It is muddy after the rain, the spacious roads in the countryside are overgrown with weeds, the footprints are messy, and the air is filled with the smell of mud.
"Why are you meddling in your own business! This is my daughter! I have given birth to her and raised her for so many years. I can do whatever I want with her!"
"I spent so much money to raise this damn girl until today, and finally she is able to get married. Now give me a break!"
"So what if you sell your daughter? If you pity her, just spend money to buy her back as your daughter-in-law! Everyone is so kind! Why are you pretending to be a good person here now!"
"It would be great if someone is willing to take her! This damn girl has made herself like this, can I still waste my rice to support her for the rest of my life?"
The middle-aged woman's sharp voice was loud and clear, and she pointed and cursed at a few people who were nosy to her.
"The old cripple is willing to spend two hundred yuan to marry that damn girl Hu Yao. If you pity her, give me two hundred yuan!"
As soon as she said these words, the women around her who were trying to persuade her with good intentions fell silent. Although they felt that Hu Yao's life was miserable, they were helpless.
Everyone is living in poverty these days, and it is difficult to get even one hundred yuan, let alone two hundred yuan.
Everyone in the village watched Hu Yao grow up. Hu Yao had been well-behaved and sensible since she was a child, and she often helped her neighbors. It was obvious to everyone. But now that she was being treated like this, they couldn't bear to see her, so they came out to say a few words.
But after all, they are not Hu Yao's relatives and have no right to make decisions.
Then thinking about Hu Yao's current situation, she could only sigh and shake her head.
"Oh, this girl's life is really miserable..."
Hu Guifen glanced sideways at their silent expressions, snorted coldly, and pulled the slender person who was sitting obediently in the main room from the room.
"Auntie, are we going to play?"
Hu Yao followed her movements and stood up, with beautiful and pure almond-shaped eyes and a clear voice.
Hu Yao was born well. Her delicate eyebrows and facial features resembled her father's, and she looked calm and pure.
Even if he works all day long, the skin under his clothes is still white and moist.
If it weren't for this good appearance, how could the old cripple be willing to spend a lot of money. Even if she is knocked silly now, her memory only remains when she was four or five years old.
Hu Guifen looked at her with a hint of complexity in her eyes.
If she hadn't made such a fool of herself at this juncture, she wouldn't have wanted to marry her to the old cripple!
"Auntie."
Seeing that Hu Guifen ignored her, Hu Yao gently shook her hand, her voice was sweet and dependent, and a bit childlike.
"Auntie, the old cripple is already waiting. We are going to send my sister out."
Hu Qiao reminded him loudly from the side, and his eyes flashed when he saw Hu Guifen looking at Hu Yao's lost expression.
"Well, let's go. Grandma will take you to play. You have to be good when you get here, you know?" Hu Guifen lowered her eyelids and warned her in a deep voice with some patience.
"Okay." Hu Yao nodded.
She followed Hu Guifen out. When she saw some aunts outside, she also greeted them obediently.
A few more sparse sighs sounded.
Hu Yao didn't know why.
Now that she is a child, she is attracted by the sweet-smelling wild fruits on the roadside and wants to pick them.
Hu Guifen didn't have much patience with her, so she cursed and pulled her and hit her several times.
Hu Yao cried, and the commotion became louder.
The good people from neighboring villages came to watch the fun.
Who doesn’t know what is going on in these ten miles and eight towns? They will know what is going on when they see Hu Guifen and Hu Yao. They are not like the aunts in this village who would feel sorry for Hu Yao and say a few words for her. They just watch the excitement and don’t mind it. Shi Dadi laughed out loud, which was a bit sarcastic.
Hu Guifen couldn't stand it. Seeing that Hu Yao was still disobedient, she broke a stick from the roadside and beat her.
"You damn girl! It's not embarrassing enough! If you eat less of these fruits, you will die or something else will happen! Get over here quickly!" She scolded angrily.
Hu Yao was beaten twice by her, and burning pain came from her body. She sobbed and ran away in fear, feeling aggrieved and confused.
In my impression, Hu Guifen was always very kind to her and would never be so cruel to her.
"I want daddy."
"Your father is already dead!" Hu Guifen stepped forward impatiently and squeezed her hand, half pulling and half dragging her away.
Hu Yao's bright almond-shaped eyes were filled with tears, and crystal water drops slid down her fair cheeks. The reddish tint on the tip of her nose made her look even more pitiable.
The villagers in the neighboring village looked at it, looked at it a few times, and couldn't help but sigh.
"This Hu Yao's child is really good!"
"No wonder that old cripple is willing to spend such a big price!"
"Hey, what's this? Having such a wife in bed every night, it's so cool to be a ghost!"
"Then you spent two hundred yuan to buy someone with Hu Guifen! Can't you also be a ghost?"
"I'm dreaming. It's not worth spending two hundred yuan to buy a fool! I said..."
Vulgar words came one after another, and malicious eyes swept back and forth on Hu Yao.
Hu Guifen cursed a few words, threw them away, and pulled Hu Yao to leave.
"Three hundred yuan, give it to me."
A tall figure blocked Hu Guifen's path, his voice was rough and indifferent.
"What?" Hu Guifen was stunned.
When he looked up again to see who the person in front of him was, he was startled and couldn't help but take a step back.
With his body, even if she acted wildly, he wouldn't be able to punch her.
Thinking of the rumors about him from all over the country, Hu Guifen couldn't help but feel frightened again.
"Give me the person, and I'll give you three hundred yuan." Jiang Han glanced down at Hu Yao, whose face was full of tears and aggrieved, and repeated casually. After a few seconds, Hu Guifen didn't react, and her fierce and sharp eyebrows were already a little uncomfortable. Wrinkled patiently.
"Three, three or three hundred yuan?!" Hu Guifen came back to her senses and asked with a trembling voice.
"right."
"Okay, okay! This death... this girl will be left to you from now on!" Hu Guifen, who saw the money, was overjoyed and hurriedly agreed.
She collected Jiang Han's money as quickly as possible, dropped Hu Yao and ran away, as if she was afraid that Jiang Han would regret it.
Hu Yao looked at her running back with tears in her eyes, and followed her direction and raised her heels: "Aniang."
"You don't have a mother anymore. She sold you to me." Jiang Han raised his arm and pulled her back easily, stating leisurely and cruelly.
In spite of everyone's surprised and complicated looks, which dared not say anything, he took Hu Yao back to his home.
"I have set some rules for you."
"Don't cry."
"obedient."
"Don't cause trouble for me."
"understand?"
He frowned at Hu Yao, who was grabbing at the hem of her clothes.
Twenty-two-year-old Jiang Han spent 300 yuan to take Hu Yao back to his empty home in June of 1978.
His move also caused a lot of turbulent rumors in private, but because it was him, no one dared to talk to him.
"Then Jiang Han, who keeps silent, actually has so much money!"
"It's not unusual for him to have money. Who knows if the money is clean or not? No one knows how he got it!"
"Hu Guifen is happy now, but can Jiang Han allow her to keep the money so safely?"
"Hey! He is willing to marry a stupid wife back home, because he is attracted by Hu Yao's good skin!"
"When you get tired of playing, just throw it back. How can Hu Guifen get any favors? It's not like he suffers the consequences of being dumb. He loses money and loses people."
…
