Chapter 40: Run for It!

“Yesterday, I brought her to tour the orphanage in person and told her a bit about our situation here.”

“As soon as she saw the place, she agreed to let me work here.”

“Xiao Lu, to be honest, I’m really happy to be here.”

“The environment is great, the leadership is kind, the food is amazing, and the kids are wonderful. Every day, I feel genuinely happy.”

What Doctor Feng didn’t mention was that her daughter not only praised how adorable the children were, but also gave the canteen a glowing review.

She said the food here was absolutely delicious.

Just one meal was enough to lift her spirits.

She nearly couldn’t stop herself from switching jobs just for the food.

“As long as you’re happy here, that’s all that matters.”

“By the way, Director, when are we heading up the mountain? Who knows what it looks like up there now?”

“Let’s rest a bit after breakfast, then we’ll set out.”

“Great, great!” Doctor Feng nodded eagerly.

“Doctor Feng, that mountain hike is no joke. You…”

“Don’t worry, I can handle it. If I really can’t go on, I’ll wait for you all halfway up. I won’t push myself too hard.”

When she first arrived at the orphanage, Doctor Feng did feel pretty weak physically.

But after spending over a month here, she felt much stronger.

She used to get winded just climbing stairs, but now she could go up without breaking a sweat.

She was confident she could make it to the top of the mountain.

“Alright then.”

“Hey, Director, look at Song Zhao and Su Chao. Their stamina is really something.”

In the courtyard, after running three laps with Zhang Qiang, the little radish heads were all panting and exhausted.

But Song Zhao and Su Chao were still maintaining their pace, running steadily.

Their breathing was controlled, and their strides were smooth and even.

“Very impressive,” Lu Qingqiang nodded.

After over a month of observation, she had come to realize something.

Each child at the orphanage had their own unique strengths (and interests).

Gu Cheng had a sharp memory, strong comprehension, and excellent logical thinking. Song Zhao and Su Chao had great endurance and natural athletic talent.

Su Tao loved to eat and had been following Master Zhao around, learning how to handle ingredients. She picked things up incredibly fast.

Xiao Hui had a beautiful singing voice, perfect pitch, and could mimic all sorts of sounds.

Song Li was quiet by nature, loved to draw, and showed both passion and talent in art.

Su Zhixing loved to dance, cared about her appearance, and paid close attention to how she presented herself.

Zhou Yang liked playing with swords and dreamed of becoming a heroic swordsman who upheld justice.

Pang Jiajia had excellent hands-on skills. The dolls and clay figures she made were vivid and expressive, and she was focused and meticulous in her work.

Xu Kai liked to hang around Doctor Feng and constantly asked her questions about medicine.

Wang Zhiyu and Wu Feng enjoyed role-playing during games and took their performances very seriously.

Liu Miaomiao seemed gentle and soft-spoken, but her work style was bold and decisive. She also had a keen interest in electronics.

Liu Yu and Wu Gang were sensitive to numbers and had a knack for analysis and critical thinking.

Xu Wei was thoughtful and warm-hearted. She never rushed or panicked, whether in class or at play, and always cooperated fully.

If there were conflicts among the kids, she would step in to mediate and resolve them.

Li Xiang was sharp and observant, with a naturally funny way of speaking that he wasn’t even aware of. He looked cool and aloof on the outside but had a goofy streak underneath.

All in all, after so much time observing them, Lu Qingqiang had gotten a decent understanding of the seventeen children at the orphanage.

As for flaws, well, who doesn’t have a few?

Some were sensitive, some lacked tact, some were greedy, some liked to keep things to themselves, some were quiet to a fault, and some liked to play little tricks…

In time, Lu Qingqiang and Yuan Yuan would guide and influence them through both words and actions.

For now, all seventeen kids were wonderful.

Each one of them was a little angel.

“That’s it for today’s exercise. Time to eat!” Zhang Qiang waved his hand, and the kids immediately took off running toward the kitchen.

Su Tao led the charge, far ahead of the rest.

Just moments ago, during the laps, she had been panting and lagging behind most of the group.

But now…

Her speed, her silhouette—it was like she was about to take flight, leaving afterimages in her wake.

Doctor Feng and Lu Qingqiang stared in stunned silence.

Even Zhang Qiang was dumbfounded.

“Director, with Su Tao’s potential, if we train her properly, she might just make it onto the national team one day and bring honor to the country!”

“This girl is seriously fast.”

