As for Li Siming and Wang Dadan, their backyards, which were near the water, were constantly getting flooded.
There was no rain, and the water levels hadn't risen, so why were they flooding?
They couldn't figure it out. What was even more baffling was that only their houses were flooding; their neighbors' homes were completely unaffected. In the dead of night, their thoughts inevitably turned to ghosts and spirits.
So, both families got up in the middle of the night to burn paper offerings. But this time, something even stranger happened. A large wave rushed straight into their backyards, extinguishing the burning paper. Terrified, Li Siming dropped to his knees and kowtowed repeatedly.
Liu Lanhua, her face pale, also knelt on the ground.
A guilty conscience leads to nightmares. The couple was so frightened they couldn't sleep well at night.
Wang Dadan's family didn't believe in superstitions, but after the repeated flooding, Wang Dadan's old mother was so scared she became bedridden. As a result, Wang Dadan now had to care for his mother and temporarily had no time for any more devious schemes.
After Nianqiao Village delivered thousands of pounds of salted fish to the county town, their main task for the year was complete. They then began harvesting the village's rice and planting wheat. Though the yield wasn't large, it was the villagers' food ration.
After the autumn harvest, they received their grain rations. Zhao Nuanyue and the others stored their food away carefully. They couldn't afford any mistakes, or they would go hungry all winter.
Today was the commune members' meeting. Zhao Nuanyue carried a small stool and sat in the back with her younger brother to listen.
The group of young people received a certificate of merit and a reward of ten pounds of rice and ten pounds of flour, which made them ecstatic. They excitedly discussed what delicious meal they should make.
As the saying goes, nothing beats dumplings. Coming from the north, dumplings were their favorite food.
Even Wang Yuan, who had been hurt before, found her anger slowly subsiding thanks to the lighter workload and improved living standards.
When you're alive, you have to keep looking forward.
Even when some villagers gossiped behind their backs, Wang Yuan and Li Qiong just pretended not to hear, burying their heads in the sand.
They knew that if they made a fuss, they wouldn't be able to survive here.
Zhao Nuanyue couldn't worry about Wang Yuan and Li Qiong; the two of them were probably safe for now. 'But what about me?' With Wang Dadan and Li Siming watching her every move, the slightest mistake was amplified and criticized, forcing her to be cautious every single day.
Exhaustion didn't matter. What she feared was them going after her younger brother. That was why Zhao Nuanyue never left Zhao Nuan Yang's side and didn't let him go out alone.
When the group returned to the Dragon King Temple, a tall, imposing man was standing at the entrance.
Zhao Nuan Yang saw him first. He tugged on the arm of his sister, who was chatting animatedly, and told her that the man had arrived.
Zhao Nuanyue turned her head and saw Hua Yusen standing at the entrance of the Dragon King Temple. For a moment, she was lost in a daze.
'Why is he here?'
Yang Guanghui saw Hua Yusen too. He quickened his pace and asked with a cheerful grin, "Hua, are your injuries all healed?"
Hua Yusen nodded and gave the group a small smile. "They're all healed. Thank you for saving me."
"Hua, you don't have to keep thanking me. The ones who really saved you weren't me, but Zhao Nuanyue and Zhao Nuan Yang. They were out digging for wild vegetables that morning when they found you injured and brought you to the village. Plus, since we'd met you before and knew you were on a mission, Uncle Miao was able to get you to the county town right away," Yang Guanghui explained. Even though he had explained this last time, he wanted to say it again in front of Zhao Nuanyue.
Hua Yusen's gaze fell on Zhao Nuanyue, and he found the thick bangs covering her face very distracting.
But then he remembered that although Zhao Nuanyue was young, she was exceptionally beautiful. Disguising her appearance like this was a way of protecting herself. He didn't like it, but he understood her reasoning.
"Thank you, Zhao Nuanyue, Zhao Nuan Yang." Hua Yusen bowed solemnly to the siblings. The doctor had told him that if he had arrived a few hours later, he might really have died.
Zhao Nuanyue smiled. A breeze lifted her heavy bangs, revealing a pair of large, sparkling almond eyes that made her whole face seem to glow. She smiled shyly. "You're a good person. I had to save you!"
"Why do you say I'm a good person?" Hua Yusen asked. He recalled their first meeting on the train. Her impression of him hadn't been good then; she hadn't dared to meet his eyes and had actively avoided him. Why the big change now?
Hua Yusen was puzzled. He looked at Zhao Nuanyue with a playful, intrigued expression.
Zhao Nuanyue put on an innocent act, tilting her head and grinning brightly. "Because you look like a good person!"
"HAHAHA!" Hearing her words, Hua Yusen couldn't help but burst out laughing.
He just didn't know if he was laughing at her compliment or her naivete.
"What are you laughing at?" Zhao Nuanyue frowned. "Aren't you a good person?"
Hua Yusen stifled his laughter and looked at Zhao Nuanyue with a meaningful smile. "You're my savior. I promise that no matter the time or place, I will always be a good person."
'As for how I am with other people... heh, that depends on the situation.'
'Be a bad person, and you'll die sooner or later. Be a purely good person, and you often won't end up well either.'
'Therefore, while he wouldn't be a bad person, he would never be a purely good one, either!'
"But I feel like you're making fun of me." Zhao Nuanyue was confused, but she also understood that this man held many secrets. Even back then, when they were at their closest, she could never figure him out.
"You're overthinking things. I just think you're very charming," Hua Yusen said casually. "I brought you all something. You can improve your meals with this."
Yang Guanghui's eyes lit up when he saw the two or three pounds of pork.
They hadn't eaten meat in a very long time. Although they fished every day, they never got to eat any big fish. At most, they would secretly take some small fish back to make soup.
Since coming to Nianqiao Village, he hadn't eaten pork once. The best he could do was occasionally get some fish for soup.
"Hua, don't leave today! We just got a reward from the village—we have flour and were planning to make dumplings," Yang Guanghui said with a laugh. "Nuanyue, hurry and open the door! Let's cook and host Hua!"
'He's already here, I can't just turn him away!'
Opening the door, Zhao Nuanyue used Zhao Nuan Yang's enamel mug to pour water into Hua Yusen's cup, adding a few recently dried chrysanthemum flowers.
"Here, drink this. I'll go cook," Zhao Nuanyue said with a smile. "Nuanyang, go fishing and see if you can catch anything. We can make a pork and fish filling. There's only a little bit of pork, not enough for so many people."
Hua Yusen took a sip of the water and said, "I'll go with you."
After Zhao Nuanyue, Hua Yusen, and Zhao Nuan Yang left, the very perceptive Wang Yuan sensed that something was up between Hua Yusen and Zhao Nuanyue. She nudged Li Qiong's arm and said, "Hey, do you think that Hua Yusen has taken a liking to Nuanyue?"
"Huh?" Li Qiong was taken aback. "No way. Nuanyue is only fifteen; she's so young. Besides, we're not bad-looking either. There's no reason he'd ignore us and go for Nuanyue's scrawny figure!"