Gu Xin slept well. When she got up in the morning, she went to the outhouse first, and then threw a jade bead into the well.

Walking to the well, she opened her palm: "Little fish."

Feeling no familiarity, Gu Xin was taken aback and called out again, but the jade pendant still didn't appear.

Upon closer inspection, a fish-shaped mark, about the size of a little finger, appeared on her palm, below her index finger.

She touched it with her other hand, and a jade bead came out.

Gu Xin panicked. How did the little fish turn into a shape?

The jade beads are still the same jade beads, but the little fish are gone.

"Xin Xin, what's wrong? Why are you spacing out by the well?" Gu Shouxin came out of the kitchen and saw Gu Xin standing there in a daze.

Gu Xin looked as if she had been caught doing something wrong. She clenched her fists and put them behind her back, stammering, "I, Dad, I'm fine. I want to fetch water."

Gu Shouxin raised an eyebrow, not exposing her obvious lie, and stepped forward to help fetch a bucket of water.

"I'll water the vegetable garden. Go find your sister to comb your hair!" Gu Shouxin said, bringing up the water and patting Gu Xin's head.

"Oh." Gu Xin glanced at the well with regret, then took the jade beads and went to find Gu Nian.

Gu Shouxin smiled as he looked at Gu Xin's little fists still tucked behind her back.

This girl is too naive; she can't keep secrets. I wonder what she has in her hand.

...

That day, Gu Xin only found out about the opportunity to throw the jade beads into the well after lunch, when Gu Shouxin and Cai Xiaolian had left.

She absentmindedly called out to Xiaoyu all morning, but apart from the mark in her hand, no other jade pendant appeared. She could only get a jade bead out when she touched it.

I touched ten of them in the morning, and then none came out.

Gu Xin felt a little disappointed, not because only ten jade beads could be produced, but because the little fish was gone, leaving only one mark.

That was a gift from the little carp, and now it's gone.

However, she has now learned to use her imagination, thinking that the jade pendant has already merged into her body and appeared as a palm print. Otherwise, how could there still be jade beads?

"Xin Xin, what's wrong? You seem a bit off today. Did you have a nightmare last night?" Gu Nian observed Gu Xin for a while before asking.

"No! I slept very well last night." Gu Xin shook her head.

"You little brat, you think you can fool us? We could all tell you've been distracted all morning. You only ate two bowls of rice at noon, whereas you used to eat three. Can you tell your sister?" Gu Nian tapped Gu Xin's nose and said patiently.

"Well, um, I woke up this morning and found my things were missing, but I just found them, so I'm okay now, sister." Gu Xin hesitated for a moment, then rephrased the story of the little fish turning into a mark.

"Oh, I see! I thought it was something else. In the future, if you lose something, don't be so worried. If you lose something and can't find it, we'll just buy it again. Don't be upset. If a child is unhappy all the time, he won't grow tall, and he'll become ugly when he grows up." Gu Nian believed her and said with a smile.

The main reason is that Gu Xin doesn't seem to be lying at all; that's just her personality, so no one would doubt her.

"I understand, sister. Sister, what are we going to do this afternoon? Shall we make that fragrant soap you mentioned?" Gu Xin asked.