novelhk Chapter 115 Girls, Orphanage
Chapter 115 Girls, Orphanage
Chapter 106 Girls, Orphanage
Despite the mass funeral held today for the ninjas who died on the front lines, the residents of Konoha Village continue to live their lives as usual, peacefully and harmoniously.
The dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, and the warm sunlight shone down once again.
In a quiet corner of Mingcha Street, there is a dessert shop called "Ganmeitang".
The official name is unfamiliar to some, and customers usually just call it "the meatball shop".
The three-colored dumplings in the shop are especially popular among the children of Konoha.
Even if some people don't eat sweets as often as they grow up, they will occasionally come back to have a few skewers.
At this moment, on the street in front of Ganmeitang, stood two very pretty little girls who looked about eight or nine years old.
One had short brown hair, dark brown eyes, and two purple stripes on his cheeks;
The other one had long, naturally curly black hair draped over her shoulders, and bright red eyes.
It was Nohara Rin and Yuhi Kurenai.
"Jingyin, over here—" Lin called out, waving as she spotted Jingyin.
Shizune saw them too and jogged over.
"Lin, Hong, good morning." After saying that, Jingyin added apologetically, "Lin, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
"It's okay, I just arrived recently," Lin replied with a smile. "I ran into Hong on the street and invited her over too."
"Mm." Shizune nodded.
"Let's go eat some three-color dumplings," Lin said cheerfully.
Inside the meatball shop, they each ordered three skewers of three-colored meatballs and savored them carefully.
"Shizune, congratulations on graduating early and becoming a genin," Kurenai said softly.
"Actually, it's not that early. Everyone will graduate next March," Shizune replied with a smile.
She noticed that Rin was staring intently at her, and knowing that the other was anxiously waiting for news, she said, "Rin, last night, Teacher Chisaku and Lady Tsunade discussed your matter."
She paused deliberately at this point.
"Um, um, and then?" Lin quickly asked.
"And then—"
Shizune shook the bamboo skewer she had just finished eating a skewer of meatballs, raised her eyebrows, and her meaning couldn't be clearer.
Lin immediately understood and took a skewer of meatballs from her plate and handed it to Jingyin.
After handing it over, she didn't say anything, but just stared at Jingyin with her big eyes, her lips curling up, revealing a slightly "terrifying" face.
"Cough, cough, Lin, don't do that, it's scary," Shizune quickly said.
Lin, who is usually gentle and obedient, is exceptionally good at putting on such a frightening expression.
Every time she saw it, Shizune couldn't help but feel her hair stand on end.
Lin smiled slightly, reverting to her usual obedient demeanor, and quietly waited for the next part to continue.
"Teacher Qian Shuo said he would ask Dean Biwako for permission to suspend your school classes. After that, you will train with our team until graduation, when you will take the exam and be assigned to a team."
After finishing her sentence in one breath, Jingyin quickly stuffed a dumpling into her mouth to calm her nerves.
Lin listened thoughtfully, took a small bite of her meatball, and then realized the question: "What about my master? Don't I need to learn from him?"
"Cough cough—" Shizune coughed twice more unconsciously.
She opened her mouth, but couldn't bear to tell the truth—Lady Tsunade had almost forgotten about Rin.
"Lady Tsunade will also give you guidance when she has time, yes, that's it."
"Okay." Lin nodded, thinking to herself: Master is one of the legendary Sannin, he must be very busy.
Kurenai listened quietly to their conversation while eating her dumplings.
Then she asked, "Jingyin, is Teacher Qian Shuo's full name Xingyuan Qian Shuo?"
"Yes." Shizune nodded, somewhat puzzled as to why Red asked that.
"I mentioned your early graduation to my father, and I also talked about Professor Qian Shuo," Hong continued. "My father said that Professor Qian Shuo is very talented."
"Yes, Professor Qian Shuo is indeed very capable," Shizune casually agreed.
Seeing this, Hong's tone became more serious: "My father is an elite Jonin. He just returned from a mission on the northwestern border. He said that Teacher Chisaku single-handedly treated more than a hundred wounded soldiers on the front lines, many of whom were dying ninjas."
"Furthermore, Teacher Chisaku defeated many Iwa ninjas with his powerful ninjutsu. Father said that Teacher Chisaku's strength—may be no less than his."
"Really?"
Jingyin and Lin blinked, still unable to quite imagine what this meant.
Kurenai had no choice but to conclude, "In short, Senju-sensei is one of the strongest Jonin in Konoha."
"Oh—" Shizune and Rin nodded in unison, as if they had just realized something.
As the three were talking, a little girl of about four or five years old was happily eating meatballs at the next table.
With each bite, she would squint her eyes in satisfaction, her little mouth gently pursing, as if she wanted to savor every last bit of that sweet, soft, and chewy flavor.
Hearing the people at the next table talking about "Teacher Qian Shuo," she vaguely felt that the name sounded familiar, but she didn't pay much attention and continued to enjoy her delicious food.
It wasn't until she heard "Xingyuan Qianshuo" "has saved more than a hundred people" that her little head, which had been occupied by sweet glutinous rice balls, slowly turned back.
It's that older brother who cured my toothache!
She turned her head and, without flinching, asked the three girls at the next table, "Are you talking about Dr. Qian Shuo?"
The three of them looked at the little girl with some surprise and nodded.
"I know Brother Qian Shuo, he's amazing!"
This four- or five-year-old girl is Hongdou, who secretly came to eat the meatballs.
She was still holding the half-eaten tricolor dumplings in her hand, gesturing excitedly as she said, "Big Brother Qian Shuo, just do this—and then this again—and my toothache will be cured soon!"
