Bai Muban and Mrs. Zhen were driven mad by their longing for a daughter.
Sons were born one after another, five in total, without a single trace of a girl.
One year, a limping Daoist priest came to the village. He was incredibly accurate at fortune-telling, no matter whose house he visited.
Bai Muban couldn’t resist getting a reading. The limping priest said mysteriously that he and Mrs. Zhen would be blessed with a daughter, and this girl would be gathered from the essence of heaven and earth, a person of nobility beyond words.
The priest didn’t charge others, but he specifically took ten copper coins from Bai Muban, saying that once his family obtained a daughter, their wealth and honor would stretch on continuously, so he had to spend this money.
Bai Muban happily paid the ten coins.
He didn’t dare dream of “the essence of heaven and earth”; a delicate, ordinary little girl would be enough.
Two months later, Mrs. Zhen had a dream.
In the dream, she saw a little girl wobbling toward her through the snow. She picked up the infant, and the falling snow suddenly turned into blooming peony flowers.
When Mrs. Zhen woke from the dream, she felt nauseous and dizzy. The village physician checked her pulse and confirmed she was two months pregnant.
The couple was ecstatic. One must realize that for three generations, the Lao Bai family had failed to produce a single daughter.
Now, it was settled; the tradition of the Lao Bai family having no girls was about to be broken by them.
Who could have guessed that just as she reached three months, Mrs. Zhen took a fall and suffered a miscarriage.
Bai Muban was so furious he wanted to find the limping priest to demand his ten copper coins back, but the priest had long since vanished.
Amidst her grief, Mrs. Zhen thought of nurturing her body to try for another child, but she never conceived again.
The couple completely gave up on the idea of having a daughter and turned their hopes toward the bellies of their two daughters-in-law. Since it wasn’t in their destiny to have a daughter, a granddaughter would suffice.
Their two daughters-in-law were very capable; they became pregnant soon after marriage, and the births went smoothly.
However, they shared the same destiny for sons—every pregnancy resulted in a boy.
The Lao Bai family was swarming with males, looking much like a Buddhist monk temple.
The old couple’s hearts felt like they had been doused with cold water in winter, freezing from head to toe.
Unexpectedly, a plump baby girl had truly come to their side.
Looking at the beautiful infant in her arms, Mrs. Zhen suddenly thought of that dream.
This baby was identical to the child who had walked toward her in the snow in her dream.
“Father, do you remember what that limping priest said? He said we would have a daughter who… he never said the daughter had to be our own biological child.”
When Mrs. Zhen brought up the fortune-telling from years ago, Bai Muban froze, remembering something.
“The words of a crazy wandering charlatan can’t be trusted…”
Bai Muban stared unblinkingly at the child in Mrs. Zhen’s arms. How was her skin so tender? How were her eyelashes so thick?
Mrs. Zhen fell silent.
She believed this child was the one from her dream; both had come to her side amidst heavy snow. The pity was that the child had lost her mother at birth and couldn’t even light a stick of incense before her mother’s memorial tablet.
In the dark, it seemed she and this child were fated. She thought about how the child was placed right at their doorstep, wrapped in the “Pomegranate and a Hundred Sons” quilt cover she had embroidered.
She didn’t know whose idea it was or who had placed the child there. She hadn’t dared to ask around in Huacheng, fearing someone meant the child harm.
Since this child had come to her, she would risk her life to protect her for the rest of her days.
“I almost forgot one thing: the child hasn’t been named yet,” Mrs. Zhen said.
“Wife, you are literate. You give our daughter a name.” Bai Muban let Mrs. Zhen decide.
“You should be the one to name her. You’ve longed for a daughter for so long; this name cannot be handled carelessly.”
“It definitely won’t be careless.” At Mrs. Zhen’s insistence, Bai Muban no longer declined.
Mrs. Zhen gave Bai Muban a look.
“You have the nerve to say you weren’t careless before? With five sons, you named the first three Dazhuang, Erzhuang, and Sanzhuang in order. What thought did you put into those? You just picked them off the top of your head.”
“With a bunch of sons, any name will do. Didn’t I put effort into naming the fourth one Panmei (Hoping for a Sister)? And the fifth, Zhaomei (Inviting a Sister)—aren’t those good names? There isn’t another child in the village with those names.”
Seeing her husband’s guilty look, Mrs. Zhen stopped exposing his double standards and couldn’t help but laugh. “A son can be called anything, but a daughter cannot. We must choose a name that can be presented with pride.”
“That’s right.” Bai Muban agreed wholeheartedly.
His—Bai Muban’s—adopted daughter, no, daughter, had survived a whole night in the snow safely. She was a child of great fortune and was so endearing; she needed a name with a beautiful meaning, one that rolled off the tongue, and sounded deeply blessed.
“How about Meihua (Plum Blossom)?” Bai Muban thought of how a plum tree outside their rented room had burst into bloom the day after the daughter arrived.
Mrs. Zhen frowned. She felt that naming her after a flower was too common and didn’t suit the daughter’s delicate, jade-carved aura.
“The second grandson’s wife’s sister is named Meihua. Think of something else.”
Bai Muban scratched his head and thought for a long time until a flash of inspiration hit him.
