In the darkness of the night, stars dotted the sky, and moonlight streamed through the window. The faint chirping of cicadas could be heard outside.
Xu Chunhua and Meng Qiushi held palm-leaf fans, fanning the children.
The summer heat was stifling. Meng Huai and Meng Qing were sweating all over, but as gentle breezes drifted over them, they gradually fell asleep.
Seeing the children asleep, Xu Chunhua and Meng Qiushi exchanged smiles and lowered their heads to look at the newborn twins lying between them.
Xu Chunhua said softly, “Sleep now. We still have to work tomorrow morning.”
Meng Qiushi propped himself up on one arm and leaned over to kiss Xu Chunhua on the lips. “Alright.”
The room fell silent.
Meng Yu opened her round dark eyes and vaguely saw the large full moon outside the window.
The fish-shaped jade pendant had already acknowledged her as its master, but she still hadn’t entered the space inside to inspect it.
She had only just been born and couldn’t even stand yet. Even if her physical body entered the space, it would be useless.
Meng Yu closed her eyes and tried to connect her soul with the jade pendant.
A moment later, the Meng Yu lying in the room stared blankly at the ceiling as though her soul had been pulled out of her body.
Her spirit had entered the space.
She floated above soft soil, her grape-like watery eyes curiously surveying her surroundings.
Before her stretched endless black earth. Nearby came the sound of flowing water. Meng Yu floated toward the stream and saw countless golden koi swimming within it.
One lively koi leapt out of the water, and Meng Yu instinctively grabbed it.
She caught the fish by the tail. A burst of golden light flashed, and the koi vanished, replaced by a golden spiritual medicine pill in her palm.
When koi emerged from the water, they transformed into spiritual medicine.
This medicine could beautify the skin and strengthen the body. In the original story, the heroine Meng Zhu had relied on these medicines to befriend many powerful figures.
Meng Yu clenched the medicine tightly and glanced at the bare land around her. The soil looked no different from ordinary dirt and held no obvious magical properties.
After leaving the space, the spiritual medicine was still clenched in her tiny palm.
“Little Fishy, why are you awake? Are you hungry?”
Xu Chunhua opened her eyes and leaned against the headboard while yawning sleepily. She picked Meng Yu up and gently bounced her in her arms.
Quick as lightning, Meng Yu stuffed the spiritual medicine into Xu Chunhua’s mouth.
The medicine melted instantly upon contact, colorless and tasteless. Xu Chunhua noticed nothing unusual and casually caught Meng Yu’s tiny hand, lightly nibbling it.
Having eaten her fill, Meng Yu drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, Xu Chunhua got out of bed looking refreshed and energetic. She mixed herself a bowl of milk powder, feeling that all the discomfort caused by childbirth had completely vanished. Her whole body felt warm and comfortable, as though she were soaking in hot water.
Pulling aside the curtain, she looked out the window and saw Wang Cuilian sneaking toward the backyard.
Xu Chunhua curled her lips disdainfully. Yesterday they had drunk most of the chicken soup, so that old hag was definitely planning to secretly stew another pot for Chen Rou.
Sure enough, after Wang Cuilian finished butchering a chicken, she carried the pot into her room.
She was planning to stew the soup indoors. The kitchen didn’t even have a door, so the smell would drift everywhere if she cooked there.
Xu Chunhua pouted and muttered quietly, “That biased old woman. Won’t make me chicken soup, huh? Tonight I’ll have Meng Qiushi steal the fattest hen for me.”
Since everyone handed over all the work points anyway and the family shared everything, stealing one chicken shouldn’t be a problem, right?
Hearing her mother’s words, Meng Yu waved her tiny hand.
That evening, after finishing work, Meng Qiushi first brought food into the room for Xu Chunhua before returning to the main hall to eat dinner.
After dinner, he led Meng Wei and Meng Qing back to their room.
Their village bordered the mountains, and wild animals often appeared nearby. Once it got dark, children had to stay indoors.
Leaning against the headboard, Xu Chunhua began complaining, “Meng Qiushi, your mom went too far today. She secretly stewed chicken soup for Chen Rou again. Chen Rou doesn’t earn work points and she’s just an adopted daughter. Why should she eat the family’s food?
“They should just split us off already. Let your mom live alone with Chen Rou. She must have water in her brain—ignoring her own children while doting on an adopted daughter.”
Watching Xu Chunhua ramble on with furrowed brows, Meng Qiushi sat beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, coaxing gently, “Don’t be angry, wife. Tonight I’ll steal the fattest hen in the coop and stew soup for you.”
Xu Chunhua’s anger immediately turned to delight. Leaning against his chest, she smiled happily. “Marrying you wasn’t a waste.”
Late that night, after Xu Chunhua finished feeding the twins, Meng Qiushi rubbed his hands together eagerly, preparing to head out.
Just as he was about to leave, Meng Yu let out weak little cries.
Heart aching for his daughter, Meng Qiushi picked her up and soothed her. Instantly, Meng Yu smiled.
After calming his daughter, he tried to leave again.
Meng Yu started crying once more.
Her cries weren’t loud, but Meng Qiushi adored his daughter too much, so he picked her up and coaxed her again.
