Su Xiaofeng's birth mother, Luo Yuzhu, claimed she was going to the county to work when the original host was three years old, but she never returned.
From three to six years old, the original host lived with her grandmother. The year she turned six, her grandmother passed away. With no one to look after the original host, Su Laiguai married He Ximei, who had just been driven out of her husband's family.
He Ximei usually wasn't bad to the original host, but after the original host became sensible and heard the villagers gossip about He Ximei wanting to marry her off to an idiot, she grew to inexplicably resent He Ximei and the so-called idiot brother. However, her nature was feeble, she didn't argue with He Ximei; she merely spoke less and less at home or simply remained silent. Her relationship with Su Laiguai grew even more distant.
In her dreams, the original host longed for Luo Yuzhu to return and take her away. Luo Yuzhu had married a wealthy man, a fact well-known in Lihua Village, and the villagers often teased Su Xiaofeng.
"Why don't you go find your mother? Once you're with your mother, you'll be the young lady of a wealthy family."
Outside, Luo Yuzhu continued speaking, "Xiaofeng is my daughter, how could I harm her? If this marriage is agreed upon, the other party is willing to provide a dowry of eight thousand, and we, the Lin Family, won't take a cent; it will all go to you. With these eight thousand yuan, your family can build a new house and even help your idiot son marry a bride."
Glancing around, she clicked her tongue, "Tsk tsk, when I left, this house wasn't too shabby. More than a decade has passed, and look what a state it's fallen into. Su Laiguai, don't you have any ambition? After all these years, it's still the same old scenario."
When she left, every household had mud-brick houses, so this one didn't stand out in its dilapidation. Now, however, every other house was painted bright white and new. Even the freshly built cowsheds were better than this one.
"In any case, you're not living here now, so whether it's in good or bad shape is none of your concern," Su Laiguai retorted with a puff of his cigarette. "If you want Xiaofeng to marry, take her to live in the Lin Family for a while and let her marry from there, as a Lin Family daughter."
"Of course. What else do you think I came here for today? I'm here to take her to the Lin Family's home. The Lin Family, after all, holds some stature in the county, and Xiaofeng, if she marries from the Lin Family, will do so with great dignity and style," Luo Yuzhu had thought Su Laiguai would object but was surprised by his agreement.
That made sense, considering the eight thousand yuan dowry. Given Su Laiguai's current financial situation, it would be difficult to scrape together even eight hundred, let alone eight thousand.
Overhearing this, Su Xiaofeng let out a cold laugh.
The notion of marrying her off was utterly impossible.
"Where's Xiaofeng?" Luo Yuzhu stepped towards Xiaofeng's sleeping chamber. "Xiaofeng, Mom is here, Mom is here to take you…"
Seeing Su Xiaofeng sitting on the bed silently, Luo Yuzhu approached affectionately, "Xiaofeng, are you up? Come on, get ready, and in a little while, you'll go with Mom to the county. Mom has arranged a good match for you; you're guaranteed to be satisfied."
Su Xiaofeng stared at the woman before her, slender eyebrows, a melon-seed shaped face, and well-preserved due to not having to do any hard field work. She appeared to be just over thirty.
"The other party is older, but he is a man of status and position, with a house and a car all to himself. He even has a washing machine, a color TV, and a fridge at home. Such a good family is one of a kind in the county. Xiaofeng, your mother may have been neglectful over the past decade, but I have always been concerned about your lifelong happiness. This marriage proposal is so coveted that many seek it in vain. Fortunately, the Lin Family has some connection to the other party, who's willing to meet you," Luo Yuzhu was slick with words, having lived comfortably in the county all these years.
"Come on, leave with Mom. I'll take you away from this wretched place, and you will live a life of luxury like Mom, making others green with envy," Luo Yuzhu said as she began to help Su Xiaofeng pack. She hadn't even started when she began to criticize, "I say, Su Laiguai, you let my daughter stay in such a room, not only musty but also damp and chilly. Xiaofeng, why do you look at Mom like that? Are you not feeling well, or has your stepmother been bullying you? Now that Mom's back, tell me everything, and I will teach them a lesson for you." Luo Yuzhu had talked for quite a while before she noticed that Su Xiaofeng had not responded at all, just looking at her with eyes too calm, placid as if she were looking at a stranger.
How could she be a stranger to Xiaofeng, she is Xiaofeng's biological mother, Xiaofeng is the child she gave birth to after ten months of pregnancy.
"Xiaofeng, are you feeling unwell somewhere, If you're feeling unwell, you tell Mom." Luo Yuzhu finally noticed something off about her daughter, who still had a bandage wrapped around her head. Was this an injury?
Listening to Luo Yuzhu talk for quite a while, Su Xiaofeng understood something: for some kind of benefit, the other party intended to marry her off to a wealthy family, where the conditions were superior but the groom was much older. As for how much older, that remained unknown. Perhaps "older" was just a euphemistic term, and there could be other issues; otherwise, why would it be her turn?
"He Ximei," Luo Yuzhu roared, "have you been bullying my daughter?"
"Luo Yuzhu, you haven't come back for over a decade, and the moment you do, you question whether I've been bullying your daughter. Don't you even consider whether you have the right to?" Coming back neither sooner than when Xiaofeng could get married nor later, truly a great mother.
"He Ximei, I was thinking, in consideration of you taking care of Xiaofeng for so many years, I won't take a single cent of the dowry from the Lin Family and would give it all to you. But now it seems, in my absence, who knows how you've been bullying my daughter." She took out two thousand yuan from her bag, "Here's two thousand yuan for you, consider it thanks for raising Xiaofeng all these years."
"Wow, that's a lot of money." Su Peng had just come back from cutting pig grass outside and seeing the stack of money in Su Yuzhu's hand, was excited to touch it.
Luo Yuzhu looked at his silly expression and snorted coldly.
He Ximei slapped away the hand that Su Peng stretched out toward the money.
"Xiaofeng." Su Xiaotao followed Su Peng inside, and when she saw the money in Luo Yuzhu's hands, she paused.
She had previously accompanied Xiaofeng to the county to find Luo Yuzhu, so she recognized her, "Aunt Luo, you've come to take Xiaofeng to the county, haven't you?"
"Yes, I should have taken her back long ago, otherwise Xiaofeng wouldn't have suffered for so many years for no reason," Luo Yuzhu said, her nostrils flaring.
"Aunt Luo, you came back just in time, Xiaofeng has been having a hard time." Su Xiaotao glanced at Su Xiaofeng secretly and noticed that she seemed no different from usual, silent as ever.
At her words, Luo Yuzhu's eyebrows furrowed deeply, "What do you mean by that? Has someone been bullying my Xiaofeng?"
"Aunt, don't you know? Xiaofeng, she..." Su Xiaotao started to say, but her eyes swept to Old Su and He Ximei, and she didn't dare to continue.
Luo Yuzhu's anger flared up instantly, and pointing at Old Su's nose, she began to curse, "Good for you, you disabled old man, I knew you would bully Xiaofeng. Now you tell me, what have you done to Xiaofeng?"
"Oh, so you do care about Xiaofeng," He Ximei sneered, "Not a word from you in over a decade, and now suddenly concerned. Tsk tsk, there's something fishy when things are too abnormal."
"Bullshit, you are her mother, her biological mother!" Luo Yuzhu threw the two thousand yuan in He Ximei's face, "Consider this two thousand yuan a token for taking care of my daughter for so many years. But Xiaofeng, I must take her away, and she must sever all ties with you."
Su Xiaofeng squinted, sever all ties? Heh, now that's interesting.