*What?!

How dare you suggest eating me, the esteemed King Koi?!

I’ve been a revered koi spirit for a thousand years, and this little girl doesn’t recognize my worth and wants to eat me?!*

Inside the white porcelain fishbowl, the King Koi was so furious that it jumped around in the water, almost leaping out to slap the little girl with its tail.

Even the great-grandmother was stunned.

Despite her many years of life and now being a land goddess alongside her husband, she had never encountered a situation like this. She hadn’t realized that her beloved great-granddaughter was such a sweet but simple-minded little foodie.

However, great-grandmother was very fond of her great-granddaughter and knowing that she had just successfully passed her trial and ascended, didn’t have the heart to scold her. Instead, she gently explained,

“Wanyue, our family’s King Koi is not meant to be eaten. It’s a sacred spirit and must be properly revered. It’s a treasured heirloom of the Song family.”

The little girl was a bit confused. If this was a family heirloom, why wasn’t it passed down to her grandfather or grandmother instead?

Seeing her great-granddaughter’s puzzled expression, the great-grandmother sighed softly.

“Wanyue, there are some things that can’t be explained in just a few words. Now, I’m entrusting King Koi to you. I’ll explain everything to you when the time is right.”

Though still a little confused, the girl knew that her great-grandmother must have a good reason for her words. She happily agreed and with a bright smile on her face, she carefully held the white porcelain fishbowl in her small hands.

“Mm-hmm! Great-grandma, I’ll take good care of the King Koi!”

The King Koi, who had been about to splash the little girl with its tail in anger, saw her sweet smile and changed its mind.

Well, this little girl is really cute!

Ugh, when will this miserable life as a fish admirer ever end?

The King Koi grumbled to itself, its fish face filled with a gloomy expression.

The great-grandmother, amused by the King Koi’s reaction, secretly chuckled. She looked lovingly at her great-granddaughter, who was now yawning and looking adorably sleepy. She gently stroked the little girl’s cheek and smiled,

“You sleepyhead, go back to sleep. Great-grandma is leaving now.”

The strange and vivid dream came to an end and the little girl drifted off into a peaceful slumber again. In her quiet little bedroom, a white porcelain fishbowl suddenly appeared on her desk.

Inside the sparkling water, a golden koi swam happily.

The little girl slept soundly, undisturbed.

On a summer afternoon, the lush green landscape of Dahe Mountain was full of vitality. With no farm work to do and the outside heat unbearable like a steamer, the villagers were all napping at home.

Only under the big banyan tree in the village, a few elderly women sat on small stools with bamboo baskets in hand, picking wild vegetables they had gathered from the mountains while chatting about their daily lives.

“Where did you pick these wild vegetables, Wang? They look so fresh.”

One of the village women looked enviously at the basket of wild vegetables belonging to Old Lady Wang, the mother of Wang Jiefang.

It was a difficult year, with poor wheat harvests and the crops from Dahe Mountain were barely enough to feed everyone. Each household was tightening their belts to get by.

The men were working hard on the riverbank for the commune’s relief grain, while the women took their children up the mountain to pick wild vegetables and catch cicadas. The wild boys would go to the river to catch fish and shrimp, struggling from morning until night just to scrape by.

Old Lady Wang, who had lived in Dahe Mountain for most of her life, would often go up the mountain with her eldest grandson and always return with a large basket full of fresh, tender wild vegetables.

This made the other villagers green with envy, especially Old Lady Qin. She had never liked seeing others doing better than herself. And when she saw Wang Jiefang’s mother being so capable, she was particularly displeased, especially since the other day, the little brat from the Song family had returned to the village in Wang Jiefang’s tractor.

Old Lady Qin had been hoping that little brat from the Song family wouldn’t survive, but to her dismay, just a few days later, the little brat was discharged from the hospital, alive and kicking!

Why?!

Was Heaven blind?!

Her granddaughter Rongrong was still suffering in the labor camp, yet the little brat from the Song family was perfectly fine!

Old Lady Qin’s eyes filled with malice as she glared at Old Lady Wang and sneered,

“Yes, Old Lady Wang, you’re really something, picking all these wild vegetables from the mountain. If you have any special tricks, don’t keep them to yourself. Otherwise, if someone in the village starves to death, that wouldn’t be good, now would it?”

Old Lady Wang was never one to be messed with. When she was younger, her mother-in-law had mistreated her, making her work day and night without giving her enough to eat.

Unlike other daughters-in-law who might have quietly endured, Old Lady Wang fought back, even getting into a physical altercation with her mother-in-law, which eventually led to the family splitting up.

Thanks to Old Lady Wang’s hard work, her family had prospered. Her youngest son, Wang Jiefang, even became a tractor driver, a respected job in the village.

With her family thriving and her loved ones supporting her, Old Lady Wang’s face darkened at Old Lady Qin’s words. She shoved the basket of wild vegetables into Old Lady Qin’s face, splattering mud and bits of vegetable all over her.

Old Lady Qin, startled, spat out the bits of dirt that had gotten into her mouth and enraged, began to shout,

“Old Lady Wang, you old hag! How dare you fling those rotten vegetables at me! I’ll teach you a lesson!”

