I looked at the village chief with pleading eyes. As the head of a village, he should uphold justice for me.
Who would have thought that the village chief Li Changfu said: "Xiaocao, the male eldest son is married, and the female eldest daughter is married off. The girls in our village who are about your age have all spoken to their husband's family. You go to school, and your grandma is sick and has to go to the hospital." The money was all borrowed by Murakami. Now that your grandma is dead, where will the money be paid back? Zhang Tofu is a good person, honest, and can make money. If you marry him, you will enjoy happiness, so why are you still studying? "
Aunt Zhang, who came to help, echoed: "That's right, what's the use of a woman reading so many books? In the end, doesn't she still have to get married?"
In this remote mountain village, there has never been a college student. I am the only high school student in my generation. The other children have long since dropped out of school and went home to work in the fields. Several of my female classmates from elementary school have become mothers. Got it!
But my grandma has been hoping that I would not follow her old path all her life, and that I could get out of the mountains through study.
The purpose of my studying hard is to save the fate of those women and not be trapped in this small mountain village.
After listening to the village chief's words, I said with great ambition: "How much money my family owes Murakami, I will repay it!"
"It's a full thirty thousand, what do you want to pay back? What do you want to pay back?" the village chief said with a look of contempt.
I was stunned for a moment. I only had five hundred yuan in my entire body now, which was saved from the living expenses my grandma gave me.
Thirty thousand, to me, is obviously a huge amount of money.
"I can work part-time in the city during my holidays, and I can still..."
"Okay, okay!" the village chief interrupted me, "You have to continue studying. Even if you are admitted to college next year, the tuition for college will be several thousand a year, right? There are also living expenses. One month's living expenses in those big cities are not low. , you are a little kid, what do you do for money? The money your grandma borrowed was all collected by kind people in the village. Thirty thousand is not a small number. Everyone also wanted to help your grandma out of love. Now your grandma has no one. Yes, why do you guys still need to put your own money into it?"
The village chief came over with every word. I stood in front of my grandma’s coffin, feeling chilled all over. I said aggrievedly: "But I... I am only seventeen years old..."
You Xiangui emphasized: "Zhang Tofu is a little older, but he loves people. In order to marry you, they are willing to spend 80,000 yuan. Have you ever seen 80,000 yuan? Who in our poor and remote country is willing to spend 80,000 yuan?" 80,000 yuan to marry a daughter-in-law, just be content!"
I glared at You Xiangui fiercely. Over the years, You Xiangui had 'borrowed' more than 30,000 yuan from my grandma, but the money went into his pocket and he never spit it out. I said, "This house of mine should be You can still make some money by selling it..."
Before I finished speaking, You Xiangui said: "This house is mine now. Your grandma promised it before she died. The village chief can prove it!"
I had never heard of this. I looked at the village chief, who nodded hurriedly and said, "Yes, the house belongs to him!"
I want to laugh, how dare I bear all the love debts, but all the things left by my family have become extremely valuable?
I look at these villagers I have known since childhood, and I am afraid that they have colluded with each other for a long time!
I suppressed the urge to argue in my heart. I knew very well that this village would eat people and women. What kind of situation would an orphan like me be in? There was no point in arguing with them. As long as I waited until grandma was buried, I will look for opportunities to escape. I will never let my fate fall into the hands of these people.
Next, it was time to take the coffin out of the coffin and go up the mountain. According to local customs, in front of the coffin of the deceased, the descendants of the deceased need to wear sackcloth and mourn in front of them, holding the memorial tablet to guide the deceased. I wrapped the mourning cloth around my head and lifted it up. My grandma's funeral was stopped by You Xiangui. He said, "Do you understand the rules? You can also hold the funeral?"
"Why?" I endured it again and again, just to bury my grandma safely, but he didn't let me pay filial piety to my grandma. I really wanted to kill someone!
"Because you are a woman, it is unlucky for women to be dirty!" After saying that, he snatched the spiritual tablet from my hand.
In order to exchange my name for money in the future, he would not let go of the opportunity to be a dutiful son in front of my grandma's coffin.
Knowing that no one in the village would speak up for me, I endured it again.
Grandma's coffin was then carried out of the mourning hall. As the funeral master sang, I walked slowly behind the coffin. There was no one else behind me!
I am grandma's only bond in this life.
And from now on, grandma can no longer protect me...
My vision gradually blurred, and I was confused about my future.
Suddenly, there was a noise and the bearer in front shouted.
"ah--"