The three of them couldn't help but laugh as they watched the little girl's adorable words and actions.
They glanced at the dozen or so bamboo skewers piled on the table and suddenly realized: no wonder their teeth hurt, eating so many sweets at once—
"What's your name? Why are you eating meatballs all by yourself?" Shizune asked.
"My name is Mitarashi Anko. I'm a big girl now, so of course I can be alone." Anko stared at Shizune, her chubby little face putting on a serious expression.
"Okay, okay, you're a big kid now," Shizune said with a smile. "My name is Shizune, this is Nohara Rin, and this is Yuhi Kurenai. It's nice to meet you."
"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Hongdou replied, mimicking an adult's tone.
"Would you like to sit down and eat with us?" Shizune invited.
"Mmm!" Hongdou was very happy about the invitation—it was practically a recognition of her "big kid" status.
She quickly picked up her plate and moved it to the table with the three of them, not forgetting to neatly put away the bamboo skewers she had finished eating.
"Aren't you afraid your toothache will flare up again after eating so many meatballs?"
"Of course I'm not afraid. If my tooth hurts, I'll just go find Brother Qian Shuo again."
"Oh—I see."
"I want to become as strong as Chisaku when I grow up. I want to be a medical ninja so I'll never have to worry about toothaches again."
"Ha ha----"
Four adorable girls from Konoha Village gathered together at the dumpling shop, laughing and chatting happily.
Meanwhile, in an old wooden building on the western edge of Konoha Village.
The living room, which was about 30 square meters, was crowded with children of all ages, the oldest being eleven or twelve and the youngest only three or four.
In the middle of the living room are two long tables and several rows of benches. This room serves as an activity room, a dining room, and now also as a classroom for the children.
The children huddled together in the room, looking up at the new, pretty older sister in front of them, listening attentively to her lesson.
"Alright, the older children need to memorize this article after class; the middle children must memorize the multiplication tables. We'll check them next class, and those who can't recite them will have to stand as punishment; the younger children, each of you need to write your name ten times, and you're not allowed to make any mistakes."
Nono had a gentle smile on her face, but her tone was unusually serious.
She looked around the room, her gaze sweeping over each child as if carrying an invisible pressure.
"Have you memorized everything?" Nonou asked, raising her voice.
"Teacher, we've got it!" the children answered in unison.
"Okay, get out of class dismissed." Nonou nodded and announced.
"yeah-"
"Finally, get out of class is over!"
"This lady is so serious—"
"Shh—keep your voice down, they'll hear you—"
The children ran joyfully out of the living room, which had been used as a classroom, and rushed into the yard to play.
Noriko Matsu, a caregiver at the orphanage, came up and remarked, "Nono, you really know how to handle things. Before, when I taught the children, it was always so noisy."
"Noriko-senpai, I was just pretending to be serious," Nono replied with a smile.
"I think the main reason is that you healed Tetsuki's injuries with your medical ninjutsu last night, which made him much more obedient," Matsukiko said ramblingly. "Tetsuki is such a naughty kid. If you can keep him in check, the other kids will naturally listen to you too."
"Tetsuki is actually quite obedient; he probably just wanted to show off too much in the past," Nonou said softly.
Noriko Matsu shook her head and pouted, "That kid is just naughty. He's always climbing trees, scaling walls, running around, and making a ruckus, and he always ends up hurting himself."
Nonou didn't reply, but thought to herself, "Tetsuki is just like the old Takagi. But the current Takagi is much more composed."
At that moment, Noriko Matsu sighed softly.
Nonou keenly sensed that she had something to say, so she took the initiative to ask, "Noriko-senpai, is there something you need?"
Noriko Matsu glanced around instinctively, then lowered her voice and said, "Nonou, the dean originally told me not to mention this to you—"
"As you can see, the orphanage building is quite old. The director has always wanted to rebuild a sturdier and larger one."
Nono nodded.
The orphanage is indeed very dilapidated, and the thirty-seven children it houses are living in very crowded conditions.
Noriko Matsu sighed again and continued, "However, the orphanage's funding is only enough to barely cover the food; we simply can't afford to rebuild it."
Nonou had already guessed this question, and after thinking for a moment, asked, "Didn't the director apply to the village?"
"The village only said they could help with some repairs," Matsukiko said helplessly. "Some of the children have relatives in the village, and the director wants to try to get some financial assistance."
Nonou was silent for a moment, then asked, "Approximately how much more money will be needed?"
"The dean estimated that it would cost at least 1.2 million taels. The main problem is the high cost of labor, but the village can provide the land and timber. The village has approved 200,000 taels for the repairs, so we are still short a full 1 million taels."
Nono frowned slightly.
She secretly calculated: the money she had saved over the years was only about 400,000 taels, originally intended for the orphanage's daily expenses. Even if she used it all now, she would still be far short—
She looked up and saw the faint expectation in Matsu Noriko's eyes, understanding what the other was thinking.
But the gap is so large that it will be difficult to fill it in a short time.
After pondering for a moment, Nono said, "Niko-senpai, I'll discuss it with the dean later."
Upon hearing this, a hint of disappointment flashed across Matsu Noriko's face, and she said in a low voice, "That's fine then—hopefully the Dean can get some today."
After saying that, she turned and left the living room to continue her work.
Nono was not annoyed by her attitude.
Thirty-eight-year-old Noriko Matsu had worked as a caregiver at an orphanage for a long time, and she understood the other person's personality:
She is warm-hearted and talkative, and she cares about everything at the orphanage. Although she is sometimes strict with the children, she has the softest heart than anyone else.
When she was little, she often imagined Noriko Matsu as her mother. Now, looking back, it feels like a very long time has passed.