Chapter 57: The Smart Little Angel
She figured Shanshan’s words were just a spooky story.
’Poisonous mushrooms that can kill you? Sounds like something made up to scare kids.’
There’s no persuading a stubborn person. Shanshan quickly ran over to Zhang Yunhua’s side and focused on picking mushrooms.
Cao Jiajia thought she had scared her off and felt quite smug.
She bent down, her eyes glued to the ground, specifically picking out the most brightly colored mushrooms.
Before she knew it, she had wandered far away from the group.
When she came to her senses and looked around, her heart skipped a beat.
"Huh? Where did everyone go?"
She raised her voice and called out a few more times.
"Auntie Pang! Shanshan!"
But the only response was a faint echo from the valley.
It was the first time she’d ever been in a situation like this. Her heart pounded, and her eyes instantly turned red.
She wanted to go home, but then a thought struck her—which way had she even come from?
The trees all looked the same. She couldn’t tell which direction was which at all.
She could only pick a random direction and start walking.
At first, there was a faint path, but soon even that disappeared.
Overgrown shrubs and tangled vines forced her to push aside branches and struggle forward.
She stepped on a patch of moss, instantly lost her balance, and fell hard into a ditch.
Muddy water splashed everywhere, soiling her clothes.
"WAAAH!"
She couldn’t hold it in any longer and started crying at the top of her lungs.
After crying for a long time, her stomach started to growl.
Cao Jiajia was dizzy with hunger.
She looked down and saw the ground was covered with the wild mushrooms she’d picked.
She casually grabbed one and was about to stuff it into her mouth.
But then she suddenly remembered Shanshan saying that some mushrooms could kill you.
She froze, her eyes flickering as a trace of hesitation crossed her mind.
She then picked out the ones that looked dangerous and threw them away.
Leaving the ones she assumed were safe, she continued to eat.
Meanwhile, Shanshan was slowly heading down the mountain with the others.
She carried her bamboo basket, a satisfied smile on her face.
The mushrooms in her basket were piled high.
There were grayish-brown ones, pale yellow ones, and some with little spots.
She glanced down into it from time to time, as if making sure none of them fell out.
Just as she came out of the woods, she saw Ling Anxun standing at the crossroads, waiting for her.
"Dad!"
Her eyes lit up, and she rushed over to leap into his arms.
Ling Anxun bent down smoothly, caught her steadily, and lifted her up.
She pressed her little face against his chest, giggling.
"Look! I picked so many mushrooms! We can have stir-fried mushrooms and mushroom soup tonight!"
She grabbed the biggest one from her basket and held it up for him to see.
This was a little secret between her and her dad.
Every time she brought back something from the mountains, he would examine it seriously.
Even if it was just a special leaf, he would smile and say, "Shanshan, you’re amazing."
This feeling of being valued warmed her heart.
But as she was talking, she suddenly thought of Cao Jiajia.
She didn’t like that girl, but she hadn’t done anything truly bad.
’It couldn’t be that...’
’She wouldn’t actually eat a poisonous mushroom and die, right?’
Shanshan frowned, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside her.
She imagined Cao Jiajia lying in the woods, her face turning blue, convulsing in pain, and couldn’t help but shiver.
"Dad... can you go back with me to find Cao Jiajia? We can’t leave her alone in the woods."
She looked up, a hint of pleading in her eyes.
Ling Anxun was taken aback.
He hadn’t expected Shanshan to worry about someone she disliked.
His heart warmed, and he reached out to gently ruffle her hair.
"Okay, I’ll go with you."
"Shanshan, you’re doing the right thing."
He looked at her with a steady gaze, meeting her clear eyes.
"If you encounter a similar situation in the future, you should think the same way, understand? People can be good or bad, but life itself deserves respect, even if the person has made you unhappy."
"Why is it the right thing?"
Shanshan tilted her head, her face a picture of innocence.
"I just think that no matter how annoying she is, she shouldn’t die from a poisonous mushroom. If she ate one and got a stomachache, that would really hurt."
Looking at her, Ling Anxun couldn’t help but smile.
He patiently explained the principles to her, one by one, in the simplest terms.
"Sometimes, when people are unkind to you, it’s because they haven’t learned how to be kind yet. But if we wish for them to suffer because of it, our own hearts will grow cold and hard. You chose to protect her, and that is true courage and the greatest form of kindness."
Shanshan was captivated, listening intently.
Suddenly, as if she understood something, her eyes widened.
"Oh! So I’m a smart little angel!"
She immediately puffed out her little chest, her face beaming with pride and determination.
"Then I’ll be even smarter and kinder in the future! I won’t let anyone get hurt, and I won’t let bad people become even worse!"
As soon as she said this, the few adults nearby all started laughing.
Zhang Yunhua laughed the hardest, sighing to herself in admiration.
’If I could have a child as thoughtful as Shanshan one day, it must be because my ancestors accumulated eight generations of good karma.’
Seeing her expression, Shanshan’s eyes curved into crescents.
She skipped over, reached out her small hand, and carefully touched Zhang Yunhua’s belly.
"Auntie, when the little baby in your belly comes out, they’ll be well-behaved, just like me."
She looked up, her tone earnest and warm.
"Because a little brother and a little sister are living in such a good mommy’s tummy."
"R-Really?"
Zhang Yunhua was smiling at first, but then she froze.
’Did Shanshan just say...’
’A little brother and a little sister?’
"Yun Hua! What’s wrong? Is your stomach hurting?"
Seeing the color drain from his wife’s face, Yang Dapeng turned to pull her toward town.
Zhang Yunhua grabbed his arm, her voice trembling slightly.
"No... it’s what Shanshan said. Didn’t you hear her? She just said... there’s a little brother and a little sister."
"Are you serious?"
Yang Dapeng’s eyes went wide as saucers.
"Don’t tell me you want a baby so badly you’re hearing things? Or is this just some illusion you’ve cooked up in your head?"
"Who’s cooking things up!"
Zhang Yunhua’s face flushed with frustration.
"Have you forgotten? When has Shanshan ever said anything unreliable? She said the chicken would lay a double-yolk egg tomorrow, and it actually did. She said the old locust tree at the village entrance was going to blossom, and the next week, it sprouted new buds! Hasn’t she been right so many times?!"
At this, Yang Dapeng froze.
Then, a rush of heat surged from the bottom of his heart straight to his head.
The two of them were so happy their voices grew louder, their tones filled with ecstasy.
Passing neighbors heard the commotion and stopped to look.
"Well, well, did the Dapeng couple find a priceless mushroom? You two look so happy!"
Aunt Zhang from next door, carrying a vegetable basket, teased them with a smile.
"Oh, Auntie, you’re such a kidder. In a backwater valley like this, who’s ever seen a priceless mushroom grow legs and run away?"
Zhang Yunhua smiled as she spoke, but she couldn’t hide the joy on her face.
But she immediately changed the subject, afraid that saying too much would attract gossip.
After shooing away the idle onlookers, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
They quickly picked up their pace to catch up with the group ahead of them.
Just as they reached the front of Cao Daqiang’s house, the group stopped in unison.
Yang Dapeng leaned close to his wife’s ear and lowered his voice.
"Are you sure we should go in? That guy isn’t an easy person to deal with."
Just then, Xiao Zhou had already strode forward, raised his hand, and KNOCK KNOCK KNOCKED on the wooden door.
Cao Daqiang had just gotten off work from the factory and was about to close the door to take a breather.