Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

There’s a special kind of happiness in not having to face life’s storms alone.

”It’s so wonderful, so wonderful!” Zhao Nuanyue said, her voice choked with emotion. ”Meeting you has given my life a new direction! Otherwise, I really don’t know how I would have moved forward, or where I would have gone. Maybe I could have persevered, but it would have been an incredibly tiring journey.”

Hua Yusen held Zhao Nuanyue tightly, patting her back and comforting her gently. ”You’ve had to bear so much pressure at such a young age. Just think, at that age, I was still running around and playing with a bunch of kids from the residential compound. I was nowhere near as capable as you. You’re the most competent and intelligent girl I’ve ever met, and you’ll only become more outstanding and brilliant in the future.”

”I will, I definitely will,” Zhao Nuanyue nodded. ”I’ll keep working hard to keep up with you.”

”We’ll advance together,” Hua Yusen said, kissing Zhao Nuanyue’s forehead. Only by keeping pace with each other could they avoid one falling behind. They would advance side-by-side, moving forward together.

That evening, after preparing all the food, Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen delivered it to the elders before returning to rest.

Although they were exhausted and sleepy, Zhao Nuanyue’s and Hua Yusen’s spirits were full and exhilarated.

Whether in daily life or on their life’s journey, their hearts were in sync. They understood each other and were not alone.

These past few days, Wang Yuan seemed to be in a very good mood. She was actively preparing for the Moon Festival, not only gathering various mountain delicacies but also picking wild fruits from the mountains. She even used her own money to trade for some eggs from the villagers.

Li Qiong was not to be outdone. She was busy sorting soybeans, getting them ready to be soaked for making tofu. She even dried fresh mushrooms and ground them into a powder to be used for seasoning meat fillings for dumplings.

Meanwhile, Hua Yusen and Yang Guanghui had gone up the mountain two or three times, bringing back several wild pheasants, a few wild rabbits, and a wild boar.

Hua Yusen turned the wild boar over to the village, letting Miao Cunzheng distribute it among everyone so they could have some meat. This would allow the villagers to have a lively Moon Festival. Plus, since the village was surrounded by water and had an abundance of fish, the Moon Festival in Nianqiao Village was shaping up to be a good one.

As the heroes who brought back the large wild boar, Hua Yusen and Yang Guanghui were each allotted a sixteen-pound share of pork, all of it prime meat from the hind legs.

The Little Red Carp, not to be outdone, led Zhao Nuan Yang to gather a huge number of duck eggs—two whole large baskets full.

This time, Zhao Nuanyue and Hua Yusen had acquired a lot of things. Whatever they couldn’t finish, they stored in the mountain cave to eat later. However, the weather was hot, so the meat needed to be eaten quickly.

During this distribution of meat from the village cooperative, even the five people receiving aid were each given half a pound of meat and a few large soup bones, which was quite nice.

Because it was the Moon Festival, the village decided that after the fish delivery in the morning, there would be no work in the afternoon, so everyone could celebrate the festival at home.

Although resources were scarce and extravagance was forbidden, people would still quietly prepare for the festival, gathering with their families to celebrate happily.

Seeing so many ingredients, Wang Yuan grew even more cheerful. She acted like a general commander, assigning tasks to everyone to prepare for the evening’s Moon Festival celebration.

Wang Yuan saw Zhao Nuanyue and asked, ”Nuanyue, I traded for some eggs with one of the women in the village. Do you have any brown sugar? I want to make sweet brown sugar and egg soup for everyone to have tonight.”

Zhao Nuanyue froze for a second, quickly guessing Wang Yuan’s plan. She then nodded lightly. ”Of course, I’ll go get it! Sweet brown sugar and egg soup is delicious. Everyone loves it.”

”It is!” Wang Yuan smiled. ”We’ve worked so hard, we should treat ourselves well today.”

”Mhm,” Zhao Nuanyue agreed readily. She went into the house and gave the entire remaining half-pack of brown sugar to Wang Yuan.

Wang Yuan first boiled the eggs in plain water, then peeled them. She placed one egg in each bowl and added brown sugar. In another pot, she had clean, boiling water. Pouring the hot water into the bowls dissolved the brown sugar. The pristine, white, peeled eggs looked quite lovely.

Wang Yuan made twelve bowls in total.

Zhao Nuanyue pretended not to understand and asked, ”Wang Yuan, why are you making so many? One bowl per person should be enough. We still have to eat dinner later, and with so many delicious dishes today, if we have two bowls of sweet egg soup, we’ll be too full for anything else!”

”Heh, Nuanyue, the elders have been living behind us for over half a year now,” Wang Yuan said softly. ”Things in the village are peaceful, and the village has even distributed supplies to them. It seems the official aid for them is complete. So, I thought we could bring them some sweet brown sugar and egg soup to cheer them up.” She was worried Zhao Nuanyue would disagree, which would mean all her previous efforts were for nothing.

’Half of the potion is already gone.’

Hearing this, Zhao Nuanyue frowned slightly.

Wang Yuan sighed. ”It’s just... seeing them reminds me of my own parents and grandparents. They’re all getting on in years, it’s so pitiful. Nuanyue, you’re so kind. Can you really bear to let them spend the Moon Festival all alone?”

Zhao Nuanyue put on a troubled expression, glanced outside, and said, ”Alright then. The two of us will take them over now, one bowl each. Let’s not let anyone else see.”

Seeing that Zhao Nuanyue was willing to help, Wang Yuan was even more delighted. ”Nuanyue, you’re the best!” she said.

With that, Wang Yuan picked up two bowls, left the kitchen first, and headed for the backyard. As she went, she called back to Zhao Nuanyue, ”Nuanyue, you can bring the other three, okay?”

’Sigh... the celadon bowl in Wang Yuan’s hands must be the one with the potion in it. It’s definitely for Elder Gu.’

Zhao Nuanyue placed the three bowls of sweet brown sugar and egg soup on a tray and carried it to the backyard.

Gu Qingyu was holding the bowl of sweet egg soup that Wang Yuan had brought him, but he hadn’t taken a drink. Seeing that he wasn’t eating, Wang Yuan grew a bit anxious. ”The soup is best when it’s hot,” she urged. ”It gets a bit of an eggy taste if it cools down.”

Just then, Zhao Nuanyue arrived, and Gu Qingyu looked over at her.

’If I want to use Wang Yuan to my advantage, I have to take this risk,’ he thought. ’Right now, the only people I can trust are Hua Yusen and Zhao Nuanyue. If I don’t make a move, I’ll be stuck here forever.’

’If it were just me, I would actually find this life quite good. It’s peaceful and quiet. Although it’s tiring, there’s a down-to-earth solidity to it.’

’But my wife and children are enduring harsh circumstances. My colleagues who struggled alongside me are counting on me to lead them out of this situation. Most importantly, I believe all our organizations are headed in the wrong direction right now. They’re being controlled by impulsive people with ulterior motives, preventing any timely corrections from being made.’