"He Mei!"
She peeked out from behind Cao An and saw He Mei looking up at her after hearing the noise.
"Why are you here? Why are you crying?"
Xia Youyou pushed Cao An away, squatted down and helped He Mei up.
"Can I…can I stay at your house for a while?"
Xia Youyou looked at He Mei, who was crying and snotting, and handed her a handkerchief. "Let's go in and talk first."
Cao An and the other two entered the yard, looked around, then closed the door and went in together.
Seeing her crying pitifully, Liu Hui quickly went to get a basin of water and said, "Eanzi, pour her a cup of tea to warm her up. I don't know how long she's been outside, she must be freezing!"
Xia Youyou didn't rush to ask. She waited until she had finished packing before taking her into her room.
He Mei was in a very low mood. She was envious of Xia Youyou's carved thousand-work bed. After being pulled to sit down, she told her about her situation.
"My mother wants me to marry a widower with two children whose wife is dead. I threatened to commit suicide but it was useless. I had no choice but to run away these few days when there were more people around."
This incident shocked Xia Youyou's three views, "Is this your biological mother?"
He Mei nodded, lowering her head and unconsciously fiddling with the corner of her clothes. "We have many children in our family, and my eldest sister is married off. I stayed because I have a job and can help ease the burden on the family. Now I heard that the factory director's brother's wife died, and he wants to marry a young woman who can take care of the children. He also gave a good betrothal gift, so he thought of marrying me off."
She leaned on a shelf beside her and cried miserably. Xia Youyou felt a little sorry for her.
"How do you want me to help you?"
"You can't help me." He Mei buried her head in her arms and shook her head vigorously. "I just wanted to go out and relax. I had nowhere to go, so I thought of you." When she got here, she didn't dare to go in. The whole family was happy inside, and she didn't want to let herself in to spoil the fun. But there was no other place for her to stay except here, so she squatted at the door. The more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she felt, and she couldn't help sobbing.
"My brother can help you. He's a police officer."
He Mei still shook her head. She had just seen the vicious man, but the police had no control over this matter.
Seeing her shaking her head, Xia Youyou had no good ideas. "You sit down, I'll go talk to my brother and see if he has any ideas." Her little head was very simple and she couldn't think of any useful solutions at all.
Cao An stood silently wrapping dumplings, his brow furrowed as he listened. "Tell her to call the police directly. Marrying a woman against her will is illegal. Even her parents shouldn't force her into marriage without regard for her wishes, especially since she has a job."
Xia Youyou went back to the room and told He Mei about it, but unfortunately He Mei didn't look happy at all.
"If I call the police, I'll be criticized. Since ancient times, marriages have always been decided by parents and matchmakers. They've already accepted the betrothal gift, so I have no choice but to marry them."
"But..." Xia Youyou wanted to say something, but seeing He Mei resigned to her fate, she didn't know where to start. "They just gave birth to you, they have no right to decide your future." He grabbed her shoulders and squeezed hard.
"The future is in your own hands. There's still time. If you don't want to, please fight to the end."
He Mei was deeply touched and remained silent for a while.
Xia Youyou sat quietly beside her, gently stroking her back. Like everyone else of her time, He Mei wore dusty clothes with a patch on her collar, revealing she wasn't doing well. Even though she had a job, she still didn't buy herself a nice dress for Chinese New Year. Her parents probably didn't value her; otherwise, why would they let such a young girl marry a widower? They said it was for her own good, so she wouldn't have to live a hard life, wouldn't have to worry about food and clothing, and wouldn't have to work. But He Mei had hands and feet, and could easily support herself. Without the leech of "home," I believed she could live the life she wanted.
Liu Hui walked in with dumplings in her hand. "He Mei, have a bowl of dumplings, fresh from the pot. Have a bowl of hot dumplings to warm you up."
He Mei wiped the tears from her face with her sleeve and forced a smile. "Thank you, Auntie. It's okay. I'll go back now."
Seeing her getting up to leave, Xia Youyou hurriedly pulled her aside and said, "Eat something first, don't leave in a hurry. Today is Chinese New Year, don't treat yourself badly."
He Mei's heart trembled at her words, "Don't treat yourself badly." Suddenly, tears welled up in her eyes, falling like pearls from a broken string. She thought of all the years she had toiled tirelessly at home, how her younger brothers always got the best things first, how she and her sister had been treated like servants since childhood, and how after starting work, they had to hand over all their wages, even wearing their mother's leftover clothes. She felt heartbroken, seeing Xia Youyou and her mother looking at her with concern. Even two strangers showed concern for her, so why did her biological parents push her into this pit of fire?
She held Xia Youyou's hand tightly and said, "I know what to do."
Seeing that she had figured it out, Xia Youyou finally smiled with relief, "Eat first, and if you have anything in the future, just come to our house. We are friends, aren't we?"
He brought He Mei to sit in front of the desk and said, "Eat quickly, we just packed this, try it while it's still fresh."
She took the chopsticks Xia Youyou handed her and shoved a dumpling into her mouth. Tears dripped into the bowl, trickling down her cheeks into her mouth, but she seemed oblivious as she wolfed down the entire bowl. She'd never been full at home in all those years, and this was the fullest she'd eaten in twenty years. The funny thing was, the food wasn't even from her own home! She steeled her resolve and put down her chopsticks.
"Auntie, Xia Youyou, thank you for taking me in. I'm leaving now. I wish you a happy new year!"
Xia Youyou was worried about her and decided to go out with her to send her home.
Cao An was also worried about his sister, so he followed them closely.
After leaving home, He Mei remained silent. Xia Youyou really wanted to know what decision she had made, but she didn't know how to ask, so she could only hold her hand silently.
He Mei's family was in an uproar since they found out that she had run away.
Seeing the mess at home, He Mei actually felt a little happy. She asked Xia Youyou to go back and walked into the house as if nothing had happened.
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