Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 138: The Pretty Educated Youth in the 1970s (6)
Over the next two days, the village chief surprisingly didn’t come looking for trouble. He even assigned the two of them relatively easy work.
Despite that, Xia Shuang was still worried about the future.
Every day was the same tedious routine: heading out to work at dawn and returning after dark. The living conditions were cramped, with everyone sleeping together on large communal beds, and the meals were bland and repetitive.
There was no way she could endure another two years of this before being allowed to return to the city.
Fortunately, her partner was quite considerate. They were assigned to work together, and he did almost all the work himself. Over the past two days, he had even shared canned meat, sweets, and other treats with her.
Meanwhile, the village chief’s family was discussing an engagement for their intellectually disabled son.
Liu Changgui had only one son and one daughter.
His eldest son had been a clever, lively child, but when he was eight, a high fever left him intellectually disabled.
A fortune-teller had predicted that the boy would face a life-threatening calamity at the age of twenty-five, but that an auspicious marriage could ward it off.
Since he had only one son, Liu Changgui would rather believe the prediction than risk ignoring it. That was why he had set his sights on Xia Shuang, a gentle, quiet girl who seemed easy to manipulate.
On the one hand, she came from the city and was educated. On top of that, she was gentle and beautiful, so he believed their offspring would be more promising.
But after Xia Shuang revealed her true nature and beat him up, he hated her so much that his teeth practically itched. Naturally, he no longer wanted to marry such a shrew into his family.
Instead, he quickly contacted a family in the neighboring village. They had three sons and two daughters, and were so poor they could barely scrape together a living.
The moment they heard they would receive a bride price of fifty yuan, they agreed without a second thought to marry off their youngest daughter.
So what if the boy was intellectually disabled? In those days, being able to eat one's fill and live a decent life was what truly mattered.
Fifty yuan was enough to pay the bride price for all three of their sons.
Besides, once their daughter became the village chief's daughter-in-law, she could help support the family in the future. The whole family was practically beaming with joy.
It didn’t take long for the news to spread throughout the village.
The village chief’s family had already settled on a wedding date for next month.
With things moving so quickly, the villagers had all sorts of opinions. Some even felt sorry for the village chief.
His eldest son had been exceptionally clever as a child, but now his mental age was only around four or five. He would sit around in a daze, muttering to himself, and frequently wet his pants.
People began to pity the girl who would be marrying into the family. But once they learned that the bride price was fifty yuan, their opinions changed again. The village chief was actually a good man, they said. Paying such a generous bride price could be considered compensation for the girl’s circumstances.
When Xia Shuang learned that both families had agreed to the marriage willingly, her brows knitted together.
She had assumed the village chief would use the same tactics to target another female educated youth. After all, in her previous life, he had been set on finding an educated daughter-in-law. Had everything changed because of the butterfly effect she had caused this time?
As it turned out, Xia Shuang’s guess had been right. The village chief had originally wanted an educated daughter-in-law, but after what happened with Xia Shuang, he had decided that educated women were too crafty. Who knew if they would act one way in public and another behind closed doors? He didn’t want to bring home a daughter-in-law who would act like she owned the place.
He might as well find an uneducated girl with a simpler mind. It would save him a lot of trouble. Besides, the families all came from nearby villages and knew each other well, so there was little risk of any unexpected complications later.
Since the village chief had changed his strategy, Xia Shuang had no way to use this marriage to pin anything on him. She decided to visit the neighboring village instead.
If the girl was genuinely willing to marry into the family, Xia Shuang would have to find another way. But if she had been coerced and there was more to the story, then Xia Shuang could still make use of the situation.
She discussed the matter with Jiang Jin. After all, they were on the same side now.
They had already thoroughly offended Liu Changgui. Their best option was to bring him down with one decisive blow. Otherwise, once he had time to turn his attention to plotting against them, dealing with him would become much harder.
In the end, they decided to visit the neighboring village together.
Xia Shuang had originally planned to go alone and investigate first, but Jiang Jin was worried about her. Besides, two people would always have a better chance than one.
After dinner, just as darkness began to fall, the two slipped out of the village and headed for the neighboring one.
……
The neighboring village was called Hu’er Village.
The Wang family, who were marrying off their daughter, were in a festive mood. After receiving the bride price, the couple had gone out and bought three jin of pork to stew that day.
