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Chapter 66 Home (Part Two)

Finn Lewis’s gaze had been following the small figure, until she filled her net bag with several bottles. She then strained to drag the bag full of beverage bottles away. Throughout this time, Finn’s eyes had scanned the vicinity but found no adults.

As the little girl’s figure was about to disappear around the street corner, Finn startled awake and ran towards her. Once he turned the corner, he saw the young girl again. How fast could a five or six-year-old child walk? Especially when she had an oversized net bag in her hand, filled with at least thirty empty beverage bottles. Although they were all empty, their combined weight was still quite heavy for a little girl.

Finn didn’t catch up with her, nor did he do anything. He just quietly followed her from around twenty meters away. They walked like this for about ten minutes until they reached a little ice cream stall. Finn watched as she stopped in front of the cart, but she didn’t approach it; she was still four or five meters away.

After moving forward another seven or eight meters, from his side, Finn could see the desire in her eyes. She licked her lips and pulled a handful of change from her pocket. The largest bill was ten yuan, with one five-yuan note and several one-yuan notes, and the rest was just pocket change.

She seemed conflicted as she looked at the money in her hand. A few times, she pulled out one of the one-yuan notes, only to put it back. She ended up standing there, in front of the ice cream stall, for a few minutes before carefully putting all of the money back into her pocket and continuing on, while Finn silently followed her.

They walked this way for about forty minutes. Every so often, if there was a trash bin, she would stop to see if there were any empty bottles inside.

Forty minutes later, they arrived at a shabby shanty—shanties like this exist in every glamorous city. They came to a halt in front of one of the shacks, and the little girl’s cheerful voice rang out, “Granny, I’m back.”

She put the bottles she had collected on a pile of trash at her doorstep before darting inside. Finn didn’t approach. He looked around and spotted a convenience store nearby. Finn walked over and bought a pack of cigarettes from the forty-something woman running the store.

“May I ask about that little girl? What’s her story?” Finn pointed towards the shack where the little girl lived and asked as he lit a cigarette.

“What do you want to know for?” The store owner gave Finn a once-over and questioned him.

“Well, I gave her my empty beverage bottle earlier, and noticed there were no adults around. I followed her here because I was worried. But where are here guardians. Doesn’t anyone look after her?” explained Finn.

“Ah, I can see you have a kind heart. Kind-hearted people are rare these days. The story of that poor girl… there’s only one adult in her family—her grandmother. The old woman and the child are all each other has. We call her grandmother ‘Auntie King.’ She’s 78 this year, and she raised this girl after finding her in a dumpster. It’s pitiful, really. The two of them scrape by on what they earn from collecting junk. Auntie King has been ill for a few days now—that’s why the little girl is out there collecting things by herself.”

“Ah, people here want to help them both, but no one around here is very wealthy—no one has much to spare.” The woman sighed again.

Finn silently took a puff of his cigarette then nodded and said, “I see.” Afterwards, Finn looked back at the shack before turning to leave.

The woman from the convenience store watched his retreating figure, shook her head and went back inside her shop.

As he left the shanty town, Finn walked in silent contemplation back to where he’d parked. It was nearly an hour’s walk there, but on his return, it took less than half an hour to reach his car.

Once inside his car, Finn called Fishy Wells, ‘Withdraw some cash from the bank—five thousand yuan. I’ll need it tomorrow.” Finn thought for a moment before giving a number.

“Alright, I understand.” Fishy Wells agreed.

Finn didn’t need to worry about the money, there were others to help with the transfers—in this regard, the finance team’s capabilities were unquestionable. As he drove home, Finn’s mind was filled with image of the little girl. Had this been before, Finn could only observe, lacking the means to offer help. Now, having encountered this situation, he was able to help.

Finn wasn’t some excessively good-hearted person, and he wasn’t a deity, but there was something about this little girl that moved him. There were many poor people in the world, Finn himself had once been one of them. But poverty doesn’t necessarily earn you help.

Finn thought back to an event that happened back in his freshman year. In

Gemstone City, in one particularly impoverished county, an incredibly poor village was exposed by a group of charitable individuals. This village caused quite a stir, resulting in countless donations of money and goods.

In the beginning, the villagers were thankful. A large portion of the money was distributed among the villagers. After that event, they started to receive money each month. This continued for about a year. Initially, the villagers continued to work tirelessly in their fields, trying to earn extra money. However, when they started receiving the sizable monthly donations, they stopped valuing the hard-earned money they made toiling in the mountains and fields. Many of them sat idly at home. Gradually, the donations decreased, so did the money given to them each month. Three years later, the village remained one of the country’s poorest ones.

This event was discussed by one of Finn’s professors in his freshman year, as a lesson for them to study diligently. The teacher thought that if one person from that village had been educated, they could have used the money to create prosperity for the whole village.

However, Finn disagreed. This wasn’t a question of someone having, or not having insight—it was a matter of a sad reality: those who were pitiable often brought their misery upon themselves.

Shaking his head, he dispelled the disorderly thoughts from his mind. The image of the little girl standing, conflicted, in front of the ice cream cart still lingered in Finn’s mind. She was just a five or six-year-old girl. And the moment when she found Finn’s money and returned it to him was also a clear indication of how commendable the old woman who raised this little girl was..