Meng Yan's Transformation

Broken straw rustled from the weasels' glossy fur, and the wood thorns that pierced their pads were far less terrifying than the clods of earth flying behind them. One weasel squeaked, as if struck in the vitals by a clod of earth hurled by Zhan Yu. Finally, the three weasels, sheltered by the elm branches, scurried away without a trace...

"Dad, what's wrong? Why is this big rooster crowing in the middle of the night? It deserves to be killed! It woke me up from my sweet dream."

As Zhan Yingying spoke, she rubbed her sleepy eyes, yawned, and looked at Zhan Yu who was holding a clod of earth in his hand.

"Go to the chicken coop and see how our chickens are doing."

As Zhan Yu spoke, he shone his muffler towards the chicken coop.

"Dad, a weasel killed four of our chickens, three hens and one rooster. Only two are left!"

As Zhan Yingying spoke, she looked at the chicken feathers all over the floor in surprise.

Zhan Yu grabbed two shivering hens from the chicken coop, put them in a chicken cage, and then carried the cage to the kitchen.

"Zhan Yu, why did you bring all the chickens to the kitchen? The whole house is filled with the smell of chicken."

As Yunqing spoke, she came to the kitchen wearing her clothes.

"Our chickens were attacked by a weasel. Four of them died, leaving only two. The door to the chicken coop is broken too. If I keep any more chickens in the coop, there won't be any left by tomorrow. I'm saying, 'It's never too late to mend the fold after the sheep have been lost.' Every last one saved is a lasting loss. If the big rooster Grandma Liu sent hadn't crowed today, I'm afraid all our chickens would have been wiped out."

While Zhan Yu was speaking, he touched the rooster's comb, and this time it didn't peck at Zhan Yu again.

The next morning, Zhan Mengyan got up early to feed her beautiful rooster. As she arrived in the kitchen, she saw three hens and a rooster lying on the floor. In the chicken coop, the rooster, a gift from Grandma Liu, was protecting the two hens under its wings.

Zhan Yingying was stuffing firewood into the stove. The water in the pot sizzled, and a few wisps of silvery mist peeked out from the edge of the lid, like startled little reptiles, timidly curling up and crawling into the air. As the "gurgling" sound grew louder, the mist surged more violently, transforming into milky white waves that gushed out from the gap between the lid and the pot, sometimes gathering into balls, sometimes dispersing into gossamer threads, reflecting a fine halo in the morning light. Occasionally, as if swept by the wind, the mist was kneaded by invisible hands, sometimes curling into spirals, and sometimes the milky white mist grew into a veil, wrapped in the burnt aroma of firewood and the coolness of water, curling up to the eaves and quietly merging with the clouds on the horizon as promised. The mist meandered up along the earthen wall, leaving traces of varying depths on the mottled wall, as if the breath of time had solidified. The lid of the pot made a slight "click" sound as it was pushed up by the steam, and mist took the opportunity to burst out from the gap, like a group of naughty children scrambling to squeeze out of a narrow door, and instantly dissipated in the slightly cool air.

"Zhan Mengyan, what are you staring at? Get out of the way! I'll get burned!"

While Zhan Yingying was speaking, she threw two dead chickens into a large washing basin and poured boiling water on them.

Zhan Mengyan hurriedly turned around and went back into the house.

"Mom, who killed our chickens? And four of them at once!? Was it my sister Yingying who wanted to kill the big rooster that Grandma Liu gave her, but killed the wrong chicken? Or was she just crazy about killing chickens? I dreamed last night that my sister Yingying killed a big rooster, and it scared me to tears."

As Zhan Mengyan spoke, she looked at Yunqing who was getting dressed.

"Zhan Mengyan, you're the one who's so obsessed with killing chickens that you think I killed the dead chicken? I'll kill the rooster right in front of you in a moment. I wonder if you'll be scared to tears."

As Zhan Yingying spoke, she took out a knife from the kitchen.