Shen Wei told the taxi driver to go to the welfare institute, leaving him looking utterly confused.
The driver said, "I've been in this city for so many years and I've never heard of a welfare institute!"
Shen Wei then gave him the address. After navigating back and forth, they were almost out of the city before finally finding a trace of the welfare institute on a hillside in the suburbs.
Even the driver who dropped them off said, "Thank goodness for GPS navigation, otherwise we really wouldn't have been able to find this place."
As soon as Shen Wei got out of the car, she saw volunteers wearing dark blue vests.
Looking at Shen Wei, one of them said, "There might really be something going on in there."
The female volunteer now wore an expression full of regret.
She had been here several times and had been responsible for all the liaison work.
This included personally escorting the 1 million yuan worth of aid supplies that had been delivered a while ago.
She had rarely seen such a generous donor of supplies as Shen Wei.
Moreover, Shen Wei simply wanted to do charity work.
It was very pure.
She also sincerely admired people like Shen Wei.
She never expected things to go wrong under her watch.
The volunteer immediately took off her vest and said she wanted to take Shen Wei somewhere.
She then led Shen Wei to climb a wild mountain. They weren't following any path; they were stepping on various tree branches to climb up.
The volunteer said, "This is how I usually walk when I go to the mountain villages for volunteer teaching. You might not be used to it."
Shen Wei replied, "It's alright, we can manage."
They went directly around to the back of the mountain, where the forest became increasingly dense.
From a distance, crouching in the woods, they spotted a small four-wheeled truck that was loading goods.
One by one, they were the rice, flour, and oil that they had donated earlier.
Moreover, this truck had words like "So-and-so Grain Shop" written on it.
The female volunteer was almost dying of shame: "I really didn't think they were this kind of people."
The female volunteer had been puzzled when she heard that Shen Wei wanted to come alone today.
When she arrived, she found an empty truck from a grain shop going up the mountain, and she immediately felt something was wrong.
Following the wild path up, she discovered these people were actually taking away all the previously donated supplies.
By now, they had already loaded half a truck.
It was obvious they were selling the supplies donated by kind-hearted people to other places.
Wasn't this blatant fraud?
The volunteer took out her phone and filmed for a while, making sure to capture the license plate number clearly.
They couldn't let these people get too brazen.
She felt like she had let down Shen Wei's trust.
After finishing the video, she asked, "So what do you plan to do?" The volunteer truly felt it wasn't worth it for Shen Wei.
She had donated real money to do charity.
But they ended up encountering this kind of reselling.
How many people would want this kind of aid but couldn't get it?
Shen Wei said, "Let's go over directly, but don't startle them yet!"
The female volunteer had been at a loss, but hearing Shen Wei's words, she immediately felt like she had found a leader. She said, "Alright, let's go together."
They then made their difficult descent down the mountain.
They went around to the front and knocked directly on the gate of the welfare institute.
The welfare institute had a large, long-neglected iron gate that looked very dilapidated.
There were even cobwebs on top of the iron gate.
After Shen Wei knocked on the door, they heard an impatient voice from inside saying, "Who is it?"
Then they heard the volunteer say, "It's me, Little Jia."
Only then did the person on the other side open the door.
The one who opened the door was a fat woman who had undergone an eyebrow lift surgery, making her whole appearance look somewhat harsh.
Seeing the volunteer, and then glancing at Shen Wei and Gu Qingyan behind her, she said, "Oh, and who might these two be?"
The volunteer said, "Oh, these are the kind-hearted donors who came to donate supplies a while ago. They've come to take a look this time."
When the fat woman heard that the donors had come, her expression immediately changed.
Everyone present knew why her expression had changed so drastically.
Because they were still loading their goods at the back door. At this moment, the fat woman became anxious and said, "Why didn't you tell us earlier that you were coming?"
The volunteer said, "Is it inconvenient?"
The woman was also quick-witted and said, "Oh, it's not inconvenient at all. It's just that if you had told us earlier, we could have prepared a proper reception!"
She paused and then added, "Thanks to your generous donation, otherwise the children would have run out of food!"
As she finished speaking, she wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
She managed to rub her eyes red.
The volunteer said, "Well then, shall we go in?" The fat woman, afraid they would walk to the back courtyard, squeezed her fat body to one side and led them forward.
Shen Wei took a look around. The children here were all thin and sickly, with lifeless eyes.
Then the volunteer introduced the fat woman's identity to Shen Wei: "She's the cook here!"
The fat woman, upon hearing this, added dissatisfiedly, "And also a teacher."
"Oh!" Shen Wei responded carelessly, then asked, "Where are the clothes I donated a while ago? I don't see the children wearing them."
She thought these children rarely bought new clothes.
Most of their clothes were donated by caring people in society.
She thought that children would be happier wearing new clothes. The clothes Shen Wei bought were all brand-name items.
The fat woman said, "These children are very sensible. After receiving the new clothes, they didn't want to wear them. They said they wanted to save them for the New Year."
Seeing Shen Wei arrive, several children looked up.
Compared to the chubby, well-fed children at Starry Sky Kindergarten, these children looked very dull.
Shen Wei beckoned, and a little girl came over.
The fat woman introduced her, saying this little girl was already 12 years old.
Shen Wei was shocked, because the child in front of her looked extremely thin and weak.
She couldn't tell at all that this child was 12.
Finally, she asked, "Where do they go to school?"
"They've never been to school."
Shen Wei was somewhat shocked.
The fat woman said, "These children were all abandoned by their parents. They have extreme personalities. When they went to school, they were a bit light-fingered and were sent back. After that, they didn't want to go to school anymore!"
Hearing the fat woman say this, the children didn't refute.
Shen Wei felt uncomfortable with her choice of words.
These children were also strange. At first, she wasn't sure why she felt uncomfortable.
But after a while, she realized.
These children were numb.
That's right.
The volunteer also asked, "Is the supplies we donated last time still enough?"
The volunteer asked this on purpose.
The fat woman's heart skipped a beat: "It's still enough, still enough."
Her face wore a dry smile, and then she said, "I'll ask the director to come back and properly entertain you!"
Her composure was failing, and she was afraid that cold sweat would break out and give her away.
After saying this, she turned and left.
She also called over a few of the more quick-witted boys.
Seeing that Shen Wei, Gu Qingyan, and the volunteer didn't follow, the fat woman breathed a slight sigh of relief. Then she quietly said to these quick-witted boys, "Later, no matter what they say, you must learn from me when you come back, understand?"
These little boys said, "Understood!"
The fat woman continued, "Make our situation sound more miserable. These people are rich."
The children here had been exposed to the darkness of society too early and understood a lot. Their young age was their biggest asset.
Usually, the fat woman gave them some small privileges, making them feel like little tyrants.
Getting privileges also meant paying a price, and the price now was obedience.
After the fat woman left, these little boys crowded around Gu Qingyan, reaching out for money.
They looked just like the little beggars who pester people outside scenic spots.
Gu Qingyan had indeed brought some cash when she went out. She then took out her wallet and gave each of these children 100 yuan.
These children usually couldn't even spend 10 yuan in their daily lives.
A hundred yuan was a large sum for them.
"We want to go out for a while!" The children were anxious.
They wanted to spend this 100 yuan. Buy some spicy strips, instant noodles, and so on. Once turned into goods, they would be theirs.
Later, they could tell the fat woman that others had asked them to buy these things.
If they didn't spend it now, it would end up in the fat woman's hands in the end.
Seeing the potential for profit, the children immediately forgot the fat woman's requirements.
"Go ahead," Shen Wei said.
These tyrannical children scattered in an instant.
