Who Stole My Eggs?

Fisherman Ah Jiu was very lucky that day and had a great harvest on a trip to the open sea. Not only were there plenty of plump fish, shrimp, and seashells, but he also caught a small golden sea snake.

The sea snake was beautiful, its scales shining like gold. When Ah Jiu found it, it was squeezed among a group of fish and shrimp, unable to move. It looked very pitiful.

Ah Jiu rescued it, tied it tightly with red hemp rope, placed a big red flower cut by his wife on its head, and set it on the altar table at home.

Fishermen in every household in the village worshiped Poseidon and prayed for his blessings to return home safely with a fruitful harvest. If anyone caught something rare at sea, they were expected to offer it to Poseidon first.

Ah Jiu decided to offer it to Master Poseidon that night and take the little golden snake to the city the next day to sell it. He thought such a beautiful creature would attract wealthy buyers or young officials.

After sorting out the day’s catch, Ah Jiu turned off the light and went to sleep contentedly.

Inside the dilapidated little earthen house, it was pitch dark. Suddenly, a spark of fire and a flash of electric light came from the simple little altar table. With a “whoosh,” the red hemp rope around the little golden snake and the ridiculous big red flower on its head were engulfed in flames.

“Ouch—!” the little snake groaned, “My body is completely numb! Ouch, ouch—!”

The little snake was quite unlucky. It had been racing with Uncle Hou Luo in the sea to see who could swim faster when a fishing net suddenly fell from above, scooping it up along with a bunch of fat fish and shrimp.

Knocked dizzy by the fish and shrimp, the little snake’s long, soft body was twisted and tangled. Just as it was about to break open the fishing net, it heard the fisherman sigh with relief, “That’s great! I finally got something. I would have travelled so far in vain without it. Master Poseidon, our family has food to eat!”

If the fishing net was destroyed, the fisherman and his family would go hungry. The little snake hesitated and decided to go home with the fisherman first, planning to escape quietly later.

So, the little snake was brought back by the fisherman. But because it was so beautiful and outstanding, it received special care and was even given a big red flower as a “gift.”

Freed from its restraints, the little snake laid upright on the altar table, relaxing for a long time until the numbness in its body gradually subsided.

The little snake sighed, “I have to go back quickly. Daddy and Father must be anxious.”

The Poseidon statue on the table suddenly came to life, staring at the little snake with round eyes. “May I ask if you are the eldest son of His Majesty the Demon King?”

The little snake raised its head and looked at the Poseidon statue. “I am. How do you know me?”

The Poseidon statue was very rough, with a human body, a fish head, and a harpoon in its hand. It was strange-looking, and the little snake had never seen anything so ugly before.

The Poseidon statue breathed a sigh of relief. “The whole East China Sea has been turned upside down. Everyone is looking for you. I will report to the king right away!”

“Okay, go tell my daddy that I’m here, and I’ll wait for them to pick me up,” the little snake said, looking around the small room. “I just want to play here for a while.”

“Okay, okay!” the Poseidon statue said excitedly. “Just wait, we will come right away!”

The Poseidon statue stopped moving, and the sea spirit inside it rushed off to report to Wu Xiao.

The little snake crawled down the legs of the altar table to the ground. After climbing twice, it found itself covered in dirt. “Oh, this place is really dirty,” it muttered.

The little snake looked around the small house while being picky. It observed that the family was indeed very poor. The room was small, the furniture shabby, and the pungent smell of fish was everywhere.

The little snake had never had contact with mortals since its birth. It had only heard people around it mentions the suffering of mortals. It had also heard that its father preferred mortals and that its other daddy liked living in the mortal world. The little snake fell into deep thought. Did they enjoy seeing people live such hard lives?

“Sob sob sob~”

The little snake suddenly heard a small cry, “Who is crying?”

As soon as he asked, the voice stopped immediately.

The little snake swam over, following the cry, and raised his voice, “Who is there? If you keep hiding, I will beat you!”

“Hey~” the voice said again, “Don’t bully me~”

The little snake swam under a broken cupboard, where the cry had come from. He climbed up to the cupboard and found an old wine jar on the second floor.

“Are you in here?” the little snake asked the wine jar.

“Um.”

The little snake stretched out his tail and broke the mud seal of the wine jar. Suddenly, a strong aroma of wine wafted out.

The little snake stood up and looked around, “Who are you, and why are you hiding in the wine jar?”

A fluorescent root carefully stretched out from the wine jar, startling the little snake. “Don’t move!”

The root shrank back with a “snap.”

The little snake calmed down and said, “Come out and stop causing trouble.”

After a while, a small fluorescent ginseng poked its head out and looked at the little snake curiously.

The little snake also widened his eyes, “Are you a plant?”

“I am small mountain ginseng,” the little ginseng said timidly.

This was the first time the little snake had seen a moving and talking plant, and he looked at it curiously. “Why were you crying? How come you were sealed in a wine jar? Were you also caught by a fisherman?”

The little ginseng climbed out of the wine jar and said sadly, “I haven’t seen my father for a long time.”

“Ah, can’t you find your daddy?” the little snake said sympathetically.

The little ginseng sobbed, “It has been many years. Back then, my father was taking me to play in the mountains. Suddenly, we met a big bad guy. He chopped me off from my father with a hoe. I—I was too young at the time, and as soon as I fell to the ground, I followed the earth line and ran away. By the time I realized it, I could no longer find my father.”

“How pitiful…”

“Some time ago, I finally discovered that my father’s aura had appeared here, so I went to look for him. Unexpectedly, a fisherman found me and dug me out. He washed me and soaked me in a wine jar, and I couldn’t get out. My dad must have been here before. I can recognize his scent, but since I’ve been locked here for so long, he must have gone away again, sob sob sob~”

The little snake gently patted the little ginseng with his tail. “I really sympathize with your situation. Don’t cry. We are destined to meet each other. Why don’t you… come home with me? My father is coming to pick me up. Let’s help find your dad together.”

The little ginseng stretched out its roots and hugged the little snake gratefully. “Thank you for being a kind benefactor. I will never forget your kindness. I hope you and your family live happily together forever. I can’t go with you. I can feel that Daddy is nearby, and I will continue to look for him.”

The little snake was not very reassured. “What if you get caught again?”

The little ginseng looked determined. “I’m not afraid!”

The little snake was speechless. Wasn’t this exactly the kind of thing to be afraid of?

Note

This little ginseng’s father was dug out by Xie Zuo back then and the father cursed Xie Zuo to be separated just like him and his son.