Volume One, Chapter 12: The Backlash of Doom

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Chen Sanlaizi shouted angrily, “Then why on earth did you have to put the soup basin on the table? That scalding hot soup is so dangerous!”

Zhao Jinniang was anxious and worried, tears streaming down her face in heavy drops. She retorted unwillingly, “So you’re blaming me? Usually, that foolish girl watches the two children, so we can eat in peace. But today, didn’t you chase her away? I only left for a moment, and you couldn’t even keep an eye on the kids. How dare you yell at me, Chen Sanlaizi, you bastard! Go get the doctor right now!”

Chen Sanlaizi pointed at Zhao Jinniang with resentment, hastily climbed down from the kang bed, put on his clothes, lit a lantern, and rushed toward Doctor Chen’s house.

As he stepped outside, he failed to watch his footing and tripped on scattered bricks in the courtyard, falling flat on his face. Still, the children inside were wailing terribly. Having finally fathered a pair of precious twin sons at the age of thirty, Chen Sanlaizi anxiously got up and ran out.

By the time Chen Sanlaizi brought Doctor Chen back, Zhao Jinniang held one child in each arm, her hair disheveled and eyes swollen from crying. The two children, in pain and exhausted, had finally fallen asleep.

Doctor Chen first glanced at Chen Jindan, whose entire body was covered in burns. It was winter, and the kang was warm, but Zhao Jinniang had dressed the child in thin, inadequate clothing. The scalding soup had burned half the child’s face, spreading down the neck and onto much of the upper body. Zhao Jinniang had stripped off his shirt and applied pig grease ointment on the burns, which had already swollen into large blisters.

He frowned sharply and spoke sternly, “Can’t you adults keep a better watch? How could you let the children suffer such pain?”

Zhao Jinniang burst into tears again. “Doctor Chen, please save my two sons. We never expected such a disaster could happen in just a moment of carelessness.”

“How old are they? Barely over a year and a half. Don’t you know as parents to look after your children’s safety? There’s an old saying: never take your eyes off a child under three, never let go of their hand before five. How are you even fit to be parents?”

“Yes, yes, it’s all our fault. Usually, that foolish girl watches them, but today we weren’t used to it and made a terrible mistake. Doctor Chen, please check on the children. Please don’t let scars remain...”

Doctor Chen sneered, “With burns this severe, it’s fortunate if I can treat them without risking their lives. Whether scars remain depends on the children’s condition, but I’ll be frank—scarring is almost certain. The question is how deep or faint the scars will be.”

“Ah?” Zhao Jinniang’s knees buckled and she sank onto the kang. If half her child’s face was scarred, how could he ever look normal again?

Chen Sanlaizi panicked too, pointing at the younger son’s leg, where a chopstick had pierced halfway through. “If he can’t walk properly later, what then?”

Doctor Chen braced himself and treated the children’s wounds. After much fussing, the children woke, cried, fussed again, and finally fell asleep. It was nearly midnight by the time he finished. Doctor Chen gave Chen Sanlaizi and his wife a prescription. “Some of the herbs I don’t have here; you’ll need to buy them yourself from the county pharmacy. Boil the medicine for the children to drink. Make sure the wounds don’t get infected, or it could be fatal. There are also ointments for burns at the city pharmacy. Buy some to apply; it might ease their condition.”

“Alright, alright. Doctor Chen, how much do we owe you?” Chen Sanlaizi asked politely, preparing to pay.

Thinking of Tang Tang’s miserable state, Doctor Chen didn’t hold back. “Five taels of silver will do.”

“What?!” Chen Sanlaizi’s eyes widened as he pointed at the children sleeping on the bed. “You just treated burns and a stab wound, and told us to buy the rest ourselves from the city, yet you want five taels of silver? Why don’t you just rob us instead?”

Doctor Chen’s gaze turned cold. “You don’t have to pay if you don’t want to. But from now on, don’t come to me with headaches or fevers. Go find doctors in the city yourself. I wonder if you even have the luck to make it that far.”

Zhao Jinniang, knowing Chen was a capable doctor, quickly urged Chen Sanlaizi to pay.

Chen Sanlaizi reluctantly handed over five taels of silver and saw Doctor Chen to the door. Turning back home, he began cursing, venting his anger on Zhao Jinniang. The couple had a rare quarrel, fighting and smashing things, neither yielding. The children’s piercing cries lasted until late into the night, only ceasing when their voices were hoarse, much to the neighbors’ distress.

Jiang Family.

Jiang Xian and Qian sat on either side of Tang Tang, who slept on the warm kang. The little girl’s eyes sparkled, unable to believe her mother and grandmother were both staying with her. If it weren’t inappropriate, Jiang Shunde would have squeezed in too.

Back in the hard times, the whole family would sleep on one kang; the closer they were, the stronger their bond.

Now he lay alone on the kang, without a wife, children, or granddaughter—sniff, sniff, he felt like crying!

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…

In the east room, Tang Tang rubbed her round little belly, licking the corners of her mouth as she savored the evening meal. “Grandpa’s cooking is so delicious. Tang Tang’s never eaten food this good before.”

