But the marriage plans were scrapped with the return of Tong Ye, the daughter of the neighbor's aunt's second son-in-law's brother. Tong Ye worked in the city, and she convinced Qinghua's mother that instead of marrying Qinghua off, it would make more financial sense to let Qinghua go with her to the city and work there: she would be able to feed herself, buy nice clothes, and make enough money to support the family.
Qinghua's mother thought about it, and decided that Tong Ye had a point: it was better to get money every month than to sell Qinghua for a fixed amount of money. She called off the marriage and made plans to send her daughter to the city to make money.
Qinghua wept loudly when it was time to go, but she was not crying over the thought of being separated from her mother and brother. She was crying because she knew that she was still being sold like cattle. She turned away from her family, and the look of bitterness on her face went unnoticed.
