Chapter Five: Dare to Step Over My Corpse!

Zhang Chunxue gently pushed aside the finger that was nearly poking her in the face. "Mother, Xiaoxiao is my daughter. As for that Old Five Wang, he’s nothing but trash—you know that as well as anyone. I, Zhang Chunxue, am not dead yet. Do you really expect me to stand by and watch my daughter jump into a pit of fire? I can’t do it!"

Liu Cuie was choked by her words, and immediately began to shriek even more frantically, "He's trash? The bride price he’s offering is anything but trash! One hundred yuan! A full hundred yuan! Put your hand on your heart and tell me, in these ten miles, which family is willing to shell out that much money to take a bride? If it weren't for the fact that that little wench Xiaoxiao finished junior high and knows a few characters, would anyone offer that much? Keep dreaming!"

Zhang Chunxue looked at the old woman, whose face was flushed with agitation, her expression turning even colder. "So, for the sake of one hundred yuan, I should sell Xiaoxiao? My daughter is a human being! A living, breathing person! She isn’t some commodity sitting on a shelf waiting for a price tag! I don’t have to sell her to whoever offers the most money!"

Liu Cuie let out a sneer, as if she had heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

"Ha! Zhang Chunxue, what kind of high-and-mighty act are you putting on for me now? I remember clearly, who was it a few days ago saying that as long as the bride price was right, she didn't care if the man was deformed, lame, or blind, as long as he was a man? What’s the matter? Did you take the wrong medicine in these few days? Or have you been possessed by a ghost, making you forget what you said?"

"I was muddle-headed back then." She paused, her eyes locked onto Liu Cuie's. "Mother, you’re at your age now. You’ve lived so long—is there anything you haven't seen? I made a foolish decision in a moment of confusion, couldn't you have offered some advice?"

Liu Cuie was stunned by the question, then flew into a rage. "Advise you? With that stubborn, mule-headed temper of yours, who could ever get a word in?"

"Mother, are you getting old and losing your memory? That time you pointed your finger at my nose and cursed me as a 'jinx'—the intensity, the volume of your voice..." Zhang Chunxue deliberately dragged out her words. "If we’re talking about a bad temper, in this family, who could possibly compare to you?"

"You... keep that useless talk to yourself!" Liu Cuie forcefully suppressed her anger, trying to drag the topic back. "We are here to discuss Xiaoxiao’s marriage! This is serious business! Stop beating around the bush!"

"There is nothing to discuss." Zhang Chunxue spat out the words coldly. "Whoever wants that Old Five Wang can marry him themselves, but my Xiaoxiao will absolutely not marry him!"

Zhong Xiaoxiao stood behind her mother. Her heart, which had been trembling from her grandmother’s arrival and the menacing glares of her brothers, felt warmed and comforted by her mother’s strong words.

She had known her grandmother’s ruthlessness since she was a child; no one in the family dared to defy her. Yet today, her mother had actually dared to stand up to her! And she had done it for her!

A massive surge of warmth and an unprecedented sense of security enveloped Zhong Xiaoxiao, making her nose sting and her eyes grow moist.

Seeing that Zhang Chunxue was completely immovable, Liu Cuie stomped her feet in fury.

"I’m telling you, Zhang Chunxue! This isn't up to you! I’ve already given my word to the matchmaker! Zhong Xiaoxiao will marry him, whether she likes it or not!"

Zhang Chunxue laughed as if she had heard a joke. "You gave your word? That’s fantastic! Since you’ve already promised them, why don’t you marry him yourself? Besides, Father has been dead for over a decade, and you’ve been a widow for so long—it’s time you considered your own second spring!"

As soon as these words were out, not only was Liu Cuie stunned, but the three brothers standing nearby were also shocked speechless!

Liu Cuie trembled with rage, pointing a shaking finger at Zhang Chunxue, her lips quivering. "You... you... lawless wretch! How dare you speak to me like that? I’ll tear your mouth apart!"

Zhang Chunxue remained calm, even stepping forward to meet Liu Cuie’s burning gaze.

"Why shouldn't I dare speak to you like this? Why should you have the final say in my daughter’s marriage? As her grandmother, how many times have you held her since she was a child? Have you ever given her a kind look? A grandmother like you, who has never had good intentions for her and has never shown her a shred of love, has no right to interfere in her marriage!"

Liu Cuie was left speechless by the rebuke, but she soon stiffened her neck and shouted, "Just because I am her grandmother!"

Zhang Chunxue scoffed. "Grandmother? Forget about you being her grandmother—even if the Heavenly King himself came down here, he wouldn't be deciding my daughter’s future! I said she isn't marrying, and she isn't marrying!"

Seeing that she couldn't win with logic, Liu Cuie resorted to being a rogue.

She put her hands on her hips and began to holler in the courtyard, spittle flying as she repeated the same thing over and over: Zhong Xiaoxiao had to marry Old Five Wang, that hundred-yuan bride price had to be collected, or there would be hell to pay!

The three brothers finally found an opportunity to chime in.

"Mom, stop being so stubborn. It’s one hundred yuan! Think of how many things that could buy for the house!"

"Yeah, Mom. Old Five Wang’s situation might be average, but at least there’s food to eat. It would be better for Xiaoxiao to marry him than to suffer here at home, wouldn't it?"

"Mom! You can't just think about Xiaoxiao! I’m waiting for that bride price money to get married myself! If Xiaoxiao doesn't marry, what am I supposed to do? When will I ever be able to find a wife?"

"I said no, and that means no!" Zhang Chunxue held her ground, refusing to budge.

Zhong Xiaoxiao huddled close to her mother, her small hand quietly gripping the corner of her mother’s shirt. Her mother’s resolve gave her endless strength and a sense of safety.

Liu Cuie, seeing that neither soft nor hard tactics were working, rolled her eyes and came up with a new argument.

"Zhang Chunxue, I’m telling you! Now that Xiaoxiao’s father is gone, and her grandfather is gone too! As for elders, there’s only me, her grandmother, and her two uncles! According to old traditions, we, the elders, are the ones who should decide her marriage!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Chunxue suddenly raised her head. "I am not dead yet! You want to sell my daughter for money? You want to sell her? If you have the guts, then step over my dead body today!"

"You’ve gone mad, Zhang Chunxue! This is not your decision to make!" Liu Cuie shrieked.

"Not my decision?" Zhang Chunxue sneered. "If you really dare to force Xiaoxiao to marry that Old Five Wang... then don't blame me for going all out and reporting you to the commune for human trafficking! When that happens, you, and these money-grubbing sons of yours, none of you will get away with it!"

She turned her gaze to her three sons, her eyes filled with disappointment and anger.

"And you lot! That is your own sister! Have your consciences been eaten by dogs? Just for that bit of money, you’d watch her jump into a pit of fire? You’d think only of selling her? Are you even human?"

The three brothers were left speechless, their faces alternating between pale and flushed.

Clearly... clearly it was Mom herself who had been clamoring to marry Xiaoxiao off for the bride price in the first place! How did it become all their fault the moment she changed her mind?

The eldest, Zhong Chengfa, felt a knot of frustration in his chest. "Mom! If Xiaoxiao doesn't marry, what about my job? It was already agreed that the one hundred yuan would be used to pull strings for me!"

Zhang Chunxue laughed as if she had heard the most ridiculous thing, not even sparing him a glance.

"You think a hundred yuan can buy you a job? You couldn't even get a temporary position with that pittance! Besides, if you want a job, why don't you go earn it yourself? You’re a grown man, with hands and feet, yet you spend your days calculating how to sell your own sister to trade for your future. Have you no shame?"