Chapter 6 Chapter 4 The Church of Angels

With a smile on his face, Teacher Zhou rummaged through a few paper bags that Fang Mu had brought, "Hey, I really bought a lot!" Fang Mu's face was a little red: "I'm not very good at shopping..." He watched Teacher Zhou unfold a pair of jeans, "...I hope Yafan can like it." "Well, you are more thoughtful than me." Teacher Zhou folded the clothes and put them in a paper bag, "Yafan has indeed reached the age of loving beauty. But in the future, I should give her less of these things. The children here, it is best not to Infected with vanity."

Fang Mu nodded, "Definitely." "Then, when Yafan comes back, you hand it over to her personally?" Fang Mu hurriedly waved his hands, "You should give it to her." "Me? I'm afraid it's not suitable." Mr. Zhou weighed the paper bag in his hand, "This girl is crazy, you can tell at a glance that I didn't buy it for her. Xiao Zhao, Xiao Zhao." Sister Zhao walked in with her hands full of foam, "What's the matter?" "Give this to Liao Yafan and say that you bought it for her. But don't give it to her at once, give it to her several times."

Sister Zhao leaned over to take a look in the paper bag, raised her head and smiled at Fang Mu: "Hehe, it's quite fashionable." She pointed to a room diagonally opposite the door, "Xiao Fang, I can't do anything now, help Eldest Sister Take it to your room." Fang Mu responded, picked up a few paper bags and walked out. Sister Zhao's room is not big, and it's in the shade, so the light is very dark.As soon as Fang Mu entered the door, he smelled a strong smoke.He looked around and put the paper bag on a small single bed. The room was simply furnished, with only a bed, a chest of drawers, a table and two chairs.There are two long burning lamps on the chest of drawers, and an incense burner in the middle. In the thick incense ash, a few sticks of incense flicker and dim, and the smoke is lingering.Behind the censer, a boy's face grinned at Fang Mu in the black frame.

Fang Mu leaned in front of the chest of drawers, staring intently at the boy's photo.He looked no older than 10, with a hint of shyness and precociousness in his eyes.Judging from the slightly mischievous smile on the corner of his mouth, the person who took the photo should be his relatives, maybe Sister Zhao herself. "That's Sister Zhao's son." At some point, Teacher Zhou also walked in.He stood beside Fang Mu, staring at the photo in front of him. Fang Mu looked towards the door and asked in a low voice, "How old is this child...?" "8 year-old."

"Due to illness?" "No, suicide." Fang Mu was taken aback, "Suicide?" Teacher Zhou nodded, keeping his eyes on the photo. After a long time, he let out a long sigh, picked up a few sticks of incense from the chest of drawers, lit them on the long-burning lamp, and inserted them into the incense burner.The smoke that had been thin just now became thicker again. In the evening, Teacher Zhou asked Fang Mu to stay for dinner again. This time he did not refuse, and volunteered to help Sister Zhao peel potatoes.Sister Zhao felt sorry at first, and said nothing to let Fang Mu do anything, and she agreed only after Fang Mu insisted repeatedly.But after Fang Mu peeled three potatoes, Sister Zhao refused to let him do it.

"The skin you peeled is too thick, and the waste is enough to stir-fry." Fang Mu had no choice but to do the most unskilled job—washing potatoes. "Why do you always eat potatoes?" Fang Mu soaked the washed potatoes one by one in the water, and two layers were quickly piled up in the basin in front of him. "No way, this thing is cheap." Sister Zhao brushed her hair, "Old Zhou bought such a large piece of land to build an orphanage, and the money in his hand is running out. Besides, there are few social donations, regular donations like yours Yes, even less. So many children’s living expenses, tuition and miscellaneous expenses, and medical expenses, how can we do it if we don’t save a little?”

"Yes, yes." Fang Mu nodded, "Ms. Zhou is not easy." Having said that, Fang Mu looked around and asked Big Sister Zhao in a low voice, "Why have I never met Mrs. Zhou's wife?" "Hey, I asked him, this old man has never been married and has been single for most of his life." "Hey!" Fang Mu couldn't help feeling admiration, "It seems that this old gentleman has devoted his whole life to these children." "Yeah, that's a great person." Sister Zhao looked into the yard. Teacher Zhou was sitting on the flower bed. In front of her was a little girl who was wiping tears. Teacher Zhou touched her head and said something pleasantly , the little girl kept nodding.

