Before the posthumous child of her fourth son was born, Old Matriarch Xu had a dream. She dreamt of a golden phoenix flying into her daughter-in-law’s belly.
The very next day, the family welcomed a new granddaughter.
From then on, one strange thing happened after another.
Her daughter-in-law had no milk.
The little granddaughter cried out, and a nursing nanny goat came down from the mountain on its own.
The fields yielded no grain during the famine.
The little granddaughter cried out, and a great tiger from the mountains delivered pork to their door.
Too many had died in the war, and a plague was spreading.
The little granddaughter cried out, and birds flew over, carrying the very herbs that could cure the plague.
Enemy cavalry invaded the border.
The little granddaughter cried out, and all the enemy’s warhorses turned against them.
Watching the Xu family’s life get better and better, Old Matriarch Xu and her husband grew increasingly worried.
Could anyone tell them just how they were supposed to keep the most precious little golden piglet in the entire dynasty away from their family’s own tender, jade-like cabbage?


