Heartfelt Intentions

He Mei and the cameraman's interview also came to an end amid the lively clamor of countless lit homes.

Hearing Huo Baichuan's words, the Jiangzhou University students immediately said, "Doing good deeds is never a waste of talent. Being able to help is what matters most."

Someone else asked curiously, "Can we see what the website you two created looks like? Senior Wen Jing said this Missing Persons Rescue Website was developed by the two of you. You're amazing!"

Huo Baichuan waved a hand and pointed at Tao Yan. "He developed the website independently. I didn't help much at all. If you want to learn from someone, ask him."

Tao Yan gave Huo Baichuan a cool look but said nothing.

The university students looked at the aloof Tao Yan, exchanged glances, and for a moment, none of them dared to speak.

Huo Baichuan smiled. "Don't be fooled by how he always looks so serious. He's actually very attentive and enthusiastic. If there's anything you want to ask, just ask him."

Tao Yan, whom his colleagues and business partner called an AI workaholic, who often sent his subordinates' proposals and financial reports back for revisions at the slightest disagreement, glanced at Huo Baichuan and silently accepted this assessment of being "attentive and enthusiastic."

Wen Jing smiled as well. "Ask whatever you want. Weren't you curious about how the operating system on my computer was made? Its creator is standing right in front of you. Don't miss this opportunity."

Encouraged by Huo Baichuan's explanation and Senior Wen Jing's encouragement, the university students finally gathered their courage and walked up to the boy who looked far younger than them. They asked earnestly, "We came here to volunteer. Is there anything we can help with?"

The students were especially quick-witted. They figured they could ask questions while working, so they would not seem so abrupt or clueless.

Tao Yan nodded and led them to the newly cleared-out media activity room next door. The room was empty, containing only three computers, a printer, and a scanner. Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan had scavenged the computer parts at the secondhand market and assembled them themselves. Naturally, neither their specifications nor anything else could compare to the computers they had sold Wen Jing and He Mei. Still, they were barely usable.

Besides writing code himself, Tao Yan would teach the orphanage children how to type whenever he had free time. What should have been dry and tedious became the most entertaining game in the children's eyes, and every day they practiced to their hearts' content.

"You can start by reading the volunteer guidelines," Tao Yan said. "If there's anything you still don't understand after reading them, raise your hand and ask."

No sooner had he finished speaking than He Mei rushed in with a bag slung over her shoulder. "Brother Chen and I went back to the station last night and developed the photos overnight. I was afraid of delaying your work, so I brought them over first thing this morning. Here!"

He Mei took a manila envelope from her bag and handed it to Huo Baichuan, adding with praise, "The pictures you took are so beautiful. I really love them. When you have time, I'll treat you to a trip to the park. Can you take a few more photos of me?"

Huo Baichuan smiled. "If you're treating, then of course I can!"

As he spoke, he placed the photos of the fourteen children onto the scanner and scanned them one by one.

Tao Yan said to the university students, who he had no idea had finished reading the volunteer guidelines or not, "You can practice first. Enter these children's photos and information into the website, then publish the posts."

The university students took a deep breath, suddenly feeling the same tension they felt during final exams when facing their instructor.

Heartfelt Intentions

During the first few days after the website went online, it was unsurprisingly met with a cold reception. Probably because not many people in the 1990s had internet access, and the Missing Persons Rescue Website created by Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan had no means of marketing or promotion. As a result, very few people knew about it.

It was not until a week later, when Jiangzhou Television Station inserted a local news segment after the evening news about victims rescued from a human trafficking ring establishing the Missing Persons Rescue Website, that the site's daily traffic finally surged from dozens or hundreds of visits to over twenty thousand.

At the same time, Jiangzhou Television Station received many calls for help from viewers. Some wanted to provide leads but could not find the website's phone number and did not know whom to contact. Others wanted help publishing information on the website. There were even viewers from nearby cities calling in for assistance.

Jiangzhou Television Station promptly relayed this need to Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan. However, the two of them were also in a difficult position—they were still living at the orphanage. It would not be appropriate to put the orphanage's number or the Lianhua District Police Station's number on the website. Nor could they list the public phone at the grocery store across from the orphanage. They could only ask those seeking help to make posts and register.

But people seeking help did not know how to make posts online, so they had to go through the trouble of begging nearby university students for assistance. The process was simply too troublesome.

Just as they were worrying over this, Jiangzhou City Mobile Communications Company stepped forward and offered to install a free helpline for the Missing Persons Rescue Website.

Upon receiving the news, Tao Yan and Huo Baichuan immediately rushed to the communications company for a meeting. After discussions between both sides, they ultimately decided to install the phone at the orphanage.

"Volunteers will be stationed by the phone for sixteen hours every day. We won't miss anyone's plea for help," Huo Baichuan promised with a smile.

Reporters from Jiangzhou Television Station and Jiangzhou Daily covered the entire process and noted down the phone number at the end of the interview, planning to insert it into that evening's local news broadcast.

"We hope our small contribution can help the many missing people and their families," the communications company manager said with emotion.

A day later, this helpline, which carried the hopes of tens of thousands of viewers, was successfully installed at the orphanage. Tao Yan had originally planned to hire two volunteers to take shifts answering calls, but to his surprise, the elderly men and women from the Lotus District Residents' Committee came to them on their own initiative, volunteering to help answer the phone.

"You young people are too impatient. How can you be as careful as people like us, who have spent years doing neighborhood work?" Director Li of the Residents' Committee said with a smile. "I'm not bragging, but I've worked in the neighborhood for thirty years. Whenever any family in Lotus District had a dispute or argument, wasn't I the one who went to mediate? Most of your volunteers may be university students, but I'm more professional than you at this. The people calling for help are all anxious and upset. When they get emotional, someone needs to soothe them. That takes skill. You university students who haven't even graduated yet might not be able to talk them through it."