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墨書 Inktalez
I gritted my teeth and said, "I will pass the exam."
My biological mother scoffed, "Oh please, you were so foolish as a child. You couldn't even count to twenty; it's a miracle if you get into a top school."
"You crawled out of my womb; do you think I don't know your weight?"
I really was foolish. I actually thought she would feel guilty for sending me away.
Tears rolled down my cheeks as I shouted, "If I don't get into a top school, I'll go work instead. I won't marry anyone. You didn't want me when I was five; I'll earn money for Aunt and not for you!"
Just as my emotions reached a breaking point, the landline rang.
It was my homeroom teacher calling: "Song Shishi, the results of the entrance exam are out."
He paused for a moment. My heart raced in my throat. Then he said, "You got in! Our school accepted ten students, and you ranked second."
I touched my forehead; it was drenched in sweat, and before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face.
My uncle snatched the phone from me and confirmed the news again. After hearing the results, his face lit up with joy as he kept thanking the teacher, "Thank you, thank you!"
Aunt had come over at some point and listened to the conversation on the phone. After glancing at me, she said, "You came back looking so pale; I thought there was no hope left."
My mother stood there in shock, muttering to herself, "You couldn't even count to twenty, and yet you got into a top school?"
Her eyes shifted, and she added, "One high school student and one college student..."
“How can you afford that? It would be better to let her get married!”
My Second Brother, who was sleeping next door and had never liked my mother, suddenly burst out of the room. “She’s my sister now. Whether she gets married or goes to school has nothing to do with Aunt!”
“I can take out a loan for my tuition, and I can earn my own living expenses. There’s no need to sacrifice her,” I replied.
“Do you know how hard it is to get into First High School? Do you know how much Shi Shi suffered to get in? You can’t just say she won’t go!”
My uncle pretended to scold me, “How can you speak to your aunt like that? It’s so disrespectful!”
That was how relatives were back then; there were often frictions, but rarely did anyone openly confront each other.
My mother’s face shifted between shades of anger and despair.
Taking a deep breath, I slowly said, “Mom, even if I were to get married and receive a bride price, that money would go to Uncle Aunt. You can’t keep selling me off again and again.”
My mother stormed off, cursing me as an ungrateful child.
She also said that Uncle Aunt was foolish for spending money on educating a girl like me.
That night, Aunt killed a laying hen and served me a big chicken leg.
“Eat up, but remember that all the bride price money has to come to me!”
The women in the village also advised Uncle Aunt, “It costs money for your son to go to college, and you’re raising someone else’s daughter. Don’t end up with nothing in the end.”
“Not even your own sister is guaranteed an education, yet you’re so concerned about your niece.”
The admission letter came with a fee list; tuition, accommodation fees, and miscellaneous fees totaled 1,800 yuan due at the start of school.
Aunt’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. “Where am I supposed to get that much money?”
“You’ll work in the future, and all your salary will go towards this, understand?”
Second Brother could take out a loan for his tuition, but living expenses still needed to be prepared.
When you’re poor, even a single cent can be a daunting challenge.
My uncle was borrowing money from everywhere, and someone suggested, "Why not ask your eldest son for some?"
He chuckled awkwardly and replied, "It's the parents' responsibility to support their children's education, not his as the older brother."
"We can't even afford to help him with a wife or a house; we already feel guilty about that."
My second brother went to the county to work as a tutor while also taking a job at an internet café.
At night, he would sleep on the sofa at the café to save on rent.
I wanted to contribute in some way too.
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