Ruan Qiao and Doctor Aisen walked into the back room, leaving the two little ones playing outside.
As soon as they were inside, Doctor Aisen got straight to the point: “Jin Ge and Xiao Lin are about the same age. In just two or three months, they’ll undergo their transformation.
Although I know Xiao Jin Ge’s condition isn’t very good, and the chances of a successful transformation are slim, I still believe we should trust the child and give him a chance.”
Ruan Qiao was completely confused.
Seeing that Doctor Aisen was about to continue persuading her, she quickly stopped him: “Wait, Doctor, can you first tell me, who exactly is this Jin Ge you’re talking about?”
Her question successfully shut Doctor Aisen up.
He stared at her in shock for a long moment before asking, “I mean [1]“Xiao” (小) means “little” or “young” jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_1798679_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_1798679_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });Xiao Jin, the golden eagle. You haven’t met him yet?”
Ruan Qiao froze.
Golden eagle?
There’s a golden eagle in the orphanage?
After thinking for a moment, she tentatively asked, “You… do you mean that quail? The one that’s a bit bigger and seems to have some problem with one wing?”
Doctor Aisen: “……”
He glared at Ruan Qiao. Although he didn’t speak, she could clearly feel his irritation at her words.
It was that kind of anger, if he had a beard, it would be sticking out in frustration.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, she rubbed her nose and tried to explain: “I’m not very familiar with bird species. But… that little one doesn’t really look like an eagle, does he?!”
In Ruan Qiao’s mind, eagles symbolized majesty and strength.
Not to mention, think about the giant eagle in The Return of the Condor Heroes, so handsome, so imposing!
But her own little one…
Suddenly, Ruan Qiao pictured the first time she saw him.
No matter how she thought about it, she couldn’t associate that tiny thing waddling around like a duck, twisting its little behind, with a golden eagle, a fierce bird whose very name sounds majestic and powerful.
Doctor Aisen paused for quite a while, saying nothing, probably trying to steel himself.
Then he finally sighed and waved his hand toward Ruan Qiao: “This isn’t your fault. Ella left suddenly and never got a chance to meet you, so she probably didn’t brief you on many things.
The children’s records should be with 001, you can check with him when you go back. But for now, let’s talk about Xiao Jin Ge…”
Through Doctor Aisen, Ruan Qiao learned that the reason the young golden eagle couldn’t fly was because its less active wing was injured during its first transformation.
The injury affected both muscle and nerves, making it impossible to maintain balance.
This not only caused his first transformation to fail but also made him miss the optimal time to learn to fly.
It was probably for this reason that he was abandoned by his family.
From Doctor Aisen’s words, Ruan Qiao also learned something about the children’s backgrounds.
Although each was different, in short, they had all failed their first transformations, and after being deemed hopeless for the second transformation, they were abandoned by their families on other high-level planets.
Planet 0813 was regarded as a dumping ground by the entire star system.
They received not only trash discarded from other planets but also children considered worthless by their families.
Many orphanages were established here, with Starlight being just one of them.
Since 0813 had once been a forsaken planet, even after being rebuilt, it lacked nearly everything.
It wasn’t just a shortage of supplies, there was also a shortage of people.
Some children who failed their second transformation died during the process, but some survived.
Those who survived couldn’t awaken special abilities but could take human form and live much like ordinary people.
Such individuals were looked down upon by families on high-level planets, but on a labor-scarce world like 0813, they were very much needed.
That’s why 0813 was willing to accept these children and make it convenient for the families to send them here.
The families, wanting to maintain a charitable image, couldn’t simply abandon the children outright. Now, with this option, they were happy to send the children thousands of light-years away.
After all, for a tiny fee, practically nothing to them, they could offload the burden they despised. Why wouldn’t they?
As for whether the children survived or thrived afterward, no one really cared.
Only those with a shred of conscience, like Jin Ge’s mother, would think about it.
The next year, she even secretly came to see the child, leaving a sum of money as living expenses for the following year.
Those without any conscience, like the families of the other children, basically acted as if the kids didn’t exist.
—So the “income after the new year” mentioned in Ella’s will was hoping that Jin Ge’s mother would send more money?
