In a small mountain village with smoke curling up, Su Moyan rubbed his dizzy head.
Memories keep popping up in the brain.
Jiang Xiaoyu is the little baby girl that Chen's mother picked up from the riverside. The Chen family is small, and with Jiang Xiaoyu picked up, there are only four people in the family.
Chen Daoyuan and Jiang Xiaoyu grew up together. In this small mountain village, everyone knew that they would get married when they grew up.
But one day, Chen Daoyuan brought back Wang Xiaocui, who was soaked all over.
Wang Xiaocui was the daughter of the village chief. She was forced by her parents to marry the town's pig butcher, so she jumped into the river to commit suicide.
Chen Daodao was determined to marry Wang Xiaocui, but the Wang family asked for too much dowry, which the Chen family could not afford.
There was no other way, so Chen’s parents could only set their sights on their adopted daughter Jiang Xiaoyu.
Jiang Xiaoyu was married to an old man. Less than a year later, the old man died, and Jiang Xiaoyu was married to Lao Guangfu again.
Three years later, Lao Guangfu also died of illness, and she was married off by Chen's parents.
I married so many people, but unfortunately I couldn't have a child.
Later, Wang Xiaocui died of complications during childbirth when she gave birth to her fifth child.
Chen Daoyuan couldn't find a wife, so he started to think about Jiang Xiaoyu, and his mother was there to persuade him.
Jiang Xiaoyu married Chen Daoyuan again. Not only did she have to take care of the five children left by her previous wife, but she also had to take care of the house and the outside.
She took care of the Chen family, young and old, and made them all fat and healthy. She herself was reluctant to eat and wear clothes, and finally died of overwork.
Now we return to the time when Chen Daoyuan just brought Wang Xiaocui home.
Chen's mother was preparing pig food in the yard.
"Yuan'er, what happened? Why did you come back in broad daylight with Xiao Cui? If someone saw you, I don't know what they would do to you."
"Mom, Xiao Cui fell into the water. I can't just stand by and watch her die, can I?"
Jiang Xiaoyu caught a cold these days and has been lying in bed recuperating. Chen's mother pushed the door open and came in.
"Xiaoyu, your sister Xiaocui fell into the water. Mother is here to get her some clean clothes."
"Mom, the clothes are all in the closet, you can take them."
Mother Chen took the clothes and went to the next room.
After a while, a crying sound came from next door.
"Brother Daoyuan, please save me. I don't want to marry that butcher. I heard he beat two of his wives to death. I'm so scared."
"Don't cry, Xiao Cui. I'll go talk to the village chief later. You're his biological daughter! How could he push you into this fire pit?"
"Useless Brother Daoyuan, my mother is dead, and my father listens to my stepmother in everything now. He only likes the younger brothers and sisters born by my stepmother, and he doesn't like mine... wuwuwu... If my mother were still alive..."
"Host, stop eavesdropping. You should think about what you should do first."
Why are you panicking? As the saying goes, anything that can be solved with money is not a problem.
"Come here, Xiaoyu, drink the medicine quickly."
"Thank you, mother."
Mother Chen gently touched her head: "Silly child."
Even though Chen's mother treats her adopted daughter very well now, she is ruthless when it comes to pushing her out to exchange for the betrothal gift.
Jiang Xiaoyu quickly took a few pills, and as soon as he felt better, he went up the mountain to chop firewood.
These days, Chen Daoyuan has been making a fuss about being responsible for Wang Xiaocui.
After all, it was broad daylight and many people saw him carrying Wang Xiaocui home. Who knows if they did anything else.
The Chen family had no choice but to go and propose marriage, but the village chief refused to give in. He either wanted five taels of silver to marry the girl, or one tael of silver to clear his daughter's name.
The entire Chen family's belongings only amounted to one or two taels.
"Yuan'er, why don't you just let her go? Xiao Cui is a poor girl. It's a pity that our Chen family can't afford to marry her."
Their family must be really poor! Otherwise, they wouldn't have picked up Jiang Xiaoyu and raised her as a child bride.
I thought that when my son grew up, he wouldn't have to worry about not being able to find a wife, but now this matter has become a big deal.
Wang Xiaocui leaned on Chen Daoyuan's arms and cried every day, and Chen Daoyuan's heart melted.
"Don't worry, Xiao Cui, I will definitely marry you."
"Forget it, Brother Daoyuan. I know your family's situation. Don't force Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen for my sake. Five taels of silver is really a lot of money. Not everyone can afford it."
She leaned into his arms again.
"Brother Daoyuan, I accept my fate. Please let me be your woman before marrying someone else. I don't want to give my most precious innocence to a man I don't love."
Chen Daoyuan pretended to refuse, but finally agreed.
There were sounds of "hmm" and "ahh" coming from the bamboo forest.
Jiang Xiaoyu, what bad luck! Didn’t she just want to come and see if there were any fresh bamboo shoots to eat?
"Xiaoyu, wash your hands and have dinner quickly. Have you seen your brother? Where did he go so early in the morning?"
Doing good deeds in the small bamboo forest on the back mountain.
I thought so in my heart, but I didn't say it out loud.
"I don't know. I haven't seen my brother since I got up."
No matter what, I know without thinking that my son must have secretly met Xiao Cui again.
Chen's mother sighed at the dinner table.
It goes without saying that she was sighing about her son's marriage.
Father Chen was forced into a corner and had to go to the dock to carry sacks.
It was also at the dock that I met Old Man Sun, who was also carrying sacks. Old Man Sun was fifty years old and his family was poor, so he had never married.
After carrying sacks for so many years, I finally saved up six taels of silver.
One time, Jiang Xiaoyu went to deliver food to Chen's father and happened to be noticed by him. He knew that Chen's family was in urgent need of five taels of silver to marry their son.
Isn't this a sincere proposal to Jiang Xiaoyu?
"Xiaoyu, go take some food to your father later. The beans in the field are ripe, and mother has to go and harvest them all."
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
