Chapter 87: Fanwai Three: Little Stupid Child

Fu Chuan was six and a half years old this year, and he was much more mature psychologically than his peers. Not only because of his precocity but also because of his health. He began to build his own world while other children were playing carefreely.

If you were to say he had any serious illness, he didn’t. It was just that he had always been physically weak all year round and had frequent minor illnesses. At first, the family thought that there was something wrong with his immune system. But even as they went to various hospitals and invited the top doctors, they couldn’t find out the reason.

The doctor could only say that the child was too young, maybe it would improve as he grew up. But the Fu family couldn’t bear to see Fu Chuan so sick.

In the end, Jiang Lan ran to a temple, and when she came back, she gave Fu Chuan a wooden bracelet with intricate patterns carved on it. People would feel dizzy if they stared at it for too long.

It was strange to say that ever since wearing this bracelet, Fu Chuan’s had actually gradually improved. Although the recovery was slow, the effect could still be seen. He no longer went to the hospital as often, and at most drank some traditional Chinese medicine. At most he would usually catch a cold, and he couldn’t do any strenuous exercises. Other aspects start running in the normal direction.

“Master said, it’s best to find a clean and quiet place for Xiao Chuan to be raised.” Jiang Lan’s voice came from the bedroom.

Holding a glass of water in his hand, Fu Chuan stopped and stood at the door.

Father Fu’s voice came from inside again: “I disagree, we can find a place in the capital, and we can still be with Xiao Chuan, how can you let him leave home like this?”

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“Zsw pyu ds yde kv’p ds? Rp Dkys Ubwyd’p blyzvb xsal kxrsavydv sa pvyukdt kd vbl nyrkvyz?” Kkydt Nyd oyp y zkvvzl ydtau.

“Jwv vbl lewnyvksd kd svbla rzynlp kp dsv yp tsse. Rq Dkys Ubwyd kp yzzsole vs pvyu vblal ewakdt vbl okdvla yde pwxxla calyjp, bl pvkzz byp vs pvweu kd vbl nyrkvyz.”

Gqvla y xsxldv sq pkzldnl kd vbl cleassx, Kkydt Nyd ytalle: “R okzz pvyu okvb Dkys Ubwyd ewakdt vbl okdvla yde pwxxla calyjp.” Fbl yzps jdlo vbyv kv oyp y pxyzz rzynl, yde sdzu vbspl obs bye dsvbkdt vs es yde bye alynble alvkalxldv ytl oswze zkhl vblal.

Gqvla zkpvldkdt vs vbl rlsrzl kdpkel, Ww Ubwyd oldv cynj vs bkp assx kd pkzldnl okvb bkp nwr kd byde.

Pwakdt vbl pwxxla calyj clqsal bl oyp ycswv vs ldvla vbl qkapv tayel, Ww Ubwyd oyp vyjld vs Nwtw Yswdvykd. Mbl ldhkasdxldv blal oyp tsse, yde xsal kxrsavydvzu, vbl bsv prakdtp olal srld yzz ulya aswde, obknb oyp lprlnkyzzu tsse qsa blyzvb ralplahyvksd.

Mbl Ww qyxkzu oyp aknb yde rsolaqwz, ps vblu ekalnvzu cswtbv y hkzzy kd vbl olzz-elhlzsrle yaly yde zlyple y xswdvykd vsr. Mbkp xswdvykd oyp pvkzz wdelhlzsrle, cwv vblal oyp y dyvwayz bsv prakdt sd kv. Rv oyp saktkdyzzu kdvldele vs elhlzsr kdvs y dwapkdt bsxl, cwv kv oyp cswtbv cu vbl Ww qyxkzu.

Ebld Ww Ubwyd qkapv yaakhle yv Nwtw Yswdvykd, bl nswzed’v tlv wple vs yduvbkdt. Eblvbla kv oyp vbl qsse sa vbl rlsrzl blal. Jwv bl eked’v pyu y osae, fwpv jlrv bkp csalesx kd bkp blyav.

Qskdt vs vbl bsv prakdt lhlau xsadkdt oyp vbl xspv alzymkdt vkxl qsa Ww Ubwyd. Rv oyp y ckv qya qasx vbl hkzzy, cwv vbl asyep olal lypu vs oyzj. Nwtw Yswdvykd kvplzq oyp dsv bktb.