But according to the reports, she had already stopped sending money this year.
A cold shiver ran through Ruan Qiao’s heart.
She lifted her head and looked Doctor Aisen straight in the eyes: “What treatments does Jin Ge need? You tell me, and I’ll cooperate. As for the consultation fees…”
Doctor Aisen waved his hand: “Don’t worry about money. I’ve watched these children grow up. If they live well, I’m happy.”
He glanced at his clinic and gave a slightly awkward smile: “I definitely won’t take consultation fees, but you might need to find a way to buy the nutritional supplements and such.”
“All right, I’ll figure that out,” Ruan Qiao immediately agreed.
Although Doctor Aisen’s clinic was clean, it was modestly equipped, and Ruan Qiao could tell right away that he wasn’t living lavishly.
Naturally, she couldn’t let him spend more on her kids.
After chatting a while longer and learning how to help Jin Ge with rehabilitation exercises, Ruan Qiao said goodbye to the children.
She had originally planned to check out the agricultural machinery company to learn about fertilizer and pesticide prices, but since she had spent too long at the clinic, she would have to wait for another opportunity.
Fortunately, she still had vegetable seeds at home, along with strawberry seeds and peach pits, and most importantly, two bags of mushroom spawn.
That would keep her busy for quite some time.
After hearing Doctor Aisen’s words, Ruan Qiao felt an unprecedented drive to earn money!
She tried to control herself, but she was so angry that she could barely stop herself from trembling. She couldn’t understand how people could be so cruel in their hearts.
Such adorable children, yet they could just be abandoned!
And they were her own flesh and blood!
At that moment, Ruan Qiao made a firm decision—
She would farm properly, earn money, and earn a lot of it.
She was determined to run the orphanage well, be a strong support for the children, and give them a home that would last forever!
Ruan Qiao had stayed at Doctor Aisen’s clinic longer than expected. Even though she hurried back, it had already gotten dark halfway home.
The mountain in front of the orphanage used to be the private property of Ella and her husband.
They hadn’t done much construction, and even the road leading to the orphanage was poorly built, no proper paving, no streetlights.
Once night fell, everything became pitch dark.
Even with the two little companions by her side, walking along the mountain path made Ruan Qiao a bit nervous.
Finally, she could vaguely make out the silhouette of the orphanage and breathed a sigh of relief.
But at that moment, she suddenly heard a series of “gaga” cries from over there. By the sound, it seemed to be Jin Ge!
Her heart jumped up again.
What was happening?
She didn’t even have time to be afraid and dashed toward the orphanage.
Squirrel Lin Shan and hedgehog Gungun seemed to sense something was wrong. They jumped off Ruan Qiao’s shoulders and ran ahead of her.
Rounding a corner, the orphanage appeared before them.
From a distance, Ruan Qiao saw the three little ones who had stayed home standing in a circle at the door, backs to them, clawing and calling out, as if focused on something.
Meanwhile, 001 circled nearby, repeating in his mechanical voice: “What do we do? Can’t lift it, what do we do?”
Even from this far away, Ruan Qiao could feel his anxiety.
Seeing that her own little ones were okay, her heart relaxed halfway.
She hurried over, barely catching her breath, and asked anxiously, “What’s wrong? What can’t you lift?”
“Master is back! Master is back!” 001 exclaimed upon seeing her, as if he had found his savior.
His tone was filled with pure joy and expectation, without any pretense.
Ruan Qiao found his voice far less grating than before.
“Master, he… can’t lift it.” 001 rolled over to the spot where the little ones had been standing and, using the wheels of his chassis, answered the question Ruan Qiao had just asked.
Ruan Qiao finally saw it, on the ground not far from her, surrounded by the little ones, was an enormous cat!
She was completely stunned!
Perhaps it was her limited experience, but Ruan Qiao had never imagined a cat could grow this big!
It wasn’t even shorter than a tiger, was it?!
Even the cats at home, Ruan Qiao already thought their size challenged her understanding of the world.
But compared to this massive cat, her own little ones—
They looked tiny, almost fragile.
