Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

Li Qiong was very disappointed to hear Wang Yuan’s words.

”Sigh, you’re right. It’s useless to think about it now,” Wang Yuan sighed. ”Actually, it’s useless even to talk about it. Look, Mr. Hua and Nuanyue both testified against Liu Lanhua, but she was still released, wasn’t she? They have powerful connections. We’re no match for them.”

Wang Yuan’s words were filled with despair and lingering fear.

Wang Yuan and Zhao Nuanyue fell silent. They both understood. Even if they didn’t want to admit it, it was the truth.

They were just pitiful souls, strangers in a strange land, who could only rely on themselves.

Their spirits were heavy. They could only bury themselves in their work, and even then, there was no guarantee it would earn them a peaceful and secure life.

By the time they returned to the Dragon King Temple for lunch, they still hadn’t shaken off the feeling. The mood was incredibly somber.

’This can’t go on. We have to live here, after all. If this keeps up, it won’t just affect our work; it will shatter everyone’s hope.’

’Without hope, there’s only despair, and then a person is truly done for.’

”Wang Yuan, Li Qiong, try not to dwell on the past. We have to keep looking forward,” Zhao Nuanyue comforted them gently. After the two incidents last year, Wang Yuan had been devastated both physically and mentally. Li Qiong had also been badly frightened. And this time, after going back, she had witnessed the evil in the world and the helplessness of reality. Suddenly, she felt that life held no hope, no light.

Li Qiong looked at Zhao Nuanyue’s earnest face and asked curiously, ”Nuanyue, can you tell me how you manage to stay so positive? We’re older than you, but we aren’t as thoughtful as you are, and we can’t seem to look on the bright side like you do!”

Zhao Nuanyue smiled and glanced at Zhao Nuanyang, who was taking a walk in the courtyard. ”Heh, actually, I have times when I’m miserable and scared, too,” she said with a small laugh. ”Times when I feel like I can’t go on. But then I think, if something happened to me, if I couldn’t hold on, what would my little brother do? My mother can’t protect him. I’m the only family he has left. So no matter what difficulties I face, I can keep going.”

Hearing Zhao Nuanyue’s answer, Li Qiong and Wang Yuan fell into deep thought.

After a long moment, Wang Yuan finally spoke. ”You’re right. We lack that sense of responsibility for someone else that Nuanyue has. We only think about ourselves, not our families. When my mother heard what happened to me, she cried for a long time. She’s already been begging for favors everywhere, trying to get me transferred back. So I can’t just give up on myself. I have to work hard here, to make sure my mother’s efforts for me in Jincheng City aren’t in vain.”

’Li Qiong suddenly felt pathetic. Her mother doted on her, but nowhere near as much as she doted on her two older brothers. Now that her brothers were married, her mother’s attention was entirely on them, their wives, and her future grandchildren. The energy she spent on Li Qiong was practically nonexistent, making her feel like she was just an afterthought.’

”Sigh, I actually envy you both,” Li Qiong said with a bitter smile. ”You have people you’re responsible for. But me? There’s no one who worries about me, and I don’t have anyone to worry about either. I suddenly feel so pathetic.”

”You’re not pathetic at all, Li Qiong!” Zhao Nuanyue chuckled. ”You have your health, you’re tall, and you graduated from high school. The literacy classes are about to start up again, and you and Wang Yuan will be the village’s teachers. You won’t have to do this work anymore. If that’s still not enough to cheer you up, just think about it: life is just a few short decades. You can be happy for a day, or you can be unhappy for a day. Either way, the day passes and you have one less. So why not choose to be happy? At least you’ll feel better and not be so miserable.”

Li Qiong’s eyes lit up as she listened to Zhao Nuanyue. She nodded and said, ”Wow, Nuanyue, you’re amazing! I’ve realized you’re great at talking sense into people. You’re like a little philosopher.”

”Hardly, hardly, you give me too much credit,” Zhao Nuanyue said humbly. ”Really, I’m just good at finding little bits of beauty in this difficult, makeshift life. I enjoy those beautiful moments and feel content with them, so life doesn’t seem so bitter. If I were pessimistic and sighing all day, always unhappy, it would affect Nuanyang, and it would be even less likely for my brother to get better.”

Zhao Nuanyue’s advice helped broaden Wang Yuan’s and Li Qiong’s perspectives. With a more open mind, they were less likely to get bogged down in negativity or do anything drastic.

The spring planting in Nianqiao Village was progressing smoothly. However, this period of calm was punctuated by a few discordant notes.

On several occasions, Wang Dadan and Li Siming tailed a few of the elderly workers. Seeing Old Madam Qian sitting on the ground to rest, they frowned and accosted her, shouting, ”Get up and get back to work!”

Li Siming also shot a sinister glare at Old Madam Qian. The others were all working diligently, giving them no one to pick on. The only one they could find fault with was this slightly unhinged old woman.

Seeing Wang Dadan and Li Siming shouting at her, Old Madam Qian shrieked in terror. ”Don’t yell at me, don’t yell at me... I’m not a bad person...”

Terrified, Old Madam Qian scrambled to her feet, stumbling and crying as she ran toward her husband.

Old Sir Qian, who was chopping fodder nearby, heard his wife’s cries. He immediately dropped his cutting tool, rushed over to support her, and soothed her, ”Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid. It’s alright...”

Wang Dadan and Li Siming gave chase, yelling insults after them. Just then, Gu Qingyu, carrying baskets on a shoulder pole, came down another path. Seeing their rapacious expressions, he lifted his pole to block their way. ”What do you think you’re doing?” he shouted. ”Trying to murder someone?”

”We’re not trying to kill anyone. We’re just giving that slacking old woman a ’thought education’,” Li Siming sneered. He was delighted to see the old man, Gu Qingyu, jump into the fray. ’Well, well,’ he thought, ’if I’d known it would be this effective, we would’ve done this sooner.’

Gu Qingyu looked at the malicious glint in Li Siming’s and Wang Dadan’s eyes. ’He suspected that their real target wasn’t Old Madam Qian; they were trying to bait him.’

’Faced with this scene, he had indeed taken the bait, just as they’d hoped.’

”And who the hell are you to give *us* a ’thought education’?” Gu Qingyu shot back. ”You can’t even do your job as a village cadre properly. Your own thinking is backward, and everyone in this village despises you. You have no right to ’educate’ anyone. We are acting in accordance with the village committee’s decisions. Now, get the hell out of my sight. Otherwise, this pole in my hand might not have eyes, and you can’t blame me if it happens to hit you.”