Daytime, southeast of Igwinte, Cien Orphanage.
Igwinte Cien Orphanage, this is an orphanage located in the southeastern suburbs of Igwinte, one of the few welfare institutions in the city. Besides it, there are several relief homes. Cien is the only orphanage. Although its existence seems insufficient to address Igwinte's severe problem of street children, it still plays some role.
Like educational institutions in many places, Cien Orphanage was initially founded by the Shining Light Church, possessing a strong Shining Light religious color, selecting the most loyal and fervent servants for the Shining Light Saints.
And now, with the rise of national and capital powers in various countries around the world, the Shining Light Church has also made concessions in many areas, allowing administrative power and social capital to partially intervene in their original domains. Saint Amanda School is an example of this; although it has the word'Saint' at the top, the actual control is already in the hands of the board of directors with a White Stone Mason Guild background. Cien Orphanage has also now become a state-church joint operation.
The main body of Cien Orphanage is located within a small grove. From a branch road of Grace Road heading towards the grove, walking forty to fifty meters along the tree-lined path leads to a tall stone wall and iron gate. The stone wall encloses a large area of green space, within which stand two or three wide, old, low buildings. Small children run around on the flattened lawn, chasing and playing, some are even kicking a football.
Upstairs in the largest low building in the center of the green space, in a small classroom with a blackboard, Dorothy, wearing a simple dress, sat at a desk and chair by the window, using a pen to correct several pieces of homework with poor handwriting. Around her, a circle of children in old clothes gathered. They were on average about eight or nine years old, their eyes wide as they looked at Dorothy, their expressions full of expectation.
Finally, after Dorothy finished correcting all ten or so pieces of homework in her hand, she let out a long sigh. Then, after glancing at the countless eager gazes around her, she forced herself to smile and said.
"Okay~ I'm finished correcting."
"Are you finished? Teacher Mayshouse! Who got an A!"
"Yes, yes, yes! Teacher Mayshouse! Who will win the prize this time!"
"Tell us quickly, Teacher!"
...
The children surrounding Dorothy chirped excitedly, and Dorothy took out a few things from her pocket, then said with a smile.
"This time... it's Pike, Wood, and Anna. These are the little red flowers and candies for you as rewards."
As she spoke, Dorothy stood up and pasted the little red flowers she had cut out next to the children's corresponding names on the wall, then placed the candies in front of them, and they all began to cheer excitedly.
"Teacher! That's not fair, Anna already has five little red flowers today!" At this moment, a slightly taller boy said to Dorothy with a dissatisfied expression, and Dorothy responded with a smile.
"It's very fair, Daniel. No matter how many, Anna earned the little red flowers herself. If you want more, work harder next time. I believe with your ability, you can definitely win more little red flowers!"
"Hmm... I understand."
"Okay, if you understand, work hard next time. Alright, everyone, take your homework back. I've already written down the solutions for the mistakes. Go and look at them carefully."
"Yes~"
...
"Hoo..."
Sitting at the desk by the window, Dorothy let out a long sigh as she watched the children disperse, and her heart relaxed for a moment.
This was Dorothy's second week participating in the social practice class. On the weekends of these two weeks, she would use the school's recommendation letter to come here and serve as a tutor to accumulate credits for the social practice class.
Dorothy could take leave from other classes as long as she passed the exams later, but for this troublesome social practice, she had to attend herself. To prevent this item on her final report card from being blank and being questioned by Grego, Dorothy was really giving it her all.
Because Dorothy had experience as a tutor before, she chose to come to the orphanage as a volunteer tutor. Originally, she expected to encounter a bunch of unruly and troublesome children and had prepared herself thoroughly to deal with them. However, she didn't expect these children to be unexpectedly obedient and well-behaved, completely unlike the annoying and mischievous children of relatives she had seen in her previous life. Therefore, Dorothy's teaching was relatively easy and smooth.
Thinking about it, Dorothy believed it was still an environmental factor. The living standards of the people in the era Dorothy originally came from could not be compared to this era in this world.
With abundant material resources, it is normal for spoiled children to appear under the pampering of families. However, the children in the world Dorothy is in now are not so fortunate. Street children and child labor are common phenomena, and children are subjected to social exploitation prematurely. Even the orphans in the orphanage are often organized by the institution to go out and work collectively to earn wages that subsidize the orphanage's upkeep. No one has ever spoiled them. Knowing their circumstances and facing the cruelty of society too early, they cannot be mischievous even if they wanted to.
Knowing the children's situation, Dorothy would buy some candies every time she taught and cut out little red flowers herself based on her distant memories of kindergarten. She would give out red flowers and gifts based on their performance, so these children, who rarely got to eat candy, were very welcoming to Dorothy.
Sitting on the chair, Dorothy looked at these children, whose physical age was only a few years younger than hers, sitting in their seats diligently studying. She couldn't help but feel a little emotional. Just then, a voice sounded next to her.
"Excuse me, Teacher Mayshouse..."
Hearing this voice, Dorothy turned her head and saw a girl about eight or nine years old. She was wearing a faded dress, her blonde hair was tied into two braids, her face was slightly round, and her blue eyes were wide open, looking at Dorothy.
"Oh, it's Anna. What's wrong?" Seeing the girl next to her, Dorothy asked, and the girl continued.
"Teacher, I just got another little red flower, but you forgot to give me candy." The girl named Anna said to Dorothy. After hearing this, Dorothy smiled slightly and said.
"Ah, about that, Anna, you were too amazing today. You got too many little red flowers and would eat too much candy. That's bad for your teeth, so I didn't give you any just now."
"Oh, is that so... Eating too much candy is bad for your teeth?"
Listening to Dorothy's words, Anna's expression held both disappointment and confusion. Dorothy smiled and opened her bag next to her as she spoke.
"Yes, so remember not to eat too much candy even when you can eat it freely later. It's not only bad for your teeth but can also cause illness. However, Anna, although you didn't get candy this time, I've prepared something else for you."
As she spoke, Dorothy took a fairy tale book from her bag and handed it to Anna.
"You are the best student I've taught in the past few days, so I'm giving you this book. It has many stories in it."
"Really? Thank you so much, Teacher!"
Seeing the fairy tale book Dorothy handed over, Anna excitedly picked up the book, her eyes shining, and said. Children living in an orphanage rarely receive gifts.
Happily taking the gift, Anna stroked the book's cover, then seemed to think of something and looked up at Dorothy and said.
"Teacher Mayshouse, although you've only been here for a few days, you are so kind to us. We all really want to thank you, so we suggested to Sister Diedre to invite you to the charity event two days later. We will be performing there!"
"Charity event?"
Hearing this term, Dorothy spoke with some surprise, and Anna continued to explain.
"Ah, I almost forgot, Teacher isn't a local of Igwinte so you wouldn't know. Let me tell you about it."
Saying this, Anna tapped her forehead to organize her thoughts, then continued.
"This charity event is a banquet held annually by Igwinte's famous philanthropist, Viscount Field. Wealthy people from all walks of life in Igwinte will be invited to attend. At that time, Viscount Field will personally take the lead in calling on everyone to donate, working together to help the poor people of Igwinte.
"It is said that it has been held six times so far. In each session, Viscount Field takes the lead with other wealthy people in donating large sums of money, and then uses this money to improve the lives of unfortunate people like us. Many people have been saved because of this.
"And according to the wishes of Viscount Field, orphans like us are the key beneficiaries. So, at this time every year, the orphanage organizes us to perform programs to gain more attention. And Viscount Field will adopt one of us at the end! So everyone cherishes this opportunity very much!"