Jiang Lan was also relieved that her son would go to the hot springs, and walking a certain distance every day was considered exercise. She just instructed him not to soak for too long.

Fu Chuan liked to sit under the big ginkgo tree and let himself daydream after soaking.

Although he was young, his mind was sensitive. He understood the outside world easily, and here, it was considered relaxed.

One day Fu Chuan sat under the ginkgo tree as usual, looking at the scenery below, it was quiet and moving.

Suddenly, there was the sound of a branch being trampled off from behind. Fu Chuan thought that his mother had sent someone to look for him, but when he turned around, he saw only a white and tender child of the same age with a big basket in her hand.

The child obviously saw him too, ran straight over, then knelt down and poked him.

Before Fu Chuan frowned, she spoke again: “Are you also here to pick wild fruits?”

Wild fruit? While Fu Chuan paused, the child started to ask again: “Are you sulking?”

It was not that Fu Chuan had no one in the capital to please him. He was the only son of the Fu family, and there were numerous beautifully dressed, delicate doll-like girls who would always pester him and want to play with him.

Fu Chuan always just watched with cold eyes.

The one in front of him had a ponytail, short sleeves on the upper body, and striped shorts on the lower body, but the clothes were dirty. There were still several red bumps on her fair arms, probably from mosquito bites.

…Looks silly.

Fu Chuan didn’t want to pay attention to her at first, but the person in front of him thought of something, turned her head and flipped through the straw basket next to her awkwardly.

Finally, she took out two wild fruits and handed them to him: “I have wild fruits, do you want to eat them?”

Fu Chuan looked at the hand of the person in front of him trying to reach out, and reluctantly took the fruit, but he just took it and didn’t move.

“Eat it, it’s very delicious.” The person on the opposite side seemed rather stupid, with bright eyes, “I don’t charge money, it costs two yuan to buy ten pieces!”

Ten pieces cost two yuan, which meant that these two pieces were only 40 cents. Even if Fu Chuan tore a piece of cloth from his body, it would be worth more than that, but he finally started to eat.

The fruit was not big, but it was juicy and sweet. Fu Chuan thought it was much tastier than the fruits his mother brought over by air.

“Sweet or not?”

The fair child opposite didn’t seem to know that he was a stranger, and even reached out to touch his face.

Fu Chuan suppressed the urge to knock off the hand extended by the person in front of him, and sat there blankly for her to finish rubbing.

“Did you run out because you were angry with your family?” The child asked why, and tried to lead Fu Chuan up after speaking. However, she could not pick up her broken basket at the same time.

Fu Chuan simply didn’t want to get up, but the child didn’t pull him up successfully and fell on Fu Chuan directly. The two twisted into a ball and rolled around on the soft ground.

Fu Chuan’s original anger was dissipated by the child’s flustered look.

The child took his hand, blew it twice and murmured to herself: “Hoo hoo, it doesn’t hurt anymore.” After speaking, she led Fu Chuan to the wild fruit tree.

The wild fruits looked the same as what Fu Chuan ate just now, and Fu Chuan had been here many times. However, he never thought about eating these wild fruits.

Staring at the little child picking fruit on tiptoe, jumping up from time to time. Fu Chuan couldn’t bear to watch it anymore. Thus, he counted it as repaying for the two fruits just now. Thinking, he helped to pick off the fruit on top of her head.

Turning around and seeing the fruit in Fu Chuan’s hand, the child’s eyes flickered. He had no choice but to continue working as a coolie for free, helping her pick wild fruits.

Fu Chuan thought that today was just one time, but who would have expected that little child would come here to pick wild fruits every day from then on. She thought he had no friends and wanted to play with him.

Fu Chuan didn’t bother to explain. He didn’t know why, but in the end, he had to accompany the little child to sell things after soaking in the hot spring every morning.

It was really only selling things. The little stupid child was very serious, shouting very earnestly, stumbling around with a big basket.

Fu Chuan couldn’t bear to see it, so he helped her carry the basket together. He just loved to get sick, but his body still had the physical strength of a normal boy.

The little stupid child seemed to be very short of money, and she was picky. They sold wild fruits all afternoon just to buy two popsicles. Fu Chuan saw with his own eyes that her face which was only as big as a palm flash with distress.

Although the child was in pain, she still bought one for him. Seeing Fu Chuan receive it, she smiled happily.

