Transmigration: Flirted with My Childhood Sweetheart
Chapter 178 - 177: Sister Shumei in the Wish Pond

Chapter 178: Chapter 177: Sister Shumei in the Wish Pond

"Ancestor alive, how could you dare to run off to the town?"

"It was just your luck to meet Educated Youth Lin and the others, otherwise, you would have died out there."

"Niuwa, we men can’t just listen to those old women’s nonsense. You heard it, why did you believe it? And even if you believed it, why did you run off?"

The sudden return of Niuwa had indeed given everyone at the He family a huge sigh of relief.

After listening for a while, Principal Wu brought up the matter she had mentioned earlier: "Captain He, what do you think about what I just proposed?"

He Aimin glanced at Niuwa and forced a dry laugh, pulling at the corners of his mouth: "Principal Wu, it’s not that I don’t believe you, but Niuwa is from the Nine-miles Team. If something happened to his family, it’s only right that our team takes care of him. If I sent him away, what kind of person would I be?"

Principal Wu frowned slightly, tugging on Niuwa’s hand and squatting down to ask him: "Niuwa, would you like to go with me to the Ten Miles Team?"

Niuwa looked at her blankly, then after a moment, turned his head to look at Lin Nianhe.

He asked, "Is it the Ten Miles Team where Sister Lin is?"

Principal Wu nodded: "Yes, it is the Ten Miles Team where Sister Lin is."

Niuwa’s eyes brightened somewhat, but he looked at He Aimin and remained silent, without nodding his head.

Such a young child, yet he had already learned to gauge the expressions of adults.

Seeing this, Lin Nianhe stepped forward and said, "Uncle He, I really shouldn’t be the one to say this as the younger generation, but think about it, Niuwa is still very young, and the villagers of the Nine-miles Team know his family’s situation all too well. If anyone says something that Niuwa believes again..."

She deliberately paused for a moment, waiting for He Aimin to frown before continuing, "We were lucky to find him this time, but we might not be so lucky next time."

There was no doubt that Niuwa’s sudden disappearance scared He Aimin quite a bit.

He gnawed on his cheeks, silent for a long time.

He still remembered the day Niuwa was found, it was winter, and it was snowing. The little bastard’s face was blue from the freeze, and his cries were like a cat’s wailing.

Everyone said that the child wouldn’t make it.

Old Man Niu refused to believe it and stubbornly brought the child back.

He said he had already sent his daughter-in-law and son away; he was not afraid to send away a grandson as well.

Like a block of ice, the child was warmed up again against his chest.

Later on, this little bastard was raised on the milk of several families’ daughters-in-law. When there was no milk, Old Man Niu would make him rice paste to eat.

Old Man Niu named him Niuwa, hoping he would grow up as strong as a calf.

And then later...

Looking at Niuwa, He Aimin thought of many past events.

Lin Nianhe quietly walked forward, pushing Niuwa’s shoulders to stand in front of He Aimin.

She said, "Uncle He, Niuwa is still a child, he shouldn’t have to endure so much. Let him go back with us for now. Both our teams are so close by, anytime you want to see him, you can, no one will stop you or gossip."

He Aimin didn’t reply, he reached out his hand towards Niuwa.

Niuwa raised his hand to grasp He Aimin’s fingers, his eyes were teary as he looked at He Aimin and whispered, "Uncle He, I saw my grandpa, he’s not dead."

He’s not dead.

He went to town to find his grandfather because someone had recklessly said Old Man Niu was already dead.

He Aimin’s eyes became moist.

He took a breath, placing his hand on top of Niuwa’s head and roughly ruffled it, "Okay, go then. Study hard, help Principal Wu with work, and if there’s anything, come back to me."

After speaking, He Aimin withdrew his hand and turned away to wipe the corner of his eye.

"That... Principal Wu, this little bastard has been stubborn since he was a child. If there’s anything he’s not satisfied with, you can spank him a few times. Just don’t damage him... And, um... if you don’t want him anymore, just send him back to me..."

He Aimin looked at the dull wall, his voice trembling.

"Okay."

Principal Wu answered.

He Aimin didn’t turn around, he waved his hand: "Go now."

Go now.

At the Niu family, Principal Wu held Niuwa’s little hand and helped him pack his belongings.

The little guy didn’t have many things, and the patches on his clothes were crooked, clearly sewn by Old Man Niu.

