Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Old Sir Qian chuckled, watching his wife play with the Little Red Carp. It reminded him of his grandson, who was far away.

Even though that was his own flesh and blood, distant water can’t quench a present thirst. The Little Red Carp right here before them was now the recipient of all their affection.

Sun Haoran was also quite fond of her. He smiled and said, ”Little Red Carp, call him Grandpa.”

”Hello, Grandpa,” the Little Red Carp chirped with a smile. She was a person now, and she wanted to get along well with other people.

Gu Qingyu watched the Little Red Carp, also feeling very pleased. But his personality was more reserved, and he wasn’t good at expressing his feelings. He watched with envy as she interacted with everyone else.

Zhao Nuanyue patted the Little Red Carp’s little head. ”Little Red Carp, this is Grandpa Gu.”

”Hello, Grandpa Gu.” The Little Red Carp could win anyone over with a single phrase. It wasn’t just her sweet, childlike voice; her big, round eyes would also fixate on whomever she was speaking to.

”Good, good. You’re a good girl, Little Red Carp,” Gu Qingyu said with a smile. A kindly expression appeared on his usually stern face. He couldn’t help but think of the handful of rascals back home. Not a single one was a soft, adorable granddaughter like the Little Red Carp, and a pang of regret touched his heart.

But the Little Red Carp’s arrival filled that void. ’The child is pitiful, too,’ he thought, ’but it’s a good thing she ran into the kind-hearted Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuanyang. She’s lucky to have found such a pure and good pair of siblings.’

It rained continuously all morning. Fortunately, Zhao Nuanyue had brought some flatbreads, so everyone shared them and didn’t return to the Dragon King Temple, which saved them from getting soaked.

Miao Cunzheng and Hua Yusen were relieved to find that even though it had rained all day, the water level hadn’t risen. In fact, it was steadily dropping.

If things continued this way, Nianqiao Village would have nothing to fear.

When they returned that evening, Zhao Nuanyue first boiled a large pot of ginger soup. She gave everyone a bowl to ward off the damp chill before she started making dinner.

In just a single day, the Little Red Carp had already become everyone’s favorite. They all adored her.

Having suddenly become human, the Little Red Carp was intensely curious about everything and loved spending time with people. She was no longer just a transformed carp spirit; she was a person, a little toddler. She wanted to play freely, just like any human child.

The torrential rain fell for five straight days and nights before finally stopping.

This downpour didn’t have much of an impact on Nianqiao Village. Thanks to Zhao Nuanyue and the Little Red Carp blocking the outlet of the subterranean river, the villages downstream were also spared from any flooding.

When the sun finally emerged, people poured out of their homes, eager for the sunlight to bake away the sticky dampness clinging to their skin.

”HEE HEE HEE!” The Little Red Carp spotted a flock of geese running past the doorway. Dressed in a small, pink, floral-print shirt and shorts, she took off after the gaggle of large white geese, chasing them until they scattered in every direction. ”Sister! Sister!”

The Little Red Carp was barefoot; she wasn’t wearing any shoes.

Over the past few days, Zhao Nuanyue had been learning how to make shoes from Li Guihua. She had stayed up late stitching soles just to finish two pairs of cloth sandals. She even learned how to weave straw sandals from Wu Dazhu’s wife. However, Zhao Nuanyue worried the rough straw would scrape the Little Red Carp’s tender feet, so she had also sewn her a few pairs of little socks.

”Little Red Carp, put on your shoes!” Zhao Nuanyue called out, chasing after her. The little girl was so mischievous and curious about everything. She would grudgingly wear clothes but absolutely hated wearing shoes or socks.

The Little Red Carp turned, saw the dark look on her sister’s face, and immediately scampered back to put her shoes on.

’Oh dear,’ she thought. ’Being human is pretty good, but you have to wear clothes and shoes. It’s not as comfortable as being a fish, when I could be all slippery and not wear anything at all.’

’But I’m a person now. Everyone wears clothes. If I don’t, I’ll be a weirdo.’

’Besides, I’m a girl. It would be embarrassing to not wear clothes. So embarrassing!’

Zhao Nuanyue put the shoes on the Little Red Carp and let her go play nearby. Then, Zhao Nuanyue, Wang Yuan, Li Qiong, and the others began mending the fishing nets. They hadn’t met their fishing quota for the year yet, and now that the weather had cleared, it was time to get to work.

It wasn’t just Zhao Nuanyue’s group working on their nets; other villagers were also busy with repairs. When a net was too damaged, they had to apply to the village cooperative for more fishing line to patch it up.

Wang Yuan watched the Little Red Carp, who was happily poking an anthill with a small stick under the shade of a nearby tree. She smiled and asked, ”Nuanyue, I always thought little kids were disobedient and always crying and throwing tantrums. I never expected the Little Red Carp to be so well-behaved. She can keep herself busy all morning with just a little stick.”

”I know, she’s so good,” Li Qiong said with a laugh. ”Sigh, I can’t imagine how her birth parents could have ever abandoned such an adorable child!”

Zhao Nuanyue glanced over at the Little Red Carp and smiled. ”She really is easy to look after. She doesn’t wet the bed and sleeps straight through the night. It’s like the child knows that if she’s too much trouble, people won’t love her, so she’s exceptionally well-behaved.”

As if sensing Zhao Nuanyue’s gaze, the Little Red Carp turned her head and beamed a brilliant, innocent smile at them all.

A smile like that seemed to purify the very hearts of Zhao Nuanyue, Wang Yuan, and Li Qiong.

At noon, Zhao Nuanyang returned with Hua Yusen and Yang Guanghui from draining the fields. The moment the Little Red Carp saw her brother, she took off on her chubby little legs, running toward him. ”Brother! Brother...!”

Ah, that sweet voice instantly lifted the spirits of the three young men.

Hua Yusen crouched down, ready to catch the running Little Red Carp in a hug.

But who would have thought? The little girl ran right past Hua Yusen and threw herself into Zhao Nuanyang’s arms, chanting ”Brother” over and over.

Seeing this, Hua Yusen suddenly felt he’d been a bit presumptuous. He looked at the Little Red Carp with an awkward, pained expression. ”You little ungrateful thing. I dote on you all the time, too, but you only have eyes for your brother and sister. Sigh, how can you be so young and already know who to favor?”

”Mhm, Little Red Carp is Brother and Sister’s little sister,” she declared, looking smugly at Hua Yusen. She didn’t have a very good feeling about this person who might one day steal her sister away. On this point, she and her brother were in complete agreement.

Zhao Nuanyang smiled and planted a kiss on his little sister’s forehead. ”Little Red Carp, were you a good girl at home?”

”Mhm, good!” the Little Red Carp said with a grin. ”Brother, the ants are moving!”

The Little Red Carp then took her brother to see the fascinating sight of ants moving their home.

With a look of curiosity, Zhao Nuanyang followed his little sister to watch the ”boring” ants. Having been withdrawn and lonely as a child, Zhao Nuanyang had spent plenty of time watching ants himself, so he told the Little Red Carp all sorts of little stories he’d made up about them.

Hua Yusen and Yang Guanghui didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’The world of children is truly beyond us adults.’

”Well, look at that. Nuanyang has a little playmate now,” Yang Guanghui said with a laugh. ”Usually, we can’t really hang out with Nuanyang. Even when we work together, it’s always us talking while he just listens, never saying a word. He only talks a little more when he’s with Nuanyue. Now that he has a little sister, he’s become much more talkative.”