Lucky Koi Feeds the Famine-Stricken County
A century-long drought plagues the Great Yu Dynasty. No rain has fallen for three years; farmlands crack open, and famine victims lie everywhere. Located in a remote area, Daniel Village teeters on the brink of extinction. Villagers dig wild herbs and gnaw tree bark, yet countless lives still fade away one after another. Fifteen-year-old Liu Yuanyuan gives what little food she has to widows, orphans and the elderly in the village, until she collapses from starvation. Village Doctor Bai feels her pulse and sighs — the girl has simply starved unconscious. While lying in a coma, Liu Yuanyuan hears a voice. A plump rat in the corner complains: "I grind raw grain every day. When will I get cooked food?" She snaps awake, realizing she can understand animals! The rat, Little Gray, tells her grain is hidden in a mountain cave. Her father Liu Dashun and mother Zhang Cuihua follow Little Gray doubtfully into the legendary "Savage Cave", a forbidden place where villagers say a child was abducted by savages years ago. They squeeze into the cave and are stunned. Corn cobs are stacked neatly, and piles of sweet potatoes and wheat stretch out before them. Gripping a handful of coarse grain, tough Liu Dashun’s eyes grow wet: "We are saved!" Now they have food, but how should it be shared? Liu Yuanyuan makes up her mind at once: "I want to share it with everyone in the village." Liu Dashun laughs heartily: "Well said! You truly are my daughter!" Though Zhang Cuihua grumbles that they are fools, she quickly fills sacks with grain. Villagers swarm into the cave with torches. Old Wang Wu clutches an ear of corn, kneels down and weeps: "Mother, you don’t have to die!" At this moment, Daniel Village is pulled back from the jaws of death.
