A venomous snake bit and killed the only old hen my family had. My younger brother cried that he wanted chicken stew, while Grandma said snake wine was good stuff.
Afraid they'd be poisoned, I secretly buried the dead chicken and the snake wine.
When Grandma saw her precious snake wine was gone, she struck me across the back with a fire poker and cursed me as a thieving traitor who turned against my own family!
My younger brother started rolling on the ground, crying and screaming for chicken.
My parents flew into a rage and beat me with fists and kicks.
They crippled one of my legs, leaving me unable to do hard labor, then sold me for 5,000 yuan to a fool in the mountains to be his wife.
From then on, I gave birth to one child after another, until I died in childbirth.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day my younger brother had demanded the dead chicken.
This time, I didn't meddle. I watched Grandma put the snake into the jar of medicinal wine and stew the chicken.