Principal Wu didn’t offer to take them apart and sew them again but neatly folded them, occasionally talking to Niuwa.

"I miss my mom."

In the courtyard, three girls sat in a row. Wen Lan suddenly spoke with her hands propping up her cheeks.

Wang Shumei also rubbed her eyes and whispered, "I miss my mom, too."

They looked through the window at Principal Wu, at her gentle smile, at how she folded a piece of clothing so neatly, and always felt as if they were looking at their own mother.

Lin Nianhe: "..."

Their sudden burst of emotions always made her seem out of place.

After waiting for a while, not having heard Lin Nianhe speak, they both turned to look at her and asked in unison, "Don’t you long for anything?"

Lin Nianhe didn’t long for anything, but they insisted she must.

So, she seriously considered it.

Then she said, "I’m craving Peking duck."

Wang Shumei: "..."

Wen Lan: "..."

Lin Nianhe gazed at the distant mountains and described, "One duck sliced into 108 pieces, each with meat and skin, dipped in sweet bean sauce, served with shredded cucumber and green onions, all wrapped in a thin pancake... Ah, I’m hungry for that."

Wen Lan: "Nianhe, stop talking."

Lin Nianhe turned her gaze back and looked at Wen Lan quizzically, asking with her eyes what was wrong now.

She had been forced to come up with something, why wasn’t Sister Lan satisfied?

Ah, women, your name is greed.

Greedy Wen continued, "You’ve made me hungry with your talk."

Lin Nianhe licked her lips and asked her, "What do you want to eat?"

"I want... I want to eat mutton stew," Wen Lan’s eyes shone as she gestured with her hands, "A big bowl like this, with both broth and meat, breaking steamed buns into tiny pieces and adding them in, poured over with some chili oil..."

Wang Shumei: "Both of you stop it, now I’m hungry too."

Lin Nianhe and Wen Lan both asked her, "What do you want to eat?"

Wang Shumei looked at them, smirking proudly, "What I want to eat, we have it right here, annoying isn’t it?"

Lin Nianhe: "Then you’re saying you want to eat Peking duck."

Wen Lan: "I think you’re longing for mutton stew more."

Wang Shumei: "...?"

She opened her mouth and said, "Do you two think I’m the head chef at a state-owned restaurant?"

Lin Nianhe stifled a laugh and replied: "No, you’re the Tortoise Prime Minister in the Wish Pond."

Wang Shumei eyed her from head to toe and then started rolling up her sleeves.

"Hey, hey! Sister Shumei, have some dignity. It’s not like I’m the only one who made a wish!"

"You can’t just go around squeezing the soft ones!"

"As a girl from the Northeast, shouldn’t you be challenging the tough ones? Picking only on me for bullying, what’s that all about?"

"Hey... Sister Shumei, my bad, totally my bad... I apologize..."

After being used as a scapegoat, Teacher Xiao Lin got a bit of compassionate treatment from Comrade Wang Shumei.

Wang Shumei plucked a handful of wild mushrooms for her, stuffing them into her pocket for her to snack on while walking.

Lin Nianhe, with her mouth full of berries, feeling aggrieved, "Don’t think that giving me some wild fruit is enough for me to forgive you."

Wang Shumei glanced at her, "So what do you want then?"

Lin Nianhe swallowed the berries, with a sweet taste in her mouth, "In a few days, the vegetables in my plot will need to be harvested."

"Yeah, I’ll help you."

It was such a small vegetable plot that it wouldn’t take even a morning to harvest them.

"I also want to make some pickled vegetables, but I don’t know how."

"Fine, I’ll handle it."

She needed to make pickled vegetables for herself anyway, it’s no trouble at all.

"Then, give me half a month’s leave to visit family."

"Lin Nianhe, are you asking for another beating?"

Wang Shumei counted on her fingers, a dangerous gleam flickering in her eyes.

Lin Nianhe looked up at the sky and quietly changed the subject, "Hey... Actually, all day today, I’ve felt like I forgot something."

Wang Shumei didn’t take it seriously at all and casually asked, "Forgot what?"

"I don’t know, just feel like I’ve forgotten something..."

It wasn’t until they were on their way back to the village and saw the two people squatting at the entrance that Lin Nianhe finally realized what she had forgotten all day long.