Chapter 60: Forced Marriage
Su Qing made five hundred and thirty yuan from this deal, and also got a stack of ration tickets, which she was very satisfied with. She returned home in the dark, washed up, and went straight to sleep. But who would have known that the very next morning, she would be jolted awake by a commotion from next door.
Su Qing listened intently for a moment and couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow. The person causing trouble at the Old Su Family’s house was none other than Shi’s mother.
Shi’s mother sat in the Old Su Family’s main hall, her neck stiff with defiance. "I don’t care," she said. "My Shitou must have a wife. Anyway, your Su Tao has already slept under the same covers as my Shitou. I’m not being picky. I’ll just have your Su Tao be my daughter-in-law."
Old Su stared at Shi’s mother, her face dark. "Didn’t we already make things clear before? My family even returned the bride price to you. Why are you here causing a scene again today?"
Shi’s mother gritted her teeth. If she hadn’t been completely unable to find anyone else willing to marry their daughter into her Sun family, she wouldn’t have come running to the Old Su Family. Her son still didn’t have an heir. His first two wives had both been barren hens. No matter what, she had to quickly find a wife for Shitou.
"Of course I’m here to get my son a wife." As she spoke, Shi’s mother slapped ten ten-yuan notes on the table. "Here, one hundred yuan. That’s more than enough sincerity. Other families offering fifty yuan for a bride price is considered a huge sum. I’m offering one hundred yuan. You will marry your Su Tao to me."
Old Su was so angry she nearly fell over backward. Last time it was two hundred and sixty yuan, but today it was only one hundred, and they were expected to just marry their girl off? That was absurd.
Besides!
Old Su also gritted her teeth fiercely. ’That damn girl Su Tao has learned to make threats from that other wretched girl. Last time, she said she would go to the Women’s Federation and the Public Security Bureau. If we really force her to marry that Shitou, who knows what kind of trouble she’ll stir up this time.’
Just as she was thinking this, Su Tao rushed into the main hall. She shouted at Shi’s mother, "In your wildest dreams! I would rather die than marry your fool of a son! If you dare try to force me again, I’ll go report you to the Women’s Federation and the Public Security Bureau and have your idiot son thrown in jail!"
As she spoke, Su Tao clutched her chest tightly. The two scratches Shitou had left on her chest last time had ultimately scarred over. Every day when she saw those two scars, she was filled with immense resentment. She hated Shitou, she hated Su Qing, she hated everyone in the Old Su Family. In her eyes, everyone had wronged her.
Shi’s mother sneered, "I came here today to tell you something. Don’t you dare try to scare me with the Women’s Federation and the Public Security Bureau. My Shitou isn’t all there in the head. I brought him to your house as a guest that day. How would a simple-minded boy like my Shitou know whose room to enter? It was your Su Tao who dragged my Shitou into her room! And what’s the result? She took advantage of my Shitou and then turned around and falsely accused him. Hmph! When you get down to it, my Shitou is the one who got the short end of the stick here."
"You, you!" Su Tao was so angry she was practically fuming. "You’re spouting nonsense!"
"Whether I’m spouting nonsense or not, you know the truth in your heart," Shi’s mother said, glaring at Su Tao. "Go on, report it if you have the guts. I’d like to see who the police arrest—my Shitou, or a shameless, promiscuous tramp like you."
Su Tao’s heart skipped a beat. She hadn’t read many books and naturally didn’t understand matters of the law. The other day, she had only been mimicking others when she threatened to report them. But now that Shi’s mother put it like that, she started to get scared. After all, compared to Shitou, she was a normal person. So, would the police end up arresting her instead?
The thought of that outcome terrified Su Tao, and her face instantly turned deathly pale.
Tian Aixiang, standing to the side, was naturally unwilling to let her daughter marry that Shitou. Just as she was about to speak, Shi’s mother launched a preemptive strike. She looked at Tian Aixiang and said, "When Su Tao gets arrested by the police, she’ll be infamous as a shameless slut. Your son is her brother. I’d like to see which family will dare to marry their daughter into your home then."
Old Su and Su Shengli, who were also present, had ashen faces. It wasn’t their place to interrupt when the women were talking, but every word from Shi’s mother struck a nerve.
’That’s right,’ they thought. ’If Su Tao is the one who ends up getting arrested, what would we do? The entire Old Su Family’s reputation would be ruined.’
Seeing the ugly expressions on the faces of the entire Old Su Family, Shi’s mother was very pleased with herself. She felt she had finally gotten her revenge for the humiliation she had suffered at their house last time. She said smugly, "Anyway, I’m laying my cards on the table. If your family doesn’t marry Su Tao to my Shitou, I’ll go everywhere and spread the story about how your Su Tao seduced my Shitou. I’d like to see if your Su Tao can still find you a factory worker for a son-in-law then."
"You’re shameless!" Su Tao was so enraged by Shi’s mother’s words that her chest ached. Right now, only the people of Lihua Village knew about what happened between her and Shitou. The people of Lihua Village were close-knit and wouldn’t deliberately spread the story, as it concerned the honor of the entire village. But if Shi’s mother threw all caution to the wind and went around ruining her reputation, it would be questionable whether she could ever get married at all.
"Say whatever you want." Shi’s mother sneered and patted the ten ten-yuan notes on the table. "Just tell me, is she marrying him or not? I’ve made myself clear. If she marries him, everything can be settled amicably. If not, then we’ll have a fight to the bitter end, and no one will come out of this well."
"She’ll marry him!" Old Su never cared who Su Tao married in the first place. Her previous hesitation was only because she was worried Su Tao would report them to the Women’s Federation and the Public Security Bureau. Now that it was clear Su Tao had no more tricks up her sleeve, she made the decision on the spot. However, she was still dissatisfied with the bride price. "Shi’s mother, that said, this bride price of only one hundred yuan is too little, isn’t it? That’s not the amount we agreed on last time."
"Last time was last time, this time is this time." Shi’s mother pursed her lips. "Auntie Su, don’t forget, it was your Su Tao who seduced my Shitou first."
"You can’t put it that way. We need to discuss this properly. Look, we’ve already agreed to let Su Tao marry him, haven’t we?"
Listening to Shi’s mother and her own grandmother, Su Tao clenched her fists tightly. ’She was still right here, and they were already haggling over her price right in front of her.’
’Wait, this should have been Su Qing’s fate. How did it inexplicably become mine?’
Su Tao’s head swam. She felt that none of this should be happening, but she was powerless. ’She couldn’t run away. Without an introduction letter and without money, there was no way for her to survive. She didn’t dare go to the police, either, afraid that they would arrest her in the end.’
’But how had everything turned out like this?’
Before Su Tao could even process what was happening, she heard her grandfather’s voice telling her parents to lock her in the woodshed.
Su Tao wanted to escape. She knew that this time, for the sake of her younger brother’s future, her parents would not let her cause any more trouble. How could she possibly fight back against her own parents?
The moment she was locked in the woodshed, Su Tao knew she could not escape this fate.