Chapter Seventeen: The Goat
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When she had just finished watering the ginseng, every place the spring water touched came alive. The plants grew at a frantic pace, and some even blossomed and bore fruit in an instant.
The water from the spirit spring held a fatal attraction for animals as well. It had actually lured over a herd of wild mountain goats.
Sheng Wanqiu’s eyes lit up. She turned her beaming face toward the herd below.
Heh heh heh. Hello there, little lamb skewers!
The little lamb skewers had no idea danger was approaching. They continued munching greedily on the plants nourished by the spring water.
“Which one should I catch?” Sheng Wanqiu stared at the herd.
She quickly fixed her sights on a target.
That one!
She had chosen a sturdy male mountain goat. One look at it told her the creature was fond of eating and sleeping; otherwise, it would never have grown so fat!
The kids were still young, and the nanny goats had to care for them. The male goat was the most useless of the lot.
That one it was!
She flicked her finger, and a bolt of lightning struck the male goat directly. It did not even have time to swallow the grass in its mouth before it collapsed with a thunderous crash, dead with its eyes still open.
“To commemorate you, I’ll work hard to make you even more delicious!”
Muttering to herself, Sheng Wanqiu jumped down from the tree, hoisted the goat onto her back, and headed down the mountain.
Back at the base, she had been able to lift two heavy truck tires at once without difficulty. After awakening her ability, her strength had grown tremendously as well.
Carrying a single goat was effortless for her.
After she left, the frightened wild goats returned to grazing, as if they had not even noticed that one of their companions was missing.
“My goodness! Is that the Sheng family’s girl?”
“How does that girl have so much strength? She’s carrying a wild mountain goat, isn’t she?”
“Oh, heavens above!”
Sheng Wanqiu was carrying the goat along the narrow path. The moment she entered the village, she drew a crowd of onlookers.
“Granny Sheng, hurry! Your Wanqiu has caught a wild mountain goat. Go and help her!”
An old woman from the neighboring household rushed into Granny Sheng’s home and shouted at the mother and daughter who were talking inside.
Sheng Chunhua, Sheng Wanqiu’s eldest aunt, had not felt at ease letting her two sons return on their own. She also wanted to learn how things were going at her parents’ home, so she had come back with them.
“Hurry! Come on!”
Granny Sheng grabbed Sheng Chunhua and ran, nearly losing her shoes along the way.
Then they saw Sheng Wanqiu carrying the goat home, with a group of curious villagers trailing behind her.
“You little brat! Didn’t I forbid you from going up the mountain? How did you end up going again?”
“Were you hurt? Come here and let Grandma take a look!”
Granny Sheng went up and smacked Sheng Wanqiu’s arm, then immediately examined her from head to toe with concern.
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“Auntie, you’re here! You’re in luck today. I’ll send a leg of goat home with you later for the younger ones to eat.” Sheng Wanqiu gave the wild goat on her back an extra bounce.
“Grandma, I’m fine—better than fine! Let’s go home and hurry up and boil some water to butcher the goat.” Sheng Wanqiu grinned at Granny Sheng.
She knew that Granny Sheng truly cared about her. While everyone else had eyes only for the wild goat, Granny Sheng’s first concern had been whether she was hurt.
“All right, all right. Chunhua, give me a hand. Let’s go!”
Granny Sheng and Sheng Chunhua reached out to help carry the goat.
In their eyes, the goat was enormous. Sheng Wanqiu must have been struggling under its weight, so they wanted to share the burden as quickly as possible.
“Grandma, Auntie, there’s no need. I’m strong. Let’s just hurry home!”
Sheng Wanqiu shifted the goat higher onto her shoulders and strode ahead.
“Mother! Since when has this girl been so strong?” Sheng Chunhua’s eyes widened.
“I don’t know. In any case, it’s not a bad thing. It’s good for a girl to be strong. If anyone bullies her, she can kill them with one punch. That’s just fine!”
