Chapter 388: – Beyond Expectations
Time to go to the orphanage.
When Lin Jin went home at noon, she called several orphanages in the nearby Jimei District. One said they didn't need volunteers because some half hearted volunteers might disappoint the kids. Another two said a large group of volunteers was coming this afternoon, so they might not be able to accommodate her and politely declined. But the last one, the furthest and most remote orphanage, had a teacher who readily agreed but asked Lin Jin not to buy too many things since the orphanage already had supplies.
Well, even if she wanted to buy a lot, she didn't have the money, right?
Lin Jin took a deep breath and saw that it was almost time. She picked up Braised Pork, slung it over her shoulder, and bought about a hundred yuan's worth of snacks from the nearby supermarket. She then wobbled with a big pile of snacks to the bus stop.
Wu Min seemed to have arrived early, also carrying some gifts. He smiled at Lin Jin and took the bags from her hands.
"Which orphanage are we going to?"
"Love Orphanage, I think it's privately run." Lin Jin scratched her head. It was the only orphanage that agreed to let her visit. She had tried to look up some information online but found that because it was relatively small, there wasn't much information about it on the internet. "It's quite remote, I found the address, but it's too far, the buses don’t go there."
"No buses go there?" Wu Min was surprised.
"Yeah, it's really remote, it seems to be at the foot of a mountain." Lin Jin shrugged. Then she saw Zhu Dong walking towards them with a camera bag. After greeting him, she looked down at her phone to find a taxi.
Fortunately, although Love Orphanage was very remote, it was still findable on maps so it was easy to take a taxi.
Since it was close to the school, a car quickly accepted the ride order and arrived in front of Lin Jin in just a few minutes. The three of them got in and the driver, after glancing at the destination, turned around and asked in surprise, "Going to the orphanage?"
"Yeah" Lin Jin nodded. The driver gave her a strange look.
"Love Orphanage, huh? A few years ago, there were reports of abuse there. No clue what it's like now" the driver shook his head and started the car. "Are you going there to volunteer?"
"That’s right!" Lin Jin proudly confirmed without hesitation.
"Tsk, just the few of you? Nowadays, volunteers are usually organized by schools or organizations. It's rare to see just a few friends like you guys going on their own" the driver was not very familiar with the route to the orphanage. He stopped at every traffic light to check on the map navigation, afraid of making a wrong turn. Though he kept talking. "Are you students at the software college?"
"Yeah. There’s no classes in the afternoon anyways so we thought we'd do something meaningful" Lin Jin appeared quite noble.
"That's good" the driver nodded. "My son also volunteered when he was in college. He just went once but still kept boasting about it to me."
"In my opinion, what's the point of going once? Maybe those kids are waiting for your next visit, and if you don't go again, doesn't that just make them feel worse? I beat him every time my son boasted, but he would always have a bunch of excuses."
"That Love Orphanage owner is no good. A few years ago, it was said he abused the children. Last year, there was news that the staff there were taking things volunteers brought for the children. Uh, just two months ago, someone came out and exposed that the food was terrible and the staff would beat and scold the children."
For some reason, the atmosphere suddenly became heavy. Listening to the driver talk about the orphanage, Lin Jin felt that this trip might not be such a good outing.
The situation at the orphanage was a bit beyond what Lin Jin had thought.
She had originally thought that many children in the orphanage may have some disabilities, so the atmosphere in the orphanage might be a bit heavy. But she assumed the staff and caretakers there must be kind hearted people. The facilities might not be the best, but the food would still be decent, right? After all, there were so many caring people.
But before they had even arrived, they had already heard the driver reveal a bunch of dark history about Love Orphanage.
Lin Jin exchanged a glance with Wu Min, both noticing that the other’s expression had darkened.
After twenty minutes and fifty yuan as fare, Lin Jin and the others finally arrived in front of a normal kindergarten like three story building within a village located at the foot of a mountain.
It didn’t look like anything was wrong.
The three of them exchanged glances, then carried their stuff and walked forward, noticing that the sign read "Love Welfare Institute" instead of orphanage. The main gate was tightly closed with only a skinny old man sitting in the security booth nearby, vigilantly eying them.
"What do you want?" the old man stood up, gave the three of them a stern look, and then focused on Lin Jin.
"I called at noon and said I was bringing some people over. My name is Lin Jin." Lin Jin tip toed, trying to look inside the security booth. The old man looked very alert, his exposed arms in the short sleeves were skinny, but one could clearly see the strong muscles.
She felt like Wu Min might not be able to beat him.
"Lin Jin, right?" The old man frowned and scanned them again before finally relaxing. "Here to volunteer?"
"Right."
Lin Jin lifted the gifts in her hand to show him and said sincerely: "I really just came to visit the children."
The old man stared at Lin Jin for a moment, then left the security booth. After a few minutes, he opened the heavy iron gate with a grating noise. Little by little, the opening widened just enough for Lin Jin to pass through.
"Come in" the old man said from inside.
"Okay."
Although the old man didn't seem very welcoming of Lin Jin, Lin Jin's mind right now was solely on the children in the orphanage. She was so eager, her eyes sparkling as she walked toward the second floor as the old man directed.
The old man said it was free activity time for the kids right now and most of them were playing on the second floor.
She wondered if the kids were super cute and super smart! Even if they weren't very smart, they must be very likable, right?!
With high hopes, Lin Jin’s party went up to the second floor.
And all hope collapsed.
The heavy atmosphere seemed to cast a dark shadow over the entire floor, and a slightly sour smell kept assaulting Lin Jin's nose.
A dazed child was sitting in a chair. When he heard the sound of Lin Jin and her group coming, he slowly turned his head like a robot and blankly stared at Lin Jin's face. He gave a mechanical smile, nodded at her, and then continued to stare into space.
Another child in a wooden bucket was watching a TV in the distance showing Tom and Jerry, completely still. That wooden bucket and his body were tightly fitted together, as if the bucket itself was his lower body.
The situation was far beyond Lin Jin's expectations.