Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Once in their room, Little Red Carp, who had already washed up, rested her chin in her hands. ”Sister,” she said, ”you work at the clinic and Brother works at the museum. You can earn money and ration tickets for Grandma Sun, so you aren’t freeloading. But I can’t earn money, and I eat quite a lot. Am I being a bother to the Sun Family?”

Her words made Zhao Nuanyue’s heart ache. In reality, they *were* a burden on the Sun Family.

”Little Red Carp, you’re not a bother at all,” Zhao Nuanyue said comfortingly. ”How about this? Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll take you fishing. Qingya Lake is right behind our house. The water comes from the mountain springs, so it’s very clean, and the fish are safe to eat.”

Little Red Carp’s eyes lit up when she heard her sister. ”Does that mean we can go fishing?” she asked excitedly. ”Are we getting back into our Nianqiao Village business?”

’Getting back into our old business?’

’That sounded a bit strange.’

But it didn’t matter. They had received help from the Sun Family, who were also going through tough times. As part of the family, it was only natural to do their part.

”Mhm, that’s the idea,” Zhao Nuanyue said with a nod. ”We can go fishing. But using a net might cause too much of a commotion, don’t you think?”

”You’re probably right,” Little Red Carp agreed, nodding. ”And buying a fishing net would be expensive. Let’s just use a rod. Sister, can you make me a fishhook out of a sewing needle? I’ll go fishing tomorrow.”

Zhao Nuanyue thought for a moment, then nodded. ”Okay. Tomorrow, we’ll visit Hua first, and then we’ll head back home to go fishing.”

”Mhm, mhm! I’m good at this. Little Red Carp can finally repay Grandma and Grandpa Sun!” Little Red Carp’s eyes sparkled with happiness.

She was just that kind of pure little Carp Spirit. Whenever someone helped her, she felt indebted until she could find a way to repay their kindness.

This silly side of Little Red Carp made her all the more adorable and likable.

So, the next morning, Zhao Nuanyue took Little Red Carp to the hospital. She helped Hua Yusen wash up, changed him into clean clothes, gave him a massage just as Little Red Carp had instructed, and read the newspaper to him for a while before finally leaving with the little girl.

As they passed the small garden, they ran into the same grandfather and grandson from the day before.

Little Red Carp pulled at the corners of her eyes and cheeks, stuck out her tongue, and made a funny face at Leng Che.

Leng Che, who had been secretly watching her, was caught red-handed. He froze for a moment when he saw her funny face.

But he wasn’t scared. Instead, a small smile appeared on his face.

After Zhao Nuanyue and Little Red Carp were some distance away, Mr. Huang looked at his grandson and said lovingly, ”Hehe, that little girl is quite cute. You shouldn’t call her silly anymore.”

”Hehe, I won’t,” Leng Che whispered. ”She’s like a little pixie. I can feel her happiness.”

”If they come again tomorrow, you can go and play with her,” Mr. Huang said. ”I looked into it. That older sister is the apprentice of the renowned doctor, Sun Haoran, and she’s currently in charge of caring for Hua Yusen. As for the little pixie you mentioned, she’s the younger sister, an orphan adopted by Zhao Nuanyue.”

”An orphan?” Leng Che was taken aback. ”She’s been through so much, so how can she still be so happy?”

”Er... well, that’s both a complex and a simple question.” Hearing his grandson’s query, Mr. Huang felt a bit stumped. ’Such difficult questions,’ he thought, but still answered carefully. ”If you can let things go, you can be happy; if you can’t, you won’t be. An orphan like her is able to let go. You still have me, your grandfather, and your uncle—so many people who love you. You, of all people, should be able to let go.”

’Grandpa is right,’ he thought. ’I should let go.’

Leng Che listened and nodded. ”Yes, Grandpa! I’ll try.”

He could still hear their laughter fading into the distance, and a warmth he hadn’t felt before bloomed in his heart.

Little Red Carp stopped making funny faces and leaned close to her sister’s ear to whisper, ”Sister, that little fool was peeking at me! It must be because I’m so cute and pretty. He totally has a crush on me.”

”Er...” Hearing her narcissistic little sister wander further down the path of self-admiration, Zhao Nuanyue decided it was time for a talk. ”Well, Little Red Carp, you could also interpret his attention as simple curiosity.”

Little Red Carp was not pleased. Staring at her sister with wide eyes, she demanded, ”Just curiosity? Not a crush? I’ve seen Hua Yusen sneak glances at you, and Li Jianjun is always stealing looks at Ms. Qiong. Isn’t that what having a crush looks like?”

’This little Carp Spirit... she’s way too... precocious.’

In truth, you couldn’t really blame Little Red Carp. She had a firm grasp on things she was familiar with, but for subjects she’d never encountered, she only had a half-baked understanding, which led to conversations like this.

”Little Red Carp, that’s different. We’re adults, and you’re a child,” Zhao Nuanyue explained patiently, deciding to give her a beginner’s lesson on relationships. ”What’s between you two is curiosity, not a crush. After spending time with someone and finding you get along, you can become friends. That’s friendship, not romantic love. Do you understand?”

”I think I get it,” Little Red Carp said, nodding with great seriousness. ”Kids can’t date, but adults can. And when kids like each other, it’s friendship. Is that right?”

”Yes, yes, that’s exactly it.” Zhao Nuanyue nodded, relieved. That was precisely what she was trying to convey, and she hoped Little Red Carp truly understood.

Little Red Carp smiled. So that was how it worked. ”Okay,” she said with a nod. ”I get it now.”

Little Red Carp was so clever, understanding after just a brief explanation. Zhao Nuanyue couldn’t stop praising her.

The two sisters went home and moved a few more things outside to air in the sun. Afterward, Zhao Nuanyue took Little Red Carp fishing.

They had a thin fishing rod, a hook made from a sewing needle, and a small piece of an earthworm for bait.

Zhao Nuanyue and Little Red Carp sat on a small rock by the lake not far from their back door and began to fish.

Zhao Nuanyue placed a basket beside her, ready to hold their catch.

With Little Red Carp at the helm, the results were truly extraordinary.

In just two or three minutes, a fish was on the hook. It was a large grass carp, weighing a good three or four pounds.

Zhao Nuanyue helped Little Red Carp pull up the rod and unhook the large grass carp. All told, in less than ten minutes, Little Red Carp had caught one large grass carp, one large black carp, and two crucian carp, each about the length of a hand and a half.

Little Red Carp wanted to keep fishing, but Zhao Nuanyue stopped her. ”That’s enough for today, Little Red Carp,” she said. ”We don’t need to catch any more. We can come back again tomorrow.”

”Okay!” Little Red Carp nodded and carefully put away the fishing rod—it was now her tool for earning a living. ”Sister, even though Jincheng City has a lot of people and some residual Dragon Energy for cultivation, I don’t think there’s as much stuff here as there was in Nianqiao Village.”