Tai Jizu had no idea that his daughter was bringing him good fortune. He simply thought she was being affectionate with him, and happily stroked her again and again.
As a result, Zhuzhu had just finished a bowl of fish soup with soaked cornbread before she drifted back into a deep sleep.
Yang Lihua was observant and noticed that her daughter seemed a bit off. She whispered, "Father of my child, is our daughter feeling unwell? Why does she keep sleeping?"
Tai Jizu wasn't sure either, but he felt her forehead and found it wasn't hot, so he comforted his wife, "Don't worry. She probably took a hard knock. She's sleeping more to recover her spirits."
Yang Lihua had no choice but to say, "Put the fish soup away and let Zhuzhu have more tomorrow morning. Stay alert tonight and help me watch her to make sure she doesn't develop a fever.
"Also, don't touch her head anymore from now on. As the old saying goes, when a child is very young, their soul isn't settled yet. Touching their head can startle them."
Tai Jizu rubbed his nose, feeling a bit guilty. "She asked me to touch it, so I gave her a couple of pats. I didn't know it would startle her."
Yang Lihua wasn't truly angry with him. She quickly laid out the bedding and prepared to sleep.
The couple guarded their tiny daughter, sleeping in worn-out, tattered bedding.
Though the clumped cotton padding was a bit lumpy and uncomfortable, the two felt extraordinarily content.
The night was deep, and the north wind carried snow pellets that rattled against the window frames with a rustling sound.
The world had fallen into complete silence.
Suddenly, someone came running frantically through the darkness, then pounded "bang bang" on the Tai family's courtyard gate.
Old Master Tai was alert and was the first to get up. He threw on his heavy coat and went out to check.
"Who's knocking?"
In the dark night, Third Master Tai's aged and hoarse voice was especially clear. "Sixth Brother, open the door quickly! Something's happened! We need help to save a life!"
By this time, Tai Jizu and Tai Jizong had also come out.
Hearing this, Old Master Tai hurriedly told them to open the gate and let Third Master Tai and the others in.
Pine-torch lights were lit in the main room. They weren't bright, but they still clearly illuminated Third Master Tai and the man behind him.
Both looked terrible, especially the man, whose eyes were swollen.
He knelt directly before Old Master Tai and burst into loud sobs. "Sixth Uncle, I beg you to show mercy. Wuwu, please give our Tiedan a bowl of fish soup.
"It's all because I'm a useless father! Wuwu!"
The three men of the Tai family frowned, not knowing what had happened.
It was Third Master Tai who choked out an explanation. "Tiedan fell into an ice hole while fishing and got frozen. He's burning with fever now. We've tried everything, but I'm afraid… he might not make it.
"Sixth Brother, if you have any fish soup left at home, please share a mouthful with Tiedan. The boy is pitiful. Even in his feverish delirium, he keeps muttering about wanting fish soup."
Old Master Tai hesitated for a moment, then ultimately looked toward his eldest son.
Tai Jizu immediately understood and went into the west room. Old Master Tai went to the corner wall and took down his liquor gourd.
…
At the end of the village stood a dilapidated thatched hut with a collapsed roof. The north wind blew against the door and windows made of wooden slats, making them rattle noisily.
Inside, several villagers stood on the earthen floor. On the mud-brick bed, a woman in tattered clothes held a boy whose face was flushed red with fever, weeping as if her heart were being torn apart.
"Tiedan, oh, my Tiedan! You're breaking your mother's heart! Open your eyes! It's all my fault—I shouldn't have let you go to the river!"
But the boy's eyes remained tightly shut. He couldn't hear a thing.
The woman was utterly despairing. She grabbed a straw broom nearby and swung it wildly at the sky. "You blind, damned heavens! I'll fight you to the death!
"Every year it's either drought or flood, and the fields never yield grain. You might as well starve us all to death!
"My poor Tiedan! He's never had a single full meal in his whole life!"
The villagers wanted to console her, but when they opened their mouths, they didn't know what to say. They just wiped their eyes with their sleeves.
