Over the past few days, Little Fuyuan did nothing but eat and sleep, and sleep and eat. As an infant, she could not distinguish between dreams and reality.
In her dreams, she lay in a white room. Her head was smooth and bald, her hair gone. Many uncles and aunts wearing white coats surrounded her. A voice whispered in her ear, telling her she was an angel who had come to Earth. After saving other children, she was to fly away to a beautiful new world.
She saw the children she had saved. A young boy took off his bandages and gasped, “So the daylight is this bright!” A little girl placed her hand over her heart and cried out happily, “It’s beating! It’s really beating!” She was very proud. She was a great hero!
She saw her weeping Mama.
“Mama, I’m going to a beautiful new world. Mama, don’t cry anymore. We’ll see each other again,” she said to her Mama.
Mama changed her into her favorite princess dress and held her, kissing her forehead over and over. She was surrounded by fresh flowers, and among them were her favorite dolls and her favorite strawberry cake.
“Mama’s Little Yuan-yuan, I hope your next life is free of illness and disaster. May you be healthy, safe, and blessed with a long and full life…” Mama prayed in a low voice as she placed her among the flowers.
“Okay, Mama. I will.”
Little Fuyuan waved her hand and followed the guiding angel, flying toward the light.
Oh, why is it so noisy? Why is there someone chanting in my ear every day!
The Bai family members were gathered around the sleeping Little Fuyuan, chattering away.
“Sister’s eyelashes are so long!”
“Sister’s face is so tender!”
“Sister’s nose is so beautiful!”
“Sister’s hair is so black!”
Bai Muban and Madam Zhen watched their sons and grandsons with beaming smiles as they marveled at Little Fuyuan. This warm and festive scene brought the couple a sense of happiness they had never felt before.
Grandmother Bai sat by the bedside. She, who usually wore a stern expression, now looked at her grandchildren with a face full of kindness. Having a girl in the house truly made a difference; the house, despite its four bare walls, no longer felt desolate.
“I see that our sister is as radiant as spring blossoms and as bright as the spring moon.”
The one speaking so poetically was the second son of the Bai family, Bai Erzhuang. He was the most educated representative among the brothers and the first scholar (Xiucai) of Shenshu Village. His family name was Bai Erzhuang, and his courtesy name was Bai Qili.
“Second Brother, what do you mean by that?” Bai Dazhuang felt his brother spoke well, but he couldn’t understand him.
“It means that Sister’s appearance is as fresh and vivid as spring flowers, and her fair skin is as clear and ethereal as autumn moonlight,” Bai Erzhuang explained.
“Erzhuang, speak properly. Don’t go spouting bookish phrases at home. Flowers and moons? How can they compare to your sister?” Bai Muban coughed and scolded Bai Erzhuang with a stern face. So what if he was a scholar? A scholar must still speak in a way that people can understand.
Bai Erzhuang: “…”
“Father, why does Sister sleep so much? She’s like a little pig.”
The one who spoke was the third son, Bai Sanzhuang. Bai Muban glared at his third son. He had never noticed before how vulgar Sanzhuang’s speech was. Like a little pig? Is that any way to describe a girl?
“You’re the pig! When you were little, you slept much more than your sister. You wouldn’t even wake up after making a mess of the whole bed.” Bai Muban bluntly exposed his third son’s embarrassing childhood stories.
“Father, I’ve already finished my apprenticeship at the lacquerware shop. How can you still talk about me like that?” Bai Sanzhuang looked aggrieved. He was now a key candidate for a future shop manager, but compared to his sister, he was nothing.
“Even if you become the Emperor of Heaven, if I want to scold you, you’ll listen,” Bai Muban glared.
Bai Sanzhuang: “Yes, yes, yes. Father, you are right about everything.” This only earned him a look of disdain from Bai Muban.
Today, all the sons were present except for the fourth son, Bai Sizhuang. Bai Erzhuang, Sanzhuang, and Sizhuang usually stayed in town—one was a teacher at a private school, one was a shop hand at a lacquerware shop, and one was a student. Because of the heavy snow, Erzhuang and Sanzhuang had worried about the cold at home and bought a cart of charcoal to bring back.
The moment they entered the village, they heard from the gossip corps at the entrance that they had a new sister. The two brothers were beyond happy. As soon as they got home, they dived into the main room to see her. She was indeed beautiful, with a pink, round little face and skin like white jade.
Why is it so noisy?
Little Fuyuan struggled to open her large, dark, grape-like eyes, looking at everything before her in confusion.
Where am I? Where are my dolls? Where is my pink princess dress? Little Fuyuan was completely stunned. Why was she surrounded by so many uncles… no, brothers? And why weren’t they wearing white coats?
Could they be one family? This family… really, how did they manage to have only sons? Little Fuyuan was deeply shocked. Furthermore, how was this family so poor?
