The events that followed easily alleviated Wang Zhizheng’s concerns.
"Boss Lin, can’t you make an exception? Mrs. Ma has already canceled her custom order, hasn’t she? Why can’t we reopen this year’s custom order?"
"Very sorry," Lin Xiaoguai shook her head, "there’s no such rule. The only thing I can promise is that next year’s custom order will be drawn from the members who have birthdays in the first half of the year."
After seeing off another disappointed person, Lin Xiaoguai smiled at Wang Zhizheng, "See?"
"Godmother, you’re amazing!" Wang Zhizheng said, giving a thumbs up with a smile.
Leaving the gift shop, Lin Xiaoguai took Yaya to the Charitable Foundation, and as soon as they entered the gate, a young noblewoman approached them.
"I was just looking for you, Chairman," Fu Hongqian caught up to Lin Xiaoguai, smiling broadly, "Didn’t I mention to you about the mountainous area where I went to teach? The conditions there are particularly poor. In winter, the children don’t even have cotton-padded clothes to wear and have to leave home three to four hours early, carrying torches to school. They don’t even have electricity, nor do they have a proper road. When it snows, a lot of people die. I want to request some funds from your foundation to help them."
Suddenly, she remembered something and pulled out a stack of photos from her bag, "Look, I even took photos of their place, it definitely meets the funding conditions of your foundation."
She laid the photos in front of Lin Xiaoguai, but Lin Xiaoguai’s expression remained indifferent.
Fu Hongqian’s expression grew increasingly embarrassed, and finally, she pursed her lips and whispered softly, "If your foundation’s funds are tight and can’t look after another poor area’s children, there’s still one child you must help. He has contracted polio, and his family can’t afford his medical fees..."
She couldn’t continue, because Lin Xiaoguai’s expression had turned even colder.
"My apologies..." Fu Hongqian was extremely embarrassed, eventually bowing deeply and fleeing with a flushed face.
"Godmother, what was wrong with that person?" Wang Zhizheng asked curiously.
He thought he understood his godmother; Si Yuan Charity Foundation’s purpose was to help out-of-school children and disabled people, which obviously softened her heart the most, but...
Not to mention the out-of-school children, the child with polio mentioned by the woman, who should have elicited her sympathy, seemed to leave her unmoved, which was certainly strange.
"That child she mentioned is her own nephew, and the teaching place is her hometown," Lin Xiaoguai said in a low voice.
"Ah?" Wang Zhizheng was slightly stunned.
Lin Xiaoguai led him into the office, gestured for him to sit on the couch nearby, and then explained, "Although Fu Hongqian married into the wealthy Mo family, she herself came from poverty. At first, her in-laws didn’t like her because of her background, but they still agreed to let her marry their son after his persistence. Her hometown is an extremely poor area, and her parents aren’t very sophisticated. After coming to the Capital, she made a few gaffes, which exposed her background. She has a very high sense of pride, and after her mother-in-law used her background to mock her a couple of times, she resolved never to contact her natal family again."
"That happened about seven or eight years ago. These years, since her life suddenly improved, her nature inevitably shifted a bit, and she became more concerned about others looking down on her because of her background, losing her true self. Even if she can’t let go of her natal family, she only dares to secretly send money, never showing it in public. Just time, if she would just humble herself before her in-laws, they might mock her, but they would still give what is necessary."
"Exactly," Rui Ying chimed in, "to put it fairly, Old Mrs. Mo might have a bad temper but isn’t a bad person. What’s wrong with a younger person speaking softly in front of her mother-in-law? Is pride really that important, more than her own parents and siblings?"
Though it’s called an office, it wasn’t Lin Xiaoguai’s personal office, but a shared one. There is a personal office, but she usually uses it for rest, given that she hardly deals with paperwork at the Charitable Foundation. When there really is work, everyone gathers in the shared office where they can brainstorm ideas together and it doesn’t feel lonely.
"That’s how it is," Wang Zhizheng said, somewhat incredulously, "Maybe she just couldn’t swallow her pride for the moment." He still couldn’t believe someone would value their dignity over their own family.
"Yaya, you think too well of people," Rui Ying shook her head, "Do you think that is all Fu Hongqian has done? Let me tell you, before, she actually received some funds from another charitable foundation, but when someone provoked her with words, she spent all that money in the gift shop. Later, when the Charitable Foundation pursued accountability, her husband had to cover the shortfall."