At the foot of the bed, hidden in a pile of rotten straw, were two thin, dark-skinned little girls with snot running from their noses. They didn't even have clothes—only a torn pair of pants barely covering their bottoms. They clung to each other, crying hard.
It was at this moment that Old Master Tai arrived. The villagers surged forward as if they'd seen a savior.
Old Master Tai opened his liquor gourd and poured out half a bowl of strong spirits, while Tai Jizu set down the clay pot of fish soup.
Tiedan's Mother froze for a moment, then her eyes slowly lit up. She set her son down and began kowtowing with heavy thuds.
"Wuwu, Sixth Uncle, I kowtow to you! Tiedan… Tiedan is saved!"
Old Master Tai waved his hand and urged, "We're family from the same clan. No need for such formalities. Hurry and rub the liquor on Tiedan—it brings the fever down fast!
"Thank goodness that lazy Third Brother scrounged around town and brought me half a gourd of liquor a few days ago. Otherwise, even I wouldn't have had a way to save Tiedan."
Tiedan's Mother insisted on kowtowing three more times before she began working with trembling hands.
Two neighbor women were afraid she might waste the precious liquor, so they helped as well. Soon Tiedan's body was rubbed even redder. When it came time to pile on the blankets to induce sweating, Third Master Tai glanced at the pile of rotten straw at the foot of the bed and could only call for his son to go home and bring back his own bedding.
Tiedan, reeking of liquor, was covered with a thick quilt and fed a bowl of hot fish soup.
Before long, beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead, layer after layer.
The villagers couldn't help but rejoice.
"Good, good! Sweating means the fever is breaking."
"This boy has been saved!"
Tiedan's father and mother were also wailing heartbreakingly, but Third Master Tai and Old Master Tai both let out a sigh of relief at the same time.
In the past two years, five or six half-grown boys in the clan had starved to death—they couldn't afford to lose any more.
…
When daylight broke, Zhuzhu, yawning and clinging to her mother's neck, sat down to breakfast with the family. On the table in the main room sat a basin of sorghum porridge thin enough to see one's reflection in, along with a basket of steamed cornmeal buns and half a plate of chopped pickled cucumbers.
The buns were steamed from chaff mixed with a couple handfuls of sorghum flour—dark and blackish, terribly hard to chew, and swallowing them felt like needles stabbing the throat.
Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue strained their thin necks, desperately trying to swallow their buns, their faces turning red from the effort.
Zhuzhu's mouth fell open in alarm, afraid her brothers' big heads might fall right off.
She stretched out her chubby little hand, struggling to push her half-bowl of fish soup toward her brothers, her pudgy baby cheeks bunching with the effort, until she finally squeezed out a single word: "Eat!"
The whole family was delighted and showered her with praise.
"Oh my, Zhuzhu's speech is getting clearer!"
"With more practice, she'll be able to say even more!"
Tai Yonglu and Tai Yongyue were overjoyed too, but the rest of the fish soup at home had been taken to save Tiedan—only this half-bowl had been left for their little sister, and they couldn't bear to drink it.
So they pulled their sleeves up to cover their mouths, pretending to take a sip from the soup bowl, smacking their lips loudly.
"So delicious! The fish soup little sister fed us is so fragrant!"
"Mmm, yeah, it's so good!"
The soft, chubby little girl truly believed her brothers had drunk the soup. With the small bruise on her forehead like a little "horn," she smiled with bright, sparkling eyes, like a lucky doll from a New Year painting.
Seeing this, Tai Jizu quickly brought it up with Old Master Tai again. "Father, after breakfast I'll take a stroll at the foot of the mountain—I absolutely won't go into the woods, alright?"
Old Master Tai looked at the chubby little girl with her mouth full of food, and finally nodded. "Wear my big coat. Go and come right back!"
Tai Jizu nodded hastily, while Tai Yongan, Tai Yonglu, and Tai Yongyue were already cheering.
Needless to say, they were going to tag along for the fun!