Chapter 01: Paying with Money and People?

The road was muddy after the rain, overgrown with weeds, and littered with footprints. The air was thick with the smell of mud.

“Mind your own business! This is my daughter! I’ve raised her for so many years, I can do whatever I want with her!”

“I’ve spent so much rice to raise this dead girl, finally she can get married, and now she’s pulling this stunt!”

“What’s wrong with selling my daughter? If you feel sorry for her, pay me two hundred yuan and take her back to be your daughter-in-law! You’re all good-hearted! Why are you pretending to be good now!”

“It’s good enough that someone is willing to take her! This dead girl made herself like this, can I waste my rice raising her for the rest of her life?”

The middle-aged woman’s sharp voice was loud and clear, her tone sarcastic as she cursed at the few people who dared to interfere.

“The old cripple is willing to spend two hundred yuan to marry the dead girl Hu Yao, if you feel sorry for her, give me two hundred yuan!”

As soon as she said this, the few women who had been trying to persuade her fell silent. Although they felt sorry for Hu Yao, they were helpless.

In this day and age, everyone was poor. Let alone two hundred yuan, even one hundred yuan was hard to come by.

They were all villagers who had watched Hu Yao grow up. Hu Yao had always been kind and considerate, often helping her neighbors. Everyone had witnessed this. Now that she had suffered such a fate, they couldn’t bear to watch. They had come out to say a few words.

But they were not Hu Yao’s relatives, and they had no right to make decisions.

They could only sigh and shake their heads at Hu Yao’s current situation.

“Alas, this girl is truly unfortunate…”

Hu Guifen glanced at them, coldly snorted, and pulled up the slender figure who was sitting obediently in the hall.

“Mother, are we going to play?”

Hu Yao stood up, following her mother’s movements, her eyes curved into a beautiful and pure almond shape, her voice clear and bright.

Hu Yao was born well, her delicate eyebrows and eyes, and facial features were exactly like her father’s. She looked quiet and beautiful.

Even though she worked all day, the skin under her clothes was still white and smooth.

If it weren’t for her good looks, the old cripple wouldn’t have been willing to spend so much money. Even though she had lost her memory, her memory only stayed at the age of four or five.

Hu Guifen looked at her, a flicker of complexity in her eyes.

If she hadn’t made herself like this at this critical moment, she wouldn’t have had to marry her to the old cripple!

“Mother.”

Seeing that Hu Guifen ignored her, Hu Yao gently shook her hand, her voice was obedient and dependent, with a bit of childish innocence.

“Mother, the old cripple is waiting, we have to send sister out.”

Hu Qiao reminded her from the side, seeing Hu Guifen staring at Hu Yao in a daze, her eyes flashed.

“Well, let’s go, mother will take you to play, when you get there, you have to be good, you know?” Hu Guifen’s eyelids drooped, she spoke in a deep voice, with a hint of patience.

“Okay.” Hu Yao nodded.

She followed Hu Guifen out, seeing the aunts outside, she also greeted them politely.

Again, a few sighs sounded.

Hu Yao didn’t understand.

Her childish mind was attracted by the sweet-smelling wild fruits on the roadside, and she shouted that she wanted to pick them.

Hu Guifen had no patience for her, she scolded her and beat her a few times.

Hu Yao cried, and the noise got bigger.

People from the neighboring village came to watch the fun.

Everyone in this area knew what was going on. When they saw Hu Guifen and Hu Yao, they knew what was up. Unlike the aunts in the village who felt sorry for Hu Yao and spoke up for her, they didn’t feel sorry for her, but instead laughed and talked about it, with a hint of mockery.

Hu Guifen couldn’t bear it. Seeing that Hu Yao was still disobedient, she picked up a branch from the roadside and beat her.

“You dead girl! Are you still not ashamed enough! Will you die if you eat a few less fruits! Get over here!” She pulled a face and scolded her angrily.

Hu Yao was beaten twice, a burning pain came from her body, she sobbed and cried, afraid to run away, feeling wronged and confused.

In her memory, Hu Guifen had always been very good to her, and she had never been so fierce to her.

“I want father.”

“Your father is dead!” Hu Guifen impatiently stepped forward, grabbed her hand, and dragged her away.

Hu Yao’s bright almond eyes were filled with tears, crystal clear beads rolled down her white cheeks, the slight redness on the tip of her nose made her look even more pitiful.

The villagers from the neighboring village looked at her, they couldn’t help but sigh.

“Hu Yao is really born well!”

“No wonder the old cripple is willing to spend so much money!”

“Hey, what’s this, having such a wife to sleep with every night, even if you become a ghost, you’ll be happy!”

“Then you spend two hundred yuan to buy her from Hu Guifen! Can’t you also become a ghost?”

“You’re dreaming, spending two hundred yuan to buy a fool back, it’s not worth it! I said…”

Low and vulgar words came out one after another, and their malicious eyes swept back and forth on Hu Yao.

Hu Guifen cursed a few times, pulled Hu Yao and was about to leave.

“Three hundred yuan, give me the person.”

A tall figure blocked Hu Guifen’s way, his voice was rough and indifferent.

“What?” Hu Guifen was stunned.

When she looked up and saw who it was, she was startled and took a step back.

Just his physique, even if she fought back, it wouldn’t be enough for him to punch.

Thinking of his rumors in this area, Hu Guifen couldn’t help but feel scared.

“Give me the person, I’ll give you three hundred yuan.” Jiang Han lowered his eyes and glanced at Hu Yao, whose face was full of tears and grievances, he repeated indifferently, a few seconds later, when Hu Guifen still didn’t react, his sharp and fierce brows were already wrinkled in impatience.

“Three, three hundred yuan–>>

“?!” Hu Guifen came to her senses and asked in a trembling voice, unsure.

“Yes.”

“Alright, alright! This dead… this girl is yours now!” Hu Guifen, blinded by the money, was overjoyed and readily agreed.

She quickly collected the money from Jiang Han, dropped Hu Yao and ran away, as if afraid that Jiang Han would change his mind.

Hu Yao, with tears in her eyes, watched her mother’s retreating figure helplessly and followed her direction, raising her foot to keep up: “Mother.”

“You have no mother anymore, she sold you to me.” Jiang Han raised his arm, easily pulled her back, and stated calmly yet cruelly.

Under the surprised, complex, and hesitant gazes of everyone, he took Hu Yao back to his home.

“I’m setting the rules for you.”

“Don’t cry.”

“Be obedient.”

“Don’t cause trouble.”

“Understand?”

He looked at Hu Yao, who was clutching her clothes helplessly, with a stern brow.

At the age of twenty-two, Jiang Han, a solitary man, brought Hu Yao back to his empty home in June for three hundred yuan.

This move of his also caused a lot of rumors in private, but no one dared to mention it to his face.

“That Jiang Han, without a word, actually has so much money!”

“It’s not surprising he has money, who knows if the money is clean or not, no one knows where it comes from!”

“Hu Guifen is happy now, but that Jiang Han, can he let her keep the money so easily?”

“Hey! He’s actually willing to marry a foolish wife back, isn’t it because he’s taken a fancy to Hu Yao’s good looks!”

“He’ll just throw her back when he’s tired of her, right? Hu Guifen won’t get any good out of it, she’ll just end up losing money and a daughter.”