His mother was blind.

Du Xiaolei was an exceptionally filial son; though his family was poor, he never allowed his mother to suffer any hardship.

One day, Du Xiaolei had to leave on an errand. Before departing, he purchased a pound of pork and instructed his wife to make dumplings for his mother to eat.

The wife was defiant by nature. While mincing the meat, she chopped up dung beetles and mixed them in with the filling.

The mother found the smell unbearable and the texture almost impossible to swallow; she secretly hid the dumplings away.

Shortly thereafter, Du Xiaolei returned from outside and asked, "Were the dumplings good?" His mother shook her head, then handed the dumplings to her son for him to see. Du Xiaolei peeled one open and saw numerous crushed beetle fragments inside—intestines and carapaces, all present and accounted for.

Du Xiaolei was furious and intended to whip his wife, but then worried his mother might overhear the commotion.

He lay down on the bed to contemplate his next move, ignoring his wife when she tried to speak to him.

The wife, knowing she was in the wrong, paced restlessly beneath the bed, her heart pounding with apprehension, until eventually, she began panting heavily.

Du Xiaolei snapped, "Why aren't you sleeping? Do you want a beating?" A profound silence descended, broken only by that labored breathing.

Du Xiaolei was alarmed. He lit a candle to look, and there, his wife had transformed into a grotesque monster—a human body supported by pig’s legs, and that heavy panting he’d heard was nothing less than the squeal of a swine.