After the prayer, the patriarch had someone smear a thick layer of lard on me again.

And ordered someone to light a fire underneath the cauldron.

The bronze cauldron burned fiercely, and I cried out in pain.

The patriarch, seeing me cry, was very pleased.

He said the louder I cried, the stronger the magic power.

They got even more excited and added more wood to the fire.

I was in agony, wanting to cry out for my father and the others.

But I saw them all holding firewood and adding it underneath me.

When my whole body was burning red, everyone started adding water to the cauldron.

But they only added half of the water.

The rest, they said, was to wait for me to shed tears.

Only tears mixed with the fragrant lard could bring prosperity to the Chen family!

The water in the cauldron evaporated three times, but I still didn't shed the tears they wanted.

The patriarch grew impatient, grabbed my mother, and harshly beat her:

"Useless slut, didn't I say you were already healed? Why aren't you shedding tears? If it doesn't work this time, I'll expose the shameful matter of giving birth to Xiu'er years ago and send you to the bottom of the pond!"

My mother was beaten by the patriarch until she spat out blood and fainted in the ancestral hall.

I wanted to save my mother, but I had already turned into half-human half-cauldron, unable to do anything now.

In the middle of the night, my mother woke up, looking at me with red eyes.

"Mother, are you in pain? Let Second and Third Brother take you to the town doctor!" My heart ached for my mother.

But my mother somehow found an iron branding tool, heated it in the fire pit until it glowed red.

Gazing at me fiercely, she said, "Are you going to cry or not? Tell me, are you going to cry or not!"

I hated.

I am her daughter.

But she didn't care about me at all!