“Are you referring to the aid used for posturing, filming a video, and then using it to canvass for votes?
There is indeed plenty of that,” Label scoffed.
“Even the aid that actually arrives is exploited layer by layer, and what’s left for the people is merely a drop in the bucket.” “This is a battlefield for the games of great powers, and the people here are nothing but dust on the chessboard,” Elysia sighed.
He nodded: “For your age, your understanding is already quite profound.” “Then here…” He pointed outside the door: “In front of the mountain, there is a supply line I funded that goes through the humanitarian corridor.
A batch of supplies is delivered every month.” The cost to maintain this supply line must be very high.
“Why not take them away?” “We can’t leave.
The surrounding area is all a war zone, and we’d be denied entry visas.
Being refugees in other countries would only be harder.” The atmosphere inevitably grew heavy.
Label gave a light cough and changed the subject.
“If you want to stay, let me know.
A few rooms next door have been cleared out; I’ll help you tidy one up later.” “Thank you~” Elysia wisely didn’t ask how the rooms had become vacant.
Dinner was rice and flatbread, accompanied by some salted meat and a plate of lettuce.
Everyone gathered around a round wooden table, which actually gave a sense of a warm family atmosphere.
“You came at just the right time.
Supplies were delivered a few days ago, so there are fresh vegetables to eat,” Label said, sitting next to her.
Everyone else ate directly with their hands; only Elysia used chopsticks, which she had whittled from a piece of deadwood she found outside that afternoon.
This made her appear quite conspicuous in front of the others.
“Um…
should I do as the locals do?” “It’s fine.
We don’t go in for that ‘when in Rome’ stuff,” Label waved his hand.
“Have you been to Shenzhou?” “Not yet, but I’ve learned about it online.” The Shenzhou here was not the China of her past life; Elysia could distinguish that.
“I felt chopsticks were convenient, so I learned to use them from a young age.” Label looked understanding: “No wonder.
I saw that you use them quite skillfully.” Actually, it was because Elysia wasn’t used to using knives and forks.
When she was in the orphanage, even when eating pizza, she was used to cutting it with a knife first and then picking it up with chopsticks.
At that time, it even caused the other children to compete to imitate her.
After dinner, Elysia volunteered to take on the job of washing the dishes.
After finishing, she found that the children were nowhere to be seen.
Searching around, she discovered they were all gathered in a larger cave dwelling, preparing for class.
“May I sit in?” she asked, raising her hand.
Label nodded, signaling her to sit down.
The content at the beginning was very basic, with only some simple arithmetic and some life skills, but when it came to literature and history, Label taught it in great detail.
Later, seeing that he was getting a bit parched, Elysia took the initiative to go on stage and share some of her own experiences from her travels.
The children were a bit resistant at first, but as Elysia told her stories, they gradually became immersed in them.
The desert night was very cold, but the cave dwelling was warm.
In the flickering light, children who had endured war could also find a long-lost peace.
After the class ended, the children went back to sleep one after another.
After packing up his lesson plans, Label went out and stood by the cliff path.
In the cold night wind, he lit a cigarette.
The smoke rose slowly but was quickly dispersed by the cold wind.
Elysia followed him out.
Upon hearing footsteps, Label intended to stub out his cigarette.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind.
I can breathe in smoke like air and won’t get sick.” “Forgive me.
I didn’t have a smoking habit before I came here; the pressure here is a bit high.” “Thank you for your hard work,” Elysia comforted him.
To be able to carve out a pure land in the midst of war must have taken a great deal of effort.
“Thank you for the class earlier.
The stories you told were great, and they listened very happily.” “It was nothing~” Elysia smiled.
“But I see that life here is quite stable, isn’t it?” He pointed into the distance with his cigarette butt, where a convoy was moving; from afar, they were just points of light in a line.
“Look there.
Not far along this road is a North America base.
The so-called humanitarian corridor is actually a military supply line for North America.
It’s just that, for the sake of international reputation, they allocated a portion of transport capacity to carry humanitarian supplies.
Those soldiers come to collect protection money every few days.” He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled a wisp of white smoke.
“If we don’t pay them, these children will die for ‘colluding with resistance forces.’ Heh, dealing with them also means enduring their endless harassment.” “They are the ‘angels of the civilized world,’ sent to fight counter-insurgency wars.
The public statement is that it’s to bring peace here and save the people from fire and water,” he scoffed.
“But how did the fire and water come about?
Fighting a counter-insurgency war itself is just to keep this place in chaos; everyone knows it.” “What have these soldiers done here?” Elysia’s tone sank.
She had similar situations in her past life; those U.S.
troops in the Middle East had committed countless horrific crimes there.
He was silent for a long time, only the cigarette butt burning quietly.
Finally, he only said: “This is not something you should be exposed to at your age.”