Free Web NovelChapter 137: Chapter 137: I’ve Been in the Rain, So I’m Willing to Hold an Umbrella for Others
The old man counted it and burst into tears of joy. "Yes, yes, the silver is all here."
Only then did Chen Ye release Ba Deshun.
"Village Chief, pardon me for asking, but do you know this old man?" Ba Deshun asked, rubbing his sore shoulder. He shot the old man a sinister glance.
Shen Ningning was sharp and perceptive. She saw right through him.
’He’s probably just waiting for me to leave so he can bully this poor old man again!’
"I don’t," the little girl said honestly, but she quickly pointed toward the sky.
"But as I was passing, I heard what the old man was saying. Then the heavens opened up with a downpour. I imagine the Heavenly God must have heard him, too."
"So let me remind you: the gods are always watching. If you keep doing wicked things like bullying people, be careful. The thunder from the next storm might not strike anyone else. It might just strike you."
When she finished, Ba Deshun couldn’t help but shiver.
’Why do I suddenly feel a chill down my spine?’
It was strange, now that he thought about it. It really had started raining just as she said it would.
He hastily suppressed his malicious thoughts and forced a smile for Shen Ningning.
"You’re right to remind me, Village Chief. I was just teasing the old man. I’ll be sure to watch myself from now on."
"By the way, Village Chief, I heard Mr. Quan upset you. Why don’t you sell me all the candy he returned? I’m willing to pay a high price. We can be friends, what do you say?"
Shen Ningning averted her gaze and lowered the carriage curtain.
The little girl replied frostily, "There’s no candy left."
’Does Ba Deshun really think I don’t know he was the one who secretly sabotaged the deal between Xiangyun Village and Mr. Quan?’
She glanced to the side. The old man who had just received his silver was already gone.
’He must have left.’
The little girl gave a slight nod. "Brother Chen, let’s go."
"Yes, miss." Chen Ye climbed onto the driver’s seat. With a crack of the whip, the carriage shot forward, splattering mud all over Ba Deshun’s pant leg.
"Hey, you—!" Ba Deshun’s furious shout came from behind them.
Chen Ye snorted inwardly.
’He couldn’t stand bullies.’
Inside the carriage, Shen Ningning took the remaining half of the dark cloud out of her sleeve.
Everything had happened so suddenly. To help the old man, she had hastily pulled a piece of cloud from the Immortal Realm.
But she’d guessed it wouldn’t need to rain for very long, so she had only torn off half to throw outside.
Looking at the remaining half, the little girl stroked it lovingly. "My little cloud, I’ll put you back in the Immortal Realm for now. The next time someone needs help, I’ll let you out again."
This incident also made Shen Ningning realize that her dark clouds could be used in such a way.
Helping people by making it rain was such a fulfilling feeling.
’Before long,’ she thought, ’I’ll be able to send all my clouds into the sky and solve the drought in Cangyun Country.’
She had just returned the cloud to the Immortal Realm when she heard Chen Ye call from outside, "Miss, that old man you helped is chasing our carriage."
Shen Ningning lifted the curtain and looked back. She saw the old man holding an oil-paper package, running and trying to keep up with the carriage from a distance.
The little girl said in surprise, "Brother Chen, turn around."
The carriage returned to the old man. He was panting, his face flushed from the desperate chase.
"Miss, thank you for speaking up for me just now. Please, take these steamed buns."
He opened the oil-paper package, revealing three fluffy white steamed buns. They were fresh from the steamer and still letting off wisps of heat. frёeweɓηovel.coɱ
’So he used the silver he just got to buy me steamed buns as a thank-you gift!’
Steamed buns were nothing special to Shen Ningning.
But for an old man like him, whose clothes were covered in patches, they were incredibly precious.
The little girl quickly waved her hands. "Grandpa, there’s no need. I just saw an injustice and decided to help. Please, you keep the buns for yourself."
The old man shook his head and placed the oil-paper package in her arms. "Please take them, Miss. They’re delicious. I have my own food."
As he spoke, he pulled a dark, hard flatbread from his sleeve, more than half of which was already gone.
The old man brushed off the blackened crust, and by tearing it into pieces, he could make another filling meal for himself.
Shen Ningning watched with a storm of emotions in her heart, forgetting to refuse him again.
The old man waved to her, then took the wages Ba Deshun had given him and headed toward a pharmacy.
The little girl snapped out of her daze and said to Chen Ye, "Brother Chen, follow him. If he goes to Grandpa Shopkeeper’s pharmacy, quietly tell the manager to only charge him for half of his medicine. I’ll pay the other half, but don’t let the old man hear you."
Chen Ye was stunned for a moment, then nodded. "I’ll go at once."
A short while later, he returned and told Shen Ningning it was done.
"The pharmacy manager also asked me to tell you, Miss, that if you keep helping people so generously, you’ll run out of money no matter how much you have."
Shen Ningning just laughed, seemingly unconcerned.
The carriage sped onward. She lifted the curtain, and the oncoming wind carried the pleasant, earthy scent of a recent rain.
The little girl’s voice was soft and sweet, her face fair and lovely.
"But what else can I do? I’ve suffered before. I know what it’s like to go hungry, and I know what it’s like to be bullied."
During the hardest time in her life, she only had her grandmother with her.
The two of them were bullied often, and back then, the little girl always thought, ’If only someone would help us.’
So now that her life is better, she always wants to do what she can to look after others.
Chen Ye said with heartfelt emotion, "Miss, your kindness will be rewarded."
...
Wei Yufu had not only failed to pray for rain, but she had actually made the sky clear up instantly.
As soon as the story spread through the court, it became a running joke and a popular topic of idle gossip.
In recent days, even Minister Wei was too embarrassed to bring it up.
The Emperor, however, had asked with a faint smile during a session at the Imperial Court, "Minister Wei, it rained heavily in the Capital City that day. Was your dear daughter involved?"
Minister Wei hastily denied it. "No, not at all..."
The Emperor said with a humorless smile, "Good that it’s unrelated. Otherwise, I might have thought she was a bad omen."
Cold sweat beaded on Minister Wei’s forehead.
The Emperor’s dissatisfaction with the Wei Family was growing by the day. ’It seems,’ he thought, ’I’ll have to find an opportunity to redeem myself at the Mid-Autumn Festival.’
Shen Ningning dutifully attended her classes for two days.
The Mid-Autumn Festival was the day after tomorrow, and she had promised Mo Lingwei she would attend the banquet at the Imperial Palace.
The little girl planned to bring not only her grandmother, but her wolves, too!
It was a festival for family reunions, after all, and the Black Wolf King was exceptionally important to her, so of course he couldn’t be left behind.
The rest of the pack was like family too, so she would bring them all.
She had mentioned this idea to Mo Lingwei, and he had agreed immediately.
He wasn’t afraid of the wolf pack, and as for whether the people in the Imperial Palace were, he couldn’t be bothered to care.
As dusk approached and the last class of the day ended, Shen Ningning packed her satchel and prepared to go home.
Just then, Ren Yu walked into the classroom. "I’m so furious! I can’t believe Qin Fangmei got so lucky!" freewēbnoveℓ.com
Shen Ningning looked up, her eyes bright. "What happened?"
Ren Yu sat down beside her. "You’ll never guess what I just heard from one of the Attendant Students."
"To get her off the hook, Qin Fangmei’s aunt actually went and formally adopted her!"
