Chapter 376: The Mind to Fight Arises (1)_1
Hearing her husband relent, Tang Yushi’s heart leapt with joy as she quickly calculated the accounts.
"That loss-making good-for-nothing is already ten years old. If we sell her to a wealthy family as a maid, we’ll get at most Ten Taels of Silver, but if we sell her to ’that kind of place,’ with her looks, she’ll be worth at least thirty or forty taels."
With those Forty Taels of Silver, not only could they clear the Ten Taels Loan with interest, but there would also be enough for Tang Daya’s and Tang Erya’s dowries. They could even build a spacious adobe house and send their youngest son, Tang Bao, to school for an education.
The more Tang Yushi thought about it, the happier she became, her face blooming into a chrysanthemum-smile. Just as she was about to say more to Tang Zhutou to make the sale of the loss-making child a certainty, she heard a commotion outside. Stretching her neck to see, she saw that same loss-making child standing outside, with freshly washed vegetables scattered all over the ground.
"You curse-ridden wretch of a girl, those vegetables were meant to be sold! Now you’ve smashed them; where can we sell them for a good price? I’ll beat you to death, you useless thing!"
Enraged, Tang Yushi cursed loudly, placed her son on the bed, grabbed a rattan cane from the wall, and rushed outside to lash Tang Xin mercilessly.
Even in the bitter chill of deep winter, Tang Xin wore nothing but a threadbare undergarment and a tattered, tight-fitting jacket. The flimsy clothing was no match for the slender rattan cane. Sharp pains surged through her, and she desperately wanted to run away. But Mrs. Yu’s grip was too strong; there was no escape, so she could only endure the brutal stripes from the cane.
She clenched her teeth, bearing the intense pain on her back and legs, and stared with hatred ready to burst forth from her eyes at her father, who watched her beating and did nothing.
Tang Zhutou, hearing his wife’s curses and his daughter’s muffled sobs, buried his head low, as if by doing so he could shut out the sounds and the sight.