“Huh, what’s with our daughter today? She only stops crying when you hold her,” Xu Chunhua remarked curiously. Seeing how late it was getting, she urged, “Hurry up already, or dawn will break soon.”
The moment Meng Qiushi stepped out the door, Meng Yu burst into heart-rending sobs.
His foot immediately retreated back inside.
“My little ancestor, what’s wrong now?” Meng Qiushi bounced her helplessly in his arms.
Meng Yu’s tiny hand tightly grasped his thumb and absolutely refused to let go.
“How about I take our daughter with me? Otherwise she cries the moment I leave. If she wakes everyone up, how am I supposed to steal the chicken?” Meng Qiushi carefully asked Xu Chunhua for permission.
Xu Chunhua hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Alright. If someone catches you, just say you brought Little Fishy out to admire the moon.”
“Then I’m heading out.”
“Be careful. And remember to catch the fattest old hen. I’ve been craving that chicken for ages.”
And so, Meng Qiushi sneakily left the house carrying Meng Yu.
Arriving at the chicken coop in the backyard, Meng Qiushi skillfully caught the fattest and biggest hen.
The moment he turned to leave, every chicken and duck in the coop vanished.
Using her spiritual power, Meng Yu could store anything within a one-meter radius into her space.
To prevent the poultry from making noise, Meng Qiushi had deliberately scattered wheat on the ground. The chickens and ducks gathered together pecking at it, making things especially convenient for Meng Yu.
Meng Qiushi first carried Meng Yu back to the room. Seeing that she no longer cried, he finally relaxed.
Then he left again and headed for a hidden cave deep in the mountains.
Inside the cave were firewood, seasonings, a pot, and a spatula.
This was his secret base.
Cooking secretly at home risked attracting attention because of the smell, so he had found this cave instead.
The base had existed since he was old enough to understand things. After marrying Xu Chunhua, the couple often came here to secretly cook extra meals. Later, after having children, they frequently brought the kids here too.
Soon, a fragrant pot of chicken soup was boiling. Golden chicken oil floated on the surface. Meng Qiushi inhaled deeply, savoring the aroma, before pouring the soup into a thermos container.
Xu Chunhua was nearly asleep when she finally got the chicken soup she’d been waiting for.
She quickly shook Meng Wei and Meng Qing awake. “Kids, wake up! Time for chicken soup!”
Meng Wei and Meng Qing had been clever little rascals since childhood. Rubbing their eyes, they eagerly gulped down the soup.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, Meng Qiushi buried the chicken bones somewhere outside and burned mugwort inside the room to cover the smell.
The next morning, before dawn had even broken, a shrill scream pierced through the entire village.
Immediately afterward came the crying of a baby from Chen Rou’s room.
Meng Qiushi shot upright from bed, still bleary-eyed. “It’s just one missing chicken. Is there really a need to react this dramatically? Anyone listening would think my dad died.”
In Meng Qiushi’s eyes, he hated his biased mother and irresponsible father alike.
Meng Dazhuang had never cared about the children, allowing Wang Cuilian to mistreat them freely. Some people were alive, yet might as well have been dead.
Xu Chunhua glanced at Meng Qiushi and yawned. “If your dad died, your mom wouldn’t react this strongly.”
Outside came Wang Cuilian’s stream of curses.
Xu Chunhua nudged Meng Qiushi. “Go out and see what happened.”
Meng Qiushi pulled on his clothes and walked outside. Meng Qiufeng and Meng Qiushou had also come out.
The three brothers exchanged looks, each seeing confusion in the others’ eyes.
When they reached the backyard, they saw Wang Cuilian sitting on the ground, crying, wailing, and cursing all at once.
“Mom, what happened?” Meng Qiufeng hurried over to help her up.
Wang Cuilian looked utterly devastated as she pointed at the coop. “All my chickens and ducks are gone.”
As usual, she had come to the backyard to collect eggs, only to discover every chicken and duck had vanished without a trace.
Shock flashed through Meng Qiushi’s eyes before he indignantly exclaimed, “That’s outrageous!”
Every household in the village raised chickens and ducks, usually around a dozen or so. Raising more than that simply wasn’t affordable.
After all, even having enough food to survive was still a major problem.
Families kept some eggs for themselves and sold the rest.
City residents rarely raised poultry, so the collected eggs were either sold to the supply cooperative or directly to townspeople.
Wang Cuilian wanted to ask the production team leader, Li Xiangqian, to help recover the missing poultry, but Li Xiangqian was already overwhelmed with work. How could he possibly spare time to search for chickens and ducks?
Even the police might not find stolen goods, much less a mere production team leader.
When Meng Qiushi returned to the room, Xu Chunhua hurriedly asked, “What happened outside?”
“All the chickens and ducks are gone. It’s really strange. My mom went to find Li Xiangqian.”
Meng Qiushi plopped down onto the bed. “If I’d known the chickens and ducks would get stolen anyway, I should’ve stolen two chickens last night.”
Xu Chunhua’s mouth formed an O shape. “What kind of person is so capable they could silently steal more than ten chickens and ducks?”
The husband and wife truly had equally bizarre ways of thinking.
Meng Yu waved her chubby little arms and babbled a few happy sounds.