Just thinking about this made Old Mrs. Xu grit her teeth in anger.
Truth be told, Old Mrs. Xu’s dislike for Liu Shi wasn’t just because Liu Shi lacked tact and social grace—it was also deeply connected to that incident.
Earlier in the year, when Li Shi had just become pregnant, Xu Lao Si returned from the mountains with two wild pheasants.
Old Mrs. Xu slaughtered one and stewed a large pot of soup, allowing the family to enjoy a rare taste of meat.
The remaining hen was meant to be kept for laying eggs.
But the very next day, Liu Shi secretly took the hen back to her parents’ home.
Her excuse was that her sister-in-law had suffered a miscarriage and needed nourishment.
Knowing Old Mrs. Xu would be furious, Liu Shi knelt with a thud and began crying as soon as she returned and saw Old Mrs. Xu’s dark expression.
Between sobs, she went on about how difficult things were for her younger brother.
Seeing that her weeping had no effect on Old Mrs. Xu’s stony face, Liu Shi resorted to shameless defiance.
She declared outright that the chicken had already been eaten by her sister-in-law, and if Old Mrs. Xu wasn’t satisfied, she could have Xu Dazhu divorce her—leaving Xu Hu motherless.
This enraged Old Mrs. Xu, but for Xu Hu’s sake, she couldn’t do anything to Liu Shi.
Later, Xu Lao Si tried to console her, saying there were more pheasants in the mountains and he could always hunt again.
But no one expected that the very next day, while out hunting, Xu Lao Si would fall into a ravine.
When the Xu family waited all day without his return, Xu Lao Nian’er led Xu Dazhu and Xu Er Zhu up the mountain to search for him. They found him on the brink of death.
Driven by an intense desire to see his wife and unborn child one last time, he had dragged himself out of the ravine with a broken leg, crawling over the ridge until he collapsed and lost consciousness near the foot of the mountain.
If Xu Lao Nian’er and the others hadn’t arrived in time, Xu Lao Si—judging by the stark trail of blood he left behind on the snow—would likely have ended up as a meal for the Snow Wolf.
The three men carried Xu Lao Si home. Xu Lao Nian’er borrowed an oxcart from the village chief and rushed him through the night to the county town, heading straight for the best clinic.
But Xu Lao Si’s injuries were too severe. The physician prescribed expensive life-sustaining medicine, offering only a thirty percent chance of survival.
The family’s entire savings weren’t enough to cover even one dose of the medicine. Having never begged anyone in their lives, Xu Lao Nian’er and his wife swallowed their pride and went door-to-door in the village to borrow money. They also sent word to the families of Liu Shi, Zhao Shi, and Li Shi.
Money was tight for every household that year. Even after borrowing from every family in the village, Xu Lao Nian’er and Old Mrs. Xu still fell short by five hundred wen for the medicine.
Just then, Li Shi’s family sent three hundred wen, and Zhao Shi returned from her parents’ home with one hundred wen.
They were still short one hundred wen, and the Xu family hoped Liu Shi’s return would make up the difference.
But though Liu Shi returned, she brought back not a single wen, still claiming her family’s money had all been spent on her miscarried sister-in-law.
With no other choice, Xu Lao Nian’er went out to borrow again. But before he could secure the funds, Xu Lao Si succumbed to his injuries and passed away.
In the days that followed, the entire Xu household was steeped in grief.
They returned the borrowed money and used what little remained to hold a simple funeral for Xu Lao Si.
As relatives by marriage, Li Shi’s, Zhao Shi’s, and Liu Shi’s natal families naturally sent representatives—both to pay respects to the deceased and to offer assistance.
Only Liu Shi’s younger brother and his wife were exceptions; they hadn’t come for mourning or help but for the funeral feast.
Liu Shi’s sister-in-law couldn’t stop gossiping even while eating, whispering to her husband that the funeral meal was unpalatable compared to the mung bean cakes he’d bought yesterday. She added that with Xu Lao Si gone, they’d have to spend money if they wanted meat in the future.
Old Mrs. Xu happened to overhear this as she passed behind them.
Recalling the chicken Liu Shi had taken to her natal family earlier, and how that same family refused to lend even a hundred coins to save her fourth son’s life yet splurged on three-hundred-coin-per-catty mung bean cakes for their daughter-in-law—
In an instant, a surge of fury shot through Old Mrs. Xu’s skull, incinerating all reason.
She strode over to Liu Shi’s brother and sister-in-law, seized both by their collars, and despite her frail build, hoisted them up effortlessly.
Liu Shi’s parents, who were seated nearby, rose to intervene, but Old Mrs. Xu shoved them out too, herding the entire group out of her home.
By the time Liu Shi realized what was happening and rushed to stop it, Old Mrs. Xu gave her an ultimatum:
Either leave with her natal family and never return to the Xu household, or remain faithfully as a Xu daughter-in-law, severing all ties between the two families henceforth.
Though her parents and brother were dear to her, Liu Shi ultimately chose to stay with the Xus.
Outwardly, she claimed it was for her son’s sake, but in truth, her family had been signaling frantically for her to placate Old Mrs. Xu.
After all, if Liu Shi returned home unemployed and needing food, her parents and brother wanted no part of it.
Unaware of their true motives, Liu Shi believed they were sacrificing their own comfort to spare her hardship.