“Keep a close eye on her from now on,” Lu Qingqiang said.

“Will do.”

In the canteen, after lining up for food, everyone sat down at the tables with their trays and began eating breakfast.

Not far away, a TV was mounted in midair, currently broadcasting the local news from Jiang City.

The TV had just been installed yesterday afternoon.

Part of the reason was to help Master Zhao pass the time.

The other part was that Lu Qingqiang wanted to take advantage of mealtime to let everyone watch the news, learn more, understand the country’s policies, stay informed about current social issues, and keep up with trending topics.

“…Latest update: A patient at Qingshan Psychiatric Hospital in our city escaped by climbing over the wall during a disturbance. The hospital has reported the incident to the police. The patient is still at large. The hospital is now releasing the patient’s description to the public. We urge all citizens to stay alert. If you see anything, please call xxxxx.”

Lu Qingqiang stared at the news, her face blank: “…”

What kind of era are we living in where psychiatric patients are still escaping?

She remembered when they were kids, if they ran into a particularly annoying classmate, they’d say something like, “Did the wall of the mental hospital collapse and let you out? Is that why you’re here causing trouble? Seriously, are you brain-damaged or what?”

And now? She didn’t know if the hospital wall had collapsed, but a psychiatric patient escaping was definitely real.

It was the kind of news that left people speechless.

Sigh. Hopefully that escaped patient would be caught and brought back soon.

After breakfast, Lu Qingqiang gathered everyone to pack up and prepare for the hike up the mountain.

Since the construction in the back was still ongoing and the road wasn’t easy to walk, they had to go through the front gate and circle around to reach the mountain behind.

That walk would take about twenty minutes, give or take.

After thinking it over, Lu Qingqiang decided to have the driver, Xiao Zhang, bring out the park shuttle to drive everyone to the foot of the mountain.

As for herself, she went to the garage and drove out the small truck Madam Lu had given her.

Today, besides hiking, identifying herbs, and planting trees, she also planned to pick up some chopped logs to bring back.

They would be used to cultivate wood-grown silver ear mushrooms and wood-grown lingzhi.

Soon, Xiao Zhang drove the park shuttle out of the garage and parked it near the gate.

Under Yuan Yuan’s direction, everyone boarded the vehicle one by one, buckled their seatbelts, and sat obediently.

Doctor Feng and Yuan Yuan got on as well.

Zhang Qiang, being the kids’ “martial arts teacher,” naturally had to go along too.

Yan Fang was on gate duty today, so she wasn’t going.

Aunt Liu said she would stay behind to clean up the orphanage, so she wasn’t going either.

Master Zhao had to prep ingredients. Until his kitchen assistant arrived, he couldn’t leave the orphanage for long.

Otherwise, he was afraid he wouldn’t have time to cook lunch and everyone would go hungry.

So Master Zhao wasn’t joining the mountain trip either.

Seeing that it was almost time, Lu Qingqiang took out her phone and called Madam Lu.

“Hello, Mom, where are you now?”

“Qingqing, just a moment, we’ll be there in no more than five minutes.”

“Don’t rush, Mom. We’re still on schedule. I was just checking in. Safety first.”

“Alright.”

After hanging up, Lu Qingqiang parked her small truck at the gate and turned to ask the kids in the shuttle.

“We’re about to head out. Anyone need to use the bathroom?”

“Mama Lu, I do!”

“Me too!”

“Xiao Gang, Xiao Ye, come on, I’ll take you.” Zhang Qiang glanced at the two little boys and was the first to get off the vehicle.

“Okay!”

The other kids in the shuttle were chattering excitedly about the upcoming hike.

“Mama Lu, why aren’t you riding with us?”

“I’m driving the small truck because I need to bring some things back.”

“Mama Lu, won’t it be boring driving alone? How about I ride with you?” Xu Wei looked at her eagerly.

“Mama Lu, me, me, me! I want to ride with you too.”

“No way, I’m going with Mama Lu! I’ll tell her jokes and make her laugh!”

“You can’t distract Mama Lu while she’s driving. I’ll go with her instead.”

In the blink of an eye, the kids started arguing over who got to ride with Lu Qingqiang.

Just then, a sudden scream rang out from not far away.

Faintly, they could hear a shrill voice shouting, “Murder! A lunatic is killing people! Run!”

Lu Qingqiang’s expression changed instantly. She gave a quick order.

“Xiao Zhang, hurry, back the vehicle up!”