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墨書 Inktalez
"Wen Xin, what's wrong?" Wen Sheng asked as he saw his sister crying, unable to hold back his concern. Wen Xin looked up at Er Ge, her eyes glistening with tears, her trembling lips struggling to form words.
"What happened? Who bullied you? Please, tell me!" Wen Sheng set down his cart and rushed to her side, grasping her hands anxiously.
"I... I..." Wen Xin sobbed, her voice broken and intermittent as she tried to speak.
"Take your time. What’s going on? I'm here for you!" Wen Sheng said, a hint of urgency in his tone.
Wen Xin managed to calm down a little, standing up to rub her slightly reddened eyes. "It's like this: Aunt came today. There's a factory in their town hiring workers! They want girls for embroidery work, and they can earn five dollars. She wants to introduce me!" At this point, Wen Xin broke down again.
"Don't cry! We won't go!" Wen Sheng pulled his sister into an embrace, trying to comfort her.
"But Dad agreed! Mom disagreed, and Dad scolded her. Aunt even argued with Mom. She said I’m just a girl, that school is useless for me, and that working to earn some money is fine!" Wen Xin cried, mimicking Aunt's tone at the end.
"Then why don't you let her arrange for our cousin to go instead? Why does it have to be you?" Wen Sheng replied indignantly.
"I was too scared! Dad and Aunt are so fierce! I'm really afraid!" Wen Xin nestled against her brother.
"Has Aunt left?" Wen Sheng asked coldly.
"No! She wants to take me away today and start work tomorrow. I wanted to see you first before leaving," Wen Xin murmured.
"We're not going. I'll talk to her! I'm not afraid of her!" Wen Sheng declared with a sense of defiance as he took Wen Xin's hand and headed home.
When they arrived home, Aunt was discussing with their father about taking Wen Xin to work.
“I don’t agree to let Wen Xin go to that factory! Wen Xin is still in school!” Wen Sheng exclaimed as he entered the room.
“What good is her schooling! Are you still hoping she’ll go to college?” Aunt shouted back, her voice raised.
“Whether she goes to college or not, at least let her read more books for now!” Wen Sheng replied coldly.
“Exactly! She’s my sister; I’m not comfortable with her going so far away! At least let her finish school first!” Mother mustered the courage to speak up upon seeing Wen Sheng return.
“Shut up!” Wen Sheng's Father yelled at Wen Sheng's Mother. “You think you’re in charge? I’m in charge here!”
“Well, if you’re in charge, then you should make the right decisions!” Wen Sheng's Mother retorted defiantly.
“In this house, my word is law, and you all have to listen!” Wen Sheng's Father asserted with an authoritative tone.
“Isn’t our cousin also in school?” Wen Sheng asked, bringing up an unrelated point.
“Yes! What about it?” Aunt replied, puzzled.
“If Wen Xin is going, then I won’t oppose it anymore!” Wen Sheng said coldly. Wen Xin looked at her brother with confused eyes, a hint of sadness reflected in her gaze.
“But! First, let our cousin go with her; then I’ll feel at ease. Having someone close by as company would help!” Wen Sheng added with a cold smile.
“Is that even the same? My daughter is too delicate; how can Wen Xin compare? She’s my own flesh and blood. I still want her to go to college; I can’t bear to let her do that kind of work!” Aunt stated bluntly.
“Well, we can’t bear it either. Just because she’s not Mom’s biological child doesn’t mean we don’t see her as precious!” Wen Sheng insisted stubbornly.
“Are you arguing with me? Who do you think I’m doing this for? You don’t even understand what’s good or bad!” Aunt scolded Wen Sheng.
“How dare you talk back to your Aunt!” Wen Sheng's Father stood up, “Your courage is growing by the day. I’ve raised you all for nothing! Do you expect me to keep supporting you? You should be out working to lighten my burden instead of just sitting around!”
“Even if you raise a sheep, you have to wait for it to grow up before it can bear lambs, right? Isn’t a child the same? Wen Xin is grown up; doesn’t she know how to earn money?” Wen Sheng retorted against his father.
A shoe flew through the air and hit Wen Sheng on the head. That stubborn temper of his was getting him into trouble again. Wen Sheng's Father stood up and grabbed Wen Sheng, ready to hit him.
“Why can’t you treat him well? Why do you always have to hit him?” Wen Sheng's Mother pulled at him.
“Stay out of this! Now he’s learned to talk back to me; does that mean my words are worthless? How can I not hit him? Discipline makes a good child!” Wen Sheng's Father shouted fiercely.
“Children like this need to be punished!” Aunt chimed in from the side.
“All you do is shout about hitting my child! Why don’t you try advising him instead?” Wen Sheng's Grandmother complained.
“Look at what your children have become; can we really ignore it? No one in our family would dare talk back to us!” Aunt raised her voice.
“If you have nothing better to do, then don’t come here and cause trouble for us!” Wen Sheng's Grandmother angrily told Wen Sheng's Aunt.
“If I don’t come to manage things, who else will? Just look at how everyone else is laughing at us!” Aunt’s face flushed with anger.
“If they’re not laughing at us, who will help us? Every other family’s Aunt helps their nieces and nephews find suitors; who has helped our children? And as for Wen Xin! During the New Year, who bought her new clothes? You don’t treat her like family, but I see her as my own daughter. Now that she needs to work, it breaks my heart. Your daughters are precious too; ours are just as precious!” Wen Sheng's Mother’s voice trembled.
“You’re still going on about this! What good is education for her?” Wen Sheng's Father shouted loudly.
“Mom. Mom,” Wen Xin tugged at her mother’s sleeve.
“Wen Sheng is wrong! The child won’t grow up; what do you want her to do? You only know how to hit the child. What ability do you have?” Wen Sheng's mother said, feeling aggrieved.
Wen Sheng's grandmother held Wen Sheng protectively in her arms, saying, “If you want to hit someone, then hit me! The girl going to school is useless! Look at whose child isn’t carrying a backpack to school; it’s just letting the teachers watch over them! It doesn’t cost more than a hundred dollars a year; if you smoke less, you can afford it for her, right? Even if she’s not your biological child, you can’t treat her like this! If you have the ability, then manage the older children well!”
“I just won’t let Wen Xin go to school; I’ll make her work instead! Who can stop me?” Wen Sheng's father concluded with parental authority.
Despite Wen Sheng and their mother insisting repeatedly, their strength seemed so weak and powerless. The father’s authority appeared supreme. On that summer night, the gentle wind rustled the treetops, and the dark starry sky felt so lonely. Wen Xin took her bag and beloved toy to say goodbye as Aunt took her away.
The shimmering starlight witnessed Wen Sheng’s helpless tears.
“Make something of myself! Make something of myself!” On that lonely night, Wen Sheng stood at the village entrance, watching his sister’s figure gradually fade away, silently making a vow to the wind.
Their mother rested her hand on Wen Sheng’s shoulder, watching Wen Xin’s frail figure, unable to help but wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes. The child was so precious, truly so…
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