Du Yuhan wanted to remind her adoptive parents in advance to take this opportunity to separate from their family and live separately.
Du Yuhan said, "I overheard it a couple of days ago. My grandma found several families for me, and in the end, one family offered the most dowry. It was an old bachelor in his forties."
Du Lianqiao stood up in shock and said angrily, "Are you telling the truth?"
Du Yuhan nodded and said, "It's true. My grandma was originally going to agree, but then another family came along, from the city, and they offered even more dowry. My grandma is now going to agree to this family's offer."
As soon as Du Lianqiao heard that she was from the city, he knew there must be something wrong. Otherwise, why would a city person marry a woman from the countryside?
He asked, trembling all over, "And what are these conditions?"
Du Yuhan calmly replied, "This is a young soldier in his twenties. He was injured and disabled on the battlefield and needs someone to take care of him. His family is planning to find him a wife in the countryside so that she can take care of him in the future."
Wang Yuqiao burst into tears upon hearing her eldest daughter's words. "How could her grandmother be so heartless? Isn't she pushing Yuhan into a fire pit? Her aunt is already fifteen years old, why doesn't she find her a husband? Our Yuhan is still a child, how can she get married?"
Du Lianqiao's eyes turned red with anger, and he said furiously, "I'm going to find your grandparents. We can't let you marry into a family like that. You're only fifteen, not old enough yet. We'll talk about marriage in a few years."
Du Yuhan stopped Du Lianqiao, who was walking out, and said, "Dad, let me finish what I have to say. Even if you manage to stop this marriage this time, my grandma will still try to arrange it for me in a while. Rather than being passively controlled, we might as well take the initiative and use my marriage to separate our family from others."
I've made up my mind. My grandma wants me to marry into this family in the city, so I'll agree, but our family has to be separated from the city.
This family is a high-ranking official's family in Beijing. If their child hadn't been disabled, they wouldn't have come to the countryside to find a wife. I married into the city, and they have the ability to transfer my household registration there. I'll then have a city household registration with guaranteed food rations, so I won't have to worry about starving. As long as we can survive, taking care of a disabled person is nothing.
I overheard the matchmaker say that many places have been affected by disasters, and our harvest here is also bad. Going to the city would be a way out for me.
If our area is also affected by the disaster, at least the chances of my younger brothers surviving will be better if we move out. Otherwise, given my grandmother's favoritism, our second branch of the family will all starve to death.
To persuade her parents, Du Yuhan could only say this. She knew Han Yixian's leg could be cured, and she would never marry him. But she couldn't tell her parents these things now.
Seeing that her daughter showed no shame when talking about her marriage, Du Lianqiao knew that the matter had deeply affected her and she had forgotten about being shy.
This was a major event concerning her entire life, yet her grandmother was using it to make a deal with someone else; she couldn't care less about anything else.
Du Lianqiao felt incredibly stifled. He knew that if it really came to a life-or-death situation, his second wife's family would be the first to be abandoned. His stepmother wanted to squeeze every last drop of blood out of them.
Du Lianqiao resented his father because it was his father's indulgence that emboldened his stepmother. He knew that if he didn't stand up for himself, his children wouldn't be alright, and might even face death. Then he wouldn't deserve to be a father.
He wanted to be filial to his parents, but he also had his own children to take care of. He accepted the blame for being unfilial for the sake of his children.
The repeated oppression over the years had pushed Du Lianqiao to his limit. Now, hearing that his stepmother wanted to marry off her daughter in exchange for a dowry, he felt he could no longer tolerate it.
Although their daughter wasn't their biological child, they had raised her from infancy and considered her their own.
With red eyes, Du Lianqiao said, "Yuhan, your father does not agree to you marrying a disabled person. Your father will find you a good family in the future, but not now. You are still young, still a child. How can you get married?"
Upon hearing this, Du Yuhan quickly advised, "Dad, in these times, survival is the most important thing. Even if I remarry in the future, I'll still marry someone from the countryside, where farm work is even more tiring than serving others. Rather than that, I'd rather marry someone from the city. That way, I can help out if anything happens at home in the future."
Wang Yuqiao covered her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. She felt sorry for the gentle and beautiful female soldier who had entrusted her daughter to her. What if she found out in the future that they had married her daughter to a disabled man? Would she resent them?
Looking at her daughter's frail body, Wang Yuqiao knew that if her daughter didn't break free from the Du family's exploitation, things might get even worse.
Wang Yuqiao wiped away her tears and said, "Dad, let's do as Yuhan says. At least we can eat our fill in the city and won't have to work endless chores every day. I'm afraid that if things continue like this, our daughter will be worked to death or starve to death. It's all because we're incompetent and can't protect our child."
Du Lianqiao squatted on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), repeatedly rubbing his head with his hands. His eyes were red, and he raised his head, choking back tears, and said, "Yuhan, Dad is sorry."
The family shared their innermost thoughts and drank the thin porridge, so thick it reflected their images, together.
After the meal, they would heat the kang (a heated brick bed), so Wang Yuqiao would add water to the pot and then gather firewood to start the fire.
Du Yuhan took out the quail eggs that she and her younger brother had carefully brought home from behind the water vat and whispered, "Mom, look what this is?"
When Wang Yuqiao saw that her daughter was holding a bunch of tiny bird eggs, she asked in surprise, "Where did they come from?"
Du Yuhan said mysteriously, "My younger brother and I went to collect firewood today, and we found this in the mountains. Mom, let's secretly cook it for our brothers. We won't tell anyone."
Wang Yuqiao nodded happily and said, "Okay, we'll do as you say, we'll secretly cook it and eat it."
Wang Yuqiao also came to terms with it; they were bullied by the other families because they were too honest.
After washing the quail eggs, Du Yuhan put them all into the pot. There were only ten quail eggs in total, and they were small, so it really wasn't many.
Put a little water in the pot first, and after it boils and the bird eggs are cooked, add more water to save for washing your face and feet.
The fire in the stove gradually grew stronger, its light illuminating the mother and daughter's faces, making them feel warm. Steam began to rise from the edge of the pot lid; the water was boiling, and the bird eggs would be cooked soon.
Du Yuhan got up and went to the inner room to get a bowl, while Wang Yuqiao looked down at the fire in the stove.
Just then, the door, which was ajar to let in smoke, was opened, followed by the voice of Du Yuhan's aunt, Du Lianjiao, "Second sister-in-law, there's no hot water in the pot in the main room. I'll get some from you."
The second branch of the Du family is the easiest to bully, so Du Lianjiao naturally comes to the second branch to get hot water.
Before Wang Yuqiao could stop her, Du Lianjiao lifted the pot lid. When she saw the steaming pot filled with boiled bird eggs, she erupted in chaos.
She shouted loudly towards the door, "Mother, come quick! My second sister-in-law and her family are secretly cooking bird eggs to eat!"
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