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墨書 Inktalez
"Aunt" said loudly, "I have never treated her poorly over the years; it's only right for her to be filial to us!"
When I was in elementary school, my uncle's rice milling business was thriving. But now, with electric rice milling machines available in the village, people simply haul their rice to be milled using tricycles. It's convenient and inexpensive. My uncle's old milling machine breaks down frequently, and his business has been declining year by year.
During the year of the college entrance examination, my grades were decent, and I had a chance to get into a good university. My uncle was happy on one hand but worried about how to pay for my tuition and living expenses on the other. I thought I might end up like my two older sisters from my biological mother's side, working in a factory after graduating from middle school. Then, after a year or two, I would find a man with a high bride price to marry and have children.
This thought caused my midterm exam scores to drop. When my uncle received the report card, he slammed the table angrily: "Is this how you study? You've dropped over twenty places!"
"You won't even qualify to apply for the top high school at this rate!" Back then, getting into the top high school from our rural middle school wasn't something you could just wish for. Based on past admission numbers, a certain quota was allocated. Our school usually had around thirty spots.
"Anyway, I'll have to work after middle school..." My uncle's eyes widened: "Don't listen to those women! As long as you can get into the top high school, I'll sell everything I have to send you there!"
I glanced at "Aunt." She spoke sarcastically: "What are you looking at me for? Your uncle is in charge of the family."
This was an unspoken agreement.
My eyes turned red, and I choked out, "I will study hard."
After that day, I threw myself into my studies with relentless determination. My grades improved rapidly.
At home, my Aunt hardly made me do any chores. She would say with a hint of annoyance, "If your uncle finds out I've made you work, he'll scold me again. I'm not raising a niece; I'm raising a princess!"
When my Second Brother finished his college entrance examination and received good scores, he got accepted into a prestigious university in the province. My Aunt was beaming with pride, her face nearly splitting from the smile.
I also successfully qualified for the exam. To take the test at the top school in the county, we had to stay in a hotel with our teacher supervising us. Meals and accommodations all cost money.
The hotel we stayed in seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time; the blankets smelled musty. At night, I could hear mice scurrying across the ceiling, and I barely slept a wink.
After the exam, when I returned to the village, my face was as pale as a ghost.
My Aunt clicked her tongue and said, "Looks like it’s not going well."
A few classmates invited me to work in Guangdong, and some enthusiastic aunts even tried to set me up with potential suitors. My uncle suggested we wait until the results came out before making any decisions.
Soon it was my sixteenth birthday, and my birth mother came to visit. She even brought a small cake from town. I thought perhaps she felt guilty and was trying to make amends.
After finishing our meal, she said, “Sister San has graduated from middle school and turned sixteen. I have found a good match for you.”
The man was twenty-five, had been in a car accident, and walked with a slight limp, but he could offer a bride price of one hundred fifty thousand. In 2007, in a small village, that was no small amount of money.
My mother beamed with delight: “We’ll split the money evenly. Er Bao’s college tuition and living expenses will be covered!”
“Anyway, Sister San can’t get into high school, and who knows how many years it will take her to earn that much working!”
She said this right in front of me, treating me like a valuable commodity just as she had years ago.
I felt my face flush with anger. My mother continued to be animated: “That man may have a slight limp, but his conditions are excellent. After that car accident, he received hundreds of thousands in compensation... If you marry him, it’ll be a good life. I gave birth to you; I still need to plan for your future!”
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