After listening to 001, Ruan Qiao finally understood why Ella had left her an inheritance while looking so apologetic in the recording.
What she left behind was essentially a huge pit!
Looking at the financial statements, the government collected the food tax every December, and it was already August, there wasn’t much time left.
At a glance, the orphanage didn’t even have a single plot of farmland.
Needless to say, according to their previous plan, they intended to use money to solve the problem.
But where was there any money?
From last year until now, the statements showed only outflows, no income at all.
Even the money spent was decreasing month by month, and the expenditure on purchasing food was clearly being cut.
“Ella ordered you to give each child only fifteen rations of dry food per day, not because it would satisfy their needs, but because there wasn’t enough food, right?” Ruan Qiao suddenly asked.
“Yes,” 001 answered bluntly.
Ruan Qiao suddenly felt a pang of distress.
She remembered the scene she had just witnessed, those little ones hungrily devouring the food heap.
She came from a peaceful country, with no wars and no famine.
Although her parents had died early, they had left savings, a spare house to rent out, and food and clothing were never an issue.
So she had never realized before that the children’s behavior was driven by hunger!
She had even thought they were being mischievous, playing tricks.
Ruan Qiao lowered her gaze and pondered for a moment, then looked at 001 and asked, “What food does the government require us to pay? And what were those support programs you mentioned?”
Ruan Qiao’s field of study was agricultural and forestry science.
When it came to farming, she was a professional.
Even before coming here, Ruan Qiao’s biggest dream had been that after graduating, she could go to the countryside, lease a piece of land, and run an ecological farm.
But unexpectedly, she had a car accident before graduation.
Ruan Qiao wasn’t intimidated by farming at all; in fact, she even felt a spark of excitement at being able to put her knowledge to use.
It felt a little like being given a path to realize her dream indirectly.
Still, she understood that having just arrived in this world, she knew nothing about the local conditions.
Even if she wanted to apply her skills, it wouldn’t make sense to be arrogant enough to think she could automatically farm the land well or produce exactly what the government required.
After all, 001 had said that the land here had been polluted, and it was extremely difficult for the people of this planet to grow crops.
But how would she know it was impossible without trying?
The thought of the little ones counting each grain to stretch their rations instantly motivated her.
After hearing Ruan Qiao’s question, the blue light on 001’s screen flickered, then he responded: “Details of food collection, fruit and vegetable purchase lists, and support program details have now been sent to the master’s light-brain. Please check.”
Hearing 001 use the new title, Ruan Qiao realized that after completing Ella’s final instruction, he now recognized her as it’s new master.
She nodded and turned to the light-brain.
Just as she was about to open the files, she suddenly heard a familiar rumbling in her stomach.
Rubbing her belly, she realized it was well past mealtime and that she hadn’t eaten a single bite since crossing over.
“You can go back for now. I’ll call you if I need you,” Ruan Qiao said to 001.
She had initially wanted to ask more questions, but she changed her mind.
Understanding the orphanage’s situation was important, but her immediate priority was to fill her stomach.
Although 001 now recognized her as his master, she didn’t want anyone, especially a robot, to know that she had come from another world.
For something as simple as eating, which could easily reveal differences, she preferred to figure things out on her own.
Being alone out here, it was definitely necessary to be cautious.
After 001 left, Ruan Qiao first took a box of cookies from her backpack to fill her stomach, then drank a bottle of yogurt.
Looking at the half-empty reserve, she realized she still needed to find the kitchen.
Even if this meal was just a makeshift one, the next one had to be cooked, she couldn’t survive on cookies alone.
Besides, she hadn’t bought that many packs anyway.
She tried to recall the route she took when she arrived, but no matter how she thought, none of the buildings she’d seen looked like a kitchen.
“There can’t really be such a big place without a kitchen, right? 001 recharges to get energy, the little ones rely on dry food… but Ella, what about her? She doesn’t need to cook either?”
Ruan Qiao couldn’t help muttering to herself.
It was meant as a casual complaint, but as soon as she said it, a chill ran through her mind. Could it really be true?
After all, from the recordings, Ella looked like she was struggling just to sit, there was no way she could get up to cook.
And in the orphanage, there was no one else to help.
“No way… she really doesn’t cook at all?!”
Suddenly, her mind was flooded with images from the cultivation and space stories she had read.
In those worlds, people either practiced fasting or survived on nutrient supplements, completely removed from ordinary food.
No!
The thought of the little ones eating those kibble-like pellets, similar to pet food, made Ruan Qiao jump up in alarm and start searching.
The orphanage was large, but there were only a few buildings, and she could see them all at a glance.
As expected, aside from a reading room, a storage room, and the director’s office, the rest were vacant staff dormitories.
There was absolutely no sign of a kitchen.
Ruan Qiao felt utterly hopeless.
A world without good food, what joy was left in life?
Holding on to a thread of hope, she opened her light-brain and typed into the search bar: “One-Day Meal Plan.”
Soon, a bunch of links appeared.
