the real world.

She couldn’t raise them like pampered young masters and ladies just because she now had the means.

That would only hurt them in the long run.

She would do her best to create a better environment for them.

But when it came to doing things, they still had to do it themselves.

People needed to learn how to live independently.

The way they lived before, that’s how they would continue to live now.

“Mama Lu, you mentioned earlier that you had a task for us. What is it?” Taozi asked as she patted her full belly and wiped the table.

“In a bit, I’ll be taking everyone to plant vegetables,” Lu Qingqiang said.

“Once we finish leasing the mountain behind us, we’ll be planting fruit trees there too.”

“Mm-hmm! I know how to plant veggies. Mama Wu used to take us to do that.”

“The cabbages, radishes, and sweet potatoes we ate in the winter—we grew them all ourselves!”

“But Mama Lu, the mountain is full of rocks. How are we supposed to grow fruit trees there?” asked Xu Kai as he swept the floor.

“Fruit trees? Then we’ll get to eat fruit in the future? Apples, pears, peaches, watermelons…”

Taozi was already drooling at the thought.

As for Xu Kai’s question, she didn’t even register it.

“Taozi, all you think about is food. I just said the mountain is full of rocks. How are we going to grow fruit trees?”

“Xu Kai-ge, you’re silly.”

“If nothing can grow in the mountains, then where do hickory nuts, Chinese dates, wild strawberries, and chestnuts come from?”

“You think those things just pop out of cracks in the rocks?” Taozi shot Xu Kai a look as she spoke.

“Oh yeah, that’s true.” Xu Kai chuckled sheepishly.

Lu Qingqiang knew that the children at the orphanage rarely went outside.

They hadn’t even been to the mountain behind the orphanage.

So in four-year-old Xu Kai’s mind, the mountain was nothing but rocks.

Hearing that made Lu Qingqiang feel unexpectedly sad.

“Once things settle down in the next few days, I’ll take everyone for a walk in the mountains,” she said.

“Yay! I’ve never been to the mountains before!”

“Mama Lu, if we go now, will there still be tasty wild goodies to find?”

“There will!”

“That’s awesome! I really want to go!”

“Alright, let’s go plant some vegetables first,” Lu Qingqiang said as she saw that everyone had nearly finished tidying up.

But before that, she decided to take the Strength Pill the system had given her.

She split the black pill in half and swallowed the larger portion herself.

The smaller half, she secretly dropped into the kettle when no one was looking.

Before they set out, she poured a cup of warm water for each child. After they drank it, she led them out to plant vegetables.

The seeds were provided by the system, so their quality was guaranteed.

High quality, abundant quantity, diverse and complete varieties.

It was September, and there were still plenty of vegetables that could be planted.

Chinese cabbage, bok choy, radishes, eggplants, celery, chili peppers, cauliflower, mustard greens, onions, spinach, garlic—you name it.

As for the planting area, she had already mapped it out.

It was in the backyard of the orphanage.

The construction team had already cleared the space.

It was about one and a half mu in size.

Of course, this was just the beginning.

Once the orphanage was fully renovated according to her blueprints, the available farmland would increase significantly.

By then, they’d have at least ten to twenty mu.

They could even build a few greenhouses to keep growing vegetables through the winter.

That way, they’d always have fresh, organic produce to eat.

Her design also included space for raising small animals like chickens, ducks, cows, and sheep.

There would be areas for raising fish and shrimp too.

The goal was an eco-friendly, self-sufficient lifestyle.

Naturally, there were also spaces planned for the children to study, read, and exercise.

As for their living quarters, the original dorms that housed eight to ten children would be replaced with rooms for two to four.

She also needed to prepare staff dorms.

One-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments would be the standard.

Even the kitchen would be at least five times larger than before.

Just as she finished helping the kids plant vegetables and was washing her hands, she heard the system’s voice in her mind.

“Ding! Reminder: The system has located a top-tier chef for the host. Click to view details. Please recruit them to the orphanage as soon as possible.”

“Ding! Reminder: The system has located a renowned pediatrician for the host. Click to view details. Please recruit them to the orphanage as soon as possible.”

“Ding! Reminder: The system has located an excellent teacher for the host. Click to view details. Please recruit them to the orphanage as soon as possible.”

“Ding! Reminder: The system has located a farming expert and a livestock specialist. Click to view details. Please recruit them to the orphanage as soon as possible.”

“Host, you’ve got this!”

“Alright, let’s do this!” Lu Qingqiang made a fist-pump gesture, full of motivation.

