Chapter 1

The moment I came wailing into the world, every face in the family fell.

Grandma picked up the thirty eggs she had brought to nourish my birth mother and carried them straight back home.

My birth father took me outside to throw me into a ravine for the wild dogs.

On the way, he ran into the village Party secretary.

The old secretary pleaded and reasoned with him. A little girl would not eat much, he said, and after a few years she could help around the house. He even promised to help return the table and chairs that had been confiscated from our family.

Only then did my birth father bring me back.

Two months later, my birth mother was pregnant again.

They went into hiding once more to have their son. I survived on whatever thin rice water my six-year-old eldest sister managed to feed me.

Years later, she laughed about what a tough baby I had been. At six months old, she said, I could already finish half a bowl of rice.

Did I want to be tough?

I simply had no choice.

At last, my birth mother produced a younger brother to inherit the throne, and the family no longer had to hide.

She walked with a swagger and spoke at the top of her lungs. Every day she carried my brother around the village, mocking the wives who had failed to give their families sons.

No one looked after me. Most days, they tied me to the bed with a rope.

It was a miracle I survived at all.

When I turned five, it was time for school.

Nine years of compulsory education had already been introduced, but tuition still cost money.

My birth parents could not bear to spend it on me.

Then I fell gravely ill. I ran fever after fever and coughed all night, every night, until my little brother started coughing too.

My birth mother took us to the village doctor.

He said I might have a lung infection and needed to be examined at the county hospital. We would have to prepare at least three hundred yuan. I should also be kept away from the rest of the family in case I infected the other children.

It was nearly dark when we headed home.

My birth mother strode ahead with my brother in her arms. I could not breathe. No matter how hard I tried, I could not keep up.

I called, “Mom,” again and again, but she never once looked back.

It was so cold that day.

My hands and feet were numb, and my stomach was empty. The world spun, and I collapsed.

When I woke, I was lying on a soft bed.

Several boys older than me crowded around, staring as if I were a stray puppy. The moment I opened my eyes, they all began talking at once.

Soon, a plump woman came in with a bowl of hot congee. A golden egg nestled inside.

After I wolfed it down, Auntie Liu prepared to take me home.

The mountain villages were small. A few questions were enough to learn which child belonged to which family.

She carried me on her back while the boys followed, chattering nonstop and calling me their little sister.

Snow began to fall halfway there. The eldest boy took off his gloves and put them on my hands.

At our gate, I heard my eldest sister ask from inside, “Where’s Third Sister? She didn’t come home at all last night.”

My birth mother was feeding my brother. “Better if she died out there,” she snapped. “At least she won’t come back and infect your brother.”

A violent cough tore out of me.

My birth mother pushed open the door. Disappointment washed over her face when she saw me.

My birth father cursed and demanded to know why I was not dead yet.

Auntie Liu handed me back and left with the boys.

The snow fell harder. I stood in the courtyard watching their figures disappear.

The eldest boy had given me his gloves, but I was still so very cold.

My birth father ordered me to feed the pigs. When I did not move, he came out with a broom to beat me.

Then Auntie Liu suddenly came running back and stepped between us.

She stared at me for a long moment and sighed.

“How about you give Third Sister to me?” she said. “My family could use a daughter.”