Normally, Zhao Shi would have followed right on Liu Shi’s heels.
She couldn’t let Liu Shi hog all the benefits alone!
But this time, knowing the full story, Zhao Shi merely curled her lip as she watched Liu Shi walk away with the bowl.
Hearing her mother-in-law’s question, Zhao Shi quickly stepped forward, her face wearing an expression as if she’d seen something extraordinary.
“Mother, it’s goat milk, freshly milked goat milk.”
Not understanding why a simple bowl of goat milk would make Zhao Shi look so astonished, Old Mrs. Xu casually replied while swaying her arms to soothe the Little Dumpling in her embrace.
“Did Old Cui’s goat give birth? That’s wonderful! Tell your father to arrange with the Cui family—our Bao’er will have milk to drink from now on!”
There was only one household in their village that kept a few goats, but they had never given birth in winter before.
As she spoke, Old Mrs. Xu leaned closer to the Little Dumpling’s face, intending to plant a kiss on the child’s pink cheeks.
Unfortunately, the Little Dumpling wasn’t having it. The moment Old Mrs. Xu drew near, the little one scrunched up her face with discontented murmurs, waving her tiny hands to keep her grandmother at bay.
Seeing how amused her mother-in-law was with the child, Zhao Shi took two more steps closer to Old Mrs. Xu.
“No, Mother, it’s not from the Cui family. It’s a wild Black Mountain Goat from the mountains! A mother goat with her Little Lamb came down from the mountain on their own and walked right into our courtyard.”
At this, Old Mrs. Xu was stunned.
“They came down the mountain by themselves? Into our home? A mother goat? With her young?”
Old Mrs. Xu’s eyes widened, and her arms, which had been rocking the Little Dumpling, stilled.
This was truly extraordinary!
Although the mountain bordering their Fu’an Village wasn’t large, it was teeming with fierce beasts like tigers, snow wolves, and wild boars.
Herbivores like mountain goats, usually chased all over the mountains by tigers and snow wolves, were exceptionally wary.
Even when the men from their village went up fully armed to hunt, they rarely managed to bag a single goat, let alone have one walk down the mountain on its own—and with a young one at that.
Zhao Shi continued excitedly, recounting how that morning, Xu Lao Nian’er had intended to go to the village to find someone who could provide some milk. But the moment he opened the door, he saw two goats, one large and one small, strolling down from the mountain.
Without any human guidance, as soon as the two goats saw the Xu family’s gate open, the larger one let out a “baa” to the smaller one and walked straight into the Xu family’s courtyard.
The little lamb, hearing its mother’s call, pressed close to her sturdy body and followed into the courtyard.
After finding a spot it liked in the yard, the large goat waited for a while. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, she let out another “baa” toward Xu Lao Nian’er.
Then, Xu Lao Nian’er watched as the little lamb sniffed the air, nudged up under its mother’s belly, and began to gulp down milk noisily.
It was then that Xu Lao Nian’er realized—the goat had come to provide milk for their little granddaughter!
He quickly called Zhao Shi out, had her fetch a large bowl, and after the little lamb had finished nursing, Xu Lao Nian’er personally stepped forward and milked a full bowl of goat milk.
Worried that raw milk might be too harsh for his little granddaughter, Xu Lao Nian’er instructed Zhao Shi to boil the milk before giving it to the child.
Zhao Shi grew increasingly animated and exaggerated in her storytelling, while Li Shi listened to her second sister-in-law’s tale with rapt attention. Not only was she listening intently, but her facial expressions shifted along with Zhao Shi’s narration, much like a child hearing mythical stories from adults for the first time.
Compared to Li Shi, Old Mrs. Xu remained far calmer, having witnessed even more miraculous scenes than the one Zhao Shi was currently describing.
Just as Zhao Shi was getting carried away with her vivid account, sudden exclamations from Liu Shi and the wailing of her son Xu Hu erupted in the courtyard. Soon after, Liu Shi’s curses pierced through the walls into the room.
“You damned beast! So what if I milked you a little? How dare you butt my son? I’ll slaughter your little lamb and stew it into soup, see if I don’t!”
Liu Shi’s shrill voice grated on the ears, and the Little Dumpling in Old Mrs. Xu’s arms seemed disturbed by her eldest aunt’s noise. Frowning slightly, the little one awoke with soft whimpers. Hearing the terrified bleating of the Little Lamb outside, the little girl’s lips trembled and she began crying along.
This was the last straw. Old Mrs. Xu, who had merely been grim-faced due to Liu Shi’s clamor, now boiled with anger. Under normal circumstances, she would have rushed out to discipline the unruly Liu Shi, but the granddaughter in her arms made her reluctant to let go. After a moment’s thought, Old Mrs. Xu signaled to Zhao Shi with her eyes.
“Go, call your eldest sister-in-law inside. All that screeching outside—does she want the whole world to know we’ve got two new goats?”
Following her mother-in-law’s order, Zhao Shi hurried out. The moment she stepped outside, she spotted the large bowl shattered in two on the ground, her heart aching at the sight. Such a bowl cost eight copper coins! Looking up, she saw Xu Hu with two hoof prints stamped on his chest and a swollen face, and couldn’t help but feel amused.
This brat, basking in his status as the Xu family’s only male descendant and Old Mrs. Xu’s favor, had often bullied her two daughters. Seeing him get his comeuppance naturally brought her some satisfaction. Then she noticed Liu Shi holding Xu Hu, both covered in large hoof prints, and Zhao Shi’s amusement grew. Suppressing her laughter with great effort, she adopted a concerned expression and approached Liu Shi as if to help her up.
“Oh dear! What happened here? Sister-in-law, how did you and Hu Zi end up like this? And how did this bowl get broken?” When mentioning the broken bowl, Zhao Shi deliberately raised her voice slightly.
Sure enough, at the mention of the broken bowl, a flicker of panic crossed Liu Shi’s face, and she immediately turned to look toward Li Shi’s room. Hearing no movement from her mother-in-law inside, Liu Shi turned back and glared at Zhao Shi, raising her voice even louder.
“It’s all because of this damned goat! Hu Zi wanted some goat milk, so I thought I’d squeeze him a bowl. But this wretched animal wouldn’t let me near it and even kicked Hu Zi!”
Fearing punishment from Old Mrs. Xu over the broken bowl, Liu Shi quickly brought up Xu Hu—after all, the old lady doted on her grandson the most.
While Zhao Shi had been amused by Liu Shi’s miserable state, hearing her use Xu Hu as a shield made her smile stiffen. Hmph! She really does flaunt having given birth to a son. Her eyes darting craftily, Zhao Shi spoke again with feigned cheerfulness.
“Ahem, well, eldest sister-in-law, that goat doesn’t have much milk to begin with. It needs to be saved for Xiao Tianbao.”
A girl just needs to survive without starving, does she really expect to eat her fill every meal? Such sweet goat’s milk—her own Xu Hu hasn’t even tasted it yet!
Liu Shi grumbled inwardly. Just as she was about to speak, Xu Hu, whom she held in her arms, spoke first.
“Mother! I want goat’s milk! Get me goat’s milk! All the goat’s milk is mine! Don’t give any to that money-losing burden! Liu Gou Dan said that girl is nothing but a jinx! Don’t give her any milk—let that jinx starve to death!”