A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

[This story is set in a fictional world!]

In the winter of 1978, the wind was biting cold and sharp.

On the cliff known as "Ghost's Sorrow" outside Niulan Village in Mohe Town, a fat woman abruptly abandoned the thin little girl she had been dragging all the way, panting heavily, her eyes fierce, her tone impatient.

"Little jinx, haven't you been saying you wanted to find your mother? She's down there, and she even made you white flour buns and big meat buns, waiting for you to come down!"

White flour steamed buns? Big meat buns?

The little girl had barely eaten or drunk anything for the past two days, and her empty stomach rumbled loudly. She couldn't help but swallow, her small, thin face, barely the size of a fist, filled with longing. "Auntie, is Nuannuan's mommy... really down there?"

"Of course, you'll be enjoying your good fortune down there!"

The little girl shakily craned her neck to look down. The tattered cotton-padded jacket, covered in patches, was too small to cover her thin body, leaving most of her belly and calves exposed.

The cold wind lashed against her exposed skin, feeling as sharp as knives. The little girl was almost frozen to death. It was pitch black below, and she couldn't see anything. She cautiously tried to lean forward to get a better view.

Seeing the little guy lying on the edge of the cliff, with most of his body hanging out and teetering on the edge, the fat woman's eyes hardened, and she kicked his little bottom.

"what……"

A terrified scream was quickly swallowed by the wind and snow. The small, thin figure that had been on the edge of the cliff vanished in the blink of an eye.

The fat woman craned her neck to look down, then spat at the bottom of the cliff. "Pah! You little jinx, finally dead! Perfect timing to reunite with your two short-lived parents!"

"Your house is perfect for my son to use as collateral, and all that money is mine."

"You unlucky thing! You made me climb half a day in this awful weather. If a jinx falls down here, I'll be crippled if I don't die, and if I'm not completely dead, I might even become a meal for the wolves!"

The distant howls of wolves startled the fat woman, who shuddered, pulled her tattered cotton-padded coat tighter, hunched her shoulders, and scrambled down the mountain.

……

The snow at the bottom of the cliff was very thick, and it was blocked by branches that stretched out from the edge of the cliff. Nuannuan, who was bound to die, fell heavily into the snowdrift.

The little girl struggled to get up, but her whole body ached. The slightest movement caused excruciating pain.

The wolf's howl grew closer, frightening the little girl into curling up into a ball, her mouth trembling and her teeth chattering.

"Mother……"

Mom, where are you?

Auntie lied to Nuannuan!

There was only snow below, no mother, no big white steamed buns or big meat buns.

Nuannuan's nose felt sore, her eyes were red, her little nose was twitching, and her stomach was rumbling. She hadn't eaten for more than two days.

Mom's steamed buns and meat dumplings...

Nuannuan really wants to eat it again.

The cold wind howled, and the snow fell warmly on her body in the pit, almost burying her.

Nuannuan struggled for a long time before she managed to pull out a small half of a black cornbread from her bosom.

This was something she had saved from between her teeth, something she wanted to give to her mother.

"Mom's not here... Nuannuan is hungry... Let me have a bite... just a tiny bite..."

Nuannuan was so hungry. The cornbread was hard, and Nuannuan's teeth chattered from the cold. It made a crunching sound, and she couldn't bite it even with all her might. She could only lick it with her little tongue.

It smells so good, salty, with a grainy flavor, much better than dishwater.

The little hand, covered in bloody cuts, tightly gripped the dark, mushy cornbread. Blood flowed from the wounds, seeped into the cornbread, and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Wow...wow..."

Sometime later, a wounded gray crow, with a large tuft of feathers missing, stood by the pit, its two black beady eyes fixed on Nuannuan, cawing loudly.

"Little bird, are you hungry too?"

Seeing the bird staring intently at her steamed bun, Nuannuan suddenly smiled. She stretched out her little hand and laboriously offered the bun, saying with difficulty, "Little bird, here, have some. Will you help Nuannuan find her mother?"

The crow was also very hungry. It flapped its wings and flew down, pecking at the blood-stained cornbread with its sharp beak. It finished it in just a few bites.

It nuzzled the human cub's face, but the little guy had its eyes closed and was already motionless.

The crows cawed loudly and mournfully.

[Baby, don't sleep, I'm here to save you...]

On the other side of the mountain, a woman was struggling to carry a large bundle of firewood on her back, using a thick wooden stick as a walking stick, trudging down the mountain through the ankle-deep snow.

Her name is Su Xiulan. More than half a year ago, her husband, who was the director of the forest farm, fell off a cliff and was injured. The family spent all their savings and he is still in a coma and has to take medicine on time.

The burden of the family fell on her shoulders. Today, her mother-in-law even gave all the firewood in the house to her second brother's family. She was afraid that the children would get cold, so she had to brave the snow to go up the mountain to collect firewood.

Suddenly, a crow swooped down, its beak catching her patched blue headscarf, its claws gripping her tattered black cotton-padded coat, flapping its wings and desperately pulling her into the mountains.

"Is this hairy beast crazy?" Su Xiulan slapped it away and pulled out a stick to chase it away.

The crow was so frightened that it flapped its wings and flew away.

She picked up the firewood and was about to continue her journey home when the crow flew over again and grabbed at her clothes.

After repeating this three times, Su Xiulan could only mutter to herself:

"Are you going to take me into the mountains?"

The crow actually nodded, then turned and flew into the mountains.

Seeing that she hadn't followed, the crow flew back and tried to catch her clothes.

Su Xiulan was even more surprised. Could it be that something really had happened?

She inexplicably threw down the firewood and followed the crows in the wind and snow, walking for more than an hour.

Finally, the old crow landed on the snow and began scratching at it with its claws.

Su Xiulan rushed over to help, and after digging a deep pit, she discovered that a emaciated child was buried inside.