Zhao Cuifen's anger finally erupted. Knowing she couldn't borrow any grain, she became somewhat desperate and shouted at Old Lady Wang, "I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes! First, my family sold me as a daughter, and second, my husband's family sold me as a daughter-in-law. My family not only didn't help, but they also encouraged me to do so in order to get a share of the money. Don't think I don't know how much dowry you got from my two marriages."
Even if you sold me by weight, you couldn't get that much money!
Old Mrs. Zhao was also furious. She grabbed a broom leaning against the wall and swung it at Zhao Cuifen, cursing as she did so: "I can raise pigs for a year and then sell them. I raised you for over ten years! And all I got in return was a pittance. And you still say I sold my daughter? Even if I raised a pig for two years, I'd get more money than your dowry! I'll beat you to death, you unfilial ingrate! I would have been better off giving birth to a placenta than to you!"
"Get out! Get out of here! As long as I'm still standing, you can forget about ever stepping into this yard again. Otherwise, you'll see if my broom recognizes you!"
Zhao Cuifen, having given up all hope, struggled to dodge Old Lady Zhao's broom while circling the millstone in the yard. With her last remaining strength, she shouted, "Fine, get out! I've never seen such a heartless mother! My house collapsed, I had no food or shelter, I was cold and hungry for days, I was almost out of breath. I finally dragged my weak legs back, begging you to lend me a couple of pounds of grain to tide me over. I promised to dig our own grain out of the mud wall in a couple of days and pay you back. I even promised to pay you back a lot, and what did you do?"
"You're all saying I'm sucking blood off my brothers, but what blood have I sucked? Back then, I also contributed to this family. If you hadn't sold me off like I was being sold off, would we have had the money to build a house like this?"
Old Mrs. Zhao was getting on in years. Even though Zhao Cuifen was so hungry and weak, the millstone blocked her way, so she simply gave up. Using her broom to block her cane, she leaned on the ground and took several deep breaths before pointing at Zhao Cuifen and cursing, "I spit on you, you unfilial ingrate who deserves to be struck by lightning! My Zhao family's house was built by my son. What does it have to do with you? Stop trying to be a liar here!"
“A married daughter is like water spilled from a bowl. You’re no longer a member of the Zhao family. Even if we’re relatives… there are no relatives like you who never visit during normal times and never show up during holidays.”
“Tell me yourself, how long has it been since you last stepped into my old Zhao family’s courtyard? Now that you’re in trouble, you come empty-handed, demanding to borrow grain with your bare hands. If I don’t lend it to you, you’ll bring up the dowry from back then.”
"I've raised you for decades, what's wrong with accepting a little dowry?"
“Why should I raise someone else’s daughter if I don’t accept a bride price? I’m not some plentiful person with an endless supply of food, raising an outsider who’s destined to marry into another family! Tell me, in these surrounding villages, which family doesn’t accept a bride price when they marry off their daughter? It’s not like they’re looking for a son-in-law to live with them!”
Now that things had come to a head, Zhao Cuifen didn't care about anything else. She just pointed at the Zhao family's mud-brick houses and said, "Fine, your son built these houses. Do you dare to swear that you didn't spend a single penny of my dowry money?"
"If it's spent, then whoever lives there will die..."
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