The whole family gathered around the kang to eat. It had been a long time since they had meat, so this large bowl of fish was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.
The goat was brought inside. Hu Niu hadn’t drunk milk for two days, and the goat’s udder was swollen and full.
When Hu Niu saw the goat, she struggled to get down from Bai Renyi’s arms. Waddling like a little duck, she made her way under the goat’s belly to drink milk.
Just as she was drinking, Little White Wolf and Little White Tiger came pattering over. The goat trembled in fear and instinctively took a few steps back.
Hu Niu, her chubby hand still clutching the teat, spoke in a milky voice, “Goat… no scared… Little Meow Meow… Little Doggy…”
Goats are naturally sensitive to predators. Although Hu Niu called them Little Meow Meow and Little Doggy, the goat could still detect an unusual scent from them.
The goat bleated nervously, clearly unsettled.
While eating fish, Bai Laosan asked, “What’s wrong with the goat? Why is it so scared of a little cat and a little dog?”
Bai Renyi tapped his head with chopsticks. “Fool! Haven’t you realized yet? Those aren’t a little cat and a little dog—they’re a little tiger and a little wolf!”
Bai Laosan clutched his head and cried out, “I really didn’t recognize them, Dad! Big Brother, Second Brother, did you recognize them?”
Bai Laoda and Bai Laoer shook their heads simultaneously. “No…”
Bai Laosan was baffled. Exactly, Dad! None of us recognized them as a little tiger and a little wolf, so why did you only hit me?!
Seeing the goat was frightened, Hu Niu let it go and allowed it to leave.
Unexpectedly, Little White Tiger and Little White Wolf pattered after the goat to the pen and shamelessly latched onto its udders to drink milk.
They didn’t want to be so spineless, but they were still too young. The sight of milk made them unable to resist taking a few sucks—it’s a mammal’s instinct!
Seeing the two little furballs drinking the goat’s milk, Bai Renyi curled his lip and said, “How dare they compete with our Hu Niu for food! Tomorrow, I’ll throw them out.”
Cui Shi thought for a moment. “Let’s keep them. Have you forgotten that our Hu Niu was brought by a White Tiger? Perhaps these two little ones are related to it.”
“Oh, I forgot about that!” Bai Renyi slapped his forehead.
After the meal, Cui Shi sorted out the remaining fish in the back basket and said to Bai Renyi, “Husband, I plan to stew all this fish and give every household in the village a bowl of fish soup. After all, they all helped search for our child—we can’t be ungrateful, right? We should also let them know our child has been found so they don’t worry.”
“Alright, what my wife says makes sense.” Bai Renyi smiled warmly at her.
The four women cooked two large pots of fish soup and went door-to-door to deliver it to every household in the village.
They gave the most to Bai Dafu’s family—not just soup, but half a fish as well.
When Bai Dafu heard the children had returned and they had even caught some fish, he was overjoyed and kept saying, “Good, good!”
After leaving Bai Dafu’s house, they didn’t have to go far to reach Zhang Cuihua’s home. Liu Yun had fainted at the bottom of the cliff and still hadn’t woken up; it was said she was possessed.
The four women happened to run into Zhang Cuihua, who had just brought a witch back to perform an exorcism.
Zhang Cuihua didn’t yet know that Hu Niu and Da Keng had returned. Seeing the four women wandering the streets with basins, she thought they had gone mad. Terrified, she hurriedly slipped away along the wall.
Mad people are the last ones you want to provoke—they can even kill without breaking the law. As despicable as she was, she didn’t dare to mess with the mentally ill.Who knew Li Zhenzhu would deliberately provoke her? Seeing Zhang Cuihua, Li Zhenzhu shoved the basin in her hands into Tian E’s grasp. “Sister-in-law, hold this for me. I’m going to confront that venomous woman!”
With that, Li Zhenzhu strode over and blocked Zhang Cuihua’s path.
Zhang Cuihua was anxious to bring the witch home to exorcise evil spirits, never expecting to be waylaid by this madwoman. Before she could utter a word, Li Zhenzhu taunted, “Zhang Cuihua, I’ve got news for you. My sister-in-law and Da Keng have returned. You must be terribly disappointed, aren’t you?”
“What?” Zhang Cuihua thought Li Zhenzhu had lost her mind. How could anyone survive falling from such a high cliff and return unscathed? “You’re spouting nonsense! I don’t believe a word of it!” She curled her lip in disdain.
“Believe it or not, my children are home safe and sound. They even caught several fish. We’ve shared fish soup with the entire village—everyone except your family. Aren’t you furious?”
Zhang Cuihua’s face turned the color of liver, and from nearby, she could almost swear she smelled the aroma of fish soup.
She desperately wanted a taste—it had been so long since she’d last had any!
Li Zhenzhu didn’t seem to be lying. Could it be true? Had that little fairy and Da Keng really returned?
Trembling with rage, Zhang Cuihua forced a magnanimous smile. “It’s good the children are back. Whether I get fish soup or not doesn’t matter.”
Having said that, she hurried away along the wall, fearing she might die of anger on the spot!
Watching Zhang Cuihua’s livid expression, Tian E and Zhao Ju nearly choked with laughter.
“Hahaha, sister-in-law, did you see Zhang Cuihua’s face? It looked like she’d been drenched in sewage!”
“Absolutely! Our third sister-in-law really knows how to put her in her place!”
After thoroughly infuriating Zhang Cuihua, the four women continued delivering fish soup throughout the village.
Soon, they arrived at Li Zhenzhu’s parental home.
Logically, since Li Zhenzhu’s family hadn’t participated in the search for the missing children, they didn’t deserve any fish soup.
But as sisters-in-law, no one wanted to be the one to say it—offending someone over a bowl of fish soup wasn’t worth it.
Cui Shi deliberately remained silent, waiting to see how her third daughter-in-law would handle the situation.
If Li Zhenzhu insisted on giving soup to her family, Cui Shi, as her mother-in-law, couldn’t object—after all, the whole village had received some, and one more bowl wouldn’t hurt.
To everyone’s surprise, Li Zhenzhu walked straight past her family’s door as if it were a stranger’s house, not even glancing back.
Tian E, soft-hearted as ever, tugged at Li Zhenzhu’s sleeve. “Sister-in-law, why not give your family a bowl too?”
Li Zhenzhu met her gaze. “Eldest sister-in-law, I appreciate your kindness. But when our family was at our lowest, my brother and his wife didn’t lift a finger to help. Why should I give them fish soup? Any other time, I might consider it, but not today.”
Tian E said nothing more.
Cui Shi nodded slightly. Her third daughter-in-law was growing wiser. Assistance could be given at other times, but today’s fish soup was a gesture of gratitude to the villagers. Since Li Zhenzhu’s family hadn’t helped, they didn’t deserve a share.
The four women traversed the entire village, finishing their deliveries well after nightfall. Exhausted from days without proper rest, they collapsed into sleep as soon as they returned home.
Cui Shi, frugal as always, merely wiped her face with a dry cloth before climbing onto the kang.
Little Tiger Girl was already fast asleep in Bai Renyi’s arms, a sweet smile gracing her dreaming face.
The couple remained overwhelmed with joy at Tiger Girl and Da Keng’s miraculous return. After ensuring Little Tiger Girl was sound asleep, they quietly reaffirmed their marital bonds before drifting into deep slumber.Zhang Cuihua’s family had invited Ma Witch, who danced until late at night before concluding, yet Liu Yun showed no signs of waking up.