What spooky Chinese folk stories have you heard?
On this day, an explosive piece of news spread in the small village: Widow Wang was going to "marry off her daughters as a package deal". The so-called "package deal" meant that whoever married her younger daughter would not only not have to pay any betrothal gifts but would also receive her well-tended herbal medicine garden as a dowry. However, there was one condition: when the younger daughter got married, the older daughter would also go along with her.
As soon as these words came out, it immediately caused a great stir in the village. Everyone said that Widow Wang had gone senile and was out of her mind.
In fact, Widow Wang's mind was fine, but she was seriously ill. Not long ago, she had a fall and her feet hurt so much that she couldn't walk. Having no other choice, she had to go to the county hospital. In the end, the problem with her feet wasn't too serious; an injection to reduce the swelling would do. But other problems were found elsewhere—late-stage stomach cancer. As soon as she got the news, Widow Wang didn't have time to be sad. All she could think about was how to settle her two daughters properly.
Among these two daughters, Widow Wang was most worried about the older one. Although they were born of the same mother, the two daughters were as different as heaven and earth. The older daughter, Shan Hua, was a dwarf. At the age of twenty-three, she was only 1.3 meters tall, with a pigeon chest and bowlegs. The younger daughter, Shui Hua, on the other hand, was beautiful and charming, tall, with fair and rosy skin, especially those big, expressive eyes that were black and bright……
