Chapter 406: Where the Elderly Belong

Listening to Luo Xiao’s words, Li Ting walked slowly toward the elderly group. She had them perform a few simple movements and sing a couple of lines of a song.

Soon,

She walked back to Luo Xiao with a frown, looking a bit troubled.

“You want these seniors to form a song and dance troupe^[1]?”

“Is that not okay? Don’t worry, these seniors have all had physical exams at the hospital. None of them have any major illnesses. They have some minor ailments, but I’ve consulted with doctors, and there are no issues that would affect their normal lives or work,” Luo Xiao hurried to explain.

As batches of elderly people were sent over, his first priority was always to take them to the hospital for a checkup. Then, based on their health conditions, he would arrange suitable work for them.

For instance, those who were physically weaker would be assigned to the clothing factory to do light tasks like sweeping or tidying up, which didn’t require much exertion.

The seniors standing before them now were the ones selected for being in excellent health after their physicals.

Li Ting shook her head helplessly.

“It’s not a question of whether they are healthy. It’s that these seniors have never danced before. Their bones and ligaments have already set. They won’t be able to perform the high-difficulty movements required in dance.”

“Can’t they be trained slowly?”

“They can’t be trained for that. If they were in their thirties, there would still be a chance for training. But these seniors are likely in their forties or even fifties, right? At this age, trying to train for high-difficulty movements is unfeasible. If you force the training, it will cause physical harm to their bodies,” Li Ting explained.

Is that so?

Luo Xiao frowned slightly. If forced training would harm the seniors’ bodies, then it was definitely out of the question.

President Chen had brought these seniors here primarily to help them. If he ended up hurting them for the sake of training, it would undoubtedly go against President Chen’s original intention.

It also wasn’t the result he wanted.

After a moment of thought, he turned to Li Ting and asked tentatively.

“Then what if we don’t train for those difficult moves? What if we just do some simple, basic dance movements and choreograph a routine?”

“If it’s just training basic movements, there’s no problem. It’s possible to put together a dance that way, but the performance will lack excitement. If they enter a competition, it will be very hard to place,” Li Ting said as she looked at the seniors in the room.

“Then it’s settled. We’ll stick to basic dance. Teacher Li, take a look at these seniors and see which ones are suitable,” Luo Xiao pondered for a moment before nodding in agreement.

These seniors had all been brought over from impoverished mountain areas. It was simply unrealistic to expect to find any with a background in dance.

Since President Chen’s requirement was to select members for the Elderly Song and Dance Troupe from this group, they would just have to abandon high-difficulty choreography.

“Then those three.”

Li Ting pointed to three of the seniors.

Seeing this, Luo Xiao recorded their names. He then led Li Ting out of the apartment and into another one, where eight more seniors were waiting.

When he brought Li Ting over to select candidates for the troupe, he had grouped the healthy seniors into sets of eight, waiting in different apartments.

After all,

Only two seniors lived in each apartment. If he didn’t gather them together, it would be too exhausting to run from room to room.

And so it went.

After visiting three apartments in a row, the selection for the Elderly Song and Dance Troupe was complete.

“Alright, Teacher Li, these are all the seniors for now. If more arrive later, I’ll bring you back to pick more. I’ll leave the training of these seniors to you.”

Leaving the apartment, Luo Xiao spoke to Li Ting.

Li Ting nodded subconsciously, though a trace of doubt lingered in her mind.

Where did Luo Xiao find these seniors? Judging by their reactions and their restrained, cautious manner, they didn’t seem like city folk.

They reminded her more of the elderly people in the villages back home when she went back for the New Year.

Just as she was about to ask, Luo Xiao’s phone rang.

After a short while, Luo Xiao hung up and turned to Li Ting.

“Teacher Li, another batch of seniors has arrived at the apartments. I’m going to go pick them up.”

With that, he headed toward the elevator.

Another batch of seniors?

Hearing Luo Xiao’s words, a series of unsettling images flashed through Li Ting’s mind.

Watching Luo Xiao walk toward the elevator, a terrifying thought couldn’t help but surface.

Could this Luo Xiao be some kind of human trafficker?

However, she quickly pushed the thought aside. No human trafficker would be so blatant about it.

Thinking this, she hurried to catch up. She wanted to see exactly what was going on.

Soon, the two took the elevator to the first floor and stepped out of the apartment building.

Two business vans were parked at the entrance. Standing in front of the vans were several elderly people and two women.

“Manager Song, Manager Su, sorry to trouble you,” Luo Xiao said, hurrying forward to greet them.

“It’s no trouble. These seniors have just arrived in the big city and are a bit nervous. You’ll need to pay extra attention to them,” Su Dan instructed, gesturing toward the seniors behind her.

“Don’t worry, we’ve already prepared for that.”

Luo Xiao smiled confidently. Just as he finished speaking, two middle-aged women hurried out from the apartment building.

They quickly reached the group.

“Director Luo!” the two women greeted him.

“Mm.”

“I’m leaving these seniors in your hands.”

Luo Xiao nodded calmly. Upon hearing this, the two middle-aged women walked over to the seniors and began to speak with them in low voices. Soon, the seniors, who had appeared very tense, gradually began to relax.

Then, they followed the two women into the apartment building.

Watching this, Song Xia asked curiously, “They are…?”

“Oh! They are staff from a psychological counseling team we hired. Because these seniors have just come from impoverished mountain areas, they don’t just have physical health issues; there can be psychological stresses as well. So, for the time being, they receive counseling every day,” Luo Xiao explained as he watched the women lead the seniors inside.

Ever since the seniors started arriving in batches, they had been under a great deal of psychological pressure due to their long-term isolation in the mountains and the sudden move to an unfamiliar environment.

To address their mental well-being, he had specifically hired a counseling team to provide daily support.

“You’ve been very thoughtful, Director Luo. Since the seniors have been delivered, we’ll be heading out now.”

Song Xia nodded, then took her leave. They were exhausted from the recent travel and just wanted to go home and rest.

Once Song Xia and Su Dan had left, Li Ting turned to Luo Xiao.

“Those seniors were all brought here from impoverished mountain areas?”

She had gathered this much from the conversation, but she still didn’t quite understand. Why was Director Luo bringing these seniors from the mountains? Was it really just to pick members for a song and dance troupe?

There were plenty of seniors in the city with dance experience. Choosing people from impoverished mountain areas seemed unreliable no matter how she looked at it.

Furthermore, hiring psychological counselors added significantly to the overhead costs.

Translator’s Notes

1. song and dance troupe: A ‘ge-wu-tuan’ is a common type of performing arts group in China. In the context of the elderly, it often refers to community-based groups that participate in ‘square dancing’ (guangchang wu) and local competitions. ↩