But Hu Li had already received 300 yuan from the Wang Family. Unless she could come up with three hundred yuan to pay back to the Wang Family, she hurriedly jumped down, opened the cabinet, and rummaged through it haphazardly. At last, she pulled out a small cloth pouch in which were some loose change that she saved from doing part-time farm jobs for families in the village. It took her almost seven to eight years to save that much. She counted the cash one by one, only totaling about 100 yuan, still far from enough.
She waited for Hu Li to arrive, and without even putting on her shoes, stood barefoot on the cold ground, placing the money in front of Hu Li, "Mom, here’s 100 yuan, please don’t make me marry Wang Dali. I will surely earn and repay you in the future, I can endure hardship, I can work, please..." She fell to the ground with a thump, clutching onto the legs of Hu Li’s pants.
A flash crossed Hu Li’s eyes, and she suddenly burst into laughter, "You dead girl, you even have this much money!" She pocketed the cash and then violently kicked Qin Xiangnuan’s face. She grabbed Chun Xiangnuan by the collar and shoved her into the small room, slamming and locking the door behind her.
"Tomorrow, the Wang Family will come to fetch the bride. Behave, or I’ll beat you to death."
What answered her was the hoarse, loud crying from Chun Xiangnuan inside the shabby room.
Indeed, the next day, the Wang Family arrived, claiming it to be a marriage. Where did they get money for marriage? The three hundred yuan for the dowry was scraped together by selling everything they had. If not for Qin Xiangnuan being an excellent labor worker, and Hu Li being greedy, the Wang Family would not have even considered Qin Xiangnuan, as scrawny as she is with hardly any flesh on her bones, clearly unable to bear children. Despite their son being mediocre, in their parents’ view, no other family’s daughter was worthy of their son.
It was too beneath them to have such a wife for their dear Dali.
When they came to fetch the bride, the mere thought of the three hundred yuan now in Hu Li’s pocket caused them distress.
There was no matchmaker, no wedding banquet; the Wang Family just invited a few relatives over, had a simple meal with bland dishes, and considered this as their son’s wedding.
The so-called bridal room had no decorations; it remained as it always was.
That night, Qin Xiangnuan learnt what it meant to wish one were dead instead of enduring such agonizing pain. She felt both pain and rage as she faced the sight of Wang Dali’s flabby body and nauseating face; big, protruding ears, small green bean-like eyes, a bulbous garlic-like nose, and disgustingly yellow teeth.
Poor girl, merely sixteen, already being savagely abused by Wang Dali as if she weren’t human. From then on, the days she lived were no longer humane. She was responsible for washing the clothes of all three family members, cooking their meals, and performing most of the farm work. Even the slightest mistake would incite a brutal beating from the entire Wang Family. At night, she had to share a bed with Wang Dali, an outright pervert, who during those intimate moments, seemed to suck the life out of her. She felt nothing but pain, always remembered the feel of a whip lashing her body, every slap from Madam Wang on her face, and Father Wang’s lecherous stares as if striping off her already scanty clothes.