Chapter 169: Human hearts are never satisfied

"Everyone is terrified of hunger." The girl who had been protecting the children behind her walked over and said to several people.

They are small and weak, unable to outcompete others.

Just now the little girl let everyone eat all the steamed buns; now their faces are smiling, and since they can remember, this is the first time they have eaten their fill.

The feeling of a full stomach is truly wonderful!

……

Ning Hanmo's anger just now was like a punctured balloon; he stood there dazed.

He used to think he already knew the lowest point, but seeing the slum before him, does he really know?

That time……

He lifted his gaze to his mother; Jiang Yunchu felt his look and merely smiled at him, a smile filled with infinite tolerance.

Ning Hanmo's nose felt sour, but he stubbornly held back his tears and refused to let them fall.

As for the cloth, Su Xin did not buy whole bolts; she bought many scraps—not only the slum children, but even children outside never used whole bolts to make clothes.

She bought plenty of scraps, cheap and abundant, so there was no need to divide them into separate pieces.

"Each person gets one piece; don't let me see anyone taking more. If I discover it, I will take back all the cloth and make you vomit up the steamed buns you ate." Jiang Yunchu narrowed her eyes, stating this clearly in advance.

"Line up properly!" Bai Zhi shouted loudly.

Those people quickly stood in line.

Jiang Yunchu first gave the cloth to the little girl, then, in front of everyone, she said, "Next time I come, I will inspect your cloth; if you have thrown it away, I will never come here again."

Her voice was warm, but it also served as a reminder to those adults.

If those few children's cloth is stolen, then no one should expect to get anything in the future.

A few people with ulterior motives had their eyes flicker several times, but in the end they resignedly lined up to receive cloth.

After distributing the scraps, seeing the joyful looks on those people's faces, the children walked away one by one with heavy hearts.

"Any thoughts?"

On the way there, Ning Hanmo chattered nonstop; on the way back, he became quiet instead.

"Mother, thank you."

Ning Hanmo thought for a long time, but in the end he still expressed his thanks.

At that time, he initially thought it was people his mother had hired to put on a show for him.

Later, although he believed it, he thought it was only a few people; only today did he realize that the people he had previously encountered were already living quite happily.

But the people he encountered today—eyes everywhere bleak, streets and houses drafty on all sides, each gaze filled with lifeless resignation—were like needles pricking his heart, hurting so much he could barely breathe.

"Thank me for what? For letting you see the world's darkness, for letting you feel what life is?"

Jiang Yunchu snorted, she is a very selfish person; she only cares about her own children—does she really care about those slum folk?

She only hopes her children can broaden their horizons, have aspirations, and establish goals.

Ning Hanmo gazed deeply at his mother; at this moment she seemed a bit awkward—does she really not care?

"Mother, if you don't care, why did you threaten those people not to steal those children's cloth?"

"If you don't care, why do you look at them with a compassionate expression?"

The little one secretly laughed, then looked at the awkward mother.

"I am an awkward child; it must be because you are an awkward mother—we were born to be mother and son."

Just now Jiang Yunchu, still a bit awkward, saw her son's appearance and the slyness in his eyes, and helplessly closed her eyes.

"You're getting older, will you start teasing Mom?"

She poked Ning Hanmo's forehead; he dodged, saying, "Mother, I'm already grown."

Jiang Yunchu smiled, then grabbed him, saying, "Ning Hanmo, no matter how big you get, you're still my son."

Ning Hanmo looked at his mother's dark hands and felt a sense of hopelessness.

But when he saw his own hands, well……

As mother and son, neither should despise the other.

After returning to the Wang Fu, every child was listless, nobody spoke; on the contrary, Ning Hanmo's condition was already the best among them.

One can see how great the impact of this event was on them.

Each child's gaze seemed to carry a thirst for knowledge, yet fear of the outcome, as they stared at Jiang Yunchu.

That conflicted gaze made her unconsciously narrow her eyes.

"The slum is real; it has always existed and still does. The one we visited today is merely a small slum." Her words were like the chief culprit extinguishing a lamp; the children's eager eyes suddenly darkened.

"You have all seen today's situation: those who repeatedly line up for steamed buns, those who seek petty gains, and those who want to steal the children's cloth."

"What thoughts do you have?"

Jiang Yunchu's face showed no expression; she liked chatting with them this way, and they liked chatting with her. They are now like modeling clay, and she wants to shape them into whatever she wishes; they may become whatever she makes them.

Children's malleability is the strongest.

But……

She wants them to shape themselves freely within safety, becoming what they wish to become.

Rather than……

What she wants to become.

"They suffer too much; if they weren't so suffering, they might not be like this." Kang Ziwei wore a look of pity.

Her words fell; Kang Nai Xin furrowed her brows in disagreement, saying, "I don't think so; those who rob others will always make that choice, no matter the time."

Kang Nai Xin's words gave Jiang Yunchu a hint of surprise.

"Oh?"

She couldn't help but speak out.

Kang Nai Xin looked at the Dean; in the Dean's calm gaze, in the familiar environment, she felt sufficiently safe.

Human hearts never know satisfaction.

They are now paupers, able to rob others' grain and snatch others' cloth.

When they have a little silver, they will seize bigger things, possibly others' opportunities.

If they become officials, they might become corrupt and take bribes.

Human nature does not change with environment; poverty or wealth changes only one's circumstances, not the heart.

When Kang Nai Xin spoke these words, she didn't even think; what she said felt as if she had always firmly believed it in her heart.

After she finished speaking, she raised her head and looked at everyone's strange gazes.

She firmly thrust out her chest, standing there like that, her straight back showing her stubbornness.

Clap clap clap…

Jiang Yunchu's leading applause, in the gaze that had just been calm, now gathered admiration all around.

Yes, human hearts.