Gradually, Fu Chuan felt that it was quite interesting to have such a little stupid child by his side. It was just that the little stupid child thought he was mute, which kept him from recovering for several days.

It was only later on that Fu Chuan not only accepted it, but also accepted the title of ‘little mute’.

One day it was slightly raining, Fu Chuan couldn’t go to the hot spring in the morning, and originally wanted to just stay in his room. After thinking about it later on, maybe the little stupid child had gone again.

Fu Chuan told his mother that he was going on a walk, and went to the ginkgo tree with an umbrella.

As soon as he went, he could see the little stupid child was still waiting there, holding an old and rustic umbrella. There was a lot of thunder during the summer storms, Fu Chuan frowned and pulled her away from the tree.

“You’re here.” The little stupid child smiled happily, her brows and eyes curved, “I’ve been waiting for you for a long time.”

Why are you waiting for me? Fu Chuan’s words choked in his throat for a while, and finally remembered that he was still mute in her eyes, so he could only hold back.

“It’s raining today, we can pick up a lot of fruit.” Yao Yi was still determined to sell fruit.

Fu Chuan led her out, with a sullen face, looking quite unhappy.

The little stupid child who was excited that she would no longer have to struggle to pick fruits, observed Fu Chuan’s face carefully. Seeing that he seemed unhappy, she had no choice but to give up the idea.

After walking for a while, the little stupid child stretched out her hand and tugged at Fu Chuan’s hand: “Let’s go to the pottery workshop, it’s fun.”

Fu Chuan turned his head to look at the little stupid child’s pitiful eyes, and agreed.

It was there that Fu Chuan knew the little stupid child’s name for the first time: Yao Yi.

It was also there that Fu Chuan discovered for the first time that the little stupid child thought of him as a girl.

The boss was nice. He saw the two children coming to play hand in hand, and he even boiled a pot of hot water and made tea for them.

After drinking an entire pot of tea, both of them felt the need to relieve themselves. The little stupid child skillfully held Fu Chuan’s hand: “I know where the restroom is, so I’ll take you there.”

At that time, Yao Yi was still young, and her pronunciation was not so clear. It was soft and waxy, with a sweet legato.

Fu Chuan had always liked to stare at her and watch her speak.

“You go first, I’ll guard the door for you.” The little stupid child stood at the door of the girl’s restroom, with her head and chest held high.

Fu Chuan raised his head and glanced at the ‘women’ sign above, and turned around to go to the men’s toilet, but was held tightly by the little stupid child.

“That’s where the boys go, we’re going here!” The little stupid child cried out anxiously, “You can’t go there.”

“…” Fu Chuan took away the little stupid child’s hand, turned his head, and walked into the boy’s restroom.

The little stupid child was very anxious, hugged Fu Chuan and refused to let him in.

They made a lot of noise and called the shop owner over.

“What happened?”

“She’s going to the boy’s restroom, I can’t stop her.” The little stupid child burst into tears.

Fu Chuan had no choice but to stop, reaching out to help her wipe away her tears.

The little stupid child sniffled and said with lingering fear, “Don’t go there, it’s not a place for girls.”

“…” The shop owner pulled away the two children who were hugging onto each other, and had no choice but to pull Yao Yi aside, and waved at Fu Chuan, “Go, go, go.”

The little stupid child looked at the shop owner in horror, and rushed over to pull Fu Chuan back again.

“Don’t go.” The store owner laughed, “Isn’t he your friend? Why can’t you tell the difference between boy and girl?”

…

Fu Chuan collected his mood, and when he came out of the restroom, he saw the little stupid child with a dull expression on her face.

“Are you a boy?” The little stupid child looked at Fu Chuan in shock, as if she had been greatly frightened.

Fu Chuan nodded, remaining silent as usual.

“Oh.” The little stupid child lowered her head and he wondered what she was thinking about. After a while, she raised her head and said seriously, “Although you are a boy, we are still good friends.”

The two kids reconciled and came out holding hands.

The boss sitting in front of the counter teased: “A boy, and a girl, you guys can’t hold hands, only boyfriends and girlfriends can hold hands.”

Fu Chuan felt his hands being tightly held, and then the little stupid child replied seriously: “Then we are boyfriend and girlfriend!”

That summer break was probably the most relaxing time for Fu Chuan, but unfortunately the two missed each other for many years by mistake.