I became the Counterpart of the Winner in a Period Novel

Chapter 94: Chapter 91: Fish, Loaches, and Little Hearts

Once upon a time, Yun Di was a loner, but now she sort of has a home. Grandma doesn’t like to go out, so naturally, Yun Di stays with her.

Perhaps in the future, when the young boy has the means and ability, she won’t have to send him off anymore.

On the way back, a group of children gathered under the soap tree. Xiao Ran was also standing there. When he saw her coming with a basket, he proudly grabbed her hand and said, "This is my sister. I wasn’t lying to you all, was I? My sister is the most beautiful and kindest person in the world."

Jiang Mingyue: "..." Can we move past this "most in the world"? Be careful, or you’ll become the greatest boaster in the world.

"Sister, this is Gouwa."

The child didn’t just have a mess of hair; he probably hadn’t washed in a year and wore tattered, patched clothes that were too filthy to look at.

But his eyes were exceptionally bright!

"This is Xiao Cheng. He lives next door to Xiao Meng’s house."

This child was also a bit older than Xiao Ran. Although his clothes were patched, they were very clean.

"This is Zhu Zhu."

A little girl with especially big, clear eyes, but without exception, they were all dressed in a way that made one feel pity.

"So, you’re Gouwa, Xiao Cheng, and Zhu Zhu! Xiao Ran often talks about you. What’s up? Did you come to ask him out to play? You’ll have to wait until after we’ve eaten."

At this moment, the child called Gouwa had a look of hesitation, wanting to speak but holding back. Jiang Mingyue could see that his small fists at his sides were clenching and unclenching, and it made her feel distressed.

"Little friend Gouwa, do you have something to say to me?"

"I, I..."

Sigh!

Xiao Ran couldn’t hold back any longer, "Sister, Gouwa caught a lot of fish and wants to know if you want them?"

Jiang Mingyue instantly understood.

"Where are the fish? Let me see."

Gouwa turned and ran toward the Fire Torch Fruit brambles, a dozen steps away.

Jiang Mingyue took Xiao Ran with her to check it out.

Upon seeing it, there were three small buckets behind the brambles, each containing more or less small fish.

"I want them. I love fish. Are they from the three of you?"

The now-relaxed Gouwa could finally speak.

"Yes, sister, do you want them? You can have them all."

"Aren’t you going to take them home so your families can make them for you to eat? They’re tasty and nutritious."

Xiao Cheng explained on Gouwa’s behalf, "Sister, Gouwa’s stepmother doesn’t give him food. He wanted to give them to you, as long as he gets a potato to eat."

Little Zhu Zhu also chimed in, "Yes, sister, Gouwa has a hard time. His dad only listens to the stepmother, who only makes Gouwa work and doesn’t feed him. The good food is kept for her own daughter. Nobody cares for Gouwa. I’ll give Gouwa my fish too. Sister, can you give him another potato?"

Is the request really that low? Jiang Mingyue felt heartache hearing this.

"Gouwa, what do you want?"

The little guy thought for a moment and said, "Sister, I don’t need Zhu Zhu’s and the others’ fish. I’ll give you mine; just give me a potato to eat."

"Alright, I’ll take them all. Wait here."

Jiang Mingyue took Mrs. Jiang’s scale and carried out a bucket.

As for the price, it still needs to be clear. Kids might not care, but adults might not be the same.

In the market, palm-sized carps cost 30 cents a pound. Jiang Mingyue offered the children 10 cents a pound, which was very generous. After weighing, Zhu Zhu and Xiao Cheng ran home happily with their few cents, leaving only Gouwa.

"Sister, I don’t want money." His stepmother would definitely search him if she found out he had money, not to mention he didn’t know how to buy things. "Just give me a potato to eat."

Such a humble request.

Jiang Mingyue couldn’t bear to see the child like this and quickly fished out two big buns from under the cover of her basket.

"Take them. Remember, if you’re hungry, come find me."

Though Gouwa was starving, with his stomach almost touching his back, when faced with the tempting sight of the big white, fragrant meat buns, he resisted. He couldn’t let the sister who helped him suffer, "Sister, coarse food will do for me."

How heartbreaking!

"Take them; I’ll give more if needed." Jiang Mingyue attempted to fetch more, but the little guy grabbed them and ran off.

Jiang Mingyue: "..." He won’t even take more!

During dinner, the mighty bragger Xiao Ran was again boasting about his great achievements, occasionally asking Jiang Mingyue a question.

Like now: "Sister, do you want frogs and loaches? Gouwa can catch them too."

Jiang Mingyue: "Loaches, yes. Frogs, no. Tell your friends not to catch frogs; they are the guardians of the rice fields."

"Huh?"

"In rice paddies, pests can eat the rice seedlings and affect the harvest. Frogs eat these pests, so they’re naturally the guardians."

"Oh, I get it! I’ll tell Gouwa and the others tomorrow not to catch frogs to eat."

At night, while lying in bed with her third sister, Jiang Mingyue asked about Gouwa’s situation.

Jiang Zhenmei told her angrily.

The situation was much like Xiao Cheng had said.

Gouwa’s mother passed away three years ago from illness. That man didn’t take her to the hospital when she got sick, and she was forced to die at home.

Gouwa was only five years old then, but he knew how to care for his mother. He knelt and begged his father to save his mother, but that man’s heart was made of stone; he said his wife’s fate was meant to be as such. And just like that, Gouwa’s mother passed away after a month of illness, and one month after her death, Gouwa’s father brought back the widow and her three daughters.

