"Old Man, that jinx is dead! That scared the living daylights out of me!"
The eldest son, Tian Tieniu, raised his head in surprise. "Dead? How did that happen? Third Brother died, and now Third Sister-in-law is also dead. How are the two children going to survive?"
Madam Tian Liu pinched the Tian Tieniu on his thigh and whispered in his ear, "Mind your own business!"
Tian Zhuangzhu placed his bowl and chopsticks down and got onto his feet, saying to his two daughters-in-law, "Madam Liu, Madam Ma, no matter what, you've been sisters-in-law with Madam Chen for many years. Find some decent garments and bring them over to take a look. If she's really gone, help her change into the clean garments and tidy her up. Eldest Son and Second Son, find some help to carry her body out for a burial!"
By this time, Madam Wang had come back to her senses and calmed down. She said, "There's no need to look for help! The two of you, go roll Madam Chen's body in a straw mat and put her in a cart. Then take her to the mountains and bury her there. That settles it. There's no need to spend money to get help. Besides, we'd have to provide boarding and end up paying through our noses."
Madam Liu and Madam Ma as well, were unwilling to do those things for the third son's family, so they ignored Tian Zhuangzhu's words.
Tian Zhuangzhu sighed and said, "Old Lady, I know that you don't like our third son, but no matter what, you were the one who gave birth to him after carrying him for ten months! You weren't even sad when he died, and now that his wife is gone, can't you just…! Sigh!"
Tian Tieniu chipped in, "That's right, Mother! Third Brother's family had never done well to begin with. Now that Third Sister-in-law is gone too, can't you let her go with dignity?"
Madam Wang narrowed her triangular eyes and said hatefully, "No way. I remember not long after Third Son was born, a Daoist priest turned up at our doorstep. He said that Third Son was here to take back what was owed him, and from then on misfortune will befall the family, there will be endless illnesses and disasters. He wanted to charge me ten teals of silver for his talismans to resolve the bad luck but I didn't have the money, so he left. Therefore, it's best for all these debt collectors in this family die!"
Juxiang stood at the door carrying her little sister, not daring to speak.
Tian Zhuangzhu and Tian Tieniu had no say in this family. Usually, their wives were in-charge. Madam Wang stubbornly stuck to her beliefs, and they could not change her mind.
Tian Tieniu and Tian Tieshan could only obey Madam Wang, and made their way to their third brother's home.
Seeing that her two uncles were heading for the dilapidated house, Juxiang followed them with her little sister in her arms. She heard her second uncle tell her eldest uncle, "Brother, you go ahead and enter the house. I'm not going. The sight of it will scare me."
The eldest son, Tian Tieniu, was a simple and honest person. Compared to his second brother, he had a better relationship with his third brother. Hence for the sake of his third brother, Tian Tieniu walked forward and pulled Madam Chen over. Then, he rolled Madam Chen in a straw mat and tied it up with a rope. Then he stood at the doorway and shouted, "Second Brother, push the cart to the doorway."
This, Tian Tieshan was willing to do. He stepped through the doorway and brought the cart over. Tian Tieniu lifted Madam Chen's body and placed it on the cart.
Just as the two of them were about to leave the courtyard, they saw Juxiang following behind with her sister in her arms. Tieniu stopped and said to Juxiang, "Juxiang, don't come with us. The mountain path is long. Just kneel at the doorway and send your mother off. We will give your mother a decent burial."
Doing as her uncle instructed, Juxiang knelt at the doorway with Wunian in her arms. As she was carrying her sister, she could only half-bend down to send her mother off.
"Mother, I will take good care of myself and Little Sister. Rest in peace!"
The two brothers pushed the cart to the foot of the mountains till they could proceed no further, then Tian Tieniu let go of the handcart.
Tian Tieshan suggested, "Let's not dig a hole. It's exhausting. We'll just leave her body here and the wild beasts will come to devour her. No one will know, it'll save us the trouble."
