Chapter 17: Picking a Wildflower

The fortune teller said that the child and the adult could not live together—in other words, they could not coexist in the same household. One must leave: either the child would be given up for adoption, or the adult would live elsewhere and not return home.

Cai Zhongsheng recalled a night some time ago when they held a full-month celebration for the child. A firecracker exploded and injured her father, Wu Zidan, blinding his left eye. Wu Zidan was hospitalized for several days; the child remained healthy and well. But after Wu Zidan was discharged and returned home, the child fell ill that very same day.

Cai Zhongsheng held the child as she returned home, deeply troubled and full of worries, yet she did not share the fortune teller’s ominous words with her husband.

That night, she had a strange dream: a wild rooster appeared before her, oddly familiar—it was the very same rooster that Wu Zidan had killed before. Just as she was about to speak, the rooster spoke first: “Mother Cai, I know you have been kind to me, but your current husband treats me terribly and even beat me to death with a bamboo pole. I want to tell you, your precious daughter is my reincarnation. I was born into your family to seek repayment from Wu Zidan.”

Cai Zhongsheng was about to protest, “You cannot burden me like this—”

Before she could finish, in the blink of an eye, the rooster mysteriously vanished.

At that moment, the child’s cries woke her. Cai Zhongsheng soothed her daughter by nursing her, quieting the baby’s cries, but inside, she felt uneasy. In the dream, she had learned that Wu Ying was the reincarnation of that rooster.

As she cradled the child’s back with one hand, she strangely felt as if she were holding the back of a rooster.

A few days later, the child developed a low-grade fever again.

Wu Ying finally confided in her husband: “Zidan, the fortune teller said your and Wu Ying’s birth charts clash. If you two stay together, either she falls ill or you do—and nothing will go smoothly.”

She kept the details of the dream about the rooster to herself, fearing Wu Zidan could not bear the truth.

Wu Zidan was silent for a moment after hearing Cai Zhongsheng. He remembered the incident when his left eye was injured by the firecracker during the child’s full-month celebration and thought it was a sign of misfortune. His mood soured immediately.

Cai Zhongsheng, holding the nursing child with one arm, gestured with the other and said, “For the sake of peace, either you leave this home, or the child must leave. Otherwise, there will be no tranquility.”

Wu Zidan replied, “It’s obviously impossible for me to leave, so let’s give the child up for adoption.”

Cai Zhongsheng said, “The child is too young; I can’t bear it. Let her grow to half a year old before sending her away. I would feel more at ease then.”

Wu Zidan said, “Why give her away? Send her to my hometown, Liushu Village, to be raised by my mother. After all, she is our flesh and blood.”

Cai Zhongsheng smiled bitterly, “She will need to grow to half a year old first. I suggest you go back to Liushu Village and live there for half a year before I send the child to your mother.”

Wu Zidan agreed, “That is the only way.”

After Wu Zidan left the household, the child’s illness did improve for a time.

But soon she fell ill again, her whole body burning with fever, her eyes barely open, squinting into narrow slits.

Cai Zhongsheng saw that the child’s symptoms resembled a loss of soul and spirit.

She sought out Liu Banxian, a local shaman from a neighboring village, who said the child was afflicted by a wandering ghost spirit.

Cai Zhongsheng was amazed that Liu Banxian understood the situation without her saying a word.

She asked with full faith, “How can I save the child?”

Liu Banxian instructed her to retrieve the child’s wandering soul first, then perform a ritual to save her.

Following the instructions, for three consecutive nights, Cai Zhongsheng stood at her open doorway, calling out loudly and answering herself: “Wu Ying, are you back?” “Yes, I am back!” Her voice gradually softened as she moved closer to the child’s room.

After about ten minutes, she closed the door.

Liu Banxian warned that the child’s soul was still attached but could be lost again due to the strong malevolent energy. If Wu Ying’s soul departed to reincarnate elsewhere—whether in a human or another creature—the child here would die, as her soul could not return.

