Liu Chen-shi gritted her teeth in fury when she heard Shen Danyun call her a fake grandmother. That fool wasn’t acting foolish anymore. Could it be that her dead father was somehow protecting her?
A chill crept over Liu Chen-shi’s body. This girl was becoming more and more eerie. Better to stay far away from her.
“Today is the old man’s birthday! We finally made some decent food, and before he’s even had a bite, you three little jinxes come rushing over to steal it. Have you no conscience at all?” Seeing the three children heading toward the table, Liu Chen-shi no longer dared hit them, but she shouted anxiously instead.
Just then, Liu Changgeng and his wife Wang Xiaoyan pushed through the crowd and entered. The moment Wang Xiaoyan saw Shen Danyun with blood streaming from her head, her face darkened with rage.
“Liu Chen-shi, what exactly did you promise us back then? The three children are starving to skin and bones, and for eating one steamed bun you beat her until her head split open. Are you even human? Since you failed to take care of these children, you can forget about getting the silver.”
Old Man Liu, who had just stepped out of the main hall, shouted loudly, “My son died trying to save your husband! Is asking for one hundred taels too much?”
Wang Xiaoyan immediately snapped back, “Was Brother Shen your son? Aren’t your two sons standing there perfectly fine?”
Eleven years ago, Shen Chengzhi had arrived at Dashan Village with his heavily pregnant wife to settle down. No one knew where he came from. He only said that floods had destroyed his hometown and he had fled as a refugee.
When Old Man Liu saw that Shen Chengzhi immediately built a large brick-and-tile house upon arrival, he knew the man had money. Like a leech, he latched onto him at once.
Shen Chengzhi was new to the village and didn’t want bad relations with the locals, so he humored Old Man Liu and acknowledged him as a godfather.
“How is he not my son? He called me godfather for so many years. You don’t get to deny it,” Old Man Liu declared stubbornly.
“You shamelessly forced yourself on Brother Shen as a godfather only to sponge off him. Don’t think people didn’t see through your intentions. Brother Shen already cut ties with your family long ago, so stop hiding behind this fake kinship,” Wang Xiaoyan sneered.
After becoming sworn kin, Shen Chengzhi would always share extra game with the Liu family after hunting trips. Thanks to his support, Old Man Liu’s family lived rather comfortably.
That lasted until Liu Dagui, Old Man Liu’s second son, racked up a gambling debt of five hundred taels and debt collectors came knocking.
To repay the debt, Liu Dagui took advantage of Shen Chengzhi being away hunting. He lied to Zhang Guilan that Shen Chengzhi had been gravely injured and urgently needed money for treatment. He tricked Zhang Guilan and her three children into leaving, then tried to sell them off and even used the house deed as collateral.
If Shen Chengzhi hadn’t returned in time, his family would have been destroyed. Furious, he nearly killed Liu Dagui before publicly severing all ties with the Liu family, declaring they would never associate again.
Last year, while hunting in the mountains, Shen Chengzhi saved Liu Changgeng from a giant python but ended up entangled by the beast himself and fell off a cliff. His body was never found.
After days of fruitless searching, everyone assumed Shen Chengzhi had already been swallowed by the snake, and the search was abandoned.
Taking advantage of the situation, Old Man Liu moved his entire family into the Shen residence, claiming publicly that he was caring for the widow and orphans of his godson.
Liu Changgeng and Wang Xiaoyan had no choice but to entrust the mother and children to Old Man Liu. They promised him one hundred taels of silver after three months if he took good care of them.
To earn enough money, Liu Changgeng and Wang Xiaoyan set up a food stall in town. Today was the agreed date to hand over the silver, and the couple had finally scraped together enough money and hurried back.
But as soon as they returned, they heard rumors that Sister-in-law Zhang had run off with another man. Naturally, they didn’t believe it. Then they heard the Liu family had been abusing the children, so they immediately dropped their luggage and rushed over.
“Today is the day we agreed on. No need for all this nonsense. Hand over the silver,” Old Man Liu pressed anxiously, afraid Liu Changgeng might back out.
“I owe Brother Shen my life, so I would never go back on my word. I agreed to pay you because you promised to take care of the widow and children. But in just three short months, Sister-in-law has vanished.
I never should have let you move in. My carelessness harmed her. If I can’t find her, I’ll never repay Brother Shen’s lifesaving kindness,” Liu Changgeng said painfully.
“That slut ran off with some wild man on her own. We’re the ones raising these three kids. Without us, they’d have starved to death already. Hurry up and hand over the money,” shouted Liu Dafu, Old Man Liu’s eldest son, equally afraid the silver would slip away.
“You dare talk about raising them? If the villagers hadn’t secretly helped these children, they would’ve starved long ago. I was blind to ever trust you to care for them,” Liu Changgeng replied angrily.
“How Zhang-sao disappeared is something only your family knows best. You’d better pray I don’t find evidence against you, or I won’t let you off. As for the silver? Dream on,” Wang Xiaoyan burst out furiously.
“Don’t you slander us! Zhang Guilan couldn’t stay faithful and abandoned her children to run off with another man,” Liu Chen-shi yelled.
While everyone argued heatedly, no one noticed the three children sitting at the table stuffing themselves.
Shen Danyun tore off two chicken drumsticks, handing one to Shen Danyue and the other to Shen Wentao, while she herself grabbed a chicken wing and started gnawing on it. In moments, nothing remained of the chicken except a pile of bones.
“Big Sister, chicken legs are so delicious. If only we could eat every day,” Shen Wentao said while gulping down rice porridge.
“Slow down. Don’t worry, Big Sister won’t let you go hungry anymore,” Shen Danyun said. Since she had accepted this body, she would also take care of the original owner’s family.
“Big Sister, I’m full already. There are still so many buns left. Can we save them for tonight?” Shen Danyue asked reluctantly while staring at the plate of steamed buns.
“Of course. I’ll hide them away, and we can eat them tonight if we get hungry, okay?” Although Shen Danyun’s storage space contained more food than they could ever finish, seeing Shen Danyue’s reluctant expression made her want to tuck the buns away.
“Mhm! Big Sister, I’ll stand guard for you. Hurry and hide them!” Shen Danyue nodded vigorously, her bright eyes darting around warily.
Pretending to stuff them into her clothes, Shen Danyun secretly transferred all eight remaining buns into her spatial storage.
Since it was Old Man Shen’s birthday, there was plenty of food prepared. After the three children ate and packed away food, the dishes were quickly emptied clean.
“You’re just making excuses. Today’s the agreed payment date. Don’t even think about refusing to pay,” Old Man Liu insisted. He was the sort of man who’d try to pluck a leg off a passing mosquito—there was no way he’d let the silver escape.
Wang Xiaoyan refused to back down. “No matter what, we’re not giving the silver to you. Once we find Sister-in-law, I’ll hand the money directly to her. You’d better pray her disappearance has nothing to do with you, otherwise I’ll report you to the authorities and have you thrown in jail.”
Then she turned to Liu Changgeng. “Husband, go fetch Doctor Liu from the east side of the village to examine our niece. Her head is bleeding badly—they’re trying to beat her to death!”
As Wang Xiaoyan spoke, she turned to look for the three children.
Suddenly, with a loud clang, everyone turned toward the sound. A clay basin had fallen to the ground and rolled across the floor, spilling rice soup everywhere.