49 Socializing for the first time (1/2)

Xue'er made her way back to the border town, looking like a lost puppy. Strangely no one noticed her.

Perhaps this was the first time that Xue'er noticed how callous people were to people other than their families. There were even some who treated their own family members this way.

Unfortunately to her, teaching verbally and experiencing firsthand was very different things.

Perhaps one day she would be as cynical as Gan Tian Chi, wandering around the world, taking on the role of an observer in this chaotic era…

But that would be a long way from now.

Xue'er heard footsteps running behind her as she turned around, she saw two small children running. They were about her age, perhaps younger. They were running along the side of the road. Are careful, not to bump into anyone and cause them to get any unwanted attention. They were also nimble and quick, it did not slow them down a bit.

Seeing them scramble so quickly, Xue'er got curious and decided to follow them.

No one noticed the young girl following the two running little children. Although she was only walking at a normal pace, it seemed as if she was catching up to the two children at their running speed.

She silently followed them, it was as if it did not matter if she was walking, or running. In the end, she still caught up.

She realized that she had followed them to the police bureau when she looked up at the wooden plaque that stood above the entrance.

The words were inscribed with large bold letters, from a deep, concentrated ink. The plaque was sealed with a varnish that prevented the elements from discoloring it, but that seemed to have been done long ago.

Xue'er stood there for a while and contemplated for a while.

When she saw more children enter, she decided to follow in, to see where it would lead her.

She entered the police bureau and was met with the children in a vast area, there were at least 30 children sitting around the ground, and eating bread.

[Is this an orphanage?]

Xue'er looked toward the people who were handing out free food to the young children. Although there was only a crude bread being handed out, the children still took it excitedly and stuffed it into their mouths.

Xue'er also decided to give it a try as well.

She got some bread from the person handing it out and inspected it, it seemed to be freshly baked. She took a small piece and placed into her mouth.

”Ke Ke” Xue'er fell into a coughing fit.

[It was so dry.] Xue'er looked around to see the children munching on the bread like it was a gourmet meal.

[How are they doing this?]

Someone came to give her some water, ”Here.” A gentle voice said.

Xue'er had long stopped her coughing fit to take a sip of water to calm herself down. This was the first time such a thing happened, confusing her.

She looked up to see a woman in her forties, dressed in brocade clothes, but there was a kindness to her smile. One that could only be found in a mother's smile to her own children.

But, why was the woman smiling so kindly towards her?

Xue'er found herself staring at the woman in a daze, before realizing that she made a mistake and moved her eyes to stare at the ground.

”Thank you,” she spoke so quietly, her voice was like that of a small ant whispering to the wind. The woman saw her mouth those words and gently patted her head.

”Eat slowly, don't choke.” The woman said as she walked away to attend to other children.

Xue'er nodded and placed a large piece of bread into her mouth. This time, she did not choke, nor fall into a coughing fit, but made sure the bread was fully saturated with water, before swallowing it. The dry and flaky texture from before really made her throat itch.

After everyone was gone from sight, she gently squeezed it, turning it into a fine powder.