To ward off this evil and save the child’s life, Cai Zhongsheng complied with Liu Banxian’s advice.

She procured a rooster, slit its throat, and scattered its blood beneath the child’s bed.

This proved effective; that night, the child’s fever subsided, and she slept peacefully.

After her husband’s departure, Cai Zhongsheng cared for the child alone while managing the household chores, which was taxing.

Yet she remained strong, fueled by the conviction that once the child reached half a year, she would send her away for adoption. When her husband returned, her burdens would ease.

However, some heavy physical tasks were unavoidable.

One night, she went to the outhouse. The stench was overwhelming, but she held her nose or held her breath to endure it. The real problem was that the cesspit had not been emptied in a long time; the waste had piled so high that squatting risked direct contact with the filth.

This was unacceptable.

The next morning, she soothed the child to sleep in the cradle and placed a pair of fire scissors across the cradle’s opening to ward off evil before leaving.

She then went to empty two full wooden buckets of human waste from the latrine, planning to use it as fertilizer for the vegetable plots by the hillside.

While carrying a load of manure past the bamboo grove, she saw Qiu Decai, a man from the neighboring household, leading a yellow ox out of the bamboo forest.

She paid him no mind, but unexpectedly, Qiu Decai tied the ox in the grove and hurried over behind her, greeting her warmly, “Sister-in-law.”

When Cai Zhongsheng turned, he smiled broadly and said, “Why isn’t your husband Wu Zidan hauling the manure? Why do you, a frail woman, have to do it?”

Cai Zhongsheng ignored him and continued on, thinking, We live in the same village. Hasn’t he heard about my family’s troubles? Doesn’t he know? He’s just asking foolish questions.

Qiu Decai, of course, knew some of the situation. He spoke only to strike up a rapport. Cai Zhongsheng was slender and attractive, and he secretly coveted her, though he had never had the chance to act on his desire.

Now that he ran into her, his heart raced with longing.

Seeing she ignored him, he heard the bamboo yoke creak as it rubbed against her shoulders while she shifted the load.

He pressed on, “Sister-in-law, rest a bit. Let me carry it for you.”

“No, thank you.” Cai Zhongsheng was already sweating from the labor. She wished for help but felt too shy to ask.

Qiu Decai moved ahead, turned to face her, and spread his arms to block her path. “Put down the yoke. I’ll carry it for you. It’s no trouble.”

Reluctantly, Cai Zhongsheng stopped and handed him the yoke, offering a faint smile. “Thank you, Brother Qiu.”

“Don’t mention it,” he said, glancing at the two buckets. “Why didn’t you bring a scoop? Without one, it’s hard to spread the manure. Did you forget, or is there none in your outhouse?”

“I did forget,” she admitted. “It’s my first time hauling manure. I wouldn’t do it if not necessary. The pit was so full, almost overflowing. I was counting on my husband to do it, but he can’t come home yet. Now I truly realize that a woman without a man’s support really can’t manage.”

She added, “Sorry about that. I’ll go get a scoop right away.”

Qiu Decai nodded and took the load, heading toward the vegetable garden at the foot of the hill.

Once there, he stopped and thought to himself, If I didn’t like her handsome appearance, I wouldn’t help carry manure for her.

His subconscious stirred with desire, growing stronger upon seeing her again.

While lost in these thoughts, a butterfly fluttered past his eyes, landing on a wild flower with red petals in the garden. Its wings were green.

This contrast sparked a flicker of romance in Qiu Decai.

He tiptoed closer, hoping to catch the green butterfly, then pluck the red flower. When Cai Zhongsheng arrived, he planned to greet her with the butterfly and flower hidden behind his back, suddenly presenting them with a smile and teasing, “Doesn’t this look like green leaves with red flowers?” using it as a playful theme to flirt.

Just as he reached out to pinch the butterfly’s wings, the clever creature darted away like a flash of green light, vanishing into the open sky.