"It's okay, it's okay, number four, help your wife hang the clothes to dry. Manbao, it's hot outside, Grandpa will take you inside to drink sweet water."
Mr. Qi Sr. picked up his granddaughter and didn't forget to ask his wife to prepare some sugared water.
Nearby, Qi Shilang was sucking his thumb, watching eagerly as his grandpa carried his little sister inside.
Sweet water, he wanted to drink it too.
Qi Manman turned his head and saw Brother Shi's pitiful expression, and immediately waved his chubby little paw, shouting, "Brother Shi, hurry inside to drink sweet water!"
"Mm!"
Qi Shilang nodded vigorously, and with two short legs hurried to follow them inside.
At this moment, Mr. Qi Sr. no longer minded his grandson and placed Qi Manman on the kang before asking seriously, "Manbao, tell Grandpa, will it really rain tomorrow?"
Tomorrow is the set date for the village's autumn harvest. If it rains, the crops in the fields will be ruined, won't they?
Mrs. Qi was quick, pouring a bowl of water and adding a spoonful of sugar, then hurrying to follow them inside.
Entering the room, Mrs. Qi asked, "Manbao, you mustn't let anyone hear you talk about rain these days, understand?"
Qi Manman looked at Grandpa, then at Grandma, blinking her big grape-like eyes, "But Grandpa, Grandma, it really will rain tomorrow. If you don't want it to rain, then prepare two fish! I'll send them to Grandpa Dragon King and ask him to delay the rain for a few days."
Tilting her head in thought, Qi Manman added, "It would be best to also prepare three sticks of incense, and I'll tell Grandpa Jade Emperor not to schedule any rain here soon."
"..."
"..."
Qi Zheng and Mrs. Qi exchanged a glance, both of them feeling their heads buzzing.
A four-year-old child, how does she know about the Dragon King and Jade Emperor?
And three sticks of incense, who taught her all this?
Meanwhile, Qi Shilang held the bowl of water that Grandma had just placed on the kang table, took a sip, and his eyes immediately sparkled with delight.
It really is sweet water!
Sweeter than any sweet water he had drunk before!
Qi Shilang couldn't care less about the rain anymore. Tasting the sweet water, he immediately shouted to Qi Manman, "Sister, sweet water! It's sweet and delicious!"
Qi Manman's attention was immediately diverted, and she crawled over to Qi Shilang. The two little ones alternated sips of the sugared water.
Mr. Qi Sr. and Mrs. Qi both collapsed onto the edge of the kang.
Mrs. Qi looked complexly at her hard-won granddaughter and then at her old man, "Old man, what do you think we should do? Could this be real?"
"The elders always say kids can see unclean things, maybe it's true. Just think about it, such a chubby little girl who looks like she's loved at home. But when she went missing, there wasn't a single rumor, maybe she really did fall from the sky."
Mr. Qi Sr. touched his waist, felt his tobacco pipe, lit it with a fire striker, took a couple of puffs, and only then sighed, "Have number four hurry up and catch two fish. And prepare three sticks of incense. We should stay alert tonight and see what this little lass can do."
Hearing the old man's words, Mrs. Qi's legs softened, and her anxiety grew.
The old man is experienced. If he says so, this matter might really be true.
Thinking about tomorrow being the autumn harvest, if it really rains, what will they do?
Despite her weak legs, Mrs. Qi quickly got up and went out.
Qi Quanjin was helping his wife hang clothes, pondering over what his daughter had just said when he heard his mother calling for him to catch fish.
"Mom, are we having fish for dinner?"
Qi Quanjin instinctively asked.
Mrs. Qi immediately scolded, "Eat, eat, eat, that's all you know! When I say catch, just hurry up and catch them! Catch big ones, be quick, don't dawdle!"
Scolded, Qi Quanjin wasn't upset. Instead, he quickly grabbed a bamboo basket and headed out.
Yi Meng glanced at the main house where her in-laws lived, then at the gate, her brows furrowing. Something seemed off.
But she had other things to do, and once busy, she didn't think further on it.
After sharing a bowl of sugar water with Brother Shi, Qi Manman patted her round belly and lay down on the kang, smacking her lips, and soon fell asleep.
Qi Shilang licked the empty bowl clean and wiped his mouth, looking at his grandparents, then at his sleeping little sister, and obediently lay down beside her.
Before long, the two little ones were sound asleep, completely unaware of the adults' anxiety.
"Old man, do you really believe what that little toddler said?"
Mrs. Qi held a wooden box with incense, her words full of worry.
Qi Zheng took a puff from his dry pipe, glanced at his old wife, and sighed, "Do you think I want to believe it? But no one can be sure about these things, and it's just two fish and three sticks of incense. If nothing happens, we won't have lost anything."
"But if it does stop a heavy rain, never mind the villagers, at least our family's harvest will be safe."
After speaking, Qi Zheng couldn't help but sigh again.
The autumn harvest is a big deal, happening only once a year, so he couldn't afford to be careless.
Mrs. Qi sighed repeatedly.
With the conversation at this point, what could she argue?
Qi Manman awoke from a nap just as it was getting dark.
The little one sat up, wiped the drool from the corner of her mouth, looked around the kang, and found no one around. Brother Shi had sneaked off at some point.
Sniff, sniff, there's a nice smell!
Qi Manman's eyes brightened, and she crawled over without hesitation.
On the kang table, there was a plate with two fragrant braised grass carp on it, along with a bowl of millet, and three incense sticks beside it.
Qi Manman swallowed her saliva, picked up the three sticks of incense, and skillfully placed them in the millet bowl.
With a touch of her little hand on the incense tip, the three incense sticks instantly lit up, sending smoke curling upward.
"Grandpa Jade Emperor, can you hear me? It's me, Manbao, Qi Manman. Does my name sound nice?"
The little one looked at the three incense sticks and swallowed again, "I don't remember who my real mom is, but I have a new mom now! Sniff, you, you..."
Mid-sentence, the little girl trailed off, her gaze wandering over to the fish.
Sticking a chubby finger into the fish head, she dabbed some fish soup and slurped it.
Yum! Delicious!
Her drool flowed even more.
Pinching a small piece of fish with two fingers, she popped it into her mouth, smacked her lips, found a bone, spit it out, and...
So delicious!
The little one's eyes shone brighter.
She didn't care about Grandpa Jade Emperor anymore, pinching another piece of fish into her mouth.
Yum, yum, yum!
Truly delicious!
Even better than Grandma Queen Mother's Flat Peaches!
Flat Peaches?
Eh?
What was that again?