“How about Fushou (Fortune and Longevity)? It means happiness and a long life.”
Bai Muban felt this was a grand name with deep meaning.
“That… the meaning is good.” Mrs. Zhen shook her head gently. “But for a little girl, that name is too heavy. I’m afraid she won’t be able to carry it. Her birth mother is gone, and from now on we are her parents. I ask for nothing else, only that she stays by our side in total fulfillment and peace.”
This was Mrs. Zhen’s hope.
She had experienced the destruction of her own family in her youth and knew that nothing was more important than a family being together in “fulfillment.”
Just like now; though they were poor, the whole family stayed together in safety.
“Then let’s call her Fuyuan. Bai Fuyuan. I hope our daughter is shrouded in fortune and lives a life of total fulfillment.” Bai Muban made the final decision, setting his daughter’s name.
Bai Fuyuan!
“That’s a good name! Bai Fuyuan it is, and we’ll call her Yuanyuan as a nickname.” Mrs. Zhen’s eyes lit up.
The couple chuckled, both very satisfied with the name.
“Fuyuan, Yuanyuan, from now on you are Mother’s precious treasure.”
Mrs. Zhen gently stroked Little Fuyuan’s face, speaking softly for fear of waking her.
“Yuanyuan, I’ll be your father from now on. Grow up quickly, and Daddy will let you ride him like a horse.”
Bai Muban also wanted to touch his daughter’s face, but he only thought about it; he worried his rough hands would hurt her.
So noisy!
Who is calling her?
The newly minted Bai Fuyuan wiggled her little head and slowly opened her eyes.
“Yuanyuan is awake! Yuanyuan opened her eyes! Wife, look quickly, our Yuanyuan’s eyes are so beautiful. She’s looking at me…”
Bai Muban was very excited. This was the second time the daughter had opened her eyes. The first time was in the Huacheng clinic for the doctor. This time was different; she was looking at him. How could he not be moved? The large, round black pupils made the old father’s heart tremble.
Mrs. Zhen looked at her husband making such a fuss and couldn’t help but smile.
Yuanyuan looked at Bai Muban, then turned her eyes toward Mrs. Zhen. This time, Mrs. Zhen’s heart trembled just like Bai Muban’s.
She now wanted nothing more than to hold this little ball of flour and dote on her with all her heart.
Little Fuyuan tried hard to keep her eyes wide. Her clear gaze was filled with confusion.
She saw two unfamiliar adults before her.
Where is this? Why isn’t it the nursery this baby is familiar with?
Little Fuyuan felt a pang of grievance, her nose tingled, her little mouth puckered, and a layer of mist covered her eyes.
“Mother is here, don’t cry!”
Mrs. Zhen hurriedly pulled Little Fuyuan into her arms, swaying gently and rhythmically patting the swaddle.
Mrs. Zhen’s warm embrace and gentle words made Little Fuyuan feel warm inside. She couldn’t help but nuzzle into Mrs. Zhen’s arms.
Mother?
Frame after frame of images flashed through her mind…
“Yuanbao, don’t cry. Yuanbao, get well soon, grow up quickly, and I’ll take you to ride the carousel, play on the swings, and fly kites—” In her memory, someone held her close, cheek to cheek, whispering while tears fell.
That voice grew further and further away, more and more blurred…
It sounded just as beautiful as Mother’s voice and felt just as warm as Mother’s embrace.
“Mother” probably meant “Mama.”
“Is Yuanyuan hungry? Daddy will feed you some goat’s milk.” Bai Muban took out the goat’s milk, warmed it up, scooped a spoonful, and held it to Fuyuan’s mouth.
Father?
Does “Father” mean “Papa”?
Little Fuyuan opened her mouth and drank a few gulps of goat’s milk, nuzzled her head against Mrs. Zhen’s arm, and as drowsiness set in, she let out a yawn, slowly closed her eyes, and drifted into dreamland.
Mrs. Zhen’s heart turned into a pool of spring water once again.
“Why is she sleeping again? Such a little lazy pig, she wasn’t even awake for long.” Bai Muban grew anxious.
“How can you talk about our daughter like that? You’re the pig. Stop chattering; you’ll wake her.”
Mrs. Zhen placed Little Fuyuan down on the mattress and gave Bai Muban a sharp glare.
“Father, pull out that large chest from under the bed.”
Bai Muban leaned over and with great effort dragged a dark red wooden chest out from under the bed. Mrs. Zhen took a key, opened it, and took out a stone-blue silk squirrel-fur cloak and a moon-white satin jacket with a fringe pattern.
“Why take those out? You only have these two pieces of fine clothing left. They were meant to be kept as mementos for you.” Bai Muban was puzzled.
“What mementos? So many years have passed. If I keep them any longer, they’ll rot away. It’s better to bring them out for our daughter’s use.” Mrs. Zhen gently patted the fur on the squirrel cloak.
She couldn’t let her daughter freeze. The squirrel-fur cloak was light and warm; it could serve as a mattress for her daughter to lie on. As for the moon-white satin jacket, the material was top-quality; she would take it apart and resew it into a warm, one-piece padded outfit for her daughter.