Chapter 3: Life Was Too Hard

Madam Hu wiped her tears and fell silent.

On the Zhao family’s side, they were anxious about Zhao Ruhua’s marriage. On the Li family’s side, they were grieving over the ten taels of silver they had to pay in compensation.

Chen shi, Li Hongyun’s mother, sat in the room for a long while after returning home before finally bringing herself to take out the ten taels of silver.

That silver had been earned through their family’s hard work, and now they had to give it away.

How many things would they have to sell just to earn back those ten taels?

When Li Hongyun returned home, all the arrogance on his face had vanished. His true nature surfaced, along with his bad temper.

He told Chen shi that they shouldn’t have to compensate the Zhao family—what could the Zhaos even do about it?

Their family owned a shop in town, bringing in a steady income. They never had to worry about food or clothing. Even if they became enemies with the Zhao family, so what? Were they supposed to be afraid of the Zhaos?

But Chen shi said she was willing to pay the Zhao family for the sake of their family’s business.

If they lost their reputation, no one would come to buy from their shop again.

“We’ll just endure it for now. Give her the ten taels if we must. With your current status, Zhao Ruhua is no match for you. Once the engagement is broken, you can marry that Shen girl. She’s better-looking than Zhao Ruhua and will be beneficial to you in the future.”

“I heard the Shen family is doing well, and the girl can even read and write a bit. In the future, their family might help us with our business. You’re a man with vision—being with Miss Shen can only bring advantages to our family.”

“You’ve seen Zhao Ruhua’s family situation yourself—worse off than ours. Do you really expect them to help us? We’d be lucky if they didn’t need us to support them.”

After hearing all this, Li Hongyun no longer felt distressed about the ten taels of silver.

That woman—dark-skinned and ugly—he loathed her.

What’s more, Zhao Ruhua had never attended school and couldn’t even recognize a single character. Marrying a woman like her would be beneath his station.

How could he possibly bring such a woman out in public?

In the future, when he rode around in a carriage, mingling with the sons of the wealthy and elite, having Zhao Ruhua by his side would only bring him shame.

The Li family was in full agreement: it was better to pay the ten taels of silver and be done with Zhao Ruhua—once she was out of the picture, no one would stand in their way.

•  

The Li family acted quickly. Within three days, they brought over the ten taels of silver.

Once the silver was delivered, the engagement was officially dissolved, and from that day forward, the two families would have nothing more to do with each other.

The commotion between the two households was no small matter—soon, everyone in Baishi Village had heard that the Li and Zhao families had broken off the engagement.

Some people took delight in the drama, while others felt a pang of pity.

Amid the spreading gossip, Zhao Ruhua’s parents began searching for another good match for her. Yet the moment the prospective grooms heard her name, they shook their heads.

Some said Zhao Ruhua was too ugly, others complained she was too old.

Still others found fault with her poor family background.

What use was a woman with no redeeming qualities? No looks, no status—what could she possibly offer as a wife?

For a time, Zhao Ruhua became a figure of disdain in everyone’s eyes.

Within the village and beyond, anyone who knew Zhao Ruhua kept their distance, afraid that even standing too close to her would somehow obligate them to take responsibility.

Madam Hu begged several matchmakers to help find a husband for Zhao Ruhua, but they all shook their heads, saying no one was willing to marry her. They advised her to ask someone else.

After being turned away time and time again, Madam Hu’s heart felt like it was about to break.

Meanwhile, Zhao Ruhua sat alone in her room, studying her reflection carefully in a worn-out bronze mirror.

The girl in the mirror had dark skin, plain features, and nothing remotely eye-catching.

Even she found herself hard to look at—no wonder others did too.

With her looks being what they were, and her family’s situation so poor, how could she ever be a match for Li Hongyun?

Zhao Ruhua had already grasped the reality of her situation.

The household she now lived in was in dire straits.

Her Father owned four or five mu of farmland and another three or four mu of dry land.

In the past two years, her two Big Brothers had both married, adding two more mouths to feed. After paying the grain tax, there wasn’t nearly enough food left for the family.

Once her Big Brothers started having children of their own, life would only get harder.

At this thought, Zhao Ruhua couldn’t help but sigh.

They couldn’t even fill their stomachs—how was one supposed to go on living like this?

The wound on her forehead had mostly healed. Lying on the simple wooden bed, Zhao Ruhua couldn’t stop thinking—what could she do to improve her family’s situation?

Her Father, Mother, Big Brothers, and Sisters-in-law all treated her well. She had to find a way to repay them.

While Madam Hu and Zhao Father were busy worrying about her marriage, Zhao Ruhua’s mind was on their current livelihood.

Outside, Zhao Father had just returned home.

He told Madam Hu that now, whenever villagers saw him, they deliberately kept their distance, afraid he might try to marry Zhao Ruhua off to their sons.

“These past few years haven’t been good for our family. Otherwise, we would still be considered one of the better-off households in the village.”

“The Li family wanted to marry into our family in the first place because of our standing, didn’t they? Now they’ve come to break off the engagement—it’s all because they think we’re no longer what we used to be.”

Madam Hu was furious.

“If our family were still as well-off as before—or even better—do you think our daughter would have trouble finding a husband? At the end of the day, we’ve failed as parents. We haven’t been able to give Ruhua any real support.”

Listening to her Father and Madam Hu sigh and lament outside, Zhao Ruhua’s desire to change their circumstances grew even stronger.

That evening, Zhao Ruhua went into the kitchen to cook.

The rice jar was nearly empty.

She went to ask her Sister-in-law if there was any more rice, and her Sister-in-law looked troubled. “There’s not much left in the house,” she said. “See if what’s in the rice jar can be stretched into two meals.”

Zhao Ruhua: “…” Two meals? She already thought it wasn’t enough for one.

Seeing the worry on Sister-in-law Yang’s face, Zhao Ruhua thought of what they’d been eating these past few days—just thin porridge and salted vegetables.

Once in a while there’d be a stir-fried dish, but even then, it was dry and barely touched by oil.

There was little grain left in the house. They had no choice but to stretch it. In the end, Zhao Ruhua decided to make porridge.

She took a single bowl of rice and added it to a large pot of water. The porridge that came out was thin and watery, with hardly any grain in it.

It was nearly dark when Zhao Father finally returned from outside.

He came in with half a sack of rice slung over his shoulder, and after stepping inside, he said to Madam Hu, “I asked around at so many houses before I found someone willing to sell rice. This was what they had left over from last year—I bought all of it.”

The first season’s grain had mostly been eaten, and the second season’s rice crop wasn’t ready for harvest yet.

Fortunately, the Li family had just paid ten taels of silver, which allowed their family to afford the rice.

Not everything that happened in the past few days had been entirely disheartening.

At the very least, they now had enough silver to buy grain—enough to get them through until the harvest came in.

Once the rice in the fields was brought home, they would no longer have to worry about going hungry.

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