About 10 minutes later, the sound of a car engine roaring could be heard outside.
Clearly, the driver was pushing the accelerator to the floor.
The Director entered. He was a middle-aged man.
Upon entering, he immediately greeted Shen Wei and Gu Qingyan.
In truth, this middle-aged man had quite a talent for deception.
He began by expressing immense gratitude to Shen Wei.
"We really can't thank you kind-hearted people enough. Without you, such a small place like ours would never get any attention."
"You've been incredibly thoughtful. Everything you've donated is exactly what we need right now. The children are overjoyed."
His eyes brimmed with what appeared to be utmost sincerity as he spoke.
But Shen Wei felt not an ounce of fondness for him.
After all, she had witnessed with her own eyes how they had resold the donated supplies to a grain store.
She had also seen how the Fat Woman had treated them with suspicion, as if they were thieves.
And then there was the fact that the children in their care were so terribly thin and weak.
Even if their conditions were truly poor, with Shen Wei's donations, the children should have been much better off.
Shen Wei understood human greed, which is why she had deliberately avoided donating money.
She never imagined that despite all her precautions, things would still go wrong.
Shen Wei simply said, "As long as the children are well, that's all that matters."
The Director replied, "I'm so pleased you've come. I don't have much prepared, but I'll tell the kitchen to make a feast. Let's all have a good meal with the children."
He then added, "Where are those few children?" The Director knew that the mischievous little boys were the Fat Woman's informants. Their absence made him slightly uneasy.
Shen Wei said, "We sent them to buy snacks at the store."
The Director laughed and scolded playfully, "These kids, always so naughty. It's good they didn't cause you any trouble. Well then, shall I show you around?"
Shen Wei, her interest waning, declined: "That won't be necessary."
The Director, looking somewhat embarrassed, said, "Our conditions here are indeed limited. Well then, I'll go to the kitchen and give some instructions, see what we can prepare."
"Alright, please go ahead," Shen Wei replied.
The volunteers had maintained unfriendly expressions throughout.
Previously, they had looked down on the Fat Woman but considered the Director to be a good person.
They had felt a special sincerity about him.
But now it seemed he was involved in this mess too.
If he hadn't given his approval, the Fat Woman wouldn't have dared to make such big decisions on her own.
The Director went to the kitchen, where he found the Fat Woman chopping frozen chicken with loud, rhythmic thuds. Who knew how long it had been frozen; the chicken had changed color.
The Director immediately took charge: "Take out the pork ribs and large shrimp we bought yesterday."
The Fat Woman was reluctant to part with them.
The Director quickly said, "Do you know who those people in there are? Just the luxury clothes they're wearing are worth tens of thousands. What's a bit of food compared to that? They might even donate more money to us!"
At the mention of money, the Fat Woman's eyes lit up. "Well, that would be wonderful!"
Suddenly, she saw Gu Qingyan and Shen Wei as foolish rich people.
Her enthusiasm for cooking increased dramatically.
The Director then asked in a low voice, "How did things go in the back yard?"
He was worried that someone might have discovered them reselling the donations.
The Fat Woman, still shaken by the close call, replied, "Luckily it was all at the back door. These people didn't see anything. I sent them away after loading only half a truck."
The workers had been a bit disgruntled, having expected a full truck but only getting to load half.
The Director said, "I told their boss we're good friends. It's fine, as long as they've gone."
He then added, "You keep cooking. I'm going back." He was mainly concerned about leaving Shen Wei alone with the children.
As expected, these children had been conditioned to be extremely timid.
Shen Wei now found herself in a dilemma.
If she handed over the evidence she had recorded to the police, it would only result in a financial penalty.
But since coming here, she had discovered that the children were in terrible condition.
A simple economic punishment wouldn't faze the orphanage staff.
But what about the children? What would happen to them?
As Shen Wei pondered this predicament,
Suddenly, the 12-year-old Little Girl from earlier approached her. "Please don't buy us clothes anymore. We never get to wear those expensive clothes anyway!"
Shen Wei seemed to have a natural affinity with children, and being a kindergarten teacher, many children were drawn to her.
"Why not?" Shen Wei probed.
The Little Girl explained, "The clothes you gave us before were all taken away by him and given to his relatives' children. He said we don't deserve to wear such nice things."
The volunteer, herself just a young woman, was so angered by this that she wanted to curse.
They never imagined that the Director, who always acted so proper, could do such things behind their backs.
The girl was about to say more when she looked up and saw,
through the transparent glass outside the room, the Director's enormous face.
The man was staring intently at her through the glass.
The girl swallowed her words.
The Director then pushed open the door. He put on a troubled smile and said, "This child. I really don't know what to say."
He then asked Shen Wei to come outside, saying he had something to discuss. Gu Qingyan and the volunteer followed.
The Director said, "I overheard that child telling you not to donate clothes. I'm really afraid you might misunderstand."
"Children in this environment often develop a sense of rivalry. Just because the clothes we distribute are random and not to her liking, she cuts them up and spreads these lies!"
"She even accuses the teachers of favoritism. She's been adopted three times before, but always returned, all because of her habit of lying."
"She probably saw that you were easy to talk to and started telling these stories again!"
Shen Wei said lightly, "Oh well, children will be children."
The Director studied Shen Wei's face intently.
Seeing that Shen Wei seemed genuinely unconcerned, he finally relaxed and said, "We'll have a good meal today!"
For lunch, the Fat Woman truly pulled out all the stops.
But Shen Wei and Gu Qingyan were used to Liu Chef's cooking. Their palates were already spoiled.
They barely touched the food here.
Instead, they kept adding dishes to the children's plates.
They gave the children the large black tiger prawns.
At first, the children didn't dare to eat them.
Finally, the Director said, "Go ahead, eat up!"
Only then did the children dare to pick up their chopsticks.
The Fat Woman was furious. Those black tiger prawns cost over 100 yuan per pound.
They were meant to impress the important guests.
She never expected these ungrateful brats to eat them. The very thought made her blood boil.
After the meal, the visitors left. The volunteers' expressions were grim. They told Shen Wei to contact them when she decided to take action.
They also sent Shen Wei the video of the orphanage reselling the donations.
Gu Qingyan and Shen Wei returned to their hotel.
Gu Qingyan hadn't said a word the entire way back.
After all, they had been in someone else's territory, and they didn't know who might have connections to the orphanage staff.
He had forcibly held his tongue the entire journey.
As soon as they reached the hotel, he burst out, "What do we do now?"
Even he had noticed that something was very wrong with that orphanage.
At that moment, Shen Wei accessed the system monitoring the orphanage in her brain.
Sure enough, after the guests had left, the Director and the Fat Woman teacher began to show their true colors.
And all of this was playing out in Shen Wei's mind.
