Lin’an Orphanage!
When Director Qin heard Li Yi say he wanted to donate to the orphanage, he was taken aback at first.
These days, orphanages mainly rely on government funding. Although ordinary people occasionally donate money or goods, the amounts are usually small.
Nevertheless, she said cheerfully, “I thank you on behalf of the children. If you don’t mind, let’s discuss this in my office.”
“Sure. But I brought some food for the children. Director Qin, please ask the children to make some room—I’ll have someone drive the car into the courtyard!” Li Yi said.
“Alright…”
Then Director Qin began calling the children over!
Soon, two cars pulled into the orphanage courtyard.
The orphanage resembled a rural school from later times, consisting of an L-shaped two-story building and a fairly large courtyard. The small building was where the children usually rested, ate, and studied, while the courtyard was where they played.
Although the buildings looked a bit run-down, they didn’t feel gloomy at all; on the contrary, they exuded a special warmth and simplicity.
As soon as the cars pulled into the courtyard, the children quickly gathered around, all gazing enviously at the two large vehicles.
They were all quite young, and for safety reasons, they were generally not allowed to leave the orphanage.
As a result, while most of them had seen cars before, they rarely had the chance to get up close to one.
Director Qin was worried the children might be clumsy and accidentally damage the cars, and was about to scold them, but Li Yi stopped him just in time.
“Let them look and touch if they want to. These days, cars are built to last—a few touches won’t break them.”
Then, under Director Qin’s watchful eye, Li Yi opened the car doors and the trunk.
When he saw the car packed to the brim with items, Director Qin was instantly stunned.
“Comrade Li Yi, are all these items for our orphanage?”
“Yes, there are three bags of rice, two bags of flour, two ten-pound buckets of rapeseed oil, and the rest is just peanuts, sunflower seeds, candy, and the like!”
As he spoke, Li Yi suddenly remembered his promise to give the little boy some candy.
He immediately grabbed a big handful of “Big White Rabbit” candies from the bag and handed them to the little boy who had helped call for help earlier, telling him to share them with the other children.
He didn’t distribute the remaining items to the children himself, but handed them all to Director Qin, asking her to allocate them as she saw fit.
After moving all the supplies into the orphanage kitchen, Li Yi followed Director Qin to her office.
Stepping into Director Qin’s office, Li Yi’s thoughts were once again drawn back to his past life.
After Director Qin passed away at the turn of the millennium, his third older sister, Li Na, took her place as the orphanage director and later moved into this very office.
From then on, every time Li Yi came to Lin’an to visit his third sister, he would spend an hour and a half in this office.
“The space is a bit cramped, so please make do with the seating, everyone!”
Saying this, Director Qin picked up the thermos to pour water for Li Yi and the others.
Seeing this, Li Yi immediately said, “Director Qin, please don’t trouble yourself. Let’s just talk about the donation.”
Hearing this, Dean Qin’s hand froze mid-motion.
“Comrade Li Yi, I’m not sure how much you’d like to donate, or if you have any specific requests?”
“Director Qin, could you tell me how many orphans you currently have here?” Li Yi asked.
“There are 174 in total—68 boys and 106 girls!”
“And how many staff members do you have?”
“Aside from me, we only have two official staff members. The rest are all neighbors from the area who come to help when they’re not busy—they don’t ask for any pay!”
Li Yi nodded, then asked again, “How much does the orphanage spend each month? Is the government’s monthly allocation sufficient?”
Director Qin sighed and said, “As far as food goes, the government funding is basically enough. But many of these orphans were abandoned by their parents because of disabilities or serious illnesses—we can’t just stand by and watch the children suffer!”
“So every month we have to scrape together some money to pay for the children’s medical care, but it’s still just a drop in the bucket…”
At this point, Director Qin couldn’t help but fall silent.
Medical care is a life-or-death matter for any family, let alone an orphanage where there are far more than just one or two children in need of hospital treatment.
Just then, Li Yi suddenly spoke up: “Director Qin, from now on, I’ll sponsor this orphanage!”
“S-sponsor? What does that mean?”
She had heard of donations and gifts, but she had never heard the term “sponsorship” before.
“It means I’ll cover all the orphanage’s expenses from now on—including the children’s daily needs, schooling, medical care, and even college tuition. As long as the expenses are reasonable, I’ll take care of everything!” Li Yi declared, his words sending shockwaves through the room.
Whoa!
Whether it was Director Qin or the others who had accompanied Li Yi—Zhang Ziqiang, Zhou Wen, and the rest—they were all stunned by his generous offer.
It took Director Qin a while to recover, and then he looked at Li Yi and said, “Comrade Li Yi, you’re not joking, are you? Do you have any idea how much money that would require?”
“Dean Qin, you needn’t doubt my motives, nor should you doubt my capabilities!”
Zhou Yang then pointed to Zhang Ziqiang and Zhou Wen standing nearby and said, “The people here with me are all state officials. You can check their credentials, and we’ll discuss this in detail afterward!”
At Li Yi’s gesture, Zhang Ziqiang took out his credentials and handed them to Dean Qin.
Given the gravity of the matter, Dean Qin didn’t hesitate; she immediately took the ID and began examining it.
Although Director Qin didn’t know exactly what kind of organization the State Security Bureau was, she felt reassured upon seeing the bright red official seal on the credentials and the photo of Zhang Ziqiang in military uniform.
After returning the credentials to Zhang Ziqiang, Director Qin said immediately, “Comrade Li… Comrade Li, are you really going to sponsor our orphanage?”
“Yes. I see that our orphanage’s living conditions and other facilities aren’t quite up to par. I plan to tear this place down and build a brand-new orphanage on the same site—one that’s larger, better equipped, and offers superior conditions!”
Li Yi continued, “However, I’ll only be providing the funding; the rest will still be up to you, Director Qin, to manage!”
“Of course… of course. But building an orphanage like that will cost a fortune. Actually, with a little repair work, this place is still perfectly usable…”
Before Director Qin could finish, Li Yi cut her off and said, “Director Qin, since you’ve accepted my financial support, you should follow my lead on this matter. What do you think?”
“Well… all right then!”
Li Yi nodded and said, “You can report this matter to the district authorities and come up with a concrete plan. In a few days, I’ll send someone over to discuss this with you!”
As he spoke, Li Yi took a thick stack of cash from the shoulder bag he was carrying and placed it on Director Qin’s desk.
“I was in a hurry when I left this morning and didn’t bring much cash. Please take this for now and get the children who need treatment to the hospital. I’ll send the funds for their ongoing treatment as soon as possible!” Li Yi said.
Looking at the thick stack of 100-yuan bills on the desk, Director Qin’s eyes immediately welled up with tears.
Just moments ago, she had been worrying about the medical bills for Xiaohuzi and Lannier. Both suffered from heart conditions, and with enough money, they could be cured.
But the orphanage simply couldn’t afford the surgery costs, so the children’s treatment had been put off time and again.
With this money, regardless of whether this young man would continue to donate in the future, at the very least, these two children now had a chance at survival.
With that thought, Director Qin immediately bowed to Li Yi and said gratefully, “Comrade Li Yi, thank you. You are a good person!”
“You’re too kind!”
Li Yi then added, “My people will be here in a couple of days. Director Qin, please report this to the district government and the civil affairs department as soon as possible. Be sure to tell them my name is Li Yi, and I’m the head of Star Investment Company!”
“Alright, I’ll keep that in mind!”
Li Yi nodded and then suggested taking a tour of the orphanage.
Director Qin, of course, didn’t refuse, and personally led him on a tour of the entire orphanage!