Back in her spatial dimension, Zhang Hongmei decided to splurge and take a bath in the spiritual spring. She always felt weak and lacking energy. Although she drank the spiritual spring water every day, which would gradually improve her health, she was impatient and wanted to be strong and healthy immediately.
While physical strength may not be achievable immediately, physical strength is still attainable. Those who have faced death once cherish their bodies more; everything else is secondary.
I heated the spring water and poured it into the bathtub. Sitting in it, I instantly felt like my body was floating; it was so comfortable, my body was incredibly relaxed, as if even my soul had been cleansed. After soaking for about half an hour, I felt dizzy. No, I couldn't sleep here, so I forced myself to climb into bed, closed my eyes, and fell asleep instantly. When I woke up, I felt incredibly satisfied; all the fatigue had vanished. Moreover, I felt sharper and more alert, and my mental state was exceptionally good. This was truly better than I had imagined.
Rubbing my rumbling stomach, I got up and went to the kitchen, but I realized I couldn't wait to cook, so I went to the storeroom to find something to eat.
Seeing the steak made my mouth water. I didn't even use a fork; I just grabbed it with my hands and swallowed it in a few bites—literally swallowed! Now I finally understand what it's like for Pigsy to eat ginseng fruit. I then picked up a braised pig's trotter and went into the kitchen, sitting down at the table to savor it. Finally, I was full. After washing my greasy hands, I felt truly at ease. A full stomach brings peace of mind.
I cleaned the bathroom, got dressed, and went outside. I shivered as soon as I stepped outside; it was really cold. It was already daylight. How long had I slept?
She picked up the wooden planks, noticing that the shoe uppers she'd pasted yesterday had all set. She gathered them together, then sewed white cloth strips along the edges of all the uppers to make them look nice. She knew she wouldn't be able to wait for Li Cuihua today. Something had happened to her family.
It all started yesterday. Li Cuihua rushed home and saw her second daughter cooking pig feed while she chopped cabbage stalks and added fuel to the fire. "Where's your sister?"
Liu Erya glanced at her mother, wondering why she was back so early today. Her sister had been having a run of bad luck lately; yesterday her father had blocked her way, and today it was her mother again. The incident at noon over steamed buns hadn't even been resolved yet, and now this new problem had arisen. "I don't know."
"How could you not know where she went?"
"I really don't know, I didn't see her when I came out after I finished sewing the shoe soles."
"Your sister hasn't come back to the house yet?"
"Yes, I cleaned the table all by myself, so I didn't see her then."
"This spendthrift girl is courting death. She's got some nerve."
Liu Erya pouted, thinking to herself that her mother was just saying it for show, and her sister would easily appease her. She couldn't afford to be disliked, or she'd end up pleasing neither side. She continued with her work, ignoring her mother.
Li Cuihua felt helpless looking at her second daughter, who was so quiet and unresponsive. Couldn't she just try to coax her mother? With such a clumsy tongue, she would never win the favor of her husband's family after marriage.
She angrily lifted the curtain and went inside, lying on the kang (heated brick bed) sulking. She regretted not being stricter with her eldest daughter, thinking how spoiled she was. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard her eldest daughter's voice, "Er Ya, feed the pigs first, I'm exhausted."
Liu Erya didn't reply, but Li Cuihua still heard the pigs squealing. Her mind went back to her. Even though her second daughter wasn't good at saying nice things, she was diligent, clean, sensible, and never loud or boisterous.
"Er Ya, hurry up and cook. Mom and Dad will be back soon. Let me tell you, if you tell them that I don't do any chores and you're the one who does them, I'll teach you a lesson."
Liu Erya ignored her completely and went about her business. If this older sister hadn't threatened her, she would have told her that her mother was lying in the room. But this older sister was always bullying her and would never tell her anything. She would see what the older sister would do in a while.
Li Cuihua was so angry at Daya's words that she had a headache. Where did she learn to be so cunning and sly? There was no one like that in the family. She must have taken after her grandmother and aunt. They were greedy, lazy, and sly.
"You silly girl, can't you speak properly? You didn't tell Dad yesterday, did you? I'm your older sister, so you have to do chores for me. Look at our Auntie, she doesn't do anything, and her hands are so well-maintained. I want hands like that too, then I won't have to work every day. Er Ya, let me tell you, Grandma bought Auntie a new hair accessory, from the county town. It has so many layers of petals, and it's pink, so pretty! Do you think I should ask Mom for one? She wants 70 cents! I've spent all my pocket money, and you haven't spent yours yet, could you lend me some?"
Liu Daya sat by the stove, putting on a monologue, because Liu Erya completely ignored her. Lend her money? That would be like throwing good money after bad, never to be seen again. She'd find a chance to hide the money later; she couldn't let her get her hands on it. She'd saved up those few dollars over several years. Lending it to her would be too much of a waste.
Seeing that Er Ya ignored her, Liu Daya picked up a branch and whipped her, but unexpectedly raised her hand higher and struck Er Ya in the face. Er Ya screamed and then crouched on the ground, covering her eyes.
Li Cuihua also heard Er Ya's screams. She quickly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and rushed out of the house. She saw her second daughter squatting on the ground, covering her eyes with her hands. At this moment, there was no time to discipline Daya. She rushed to Er Ya, pulled her up, and tried to pull away her hands covering her eyes. "Er Ya, what's wrong? What happened to your eyes?"
"Mom, I'm fine, I just can't open my eyes, it'll be fine in a bit." Liu Erya put down her hand, and Li Cuihua saw a bloody smear on Erya's eyelid, which looked frightening. She helped Erya into the house. "Erya, lie down. If it still hurts in a while, tell me, and we'll go to the hospital. If you go blind, it'll be a disaster."
Liu Erya, supported by Li Cuihua, returned to her room and lay down on the kang (a heated brick bed). Li Cuihua stormed out, grabbed a thick tree branch, and lashed out at Liu Daya, yelling, "You good-for-nothing girl! How dare you hit your sister? Are you even human? You're getting more and more like an animal! She's your own sister! How could you do that?"
While dodging, Liu Daya tried to argue, "Mom, I didn't do it on purpose. I was just trying to put the branches into the stove and accidentally hit my second sister."
"You beast! I was lying in the house and heard what you said. You still dare to argue? How could I have given birth to such a beast? I should have strangled you at birth!"
Liu Daya stormed out the door, standing in the courtyard, yelling, "You still say you'd rather strangle me? Didn't you want to strangle me back then? If my grandma hadn't stopped me, you would have strangled me long ago! How could I still be alive now? My grandma said you're no good!" Liu Daya spoke with righteous indignation, but it made Li Cuihua so angry she almost fell over. This ungrateful wretch! How could she have raised such an ungrateful child? It was truly a sin; it was God punishing her!
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