Everyone who heard Granny Sheng’s words instinctively hunched their shoulders. Why did the air suddenly feel so cold?
“Stop staring and go do whatever you’re supposed to be doing!”
Granny Sheng shut the gate, leaving all the spectators outside.
Then Granny Sheng sharpened the knives while Sheng Chunhua heated water. The goat looked to weigh more than two hundred pounds, and after butchering it, there should still be over a hundred pounds of meat.
At the thought of lamb skewers, Sheng Wanqiu began to salivate.
“Sis, open the door!”
“We heard you caught a goat!”
Two boys called from outside as they knocked on the gate. Sheng Huai’an and Sheng Huaimu had returned.
They had heard the news from the villagers and immediately run home. Each still carried a bundle of dry branches he had gathered.
Apparently, the two boys had gone out to collect firewood. They were sensible children.
“Wow! Sis, you’re amazing!”
Sheng Huaimu was still young. When he saw the goat lying on the ground, he jumped up and down in excitement.
“Here. I brought this for you two. Eat a little first to fill your stomachs.”
“Once the goat’s butchered, I’ll make you something delicious!”
Sheng Wanqiu handed Sheng Huaimu a packet of mung bean cakes and rubbed his little cheek.
“Thank you, Big Sis! Big Sis is the best!”
Sheng Huaimu bounced around as he opened the oiled-paper wrapper. He took out a mung bean cake and held it to Sheng Wanqiu’s lips.
“What a good boy. Go play now!”
She bit into it, smiling as she chewed.
In truth, she did not like the pastries here. They were so sweet that eating them felt like something one should do while administering insulin.
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But her little brother had given it to her. She could not hurt a child’s feelings, so she had to eat it.
Sheng Huaimu did not run off recklessly, either. Clutching the paper wrapper, he gave one cake each to Granny Sheng and Aunt Chunhua, then handed the rest to Sheng Huai’an.
When the two younger boys had gone inside, Sheng Wanqiu approached Granny Sheng and Aunt Chunhua with an air of mystery.
“Grandma, Auntie, look!”
She opened the moss and revealed the large ginseng root beneath it, holding it out before them.
Since she had acted so secretively, the two women had assumed she had something important to say. They had both prepared themselves to listen carefully.
But the moment Sheng Chunhua saw the enormous ginseng, she lost her composure.
“Oh my goodness! That’s ginseng!”
She quickly covered her mouth, afraid someone outside might hear her.
“Put it away, quickly!”
Granny Sheng stepped forward and hastily wrapped up the ginseng.
“Grandma, I saw it while I was catching the goat, so I dug it up. With this, the boys can go to school, and we can build a new house!”
Sheng Wanqiu placed the wrapped ginseng into a bamboo basket.
“Tomorrow I’ll take it to town and sell it. Then we can improve our lives a little.”
“Wanqiu, wealth should never be flaunted. You understand that, don’t you? I won’t say more.”
Sheng Chunhua had finally recovered and reminded her solemnly.
“I understand, Auntie!”
Sheng Wanqiu nodded firmly.
“Tomorrow, let your aunt accompany you. While you’re there, go visit your little aunt as well and take her some goat meat.”
Granny Sheng settled the matter with finality.
She then told Sheng Chunhua everything that had happened that day, and the mother and daughter spent another half an hour cursing Yang Wei and his mother.
Once the water had boiled, the two women began cutting up the wild mountain goat while Sheng Wanqiu watched from the side.
Her grandmother and aunt were clearly skilled at the work. Their movements were swift and fluid, and the knife had been sharpened so finely that it could sever a hair with ease. Before long, the goat had been completely butchered.
“Grandma, do you think we should send some of this meat to Uncle Li, the village head?” Sheng Wanqiu asked.
“You decide. This is your goat.”
Granny Sheng did not even lift her head, continuing with the task in her hands.