During the meal, Xu Lao Nian’er was unusually quiet. He didn’t touch any dishes, only shoveling Coarse Grain Rice into his mouth.
Although his usual temperament matched his name—rarely speaking much—Old Mrs. Xu, who had lived with him for a lifetime, still noticed her husband’s unusually foul mood.
She placed a chopstickful of cabbage into Xu Lao Nian’er’s bowl and took the opportunity when he looked up at her to give him an inquiring glance.
Shaking his head gently, Xu Lao Nian’er indicated that nothing was wrong, then shoved the cabbage along with the Coarse Grain Rice into his mouth in one bite.
Though not as perceptive about her father-in-law as her mother-in-law, Zhao Shi was skilled at reading Old Mrs. Xu’s expressions.
Sensing something off about the two elders, Zhao Shi quickly finished the rice in her bowl, said a word to Old Mrs. Xu, and hurried back to her room with Xu Er Zhu’s meal.
Liu Shi, sitting beside her, had seen Zhao Shi scoop a large spoonful of stewed cabbage and grew anxious, fearing that if Zhao Shi took too much, their Xu Dazhu wouldn’t have enough vegetables to eat.
She hastily finished the rice in her own bowl and, imitating Zhao Shi, began scooping vegetables for Xu Dazhu.
But Liu Shi’s imitation was clumsy—far from Zhao Shi’s neat efficiency. Liu Shi practically wanted to scrape the vegetable bowl clean.
As she scooped, she muttered under her breath.
“Oh, our Dazhu is so loyal! For the sake of his little niece, he broke his leg like this and can’t work now. If Dazhu’s leg weren’t broken, how could Father go up the mountain alone to gather firewood! But it’s worth it for our little niece! I just don’t know when Dazhu’s leg will…”
Liu Shi rambled on, ostensibly expressing concern for her father-in-law having to gather firewood alone, but in reality, she was both lodging a complaint and fishing for credit.
Thinking she had spoken more skillfully than the second daughter-in-law this time, she completely failed to notice Xu Lao Nian’er’s expression growing darker and darker.
Hearing Liu Shi repeatedly mention “for the little niece,” Xu Lao Nian’er finally couldn’t take it anymore.
With a sharp “smack,” he slammed his chopsticks on the table. He thumped his rice bowl heavily onto the table, eyes wide and glaring at Liu Shi, his eyebrows bristling.
“Eldest daughter-in-law, can’t even eating shut your mouth? If you’re done, hurry back to your room. Why aren’t you worried about Dazhu going hungry now?”
This was the first time Liu Shi had seen her father-in-law lose his temper, and she was so frightened she dropped her chopsticks.
They say quiet people’s anger is more terrifying, and Liu Shi was now experiencing it firsthand.
“Father, I didn’t mean anything by it, I…”
Liu Shi wanted to explain a bit more to Xu Lao Nian’er, but Old Mrs. Xu didn’t let her continue.
This brainless daughter-in-law truly had no sense of reading the room.
“Enough, Dazhu must be hungry. Hurry and take the food to him.”
This time, Liu Shi truly didn’t dare say another word. She quickly picked up the food and returned to her room.
After the daughters-in-law had gone back to their rooms, Old Mrs. Xu placed another chopstickful of cabbage into Xu Lao Nian’er’s bowl.
“What’s wrong? Why such a big temper?”
Xu Lao Nian’er glanced at his wife, sighed, and then began to recount his experience in the mountains that morning.
Because both Xu Dazhu and Xu Er Zhu had broken legs, only Xu Lao Nian’er had gone into the mountains to gather firewood today.
In the mountains, he encountered many villagers who had also come to gather firewood. Seeing him pushing the flatbed cart into the mountains alone, they began asking questions.
Since there were also many women who had accompanied their husbands into the mountains, Xu Lao Nian’er didn’t want to share too much about his family affairs. He brushed them off with a couple of vague responses before moving on.
But he hadn’t gone far when he overheard the villagers gossiping behind him.
In truth, those who asked about Xu Dazhu and Xu Er Zhu weren’t genuinely concerned about his family’s situation—they were more interested in the drama.
Seeing that Xu Lao Nian’er had left and assuming he was out of earshot, the women grew increasingly unrestrained in their chatter.
“Hey, why even bother asking him? That Xu Lao Nian’er’s lips are tighter than a clam—you won’t get anything out of him!”
