“Guozhu, Qing Qing is our daughter! She’s a girl and has been away from home for so long. It’s too dangerous. Will you please go and look for her?”
The present Wang Guozhu was no longer the Wang Guozhu of the past. At the moment, his career had been badly hit and this brought out the worst side of his nature.
He was irritable, easily angered, and ready to push the blame on someone else. Now, his mother had brainwashed him, and he also felt that this woman was a jinx. He should not have married her in the first place.
“Shut up. Why don’t you look for her yourself? I want a son. I don’t care about a daughter!”
Zhang Xiaohui was shocked when he scolded her. She had never imagined that Wang Guozhu would speak to her like that.
“Guozhu…”
Bang!
Old Madam Wang pushed open the door with a bang. “Why not look for her? Guozhu, you happen to have time today. Hurry up and bring that worthless creature back. She’s grown up now and is of marriageable age. We can take the opportunity to exchange her for some food.”
Wang Guozhu was shocked!
Marry her off in exchange for food?
Old Madam Wang glared at him. “What’s the matter? Can’t bear to do it? We’re almost out of food. What are we going to eat in the future? Also, your son is about to be born. How are we going to support him? You had better think about it. Which is more important, a son or a daughter?”
Of course, a son was more important!
Gu Ruoqing had been raised in the Gu family since young, and she had not grown up with Wang Guozhu. He was not very attached to her. Now, when he compared Gu Ruoqing to his son, of course his son was more important.
Wang Guozhu thought for a moment and said, “Mother, you’re right. I’ll go and look for her. That girl is grown up now and is of marriageable age. We might as well exchange her for some food to support my son.”
Zhang Xiaohui was shocked. Weren’t they talking about looking for Qing Qing?
Why were they now talking about marriage?
They seemed to imply that they would sell her daughter for some food. These words were especially grating.
“Guozhu, Qing Qing is still young. How can she marry someone now? Also, marriages are not made overnight. Do you have someone suitable in mind?”
Wang Guozhu remained silent, but Old Madam Wang shouted at her. “Still young? She’s all grown up and should have married long ago. Hurry up and look for her. We’ll marry her off within the next few days. As long as the other side is willing to give us some food and money, it doesn’t matter who she marries.”
Wang Guozhu got up to look for her, but Zhang Xiaohui clutched his arm. “You can’t do that! Qing Qing is our daughter. It wasn’t easy for her to come to the city, how can she just marry anyone? She should… ah…”
Zhang Xiaohui had not even finished her sentence before Old Madam Wang slapped her.
“Shut up. You’ve no right to speak. Just take good care of the child in your womb. If anything happens to my grandson, I’ll kill you!”
…
Wang Guozhu went to look for her, but failed to find her even after several days. His leave was over and he needed to get back to work. After being a director for so many years, he could not adjust to working in the workshop. He was exhausted every day.
But in order to survive, he had to continue working.
He was driven almost crazy by the mocking expressions of others!
After a few more days, Old Madam Wang found someone who would marry Gu Ruoqing.
“He lives in our town, but on the northern side, in a more remote area. He’s over forty years old and his previous wife died in an illness. He hasn’t been able to find a wife for a long time.
“He’s willing to pay two hundred kilograms of coarse grain, thirty kilograms of fine grain, thirty yuan and some coupons. We don’t need to provide any dowry. We just have to send her over.”