Zhou Gu'er had no appetite, so she secretly watched the people around the table.
Because the kang table wasn't large and was crowded with people, she could see everyone clearly.
Her adoptive father, Zhou Mazi, berated her adoptive mother, but no one spoke up for her. Even her adoptive mother showed no sign of embarrassment, which meant she was already used to it.
Zhou Gu'er thought of her past life. Her adoptive father had often berated her adoptive mother just like this, and he would beat and curse her when he was angry. 'And what was I like?'
She had been just like she was now, silent.
She had never spoken up for her adoptive mother, because her own situation was even worse than her adoptive mother's.
But Zhou Feng'er and Zhou Duo'er had never said a single word to help their mother either. When their mother was being beaten, they would watch from the side, silent, not even telling him to stop.
As for Zhou Cai, he would sometimes say "stop hitting her," but later, finding his mother's pained cries annoying, he started telling her to shut up. When she was being beaten, she had to cover her own mouth to keep from making a sound.
'Thinking back now, the way Zhou Cai, Zhou Feng'er, and Zhou Duo'er later treated their mother was definitely related to Zhou Mazi's behavior.'
Zhou Mazi had always treated their mother as less than human in front of them. They had grown accustomed to this treatment in their hearts and even came to approve of it, which is why they acted that way.
'Still, those three were no good either. A normal person would never act like that.'
"Dad, what's going on?"
Zhou Cai saw that Li Hua had fallen silent and pressed the question again.
Zhou Duo'er gently tugged on his sleeve and started whispering to him.
"Thirty yuan? That's great news! You should hurry up and send Zhou Gu'er over. She was brought here by Mom, she's not one of us anyway. What's there to be reluctant about? With that thirty yuan, Dad, you have to buy me new clothes and get me some meat. I haven't had meat in forever! I'm so sick of eating hominy grits every day, it's killing me."
Zhou Cai was extremely excited, wishing Zhou Gu'er would disappear right this second so the family could have money immediately.
"If Older Sister leaves, there'll be no one to do all the chores at home," Zhou Duo'er whispered to Zhou Cai.
"Aren't you and Second Sister still here? Aren't the two of you enough? What's the point of keeping her around to be a freeloader?"
But Zhou Cai couldn't comprehend his two sisters' feelings. In his mind, if one sister left, there were still two more, which was plenty. Since he didn't have to do any of the work anyway, he couldn't care less.
Zhou Feng'er and Zhou Duo'er fell silent. They weren't on the same page as Zhou Cai, because he didn't have to do any of the Zhou family's chores.
"No, Cai Zi," Li Hua felt she had to explain, "that Zhang Da is not a good man. If your eldest sister marries him, she'll definitely have a miserable life."
"What do you mean, 'not a good man'? As long as he pays, it's fine. Someone like her, Zhou Gu'er, who doesn't even know who her real parents are—what kind of man does she expect to find? Even if she wants someone good, someone has to want her first."
Zhou Cai said dismissively. He was completely incapable of understanding his mother's feelings. What kind of life Zhou Gu'er would have after marrying was none of his business; as long as he himself lived well, that was all that mattered.
Zhou Mazi remained silent the whole time, knocking back his liquor, mouthful by mouthful. He was contemplating the matter, wondering whether or not he should agree.
"Cai Zi, Gu'er is still your eldest sister. You can't just watch her marry into a life of suffering."
Li Hua felt awful. She didn't want Zhou Gu'er to marry such a man, but she had no say in the matter. Her own children weren't on her side either. Her life was so hard.
"That's right. We all live in the same village. If Eldest Sister has a bad life, I'm afraid people will gossip about our family. Why don't we wait a bit longer? Maybe someone better will come along."
Zhou Feng'er saw that her father wasn't shutting their mother up like he usually did. She knew he must be hesitating, so she chimed in. She didn't want to do chores, so she didn't want Zhou Gu'er to get married just yet.
"Yeah, yeah, Second Sister is right," Zhou Duo'er chimed in hastily. "Let's wait and see if there's someone better."
Li Hua nodded, somewhat relieved. Whatever their reasons, her two daughters were finally speaking up on her side.
"Wait for what? If we wait and no one else comes, and then Zhang Da doesn't come back either, who are we going to get the money from? Besides, let the villagers say what they want. They don't give us any money, so our family's business is none of theirs to meddle in."
Zhou Cai thought differently from his two sisters. He felt the same way not just about Zhou Gu'er, but even about Zhou Feng'er and Zhou Duo'er. It didn't matter who the man was; as long as he paid, they could be married off. After all, wasn't that what women were for? He just had to look at his own mother to know that.
"If no one else comes to our door, you can get the money from me."
When everyone had more or less said their piece, Zhou Gu'er spoke up.
The moment she spoke, everyone stared at her in astonishment, including Zhou Mazi, who was just about to pour more liquor into his mouth. He froze for a good moment, the cup pausing on its way to his lips.
"From you? Who do you think you are? Do you have any money?"
After his initial shock, Zhou Cai burst out laughing. 'In this family, isn't Eldest Sister the most broke and useless one?'
'Though not completely useless. She's not bad-looking, so she can fetch a good price.'
Zhou Gu'er didn't look at him, her eyes fixed on her adoptive father instead.
"I will not marry Zhang Da."
She said it calmly, but with unwavering resolve.
Zhou Mazi slammed his cup down on the table.
"So you've decided to rebel, have you? Whether you marry or not is for me to decide!"
Zhou Mazi felt his authority had been challenged.
"Gu'er, let's talk this out calmly. Don't provoke your father," Li Hua urged anxiously, afraid Zhou Gu'er would suffer for it.
"This matter is for Dad to decide, but what I want to say is, I will absolutely not marry Zhang Da. I'll die before I marry him."
Zhou Gu'er said it with dead seriousness.
Li Hua was a little stunned. She had never seen her daughter act like this. The girl was timid and had never dared to speak to Zhou Mazi this way. 'What's gotten into her today? Is she possessed?'
"I've raised you for so many years, and now you dare to talk back to me? Who gave you the guts! I say you'll marry him, and you will! If you dare to refuse, I'll tie you up and carry you there myself! You want to die? Even if you're dead, I'll still dump your body on the Zhang Family's doorstep!" Zhou Mazi snarled.
Zhou Gu'er fell silent for a moment. Li Hua opened her mouth, wanting to speak, but she was afraid her words would only infuriate her husband further.
Zhou Feng'er and Zhou Duo'er both lowered their heads. They didn't dare get involved in a situation like this.
Zhou Cai watched with a look of great interest. He didn't care, because he knew his father wouldn't hit him. He was just enjoying the show.
"Dad, isn't it just money you want? It's only thirty yuan, that's not a huge sum. If you sell me to Zhang Da, all you get is thirty yuan. You know what kind of person he is. If you marry me off to him, don't even think about getting any other benefits from now on. That Zhang Da is shameless. He'll probably come here to freeload off the family. When he decides to stick around and not leave, you'll have to feed him. Won't that disgust you?"
Zhou Gu'er paused here before continuing, "But Dad, if you don't sell me to him, I'll earn that thirty yuan for you. I won't have to marry him, and I'll still be part of the Zhou family. Any money I earn will be yours. In the future, I might even be able to help the family more. Isn't that a much better deal than marrying me off?"
Zhou Gu'er had a pretty good idea of what Zhou Mazi was thinking. He definitely wanted the most profitable outcome. To sway him, she had to talk about money. Only by making him feel that her proposal was more advantageous would he agree.