A large pot of braised meat with vermicelli sat on the table, and the family of six gathered around it, enjoying their steaming hot meal.
At the doorway sat a lonely figure, gnawing on a black cornmeal bun.
Old Madam Wang’s mouth glistened with grease as she ate. With a mean look on her face, she called out to the person by the door.
“Fifth Girl, take a good whiff of that smell! Even your cornmeal bun tastes better now, doesn’t it? Once you marry into the Liu family, you’ll get to eat meat every day. Your three older brothers and your sister won’t be so lucky. Remember to bring home good things to honor us whenever you get your hands on them. That way, all the years I spent raising you won’t have been wasted.”
Fifth Girl had a slender face and slightly tanned skin, but her features were quite pretty. Her eyes were especially striking, bright and dark. She kept her head lowered, silently nibbling on her cornmeal bun.
“Oh, you dead girl! Did you hear what I said? Back then, you and your mother were two helpless orphans when you came begging at our door. If we hadn’t taken you in, you would’ve starved to death…”
“Exactly! Don’t think you can act all high and mighty just because you’re marrying into the village chief’s family. If you dare disobey us, we’ll dig up your mother’s grave!”
The others chimed in, joining the accusations. The entire family was hurling insults at her.
At the mention of her mother, Fifth Girl suddenly raised her head. Gritting her teeth, she turned to glare at them, her eyes filled with hatred.
“You’re the ones who killed my mother! If you dare touch her grave, I won’t let you go even if I become a ghost!”
“You call marrying into that family a blessing? Then why not let your own daughter go? They never said which daughter had to marry him! Si Mei is already nineteen, while I’m only sixteen. You’re selling me off to a fool just for the bride price!”
“You little ungrateful wretch! How dare you speak like that after everything we’ve done for you? And now you’re dragging Si Mei into this? I’ll beat you to death!”
Old Madam Wang rushed over and slapped her across the face several times, striking her so hard that the corners of her mouth began to bleed.
Fifth Girl didn’t utter a sound. Her expression didn’t even change. She simply stared at the woman with those large, dark eyes, hatred burning in their depths.
She had grown numb to the beatings long ago.
Her father had died when she was seven, and her paternal grandparents had driven her out. She and her mother had gone to seek refuge with her maternal uncle, only for him and his wife to trick them out of all the money they had brought. They then insisted on marrying her mother off to a woodcutter. When her mother refused, she threw herself into a water vat.
After losing her mother, Fifth Girl’s household registration was transferred to her uncle’s family, and she became one of their daughters.
From then on, she had worked like an ox, doing all the hard and exhausting chores in the household. Whenever anything displeased the family, they would take it out on her with a beating.
And now, they were selling her off for a bride price. She couldn’t help remembering what had happened to her mother, which was why her hatred ran so deep.
Old Madam Wang was so furious that she pinched Fifth Girl several more times, hard. Afraid of injuring her too badly and being unable to deliver her in good condition, she refrained from using a wooden board to beat her.
“You’re not allowed back inside tonight! Stay in the courtyard and think long and hard about what you’ve done. You won’t get a single meal for the next three days! Let’s see how long you can keep this up before begging for mercy. And don’t forget, your mother’s grave is in my hands. If you dare ruin this good marriage, I’ll dig it up right away and leave your mother’s spirit to wander the earth alone!”
After saying that, Old Madam Wang snatched the black cornmeal bun from Fifth Girl’s hand and shoved her into the courtyard.
Cursing her as a bad omen, she slammed the door shut. Inside, the family resumed their lively dinner as if nothing had happened.
Fifth Girl stood alone in the courtyard, gazing up at the moon as tears streamed down her face.
Mother... Your daughter is so tired. I really can’t hold on anymore.
If I died like you did, would I finally be free from all this suffering?
In a daze, Fifth Girl began walking out of the courtyard. She wanted to find her mother.
……
Meanwhile, Xia Shuang and Jiang Jin had walked for a full hour before finally reaching Hu’er Village.
Fortunately, the moon was large and bright that night, illuminating the ground well enough for them to see the way ahead.
However, as soon as they entered the village, they spotted a young woman walking toward them.
Xia Shuang immediately approached her and asked quietly, “Comrade, could you tell me how to get to the Wang family’s house?”
At the mention of the Wang family, Fifth Girl snapped out of her daze. She looked at the unfamiliar strangers with a cold, guarded gaze.
“Who are you? What brings you here?”
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