“This girl can’t be saved. Mother, hurry up and throw her away.”
The woman’s rasping voice, like a cracked bronze gong, was filled with urgency and distaste.
“Illness can be passed on to others. She’s just a worthless girl, after all. We can’t drag the whole family down for her sake.”
Another ill-intentioned urge followed.
At the rear of the fleeing crowd, Old Mrs. Zhou’s face was contorted with pure rage.
Taking off a tattered straw sandal, she hurled it straight at her meddlesome daughter-in-law.
“Wife of the fourth son, just you try throwing away my precious darling!” Old Mrs. Zhou bellowed in fury.
To think anyone would dare touch her precious granddaughter—the only girl born into the Zhou family in five generations—was pure fantasy!
“It would be better if the illness passed to a black-hearted creature like you, so you’d die and leave us in peace! If Mianmian doesn’t wake up, none of us in the Zhou family will carry on living.”
Old Mrs. Zhou cradled the burning-hot child in her arms, her eyes wide with rage. How could she not see right through her fourth daughter-in-law’s petty schemes?
Must be losing her mind trying to save on food rations, this black-hearted, wretched woman. She’s asking for a beating!
“Waaaah, Mother, stop hitting me! I was only doing it for the good of the family,” Li Chunzhu whimpered, hurriedly covering her head and begging for mercy.
Huh? What’s that sound?
The piece of dried meat she had been biting on suddenly flew away. Mianmian puckered her little lips in grievance and opened her eyes in dissatisfaction.
Instead of the spiritual pool where she usually bathed and cultivated, her vision met a swollen face that had been beaten into a pig’s head.
Mianmian let out a little baby hiccup from shock. Where did this ugly woman come from, hurting my eyes like this!
She waved her clumsy little arms, intending to cover her eyes, but suddenly realized something was not quite right with her current body…
Looking down, Mianmian was utterly dazed.
A tiny, soft blob of a body with little arms and legs like white lotus roots… When had she, a koi fish spiritual beast cub, turned into a human toddler?
Right now, she was wrapped like a little meatball in a large, faded cotton blanket, sprawled out directly against an old woman’s chest.
Could it be that she had successfully cultivated into a human form?!
“My sweet granddaughter, are you awake?!”
Just then, a voice filled with pleasant surprise echoed in her ear.
Mianmian raised her chubby little head and wiped away the drool from the corner of her mouth.
Old Mrs. Zhou hurriedly lifted the three-and-a-half-year-old out of the cotton blanket.
Seeing the little creature unhappily shaking her head while her arms and legs kicked about with plenty of strength, tears instantly spilled from the corners of Old Mrs. Zhou’s eyes.
“Heaven has blessed my Zhou family! Mianmian actually recovered on her own, and her body isn’t hot anymore. She really is a lucky baby.”
Old Mrs. Zhou exhaled a long breath of turbid air, crying and laughing at the same time.
She planted several deep kisses on her sweet granddaughter’s face, doting on her to no end!
The Zhou family was a nest of boys; for generations, they had produced nothing but males.
Thanks to the third son’s wife performing a great service a few years back, a daughter was finally born to the Zhou family.
Since then, Old Mrs. Zhou had valued her granddaughter more than her own life.
On their escape from the famine, Mianmian had somehow caught a chill. Her body had turned burning hot, and she had been unconscious for a long time.
The one who had just instigated abandoning Mianmian was none other than Mianmian’s filthy fourth aunt.
Thank goodness she was awake now; otherwise, Old Mrs. Zhou would have gladly traded her own life for this precious darling.
Mianmian’s skin was delicate, and her fair, soft little face was like a glutinous rice ball. It was quickly rubbed red by Old Mrs. Zhou’s kisses.
Annoyed, she kicked her little legs and aggrievedly pushed Old Mrs. Zhou away.
Only then did Old Mrs. Zhou quickly stop and go over to lift the lid of the pot that was currently boiling.
“My sweet granddaughter must be hungry. Grandma will get you something to eat.”
A faint aroma of rice wafted from the pot. Inside was a pot of porridge so thin that not a single grain of rice could be seen.
