The next day, her father took the family's only old buffalo and sold it to barely raise enough money to treat Kang Fadada's leg. For the already impoverished Kang family, this was simply adding insult to injury!
One morning a few days later, the family had just finished breakfast and Kang Shumei was about to clear the dishes when she heard a familiar voice outside the door, "Su Kui, Su Kui, are you home?"
Kang Shumei's mother hurried out the door, as if to welcome a great immortal, and was so anxious that she almost fell down. "It's Huang Yaoniang! Come and sit down, sit down."
Her mother, Su Kui, led Huang Yaoniang to sit at the stone table in the yard. "Shumei, quickly pour a cup of hot water for Grandma Huang, add some sugar, and then..."
"Okay, stop working. I'm not here to drink water. I heard that your family member Kang Fadada broke his leg, and the Liu family said they want to cancel the marriage." The old woman, who was over fifty years old, spoke bluntly and got straight to the point.
Alas! Good news never travels far, but bad news travels a thousand miles. The Kang family and the Liu family were several villages apart, yet the Liu family got the news so quickly.
"No, Huang Yaoniang, you have to speak well of our Fadada. His leg is fine, he will be fine after lying down for a month or so. Our Fadada is already 30 years old, and it was thanks to you that we were able to arrange such a marriage. Please be a kind person and help Yuanyuan again." Su Kui held her hand and begged, her eyes already filled with tears, and she was afraid that the tears would fall if the wind blew gently.
At this time, Kang Shumei came out from the house with water and peanuts, "Grandma Huang, drink some water and eat some peanuts."
Huang Yaoniang took a sip of the hot water, peeled a peanut and put it in her mouth. Kang Shumei and her mother Su Kui looked at her eagerly, hoping that she would speak quickly.
"Don't lie to me. The Liu family has already asked someone to inquire about it. Even if your family becomes prosperous in the future, you will be a cripple. That's a disability! Don't blame them for being ruthless."
After hearing what Huang Yaoniang said, Su Kui was convinced that this matter was hopeless. She immediately burst into tears and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Mother, mother..."
Shumei wanted to persuade her mother that the Liu family was not the only one with daughters in the world, and it would be better for the Kang family not to marry into such a family that would take advantage of others' misfortunes.
Before she could express her thoughts, Huang Yaoniang spoke up, "But! The Liu family said that as long as they can build three brick houses as a new home and prepare 500 yuan for the betrothal gift, they will not back out of the marriage."
"What?" Su Kui's face looked even uglier than before. This was a bolt from the blue. For a family like theirs, even if they sold her and her husband, they still couldn't get the money out!
Shumei picked up the peanuts on the table and pulled her mother's arm into the house. "Come on, mother, let's go back to the house. We don't really care about this kiss. If Granny Huang has nothing else to do, please go back too!"
Huang Yaoniang's hand, which was about to grab the peanuts, fell empty. She retracted her hand awkwardly, swallowed her saliva, and seemed a little caught off guard.
Shumei and her mother had just turned around when they bumped into her father, who was coming out of the house. Her father glared at her angrily, and she wondered if he had heard their conversation. Shumei ducked her head to avoid her father's fierce gaze and continued to pull her mother back into the house. Her mother, perhaps still unaware, followed her into the house in a daze.
Huang Yaoniang drank the remaining half glass of water on the table, stood up and muttered to herself as she prepared to leave, "You little girl, you're quite impressive. You really took my kindness for granted. I came here so early in the morning and wanted to have some breakfast, but it seems like I came here for nothing."
"Huang Yaoniang, please take a message to the Liu family. The marriage is settled. You haven't had breakfast yet, right? Here are two steamed buns. You can take them as a snack." Her father called Huang Yaoniang with a smile.
Huang Yaoniang was grinning so hard that her face wrinkled up, like a smiling mummy. "Yes, yes, but I have to pay the matchmaker a lot, okay?"
Her father smiled and nodded, and Huang Yaoniang left with satisfaction.
Seeing Huang Yaoniang leave the house, he immediately put away his ugly smile, and his expression became a little ferocious, as if he was worried about something. He lowered his head and thought for a long time, then went into the house, took two bottles of Erguotou, and hurried out.
He didn't come back until the sun went down, carrying large and small bags of things, humming a little tune, his good mood was beyond words, and he was completely different from the dignified man he was in the morning.
"Dad, where have you been? Why didn't you come back for lunch?" Shumei asked with concern.
"What's the matter? Do I have to report to you, my daughter, wherever I go? Get out of the way." Ben was smiling just now, but when he saw Shumei, he looked like he had seen the plague god, with no good expression at all.
Shumei wisely stepped aside and let him in. Her father had a bad temper, and Shumei was a girl who would be unwanted even if she was thrown on the street. He was a man of high patriarchy, and he had never treated Shumei well since she was a child. Shumei had long been accustomed to such treatment.
Her father put his things on the table and took out a bright red dress from a bag. "Shumei, come here."
She was always available at home, so she quickly got up from the stone bench at the door and went into the house.
Her father threw the clothes into her hands and said, "I bought you new clothes. Take them in and try them on to see if they fit you."
New clothes? Shumei hadn’t had new clothes for two years. She happily hugged the clothes and went into her room.
Su Kui looked through the things on the table in confusion. Before she could ask, her father took out two stacks of money from his pocket and handed them to her. "Here is 2,000 yuan. Take it to the Liu family. When your legs are better, you can get married as soon as possible."
"Where do you get so much money? Don't do anything illegal, please."
"What's illegal? This is all thanks to you. I never thought that our Shumei is so valuable. Oh! I should have asked for more if I had known..." He kept slapping his forehead, looking very regretful.
When Su Kui heard this, she loosened her grip and the money fell to the ground. "You sold Shumei, but at the very least, she still has the blood of your Kang family flowing in her body! I carried her for ten months and gave birth to her. You bastard, you have no conscience..." She cursed and beat him.
Her father raised his arms to resist Su Kui's crazy attack, and kept saying "shush shush" in his mouth. He was probably afraid that her movements were so loud that Shumei inside would hear it.
Shumei changed her clothes and looked at herself in the mirror again and again. The clothes were ordinary, but they looked particularly beautiful on her. She admired herself in the mirror carefully, mesmerized by herself. It took her a while to realize something was wrong. This was clearly a wedding dress! It was so bright red, and there was a "囍" character embroidered on it in yellow thread.
She hurriedly took off her clothes, rushed out of the room angrily, and wanted to find her father to find out what was going on.
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