Given such a major incident at home, it was already fortunate that no one had collapsed.
Except for Li Zhenzhu’s maternal family who hadn’t come, the relatives of Tian E and Zhao Ju’s families had all come to help search for the children. No matter what, Cui Shi had usually treated them well. Now that their in-laws were in trouble, how could they just stand by and do nothing!
The children still hadn’t been found by the second day. That evening, Bai Dafu arrived at the Bai household with a grave expression and said to Bai Renyi, “I won’t give up as long as there’s the slightest hope, but I still advise you to prepare for the worst.”
This news was like adding frost to snow. Cui Shi couldn’t accept it and immediately blacked out, fainting.
The three sisters-in-law wept uncontrollably, especially Tian E, who nearly cried herself to exhaustion.
Bai Dafu couldn’t bear to watch this scene and left with red-rimmed eyes.
Shortly after Bai Dafu left, just as the Bai family was nearly losing hope, they suddenly heard the nervous yet joyful bleating of goats in the courtyard.
Immediately after, two furry little bundles came running in. Just as the whole family was astonished, Bai Dakeng suddenly walked in!
He was carrying a back basket on his back, with his soft and adorable little aunt riding on his shoulders!
The whole family thought they were hallucinating. It was impossible—how could the two children have fallen from such a high cliff without a single injury?
They had all believed the children were dead and that these were their ghosts returning home.
Tian E stumbled over, “Dakeng, you died so tragically! Mother knows you died with grievances, and Little Auntie too… Rest assured, the family will make those who harmed you pay with their lives, wuwuwu!”
The others quickly gathered around as well. Bai Dakeng looked at them; he had known returning would lead to this kind of scene. He hurriedly spoke up, “Grandpa, Grandma, Father, Mother, uncles, aunts, and all my younger brothers—Little Auntie and I aren’t dead! Please, stop crying!”
“What?!” Everyone’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Little Auntie and I are both alive and well. If you don’t believe me, feel my hand—see if it’s warm?”
As he spoke, Bai Dakeng stretched out his hand and placed it in his mother’s palm.
His son’s hand was indeed warm! Truly warm!
Tian E wept for joy, the tension that had been gripping her suddenly snapping like a broken string. She immediately collapsed into Bai Laoda’s arms!
“The two children… they’re really alive! Wuwuwu!”
The family was overjoyed to the point of foolishness, thinking they were dreaming!
Bai Renyi pinched Bai Laosan hard, and Bai Laosan immediately jumped up in pain.
Bai Renyi grinned foolishly, “Hehe, it hurts—so it’s not a dream!”
Bai Laosan: “…” Why is it always me who gets hurt?
Bai Renyi hurriedly lifted his little daughter from Dakeng’s shoulders, kissing her over and over. Cui Shi also quickly took Dakeng’s hand, checking her grandson for any injuries.
The others were so happy they didn’t know what to do, crying and laughing at the same time.
Dakeng laughed and said, “Second Uncle, hurry up and take this back basket off me—it’s about to crush me!”
“Ah! Look at my forgetfulness!” Only then did Bai Laoer snap out of his daze and quickly remove the back basket from his nephew’s back.
Bai Laoda wiped his tears and said to his wife in his arms, “You cried when we couldn’t find the children, so why are you still crying now that they’re back?”
Tian E cried and laughed at once, “You’re no different!”
After the family’s joy had settled, Cui Shi remembered that the two children hadn’t eaten yet and hurried toward the kitchen to cook.
But just then, Bai Dakeng called out to stop her, “Grandma, don’t rush. Little Auntie had me bring back several fish. Could you prepare them for the whole family to eat?”What, how come there are fish?!
Everyone had been so caught up in their joy that they overlooked the smell of fish. Only when Da Keng mentioned it did they all notice the fishy scent.
“Da Keng, where did you get these fish?” Bai Renyi asked while holding the little dumpling.
Da Keng walked over to the back basket, removed the grass covering it, revealing over ten large, plump fish inside.
“Grandpa, we found these fish at the bottom of the cliff. Little Aunt told me to bring them back. Let’s kill and eat them quickly!”
Bai Renyi gave his little daughter a firm kiss on the cheek. “That’s my girl indeed!”
Then he commanded: “Everyone, go kill the fish!”
Upon hearing this, the three boys each grabbed a fish and went outside to prepare them.
These three fish were extremely plump. Even after removing the internal organs, they would still yield a net weight of seventeen or eighteen jin of meat. The whole family was overjoyed. Not only had Little Tiger Girl and Da Keng returned safely, but they also brought back so many fish. This was truly a blessing in disguise!
Cui Shi was an expert at cooking. With many children in the family, even before the drought, she had always found ways to prepare delicious meals for them. Over the years, her culinary skills had become well-honed.
She took out the pickled cabbage made during the New Year, poured a bit of oil into the pot, and had the eldest daughter-in-law tend the fire. Once the oil was hot, Cui Shi tossed in the chopped scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Immediately, a sizzling sound erupted, releasing a tantalizing aroma. She quickly put the cleaned fish into the pot, added the pickled cabbage, threw in a few dried chili peppers, and poured in just enough water to cover the fish. She instructed the eldest daughter-in-law to simmer it over low heat.
The second and third daughters-in-law brought over the shaped cornmeal cakes. Cui Shi pressed each cake against the inner rim of the pot. This way, by the time the fish was cooked, the cakes would be ready too.
While waiting for the meal to cook, Da Keng recounted their extraordinary experience at the bottom of the cliff to the family: “Grandpa, Grandma, the bottom of the cliff isn’t full of poisonous insects and fierce magical creatures like the villagers say. It’s actually really nice down there. There’s a small river with fish in it. Little Aunt and I ate fish from the river, so we didn’t go hungry. And these two furry little things, Little Aunt found them too. Look how adorable they are!”
To make their presence known in front of the family, the Little White Wolf and Little White Tiger promptly made an appearance.
Si Keng and Wu Keng each picked one up. The little dumpling, nestled in Bai Renyi’s arms, stretched out her tiny hands and said in a milky voice, “Little Meow Meow… Little Doggy…”
Cui Shi said with relief, “It’s good that you’re both safe. Falling down such a deep cliff and coming out unharmed must mean you were protected by the gods.”
“Right, our Little Tiger Girl is a little lucky star. With the gods watching over her, our family can turn danger into safety,” Bai Renyi said, gazing adoringly at his little daughter.
The whole family found the situation incredible. Things like little lucky stars and divine protection were something they had only heard in stories; they never believed such things could happen in real life.
But ever since Tiger Girl came into their home, the family’s luck had consistently been good. Naturally, they began to regard Little Tiger Girl as their little lucky star.
In less than fifteen minutes, the fish was ready. Waves of rich fragrance wafted into the room, reminding everyone how hungry they were.
While searching for Da Keng and Tiger Girl, the entire family had gone several meals without eating. Now, smelling the delicious aroma, their stomachs couldn’t help but growl.
Cui Shi led the three daughters-in-law in serving the meal to the whole family. There were fourteen people in the household. Except for the little dumpling, who had a slightly smaller bowl, everyone received a large, heaping bowl of pickled cabbage fish. The fish meat and broth in the bowls smelled incredibly savory.
Wu Keng couldn’t resist running to the kitchen to take a look: “Grandma, the fishies smell so good, it’s almost knocking me off my feet!”Cui Shi filled a small basket with golden-brown, crispy pancakes and said with a smile, “Alright, hurry inside now. We’re about to eat!”