"He is very good at enlightening people. No matter what troubles you encounter, as long as you chat with Lao Zhou for a while, all troubles will be gone." Sister Zhao turned her head and said softly: "It is possible to meet such a person in this life. , to be able to work together, I don’t know if it’s a blessing from many lifetimes of cultivation.” Fang Mu smiled, and turned his head involuntarily. Most of the sun had sunk below the horizon. Teacher Zhou turned his back to the setting sun, and his whole body was covered with thin golden edges. With a faint light.The little girl stopped crying, and a sweet smile appeared on her tear-stained face.

A young girl suddenly jumped in from the door, her mischievous expression had just appeared on her face, but she instantly restrained because of the stranger in the kitchen. It was Liao Yafan, wearing new jeans.She saw that it was Fang Mu who was washing potatoes, and turned around and ran away with a "ah". Sister Zhao scolded with a smile: "This child, Maomao is in a daze." The dazed Liao Yafan came back soon, and the new jeans had been replaced by a pair of old sweatpants.Without saying a word, she dragged the basin full of potatoes to her and buried herself in washing it.

Fang Mu was a little embarrassed, so he got up and went to the pool to wash his hands, stood there for a while, then turned and went to the yard.Before turning around, I heard Liao Yafan whispering to Sister Zhao, "Thank you, Aunt Zhao." There seemed to be a lot of children in the yard all of a sudden, most of them were thin and poorly dressed, but the carefree expressions on their faces were no different from those children snuggling in the arms of their parents.This is probably the busiest time of day in the orphanage.The children who have just come out of school are not stingy with wasting the last bit of energy of the day.And those children with disabilities who can only stay in the courtyard express their enthusiasm accumulated all day to the returning partners without reservation.There was laughter, noise, and back and forth beatings everywhere.

