When Liu Huan was ten months old, that gossipy Aunt Hua finally couldn't wait any longer and came to visit on a rainy day.
The Su family was having dinner. Liu Huan and Xiao Shi shared a bowl of steamed egg custard, while the others ate wild vegetable and corn porridge.
In Liu Huan's memory, there was only one meal during the Chinese New Year: brown rice and a bowl of stir-fried cabbage with pork cracklings. The rest of the time, it was just porridge.
"Wife of the New Year, are you eating porridge?"
Aunt Hua looked at their gruel with a mocking expression. Although the village was poor, it wasn't as poor as the Su family, who ate wild vegetable gruel all year round.
Su's mother wiped her mouth, somewhat embarrassed: "Auntie, what's wrong?"
Aunt Hua took out two eggs, looking quite superior: "I brought two eggs to help your little Shi get some nutrition, look how thin he's gotten."
Liu Huan was about to criticize her for being blind. In this family, no one could say Xiao Shi was thin. That little body of hers always made her breathless. She was a real chubby baby.
Su's mother gave a forced smile: "His aunt is too kind. These eggs are valuable. You should save them for Gou Dan and the others."
Two eggs were indeed a very significant gift for them; they would only give such a gift when hosting a banquet.
Aunt Hua didn't refuse, and put it back into the basket. She then pulled out a handful of wild vegetables and placed them on the table. "Shepherd's purse, I just picked it today, it's very fresh, it's the best for making dumplings."
He talks like it's something he eats all the time at home.
Su's mother still didn't want it; she couldn't afford anything from her own family. A handful of wild vegetables would make her nag for a year: "How could I possibly accept that? We can't even finish eating all of our own. You should take it back."
"No need, no need, you can have it, hehe."
The atmosphere became tense. She saw Liu Huan sitting in Cao'er's arms, and after her eyes rolled around, she made her move.
"Cao'er, it's inconvenient for you to hold her, isn't it? Here, give her to me, and I'll feed her for you."
Cao'er turned away and replied calmly, "Auntie, no need, Niu Niu can eat by herself."
Liu Huan can really eat by herself and doesn't waste food, but she's prone to falling because she doesn't have a chair, so her family takes turns carrying her.
Aunt Hua then got back to the main topic and explained her purpose, "Daughter-in-law Da Nian, I've come to bring you some great news today, some very good news."
Good things happen to the Su family, so Su's mother casually asked, "What happy event is it?"
She looked around mysteriously, "Last year you said you'd raise her for whoever wanted her, and now someone actually wants her. There's a family in town who wants a daughter, and they're offering two taels of silver."
With an expression of concern for the Su family, he continued, "I was just thinking that with so many children in your family, even feeding them is a problem. If we sell this girl we picked up, the two taels of silver would be enough to help Da Shi get married."
Liu Huan finally understood; it turned out they were here to make a move on her.
She's living so well in the Su family; she doesn't want to be sold.
So she refused to eat the steamed egg custard, put down the wooden spoon, and started wailing loudly, raising her hands to be held by the stone.
"Stone, stone."
Shi Tou glanced at Aunt Hua and said, "My family doesn't sell people. If you want to buy someone, sell your Cuihua."
After saying that, he got up, took Liu Huan from Cao'er's arms, and carried her to the next room with her bowl in his arms.
Liu Huan thought about how she was adopted and her family was so poor that they could only afford to eat gruel. What if Su's father was tempted to sell her?
Perhaps the ending in my memory will repeat itself, and I will still have to go to the brothel, only this time at a very young age.
Or perhaps she had seen online that children were often buried alive with the dead in ancient times, which would have meant she would die.
The more she thought about it, the sadder she became. She hugged the stone and cried uncontrollably. She wouldn't eat the steamed egg custard the stone offered her; she didn't want to eat this last supper.
Shi Tou put down his bowl and gently comforted him, "Alright, I won't sell it to you, I promise. Finish your food, okay?"
Liu Huan looked at the steamed egg custard, which she could only eat once every few days, and it no longer tasted good.
Could it be that she eats too much? Maybe she shouldn't eat so much in the future.
Can we stop eating steamed egg custard altogether?
When you grow up, you can go and make money, okay?
Please don't sell me, okay?
She clung to the stone's neck, sobbing uncontrollably. In this wicked era, there were too many people selling their daughters. Just a few days ago, she had heard from Su's mother that a family had sold their daughter, who was only a few years old.
Her older brother, Cao'er, and Xiao Shi both came to comfort her, but it had no effect. She hugged Shi Tou and cried her heart out, worrying about her fate.
From next door came the sound of Su's mother and Aunt Hua arguing. "Why don't you take your daughter and sell her? You heartless bastard, you came up with such a despicable idea. Take your wild vegetables and get out of my house!"
Aunt Hua stood at the door, hands on her hips, and said righteously, "You're dirt poor but still pretending to be a good person. Let's see how long you can keep supporting me. When the time comes, even if you beg me, I won't help you."
Su's mother picked up a broom and chased after him to the door: "Get out! Who needs your help?"
After the two women had been arguing for a full quarter of an hour, the children were dumbfounded, having never seen Su's mother curse before.
When Su's mother went in, Liu Huan had already cried herself to sleep, but was still clinging to Shi Tou's neck.
Seeing the children staring at her, Su's mother wiped away her tears and told them:
“I never thought about selling Niu Niu. When I first found her, I was afraid I couldn’t afford to raise her and I thought about giving her away. Now, even if I have to sell everything I own, I still won’t sell her, okay?”
After receiving the assurance, Shi Tou nodded, picked up Liu Huan and put her on the bed. Seeing her hands flailing nervously, he held them in his hands and said, "Brother is here, don't be afraid."
Once she's completely asleep, put her food away, preparing to heat it up and feed it to her when she wakes up.
Su's father was smoking his homegrown tobacco next door when he gathered everyone together.
"Daishi, will you resent us?"
After all, the bride price for getting married is indeed two taels of silver these days, and families really don't have that much money. There are many families like that in the village.
Da Shi, honest and earnest, said, "Dad, am I that kind of person? Even if I can't find a wife in the future, I would never trade Niu Niu for one."
Father Su nodded. “That’s fine. Don’t bring this up again. We were so poor before, and your mother and I raised you all. We only have one girl. As long as we have food to eat, we can’t just give her soup.”
Liu Huan was in the next room, tears streaming down her face. She had misunderstood. How could such a good family like the Su family, with her older brother who was willing to risk hunting to feed the original owner, sell her for just two taels of silver?
However, this incident still affected her, making her even more dependent on stones.
Perhaps it was because his ending was different, or perhaps it was because I was trying to curry favor with him.
At night, she would sleep next to a rock, snuggling into his arms and whispering "brother."
Stone stroked her malnourished hair, responding to her every word: "Brother's here, go to sleep."
For the next month, Liu Huan deliberately ate less at each meal and stopped eating steamed eggs.
Everyone assumed she had just lost her appetite and didn't pay much attention. Before they knew it, wow, she had lost a lot of weight.
Shi Tou was furious and tried every day to get her to eat more. If she didn't eat, he threatened to hit her. That's how he managed to get her weight back up.
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