She clicked on one at random and saw—
“The Perfect One-Day Meal Plan”:
Breakfast: one bottle of milk-flavored nutritional liquid + one cup of water;
Lunch: one bottle of chicken-flavored nutritional liquid + two protein tablets + one cup of water;
Dinner: one bottle of cucumber-flavored nutritional liquid + one cup of sparkling water.
Ruan Qiao…
A nightmare come true.
She suddenly remembered the white paper box she had seen in the fridge when putting in the fruit, which seemed to contain several small bottles.
Maybe that was the so-called nutritional liquid?
Ruan Qiao glanced again at the light-brain and stared at the meal plan, trying to convince herself that with so many flavor options, it couldn’t be that bad.
She turned back to her dorm, opened the fridge, and took out the whole box of nutritional liquids.
She picked a bottle of chicken flavor, opened it, and took a sip…
Ugh!
Her face instantly twisted, and she had to quickly cover her mouth and crouch down, just in case she threw up on the floor.
The taste!!!
She painfully dumped the remaining half-bottle aside.
Objectively speaking, it wasn’t that the liquid was inherently undrinkable. The main problem was—
Its base flavor was sweet and sour, but it had been mixed with roasted chicken flavoring… and black pepper on top of that.
The combination was… truly from the depths of hell.
Ruan Qiao quickly grabbed a strawberry and shoved it into her mouth, trying to chase away that bizarre taste.
Her mind was on the verge of collapse.
After a whole morning of exhaustion and that shocking scare, Ruan Qiao had no energy left and simply lay down for a long nap.
It was quiet here, with no one to disturb her, and she slept more soundly than she had expected.
When she woke up, the sun had already sunk in the west.
She didn’t get up immediately, instead sitting by the bed for a while.
It’s natural for someone just waking up to feel a little low, and Ruan Qiao was no exception.
Looking around the still unfamiliar surroundings, she felt a pang of homesickness.
Although her parents had passed away, she still had her grandmother and her eldest aunt.
Even her grandparents in the countryside, and her second uncle and his family, all cared deeply for her.
Thinking that she would never see these relatives again, and imagining how heartbroken they would be when they learned about her accident…
Ruan Qiao’s eyes gradually reddened.
“Squeak, squeak!”
Just as she was sinking into this melancholy, she suddenly heard a familiar chattering outside, followed by the sound of something tapping on the window glass.
Startled, she looked up, walked over, and opened the blinds, then saw an unmistakably familiar fluffy face.
She instinctively stepped back, raising her hands defensively, fearing the little creature might suddenly crash through the window and land on her head.
But the little squirrel clearly didn’t understand her feelings. Seeing her, it became even more excited.
It thumped its two front paws vigorously against the glass, its big golden-red tail standing upright and swinging left and right in an exaggerated fashion.
Ruan Qiao rubbed her temples and had no choice but to open a small gap in the window to let it in.
Muttering under her breath, she said, “Why not come through the front door? If there’s a door, why jump through a window?”
Her words were completely ignored.
The little squirrel slipped in through the window and immediately, as if it knew the way, hopped straight onto her shoulder. Habitually, it raised its body, grabbed a handful of her hair with its tiny paws, and pressed its little furry face against hers.
Even after doing so, it didn’t move away. Proudly, it lifted its head and stared into her eyes with its black, crystal-like round eyes.
Although it couldn’t speak, its eyes clearly seemed to say, “Go ahead, touch me, I’m giving you a chance.”
Ruan Qiao’s entire body felt on edge from the little creature pressing against her, but when she looked into those innocent eyes, she simply couldn’t get angry.
She couldn’t even bring herself to refuse.
A wave of exhaustion washed over her.
Seeing her hesitate, the little one grew annoyed and reached out a tiny paw to nudge her cheek.
The paw was smaller than one of her fingernails, so it didn’t hurt at all, but the gesture still left her torn between laughing and crying.
Before she could protest, the little squirrel jumped down from her shoulder, hopped to the front door, and, stepping on a nearby chair, opened it.
Its movements were smooth and practiced, as if it had done this a thousand times.
As the door swung open, the cat, the rabbit, the quail, and the little hedgehog poured in, surrounding her from all sides.
Ruan Qiao hadn’t yet realized what they intended, when all the furry heads, big and small, stuck right up in front of her eyes.
Each of them instinctively picked a spot and immediately started rubbing against her with abandon!
Ruan Qiao was completely numb.
She stood there like a wooden statue, letting them do as they pleased.
Looking at this chattering, whining, and pleading little bunch eager to be petted, she even managed to find a small consolation in her misery—
After all she had been through, her long-standing fear of plush toys seemed to have eased a little!
For instance now—
With so many furry bodies pressing around her, she could still manage not to faint.
Perhaps this counted as a form of desensitization therapy?
Ruan Qiao helplessly withdrew her stiffened hands and gave each of the little ones a gentle stroke on their heads, then pointed toward the living room and said, “Go sit over there.”
The little ones had clearly been waiting for exactly that command; the moment she spoke, they all scurried off in a flurry.