On the escape route, no family could find more than a few grains of rice for their pots. Life was hard.
Mianmian tilted her small head, taking this moment to familiarize herself with her new environment.
The surroundings were filled with commoners dressed in patched clothes.
And having cultivated a human form, she was now the daughter of the Zhou family’s third son, Zhou Mianmian.
There had been a severe drought for three years, leaving no way to survive in their village. Now, she was fleeing east with her entire family.
Zhou Mianmian looked at Old Mrs. Zhou’s broken pot and apprehensively sucked on her pinky finger.
What kind of trashy stuff is this…
Just then, a rumbling sound came from Zhou Mianmian’s belly.
Old Mrs. Zhou rubbed her granddaughter’s little tummy, coaxing her with a beaming smile.
“Don’t be anxious, Mianmian. Grandma will feed you as soon as the porridge cooks down a bit more into a mush.”
After saying that, Old Mrs. Zhou replaced the pot lid and glared sideways at Zhou the Fourth’s wife, Li Chunzhu.
“The third son and his wife are still out looking everywhere for medicine. Hurry up and tell them Mianmian is awake.”
Nursing her heavily swollen face, the fourth daughter-in-law’s eyes looked as though they were glued to the pot of porridge.
She swallowed hard.
“Mother, I want to drink some of that too.”
“Drink my foot! This is food for the children. Wife of the fourth son, are you itching for a beating?!”
Seeing Old Mrs. Zhou raise the rice ladle to strike again, Li Chunzhu pouted and left reluctantly.
A short while later, Zhou the Third and Song Nianxi came running all the way back.
Behind them followed three young boys with tense expressions.
These were precisely Zhou Mianmian’s parents and her biological older brothers.
“Mother, is my Mianmian really alright?” Song Nianxi’s eyes grew red with anxiety.
The moment she arrived, she took Zhou Mianmian into her arms.
Her movements were incredibly careful, exceedingly gentle.
Zhou Mianmian opened her large, grape-like eyes and split her little mouth into a grin, immediately taking a liking to the gentle and beautiful woman before her.
A faint fragrance of flowers lingered around Song Nianxi.
Compared to that ugly creature Li Chunzhu from earlier, this one was far more pleasing to the eye.
Beside them, Zhou the Third was also incredibly excited.
He beamed as he teased Mianmian, “Daughter, quick, look at your father.”
At this moment, Sanlang and the others were so anxious they stood on their tiptoes, all scrambling for a turn to hold their younger sister.
Although Mianmian’s three older brothers were not very old, they already knew how to cherish someone.
The gaze they directed at their sister was completely filled with protective love!
Zhou Mianmian daintily bit her little hand and clutched Song Nianxi’s clothes, peering at them with curiosity.
“Father, Mianmian is biting her hand. Is she hungry? Let her bite my hand instead!”
Sanlang panicked upon seeing this, deeply afraid his sister would bite through her own little hand.
“Mianmian, your fourth brother’s hand is here too!” Silang said, foolishly extending his hand as well.
He didn’t forget to give his sister’s little feet a couple of gentle pats along the way.
Looking at the children, Zhou the Third was filled with absolute adoration.
But considering Mianmian had just woken up, it wasn’t good to make too much noise, so he coaxed his sons over to the side first.
“Mianmian must be hungry. Mother, you should feed her something first. This child has been unconscious for so long without food or water; we have to let her fill her belly now no matter what,” Zhou the Third said caringly.
To tell the truth, the Zhou family had been fleeing the famine along with the rest of the villagers for over a month now.
The provisions they carried had long since dwindled to almost nothing.
By now, everyone was so starved they could barely walk, which was why they had stopped at this deserted village for most of the day to rest.
Looking at the porridge in the pot that was as thin as clear water, Old Mrs. Zhou nodded firmly.
Without a second word, she scooped every single one of the few rice grains into Mianmian’s small bowl.
“It doesn’t matter if the adults don’t eat! Erlang, Sanlang, and Silang, you little ones can just drink some of the porridge broth Mianmian leaves behind in a bit,” Old Mrs. Zhou had already decided on the distribution.