Other fathers, however muddled, still knew their close ones, but Gouwa’s father acted as if he had drunk a potion of confusion, ignoring his own son and not caring at all. Whenever he was displeased, he would hit and scold, but he treated the widow’s two daughters as his own. While in other families, it’s the stepmother who first bullies the children from the previous marriage, in Gouwa’s family, it’s the father who bullies the son first. Seeing this, the widow also learned to mistreat the children from the former marriage, which was a rare occurrence in Qingshui Village.

"Ming Yue!"

"Mm, sleep now, sister."

The third sister slept immediately, and soon even breaths could be heard.

Jiang Mingyue, however, couldn’t fall asleep.

She quietly tiptoed out of the room, sweeping all the little fishes into the pond in her space.

Watching the little fish scattering in the water, Jiang Mingyue smiled, as if seeing countless big fish jumping into her bowl.

The next day, Zhu Zhu from Xiao Cheng didn’t come; Gouwa came with a bucket full of loaches.

"Xiao Ran said sister likes to eat loaches."

Jiang Mingyue: "..." I don’t, I just want to eat fish.

"It’s fine! But catch fish next time. Loaches are very hard to catch."

This morning the family ate wild vegetable and pork dumplings; Jiang Mingyue specially left a bowl in the space, taking it out now to give to Gouwa.

Unexpectedly, it drew tears from the little guy, "Sigh! Don’t cry! It’s just a bowl of dumplings, no need to be this moved. Listen to your sister, let’s work hard at life, study hard, become capable people when we grow up, earn lots and lots of money, buy lots and lots of things and not give them to them, making your stepmother and dad regret it to death."

"Pfft!"

"So you can laugh too. That’s nice. Washing up makes you look really good. Always keep yourself clean like this, looking spirited."

"Thank you."

"You’re welcome, you’ve earned it through your own hard work. After you finish, just leave the bowl in my yard."

For lunch, Jiang Mingyue made dry pot spicy loaches, and also made some fried little fish as a gesture, to be honest, she felt heartbroken. If she put them in her space pond, they might become big fish in a few days.

But she had to do this.

Xiao Ran liked this fried little fish the most, after the meal he stuffed some into his pocket as snacks.

Jiang Mingyue wanted to scold him, but the little guy quickly ran off without a trace.

But half an hour later, there was crying at the door, if it was just crying, she wouldn’t care too much, which child hasn’t cried when young.

But she heard old woman’s curses, Jiang Mingyue rushed out.

Outside

An old woman was pulling on Xiao Ran, like a wild pig gripping a little white rabbit, clearly bullying, Xiao Ran’s legs were flailing in the air.

Jiang Mingyue was furious, she went up and clamped the old woman’s wrist, rescuing Xiao Ran.

Is this it? No, of course not, but this was at the doorstep, and the old woman was elderly, Jiang Mingyue didn’t want to leave any evidence.

Just keeping a record for now.

"Who are you? Why are you harming my family’s child? Don’t you know the heavens punish those who are heartless, regardless of age?"

"You, you little girl dare to curse me..." as the old woman said, she tried to headbutt Jiang Mingyue.

Jiang Mingyue wasn’t afraid of her, ready to dodge at the last moment, letting the old woman hit the soap tree.

But a figure moved too fast and pulled her away.

It was Yun Di.

That’s when Jiang Mingyue learned the cause.

Turns out Xiao Jiang Ran was sharing dried fish with the other kids, Li Xiaowei saw it and wanted some too, but Xiao Ran refused, Li Xiaowei often bullied him with Wu Tiantian, so Xiao Ran wouldn’t give any.

Li Xiaowei, accustomed to being domineering like Wu Tiantian, couldn’t get any and resorted to snatching.

Xiao Ran defended it desperately, saying his sister made it for him to keep it away from bad people.

Yun Di happened to pass by during all of this and directly punched Li Xiaowei, hence, the bully ran off to complain and called for an adult’s support.

Jiang Mingyue sneered: "Well done with the punch. Li Xiaowei, right? I heard you are two years older than Wu Tiantian, so you are ten. You, a big ten-year-old, are bullying a five-year-old. You are really impressive!" Jiang Mingyue wielded the broom, scaring the elderly woman and the kid to retreat constantly.

Jiang Mingyue scoffed: "Don’t worry, I am very kind, I won’t hit you, so, I’ll spare you this time. Next time I catch you bullying Xiao Ran, you, Li Xiaowei, I’ll beat you till your parents can’t recognize you. You, Old Mrs. Li, I’ll drag you to the street and strip what you wear, ruining your reputation."

Old Mrs. Li got so angry her face turned red, wanting to curse but unable to open her mouth, strange!

"Crash!" The broom broke.

This made Old Mrs. Li forget everything, grabbing her little grandson and running away, seeing is believing, who would have thought this was an elderly lady in her sixties?

Yun Di’s mouth hung open for a long time: "This, this is the end?"

"What else?"

"I thought..."

"Given their cowardice, they won’t dare trouble Xiao Ran again."

Of course not, earlier she used spiritual power to attack the old lady, knowing the old lady has racked up quite a few grievances, she did something nasty just this morning, now back home there will be people waiting to settle scores.

Dealing with people doesn’t always require your direct action.

As for Li Xiaowei, the brat, his parents work in the city, leaving their son with Old Mrs. Li, and paying her thirty yuan a month.

It’s not the grandson she cares for, it’s the money, only keeping the grandson happy gets her the money.

Jiang Mingyue thought to herself, next time she goes to town, she must send this pair of parents a letter, if they don’t take their son back, he’ll be wasted.