Yet, why was such a huge cat lying right at the orphanage entrance?
And seemingly unafraid, oblivious to danger?!
She turned to look at 001.
“It’s the same when Xiao Wang and Huihui came before,” 001 immediately explained, noticing her confusion.
But that answer left Ruan Qiao speechless for a long moment.
This afternoon, she had only just pieced together the origins of a few of the children from Doctor Aisen’s words, and now, in the evening, she was facing reality—
Forced to confront the treacherousness of the human heart firsthand?
But… is this really a “little one”?
Are there little ones this big?!
Ruan Qiao felt like her head was about to explode.
At that moment, the cat walked up to her and gently tugged at the hem of her clothes with its mouth.
Ruan Qiao looked down and suddenly noticed that her enormous cat’s deep blue eyes were full of tears.
The little one couldn’t speak, yet its gaze overflowed with hope and a silent plea.
Despite its massive size, this cat had a gentle temperament and was incredibly well-behaved, a true, obedient child.
Especially those eyes, blue as a gem, so strikingly beautiful that one dared not look directly.
Ruan Qiao had always felt he was the cutest little cat she had ever seen in her life.
Now, being looked at like this by her child, how could Ruan Qiao find the words to refuse?
Besides, she hadn’t intended to refuse in the first place.
Thinking of what her own children had gone through before, how could she possibly ignore this enormous cat in front of her?
“I’m not saying I won’t help. I’m just thinking about what to do next,” Ruan Qiao said, sighing as she gently rubbed her little one’s head.
Hearing this, the cat’s eyes instantly lit up. It grabbed the hem of her clothes and tugged her toward the giant animal on the ground.
Behind them, 001 added, “He’s injured, lots of wounds. His head also has a big lump from being hit by a stone.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Hurry and save him!” Ruan Qiao’s panic flared.
“Is there anything in the orphanage that can help move him?” she asked 001.
“There’s a flatbed cart, but I can’t push it,” 001 replied.
“Take me to it!”
Using the flatbed cart and a bedsheet to cradle the big cat, Ruan Qiao and 001 combined all their strength and finally managed to push him back into the orphanage.
But when it came time to decide where to put him, hesitation set in.
The rooms on the first floor of the small building were mostly used for storage; all the little ones lived upstairs.
With the cat unconscious, Ruan Qiao felt there was no way she could get him upstairs even if it cost her her life.
“Let’s put him in that dorm room next to me,” she decided after a moment of thought.
The staff dormitory really wasn’t ideal for a huge cat.
Although after the second transformation, these small animals might be able to become human, right now they were still in their animal forms, and the dorms were arranged according to their current habits.
For example, the beds were low to the floor for animals.
The rooms also had their own drinking fountains, food bowls, litter boxes, and clawing posts with climbing structures.
But in the current situation, this was the best they could do for now.
Ruan Qiao had 001 gather a bunch of soft mats and lay them on the floor of the room. She ran upstairs to get the largest cat litter box she could find, then went to the medical room to fetch the first aid kit.
Once all the preparations were done, they together heaved the big cat into the room.
The light at the gate was too dim to see clearly. When they finally placed the cat on the mats and turned on all the lights in the room, Ruan Qiao couldn’t help but gasp in shock!
Someone had abused this cat!
It was a large black-and-white Maine Coon.
Even with its eyes closed, one could imagine the striking beauty and majesty it would have when fully awake.
Yet, this gorgeous big cat’s body was covered with countless injuries!
Some wounds had healed into scars, deep and shallow; others were clearly fresh.
Several scars were over a dozen centimeters long, and the shorter ones were so numerous they couldn’t be counted.
On top of that, there were a few fresh cuts from sharp objects. Although treated, the wounds hadn’t healed yet, and blood was still oozing, staining the white fur a vivid red.
It was heartbreaking to look at.
Perhaps from blood loss, the cat’s normally long, curly, beautiful fur now looked dull and lifeless.
Dirty, matted, and wet, it clung to his body, making him look utterly miserable.
Seeing such a majestic cat reduced to this state made Ruan Qiao’s head spin, her heart pounding, and she felt like she was about to explode with anger and sorrow.
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