"How can that do? After all, Sister-in-law gave Third Brother two daughters. No matter what, she contributed! We can't leave her without a proper resting place! If you're unwilling, I'll do the digging."
"Alright, alright! I was only saying, I was only saying!"
With that, Tian Tieshan and Tieniu took up their shovels and started digging the grave together. An hour later, the pit was deep enough. The two of them carried Madam Chen's body and lowered it into the pit, then they filled it with soil.
Both men were illiterate. They found a length of timber, used a shovel to splice it open and inserted it into the grave. They did not write on it as they were illiterate, and thought that no one would come to burn joss paper for her anyway. Once they were done, Tian Tieshan hurried Tian Tieniu to return home.
After Madam Chen's body was transported out of the courtyard, Juxiang continued to kneel there with her sister in her arms. She didn't cry, for she was afraid that Grandma would throw the two of them out if she did.
Madam Wang stood at the door and scolded, "You wretched girl, why are you still kneeling there? Are you tired of living? I'm telling you, if you want to keep your sister alive, you'd better be doing some useful work. If you don't work, I won't feed you! Hmph."
After all, Madam Wang came from a rather powerful family. She had married into a worse-off family, and had to suffer along with them. Therefore, Tian Zhuangzhu was not in a position to do much about the woman.
Juxiang didn't know what to do with the baby in her arms.
Madam Wang continued, "Put the small one back in the house, then come over to wash the dishes."
Juxiang got onto her feet and carried Wunian back into their house. Although the house was dilapidated, it was her home nevertheless. She looked at the hard bed which her mother was lying on just then. Now that the bed was empty, featuring only a bare board. So that the two of them would not starve to death, Juxiang placed her sister on the bed board and turned around to find a piece of her mother's tattered clothes. She covered her sister with it. Fortunately, it was July and the weather wasn't cold.
After that, Juxiang quickly ran to the dining hall in the main residence. Madam Wang pointed at the leftovers on the table and said, "Wash the bowls and chopsticks. You sister can eat the leftovers! Don't waste them."
Eldest Aunt then hustled 10-year-old Eldest Cousin, Tian Weixin, and eight-year-old Second Cousin, Tian Weihong, to the west residence. The two boys did nothing but eat and play every day, and were spoiled rotten by their mother. She was the only one who gave the family two sons all at once. In Madam Wang's eyes, as long as one could bear sons, one was good enough.
Second Aunt, Madam Ma, too, turned around and headed back to their north residence, with her son, Weichun, and daughter Yuehong in tow. In her arms, she was carrying her daughter, Yue Lan, who had just turned one year old.
Juxiang climbed onto the table and placed the remaining rice and vegetables into two bowls separately. Then, she slowly moved the other bowls to the kitchen and filled a basin with water. The process was very difficult, but Juxiang did it.
After washing the dishes, she took the food and returned to her dilapidated house.
At this point, Tian Wunian was lying there quietly, waiting for her big sister to return. Juxiang smiled when she saw her little sister. "Little Sister is so well-behaved. I'm home. Are you hungry? I'll feed you."
Juxiang took the bowl and crawled onto the bed. She picked up some rice with her chopsticks and fed it into Wunian's mouth. Wunian pushed with her little tongue and spat out all the rice.
Juxiang panicked. "Little Sister, why aren't you eating? Aren't you hungry? You can't not eat! You're so tiny, you won't be able to grow bigger if you don't eat."
At this point, Tian Tieniu and Tian Tieshan returned with the cart. Juxiang hurriedly ran out and asked, "Eldest Uncle, Second Uncle, my sister isn't eating. Will you take a look and see what's wrong with her? Please!"
Second Uncle Tian Tieshan said disdainfully, "Shoo! Shoo! Don't bother me. I'm hot and tired."
Eldest Uncle put the cart away and came back saying, "Newborn babies can't eat rice. Find something to grind the rice into a thin rice paste. The thinner the better. It's best if it's like soup."