Chapter 532 Break the demand

Lihua grimly nodded.

She had looked at Xiao Jian's eyes and found that she had been taking drugs. Zhao Weisheng had told her how people who regularly consume drugs look different in their eyes. Their pupils would be slightly dilated.

"I understood the reason. She has a complex about her looks and body, and she is bullied for it in her school. That adds more to the complex. Then her parents are at work mostly, so she is alone taking care of her brother all on her own. When she needs her parents to talk to, she is busy looking after her brother. Her parents must be really busy for her to think that she shouldn't bother them with her own issues. All in all, she is not getting help or she thinks that drugs IS the help she needs."

Jiang Hua nodded. "I agree. But what does talking to her achieve?"

She smiled. "You know, the one thing I understood from touring the whole city and meeting different people was that the one thing they need the most in these times is having someone listen to their problems. Just listen without being judgemental. Life in the city has grown so fast paced that we don't even understand what happens and when. New trends suddenly come up, old ones are abruptly cut off, people have to keep pace with so many changes that it messes up their life."

She sighed. "This is especially true for high school and college kids. I was in the university myself until a few months ago, so I can relate. Things get popular in our generation so fast or go out of fashion just as quickly as well. I used to feel dizzy. Everybody has smartphones now. People have lost touch with face to face conversations. That's why it's getting harder and harder to share your problems."

Lihua took Qingqing in her arms and tightly hugged her.

Ugh!! This human is killing me again! She hissed.

Ruru immediately came to her rescue and gently held her.

historical

"I want to talk to these troubled people, listen to their problems and if possible, make them understand what the right choice is."

"But why don't they approach counselors? There are health care professionals too who help with this," Jiang Hua asked.

"Because counselors don't ring a nice bell to anybody's ears. It makes people feel that there is something wrong with them, and people are terrified of that notion. They equate counselors with being crazy in their heads, which isn't true, but that's the preconception everybody has just formed.

Then of course there are money issues. Adults could afford one but can students? Now you can say that parents should bear the costs but are all kids comfortable sharing all their troubles even to their parents? No. Then how would they afford it? Also, not all campuses have student counseling programs, so some of them just don't get any help.

Then there is a whole social stigma associated with counseling itself. People immediately label somebody as mentally unfit just because they approached for help. That just discourages others even more who want to share their problems and get help. This is even more so now because almost everybody is just obsessed with their social image.

What option are you left with in the end? Do something yourself to get out of all the problems, and sadly, people think that drugs are the way."

Jiang Hua pondered over it.

"Just look at Xiao Jian only. I bet her parents don't know about her bullying problem. It is the parents' fault here too. No matter how busy they might be, they need to take time out for their children and know what is going on in their life. Simply earning money for them is not helpful at all. They need to be involved too. She has no friends in school either. She is basically a loner, and it makes her an easy target for the drug lords in her area to approach her."

"But the money for it.."

"She must be using all of her allowance her parents give her to buy drugs."

Jiang Hua said, "I see. Wait, I have also heard about online communities where you can anonymously share your problems."

Lihua nodded. "There are. Everything is possible on the internet now. But because it's anonymous, it's dangerous too. It's fine if you get into a genuine group. But with scammers prevailing everywhere, how are you supposed to know if they mean your well-being? There are more cases of people getting scammed rather than getting help, and getting scammed just adds to their list of problems. Also, chatting cannot beat personal conversations.

You will feel nice in the beginning seeing that you are not the only one with the problem. But everybody else there is looking for a solution too. You feel lighter getting it out of the system, but as long as you don't get a solution, you will remain stuck at the same place. The others who form such communities are also troubled souls, not professionals who can properly guide you."

She chuckled. "I am not any professional either. But my sis was. She was a cop, and she understood these things better than me. She used to talk about it to me all the time, so I think even if only a little bit, I feel I am eligible to help them.

Plus, I won't charge anything. So students or housewives or others who don't earn money won't have problems of affordability. There is no threat of scamming either because I will be sitting here the whole day. They can try talking to me and if they feel that I am anybody suspicious or not helpful, they can just walk away. I am not charging anything for them to lose their money."

Jiang Hua asked, "But will it make a difference?"

She smiled. "It will. Slowly, steadily but surely. I am not saying I could do it a hundred percent. Some people might never get convinced. But many will because really, nobody wants to live such a chained life dependent on drugs. I will hit that demand gap for sure. If there is no demand, who will Jiang Zhen supply to?"