Chapter 17: The Marriage Proposal

Grandpa Xie Zhong bent over by the river, checking the growth of the pea seedlings. The plants were growing evenly. Although a cold snap had hit recently, the seedlings had only shriveled slightly. Now, under the warm sun, they seemed to have regained their vitality.

"Grandpa, Grandpa!" Zhu Yanyi saw Xie Zhong from afar and ran toward him, shouting.

The child ran with too much force, making Xie Zhong’s heart race. "Ani, walk slowly. Do not run. Grandpa is right here waiting for you."

Zhu Yanyi still rushed quickly to Xie Zhong’s side. "Grandpa, I missed you so much."

Hearing this, Xie Zhong’s face lit up with a smile. Her words touched his heart deeply. "Ani can speak now. She knows how to act sweet."

"I am not acting sweet. It is the truth," Zhu Yanyi said. Her small face showed serious affection. She reached out, grabbed Xie Zhong’s wrinkled hand, and rubbed her cheek against her handback, full of attachment.

"Good, good. It is the truth." Xie Zhong was delighted. He picked up Zhu Yanyi and looked her up and down. "Ani, your body is fully healed."

Zhu Yanyi struggled to get down to the ground, then turned around. "I am all better. Look, Grandpa."

"That is good." The smile on Xie Zhong’s face did not fade. "You were in such a hurry to find Grandpa. Is there something wrong?"

"No. Grandma said Grandpa was looking at the pea seedlings. I wanted to see them too." Zhu Yanyi came over and held Xie Zhong’s hand again.

"Okay. Grandpa will watch them with you." Xie Zhong felt a deep sense of comfort from Zhu Yanyi’s affection and dependence.

Zhu Yanyi looked at the pea seedlings and gently touched one with her small hand. "The pea seedlings look tired."

"It is fine. They will feel better after some sun. In winter, people are lazy, and plants are lazy too," Xie Zhong explained with a smile.

"Oh." Zhu Yanyi knew the truth was not like that. But she was only five years old. If she spoke too deeply, she might be suspected. More importantly, she realized she could actually feel the plants’ feelings. At the same time, a strange power inside her seemed to flow through her hand into the pea seedling.

"So comfortable." This seemed to be the feeling of the pea seedling. Zhu Yanyi was shocked to see the plant grow rapidly at a visible speed. Four leaves became five, and it seemed to want to grow more. Panicked, she immediately cut off the contact between her finger and the seedling. Finally, the pea seedling stopped growing at six leaves. Even so, having six leaves among many four-leaf plants was very obvious. Zhu Yanyi considered whether she should pick off two leaves to hide it.

"Hmm, this one is growing fast. It already has six leaves." Xie Zhong did not suspect Zhu Yanyi. After all, some plants did grow faster. Besides, Xie Zhong had planted these peas late, which is why they only had four leaves. Others planted earlier already had six or seven leaves. So, finding one with six leaves was considered normal. He would never think it was Zhu Yanyi’s doing.

"Is having six leaves bad?" Zhu Yanyi asked curiously, knowing little about farming.

Xie Zhong laughed. "It is not bad. I planted these peas late, so they only have four leaves. For those planted early, six or seven leaves is normal."

"Oh." Zhu Yanyi breathed a sigh of relief. Now she was seventy or eighty percent sure that her special ability was related to plants. This was not bad. With this ability, she did not need to worry about flowers or grass dying. Zhu Yanyi felt very optimistic at this moment.