She widened her black-and-white eyes. The house was so dilapidated; the walls were made of mud, the table had a broken leg, and the teacups were chipped. Their clothes were so old, covered in dense patches here and there.
Little Fuyuan pouted. Didn’t they say she was an angel going to a beautiful new world? This world in front of her wasn’t beautiful at all. It was even poorer than the village where her Mama had once gone to teach as a volunteer. Little Fuyuan felt a bit wronged.
“Sister, I’m your fifth brother.” Bai Zhaomei leaned over the bed, looking at Little Fuyuan with a face full of smiles.
Little Fuyuan’s eyes darted toward Bai Zhaomei.
“Sister can understand me!” Bai Zhaomei shouted in surprise.
Bai Dazhuang felt a bit jealous. He was the eldest; he should have been the first to introduce himself. Why did Fifth Brother jump in?
“Sister, I’m your eldest brother.” Bai Dazhuang pushed his fifth brother aside, bringing his honest face close to Little Fuyuan. Afraid of scaring the porcelain-doll-like little sister, Bai Dazhuang lowered his voice and tried his best to squeeze out a sweet smile.
Little Fuyuan’s eyes turned toward Bai Dazhuang. Oh, Sister knows he is the eldest brother! Sister looked at him!
“Sister, I’m Second Brother.” Hmm, this brother looks quite quiet.
“Sister, I’m Third Brother.” Oh, this brother looks quite handsome.
“Sister, you also have a Fourth Brother who hasn’t come home yet.” Ah, why are there so many brothers?
Little Fuyuan saw a row of round heads before her. What about sisters? How many sisters are there?
She remembered a time her Mama had taken her to the village where she once taught. There was a family with three daughters the size of beans. One was stir-frying in the kitchen, one was feeding pigs in the yard, and one was looking after her younger brother…
Little Fuyuan’s imagination ran wild, and the music for “The North Wind Blows, Snowflakes Flutter” seemed to play in her mind. Being in such a poor family, surrounded by a nest of sons, would her life be too miserable?
Before she could shed a tear, her eldest brother’s next words put her mind at ease.
“Sister, you are the very first girl in our Bai family. Grandma, Father, and Mother have looked forward to this for so many years,” Bai Dazhuang said with emotion. “Our family hasn’t had a girl for several generations. You are the only precious daughter of the Bai family now.”
Bai Zhaomei immediately added, “Sister, to wish for your arrival, Father named Fourth Brother ‘Panmei’ (Longing for a Sister), but he didn’t bring you. Then Father named me ‘Zhaomei’ (Beckoning a Sister), and it was I who brought you here!”
Bai Zhaomei clenched his fists and puffed out his chest. Hmph, from now on, when the village kids teased him about his name, he would have a reason to fight back. Who else could beckon such a beautiful sister?
Bai Dalang squeezed between Bai Zhaomei and Bai Dazhuang, poking his head out to explain further, “Little Auntie, from now on, you are the treasure of our family. My younger brothers and I will all listen to you. We will take good care of you and show you filial piety.”
Filial piety… Little Fuyuan was thunderstruck. How old am I even? Someone is already talking about showing me filial piety.
After hearing the words of the one large and two small men in front of her, the tragic scene of working in the wind and snow vanished from her mind. She was the only daughter of this family! It seemed she was indeed the Group Favorite!
As the newly crowned favorite, Fuyuan rubbed her eyes. Wait, where is the person who sounds like Mama? Oh right, she’s called ‘Mother’.
Little Fuyuan’s large eyes darted around until she saw her mother sitting beside her. Mother looked so much like her Mama—her eyes were just as bright, her skin just as fair, her hair just as black, and her smile was very gentle. Her scent was the same too. Every day, as she was held in her arms, she could only sleep so sweetly because of the warm scent of her mother.
Little Fuyuan beamed a bright smile at her mother.
“Oh!” Madam Zhen’s heart nearly melted. Her love for this daughter wasn’t in vain. It had only been a few days, yet she already recognized her and smiled only at her despite so many people being present.
Little Fuyuan’s eyes continued to wander, stopping on Xie Chuntao.
“Little Auntie, I’m your eldest sister-in-law,” Xie Chuntao said with a smile.
Eldest Sister-in-law? She looks so gentle, just like the nurse auntie who gave me injections in the hospital ward. Every time after the shot, the nurse auntie would gently rub my head, praise me for being brave, and give me chocolate and candy.
“I am your Father.”
This father introduced himself to Little Fuyuan every day, and she had already gotten used to it. This father was just like her Papa—a bit of a fool, and clearly a “daughter slave.”
Wait, there’s also Grandma.
Grandma looked like someone who shouldn’t be trifled with, but Little Fuyuan felt incredibly close to her the moment she saw her. Grandma was like the professor grandma who did the rounds; she would scold people with a stern face in front of the nurses and doctors, but behind their backs, she would smile at Fuyuan and praise her as a cute little angel.
This family seemed very nice. Little Fuyuan was beginning to like this home.