During the reign of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, there was a young couple in Hongtupo Village, Jian’an County, Zhili. The man’s name was Zheng Da and the woman’s name was Xi Mei. Zheng Da’s ancestors were once wealthy local residents, but later their family’s fortunes declined. In Zheng Da’s generation, they could only barely make ends meet. That year, Ximei became pregnant, but when she was about to give birth, the child was born in reverse. As the saying goes, ‘A woman’s life is at stake in childbirth, and I don’t know which time she entered the gates of hell!’! Although the child was born, Ximei died in the underworld due to excessive bleeding… Zheng Da, who had lost his beloved wife, only cried bitterly and didn’t know where to go anymore. With the help of family, friends, and neighbors, a coffin was made and finally Xi Mei was buried.
Zheng Da, a man, spends his days guarding his motherless child, crying and sobbing. Kind hearted aunts and sisters in law come to breastfeed the child every day, but after all, they have less time to eat and more time to go hungry. The child who couldn’t eat enough cried uncontrollably, and Zheng Da also shed tears. It was like passing a year.
It was Qingming Festival in a flash. Zheng Da went to the cemetery to burn paper for his wife’s grave. When he came back, he saw a ragged girl lying on the roadside. Zheng Da stepped forward and asked, “Why is the girl lying here? You look sick, don’t you
The girl said, “My name is Hu Miao’e, and I live in Henan. Due to a once-in-a-century flood in my hometown, my whole family was washed away by the flood, and I was the only one who escaped to survive. As a lonely and weak girl with no one to rely on, I had to wander around begging for food. I haven’t eaten for several days now
After listening to the girl’s confession, Zheng Da felt really sorry when he saw that the girl was so hungry, so he said to Hu Miao’e, “Miss, come to my house, at least have a full meal before leaving
Hu Miao’e was so hungry that she couldn’t say much about it, so she returned home with Zheng Da. After dinner, Hu Miao’e said gratefully, “Big brother is such a kind person. I see it’s not easy for you as a man to raise a baby in swaddling clothes. Anyway, I don’t have a place to go. If Big brother doesn’t mind, let me stay and serve your father and son…” Zheng Da naturally agreed to this long-awaited thing, so with the help of his fellow villagers, Zheng Da became close to the begging girl Hu Miao’e.
After Hu Miao’e and Zheng Da became husband and wife, they were busy all day long, doing household chores in an orderly manner, keeping everything clean inside and outside the house, and making the home feel like a home. Especially for the child left behind by Zheng Da’s ex-wife, Hu Miao’e loves her very much. In order to bless her son’s future adulthood, she named him “Hong’er”. Hu Miao’e treated Hong’er as if she were her own and took care of her carefully at all times and places. Zheng Da felt indescribable joy in her heart. Two people kiss, love, and enjoy each other happily, and life is full of flavor.
Unexpectedly, there are ups and downs in the sky, and unexpected misfortunes and blessings in the human world. After two years of good times, Zheng Da suddenly fell seriously ill and despite various treatments, he finally left his orphan and mother behind and passed away. Hu Miao’e cried uncontrollably, in excruciating pain. However, looking at her struggling three-year-old son by her side, she had to wipe away her tears and endure the difficult days. Despite living in poverty, Hu Miao’e tried her best not to let her son live well and did not suffer any grievances.
Time flies like an arrow, and in the blink of an eye, Hong’s son has grown to ten years old. Hu Miao’e then sent Hong to a private school to study. Unexpectedly, Hong’er was pampered by her stepmother since childhood, but she was too playful to study well and often got into fights with her classmates. No matter how well advised Hu Miao’e is, she won’t listen. Hong’er studied for three years, but couldn’t even recite the Book of Songs and the Analects fluently.
Hu Miao’e is very sad, but she also feels that a child who has lost their biological parents is too pitiful. No matter how she gets angry, she cannot bear to beat or scold her. On that day, Hu Miao’e called Hong’er up and said, “Son, since you don’t want to study, I can’t force you. Anyway, I can live up to your deceased parents. Now you should be sensible. Our family can’t afford lazy people. Pigs have to arch forward, chickens have to dig backward. You can help your mother farm, so that you can support yourself in the future
From that day on, Hong’er put on tattered clothes and worked with her mother on the crops. When she had free time in winter, she would carry a basket and go up the mountain to chop firewood. The work of the crops is both arduous and tiring. Every day, Hong’er faces the yellow soil and turns her back to the sky, with beads of sweat streaming down her face. Later on, I couldn’t take it anymore and started working as if I had lost my soul. I often slacked off and slept on the ground.
Hu Miao’e noticed this back and forth, and patiently comforted her, saying, “In this world, one must learn two skills to make a living. If you don’t want to study or farm, can you still let your mother take care of you for the rest of your life?” Hong’er knew her fault and silently lowered her head.
Hu Miao’e let out a long sigh and said, “Child, my mother doesn’t care about you, but you should try to be angry. How about this, if you can’t succeed in farming, learn to do some small business. Making a penny a day is better than sitting on a mountain of empty food…” So, Hu Miao’e took out some of the money she earned from spinning and weaving, used it as capital for Hong’er, and hired Hong’er as a peddler.
Hong’er carried a small peddler through the villages and towns. Although it didn’t bring much profit, she could always make some small money and was relaxed and free. Hong’er was very happy. After a long time, Hong’er secretly left some money behind from her mother and went to the casino to gamble. She became addicted to it after going back and forth.
