Chapter 60: Disobedient? Say goodbye to your allowance

“Master Zhao, what about your wife?” Liu Shufen asked curiously.

“My wife? She passed away a few years ago.”

“All these years, we only had one son.”

“We finally managed to raise him, and who would’ve thought…”

“Fate can be so cruel.”

“Ah!” Master Zhao sighed deeply, his face full of sorrow.

Hearing this, Zhang Haiping and Liu Shufen couldn’t help exchanging a glance.

And just like that, the grief and sadness in their hearts eased a little.

Their child had also passed away.

But he had died serving the country.

At the very least, the two of them still had each other. They weren’t completely alone.

But Master Zhao… he was all by himself now.

Compared to that, maybe they were just a little bit better off.

“To be honest, our child… is gone too.”

“What? What happened?” Master Zhao asked in surprise.

“He was in the military. He was just about to retire not long ago.”

“But on his last mission, he was killed in action.”

“Brother, your son was truly remarkable.” Master Zhao’s expression turned solemn and full of respect.

The reason ordinary people like them could live in peace was because of brave soldiers like him.

They guarded the borders, protected the nation.

They carried the burdens of the world on their shoulders.

Just yesterday, he had watched a movie called “Homecoming.”

The battles in foreign lands, the displaced civilians—it was all too tragic.

He couldn’t hold back his tears while watching.

China was strong now, but that strength had been built on the lives, blood, effort, and sacrifice of countless people.

People like Zhang Haiping and his wife deserved deep respect.

Because they had raised a hero.

“Sometimes, we really wish he had just been an ordinary man.”

“Working a regular job, calling home once in a while, coming back often to have a meal with us.”

“But he was a soldier. He had his own responsibilities.”

“His comrades told us that before he died, he saved several people.”

“In that moment, I felt so proud of my son. He was amazing.”

As Zhang Haiping spoke, his eyes turned red.

Beside him, Liu Shufen couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.

“Brother, Sister-in-law, please don’t cry.”

“If you keep crying, I’m going to start crying too.”

“Yeah, no more crying. We won’t cry.” Zhang Haiping wiped away his tears.

Then he continued, “Little Zhang and his comrades told us that from now on, they’re all our children.”

“Shufen and I may have lost one son, but now, we have many.”

“We’re not sad. We’re really not.”

As he finished speaking, he gently wiped the tears from his wife’s face with his sleeve.

“You’re right, Brother.”

“As long as we do our part here at the orphanage, the children here will all be ours too.”

Master Zhao was comforting the couple in front of him, but in truth, he was also comforting himself.

Coming to work at the orphanage wasn’t just to pass the time.

In a way, wasn’t it also about finding some kind of mutual redemption among so many parentless children?

There were just too many people in this world who deserved pity.

But now, he felt like he wasn’t one of them.

Truly.

The next morning, bright and early.

Zhang Haiping and Liu Shufen got up.

With nothing else to do, they went to the backyard to feed the rabbits, then swept the courtyard.

After a lifetime of being busy, suddenly having nothing to do felt a little unnatural.

When they saw the orphanage kids getting up and running, practicing stances, and throwing punches with Zhang Qiang, they were stunned for a moment.

Then they couldn’t help but smile.

This Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage was really something special.

It radiated a kind of vibrant energy that was hard to describe.

Just like the vegetable patch in the backyard.

Just the day before, they had passed by and seen the plants still small and droopy.

But after just one night, some of them had suddenly grown tall.

Time kept moving forward.

The sun was slowly rising.

Maybe it was time for the two of them to step out of their grief, get busy again, and truly face life.

“Director, should we go plant fruit trees in the mountains first, or start with the greenhouse vegetables in the backyard?” Zhang Haiping walked over and asked.

“Director, you mentioned raising small animals in the back mountain. When are you planning to start?” Liu Shufen quickly got into work mode.

“Uncle Zhang, Aunt Liu, no rush.”

“Every morning, the orphanage has a training session. After that, we eat breakfast.”

“If you’d like, you can join Doctor Feng for the exercises.”

“Doctor Feng used to be a renowned pediatric specialist here in Jiang City.”

“Let’s eat first, then talk about work.”

“No need to stress. Everyone here is easy to get along with.”

“When there’s work to do, we all pitch in together.”

“Okay, okay.” Zhang Haiping and Liu Shufen both nodded.

After a hearty breakfast, Lu Qingqiang led everyone up the mountain.

Today’s task was still tree planting, along with hauling timber down the mountain.

But with more and more people joining the orphanage, the shuttle bus they had bought earlier wasn’t enough anymore.

She was just thinking about sending Driver Xiao Zhang out to buy another vehicle when she got a call from Madam Lu.

“Hello, Mom, good morning! Have you eaten yet?”

“I have. Qingqing, have you eaten?”

“I have, Mom. We’re about to head up the mountain with everyone from the orphanage.”

“Qingqing, you mentioned on WeChat yesterday that the orphanage has more people now? So the bus you bought before isn’t enough anymore?”

“Mom, if we take out one of the cars you stored in the garage for me, it should be okay for now,” Lu Qingqiang said.

“That’s not a long-term solution.”

“Qingqing, I had the housekeeper order another bus just like the last one first thing this morning.”

“And I also had him get you a seven-seater business van.”

“The vehicles should arrive around noon. Keep an eye out.” Madam Lu said.

“Mom, you’re seriously too good to me!” Lu Qingqiang was genuinely delighted.

Madam Lu really did care deeply for her.

She even paid attention to little details like this.

“Actually, it was your dad who reminded me last night.”

“Qingqing, your father may seem hard to talk to, but deep down, he really does care about you.”

“When you have time, come home more often. You’ll see.”

“I know, Mom.” Lu Qingqiang nodded, her heart a little sour.

“And about those little animals you wanted to raise, your second brother went out early this morning to find someone to help.”

“He may act like a rascal sometimes, like a kid who never grew up, and he can be sharp-tongued without thinking.”

“But at heart, he’s a good person.”

“When he sends the animals up the mountain, have him stay and help you plant trees too.”

“If he refuses, just tell him it’s my order.”

“If he doesn’t listen, no more allowance.”

“…”

Lu Qingqiang was speechless.

Her mom was definitely her real mom.

She just wondered, if her second brother heard that, would he blow his top on the spot?

Oho, now she was kind of looking forward to seeing her second brother soon.