571 Chitchat
The old man from the Guo family had one son and three daughters, the son being the youngest. All four children were born to different mothers. It was said that the old man had married five times in his life, and Qiao Yu would be the sixth wife he was going to marry.
Out of the first five wives, two ran away after being beaten by him. Another two of them had difficult childbirths and only the children survived. The last wife could not stand being tortured by him and committed suicide.
The Guo family was a famous well-to-done family within the surrounding eight villages. In the past, they were also the wealthy businessmen in this area. During the generation of Old Man Guo’s father, the family started to decline and they no longer did as well as before.
However, a starving camel was still bigger than a horse, and they were still richer than ordinary families.
Old Man Guo did not have any other hobbies except for having a soft spot for young girls. Even Zhang Qian knew that at his age, he should find a widow so that no one would gossip about him. However, Old Man Guo still wanted a wife who was young enough to be his granddaughter!
In any case, daughters from poor families were not highly valued. Their family would find it a good thing if they were able to get more money for the betrothal gifts.
It was difficult for Old Man Guo’s son to get married because of Old Man Guo’s bad reputation. It was true that good news did not travel far, but bad news spread far and wide.
It was said that Wang Qin had secretly found a matchmaker to go to the Guo family to ask around, with the intention of marrying off one of the daughters in the family. Then she would be able to get a share of the money to supplement her family’s income.
Although being the accountant of the brigade sounded like a cushy job, she did not make much money. In addition, there were so many people in Qiao Zhuang’s family and he was famous for being stingy. The grownup sons in the family had to give Qiao Zhuang 10 dollars a month.
As this money was Qiao Zhuang’s alimony for his old age, he secretly saved this money to buy liquor and the best cigarettes.
Old Man Guo and Qiao Zhuang were old acquaintances. Back in the past, the two of them went gambling together and were the best mahjong buddies. That was why Old Man Guo felt at ease marrying a daughter from the Qiao family.
“Then doesn’t my second grandmother feel sorry for her own daughter?” Qiao Mei asked curiously.
“So what if she feels sorry? She’s been beaten up and scolded by Qiao Zhuang her entire life, so she probably doesn’t know how to resist anymore. However, it’s hard to say. A rabbit will also bite when it is anxious. Besides, Qiao Yu is her only daughter. Will she watch on as her daughter gets thrown into the fire pit?” Auntie Dong said.
Qiao Mei’s face was filled with sadness. She was not worried about Qiao Yu’s safety, but she felt sorry for those girls who died. She did not expect Old Man Guo to be such a cruel person.
What a beast! He was worse than pigs and dogs!
“Mei Mei, you’re still concerned about their family! Don’t you know how badly your mother and grandfather were bullied by their family when you weren’t around!” Auntie Wang said angrily.
Qiao Mei looked at everyone in puzzlement. Her family had not told her about this and all she knew was that Zhang Qian had come to ask for money.
“What happened?” Qiao Mei asked anxiously.
“They did not do anything to your grandfather, but it was just that Qiao Zhuang’s family members came around to say that they can’t afford to buy food anymore. After that, your grandfather often went out and did not stay at home, so they gradually stopped coming. However, your mother…” Auntie Dong hesitated to speak.
Everyone knew what happened to Li Gui. If it was any of them, they would not even want to stay in this village anymore. They did not think they could be strong enough to endure it.
“Wang Qin often uses her authority in her position to deduct work points from your mother. To be honest, the amount of work your mother does in the fields is not any less than my husband, but she only has half the amount of work points. Your mother has a soft personality and doesn’t dare to confront others, so she has tolerated it until now,” Auntie Dong said.
“Sometimes, they will even deliberately cause trouble in the area that your mother is in charge of and mess up the land. All these will be recorded on your mother’s account and she will have to bear all the responsibility,” Auntie Wang added.
Everyone chimed in and told her everything about how Qiao Zhuang’s family bullied Li Gui. Some of these things she heard had actually already crossed her mind, but she did not expect Qiao Zhuang to be so unscrupulous.
Now that her stomach was getting bigger by the day, she could not go to their house to demand an explanation for Li Gui like what she used to do in the past. Qiao Zhuang’s family was not like Zhang Qian’s family who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Qiao Zhuang’s sons were not people to be trifled with. If they could use their fists, they usually would not waste their breath on you. If they got physical with Qiao Mei, she would be the one at a disadvantage.
“Mei Mei, bear with it for now. You can settle this matter later,” Auntie Dong whispered.
She was also concerned for Qiao Mei. The most important thing now was for Qiao Mei to give birth safely.