One year later, Hong’er said to Hu Miao’e, “Mother, there are a few people in our village who are planning to go to Guzhen to do business together. I also want to broaden my horizons…” Hu Miao’e thought it would be good for young people to go out and see the world, so she took out ten taels of silver and three silver ingots and handed them to Hong’er. She repeatedly instructed Hong’er, “Son, this silver ingot is a relic of your ancestors. No matter how difficult the days are, Mother has not used it. Today, Mother entrusted it to you. Apart from the business capital, you must not spend it casually!” Hong’er nodded repeatedly and said, “Son, please rest assured
Hong’er arrived in Guzhen and after wandering for a few days, she heard that there was a big casino here. Hong’er had ten taels of scattered silver and a silver ingot in her waist, which made her itch. So he found an excuse to get rid of his fellow townsman and quietly entered the casino alone. On the first day, ten taels of silver were lost in the water and I still owe some gambling debts. Of course, Hong’er didn’t care, so the next day he brought three silver ingots to a bank to exchange for loose silver and prepare to continue gambling.
When he took out the red silk cloth bag from his pocket, the shopkeeper of the bank opened the bag, looked at it, and then wrapped it up again. The shopkeeper of the bank said to Hong’er, ‘Young master, please sit down and have a cup of tea first. Let’s discuss it slowly.’ So, the two of them started chatting while drinking tea. Two constables came in from outside when time was running out, and without asking, they brought Hong’er into the government office.
When they arrived at the government office, before Hong’er could speak, the magistrate shouted, “You scoundrel, how dare you scam money at such a young age? You are really audacious! Come on, take down and beat up the forty big boards
Hong’er kowtowed and said, “Master Qingtian, there is no fraud in exchanging silver ingots for silver taels at the bank…” The governor angrily replied, “You dare to be stubborn. Quickly take out your silver ingots and let our mansion inspect them!” Hong’er calmly took out the red cloth bag and opened it on the spot. Hong’er was immediately stunned – it turned out to be three river pebbles inside the bag!
The magistrate slapped Jing Tangmu and sneered, “What else do you have to say?” Hong’er felt very strange. It was clearly a silver ingot given to him by his mother, how did it turn into a river pebble? Hong’er had difficulty distinguishing her words and was thrown into prison after being beaten forty lashes. In prison, he didn’t have a penny to show filial piety to the inmates, so they would pick faults and beat him, causing Hong’er to suffer a lot. After being detained for a month, he came out covered in bruises and had nothing left, so he had to beg for food and go home.
After Hong’er returned home, he saw his stepmother fall to her knees and tearfully told her that the three silver ingots he had given him had been “swapped” by thieves. When he went to the bank to exchange scattered silver, he was caught and taken to the government office where he was beaten until his skin and flesh bloomed. After squatting in prison for another month, he returned in embarrassment
Hu Miao’e said, “You don’t have to lie to Mom anymore. Mom knows everything you did in Guzhen. To be honest, the three silver ingots Mom gave you were originally made by Mom using river pebbles…” Hong’er was stunned when she heard this. “Mom, can you turn stones into gold?” Hu Miao’e sighed deeply and said, “Son, now Mom should tell you about our family
Originally, Hu Miao’e was a fox that had been cultivated into an immortal form, and her cave was located in the ancestral tomb of the Zheng family. That year, Hong’er’s mother Ximei passed away due to giving birth to Hong’er. Her ghost was thinking of her newborn son and worried that his son, who had no milk, would starve to death. She cried and sobbed all day long. Hu Miao’e often came to comfort Gui Ximei when she heard her crying. Ximei was very grateful to Hu Miao’e. One ghost and one fox were like close sisters. Gradually, no one could live without each other. But Guixi Mei still cared about her son, so she begged Hu Miao’e to find a way to save her poor son
After a moment of contemplation, Hu Miao’e said, “Sister, your kind mother and kind-hearted sister are deeply moved. It is also fate that has destined me to have a marital relationship with Zheng Da. In a few days, I will become the stepmother of my child… Please rest assured, I will raise my son to adulthood…” So, when Zheng Da went to her deceased wife’s grave to burn paper on Qingming Festival, Hu Miao’e turned into a begging girl and lay on the roadside
Hu Miao’e continued, “Son, have you ever thought about it? If a person lacks ambition and goes astray without following the right path, they will eventually become a beggar even if they have abundant wealth… Now you should understand that you must change your mistakes and aspire to become an adult in the future. You are a very smart child. From tomorrow on, my mother wants you to study hard again. Only when you have success in the future can you live up to your parents under Jiuquan, and it is not in vain for me to raise you
Upon hearing this, Hong’er fell to her knees and wept bitterly in front of Huniang. Huniang had worked hard to raise him and taught him how to be a good person, but she had failed her hard work. From then on, Hong’er reformed herself, determined to study hard, work hard, and never slack off. After several years, she finally learned a lot of knowledge.
At the age of 28, Hong’er was awarded the top three in the Beijing High School Entrance Examination, and later became the Supervisor of the County of a county in Shaanxi. Her stepmother Hu Miao’e passed away at the age of 80 without any illness. Hong’er erected a stone tablet for her stepmother and personally wrote an epitaph to commemorate this event. Later generations called this tablet the “Fox Mother Stele”.
