Chapter 8: A baby

Chi Lian turned around and run to the area T4 had identified as the one where the crying baby sound was coming from.

There she found a child in a box. It did not look like a newborn baby, more like a year or two year old child. From her dressing, Chi Lian assumed that it was a girl. She was dressed in tiny torn leggings and a shirt that had on the words 'Little princess.'

There was dirt and ash all over her face.

Chi Lian carried her out of the box and soothed her.

"Who would do such a terrible thing to a little child." She asked.

"I am already viewing the security footage around the area. Perhaps we can locate the parents of the child if we can find who dumped her here."

Chi Lian pulled some water out of her storage to wash the child's face. Then she got some bread and milk from the storage and fed her slowly.

The child must have been so hungry because she gobbled up the bread and milk like a starving wolf in the wild.

She must have been starving for days or hours. Chi Lian thought.

Perhaps the child was exhausted or just relieved to feel safe; she fell asleep shortly after eating.

Finally, T4 came up with a useful lead. "The child was abandoned here by three men in a black van. I have traced its journey and it came from a little house half a mile away from here named Sunshine orphanage.

Chi Lian could not help but wonder if the orphanage had thrown the child out.

"Let's go and find out what happened."

T4 changed the settings of the motorcycle and it turned into a small electric car.

Chi Lian gaped in amazement.

"I told you, our technology is superior." T4 boasted.

"If elder brother sees this, he will beg me to let him take it apart so that he can study it."

She set the speed to near maximum speed because she did not want anybody stopping her or checking what she was carrying. They could easily call her a child trafficker.

The car rushed through traffic on the road leaving only a gust of wind behind. Those who saw something pass by them could not be sure of what they had seen because it was gone in an instant.

It took her two minutes to reach the dirt road which led to the orphanage.

"Set speed to normal." She said.

The car slowed down and slowly, she made her way to the gate of sunshine orphanage. There was nobody at the gate but it was open so let herself in.

Inside the depilated place were two old buildings, dying plants and hungry looking children. The once yellow bright paint on the buildings had turned dirty brown. Cracks were running through the walls. These buildings appeared to be on the brink of collapse.

How does such a downtrodden place exist in this city! She wondered.

A few of the children walked to her bravely. The oldest one in the group must have been twelve or thirteen years old.

"Wha-wha-what can we do for you?" he stammered. The boy looked nervous and he was struggling with his words.

"Can I see the proprietor of this place?" she asked.

"Huh." The children all looked confused.

"Who is in charge of the children here?"

"Principal Wang." The children answered together.

"Where can I find her?"

They pointed her to the left side of the two story building.

She parked her car under the shade of one of the trees and carried the sleeping girl out from the back.

She pulled a few snacks and sweets out of her storage. To the children, it seemed as if she was pulling the snacks out of air. The audience of children that was watching her with curious eyes was filled with wonder.

Chi Lian laughed and made a 'shush' sound with a finger over her lips.

The children laughed while the youngest ones clapped and waited for what they assumed to be a magic show to continue.

"I promise to buy you all good food today." She said.

She went into the building and knocked on the door marked principal. It was opened by an older woman dressed in a brown old dress. She looked exhausted and tired.

"Are you the person in charge of the children here?"

"Yes." She replied. Her eyes moved to the child on Chi Lian's shoulder. The little girl was awake and sucking on her thumb.

"Mei-Mei." The woman gasped. Her hands reached out for the child but the child refused to let go Chi Lian. In fact, she started crying.

Apprehensive, Chi Lian steeped away from the woman. She needed to first establish whether this person could be trusted.

"Mei-Mei is one of our children. Are you the one who stole her?"

Rolling her eyes, Chi Lian answered, "Would I be here if I had stolen the child?"

"Of course not, please have a seat." She indicated to the worn out sofa in the middle of the tiny office.

"I found her in a box near a trash bin. She had been dumped there." Chi Lian explained.

"Some human traffickers have been going around stealing children from orphanages. I don't know why. As you can see, we are a poor institution. I lack the resources to feed and clothe the children so how can I provide protection for them?"

"Don't you have any help around here?"

"My daughter helps me out but she has a job in the city now. We coud use all the money we can get our hands now. She earns around four thousand yuan a month which mostly goes towards feeding the children."

Chi Lian had seen the situation with her own eyes. The children were malnourished, The clothes on their bodies torn and worn. The buildings were about to collapse.

"Doesn't the government help you?"

"It used to. But ever since the new mayor took office four years ago, we have not received any help. All of my efforts have been met with silence. And when I tried to go to the news stations with the story I was threatened."

Principal Wang looked defeated.

Chi Lian was the kind of person who could not stand injustice. Those monsters were letting children starve while they hogged their money. They slept in warms beds while the children shivered in the cold at night. She would not let them get away with this.

'I will find a way to help you." She vowed.

"You will get in trouble." Principal Wang discouraged her. "Those people are powerful."

"A pen is mightier than the sword."

The woman pondered on Chi Lian's words. The young lady was speaking with determination and authority. Perhaps the heaven had finally felt pity on them and sent a savior.

"Thank you for returning Mei-Mei back to us."

"I couldn't just leave her there." Chi Lian caressed the little girls face and pinched her baby cheeks." What happened to her family?"

"They all died in an accident when she was six months old and nobody came forward to claim her. She has been with us ever since then."

Chi Lian looked into Mei-Mei's eyes. They were big and bright but weary. This child had the same unlucky fate as she did in her last life. This place would not provide the right resources to nurture her growth. Especially because T4 had said she had S class mental strength. She had the potential to do great things but only if someone took a chance on her.

"I want to adopt her." Chi Lian said.

The principal was excited. No child had been adopted from here in three years.

"Are you sure? You don't look so old yourself."

"I will make her my daughter. My age should not matter."

"What about your family?"

"They will accept her." Chi Lian assured the worried woman.

With determination, she completed the adoption procedures immediately. T4 even registered the child as hers officially legally.

When they were finished, she asked for the account number of the orphanage and donated one hundred thousand Yuan.

The principal cried when she received the money alert on her phone.

"I promise you that I am going to revitalize this place. It will become a true sunshine for children." She promised as she held the principal's hands.

"Buy the children some good food tonight. Tomorrow I will send some more supplies over."

Chi Lian bid the excited children goodbye. The principal had already told them that she was now the sponsor of their orphanage. Some of them hugged her and cried.

When she was leaving, she cried for a minute as she thought about their plight.

"We will make it better. Let's make enough money and support them." T4 tried to comfort her.

"I have ordered for children's clothing and other supplies. They are on their way to your home right now."

"Oh-oh." Chi Lian's eyes widened.