Once the plan was settled, it was time to put it into practice.
Although Tom was still too young, some basic introductory lessons could begin.
And so, from that day onward, a new activity joined the dinner table every evening: Mo Fei telling stories.
For the children, this was something particularly novel.
It had happened only once before, on the day they had encountered a snake in the dormitory. They had been frightened, and Mo Fei had adapted The Farmer and the Snake and told it to them to soothe their emotions.
Now, Mo Fei was once again adapting time-honored fables and fairy tales and telling them to the children.
The children all loved this activity, even the older ones, Aiwen and Lina.
Today's story was a fairy tale well suited to little girls-The Little Mermaid.
"Deep in the sea lived a group of merpeople. One of their princesses was very cute and had a beautiful voice, just like our little Mia." As he told the story, he did not forget to interact with the children, and these words made Mia shyly hide behind Lina.
"Director!" she said, a little embarrassed.
The other children laughed good-naturedly.
After spending so much time together, they had, of course, all noticed that Mia was the prettiest of the children.
However, no one in the orphanage seemed to have any other thoughts about it, so they merely found Mia's charm rather interesting.
Mo Fei continued, "That little princess had always been the pearl of the deep sea... yet, during one trip to the surface to play, she fell for a human prince, and began to lose her appetite..."
"At last, she could no longer suppress those feelings of love, and went to find the sea witch in the depths..."
The story so far had been a little boring for the boys, but the moment they heard about the sea witch, these curious boys suddenly perked up.
Mysterious things like this readily caught boys' attention.
Seeing this, Mo Fei devoted a little more time to describing the sea witch.
"The sea witch had a head of messy hair that clung to her head like seaweed. She wore clothes made of coral, and her lower body had eight tentacles like those of an octopus..."
The eerie description left the children both excited and frightened.
Mo Fei shifted his tone. "Yet, although our mermaid princess was frightened when she saw her, she still chose to approach her and speak... the ugly, strange-looking sea witch looked terrifying, and her voice was very hoarse, but her words were gentle..."
"'Little princess of our deep sea, what brings you to this gloomy trench?'"
"'I want to go to the human world. I met a human prince. He was so handsome and dashing that I fell in love with him at first sight.' The little mermaid's eyes were full of longing merely from speaking of him!"
"Yet the sea witch gave a derisive snort. 'Princes, those...' She seemed about to say something, but stopped in disgust, as though merely uttering such a word was sickening."
"But because of this, she began to study the little mermaid before her with curiosity. The more she looked, the more she felt it was a pity. But the little mermaid could not see those complicated feelings!"
"'I don't know what the future will hold, but I'm willing to try!' At that moment, the little mermaid was as brave as a knight!"
"'Very well! But there is a price!' The sea witch sighed helplessly. 'You must exchange your sweet voice for a human body. Are you willing?'"
"The bargain seemed reasonable, but remember, her voice was the little mermaid's most precious gift!"
"'I am!' In the end, she agreed..."
"And the exchange was far from simple. The pain was something the little mermaid could hardly forget, but at least she could walk on two feet..."
"But after coming ashore and seeing the prince again, she discovered things were different. Although the prince was still just as handsome, after meeting many humans, she also discovered that the world ashore lacked the simplicity and happiness of the deep sea. Instead, it was full of schemes and intrigue..."
"The prince fell in love with the little mermaid for a while because of her looks, but then began seeking a new lover. A sense of emptiness left the little mermaid feeling some regret."
"Fortunately, at that moment, her sisters traded their beautiful hair for another chance for her. As long as she killed the prince and bathed her legs in his blood, she could become a mermaid again!"
"And so, on a rainy night, she killed the prince and finally returned to her deep sea... only, she did not become a mermaid princess again. Instead, she became the next witch, learning at the sea witch's side..."
In this story, Mo Fei deliberately took great care in describing the prince's fickleness and the little mermaid's unfulfilled love.
The boys all marveled at the little mermaid's decisiveness, while the girls felt more sympathy for her devoted love and more disgust toward the scumbag.
Mia even shed tears one after another.
Seeing this, Mo Fei asked instead, "Now that you've heard the story, what do you think?"
"The prince was awful! The little mermaid should never have given up her own life to come ashore in the first place!"
"Could the sea witch have foreseen everything all along?"
"Is a witch's magic really that amazing?"
Seeing their discussion begin to stray off topic, Mo Fei directly offered his own view.
"Sometimes, the gifts of fate have their price engraved on them from the very beginning! Don't rashly get involved in things you cannot bear. That is how we survive."
Mo Fei looked at Mia and said rather seriously, "Little Mia, you're the most likely among us to be adopted, so you need to understand something. In the future, there may be many people who want to adopt you, but you must choose someone you can accept. Don't covet fleeting wealth and splendor, just like the little mermaid... by the end, you may have no way back..."
At this, everyone suddenly fell rather silent.
The children had never thought about these things before. After all, it seemed that they had all been abandoned from the very beginning.
But since the director had brought it up, that meant something like this might happen in the future.
"Can't I stay?" Mia asked timidly.
Mo Fei patted her reassuringly. "Of course you can. But whether you're adopted or not, you'll all face all kinds of choices in the future, so you must think them through!"
As he said this, he deliberately let his gaze linger a little longer on Kyle and Tom.
Magic... just when would its mysterious veil finally be lifted?
While Mo Fei was telling the children a story, the young lady of the Winter family also received an apology from Miles and the others. The bakery had been repaired as well, and the orphanage's bread business was about to resume.
In a distant castle, a Book of Admittance and a Quill of Acceptance had long since recorded a child's name.