Sweet Rebirth: The Little Healer

A rooster crowed outside, and Hua Yusen couldn’t sleep any longer. He quickly got up to fetch water. ’So much has happened these last few days,’ he thought. ’Word has to get out.’

At the same time, Hua Yusen slipped away to the village entrance. He found an old man who was up early collecting manure and gave him a slip of paper, asking him to pass on the message. Someone would then naturally take care of the vicious incidents in Nianqiao Village at the county level.

Wang Dadan had always been malicious toward the few elders assigned to the village. That Li Siming wasn’t a good person either; he even withheld their grain rations. If he and Zhao Nuanyue hadn’t been secretly providing for them, those elders would have starved to death, if they didn’t freeze first.

The village was abuzz with gossip. The fact that neither Li Siming nor Wang Dadan was at home made everyone’s imagination run wild, and all sorts of rumors were flying around.

A few of the village’s more gossipy women were washing clothes by the river. When they saw Widow Qian approaching, one of them joked, "Well, I say, Widow Qian, we haven’t seen you for a couple of days! Even if you’re fooling around with a lover, you still have to eat and drink!"

Widow Qian retorted with a laugh, "Goodness me, where exactly did you see me fooling around with anyone? A lover? I’m not so fortunate. I’m a wretched soul; my life is as good as over. All I think about is looking after my son. Once he’s grown and married, I can finally rest in peace."

Another woman looked over at Wang Cuihua, who was washing clothes nearby, and asked, "Hey, Cuihua, where’s your Dadan? Not home? I tell you, if a woman can’t keep her man in line, she’s in for a life of hardship!"

Wang Cuihua hurriedly finished her laundry and snapped, "My Dadan is perfectly fine, so you gossips had better watch your mouths. As for some tramp who only knows how to seduce men, she’s dreaming if she thinks her son will find a wife. With a reputation like that, what family would dare let their daughter marry him!"

As Wang Cuihua spoke, she shot a defiant look at Widow Qian.

But Widow Qian was no pushover. She cackled brazenly, "My, my, some people really stick their noses where they don’t belong. You should learn to manage your own man before you go around gossiping about others. Tsk, tsk. Then again, I suppose it’s no wonder. When a woman is so plain she makes a man lose his appetite, it’s only natural he won’t be fond of her."

"Pah! You shameless, vile creature. I don’t have time for you." Wang Cuihua was in no mood for a shouting match. After all, Wang Dadan was in trouble. He’d been gone to the county town for a day and a night and still hadn’t returned. She was a nervous wreck, unable to sit still.

Seeing Wang Cuihua walk off with her washbasin, Widow Qian was a little surprised. ’They usually trade insults for at least half an hour. What’s gotten into her today? She’s actually not fighting back?’

"You’re the vile one!" Widow Qian shouted after Wang Cuihua’s retreating back, then picked up her own basin and left.

"Hey, why are you both leaving?" the other women called out, disappointed the show was over.

Entertainment was scarce in the village. In their eyes, even two women quarreling was a rare and exciting spectacle.

Zhao Nuanyue began to wash her clothes faster, hoping to avoid becoming the new target of the women’s questions.

But it was too late.

"Oh, Mr. Zhao," Da Zhuzi’s wife began, taking the lead. "We heard Wang Yuan and Li Qiong ran into trouble again. How are they now?" The hunger for gossip in her eyes was so intense it seemed ready to burst forth.

Zhao Nuanyue didn’t want Wang Yuan and Li Qiong to have to endure the villagers’ strange looks from now on, so she had no choice but to explain patiently. "Those men only tied them up; they didn’t get a chance to do anything worse. But Yang Guanghui was hit with a stick. He has a concussion and is still in the hospital!"

"The poor dears," another village woman said. "But Wang Yuan and Li Qiong are pretty. Any man would like them. It’s no wonder those hooligans keep trying to abduct them."

Seeing the dark expression on Zhao Nuanyue’s face, Da Zhuzi’s wife quickly nudged the other woman and said with an awkward laugh, "We don’t mean any harm, Mr. Zhao. Please don’t take it the wrong way."

"I’m not taking it the wrong way," Zhao Nuanyue said coldly, her expression grave. "We came to Nianqiao Village from the outside, but we’ve always worked diligently and never dared to slack off. Yet we’ve been targeted time and time again. We are the victims here! Li Qiong and Wang Yuan are scared out of their wits. They can’t sleep through the night without an injection, and yet... and yet you still say things like that..."

The more Zhao Nuanyue spoke, the more aggrieved she felt. She fought back tears, refusing to let them fall, afraid they would wash away the dirt smudged on her face.

The woman who had made the insensitive joke chuckled awkwardly and tried to explain, "I... I was just kidding... I just meant..."

Seeing this, Da Zhuzi’s wife quickly interjected, "Mr. Zhao, please don’t pay any mind to us illiterate country folk. We’re used to telling crude jokes, just like Widow Qian and Wang Cuihua were doing. We forgot you girls are young and sensitive. Don’t be angry. We won’t say such things again."

At least, they wouldn’t say it in front of Zhao Nuanyue and her friends anymore.

"Yes, yes, just pretend I passed some gas," the woman added with an awkward laugh, lightly slapping herself on the mouth.

Zhao Nuanyue wiped her eyes and said in a choked voice, "Thank you, big sisters, aunties. Hearing those words made even me want to cry, to say nothing of the actual victims, Wang Yuan and Li Qiong. We’re so far from our homes, we try to be so careful, and we’d never dare to be disrespectful to any of you... but you... you can’t just degrade us like this!"

When Da Zhuzi’s wife saw Zhao Nuanyue actually crying, she quickly apologized. "We were in the wrong, dear. Please don’t be angry. No one will say it again. We have daughters of our own, we know it’s not easy for you girls to be out here all alone..."

"That’s right, she’s right. We won’t say it again," the others chimed in. People aren’t made of stone. As gossipy as they were, they still had a sense of compassion and were quick to show their support.

Zhao Nuanyue stood up and bowed to them. "Thank you, big sisters, aunties."

Then, amid the women’s expressions of concern, Zhao Nuanyue carried her washbasin back to the Dragon King Temple.

Hua Yusen, who had witnessed part of the exchange, remarked with a faint, unreadable smile, "Heh, you’re quite the actress, aren’t you?"

"Hmph!" Zhao Nuanyue, already in a foul mood, shot him a glare. "Getting by in this world is all about your acting skills. If I don’t put on an act, how else can I shut those gossips up? I’m just a girl from out of town. I can’t beat them in a fight, and I can’t win a shouting match. My only choice is to act and win their sympathy."

"Haha!" Hua Yusen laughed, raising an eyebrow. "You’re refreshingly frank! But you’re not wrong. If you don’t wear a mask and play a part, you won’t survive, no matter how talented you are. This world has its own rules, and it won’t change them for any single person."

Huh?

Zhao Nuanyue was taken aback. ’So, the formidable Hua Yusen was this sentimental in his youth!’

’I was just unexpectedly served a bowl of "chicken soup" by Hua Yusen,’ she thought. ’But he’s not wrong.’