She held Jiang Xian’s hand tightly, and with her other hand grasped the thin, somewhat bony hand of Qian, her face full of innocent wonder. “Mother, grandmother, is this really not a dream?”

There was a spacious, comfortable big room to live in, a warm kang, a beautiful and gentle mother, a grandmother who could braid hair, a grandpa who cooked delicious food and let her eat as much as she wanted.

She even had a pretty flowered dress—the first time she ever wore such lovely clothes. The hem was embroidered with pretty flowers, though she didn’t know what kind they were, but they were truly beautiful.

Jiang Xian smiled and hugged her, rubbing her little head. “It’s not a dream. It’s real. Now go to sleep. Tomorrow morning, your mother will take you to play in the mountains!”

Tang Tang’s bright eyes lit up instantly. “Wow, really? Tang Tang can really go?”

Qian muttered, “You little girl, go freeze on the mountain yourself. Don’t make your good granddaughter suffer!”

But Tang Tang quickly nestled into Qian’s arms, her voice soft and coaxing. “Grandma, Tang Tang’s not afraid of hardship. Tang Tang wants to go hunting with mother, okay?”

The little girl’s coquettishness was far more charming than Jiang Xian’s as a child.

Qian had no defense against it.

Remembering Jiang Xian’s strength and many years in the mountains, she reluctantly agreed, “Alright then. Grandma will cook you some rock sugar white fungus soup. Drink it early when you come down with your mother!”

“Grandma’s the best!” Tang Tang rubbed her soft little head against Qian’s neck, melting her heart.

They had worried Tang Tang wouldn’t adapt, would be shy or restless in a new bed, but she adjusted quickly and soon fell into a deep sleep.

Only in her dreams did she occasionally frown and mutter, mostly pleading for her mother not to hit or scold her.

It was clear the child was haunted by nightmares of being bullied at the Chen household, making her all the more pitiful.

The next morning, before dawn, the air was bone-chilling cold as he stepped outside.

The Laba Festival was approaching, and the days grew colder by the hour.

Chen Sanlaizi wore a fur-lined brimmed hat that covered his ears and carried a woven basket on his back. Zhao Jinniang, worried, had placed a small machete inside the basket and repeatedly warned, “Be careful on the mountain. If you can’t catch any game, come back. Don’t get into a fight with the mountain hunters!”

Every trade had its own rules.

After losing five taels on Doctor Chen’s bill and arguing with Zhao Jinniang until midnight, Chen Sanlaizi was still fuming, unable to sleep.

So he got up before dawn, determined to beat Jiang Xian to the mountain and seize her game.

Zhao Jinniang had returned to her dutiful wife role. Life had to go on. With two sons injured—one disfigured, the other with a wounded thigh—both needed proper care. She could no longer abandon the children and run back to her parents, waiting for Chen Sanlaizi to coax her home. She had to grit her teeth and muddle through.

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Watching her husband’s retreating figure, Zhao Jinniang felt mounting unease. How could so much go wrong in just one day since that foolish girl left? They had even had a big fight.

After so long without quarrels, the sudden shouting left Zhao Jinniang’s lips numb.

Could it be that the girl brought fortune to their door, and with her gone, the luck had also vanished?

But then she thought of the twenty to thirty taels of tax savings over three years. Shaking her head sharply, she dismissed the absurd thought.

…

Jiang Family.

Jiang Xian was already up. For over a decade, she had gotten up at dawn every day to jog around the river embankment for health, then chop firewood and carry it home, filling the water jars along the way.

Having strong arms, none of this was a burden.

Seeing the river water nearly frozen, she made a few extra rounds to fill three large jars at home—enough for the family’s drinking and cooking for ten days without worry.

Just after setting down the water bucket, Jiang Xian finished warming up and noticed a furtive figure sneaking up the mountain along a narrow path. She narrowed her eyes and smiled coldly.

What an unwelcome visitor to the mountain!

Jiang Xian went inside to wake her parents and then to the east room to call Tang Tang.

“Lazy little pig, get up. Didn’t you promise mother we’d go to the mountain to play today?”

First, there was nothing else to do at home.

Second, Tang Tang was a blessed child. With her, Jiang Xian was sure they would have better luck and perhaps catch more game. She was strong enough to carry Tang Tang up and down the mountain several times and could protect the little girl.

Third, her father was busy plowing. Though it was winter and no crops needed tending, preparations for spring planting had already begun. Qian was alone at home, and Jiang Xian didn’t want her to overwork.

Hearing the gentle call, Tang Tang slowly opened her eyes.

Before her stood her mother, fresh-faced without makeup, lips red and teeth white—beautiful as a fairy descended from the heavens.

Awakening, Tang Tang stretched her chubby little hands and rubbed her eyes, sitting up obediently and softly calling, “Mother!”

Jiang Xian felt a warm rush throughout her body, a tingling that shot straight to her crown.

Damn! Is this the start of good fortune repaying us already?