Fang Mu sat on the flower bed and smoked slowly, feeling indescribably relaxed.His eyes flicked over the children who were flying by, fine dust rose from his nose.He remembered that he also enjoyed those inexplicable happiness in such a rough land when he was a child.Unexpectedly, in today's game room and Internet cafes everywhere, running can also bring such ecstasy to children. Fang Mu noticed that on the other side of the flower bed, a little child was watching him through the flowers and grass.Judging from his obese face and crooked eyes, this is a mentally handicapped child. The child found that Fang Mu was also looking at him, he laughed, and at the same time stretched out a hand and waved vigorously at him. Fang Mu smiled and waved at him.As if encouraged, the child waved again. After several times, Fang Mu realized that the child was actually playing a guessing game with him, and at the same time found that he only had two fingers.Fang Mu thought for a while, and every time he spread his five fingers, making a "cloth" gesture. So the owner of "Scissors" was very happy. The consecutive victories made him elated. He even ran to roll in the flower bed and couldn't wait to get up, and continued to play with the guy on the opposite side who could only produce "cloth". The sky gradually darkened, and the figure of the child among the flowers became more and more blurred. Fang Mu gradually couldn't see his hands clearly, and only heard the excited "giggle" laughter from the opposite side. Suddenly, Fang Mu realized that someone was beside him.Turning his head, in the darkness, Liao Yafan stood a few meters away, looking at him quietly. "It's time to eat." She said softly after a few seconds. Dinner is very simple, boiled tofu with cabbage, shredded potatoes, chili sauce and white rice.Fang Mu was arranged by Teacher Zhou's side.Opposite him is Liao Yafan. Liao Yafan himself was not in a hurry to eat, but held a disabled child about 1 year old in his arms and fed him mouthful.She put the child in her arms, holding a spoon in her right hand and a handkerchief in her left hand, ready to wipe the vegetable soup from the corner of the child's mouth at any time.While he was chewing, Liao Yafan scooped up a few mouthfuls of food and stuffed them into his mouth. It can be seen that Fang Mu is willing to stay for dinner, and Teacher Zhou is quite happy.Perhaps because he was sorry for the simplicity of the food, Mr. Zhou specially poured two glasses of white wine as compensation. Wine is good wine, even someone like Fang Mu who doesn't know how to taste wine can feel soft and mellow after drinking.Teacher Zhou saw Fang Mu smacking his lips, smiled and said, "Wuliangye." "Hey, I've never had such a good wine." "Then I'll pour you some more." "No, no, no." Fang Mu hurriedly waved his hand, "I have to drive later. Besides, you should keep such a good wine for entertaining guests. It's useless for a layman like me to drink it." Teacher Zhou picked up the wine glass, took a sip, and held it in his mouth for a long time before swallowing it. "Well, at that time, drinking Wuliangye was like drinking water, and you couldn't taste it at all." He turned the cup in his hand, "Now there are fewer chances to drink, and instead, you can drink its fragrance. It seems that aftertaste The best time to do something is to lose it." "Hehe," Sister Zhao laughed sullenly with food in her mouth, "When your old man was rich, I'm afraid you didn't take this stuff seriously, did you?" "Hey, yes." Teacher Zhou put down his wine glass and stared at the ceiling, "Thinking about it now, it was a waste of money back then." "Grandpa Zhou," a little boy quickly picked out a piece of fatty meat from the soup bowl and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing and saying, "were you rich in the past?" "yes." "How much money?" "Haha." Teacher Zhou stroked the air with a smile, "A lot of money." "So have you ever flown on a plane?" asked another little girl. "Sit down." "Is it fun?" "It's fun. But the first time Grandpa flew on an airplane, I was terrified. Such a big iron thing flew up in a flash. I thought, if it falls, I will be finished. " The children laughed. "Then have you ever been to a foreign country?" A little girl asked. "I've been there." "Ever been to America?" "Been there." "What's the United States like? Our teacher said, America is doing well." "Yes. But I still like our country." "Why?" "Because the United States does not have these little treasures of mine." Teacher Zhou stretched out his hand to scratch the little girl's nose.The little girl wrinkled her nose and smiled. "Tell us about foreign countries, Grandpa Zhou." "What is there to say about foreign countries?" "Tell me, tell me..." the children begged.Teacher Zhou looked at more than a dozen pairs of expectant eyes, and became interested. "Okay. Then let me tell you about a university I went to. This school is called Harvard University, and it is one of the best universities in the world. At that time, I went to a tallest white building to attend lectures every day... ..." The children listened with gusto, among them, Liao Yafan listened most seriously, and even forgot to continue feeding the child in his arms.Her face was reddish, and there was a kind of dreamlike longing in her eyes, which seemed to be yearning and jealous at the same time. She has fully possessed the thinking ability of an adult.Fang Mu thought. It is impossible for Liao Yafan not to compare her current living situation with the heavenly description in Teacher Zhou's mouth, and she is just at the age where fantasies are most likely to occur.However, the reality is so cruel.Fang Mu's eyes fell on the old pair of sweatpants on Liao Yafan's body, and his heart ached. The child in his arms yelled in dissatisfaction at being left out for a long time.Liao Yafan, who woke up like a dream, hurriedly scooped up food and stuffed it into his mouth, accidentally choking the child.The child coughed heart-piercingly, Teacher Zhou stopped talking, and hurriedly instructed Sister Zhao to take care of the child.When Liao Yafan handed the child to Sister Zhao, his eyes were still fixed on Mr. Zhou, as if he hoped that he would continue talking. However, Teacher Zhou was more concerned about the child at the moment. After the child spit out a piece of potato and stopped coughing, he also forgot what he just said, and just waved his hand to tell everyone to eat quickly.Liao Yafan was a little disappointed, and slowly put the little food left in the rice bowl into his mouth bit by bit. After dinner, Teacher Zhou made another pot of tea and sat down with Fang Mu to chat.The children find their own places to do their homework and play games.Liao Yafan picked up a large basin of used dishes and followed Sister Zhao into the kitchen. Tea is also good tea.Fang Mu tasted it