Ji Buwang felt that he was making good progress. The only problem was that Mu Jingzhe was never alone. The kids were almost always around her, and Xiao Wu followed her around the most.

  The reason they followed her was because Mu Jingzhe had been sick previously. It was uncertain if she had recovered from her illness, and they hadn’t found the cause. The children were worried that if she suddenly fell sick one day and there was no one around her, things could be troublesome.

  Therefore, they discussed it among themselves and tried their best to follow Mu Jingzhe to prevent any accidents from happening.

  Ji Buwang understood how they felt. He was also worried about this, so he could only let them follow her around. The only way to do this was to get along with them.

  Since he was aiming to be their stepfather, he had to get along with them.

  Soon, Ji Buwang got used to it. He didn’t expect that one day, when the children were too busy to come, he would have the chance to be alone with Mu Jingzhe.

  Before setting off, Shao Dong reminded Ji Buwang twice to pay attention to Mu Jingzhe’s condition. The serious manner in which he spoke made it seem like he was handing over an important treasure that was especially fragile.

  Mu Jingzhe was both touched and amused. “Little Dong, how can you be so cute?”

  Shao Dong: “Mom, I’m talking to Uncle Ji about a serious matter.”

  That said, because of Mu Jingzhe’s praise, Shao Dong stuttered even more when he spoke.

  Shao Dong could already handle his stutter openly without avoiding it. Previously, whenever he had gone to the doctor with Mu Jingzhe, he had paid attention to the doctor himself.

  However, it didn’t have much of an effect. He was already very big. Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible to treat him.

  However, occasionally, when Shao Dong wasn’t paying attention to himself, he could fluently say a sentence or two. Instead, when he was nervous or shy, he would stutter even more.

  \r \r \r

  When he was young, Shao Dong had always been reserved and serious. Now that he had grown up and experienced many things, he already had a dignified aura at such a young age.

  Outsiders didn’t dare say anything, but Mu Jingzhe felt that his dignified appearance, coupled with his stutter, formed a cute contrast. It was as if the stutter was there specifically to soften his disposition.

  Mu Jingzhe knew what was going on the moment she heard that. “Alright, alright. I won’t say anything else.”

  Shao Dong knew what she was thinking when he saw Mu Jingzhe’s gaze. He had originally thought that the heavens were punishing him by making him a stutter as a retribution of some sort. In the past, he had never been mischievous or mimicked a stutterer, but when he spoke, he would naturally stutter.

  However, after Mu Jingzhe said that, he treated the stutter as a bad gift that the heavens had accidentally given him. Perhaps it was meant to make him cuter and less imposing.

  Shao Dong didn’t think that it was good for boys to be cute, but since Mu Jingzhe liked that, he could only consider it a good thing. “Anyway, Mommy, you have to be careful. Uncle Ji, I’ll have to trouble you to take care of Mommy.”

  “It’s no trouble. I’ll definitely take good care of Jingzhe.” Ji Buwang spoke to Shao Dong with a serious attitude, as if he was speaking to an adult of the same generation. He didn’t treat him as a child.

  Ji Buwang and Mu Jingzhe got in the car and went straight to the welfare institute in the county city for community service.

  In the past, there had been no welfare institute in the county, only in the city. However, the welfare institute in the city wasn’t big. There were some requirements to enter, and many orphans in the county didn’t meet these requirements.

  Under the leadership of Shao Dong, Mu Jingzhe, and the others, the economy in the county had developed quite well. The roads had been repaired, and quite a bit of construction had taken place. Now, a welfare institute was also on their agenda.

  There were currently fewer cases of children being abandoned. The food and water shortage was constantly resolved, but it still couldn’t be completely avoided, especially for some children with defects or girls.

  It was quite troublesome for these children, as no family was willing to adopt them. In the end, the welfare institute put it on the agenda.

  Mu Jingzhe was very concerned about this matter because she had grown up in a welfare institute. After the welfare institute was built, Mu Jingzhe didn’t donate money. Instead, she donated some daily necessities, such as clothes, shoes, rice, and so on. These were things that children urgently needed.

  The welfare institute was built in the suburbs of the county. When it was built, there were already ten children of different ages ready to live there. Mu Jingzhe had previously donated a cart of things, and Ji Buwang also brought some things. He didn’t donate money either, but he donated some books and stationery for the kids to use when they went to school.

  This time, they also brought some food, noodles, and oil. The two of them only used one car.

  For the time being, only one director and two aunties helped take care of the children. Not only did the two aunties have to take care of more than ten children, but they also had to cook, wash clothes, and take care of everything else. There were also some children who needed special care. Even if the director helped, it would be difficult.

  When Mu Jingzhe arrived, she skillfully helped the kids wash their clothes, wash their faces, and comb their hair. She even helped coax them.

  The children, who followed her, were instantly tamed and liked her very much. They even brought her lantern fruits to eat.

  To them, lantern fruits were the best. They were the most beautiful existence in their childhood. The reason Mu Jingzhe could eat with them was because they really liked her. Mu Jingzhe knew this very well and couldn’t refuse their kindness, so she followed them outside the welfare institute.

  After walking for a while and reaching a small hill, they finally found the lantern fruits. Ji Buwang, who had been helping, leisurely followed them.

  The lantern fruit tree wasn’t tall, but it had thorns. Ji Buwang volunteered to pick the fruits, but his hand was pricked repeatedly. In the end, he was pulled aside by the children in disdain. The kids decided they were better off doing it themselves.

  Their hands were small, but they plucked the fruits quickly multiple times without being pricked.

  Mu Jingzhe ate a few of them. Some were sour and some were sweet, but they were all especially delicious.

  However, perhaps because she was eating too happily, after a while, Mu Jingzhe inexplicably felt the nausea and powerlessness she had felt before return.

  Ji Buwang quickly sensed it. “What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

  “A little. I’m probably imagining things.” Mu Jingzhe hoped that she was imagining things, but it turned out that this wasn’t the case.

  She wanted to give the youngest child a piggyback ride back, but on the way, she felt increasingly weak after taking a few steps.

  Ji Buwang merely supported her initially. When he saw that her face was slowly turning pale and her expression was ugly, he knew that something was wrong.

  He had thought that she had recovered from this illness, but she hadn’t. All his prayers had been useless. Ji Buwang squatted down. “Jingzhe, I’ll carry you. Get up.”

  “No need…” Mu Jingzhe quickly refused. However, just as she finished speaking, Ji Buwang pulled her and carried her on his back.

  “Thank you.” Mu Jingzhe really didn’t have any strength left. She leaned on Ji Buwang and thanked him, then asked nervously, “Am I heavy?”

  Ji Buwang said helplessly, “You think you’re heavy? You should eat more. You’re too thin.”

  Ji Buwang usually looked very thin, but when she lay down on his back, she realized that his shoulders were actually wide and very strong. When she heard his answer, she relaxed a little.

  This was her first time being carried on someone’s back. In the past, she had been the one piggybacking others. Only now did she know how it felt to be piggybacked. It felt a little refreshing and strange.