Zhou Gu'er nodded, her clenched fists relaxing. 'As long as he agreed, that's all that matters,' she thought. 'As long as he agreed.' Now she wouldn't have to marry Zhang Da.
In truth, she had been taking a gamble herself. She knew Zhou Mazi was a gambler, and gamblers shared a certain mentality—they always wanted more. She had shown him that he stood to gain more by *not* marrying her off to Zhang Da, and a gambler would always bet on the bigger prize. That's why her negotiation with Zhou Mazi had succeeded today. Anyone else might have just taken the thirty dollars on the table and agreed immediately.
It seemed her gamble had paid off. Taking this first step—avoiding marriage to Zhang Da—was the beginning of her new life.
"Dad, how could you believe her? She's obviously lying to you."
Zhou Cai was upset. He felt like his new clothes and the meat he'd been promised had just flown out the window.
Zhou Mazi took a swig of his wine, smacking his lips, but said nothing.
"Dad, Mom, can I move into the storage room?"
Zhou Gu'er seized the opportunity to ask to move off the shared kang.
"Gu'er, what's wrong with living in here? Why would you want to move over there? There isn't even a kang in that room. How would you sleep?"
Li Hua didn't understand what her daughter was up to.
"Mom, Feng'er and I are both getting older, and Cai Zi is a growing boy. I'm afraid it's getting too crowded for everyone. It'll be a lot less cramped without me. I can just put some wooden planks together for a bed since there's no kang. Plus, if I need to work on anything, having my own room would be more convenient and I wouldn't disturb any of you," Zhou Gu'er explained.
"Let her go, Mom! She's practically squeezing me to death. I can't even roll over! It's great if she wants to go live in that little dark room."
Zhou Cai, on the other hand, was delighted. He figured with one less person, he wouldn't be so uncomfortable.
"If she wants to live there, then let her. Let her make a scene. As long as she can make me some money, I don't care if she flies to the moon."
Zhou Mazi couldn't be bothered with the details.
Zhou Feng'er and Zhou Duo'er said nothing. They had no idea what their eldest sister was plotting; they were starting to find her hard to understand. Take the marriage to Zhang Da, for example. They couldn't tell if she was genuinely against it or just pretending. But now that their father had agreed to her terms, the decision was out of their hands. So, they kept their opinions to themselves.
"Thank you, Dad."
Zhou Gu'er had achieved her goal, so she didn't mind saying thank you.
It took Zhou Gu'er two days to clean out the storage room.
Her bed was just a few wooden planks put together, and the room was bare except for her bedding and a few pieces of clothing, but Zhou Gu'er was still very satisfied.
This was her own little world. She no longer had to squeeze onto that shared kang. She could finally be alone.
Zhou Gu'er sat on her little bed, tilting her head back to stretch her sore neck. A smile played on her lips.
"Gu'er, are you sure you want to live in here? Is this thin mattress going to be alright?"
Li Hua pushed the door open and came in. She felt Zhou Gu'er's so-called bed, her face filled with worry.
There was only a thin mattress laid out, which had to be uncomfortable. But she didn't have a spare one; with so many people in the house, there was nothing extra to give Zhou Gu'er. She was genuinely worried her daughter wouldn't be able to sleep.
"It's fine, Mom. Don't worry. The weather is getting warmer now, so it's not cold."
Zhou Gu'er said gently. Her adoptive mother had always been good to her, treating her like her own flesh and blood. She was truly grateful to Li Hua.
"Sigh... You poor child. Such a bitter fate, so little fortune. If you hadn't come with me back then, maybe you could have lived a better life. Now when I think about how I insisted on bringing you along, I don't know if I did right by you or if I just ended up harming you."
As she spoke, Li Hua sighed and began to cry.
Seeing her adoptive mother like this made Zhou Gu'er's heart ache. If she had to describe her adoptive mother's life, it would be as someone even more of a tragic, disposable character than she was.
Her own adoptive grandmother—Li Hua's birth mother—was a typical village woman. After marrying her adoptive grandfather, Li Shan, his family fell on hard times, and she never had a single easy day. Her grandfather went out to find work, but some months he barely earned enough to support himself, let alone send money home. Her grandmother was left to farm the land and raise the children, but juggling the fieldwork and the household chores was simply too much for one person.
After two years of this, her grandmother became sallow and emaciated. The children were also going hungry. It was a pitiful sight.
In that era, a practice known as "la bang tao" existed in the region.
A "la bang tao" was a bit like a long-term hired hand. A family would bring a strong man into the house to do the fieldwork and heavy chores. He wouldn't be paid a wage, but the family had to feed him. Because of the poverty, homes often had only a single kang, so at night, the man would sleep on the same bed as the woman of the house. If the man had... physical needs, the woman was expected to satisfy them.
In modern society, such an arrangement would be unthinkable. But in that era, in the countryside, it was a real and not-uncommon practice. Although it was considered shameful, when people were on the verge of starvation, saving face was no longer a priority.
So, Zhou Gu'er's grandmother found a "la bang tao" man for their home. Her grandfather, Li Shan, knew about it. Although he was unhappy, what could he do? He couldn't earn enough money to support his wife and child. He couldn't just stand by and watch them starve or work themselves to death.
After Li Hua was born, many people gossiped that she might not be Li Shan's biological daughter, but the child of the "la bang tao."
Around the time Li Hua was conceived, her grandfather Li Shan had been home for a while. However, he only stayed for half a month before leaving again. For the other half of that month, the "la bang tao" man was living in the Li family's house. As a result, not even Gu'er's grandmother knew for sure who her daughter's father was.
But in those days, regardless of the child's true parentage, she legally belonged to the man of the house. She would never be given to the "la bang tao," who was merely a hired hand with no status or say in the matter. He couldn't have raised the child even if he wanted to. So, even if she was his biological daughter, he wouldn't have claimed her.
Because of this, however, Li Shan was never particularly affectionate toward Li Hua. As for the "la bang tao," he left the Li Family once Li Shan stopped leaving for work and was never heard from again.
So, growing up, Li Hua received very little fatherly love. But in that era, even a biological daughter wouldn't have been shown much affection. It was a time when just staying alive was a struggle; not starving to death was a blessing. Love was a luxury no one could afford, and few even knew what it was.
Later, when it was time for Li Hua to marry, the man she found was of average means.
His name was Cui Tie. He and Li Hua were married for several years but had no children, and Cui Tie held it against her. Still, he never beat or cursed her the way Zhou Mazi did.
Later, Gu'er's grandmother found an abandoned baby—Gu'er. She gave the child to Li Hua to raise. Since Li Hua was childless, having a daughter, even if she wasn't a boy, meant she would at least have someone to rely on in the future.
Li Hua was overjoyed and treated Gu'er well. Gu'er's first adoptive father, Cui Tie, was also decent to her. Even though she wasn't his biological daughter, he was a far better man than Zhou Mazi.