Zhang Cuihua wasn’t actually too concerned about Liu Yun. She whispered furtively to Ma Witch: “Master, you can read fortunes and make calculations. Can you determine whether that Bai family girl is human or demon?”
Zhang Cuihua firmly believed Hu Niu was a monster. She had believed it before, and now believed it even more strongly. Otherwise, how could a young girl fall from such a high cliff and not die?
Ma Witch drooped her eyelids and calculated with her fingers. This calculation actually revealed something significant.
“Whether the Bai family’s young girl is a monster or not, I don’t know. But I’ve calculated that she will become someone of great wealth and status in the future.”
“Then Master, please calculate for my Liu Yun too,” Zhang Cuihua hurriedly said.
Zhang Cuihua was raising Liu Yun with the intention of marrying her to a wealthy man someday, so the family could benefit from it.
Ma Witch again drooped her eyelids and calculated with her fingers: “Your Liu Yun’s fate is also good. She too will be someone of great wealth and status, except…”
“Except what?”
“Except Liu Yun and the Bai family girl are incompatible. Ah…”
“Master Ma, is there any way to resolve this?”
“There is a way to resolve it, but heavenly secrets cannot be revealed.”
“Master, please give me some guidance. I’ll give you silver.”
“It’s not about the silver. Mainly, if I say too much, it will shorten my lifespan.”
“Master, what should we do then? I beg you to help me! Otherwise, help me make a voodoo doll to curse the Bai family girl to death, so we can eliminate this threat.”
“That’s not appropriate…”
“I’ll give you silver.”
When Zhang Cuihua married into the family, her parents had given her a silver bracelet, which she always wore on her arm. Now she insisted on taking it off to give to Ma Witch.
Ma Witch sighed helplessly: “Alright, I’ll help you this once. But you must never tell anyone I did this.”
“Of course! If Master can help me, I’ll be thanking heaven and earth!”
Zhang Cuihua spent half the night with Ma Witch making a voodoo doll. Unfortunately, before the doll could take effect, Liu Tiezhu discovered it when he returned late at night and threw it into the stove to burn.
Zhang Cuihua had traded a silver bracelet for this doll, so of course she wouldn’t let Liu Tiezhu off easily. The two fought, with Zhang Cuihua scratching Liu Tiezhu’s face, and Liu Tiezhu nearly beating Zhang Cuihua into a cripple.
“Damn woman! If you keep this up, watch out or I’ll write a letter of divorce and cast you out!”
If not for three-year-old Liu Yu crying nearby, Liu Tiezhu would have truly written that letter of divorce.
Early the next morning, Cui Shi asked Tian E and Zhao Ju to each deliver some fish to their respective parents’ families, since these in-laws had also participated in searching for the children. Whatever the villagers received, they should have too.
The news of the Bai family giving fish soup to the entire village quickly reached Li Zhenzhu’s parents’ ears.
Xu Cui twisted Li Qiang’s ear and scolded: “Useless thing! Your sister’s family gave fish soup to the entire village, but didn’t give any to us. Isn’t this them looking down on us?”
Li Qiang said miserably: “The day before yesterday I wanted to go help search for the children, but you disagreed. Now they’re thanking all the families who helped search for the children, and you’re here complaining. If I had known this would happen, I would have gone to help search!”
“So you’re saying this is all my fault? I don’t care! You go to your sister’s house right now and get us some fish, or don’t think about sleeping on the kang tonight!” Xu Cui twisted even harder.
“I’m not saying it’s your fault. But you want me to go to my sister’s house to beg for fish – I can’t bring myself to say it.” Li Qiang mustered the last bit of a man’s stubbornness.
“Fine, not going, huh? Watch how I torment your mother then.” After saying this, Xu Cui went to the kitchen to cook.Zhenzhu’s mother was only in her fifties, but cataracts clouded her vision like a persistent fog, making everything blurry.
Xu Cui prepared a meal and brought it to her mother-in-law, sneering, “Here, you old crone, eat up!”
Zhenzhu’s mother picked up a noodle with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, thinking her daughter-in-law was being filial by serving noodles today.
But the taste was utterly wrong. “Cui’er, what have you given me to eat?”
“Rat’s tail.”
Zhenzhu’s mother retched dryly. “How could you feed me this?”
“In these famine years, we can’t even get a whiff of meat. You’re lucky to get a rat’s tail. Unlike your precious daughter’s family—they feast on fish and meat daily and even share with the village, while we don’t get so much as a drop of soup,” Xu Cui said with venomous sarcasm.
“Son, your wife wants fish soup. Swallow your pride and go ask your sister for a bowl. If she refuses, tell her I’m dying and need to see her,” Zhenzhu’s mother urged, taking her daughter-in-law’s side.
Li Qiang had no choice but to go beg his sister for fish soup.
Li Zhenzhu had anticipated her brother’s visit and stood waiting at her doorstep, arms akimbo.
She expected him to sheepishly ask for the soup so she could vent her anger by berating him. Instead, he said, “Sister, Mother is dying. You should come see her quickly.”
Knowing he wouldn’t get what he wanted from his sister, Li Qiang resorted to tricking her into returning home, leaving her to confront their mother directly.
Though Li Zhenzhu saw through her brother’s scheme, thoughts of her mother tugged at her heart, compelling her to return.
And so she went back.
At home, her mother immediately sided with the daughter-in-law. “Zhenzhu, your in-laws have fish. Why haven’t you brought any for us? You know your sister-in-law loves fish.”
“Mother, my in-laws only give fish soup to those who helped search for the child. Since my brother didn’t help, how could I possibly ask? You’re making me lose face in my husband’s household.”
“We’re family—what does face matter? Hurry up and go get a bowl of fish soup.”
“I won’t go…”
“You won’t listen to me? Have I raised you for nothing?”
“Mother, did you raise your daughter just to exploit her?”
“You little wretch, daring to talk back to your mother! Your mother-in-law must have put you up to this.”
“My mother-in-law taught me nothing. Mother, these are food rations I saved from my own mouth. I’m leaving them here. Don’t try to take anything from me again.” With that, Li Zhenzhu pulled a few dry flatbreads from her robe and placed them on the table.
After she left, Xu Cui flung the flatbreads outside the door. “Is this charity for beggars? This isn’t over!”
When villagers heard there were fish at the bottom of the cliff, they grew restless, eager to get some for themselves. In these hard times, who would pass up free meat?
A few bold ones tied ropes around their waists and descended.
But they hadn’t gone far when they encountered swirling mists and eerie winds that chilled them to the bone.
The fainthearted immediately scrambled back up the ropes. Tasty as fish might be, life was more precious.
Only one daring soul insisted on going deeper.
That brave soul never returned—until a day later, when he finally emerged, completely mad. No one knew what he had experienced, but he would mysteriously whisper to anyone he met, “There are monsters…”
From then on, no one dared approach the cliff again.
Of course, all this happened later.Little Tiger Girl became even more enigmatic in the villagers’ minds—why had Hu Niu and Da Keng survived the fall unscathed when everyone else who went down met a grim fate?