Soon, a bowl of thin porridge went down her throat. Unsatisfied, Zhou Mianmian licked her little lips, her soft cheeks wrinkling up in grievance.
What kind of food is this? It doesn’t have any flavor at all.
She wanted to eat meat.
But seeing that this large family didn’t even have enough porridge broth to go around, how could there possibly be any good food?
Zhou Mianmian couldn’t help but pout her little mouth and let out a sigh.
Since she had already become a child of this family, Zhou Mianmian accepted her lot, but in the days to come, she certainly wouldn’t let herself starve.
She would have to fetch the food herself!
With a slight shift of her thoughts, the original spiritual pool was summoned forth by Zhou Mianmian.
Zhou Mianmian slipped into the spiritual pool, spotted two pig’s trotters she had left unfinished earlier, and reached out with her little hand to give a forceful tug.
In an instant, the large pig’s trotters flew out of the spiritual pool.
Thud!
Zhou Mianmian was satisfied. She patted her soft belly and waited to eat meat.
Looking at Mianmian’s adorable little appearance, her three older brothers’ hearts nearly melted, especially Sanlang and Silang.
Though their stomachs were pinching with hunger, they were even more unwilling to see their sister go unsatisfied.
“Grandma, why did little sister sigh? She must still be hungry,” Zhou Sanlang said, enduring his hunger. “We won’t drink the porridge broth either. Give it all to little sister!”
Old Mrs. Zhou couldn’t help but be moved, though she couldn’t bear to truly let her grandsons go on empty stomachs.
She poured out half of the remaining thin broth from the pot and let her three grandsons split it.
With the remaining half, she secretly fished a small pinch of white sugar out of her bundle and dropped it in.
Stirring it with her finger, she had Song Nianxi feed it to Mianmian.
This sugar-water special treatment belonged to Mianmian alone, and the Zhou family had long since grown used to it.
Only Li Chunzhu stared with wide eyes, constantly rubbing her stomach and rolling her eyes.
“What’s the use of the whole family doting so much on just a girl? I’m still starving here. Besides, she’s already three and a half and still can’t talk. I’m afraid you’ll end up spoiling a dummy.”
After Li Chunzhu muttered under her breath, she unhappily turned over and went to sleep.
Zhou the Third cast an displeased glance at Li Chunzhu.
Defensively, he took Mianmian over and cradled her in his arms.
What if she couldn’t talk? At worst, he would support his daughter for the rest of her life!
Song Nianxi also looked over affectionately, though a trace of worry couldn’t help but surface in the depths of her eyes.
The Zhou family was destitute; before fleeing the famine, they were one of the poorest households in the village. An old Daoist had once prophesied that only when the Zhou family obtained a daughter would they see wealth and blessings.
Although none of the Zhou family members relied on this prophecy, they all hoped Mianmian could grow up healthy and safe.
However, Zhou Mianmian was already three and a half years old and still couldn’t utter a single word, and her reactions were slow. She would likely suffer in the future.
Seeing the beautiful woman before her looking sorrowful, Zhou Mianmian suddenly wriggled out from Zhou the Third’s arms.
She lunged straight into Song Nianxi’s embrace.
“Mudder, eat meat-meat~”
Zhou Mianmian’s pronunciation was still not very clear as she whimpered softly.
What? Both Song Nianxi and Old Mrs. Zhou were utterly shocked.
Even Li Chunzhu was so stunned she rolled over and sat right up.
The silent gourd could speak?!
Seeing that Song Nianxi didn’t understand, Mianmian extended a short little finger and pointed eagerly toward a tattered cloth bundle nearby.
“Mudder, inside got meat-meat!”
Mother, go eat meat! It’s right inside the bundle!
Song Nianxi took hold of her little finger instead, her face turning red with excitement.
“Mianmian, you… you can speak? You even know how to call me Mother?!”
Zhou Mianmian giggled twice.
“What on earth is this?!” Just then, Zhou Sanlang suddenly let out a loud shout.
The boy lunged forward and grabbed the bundle, his eyes flying wide!