After reviewing the details, she sat for a moment, absentmindedly rubbing her chin with her fingertips.

Then she stood up and headed out.

“Xiao Zhang, take me to Guanliu Alley in the southern part of Jiang City.”

“Yes, Miss.” The driver, Xiao Zhang, nodded.

About an hour later, they arrived at Guanliu Alley. Lu Qingqiang asked Xiao Zhang to park by the roadside and wait for her.

She went to buy some gifts first: tea, pastries, and a shoulder and neck massager.

Then she headed straight for No. 5 Guanliu Alley.

Guanliu Alley was a quiet lane paved with bluestone slabs.

She followed the path for a short distance before arriving at the home of the person she was looking for—Master Zhao.

She knocked on the door, and a puzzled male voice called out from inside.

“Who is it? Come in, the door’s not locked.”

Lu Qingqiang pushed the door open and stepped inside.

In the courtyard, a middle-aged man in his fifties was dozing in a rocking chair. Beside him was a small tea table with tea and plum-shaped pastries on it.

“Hello, Master Zhao. Sorry for the sudden visit. I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“And you are?” Zhao Guojiang opened his eyes and looked at her in confusion.

“My name is Lu Qingqiang. I’m the director of Jiang City’s Loving Heart Orphanage. I came today to invite you to join us as our head chef.”

“You want me to cook at your orphanage? No way, not interested,” Zhao Guojiang said, shaking his head without hesitation.

He used to be the head chef at a high-end private dining restaurant in Jiang City.

He had worked there for nearly thirty years and had always enjoyed it.

There were quite a few loyal foodies who loved to drop by just to order whatever he cooked.

But not long ago, he was hit with devastating news: his child had been in a car accident and died on the spot.

He had fathered the child late in life, and this was his only precious son.

After all those years raising him to nineteen, such a tragedy struck out of nowhere.

Master Zhao couldn’t take the blow. He collapsed on the spot and lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was already in the hospital.

His child was gone, and his wife had passed away from illness a year earlier.

In what felt like an instant, his life lost all meaning and direction.

Though the responsible party paid compensation and was punished accordingly, Master Zhao fell into complete despair after the incident.

He became withdrawn, quit his job, and shut himself in at home, barely stepping outside.

He even attempted suicide.

Fortunately, his wife’s nephew, Liu Xiang, happened to visit him.

When Liu Xiang discovered the suicide attempt, he immediately called for help and managed to pull him back from the brink of death.

After several months of companionship and counseling from Liu Xiang, Master Zhao finally let go of the idea of ending his life.

He even considered going back to work.

But unexpectedly, the private restaurant that had always tried to keep him on had changed owners. It had been turned into a trendy internet-famous eatery.

The new restaurant specialized in Western cuisine and visually appealing dishes.

The new owner was a young man who preferred people who could flatter and sweet-talk.

Having just gone through the pain of losing his son, Master Zhao had neither the interest nor the ability to play that game.

So he didn’t get the job at the trendy restaurant.

When word got out that he’d failed the interview, Chef Wang—who had never gotten along with him—took the opportunity to mock him in every way.

Master Zhao had been in a foul mood and couldn’t be bothered to deal with people like that, so he simply went home.

For the past few months, he hadn’t worked and barely left the house.

He spent his days sitting in the courtyard, basking in the sun and staring off into space.

When he suddenly saw a stranger at his door, he was completely stunned.

And when he learned why the visitor had come, his first reaction was to refuse.

“Master Zhao, I’ve heard about your situation from others. Life is unpredictable, and I offer my deepest condolences.”

“You’re only in your early fifties. Life is still long. You need something to do, something to look forward to.”

“Besides, I’m sure your loved ones wouldn’t want to see you like this, so defeated.”

“They’d want you to live well, to be at peace.”

“I truly admire your culinary skills, which is why I’ve come to ask you to come out of retirement.”

“We run an orphanage with seventeen children and a few adults.”

“If you’re willing to join us, I can hand over the entire kitchen to you. You’d be in charge of preparing three meals a day for everyone at the orphanage.”

“We’ll provide all the ingredients, as well as room and board. As for salary, it’s 24,000 yuan a month.”

“If you’re open to it, you could even move into the orphanage and live with the children.”

“Our orphanage used to be in poor condition. The kids have lived tough lives and are all rather frail.”

“With your skills and experience, I’m sure you could help them grow up healthy and strong.”

After finishing, Lu Qingqiang looked at Zhao Guojiang with sincere eyes.