Chapter 273: Genetic Problem
Xiao Ye didn't press the matter and continued to look through the files in his hands.
He discovered that in the same year, two other children—a boy and a girl—had been adopted by foreign couples.
Xiao Ye glanced at the dates. The adoptions occurred at intervals of roughly four months—exactly three per year. 'That's a little too regular,' he thought.
"Director, please take some time to think about anything you can remember about that girl. I'd also like to look at some of the other children's files to get a better understanding. It'll help us coordinate our support for the orphanage later."
The director couldn't possibly refuse Xiao Ye's excuse, but she still asked, "Did you two come here just to find that girl's file?"
Yuan Tiancheng, who was beside him, had already prepared an excuse. "Yes. She looks a lot like a friend's daughter. To be honest, she's the reason we came to sponsor the orphanage."
"Oh, I see. But she was adopted nearly twenty years ago. It will be very difficult to find her." The director wasn't very optimistic.
If the adoptive parents were from here, it would be a different story.
Abroad is just too big, and it's too hard to search.
Even with the Yuan Family's power, their influence was limited to Dragon Country. Abroad, they would be completely in the dark.
Of course, the director wouldn't say any of this out loud. She just sat obediently to one side, trying to recall anything about the girl.
Xiao Ye, for his part, continued to look through the other files, and Yuan Tiancheng came over to help.
"Master Xiao, in the files I'm holding, the interval between adoptions is either three or four months."
"It's a little too consistent. And they were all foreign couples. Why weren't there any domestic adoptions?"
"Also, I've noticed that the children who were adopted were, to a certain degree, all relatively exceptional."
Even though the director had said that woman couldn't speak when she was little, it turned out she not only could, but she spoke very well.
Yuan Tiancheng took out his phone and, while the director wasn't looking, started taking pictures of the files.
Xiao Ye quietly shifted his body to block the director's view.
About half an hour later, they had looked through and photographed most of the files.
The director finally brought them some tea. "Gentlemen, please have some tea. It's nothing special—it was a gift from a kind benefactor."
"Thank you." Xiao Ye took out a bank card. "There's one million on here. Consider it a donation to the orphanage. I'll have someone manage the funds."
"Whenever you need funding for a legitimate reason, you can contact this person, and he will release the money to you."
"However, you will need to provide detailed expense reports to confirm the money is actually being spent on the children."
Many private orphanages collect government subsidies and donations from kind-hearted people, but the money never actually gets used for the children.
Xiao Ye had assigned a professional to manage the funds specifically to prevent such a situation.
Yuan Tiancheng also offered a sum of money. "I'm with Mr. Xiao on this. From now on, I'll also organize staff from the Yuan Group to come here every month."
"They can volunteer and help the children at the orphanage."
The director thanked them profusely. "Thank you, thank you so very much!"
As she spoke, her eyes grew red, and she suddenly dropped to her knees. "Our orphanage doesn't have many children, but we don't have many benefactors, either."
"To make sure they can go to school and afford books, we have to cut back on food... They only get to eat meat once a week!"
Yuan Tiancheng rushed to help her up. "There's no need for this. Please, get up."
"Let's talk this over properly. Don't worry, these children will have a much better life from now on."
Xiao Ye left the remaining matters to Yuan Tiancheng and walked out of the director's office into the open yard.
The children were still playing.
The youngest were around three or four, with clearly visible physical disabilities.
The oldest were in their teens and also had disabilities. 'The healthier ones have all been adopted by foreigners,' he mused.
Recalling the contents of the files, Xiao Ye found it increasingly strange.
'Those children... were they really adopted by foreign couples?'
'Even large, well-known orphanages don't have so many foreign adoptions, let alone a small, obscure place like this.'
Suddenly, Xiao Ye felt a tug on his pant leg.
He looked down to see a boy with one good arm. He looked to be about seven or eight years old. His other arm wasn't missing, but malformed.
It looked like a congenital deformity, only half the size of a normal arm, with fingers like small, fleshy knobs hanging from the end.
"Mister, my marble is by your foot. May I get it?"
"Of course." Xiao Ye picked it up for him. "Why did you ask? You could have just grabbed it."
"Because some of the grown-ups don't like me getting close. One time I just picked it up and almost got hit. He told me to get lost."
'Not all the volunteers and social workers who come here actually like children. Many are just here to check a box.'
Xiao Ye ruffled the boy's hair and pulled a chocolate bar from his pocket. "Here, have this."
"Thank you, mister."
A short while later, Yuan Tiancheng returned and stood a respectful step behind him. "Master Xiao, what's our next move?"
Xiao Ye watched the children playing a game of tag. "If that woman came back here, it means she has an emotional attachment to this place."
"Then we'll use the orphanage to make our move. This place is too small for them anyway. They can be moved to a larger facility."
"Let's do it tonight. First, move the children and staff out ahead of time. Then... we'll stage a carbon monoxide poisoning."
"Then leak the story. Say no one in the entire orphanage survived. Remember, release it through entertainment news channels, and don't make it sound too definitive."
Yuan Tiancheng understood this perfectly. He owned a PR firm and knew exactly how to handle it.
"Master Xiao, rest assured. I'll have some of our PR firm's smaller accounts post the news first, then I'll get a major influencer to share it."
"Before it blows up, I'll have someone else issue a clarification, saying it was all a misunderstanding. I guarantee there won't be any issues."
Xiao Ye nodded. "Good. Get it done. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving."
He couldn't bear to look at the children any longer. His heart felt heavy.
It wasn't an overabundance of kindness, but a sense of powerlessness.
'So what if he was a Divine Doctor?'
'Traditional medicine couldn't fix these kinds of genetic issues.'
'The only hope was to wait for medical science to advance. Perhaps one day, genetic disorders could be completely cured.'
Yuan Tiancheng didn't stay much longer either and soon left.
The director took the items they had brought—the toys and food—and arranged for them to be distributed fairly.
The children were overjoyed to receive new toys.
"I'll remember what those two misters looked like. I'm going to pray for them to be safe and happy!"