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Biological Daughter and Adopted Son
墨書 Inktalez
Wang Zhonghuai knelt by his father Wang Chongyu's bedside, tears streaming down his face. Behind him stood three girls, his sisters, who were already sobbing uncontrollably.
Wang Chongyu lay there, mouth agape, breathing rapidly, his eyes wide open as if trying to see the people before him clearly. He knew this was perhaps the last moment he would share with his family. Guilt washed over him for not being able to leave anything for his children. His round pupils glistened like glass beads, encased in tear-filled sockets.
At that moment, it was unclear what Wang Chongyu was thinking or if he had anything to say. He lifted his hand slightly but felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds and ultimately could not move it.
As his lifelong partner, Zhang Jinmei seemed to understand what Wang Chongyu needed. Her eyes were red from crying; she knew her husband was leaving. She managed a faint smile, wanting to reassure him as he departed.
“Go in peace, my dear,” Zhang Jinmei said softly. “This family will be fine with me here.”
As soon as her words fell, Wang Chongyu's head tilted to one side, his eyes still wide open.
Zhang Jinmei placed her hand in front of Wang Chongyu's nostrils but felt no breath. Overcome with grief, she began to wail uncontrollably, and soon the children joined her in their cries.
After her outburst of sorrow, Zhang Jinmei called the four children outside and instructed them on what to do next.
When neighbors heard that Wang Chongyu had passed away, they expressed their condolences. He was only in his thirties—considered short-lived in the countryside—and would not be able to rest in the ancestral graveyard.
Zhang Jinmei sought help from her cousin, a carpenter. Without hesitation, he gathered his tools and followed her out the door, saying they needed to quickly make a coffin for Wang Chongyu.
Once she sent her husband off, Zhang Jinmei felt an emptiness settle over the house. Though heartbroken, life had to continue. The four children were still quite young: the eldest was twelve, the second was ten, the third was eight, and the youngest was just five.
However, the youngest was not her biological child; several years ago, she and Wang Chongyu had found him abandoned and brought him home.
Zhang Jinmei vividly remembered that foggy morning when she and her husband went to the market to buy piglets. They wanted to arrive early for fear of missing out on good purchases.
Outside a pavilion, they spotted a cardboard box that seemed to be moving. Initially thinking it might contain a lost puppy or some small animal, they were shocked when Wang Chongyu opened the box to reveal an infant—a baby boy. Inside the box lay a note with the child's birth date.
Zhang Jinmei realized this was an abandoned child. They already had three daughters and had hoped for a son but hesitated to try again for fear of having another girl. Little did they know that fate had delivered them exactly what they desired.
She thought it must be a gift from the Tea Mountain Goddess. In their locality stood a Tea Mountain Temple dedicated to a deity known as the Tea Mountain Goddess.
According to legend, there once was a hunter who lived off the land but remained unmarried at thirty. One day while hunting in the mountains, he shot a ewe that bled profusely and lay motionless on the ground. When he discovered she was pregnant with a lamb, he felt immense sorrow.
Seeing tears streaming from the ewe's eyes as he approached made him feel ashamed. He gathered herbs to bandage her wounds and took her home with him.
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