Chapter 329: Reassurance
Editor: Atlas Studios
As realization dawned on the older children, they widened their eyes and looked at Mu Yangling in disbelief. The younger ones stared at her in confusion, not really understanding. However, they sensitively sensed the change in emotions in the arena. The older kids didn’t seem to be angry or frightened anymore.
Mu Yangling clapped her hands and said, “Alright, take your bowls to lunch now and rest for a while. I’ll bring you to the nursery later. You can stay there tonight.”
Previously, these children had been living with the refugees. Their luggage had long been robbed on the way. If they hadn’t met Yuan Hui, they might not have survived. Therefore, they didn’t have much to pack.
Because they lacked a sense of security, they carried all their valuables with them. But really,their only possessions were the clothes they were wearing and the bowl in their hands. Of course, now there were also the set of cotton clothes and copper coins that Mu Yangling had given them.
Previously, they had been worried that they wouldn’t be able to keep these things, but now, they didn’t need to worry anymore.
Everyone consciously queued up to get porridge for lunch.
Then, Mu Yangling brought them to the nursery.
There were a total of five large rows of houses in the nursery. Each large row had two rows of houses with their backs facing each other, and there was only a palm-wide gap in the middle. The doors of the houses in the adjacent large rows faced each other, so there were a total of ten rows of houses, each row having 12 rooms.
Each room was about 40 square meters. There were two large brick beds, one on the left and one on the right. Also, there was a desk in the middle at the back, plus 12 stools.
Each room had to accommodate 12 people.
The boys and girls lived separately. As there was a difference between men and women, Mu Yangling arranged for the girls to stay in the last two rows opposite each other. The middle row was empty.
Brothers lived in the same room, and sisters lived in the same room. Aside from that, the older kids would take care of the younger ones.
Mu Yangling gathered the children in the canteen and said, “Children, you might not understand what I’m saying, but I hope you remember that although you’re young, you’ve experienced a lot. You should know that life isn’t easy, but no matter how difficult it is, you’ve survived thus far. Therefore, I hope that you can continue to live happily and freely in the future!”
“Remember the people who helped you and those you’ve helped in the past. I don’t need you to be kind, but I hope that every single one of you can at least have a clear conscience.”
Everyone looked at Mu Yangling who was standing on the chair and gazing at them quietly. “The budget for the nursery is rather low, so we can only afford to hire very few people.”
A youth opened his mouth and muttered, “Miss, w—we can work on our own. You don’t have to hire anyone.”
“That’s right, Miss. You don’t have to hire people.”
Everyone looked at Mu Yangling timidly, afraid that Mu Yangling would take back her previous words. Then, they would probably have to return to the refugees camp or live on the streets.
The corners of Mu Yangling’s mouth curled up slightly, but she said worriedly, “Children above the age of six naturally don’t need to be taken care of, but there are younger ones.”
Mu Yangling’s gaze was fixed on a three-year-old child in front of her. This child did not have any siblings. He was brought up by his grandmother who later died in Stone City. Due to Yuan Hui’s refusal to abandon the old, weak, sick, and young, this child miraculously survived.
When Qi Haoran brought him back, the child who had taken care of him previously stumbled after him.
Everyone followed Mu Yangling’s gaze and looked over. The smart young men and women immediately said, “We can take care of the younger kids.”
“We can cook…”
“We can help them bathe and wash their clothes…”
“And take them to bed, Miss. We’ll definitely take good care of them…”
Everyone promised eagerly, and the room instantly became chaotic. Mu Yangling waved her hand to suppress everyone’s voices and nodded. “In that case, I’m relieved. I’ll assign rooms to everyone later. Remember, the older ones have to take care of the younger ones. Don’t bully them. Everyone will supervise each other and help each other, understand?”
The children nodded.
“I’ll hand you the ingredients in the nursery and let you manage them. Although you said that you can cook, I still hired some people to help. These people will be managed by you. The people in charge will be divided into ten groups. Each group will take charge for five consecutive days. I’ll get someone to teach you how to keep track of the accounts. I hope you can officially get used to it before spring comes.”
“Apart from the kitchen, where I’ll hire help, you can do everything else yourself.” Mu Yangling said, “You have five days to adapt to life here. The teachers I hired will arrive in five days. At that time, they’ll teach you how to read. Whether it’s a boy or a girl, you can choose the skills you’re interested in to learn. However, considering that you’ll have to farm in the future, you must learn agriculture, understand?”
“Understood!” the children replied loudly. Their eyes were filled with hope as they looked at Mu Yangling excitedly.
Although what Mu Yangling said had yet to come true, everyone could not help but trust her.
Mu Yangling nodded secretly and beckoned Bowen and Xiuhong over. She said to everyone, “For the next five days, you’ll be under their management. Follow them and slowly get used to life in the nursery. The rules of the nursery and the punishment for violating them are written on the stone tablet in front. Everyone has to memorize and understand the meaning behind it. No one is allowed to violate the rules.”
When everyone saw Bowen, they widened their eyes in surprise. They recognized Miss Xiuhong as Mu Yangling’s cousin who often went around with an accounts book and helped to distribute their wages. But why was Bowen, who had previously cut grass with them, also standing up there?
Mu Yangling quickly resolved their doubts. “Bowen is my younger brother, and Xiuhong is my cousin. In the future, you don’t have to call us Miss and Boss when you see us. Like you, we’re all military households of the 5th Division. It’s only because you’re still young that I’m managing you. In the future, when you see me, you can just call me (Older) Sister Mu.”
There were some youths who did not understand. Why was Mu Yangling always referring to them as children when she was even younger than them?
Furthermore, (Older) Sister Mu?
Some of the youths were already past 12 years old and were a few months older than Mu Yangling. They could not bring himself to call her “Older Sister”.
However, Mu Yangling did not delay everyone’s time. After distributing some daily necessities to everyone, she began to allocate the rooms to them.
This was divided according to the previous name list. Not only did it list everyone’s age, but it also included their respective relationships. It was also updated after Bowen investigated who had a better relationship with whom and who had conflicts with whom.
This was how Mu Yangling separated the people. There was a bed and blanket in every room. Two people to one blanket, and six people to one big brick bed. There would be one dorm leader in charge of all the arrangements in each room.
After allocating rooms for them, Mu Yangling handed them over to Bowen and Xiuhong. “You guys can arrange the rest. Make sure you settle down every single one of them. You guys can stay here for the next five days. We’ll only go back after all the arrangements have been made.”
This was the first time Bowen and Xiuhong were independently in charge of such a huge matter, so they were a little nervous. Although Xiuhong had done accounting and planning at the cattle farm, Zhang Wu and Zhang Liu were the ones in charge after all. And here, she and Bowen were the ones discussing and making decisions.