Le voyage d'un mendiant à travers le monde

Chapitre 161

"Little fish! Come down here right now!" A sharp shout suddenly woke Little Fish from his sleep.

Before she could fully wake up, she felt someone pick her up and open her eyes. She saw that it was her mother who had appeared in front of her at some point and snatched her away from her father.

She was quite unhappy about being woken up, but her mother seemed even angrier, snapping, "How can you stand inside the bamboo basket? If you're tired, sit down and rest! Don't you know that makes your father very tired?"

The little fish sadly shed tears, "It wasn't me..."

She was still carrying medicine in her hand, her fingers red from being squeezed. Her mother sighed and took the medicine from her, while her father said from the side, "I told her to do this. She's still young; I won't feel tired."

"Don't speak up for her anymore," Mother complained to Father, then picked up Little Fish and walked home with him.

Back home, Xiaoyu was sent to the main room for dinner. Her mother said that her father needed to rest for a while before he could play with her again.

Little Fish ate the meal her mother had prepared listlessly, finding it tasteless. She noticed the door was closed, and her mother hadn't come out since taking in a basin of hot water. Remembering her mother's angry expression earlier, she was startled, wondering if her mother was scolding her father…

Little Fish slipped off the stool and quietly walked to the doorway. She faintly heard her mother speaking, "Little Tang, does it hurt?"

"It's alright..." Father said softly, and then nothing more could be heard.

Xiaoyu wanted to move closer, but her body bumped into the door, which was only slightly ajar, and she pushed it open a crack.

The mother turned around and saw that it was her peeking, so she said, "Little Fish, come here."

Little Fish was a little scared, but she couldn't refuse, so she had to sneak into the room along the wall. Her mother was sitting in front of the bed with a wet towel in front of her, while her father was lying on his side on the bed with his clothes unbuttoned and draped over his shoulders.

"Never do that again." Mother wrung out a handkerchief and gently placed it behind Father's shoulder. Father frowned, as if he were enduring pain.

"Daddy, are you sick?" Little Fish was puzzled as she saw that her father had been perfectly fine before, so why did he fall ill after returning home?

Father forced a smile. "No, go out and play."

The mother reluctantly lifted the shirt off the father's shoulders and said to the little fish, "Look, it's all worn through. You have no idea how tight that rope was!"

"Don't let her see!" Dad hurriedly turned to the side, but Xiaoyu still caught a glimpse of a red mark on his shoulder.

She burst into tears.

"Look at you, I told you not to let her see it..." Father tried to get up, but Mother held him down, "Just relax."

Little Fish walked to the bedside, crying, and sobbed, "Daddy, are you in pain?"

Father lay on his side facing her, slightly raising his face and shifting his shoulders as if wanting to touch her. "It doesn't hurt." He then kicked Mother with his leg, smiling faintly, "Mother always worries about Father."

The mother lowered her head, took Xiaoyu's hand, and said, "Give Dad a hug."

The little fish obediently rushed to the head of the bed, spread its arms, and hugged its father's waist.

Mother picked up the basin of water and went out, saying she was going to reheat Father's food. Little Fish, lying on the edge of the bed, suddenly had a bright idea and said, "Father, I want to lie down with you."

Before her father could speak, she had already kicked off her little floral shoes, climbed onto the stool, and gotten onto the bed. The blanket on the bed was so soft! Little Fish happily pulled the blanket over her face, then snuggled up next to her father.

She reached out and touched his face. "Father, are you really not in pain?"

"Hmm. What did you eat just now?"

"There are vegetables, little fish..." Little Fish laughed again. She moved a pillow over and lay down with her father.

"Father."

"Why."

Do you want to cover yourself with a blanket?

"...Okay..." Dad stretched his legs to pull the blanket over himself, but Xiaoyu sat up and tried to pull the blanket over him. Suddenly remembering her mother's usual advice, she repeated it to her father, "Take off your clothes before going to sleep, otherwise you'll catch a cold and have to take medicine."

But Dad shook his head, not entirely obedient, "I just want to lie down for a while; I don't want to take it off."

The little fish mimicked its mother's expression, frowning and widening its eyes, saying, "Be good!"

Father smiled with his lips pursed, and Little Fish went to tug at his sleeve on her own.

"Little fish, little fish, be good, don't help Daddy take off his clothes..." Daddy seemed unwilling to take off his clothes in front of her, and kept hiding behind her.

Little Fish, unable to resist her father's pleas and panting heavily, became interested in the sleeve she was holding. Looking at it from left to right, she suddenly asked, "Father, when will your hand grow back?"

Actually, she had always wondered why her father's sleeves were empty. Everyone Xiaoyu had ever seen had two hands and two feet, except for her father. She had even tried to imitate him by raising her legs to the table to eat, but ended up falling flat on her back and nearly dying, which saddened her father and mother for a long time. After that, her father told her that his hands grew slower than others, and that when Xiaoyu grew up, he would grow two hands too.

Even Xiaoyu really wants to grow up quickly so that her father can actually carry her out to play, instead of like now, where her mother always carries her and she has to say "hug Daddy" before she can hug her father's shoulder.

But now that she asked this, her father seemed a little stunned. After a while, he whispered, "When the little fish grows up, Father will have hands."

Little Fish was a little disappointed. Why was it always the same answer? She felt that she had grown up, but her father's sleeves were still empty.

When she woke up from her afternoon nap, her father was no longer in bed. She rubbed her eyes and sat up. She grabbed the clothes she had just taken off and tried to haphazardly put them over her head. Just then, her mother came in and, seeing that she had even put the sleeves on the wrong way, came over and helped her take them off and put them back on.

Whether she was still half asleep or couldn't stop thinking about the conversation, Xiaoyu mumbled to her mother, "Mom, will Daddy's hand really grow back?"

Her mother suddenly stopped moving. Xiaoyu looked up and saw that her mother's face had turned very pale. Before she could understand why, her mother threw the clothes she was holding heavily onto the bedside.

"Didn't I tell you not to ask this?" Mother's voice rose, sounding very angry.

The little fish clutched the blanket tightly, wrapped herself up close, and huddled to one side, tears welling up in her eyes again.

"Ruzheng..." Father heard the voice and came in, rushing to her side. "Why were you so harsh with Xiaoyu again?"

"I told her long ago not to ask these questions, but she never listens!" Mother turned away, feeling wronged.

"She's so young, how could she remember clearly?" Father said again. This time, even Mother started wiping away tears. When Little Fish saw that her mother was crying, she became even more panicked, and tears streamed down her face. No matter how her father tried to comfort her, it was no use.