carefully, while secretly trying to figure out Teacher Zhou's past identity and occupation.Perhaps it was because of some wine at dinner that Mr. Zhou was very interested in talking. "If the conditions are better in the future, I will build a library here... There will be a dormitory for girls..." Teacher Zhou said while gesticulating in the yard with his hands, it seemed that there was already a neat and bright building in front of him. Fang Mu listened to him with a smile and didn't interrupt.Teacher Zhou was talking, and suddenly he laughed too. "It sounds like the truth," he shook his head. "It's just thinking about it. If I can let the children in front of me receive education and enter the society in a healthy way, I will be very proud." Fang Mu thought for a while, "Did you spend a lot of money to run this orphanage?" "Well," Teacher Zhou nodded, "I have saved most of my life here." Fang Mu secretly calculated in his heart. A yard of more than 800 meters, plus this small two-story building, is already a huge sum, plus food, clothing, housing and various expenses for everyone, even if there is a million dollars, it is estimated that there is not much left. "Why not seek some social donations?" "Hehe, there are many people who want to invest in me and donate to these children." Teacher Zhou smiled, "I didn't agree. Because without exception, they asked us to cooperate with them in some publicity. Money, with a video camera in the other hand." "If..." Fang Mu thought about his words, "...can solve some practical difficulties, at worst, I will cooperate with them in performing." "No." Teacher Zhou's voice was low, but her tone was firm, "They want the children to show a humble appearance of being favored by others. Indeed, they paid for it, but I can't let my children feel inferior from an early age .” Teacher Zhou turned her head to Fang Mu, "You should know that a person's childhood situation will have a huge impact on his life." His eyes shifted to those small, lighted windows, "They have been abandoned, what I want to do is to minimize the possible harm of this experience. I hope that after they enter the society, they can forget this encounter." Fang Mu understands that Mr. Zhou founded this orphanage not only to keep those abandoned children alive, but his goal is to let the children return to society with a complete and healthy personality.This could not help but make Fang Mu full of respect for the seemingly mediocre old man beside him. "what can I do for you?" "Hahaha..." Teacher Zhou laughed loudly, and patted Fang Mu's shoulder heavily, "You have helped me a lot." "I didn't do anything." Fang said dully, blushing a little. "No. You are the only one who gave me funding without asking for anything in return." Teacher Zhou looked into Fang Mu's eyes and said very seriously, "I once lost confidence in everyone. But you, help me find returned it." Fang Mu's face turned even redder.In fact, his return has been obtained several years ago, that is a person's life.In comparison, how insignificant is my current funding. He turned his gaze to the two-story building, which was completely enveloped by the night, and the faint lights streaming from the small windows looked like pairs of warm eyes, looking at Fang Mu and Teacher Zhou mischievously. Fang Mu's heart skipped a beat. "Teacher Zhou, I have a suggestion." "Well, you say." "You'll have to think about a name for this orphanage." "A name? Why, I don't want to hype this place." "It's not for promoting this place." Fang Mu said seriously: "It's for those children. If it's called an orphanage, then I'm afraid these children will never forget that they walked out of the orphanage." "It makes sense!" Teacher Zhou was very excited, "Go on." "These children are either disabled, abandoned, or both parents died. They must be full of low self-esteem for their origins," Fang Mu paused, "we want them to still have the right to live here when they grow up. If it is a pleasant memory, we need to give this place a warm and belonging name." Teacher Zhou stood up, "Hehe, Xiao Fang, I didn't expect you to be so thoughtful." He cupped his hands around his mouth: "Assemble, assemble, everyone come out." After a moment of silence, the small building began to roar with excitement. A few minutes later, groups of children ran out of the building, followed by Sister Zhao and Liao Yafan, wiping their hands on their aprons as they walked. Teacher Zhou stood on the flower bed and motioned for everyone to gather around. "Just now, I had a discussion with Uncle Fang." He pointed to Fang Mu, "We want to name our house, everyone agree?" The children cheered up and said yes all over the place.Sister Zhao also pursed her lips and smiled. It seemed that no matter what Teacher Zhou wanted to do, she would support her. "Then tell me, what should I name it?" The crowd suddenly fell silent, every child was frowning and thinking hard, even those mentally handicapped children imitated other children and made a look of racking their brains.After a moment of silence, various names rang out one after another in the crowd: "Love Elementary School!" "Hope Orphanage!" "Tomorrow will be better welfare home!" "Grandpa Zhou Charity House!" The children discussed and argued with each other, insisting that their own name was the best.Teacher Zhou looked at everyone with a smile, sometimes encouraging those timid children to speak, and sometimes looking up at the night sky and meditating. "I don't think we should argue, Lao Zhou, this orphanage was built by you, so I named it after you!" Sister Zhao waved her hand, "It's called Zhou Guoqing Orphanage." The children clapped their hands clackingly. "No." Mr. Zhou's eyes were slowly withdrawn from the night sky, his face was a solemn and gentle expression, and the corner of his mouth was still smiling. "Hall of Angels," he said softly. For a moment, everyone was quiet, as if they were fascinated by these three words.Sister Zhao raised her hands in front of her chest, as if an applause had been frozen. "The Hall of Angels..." Sister Zhao murmured, her face turned slightly red, "The Hall of Angels..." Childish voices are getting louder and louder in every corner: "Angel Hall..." "Angel Hall..." It seems that everyone is carefully chewing and reminiscing about these three words, enjoying the pleasure they reveal between their lips and teeth, and enjoying the beautiful meaning deeply contained in them. A little girl pulled Teacher Zhou's trousers: "Grandpa Zhou, do you mean that we are all angels?" Teacher Zhou knelt down and picked her up, "Yes." He looked around at those expectant faces, "You, everyone, are angels." Fang Mu suddenly felt very bright in front of his eyes, as if he really saw countless cute little angels, they were flapping their white wings, tilting their heads, showing him the purest smile in the world.