Chapter 3: We Are Not Getting Married!

Leaving those words behind, she didn’t even glance at their frozen faces and turned sharply, heading toward the dim kitchen.

In the main room, the three brothers exchanged uneasy looks, all rooted to the spot.

Mom... what’s wrong with her?

She never used to be like this. Before, whenever they spoke—especially the youngest when he acted spoiled—no matter how difficult things were, Mom would find a way to satisfy them.

What’s happened today... did she take the wrong medicine?

Hongjuan Li pursed her lips and muttered quietly to her husband, Chengyi Zhong, “Hmph, it all boils down to being stingy—holding onto every penny! Doesn’t even care about her own sons.”

Chengyi Zhong was quicker to react. He looked thoughtfully toward the kitchen and said, “I think Mom’s just angry because we were making too much noise earlier.”

“Definitely!” Chengfa Zhong immediately found an excuse. “It’s all because the second and third brothers are fighting with me!”

“Bah! You’re the one who started it!” Chengren Zhong retorted, unwilling to back down.

Just as they were about to quarrel again, the second daughter-in-law, Mingli Zhou, tugged gently on her husband’s sleeve and whispered, “Say less. Mom might really be mad.”

At that moment, Chunxue Zhang had already stepped into the kitchen.

In front of the stove, Xiaoxiao Zhong was crouched down, adding firewood. Her shoulders trembled slightly as she silently stoked the fire, quietly wiping away tears.

Chunxue Zhang’s heart was pricked sharply, aching all over.

Her daughter was so clever, always top of her class at school!

But as a mother, she was so eager to have her daughter come home early to earn work credits and do chores that she didn’t want her to finish middle school!

If it hadn’t been for Aunt Wang next door saying, "Girls who study more can ask for a higher bride price when they marry," Xiaoxiao might not have even received her middle school diploma!

All for that small hope of a bride price, she let Xiaoxiao finish middle school.

But what about her three sons? None of them were particularly academic, yet she gritted her teeth and supported each of them through middle school!

The youngest, Chengyi Zhong, barely missed the mark for high school, and she even considered using connections to get him in. But he was hopeless—his grades were terrible, and no teacher would recommend him!

Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, was always top of the class, but her mother stubbornly refused to let her attend high school, thinking that since Xiaoxiao was almost eighteen, she might as well sell her off for a good price!

Old Wang from the neighboring village, a gambler who had killed three wives, was thirty-two this year—fourteen years older than Xiaoxiao.

But because that beast was willing to pay a hundred yuan as bride price, she immediately agreed to marry Xiaoxiao off.

Xiaoxiao knew what kind of man she was marrying.

Villagers said Old Wang would beat even his own mother when he lost his temper! His three previous wives all bore bruises, and none lived more than three years!

She knew marrying him was a dead end.

But what could she do? In this family, did anyone listen when she spoke?

Her mother’s heart and eyes were only for the three brothers—when had she ever cared about her daughter?

Chunxue Zhang’s gaze fell on a bundle of firewood stacked by the stove. She took a sturdy stick from it.

Xiaoxiao caught sight of it from the corner of her eye and thought her mother was about to hit her again like before.

Her small frame shuddered violently, her shoulders shaking even more.

“Mom...” she whispered, voice trembling like a tiny insect, “Please don’t hit me... I’ll stoke the fire properly... the meal will be ready soon...”

That timid, humble posture was like a rusty dull knife, cutting deeply into Chunxue Zhang’s heart.

Her heart clenched again. She said nothing and crouched down beside her daughter, slipping the firewood stick into the roaring fire. The flames crackled as they licked the dry wood.

“I won’t hit you,” Chunxue Zhang said hoarsely.

Looking at Xiaoxiao’s frail figure, her heart ached. She gently stroked her daughter’s head.

Xiaoxiao shivered slightly, thinking her mother would strike again, instinctively shrinking back.

“Mom...” she whispered, voice faint as a mosquito’s hum, “I’ll stoke the fire properly now...”

Chunxue Zhang’s pain deepened. She softened her tone: “Xiaoxiao, do you want to continue studying?”

Xiaoxiao froze, looking up with tear-filled eyes, surprised: “I... I can still go to school?”

She had started elementary school almost at ten years old. Her parents had sent her only so she could at least recognize some characters. Unexpectedly, Xiaoxiao turned out to be a gifted student, consistently ranking first throughout middle school.

“Yes,” Chunxue Zhang nodded, “I’ll find a way to send you to high school.”

“But...” Xiaoxiao couldn’t believe it, “Mom, didn’t you want to marry me off?”

Chunxue Zhang gently stroked her daughter’s head again. This time, Xiaoxiao did not shy away but stared blankly at her mother.

“No more marrying you off,” Chunxue Zhang said firmly. “I’m going to send you to school.”

Hongjuan Li happened to lift the kitchen curtain to check on the meal and overheard Chunxue Zhang’s words.

What? No longer marrying her off? And planning to send that girl to school?

She didn’t even look at the food anymore, pivoted on her heel, and stormed back to the main room.

“Husband! Second brother! Third brother! Listen up! Mom’s gone mad!” Hongjuan Li shouted frantically. “She just told Xiaoxiao in the kitchen she’s not marrying her off! She wants to send her to high school!”

At those words, the second daughter-in-law, Mingli Zhou, who had been looking down, suddenly lifted her head with a flicker of joy. “Really? Mom really said that?”

Great! Xiaoxiao finally didn’t have to marry that beastly Old Wang!

But the faces of the three Zhong brothers instantly fell, as if doused with a bucket of cold water.

“What? No marrying off?” Chengfa Zhong was first to jump up, shouting so loudly that spit nearly flew onto Chengren Zhong’s face, “What about the hundred yuan bride price? That money’s supposed to be mine first!”

“Nonsense! We agreed it’d be mine first!” Chengren Zhong also got angry, slapping the table as he stood up.

“Stop fighting! That money’s for my marriage!” Chengyi Zhong stamped his foot, his neck flushed with anger.

A hundred yuan! That was a hundred yuan! Just like that, gone?

“No way! I have to go talk to Mom! That hundred yuan can’t just disappear!” Chengfa Zhong said, charging toward the kitchen, ready to confront Chunxue Zhang.

“Big brother, wait!” The youngest, Chengyi Zhong, thinking quickly, grabbed his brother’s arm. “If you go now, Mom’s still mad; you’ll get scolded! Maybe even hit!”

“What else can I do? Just watch the money fly away?” Chengfa Zhong’s eyes reddened with frustration.

“Exactly! Mom’s acting strange today!” Chengren Zhong chimed in.

Lowering his voice, Chengyi Zhong leaned close to his brothers and whispered mischievously, “Let’s go find Grandma! Grandma loves us the most—especially me, the youngest! We’ll have her talk to Mom!”

“Yes, yes! Grandma!” Chengren Zhong nodded eagerly, thinking it was a brilliant plan.

Their grandmother, Cui’e Liu, was extremely biased toward boys and was also very greedy. She surely wouldn’t want that hundred yuan to slip away!

“Let’s go!” Chengfa Zhong agreed; their mother might not listen to them, but would she dare ignore Grandma?