From that day on, Liu Shi became far more subdued, no longer daring to smuggle goods from the Xu household to her natal family.
Of course, with Xu Lao Si—the family’s most skilled hunter—gone, there was little left worth smuggling.
Yet after half a year of compliance, the moment something valuable appeared, Liu Shi reverted to old habits.
Old Mrs. Xu cleaved the pork on the cutting board in two with one stroke, then glanced up at Liu Shi’s simpering face.
“Heh. Your family wants meat? Fine! Let your brother come tend our tiger. If he pleases Hu Zai, maybe the big tiger will toss a whole hog into their yard—enough to feed them for two months!”
The retort struck Liu Shi speechless.
Ever since Hu Zai arrived, she’d been avoiding Li Shi’s quarters entirely. The memory of Snow Wolf baring its teeth at them remained vivid, and even though the creature in Li Shi’s room was still a cub, she dared not provoke it—let alone expect her brother to.
But now, with the meat right in her grasp, she couldn’t let it slip away.
Just as Liu Shi gathered herself to speak again, Old Mrs. Xu cut in first.
“There’s another way. If you insist on sending some meat to your parents’ home, then you don’t eat your portion—send that over instead. I won’t stop you.”
Upon hearing her mother-in-law suggest giving away her own share of meat to her parents’ home, Liu Shi immediately fell silent.
Giving up her own portion was absolutely out of the question—she hadn’t tasted meat in nearly a year.
But she could still think of other ways.
At worst, she could sneak in at night to take some. As long as she was careful, no one would notice. That’s how she had managed to sneak out the chicken that Old Four had hunted earlier, under the cover of darkness.
Seeing her eyes darting around, Old Mrs. Xu knew exactly what she was scheming.
A cold smirk tugged at her lips. They say a fall into a pit, a gain in your wit—she had already been tricked once by Liu Shi and wasn’t about to let it happen again.
Just as they were finishing up with the meat, Li Shi arrived in the kitchen, carrying Hu Zai in her arms.
At the sight of Hu Zai, Liu Shi shrieked, “Oh, Mother!” and leaped three feet into the air, quickly hiding behind Zhao Shi. She only dared to steal furtive glances at Li Shi and Hu Zai out of the corner of her eye.
Old Mrs. Xu was quite surprised to see Li Shi willing to leave Tianbao’s side and even bringing Hu Zai to the kitchen.
“What brings you here? And with Hu Zai, too?”
Hearing her mother-in-law’s puzzled tone, Li Shi and Hu Zai exchanged helpless looks, both wearing expressions of resignation. Hu Zai even had a hint of frustration on his face.
Letting out a weak “aowu” toward Old Mrs. Xu, Hu Zai buried his head in Li Shi’s armpit.
Unfortunately, Old Mrs. Xu didn’t understand tiger language, so Li Shi had to translate.
Patting Hu Zai’s back, Li Shi sighed helplessly. “Mother, Tianbao can’t stand the smell of blood on Hu Zai and absolutely refuses to let him get close. I had to bring him here to boil some water and wash the scent off him.”
When it came to Xiao Tianbao, Old Mrs. Xu didn’t mind the trouble or the extra firewood.
“Alright then, give him a good wash. I’ll go keep an eye on Tianbao.”
With that, Old Mrs. Xu left.
Her steps, originally headed toward Old Four’s room, paused briefly before she turned toward her own room instead.
She might as well change her clothes! She didn’t want the smell of blood on her to offend Xiao Tianbao—it wouldn’t do if her precious granddaughter refused to let her near either.
By the time Li Shi had finished washing Hu Zai, dried him by the stove, and carried him back to her room, it was already noon.
In winter, households in Fu’an Village typically ate only two meals a day, and the Xu family was no exception. No one found it strange that Xu Lao Nian’er hadn’t returned home for lunch.
It wasn’t until the afternoon, when Zhao Shi had already stewed the pork with cabbage and let it simmer in the pot for nearly half an hour, and Xiao Tianbao had finished two bowls of goat’s milk, that Xu Lao Nian’er finally returned home.
As soon as he stepped inside, Xu Lao Nian’er ignored the faint aroma of meat wafting through the air. Hearing his wife’s voice in Old Four’s room, he headed straight there.
Before Old Mrs. Xu could react, he snatched Xiao Tianbao from her arms and covered her with enthusiastic kisses.
He showered her with praise as he kissed her. “Grandpa’s precious granddaughter! You’re truly our little lucky charm!”
This outburst left Old Mrs. Xu momentarily stunned.
Having lived with Xu Lao Nian’er for most of her life, she had never seen the old man express his emotions so openly before.
Seeing Xiao Tianbao repeatedly push her grandfather’s face away with her tiny hands, Old Mrs. Xu quickly retrieved her treasure and pulled her back into her own arms. She shot a glare at her husband, whose face was now crinkled with laughter.
“What’s going on? Did the village chief give you silver? Why are you so happy?”
Xu Lao Nian’er was playing with Xiao Tianbao, his laughter so wide you could see his teeth but not his eyes. His fingers teased his little granddaughter as he answered Old Mrs. Xu’s question without looking up.
“Ah! This is a great matter concerning two lives in our family!”
His hand, which had been shaking Xiao Tianbao’s, stilled. Old Mrs. Xu grew even more puzzled.
What matter could possibly involve two lives in their family?