Dream Quest 7

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, Huang Yaya got up and prepared to wash up. When she walked into the living room in her pajamas, her mother Huang was sitting on the sofa watching TV. When she saw her come out, her mother looked unhappy. Huang's father had just finished his night shift and was catching up on sleep at home.

Seeing that Huang Yaya didn't greet her, Mother Huang said in a low voice: "Yaya, come here, let's talk."

Isn't it the old rule that people are not judged on the first day of the Lunar New Year? Isn't it said that if you curse someone on the first day of the Lunar New Year, that person will be cursed for the whole year? Huang Yaya thought that what was coming next would definitely be a bloody storm. Her mother was notorious for her powerful curses.

Huang Yaya helplessly sat down next to Huang's mother. Huang's mother turned her head and looked at her, saying earnestly: "Yaya, Mommy is doing this for your own good! What woman doesn't get married and have children?"

Yes, for her own good, let her get married and have children!

"You're 21 now. You'll graduate in two years, and you'll be 24 by then. 24 isn't young anymore, so you should get married and have a child. If you don't want to have two, have two and have one raised by your aunt. If you want to have more, have more, and Mom will help you raise them."

She didn't understand why, in her mother's words, having a baby was like going to the vegetable market to buy cabbage!

"Yaya, your aunt is so kind to you all, you can't be so heartless!"

She only sees her aunt once a year, but she is very nice and enthusiastic. So why not go visit her every year when her aunt gets older?

Since her mother didn't care about her thoughts, she had nothing to worry about and said, "Mom, let Huang Zijian drop out of school and get married, and give the child to an aunt."

With a "pop" sound, there was a red handprint on Huang Yaya's face. She didn't cry, but looked at her mother calmly and continued, "Why, Huang Zijian can't do it? Isn't Auntie your sister? Why are you..."

There was another "pop" sound, and Huang Yaya felt a burning pain on her face, but what was the pain on her face?

It's not like her mother hadn't beaten her before. When she first came to the city, she'd be beaten every time her brother cried. As she grew older, her parents stopped beating her. But she hadn't forgotten it; she'd buried it deep inside her heart.

Huang's mother was furious, her hands shaking as she said viciously, "I really raised you in vain! I might as well have fed you to the dogs!"

Huang Yaya smiled and said, "It's illegal to feed me to the dogs."

"Why did I give birth to something like you..."

…

Huang Yaya ignored her mother's abuse. Anyway, she would not agree to her mother's outrageous request.

She walked to the bathroom with a red face, brushing her teeth while crying!

The atmosphere at home was very cold during the second and third days of the Lunar New Year. Her mother remained silent at every dinner table, and Huang's father and Huang Zijian were even more silent.

Look! Even when they quarreled, her mother would prepare her meals. When she didn’t eat, her mother would ask her brother to call her to eat.

It is unfair to say that her mother does not love her daughter, but why can't this love accommodate her personal freedom? Why is there no respect for her as a person in this love?

On the fourth day of the New Year, my aunt and uncle who lived in another city came to pay New Year's greetings.

Huang's mother warmly greeted the older sister. She shouted in the living room, "Yaya, Zijian, come out quickly. Your aunt is here."

She felt that her aunt was pitiful. Perhaps those bad ideas were just her mother's wishful thinking. Huang Yaya walked out of the room with a smile, looked at her aging aunt and uncle, and greeted them warmly: "Aunt, uncle, happy new year!"

Huang Zijian also walked out of the room with messy hair and said, "Aunt, Uncle, Happy New Year."

"Yaya, you have become more beautiful, and Zijian has grown taller." Aunt said enthusiastically.

After a while, my uncle took out two red envelopes and gave them to my aunt! After my aunt took them, she gave the thicker one to Huang Yaya and the thinner one to Huang Zijian.

Huang Yaya took a look at the thickness. It was not ordinary thick. It was probably several thousand. She couldn't accept the money. She stepped back and said, "Auntie, I have grown up and don't need New Year's money anymore."

The aunt came towards her enthusiastically, stuffed the red envelope into her pocket, and said without letting her refuse: "You will always be a child in front of your aunt. This is a token of your love."

Huang Yaya also had a vague feeling that the generous red envelope given by her aunt must have something to do with what her mother had said.

She absolutely, absolutely, absolutely couldn't accept it. She threw the red envelope on the living room and said guiltily, "Thank you, Auntie. I can't accept your red envelope."

"I still have a paper to write, so I'm going to study first."

After saying that, Huang Yaya went into the room and locked the door.

Mother Huang looked at the door being closed, her face a little embarrassed, and said in a reproachful tone: "This child loves studying too much!"

"Sister, brother-in-law, please don't be offended!"

"It's okay, it's okay. It's a good thing that children love to study." My uncle and aunt said at the same time.

The adults outside the room were chatting animatedly, but Huang Yaya in the room was feeling uneasy!

What was coming could not be avoided. At lunch, the aunt kept putting food into her bowl and said enthusiastically, "Yaya, eat more. You are too thin."

"Thank you, auntie." Huang Yaya said.

"Yaya, your boyfriend is gone!" Aunt continued.

"No!" Huang Yaya had a bad feeling in her heart.

"The child of a relative of your uncle's is now a graduate student. How about introducing him to you?" The aunt was beaming with joy and talked eloquently.

"That boy is pretty good. His family is rich and he doesn't have a girlfriend yet. I'll recommend him to you on WeChat."

Mother Huang continued, "I heard from your aunt that the boy's family runs a hotel."

Huang Yaya knew this would happen. She put down her bowl and chopsticks and said politely, "Auntie, I don't want to fall in love for the time being. I'm full and will go back to my room first."

This winter break felt like a prison break for her! But in reality, people who go to jail do so because they have committed crimes.

And what about her? Just because she was a woman and had reproductive value, she was trapped in the cage that women should get married and have children.

The saddest thing is that the person who locked her in the cage was her dearest mother!

This cage was wrapped around by her mother with chains of "sensible", "filial", "repaying gratitude", etc., which were wrapped around her again and again, making Huang Yaya unable to breathe.