Feng Shi fixed her gaze and was immediately shocked to the core.
"Quick, save her!"
She picked up a long tree branch and rushed toward the child.
Fortunately, Feng Shi was quick-eyed and swift-handed. Seeing that Little Nuobao was about to be swept away by the current, she quickly hooked the edge of the basin with the branch and dragged the wooden basin ashore.
When she picked up the water-soaked swaddling cloth, she saw a little one, only a year and a half old, with tear-streaked cheeks, trembling inside.
Jiang Fengnian’s heart clenched into a knot when he saw there really was a baby.
"What kind of beast would do this? Even though times are tough and many are starving, even if you can’t afford to raise a child, you can’t just throw them into the river!" he cursed.
Feng Shi glanced at the brocade swaddling cloth and shook her head.
"Judging by the quality of this fabric, it must cost at least ten taels of silver per foot. This doesn’t look like a child from a poor family. I’m afraid it wasn’t about saving food but… about cutting off this child’s chance to live."
"Then this child is truly pitiful," Jiang Fengnian couldn’t help but sigh.
Feeling the danger had passed, Little Nuobao’s trembling little body finally steadied slightly.
She nervously opened her eyes and saw Feng Shi, with her striking appearance, looking at her with a heartbroken expression.
Little Nuobao timidly bit her hand and sniffled.
Seeing the child could still open her eyes, Feng Shi breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.
Only then did she take a closer look at Little Nuobao.
The little baby before her was fair and clean, like a small glutinous rice ball, but her body was sickly and slightly swollen. Her hair had been haphazardly shaved off, leaving only a few scabs on her soft, pale scalp.
Feng Shi’s heart ached, and she frowned tightly. Then she noticed that Little Nuobao kept her legs tightly together and wasn’t even wearing a pair of small underpants, leaving her bare bottom trembling inside the little blanket.
She finally couldn’t hold back her anger.
"Damned creatures! This sweet baby is so young. How dare they torment a child like this? Aren’t they afraid the heavens will strike them down!"
Hearing the familiar term "sweet baby," Little Nuobao’s sparkling eyes suddenly froze.
Sweet baby… only her mother used to call her that, always so affectionately.
Little Nuobao’s eyes stung with tears.
Feeling upset, her fragile stomach began to ache again.
"Pfft!"
The little one had been force-fed too much spoiled rice by the servants in the morning. After a muffled fart, she couldn’t hold back her upset stomach and soiled the swaddling cloth.
Little Nuobao’s face instantly turned pale.
Afraid of being disliked by Feng Shi and even more fearful of being beaten as before, she desperately stretched her little hands backward, trying to cover the "dirty mess" on her bottom.
But to her surprise, Feng Shi only paused when she smelled it. Instead of showing disgust, she smiled and gently rubbed Little Nuobao’s belly.
"You’re still little. It’s nothing to have an accident. No need to cover it up."
"Does your tummy hurt? Let Auntie take a look."
Feng Shi softly comforted the little one in her arms, then bent down and scooped some river water to wash Little Nuobao’s bottom.
Under Feng Shi’s repeated gentle washes, Little Nuobao finally stopped being afraid.
Her tense little body relaxed, and soon, like a piece of soft tofu, she lay limply in Feng Shi’s arms.
At that moment, Feng Shi lifted one of Little Nuobao’s short legs, examined it, and smiled.
"Eldest, this child doesn’t have a little thingy. She really is a little girl. Do you want a little sister?"
Jiang Fengnian's breath hitched with excitement. "A girl? Mother, then this child can't be left without care! Since we've come across her, let's take her home and raise her as a little sister!"
The Jiang Family was blessed with many sons.
Feng Shi had given birth to five sons and had just welcomed a grandson—unfortunately, all were boys.
This made the Jiang Family yearn desperately for a daughter.
Especially Feng Shi.
She had always wanted another daughter, but five years ago, her husband Jiang Dashan had fallen off a cliff and passed away.
She had thought she was destined to never have a daughter, but unexpectedly, one had now appeared ready-made.
Feng Shi was overjoyed, her smile stretching almost to her ears. "Perhaps Heaven took pity on me for lacking a daughter and specially sent her to me."
Hearing that she was to be adopted, Little Nuobao's eyes instantly lit up, and her chubby, milky-soft little face flushed red.
Was she going to have a home?
That would be good.
She wouldn't wait for her foolish father anymore; it was time to become a good little treasure in a new home and start living well again!
Little Nuobao could sense the pure kindness emanating from Feng Shi. She stretched out her plump little finger, tugged at Feng Shi's sleeve, and was willing to go with her.
"Mmm… go home home ah."
Feng Shi's heart swelled with joy upon hearing this. She hugged Little Nuobao and kissed her repeatedly.
"Did you hear that, eldest? This child is willing to come with us. She's so adorable, clearly destined to be part of our family! I wonder if she's hungry. Quick, let's take her home right away!"
Before leaving, Feng Shi noticed an embroidered handkerchief in the wooden basin and carefully packed it away, keeping it as a memento for her daughter.
With a little sister now, Jiang Fengnian drove the donkey with even more vigor than before.
The donkey, whipped into a run, kicked up dust as if it were about to smoke.
Feng Shi sat at the back of the cart, humming lullabies to soothe Little Nuobao while calculating the money from selling corn that day.
After deducting expenses for the second half of the year, miscellaneous taxes and levies, and the cost of spring planting for the following year, she had to squeeze out some money to buy good fabric for her little daughter to make clothes.
Moreover, her daughter looked pale and weak, and her stomach seemed unwell. She would need to get some fine food to nourish her properly.
Just as she was planning, suddenly, there was a movement in Feng Shi's arms.
Little Nuobao shook her bald little head, and her short legs began kicking wildly, appearing extremely agitated.
"What's wrong, sweetie?" Feng Shi quickly held her tighter.
"Don't… don't go there!" Little Nuobao's little face scrunched up like a steamed bun, and she began whimpering.
Feng Shi found her daughter's milky voice utterly endearing, her heart melting with tenderness.
However, Nuobao was still too young, and her babbling was unclear. Feng Shi had to listen three times before she understood.
As the donkey cart was about to pass by, Little Nuobao finally grew anxious.
She reached her little hand toward Jiang Fengnian's head and yanked it down hard.
"Ouch, ouch… it hurts, it hurts."
Only then did Feng Shi realize something was wrong with her daughter. She shouted urgently, "Eldest, stop quickly! We're not going any further!"
Jiang Fengnian pulled on the reins, clutching the back of his head in pain and on the verge of tears, when suddenly, a loud "boom!" echoed through the air!
A massive boulder had fallen from the cliffs on both sides of the road ahead, landing heavily just a few steps away from the donkey cart and creating a deep crater in the ground!