Four grown men and one young boy, each carrying a massive back basket on their backs. Little Tiger Girl rode majestically on the sheep’s back, flanked by Little White Wolf and Little White Tiger.
“Well, you’re all back! Quick, put your things down! Eldest daughter-in-law, go bolt the door right away!”
As she spoke, Cui Shi lifted Little Tiger Girl down from the sheep’s back. After three days without seeing her little dumpling, she had missed her terribly.
Tian E hurried to close and bolt the main gate.
The four Keng boys had already been tucked into bed, but upon hearing that Grandpa, Father, Uncles, and Little Aunt had returned, they scrambled out from under the covers, threw on their clothes, and rushed outside.
“Little Aunt, let me hold you!” Er Keng ran over and snatched the little dumpling from Cui Shi’s arms.
The third, fourth, and fifth Kengs also crowded around their Little Aunt, chattering incessantly. The brothers smacked several kisses on her, covering the little dumpling’s tender cheeks with slobber.
Beaming with joy, Cui Shi asked Bai Renyi, “Husband, what have you brought back in these baskets?”
Bai Renyi glanced around and whispered, “Let’s carry everything inside first before we talk.”
With that, the men hoisted their loads, and the whole family bustled into the house.
Once inside, Bai Renyi pulled the grass covering from his back basket, revealing its contents.
Cui Shi, her three daughters-in-law, and the four Keng boys were all struck dumb with amazement!
Good heavens! Four full back baskets of fish! And one basket packed to the brim with wild radishes!
Cui Shi could hardly believe her eyes and asked excitedly, “Husband, how did you get so many fish? Did you really find the spot?!”
Bai Renyi grinned from ear to ear, lowering his voice as he replied, “We found it! Not only the spot, but we also discovered plenty of food! The river is teeming with fat fish like these—too many to count! And our Tiger Girl found a huge patch of wild radishes on the riverbank! This basket of radishes came from there! Tiger Girl’s mother, our family is saved! We don’t have to flee the famine anymore!”
Tears of happiness streamed down Cui Shi’s cheeks. Fleeing a famine was no easy feat, especially for such a large family! Little Tiger Girl had saved them all!
The others were also overjoyed, at a loss for words. Li Zhenzhu stared wide-eyed, looking back and forth as she clicked her tongue: “My goodness, so many fish! We won’t go hungry now!”
Cui Shi deliberately put on a stern face. “Listen, all of you—no one is to breathe a word about the fish at home. Anyone who dares leak even a syllable will go without food as punishment!”
Li Zhenzhu immediately vowed, “Mother, I absolutely won’t tell a soul!”
Tian E and Zhao Ju covered their mouths, stifling giggles. Mother hadn’t pointed fingers at anyone, yet Third Sister-in-law had confessed without being accused.
Though Cui Shi spoke harshly, she had already made up her mind to share some of the bounty with each daughter-in-law’s maternal family.
In these times of widespread hunger, with their family obtaining so much food, it wouldn’t be right to keep it all to themselves, would it?
The children all clamored to eat fish, and Little Tiger Girl pointed at the fish, lisping in her baby voice, “Eat fishies! Eat fishies!”
For dinner, everyone had only eaten a bit of wild vegetable cake, and their stomachs had been growling with hunger for some time. Besides, the men in the family hadn’t eaten yet, so Cui Shi had no reason to refuse.
“Let’s eat fish! We’ll clean them right now! Have wild radish chunks stewed with fat fish!”
The men had brought back four back baskets of fish from the cliff—at least thirty fish in total, each weighing seven or eight pounds.
Cui Shi had four of the fattest fish cleaned, hanging the rest in a cool, shady spot. With the cold weather, they would keep for two or three days without spoiling.The whole family worked together, and soon the fish were cleaned. The three sisters-in-law gathered firewood to start a fire, preparing to stew the fish.
While the children were busy, Cui Shi pulled Bai Renyi aside to talk.
“Father, was the journey smooth? Why did it take so long to go and come back?”
“This is long? We men pushed ourselves hard to hurry home!”
“That doesn’t make sense. Last time, Hu Niu was only gone for a short while and came back carrying a big fish. How is that possible?”
“I’d almost forgotten. The fish Hu Niu brought back last time must have been from under the cliff, because this kind of fish is pitch black all over and can’t be found anywhere else! As for how she managed to bring back a fish so quickly, I really can’t figure it out.”
“I thought she might have taken a shortcut, but she didn’t? That’s even stranger.” Cui Shi hadn’t dared to believe the children’s story until she asked Bai Renyi and finally accepted that it truly took a long time to reach the cliff.
“It is quite strange.”
“Father, do you think our Hu Niu is blessed by the gods? I can’t think of any other explanation.”
“Neither can I, but the idea of divine blessing feels rather mysterious.”
“Whatever the case, we must keep this strictly secret. Otherwise, those with ill intentions will surely gossip about our family.”
“Alright, I’ll listen to my wife. Strict secrecy it is.” Bai Renyi laughed.
Strange as it was, Little Tiger Girl was their precious darling. Whether she was blessed by gods or spirits, they were determined to raise her! Besides, ever since this little treasure came into their home, they had been blessed with continuous good fortune!
As they spoke, a full pot of fatty fish stewed with wild radish chunks was ready, its aroma filling the entire courtyard.
All fourteen family members held large bowls, waiting for Cui Shi to serve them the stewed fish and wild radish.
Cui Shi first filled a bowl to the brim for Bai Renyi. As the family’s pillar, doing the most strenuous work every day, he deserved the first serving.
Unexpectedly, Bai Renyi picked up his bowl and placed it in front of Little Tiger Girl, his voice dripping with tenderness: “Little Tiger Girl eats first. Father will have the next bowl.”
Since it was only a matter of moments, no one minded the order. Cui Shi smiled and served the next bowl to her husband.
After serving, the whole family gathered in the small kitchen, eating until their mouths were shiny with oil, feeling warm and content.
While the Bai family stewed fish at home, the fragrance drifted out, making many who caught a whiff so hungry they couldn’t sleep through the night.
Cui Shi wished the villagers wouldn’t smell it, but what could she do? She couldn’t control the scent.
Sure enough, gossip started the very next day.
The village women, who hadn’t gathered on the large rock at the entrance to chat for a long time due to foraging for wild vegetables, came together again today.
“Hey, did you smell the stewed meat last night?”
“I did! It made me drool all night. I wonder whose family was eating meat!”
“I heard it was the old Bai family!” one woman said mysteriously. “The Bai family has many mouths to feed, and they go through grain quickly. Now that it’s winter and there’s nothing to forage, Bai Renyi cut the flesh from his own leg to cook and eat!”
The woman listening nearly screamed in shock: “What?! The Bai family is eating human flesh?!”
“Shh! Keep your voice down! It’s not good if someone hears!”
“My goodness, is the Bai family so desperate they’d eat human flesh? Don’t they still have a goat? If things were that bad, they could just slaughter the goat!””You just don’t understand. That goat of the Bai family is for Little Tiger Girl’s milk. Bai Renyi loves his daughter like his own life, he would never kill his daughter’s meal ticket.”