“Ah! My son! My poor, unfortunate son!”
A heart-wrenching wail shattered the afternoon tranquility of Fu’an Village.
Yet this was only the beginning. Soon after, cries of mourning emerged from other households.
“Sob sob, my husband! You died unjustly!”
“My poor son! Only eighteen! Why couldn’t it have been me instead!”
“Sniffle, brother, rest in peace! I’ll take good care of our parents!”
…
Half a month earlier, the war between Cang Tai and Bei Qiang had concluded with Cang Tai ceding five cities to Bei Qiang, along with compensation of two million taels of gold, twenty million taels of silver, one hundred thousand bolts of silk, and ten thousand chests of pearls.
Along with the news of the ceasefire, the list of soldiers killed in battle reached Fu’an Village.
Eight or nine out of every ten men conscripted from Fu’an Village were on that list, with only a handful returning alive.
Within days, nearly every household in the village had hung up White Banners.
For several consecutive days, every family’s dining table featured only tofu, until even the air carried the distinct scent of beans.
Almost every household was immersed in grief, and the only comfort for the bereaved was likely the consolation silver distributed by the imperial court.
For ordinary soldiers killed in battle, the court provided two taels of silver as consolation. If fortunate enough to have performed meritorious deeds on the battlefield, the amount would be slightly more.
One household in Fu’an Village received the highest amount this time—ten taels of silver.
They had lost one able-bodied man and gained ten taels of silver.
Some sighed in sympathy, some lamented, some envied, and others grew jealous.
The family who received the money felt only sorrow, especially the deceased’s mother.
To her, those ten taels of silver were her son’s life, his very embodiment. No one could touch it, no one was allowed to move it.
Watching his mother clutching the silver and weeping all day, the woman’s eldest son felt not only grief but also anxiety.
Their rice jar had long been empty, and the family’s only money was in his mother’s embrace.
Although this money was exchanged for his younger brother’s life.
But the dead were gone, and the living still had to go on.
“Mother, younger brother has passed. We still need to live properly. Our rice jar is completely empty. Why don’t we use younger brother’s…”
Before the man could finish speaking, a cold gust swept past his face, followed by a sharp pain on his cheek as a crisp slap echoed in his ears.
“Beast! This is your brother’s life money! No one can touch your brother’s life!”
The old woman was agitated, her eyes bloodshot, already somewhat deranged.
The man wanted to argue, but seeing his mother in such a state, he ultimately gave up.
Forget it.
He also felt deep guilt toward his younger brother, who had understood his elder brother already had a wife and had voluntarily joined the army.
Anyway, spring was approaching. He would go into the mountains to see if he could find something to eat.
Similar scenes played out in many parts of Fu’an Village, though not every elder was like that old woman. Most families eventually used the silver, after all, the living still had to survive.
With two taels of silver, if used frugally, they could at least make it until autumn.
The villagers of Xu Family Village felt they could finally catch their breath. Xu Dazhu and Xu Er Zhu’s legs also miraculously healed rapidly after the ceasefire news arrived.
By the time the snow had completely melted and spring had officially arrived, Xu Dazhu and Xu Er Zhu’s legs had fully recovered. The Xu family’s little lucky treasure, Xu Tianbao, had grown his first tooth.
When Old Mrs. Xu discovered the tiny grain of rice in the little treasure’s mouth, she joyfully planted several kisses on Xiao Tianbao’s face.
Irritated by all the fussing, the Little Dumpling finally resorted to her newly acquired “weapon”—her snow-white, adorable little teeth—leaving a small indentation on Old Mrs. Xu’s cheek.
This tiny tooth mark became Old Mrs. Xu’s pride and joy for the entire day. She boasted to everyone she met that her precious, well-behaved grandson had grown teeth.
Those she pulled aside to chat with were left utterly bewildered.
What was so special about a child growing teeth? It wasn’t as if only their family’s child grew teeth.
Old Mrs. Xu paid no mind to whether they understood or not and continued to show off.
After teething, Xiao Tianbao completely lost interest in drinking milk. Her appetite plummeted from five large bowls of milk a day to a maximum of two bowls.
At every mealtime, even if she was holding her milk bowl, she wouldn’t drink it. Instead, she’d stare unblinkingly at the meat on the dining table.
But no matter how intensely she eyed the dishes in the bowls, the Xu family still didn’t let her have a single bite. Every day, she only had goat milk to fill her stomach.
Unable to get any meat, the Little Dumpling didn’t throw a tantrum. She’d take a sip of milk, glance at the meat, take another sip, and glance at the meat again.
Finally, Xiao Hu Zai couldn’t stand it any longer. He secretly snatched a piece of rabbit leg meat from the dish and placed it in Xiao Tianbao’s hand.
Smelling the savory aroma of the meat, Xiao Tianbao squinted her eyes in delight and patted Xiao Hu Zai’s forehead twice with her chubby little hand.
Hmm, well done!
Then, while the family wasn’t looking, she put the rabbit meat into her mouth.
Mmm~ meaty goodness~
In truth, the Xu family had long noticed the little tiger’s actions, as he was no longer the kitten-sized cub he once was.
At one year old, the little tiger was already about the size of a fully grown local dog that villagers used to keep. There was no way to hide him even if they tried.
But everyone pretended not to see.
Although the little treasure’s drooling expression was utterly adorable, it was also genuinely pitiable.
Letting her suck on the flavor was no big deal. They figured she’d spit it out herself once she realized she couldn’t chew the meat.
However, to everyone’s surprise, Xu Tianbao didn’t spit out the meat. Instead, she ate it with great relish.
When Li Shi heard her little daughter’s “ah-ah” calls and reached out her hand in front of Xiao Tianbao’s mouth, expecting to catch the rabbit leg meat she’d spit out, the little one opened her mouth, and a piece of bone landed in Li Shi’s palm.
This gave Li Shi quite a fright, and she instinctively exclaimed, “Oh, Mother!”
Hearing her fourth daughter-in-law’s voice, Old Mrs. Xu looked over and immediately spotted the bone in Li Shi’s hand and Xiao Tianbao’s greasy little mouth.
She hurried over, pinched her precious granddaughter’s cheek, and anxiously pleaded with her.
“Sweet Bao’er, open your mouth and let Grandma take a look.”
Old Mrs. Xu hadn’t expected her precious granddaughter to be able to eat meat already. Her main concern was that the meat might have been stewed too tender, causing the bone and meat to separate. She feared the little one, unable to eat the meat, might swallow it whole and choke.
But when she pried open her mouth to look, Old Mrs. Xu also cried out, “Oh, Mother!”
This immediately drew the entire family’s attention to Old Mrs. Xu.
Xu Lao Nian’er was the fastest to react, darting over to Xu Tianbao in just a few steps.
And then there was one more person calling for Mother.
Liu Shi, who couldn’t get a front-row view, stood on her tiptoes but still couldn’t see anything. She grew so anxious she was scratching her head and ears.
Had their family’s precious darling really run into some trouble?
Just as she was getting anxious, Xu Hu squeezed through the gap between his father and second uncle’s legs.
“Teeth, teeth! Little sister has grown teeth!”
Liu Shi found this remark utterly exasperating.
As if she didn’t already know Xu Tianbao had teeth!
Hearing his son’s voice, Xu Dazhu straightened up and looked at his wife, his face also filled with astonishment.
“Oh my, incredible! Xiao Tianbao’s teeth have all grown in!”