Chapter 15 Pulling it out bit by bit
With a "plop" sound.
Under the dim oil lamp, Daya knelt down without warning, her thin body falling on the cold ground, her forehead hitting Feng Lan's feet heavily.
"mother!"
As soon as she opened her mouth, her voice trembled with sobs. The ten cents were tightly clenched in her palm, and it felt like a hot iron.
"Mom, please, don't sell Erya... don't sell her..."
"Er Ya is still young, she...she can't do heavy work, and she doesn't eat much, so she won't make much money. Mother, please sell me! I'm willing! I'm going with that Tian Lao San today, I'll do whatever he says, I'll work like a slave for him, and I'll definitely be able to get more money than Er Ya! Please, mother!"
She pleaded incoherently, and every word was like a poisoned awl, piercing Feng Lan's heart.
Feng Lan froze.
She anticipated that her daughter might be scared and refuse, but she never expected her to say such words.
What does...selling Erya mean?
What do you mean...she is willing to go?
A chill, even more piercing than the one she'd felt when her entire family betrayed her, shot from the soles of Feng Lan's feet to the top of her head. She stared blankly at her eldest daughter, who was kneeling on the ground, shaking like a leaf in the wind. In an instant, her surging rage and endless regret were replaced by an even deeper, almost drowning sorrow.
She defeated everyone in the Chen family, but was defeated miserably by her own daughter.
Only then did she realize how deeply and horribly the wounds of her past and present lives had etched a scar on the heart of this sixteen-year-old girl. In her daughter's world, "family" was a master who could buy and sell her at will, and "kinship" was a transaction with a fixed price. Her sudden kindness to her daughter, far from warming her, only plunged her into a deeper fear, believing it was merely the prelude to another transaction.
"Silly child...you...what nonsense are you talking about?"
Feng Lan's voice also began to tremble. She bent down and wanted to help Daya up, but Daya knelt on the ground and refused to move.
"Mom, what I said is true! I can work and I am strong. I am definitely more valuable than Erya! Don't sell her. She is timid and will...will be beaten to death..." Daya cried breathlessly, as if she had already seen the tragic end of her sister after being sold.
Erya, who was standing aside, was already terrified. When she heard her sister say that, she burst into tears and rushed over to hug Daya's arms: "Sister! I won't let you go! I won't let you go!"
The younger San Ya and Siya also started crying. For a moment, the small room was filled with the suppressed and desperate cries of the children.
Feng Lan's heart felt like it was being tightly grasped by an invisible hand, causing her so much pain that she could hardly breathe.
She squatted down and stopped trying to pull Daya. Instead, she stretched out her trembling hands and hugged Daya, who was kneeling on the ground, Erya, who was rushing over, and several younger ones beside them, tightly in her arms.
"I won't sell it... I won't sell it to anyone..."
Her tears finally burst out, and the hot tears fell on the children's hair.
"Daya, listen to your mother. Raise your head and look at your mother." Feng Lan held up Daya's tear-stained little face and forced her to look at her.
"Before, it was your mother and father who were confused and useless, causing you to suffer so much injustice. But from today on, it won't happen again, never again."
Her voice was hoarse, but with an unprecedented firmness.
"I swear to you, from now on, all six of you sisters are my treasures and my lifeblood. My husband and I will never let anyone harm you again, even if it costs us our lives. We will never sell any of you, ever!"
"These ten cents aren't compensation, nor is it a deal. I just want you to be happy. I want you to taste the flavor of candied haws like other children and see how lively the town is. You are my daughters, and it's natural for a parent to love their children. It doesn't need any reason."
Feng Lan repeated these words over and over again, trying to carve them into her daughters' hearts. She knew that rebuilding trust and healing wounds would take time, but she had to start now.
Daya stared at her mother, the undisguised heartache and determination in her eyes. It wasn't any familiar look she remembered. It wasn't numbness, nor patience, nor calculation, but something she had never felt before: a mother's love.
Erya in her arms gradually stopped crying, raised her head timidly, looked at her sister, and then at her mother.
Feng Lan wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve, and then wiped the tears from each of her daughters one by one. She took the ten coins from Daya and spread them out in front of her again.
"Take it." Feng Lan's tone was unquestionable, but her eyes were extremely gentle. "This is what you deserve. Tomorrow, go there happily and hold your backs straight. You are the daughters of Chen Kangbo and Feng Lan, not someone's maid, and certainly not someone's commodity."
Daya's hands were still trembling slightly, but this time, she didn't refuse. She looked at the copper coin in her hand, then at her mother, who was tightly protecting her and her sisters. A faint, warm light finally seemed to penetrate her heart, which was filled with fear and despair.
She hesitated for a long time, and finally said "hmm" softly in an almost inaudible voice.
This "hmm" comforted Feng Xinglan more than any bold words.
She knew that this battle had only just begun. The external battle was about seeking justice from the Chen family's pack of wolves and tigers; the internal battle was about using the rest of her life's love and protection to pull her daughters out of this hell called the "Chen family," bit by bit.
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