The children had never seen such a huge wild boar before. They were amazed, circling around it in excitement, unable to stop staring.
Old Madam Su clasped her hands together, her face full of joy.
“This must be a gift from Heaven! Our precious child is celebrating her first birthday tomorrow, so the heavens must have sent this as a congratulatory present.
Who knows—maybe our little Fu Bao is actually the Jade Emperor’s own daughter, sent down to the mortal world!”
One of the boys from the third branch asked curiously,
“Is this wild boar really a gift from Heaven for our little sister?”
“Of course it is,” Old Madam Su said confidently. “Your sister is the most blessed child in the world. You must always remember her kindness. Without her, you wouldn’t get to eat such delicious pork.”
The brothers already adored their little sister more than anything. Hearing this, they nodded eagerly in agreement.
“Grandma’s right! Little sister is so cute and pretty—she must be a fairy from heaven!”
“Exactly! Only a fairy could be this beautiful. Even in heaven, she’d be the prettiest fairy of all!”
Xi Bao turned to his younger brothers and said seriously,
“So from now on, we have to treat our sister well. We can’t let anyone bully her. When we grow up and earn money, we’ll spend it all on her.”
Old Madam Su listened from the side, feeling deeply satisfied. All the boys in the family were good-hearted—none of them were ungrateful.
After giving them a few more reminders about protecting their sister, she went back to the kitchen to start cooking.
The adults in the Su family soon got busy.
Su Sanlang repaired the broken door, while the others began processing the game.
Only Old Master Su sat quietly to the side, smoking his pipe, still thinking about what the clan elder had told him earlier.
Before long, Old Madam Su prepared a simple meal. After eating, the adults went right back to handling the meat.
The children, on the other hand, were urged back to their rooms to sleep.
That night, the Su family courtyard remained brightly lit well past midnight, everyone working nonstop.
They first drained the blood from the wild boar, cleaned it, cut it into pieces, and smoked the meat for preservation.
Then came the wild chickens and rabbits.
By the time everything was processed, it was already the latter half of the night.
Only then did everyone return to their rooms for a short rest.
Even after such a tiring night, everyone was up again at the break of dawn.
The entire Su family looked refreshed and full of energy.
After all, they now had a whole wild boar weighing four to five hundred pounds, plus half a boar from before, along with plenty of wild chickens and rabbits.
They wouldn’t have to worry about meat for the entire winter.
Who wouldn’t be overjoyed with such abundance?
Early in the morning, Old Madam Su excitedly headed out to invite the village chief’s wife to help.
Today was Fu Bao’s first birthday banquet.
As was customary, families would invite young married women from the village to help prepare the feast. Each helper would receive a small gift of money, so many were willing to come.
But the moment she opened the door, she ran into someone unexpected—Liu Wen, a local troublemaker from a neighboring village.
He was sneakily perched on a tree beside the Su family courtyard, craning his neck to peek inside.
Old Madam Su caught him red-handed.
“Liu Wen! What are you doing climbing our tree and spying on our yard? Don’t you have your own home? Why are you lurking around our village?”
Liu Wen immediately put on a sheepish grin.
“Auntie, it’s like this—I heard your family is holding a birthday celebration for Fu Bao, so I came to help.”
Old Madam Su knew full well that a slick, cunning fellow like Liu Wen wouldn’t be offering help out of kindness—he was clearly hoping to get something out of it.
“What a pity—we’ve already arranged enough helpers,” she said bluntly.
“Auntie, I don’t need any money,” Liu Wen quickly added. “Just give me a meal and that’ll be enough. How about it?”
Even Old Madam Su found it hard to deal with someone so shameless.
“We don’t need extra help,” she replied, “but if you want a meal, you can come at noon.”
Hearing this, Liu Wen immediately brightened.
“Alright, Auntie! I’ll head back for now.”
With that, he happily left without looking back.
By this time, Su Muyao had woken up. Lying in bed, she smacked her lips and rubbed her little belly.
She was a bit hungry—but decided not to eat too much breakfast so she could save room for the big feast at noon.
This lazy life is actually pretty great, she thought.
Eat when full, sleep when tired—no worries, no stress. No studying, no responsibilities… It was wonderful.
The third son’s wife sat beside her, watching over the little girl.
Old Madam Su had specifically instructed everyone to keep a close eye on her lately—no more sneaking off to the mountains.
When Old Madam Su returned from the village chief’s house, she went to check on her granddaughter.
There she saw the tiny girl lying quietly beside her mother, staring blankly at the ceiling beams, while her mother sat nearby sewing shoe soles.
Looking at her well-behaved little granddaughter, Old Madam Su began praising her to her daughter-in-law.
Today, Su Muyao was dressed in a bright red little dress with a small vest over it.
Her hair was tied into a tiny topknot sticking up toward the sky—adorable beyond words.
When they first gave her the nickname “Fu Bao” (Blessed Treasure), it was simply because the old Taoist had said she was blessed.
But as time went on, they realized just how fitting the name was.
Her fair, chubby cheeks were rosy and lovable—she looked exactly like one of those lucky children painted in New Year pictures.
And beyond her looks, her inexplicable good fortune made the name even more appropriate.
The more Old Madam Su looked at her, the more she adored her.
Soon, several young women from the village began arriving to help.
A few relatives from the third daughter-in-law’s family also came.
Thinking it was only right, she picked up Su Muyao to introduce her to them.
After exchanging greetings with a few older women, she walked over to her sisters-in-law from her natal family.
This time, only the second and third sisters-in-law had come—she had heard the eldest refused to attend.
Back when she lived at home, the eldest sister-in-law had always given her a hard time, and even after marriage, their relationship hadn’t improved. But she didn’t mind much anymore.
At that moment, the second sister-in-law spoke:
“So this is the lucky child you always talk about. No wonder you keep saying she’s blessed—now that I see her, she really is beautiful.”
The third sister-in-law chimed in:
“That’s right! In all the nearby villages, I’ve never seen a child as pretty as Fu Bao. Even in our village, there’s no girl this fair and chubby. The Su family’s little treasure is truly blessed.”
At first, Su Muyao was quietly enjoying the compliments about her beauty.
But then—she heard the word chubby.
Her face instantly puffed up in indignation, her soft cheeks trembling slightly.
Pouting, she turned her head away and buried her face in her mother’s arms, refusing to come out.
I’m a modern 21st-century beauty, she fumed internally. Since when did anyone call me fat?!
Her reaction made everyone burst into laughter.
As the adults continued chatting, Su Muyao began to feel uncomfortable from being held for too long early in the morning.
She squirmed and struggled, trying to get down onto the ground.