She lunged forward to fight, only to be slapped down by Old Lady Wang so hard that she couldn’t get up.

Ever since the incident at the riverbank, where Qin Dayong and Li Erhua had been taken to the police station, bringing shame to Dahe Mountain, Song Jiandang had cut off the Qin family’s relief grain and kicked them out of the riverbank construction team.

Without the commune’s relief grain and with her eldest granddaughter Qin Rongrong still in the labor camp, the Qin family’s reputation in the village was completely ruined.

The Qin family soon ran out of coarse grains. Old Lady Qin, desperate, tried to borrow some from the villagers, but was met with cold stares and refusals everywhere she went.

Having hit a wall, Old Lady Qin returned home fuming, cursing up a storm, but in the end, she still had to cry and go hungry.

Now even her precious grandson, Qin Baozhu, didn’t have enough to eat, let alone herself. Starved and weak, Old Lady Qin was no match for a well-fed and strong Old Lady Wang. After getting slapped, her face burned painfully and she couldn’t help but wail.

“Oh, no! I can’t go on living! Everyone’s bullying me now! Oh, why did you leave me so soon, old man?! Why didn’t you take me with you?! Open your eyes and see, I can’t survive anymore!”

At that moment, most of the villagers were taking their midday nap and the village was quiet. Old Lady Qin’s wails echoed, waking everyone up.

Thinking something serious had happened, the men threw on their shirts and rushed outside, only to find out it was just Old Lady Qin causing a ruckus. Annoyed, they went back inside with dark faces.

Their wives, seeing their husbands’ sour expressions, asked what had happened.

“Nothing, just that old witch Old Lady Qin throwing a tantrum again!”

The men grumbled.

The wives, disgusted, spat on the ground,

*Ugh! That rotten old witch again!

That woman sure knows how to make a scene!*

All the village women despised Old Lady Qin. Song Jiandang’s wife, Ma Yingchun, was particularly furious whenever the Qin family was mentioned.

Ma Yingchun was still seething over the trouble the Qin family had caused, which had even made Secretary Wang Yunkai of the commune lose his temper. As a result, Song Jiandang’s reputation in the commune had taken a hit and someone as proud as him couldn’t stand it.

Seeing her husband moping around the house, not eating or drinking, Ma Yingchun’s mouth had broken out in a string of ulcers from the stress and she had cursed the Qin family up and down in her heart.

Carrying a shoulder pole, Ma Yingchun was trudging home when she heard an old woman shouting in the distance. Thinking it was some sort of domestic quarrel, she quickened her pace, only to discover it was none other than Old Lady Qin causing a scene.

Seeing her nemesis, Ma Yingchun’s blood boiled. She dropped the shoulder pole and charged at Old Lady Qin like a tiger, slapping her twice so hard that Old Lady Qin’s screams could be heard throughout the village.

“Who the hell dared to slap me?!”

Old Lady Qin was about to lash out when she turned and saw the fiery gaze of Ma Yingchun. Terrified, she nearly fell to her knees.

Danger! Run!

With that single thought in her mind, Old Lady Qin bolted as fast as she could.

“Help! The witch is here!”

Ma Yingchun: ….

………

The village commotion didn’t disturb the peaceful life of the Song family. In their spotless courtyard, the rose bushes in the vegetable garden bloomed pink and fragrant, with petals scattering in the summer breeze.

In the clean chicken coop, the chicks clucked away happily. The little girl, who had just woken up, cradled the white porcelain fishbowl as she gleefully picked flowers in the yard.

Chen Juhua, sitting under the eaves sewing shoe soles, looked up and smiled at her granddaughter’s cheerful demeanor,

“Wanyue, you’re so happy just because the flowers are blooming?”

Of course! Nothing beats the beauty of the countryside.

The little girl flashed her grandmother a sweet smile,

“Grandma, I’ll make you a flower crown to wear!”

Oh, no, no. She was too old for that, it would be like putting lipstick on a pig.

As the grandmother and granddaughter chatted, a handsome young boy with a bamboo basket on his back appeared outside the Song family’s fence.

“Hello, Grandma Chen.”

A pleasant voice called out.

The little girl looked up and saw the tall boy standing against the light outside the fence. Her eyes lit up as she held the white porcelain fishbowl and ran over.

“Brother Chenchuan, what brings you here?”

The boy’s cold, dark eyes softened as he reached out to ruffle the little girl’s hair:

“Grandpa grew some watermelons at home. They turned out pretty sweet, so I brought a few over for you.”

“Wow! Watermelons from Grandpa Chen’s garden must be delicious!”

The little girl’s face lit up with joy.

Inside the white porcelain fishbowl, the King Koi was once again dumbfounded.

Honestly…

This boy is ridiculously good-looking!

Chen Juhua, watching her granddaughter and the boy with amusement, suddenly noticed something odd,

“Wanyue, why is your fat koi blushing?”

Song Wanyue: ???

Koi can blush?

King Koi: !!!

Oh no, my secret as a fish admirer has been exposed!