Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
Why Is Living So Hard?
墨書 Inktalez
When Sister was ten years old, she was sold by our father to a multinational company in New City, becoming the mistress of the chairman. This was Jinchang Group, a multinational enterprise in New City. It was said that the chairman of Jinchang was old enough to be Sister's grandfather. Our father received a hundred thousand as a bride price and happily agreed to this arrangement. There was no room for negotiation; it was a straightforward transaction.
It wasn't until the day Sister was to leave that our father told our mother, claiming he had found a good family for Sister. Our mother cried and protested vehemently against sending her daughter to an old man. Our father slapped her across the face and said, "Do you think I want this? He is rich and powerful; we can't compete with that. Besides, being the mistress of the chairman of Jinchang is a blessing our family has earned over generations."
Our mother covered her cheek and sobbed, "What kind of blessing is this? I think you just want to sell our daughter..." Our father spat angrily and pointed at her nose, saying, "What's wrong with selling a daughter? Selling her is better than living in poverty with us."
"You should look at your two useless children; they can't do hard work or endure hardship. What good are they?"
"If we can sell Shu Yun, that's her good fortune. How many families in our village want to sell their daughters but can't find anyone?"
When Sister left, she didn't cry or make a fuss; she was unusually calm. She respectfully bowed three times to our parents and said, "Dad, Mom, take care of yourselves." Then she got into a luxury car without looking back.
Our mother cried inconsolably and chased after the car for several miles, unwilling to return home until it disappeared at the end of the country road. I ran after it for miles until I could no longer see the car's shadow, collapsing in the dirt by the roadside and crying until I nearly fainted. Yet I did not hear a single sigh from my father; I only saw him down the remaining half bottle of liquor and hum a tune as he went home to sleep.
That night, my mother's eyes were swollen from crying, while my father drunkenly laughed with the bottle in his arms, saying, "Hey hey, a hundred thousand! That’s enough for us to farm for generations."
"Wife, you should be happy. Our Shu Yun has flown up like a wild chicken turning into a phoenix; this is a blessing we've earned over generations."
"I've seen the chairman of Jinchang; although he's old, he's much better than the rough men in our village."
"He's wealthy; Shu Yun will have a better life there than with us by a thousand times." He claimed that my mother was just looking for trouble and that she should stop worrying about such distressing matters now that they had good days ahead.
Mother cried even harder.
Father, furious, smashed a wine bottle and cursed as he went next door to play cards.
I held Mother and cried along with her.
I missed Sister; I wanted her back, I hoped for her return.
But I also knew that Sister would never come back.
My father used the money from selling Sister to drink every day.
Every time he drank, he would boast, "Who in our village can compare to me? I sold a daughter for a hundred thousand."
"This hundred thousand is enough for our family to live well for generations."
"Poor Li Laosan's girl, so pretty, but when they tried to sell her as a concubine, no one wanted her. Tsk tsk, what bad luck."
During festivals, my father would buy boxes of fireworks and set off several large bundles at the village entrance, making a racket for half the day.
But my mother sighed all day long, washing her face with tears.
Father scolded her: "Stop crying; it's bad luck. A hundred thousand is enough for our family to live a good life. What more do you want?"
"Just pretend you never had that money-losing child."
My father lived a flashy and respectable life with the money from selling Sister.
Yet my mother, missing Sister, grew increasingly haggard and aged.
Comment 0 Comment Count