In California, a six-year-old girl encountered a stranger by chance. The stranger immediately gave her forty thousand dollars.
The news of a young girl receiving such a large gift spread rapidly, causing a frenzy across almost the entire state of California.
Reporters flocked to her door, eagerly interviewing the little girl: 'Little sister, do you know the stranger you met on the road? Is he a distant relative? Why did he give you so much money? Forty thousand dollars is a huge amount! Is the man who gave you the money perhaps a little off his rocker...?'
The girl broke into a sweet smile and replied, 'No, I don't know him, and he is not any relative of mine. I think... his mind is probably fine! I have no idea why he gave me so much money...' Despite the reporters' best efforts to probe further, they could not uncover the truth.
Eventually, the girl's neighbors and family tried to guide her in a way she would understand, asking her to reflect on why the passerby had given her so much money.
The little girl thought hard for about ten minutes before saying to her father with a look of sudden realization, 'That day, I was playing outside and ran into him. I remember I gave him a smile. That was all!'
Her father asked, 'Did he say anything to you?'
After a moment's thought, the girl answered, 'He said, "Your angelic smile dissolved my years of distress!" Daddy, what does "distress" mean?'
It turned out that the stranger was a wealthy man, though not a happy one. His expression was always cold and serious; no one in the small town dared to smile at him. However, when this wealthy man unexpectedly encountered the little girl and received her sincere smile, his heart involuntarily warmed. In that instant, he was able to open the door to his heart, which had remained shut for many years.
Consequently, the wealthy man decided to give the girl forty thousand dollars. This was the price he had set for the feeling he experienced in that moment.
If an angelic smile is sufficient to untie the knots of years of distress in one's heart, such a smile must be priceless.