Qin Huai: ...

Just as Qin Congwen was taking a confused phone call, Qin Huai couldn't help but chuckle and asked, "Dad, whose call is it?"

"Grandpa Qiao," Qin Congwen said. "Old Qiao, where did you hear this rumor from? I went to Shan City with my son to sell breakfast. The Qin Family Breakfast Shop has been closed for a long time, and it's not rented out because no one wants to rent it."

"I was planning to find an agent to rent out the shop cheaply during the new year, besides, which breakfast shop stays closed for half a year and opens just on New Year's Eve? In Qiu County, there are only a few breakfast shops open on the morning of New Year's Eve."

Grandpa Qiao is the owner of unit 301 in building 3, and a faithful patron of the Qin Family Breakfast Shop, having eaten the buns sold by Qin Congwen for eleven years.

Grandpa Qiao has a habit of morning jogging. Every morning, he eats breakfast twice – a bun made by Qin Congwen before jogging to motivate himself, and another bun made by Qin Huai after jogging as a reward. On rainy days, he only eats Qin Huai's buns, come rain or shine.

Given the relationship between Grandpa Qiao and the Qin Family, he indeed could directly call to ask.

"Dad, tell everyone in the owners' group. The new breakfast shop won't open tomorrow, but if you're free at 11 PM tonight, you can come to our house and pick up a bag of Four Happiness glutinous rice. Consider it my New Year's gift to everyone," Qin Huai said.

Qin Congwen hurriedly shouted, "Old Qiao, did you hear that? Come to my house at 11 PM to get some sticky rice dumplings. No buns, only dumplings. My son is a great cook, you can eat with peace of mind!"

"Could you help me count the numbers in the owners' group? What? There are a lot of people in your family, so you want two bags?" Qin Congwen glanced at Qin Huai, and upon seeing Qin Huai nod, he said, "Alright, alright, two bags for you. Don't spread it around. My Huaihuai just got off the high-speed train and is exhausted from a long day, so he can't make too many, and he still has to go to the countryside tomorrow."

Qin Congwen hung up the phone.

At home, Zhao Rong and Qin Luo had already finished unpacking, while Qin Huai and Qin Congwen stood outside the door, ready to head over to the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute at any moment.

At this point, someone might ask: Wasn't it mentioned earlier? The Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute is right next to the Qin Family Breakfast Shop, so why take a minivan for such a short distance?

That was before. When Qin Huai was in high school, the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute moved to a further suburban area, which takes more than ten minutes by car. This distance is considered quite far in a small county town.

Zhao Rong grabbed two packets of dried wood ear fungus, hoarded at some point, and took them to give to Director Qin, and the family got into the minivan and set off again.

After getting in the car, Qin Luo belatedly realized, "Oh no, I forgot to bring the red envelopes from home. I haven't even calculated how much money to give Director Qin."

"It's alright. Tomorrow, Mom will go with you to the bank to cash the check. You give the money to Mom, and she can transfer it to your WeChat. You can directly use WeChat to send money to Director Qin. He receives money super fast," Qin Huai reassured him.

As long as it's a legitimate donation, Director Qin supports any payment method.

.

The Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute, where Qin Huai grew up.

Before the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Garden was relocated, the welfare institute was so close to the Sanmalu District that they were like neighbors. At that time, the welfare institute wasn't strictly managed, and kids from the community and the institute played together. Originally, the Qin Congwen couple chose the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute based on proximity, which allowed Qin Huai to be adopted despite being 'older' at ten years old.

When Qin Huai was first adopted, he wasn't used to having a new home and often went back to the welfare institute after school for a meal before being sent back by Director Qin. Later, when the Qin Congwen couple had to go to the countryside, they'd let Qin Huai eat at the welfare institute after informing Director Qin, and at the end of the month, they'd send some food to the institute to make up for it.

But this practice stopped once Qin Huai started high school.

It wasn't because once Qin Huai started high school, the couple stopped going to the countryside. It was mainly because the orphanage moved to the suburbs when Qin Huai was in seventh grade, and going all the way to the suburbs for a meal was too far.

The address changed, but the name didn't, causing a lot of confusion about where Sanmalu was in the suburbs.

By the time the car pulled up in front of the Sanmalu Children's Welfare Institute, the sky was completely dark.

In most films and TV shows, welfare institutions are either beautifully warm or dilapidated, appearing in either feel-good or horror flicks. But the real Sanmalu Orphanage is just an ordinary, run-down, three-story building with a yard, coated in dust and with chipped putty on the walls, revealing layer upon layer of aged cement that attests to its long history.

The yard has children's facilities donated by charitable individuals a few years ago. Whether it's because the lights were broken or simply to save electricity, the yard lights were off. Qin Huai vaguely saw that the children's facilities seemed to have been replaced, indicating that Luo Jun and Qu Jing's donations indeed led to surplus funds, allowing Director Qin to replace the children's equipment.

"Beep beep," Qin Congwen honked the horn.

After honking several times, they finally caught the attention of Grandpa Qin, the gatekeeper.

Grandpa Qin had been hard of hearing for more than ten years, worsening over the past couple of years. Conversations required shouting, and during his gatekeeping shifts, he was often distracted, either playing on his phone or napping. If not for Grandpa Qin being Director Qin's cousin, Qin Huai thought there was no way Grandpa Qin would beat other grandfathers with better hearing for this 3k a month, non-permanent security job.

Other grandfathers might also slack off, but at least they aren't hard of hearing!

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