“Well, since we ran into him, I figured I’d ask! You have no idea how wild the stories from Liu Lao Pozi and Chen Lao Pozi have been.”
“What kind of wild stories?”
“About that little girl born to Xu Lao Si’s family. They say right after she was born, she caused Xu Dazhu and Xu Er Zhu to break their legs—she’s even worse than a jinx!”
“Whoa! Really? But that child’s fate is truly harsh. Li Shi got pregnant right after Xu Lao Si passed, and now with the older brothers injured like this… Raising such a Little Evil Star at home, who knows what else will happen to the Xu family in the coming days!”
“I think so too. Just wait and see—the Xu family won’t have any peace.”
Recounting the incident step by step, Xu Lao Nian’er grew angrier as he spoke, his face darkening with rage.
Compared to him, Old Mrs. Xu’s expression was even more grim.
In a flash, Old Mrs. Xu sprang to her feet, planted her hands on her hips, and stormed toward the door.
“Pah! Those damned old hags Liu Lao Pozi and Chen Lao Pozi! My granddaughter is a Reincarnated Phoenix! How dare they spread rumors about my Xiao Tianbao! Today, I’m going to tear their filthy mouths to shreds! Calling my Tianbao a jinx? They’re the ones who are like dung reincarnated as humans—filthy, rotten-hearted scum!”
Seeing his wife growing increasingly agitated and seemingly ready to take action, Xu Lao Nian’er quickly stood up to stop her.
Just as he grabbed Old Mrs. Xu’s arm and tried to calm her down, Li Shi’s terrified cries suddenly rang out from her room.
“Tianbao! My Tianbao! Mother! Tianbao’s gone! My Tianbao is missing!”
Hearing Li Shi’s panicked and urgent shouts, Old Mrs. Xu and Xu Lao Nian’er forgot their anger and rushed straight to Li Shi’s room.
Even Zhao Shi and Liu Shi, who had been in their own rooms, came running out.
However, their expressions differed—one showed some concern, while the other held a hint of schadenfreude.
But no one paid attention to their expressions at that moment.
All four of them crowded into Li Shi’s room, where they found her frantically searching the kang, but only Tianbao’s small quilt remained—the child was nowhere to be seen.
Now, not only Li Shi but also Old Mrs. Xu and Xu Lao Nian’er were seized with panic.
Their precious granddaughter was missing!
Having woken up to find her daughter gone, Li Shi was already on the verge of collapse. Seeing her in-laws’ horrified expressions, she couldn’t bear it any longer and fainted on the spot.
Due to years of famine and war, crop yields had been worsening year after year. Many had starved to death in recent years, and occasional cases of child abduction had been heard of.
A terrifying possibility crossed her mind, making Old Mrs. Xu feel dizzy for a moment.
But now was not the time to faint.
Swallowing hard, Old Mrs. Xu forced herself to steady her nerves and pointed at Zhao Shi. “Second daughter-in-law, you stay home and take care of Fourth daughter-in-law. Eldest daughter-in-law, you come with us to search. Hurry!”
After speaking, Old Mrs. Xu and Xu Lao Nian’er immediately turned toward the door.
Liu Shi, who also thought this little niece was quite strange and wasn’t very willing to help, quickly followed the two after her mother-in-law turned back and glared at her.
Just as they were about to step out, Xu Lao Nian’er suddenly stopped them.
“What’s wrong, old man?” Anxious to find her precious granddaughter, Old Mrs. Xu’s tone was urgent.
Xu Lao Nian’er looked at the footprints by the door and shared his thoughts. “Look, the snow has been heavy these past two days, so anyone passing through would definitely leave footprints. Let’s search around the house—we’re bound to find traces. That’s better than searching blindly with our eyes closed.”
Old Mrs. Xu agreed that her husband made sense and quickly began searching around the house with Liu Shi.
However, after circling the house once, they found no human footprints at all.
Not even animal footprints.
“Old man, what do we do now? Could our Tianbao have flown away?” Clutching her husband’s arm, Old Mrs. Xu was so frantic she was nearly in tears.
Liu Shi, overhearing her mother-in-law’s words, was stunned. Had her mother-in-law gone mad with worry? How could a newborn baby just days old grow wings and fly away?
Meanwhile, Xu Lao Nian’er frowned at the footprints in front of their door and patted his wife’s arm to calm her down.
He looked up at Liu Shi and asked, “Eldest daughter-in-law, where’s Hu Zi?”