A major event has occurred in Lujia Village: A-Mian is going to be sold.
When Lu Amian heard the news, she was feeding donkeys on the grassland at the foot of the mountain. The grass there had just grown and was much fresher and more delicious than the hay they had eaten all winter.
Ah Mian, who had just reached the age of marriage, rolled up her sleeves and trouser legs, the coarse linen chafing her elbows and ankles until they were red. She paid no attention to it, hugged the tree trunk with both hands, squeezed her bare feet together and kicked upwards a few times, until she stepped onto a thick branch.
The donkey, head down, was grazing when it sensed the movement. It raised its neck and looked at its young master—a slender and agile primate—with a puzzled expression.
"There are still some winter dates left!" Lu Amian lifted the corner of her clothes and started picking them with a big smile, popping one or two into her mouth as she picked.
Just then, two young boys and girls came running from afar, one of them shouting, "Sister, your father is going to sell you! He'll use the money to go out and have fun with brothels!"
The girl, who had run incredibly fast, stood with her hands on her hips and frowned fiercely when she reached the tree. "You're climbing trees again! If your father sees you, he'll definitely beat you again!"
A-Mian opened her eyes wide, "My dad would never sell me, you're talking nonsense."
“I’m not talking nonsense,” the boy said, dressed in a blue robe. He had just returned from the town’s school and looked very refined. “I heard it with my own ears; it’s absolutely true.”
Ah Mian didn't believe it.
Although the family's situation has deteriorated day by day since my mother passed away three years ago. My father drinks every day, and sometimes he gets so drunk that he can't even get up.
The stone mill that used to turn every day has stopped. A-Dou is now a twelve-year-old donkey. It used to pull the millstone day and night, but now only A-Mian takes it to make a block of tofu every seven days. Not only that, but the family's land has also been sold by his father. After getting the money, he spends half a month in town and doesn't come home.
Ah Mian didn't understand, was the wine really that good?
She secretly tasted it; it was very bitter.
But she believed that no matter what, her father would never sell her.
"Zhang Yixing, did you really hear that with your own ears?"
Ah Mian, carrying a bag of green and red dates, slid down from the tree trunk and asked.
Zhang Yixing saw that her hair was covered in straw, her black hair was tied up haphazardly, her clothes had several rough patches, and she had thin arms and legs. She was no longer the clean-cut, fair-skinned girl with pretty crescent moons and dimples that he used to see.
Especially those eyes, the older they get, the darker the pupils seem to become. When those big eyes look at people, they are like ink that has been ground for too long, so black that you can't see the bottom.
It looks rather creepy.
Zhang Yixing looked away. "It's true. Someone from the next village came to propose marriage, and your father agreed as soon as he heard it, even accepting the betrothal money."
A-Mian was stunned, and asked incredulously, "But, but... isn't your family..."
Didn't your family arrange a marriage between our children a long time ago?
She was naive and felt inexplicably embarrassed talking about these things, and her ears started to burn.
But when her mother was alive, she had told her that the Zhang family and their family had been friends for generations. When the Zhang family fell on hard times and moved to the village, her mother and father had helped them a lot.
Because the two families had a good relationship and the children happened to be born one after the other, they arranged a marriage between them.
This was quite common in the past. The separation of men and women in this dynasty was not very strict, and the atmosphere was relatively relaxed and open. The two had been childhood sweethearts since they were young.
"Lu Amian, what kind of daydream are you having?" Lu Weiwei rolled her eyes. "Brother Yixing is about to take the imperial examination to become a scholar—a scholar, who might even become an official in the future!"
Zhang Yixing coughed twice, his voice somber, "I also wanted to persuade Uncle Lu, but you know him, when he's drunk he doesn't care about anything..."
The two of them were talking in unison. Ah Mian nodded to indicate that she understood and went to fetch the donkey.
However, seeing that she didn't react, Lu Weiwei deliberately muttered to herself, "Do you know which family is in the next village? They're really far from our village, I heard they're even farther than going to town, it takes two days and two nights to get there by donkey cart!"
For women in the countryside, marrying far away means being cut off from their original families. If they are bullied in their husband's family, they can only swallow their anger and suffer in silence, without any support from their own family.
Therefore, families that love their daughters generally don't want them to marry too far away. At least they can still keep in touch and avoid suffering in silence.
Amian kept her head down, while Adou's donkey trotted along behind her.
The farthest place she had ever been in her life was a town, which she visited when she was very young, and she had little recollection of it now.
"Oh, the family that came to propose marriage—" Lu Weiwei finally got to the crucial point, this was all gossip she had painstakingly gathered, and she was quite proud of it, "but it's not very good. Apparently, the matchmaker introduced them to families in one or two villages nearby, but none of them were willing!"
"Weiwei, why are you saying that?" Zhang Yixing stopped her, somewhat disapprovingly.
He glanced at Lu Amian.
The latter ignored him, and foolishly used the hem of her clothes to hold a bag of green and red dates, which, against her pale pink face, exuded a youthful and sweet aroma that made one want to take a bite.
He was a year older than her, knew some characters, and had read some books, so he considered himself quite knowledgeable. So he slowly said, "If you... are unwilling, we will always find a way to help you."
Lu Weiwei snorted and, seeing that they were almost at Lu Amian's doorstep, decided to just leave.
"My dad won't sell me."
Ah Mian repeated it again, though it was unclear who she was saying it to.
Zhang Yixing sighed and patiently explained, "That's definitely not selling. Do you know what marriage is?"
“…I know,” she said sullenly. “It’s when men reach a certain age, they spend money to buy a woman to work at their home, just like my mother and A-Dou, who work their whole lives.”
She said she felt sad, so she grabbed a handful of green dates and fed them to Adou.
"..."
Zhang Yixing wanted to explain that marriage didn't mean that, no wonder she felt like she was being sold.
Before she could speak, the door to A-Mian's house was suddenly pushed open.
A plump woman stepped out, her kind face beaming with joy. "Oh dear! What a wonderful thing! Uncle Lu, this must be your daughter!"
Lu Amian looked at her father.
Surprisingly, her father was sober, though his nose was still bright red. He was wearing a t-shirt with stained cuffs and collar, and grinned, "Yes, this is my daughter! This—" He hiccuped, "She looks just like her mother, it's only because she wasn't dressed up..."
The fat woman smiled kindly, her eyes scanning Ah Mian from head to toe.
"Tell that family if the betrothal gifts can be increased a bit?" Uncle Lu said with a forced smile, his words slurred and unclear. "...This is my only treasure."
Lu Amian paused for a moment, and the winter dates scattered all over the ground.
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