Chapter 4: Selling the Marriage for a Bride Price of Two Hundred Yuan

I absolutely refuse to marry some lecherous, fat, dark-skinned man! Du Yun’s mind was buzzing, her thoughts swirling so violently that she felt darkness closing in. Though she wailed in her heart, not a sound escaped her lips.

“It’s not just me boasting—our Du Yun is one of the best girls in the village. Her character and looks are above reproach, and she’s even a secondary school graduate, an educated girl. Whoever marries her is truly blessed,” Du Yun’s grandmother declared, seemingly oblivious to Dong Yuejin’s attitude, her words dripping with satisfaction.

Her thinking was simple: the Dong family was among the wealthiest in the village, the only household with ten thousand yuan to their name. If Du Yun married into their family, she wouldn’t have to work hard and could enjoy a life of plenty. Even if Dong Yuejin was less than attractive, Du Yun would be a fool to turn down such a prospect.

Du Yun’s grandmother smiled contentedly at Madam Dong, already calculating how much the bride price and gifts could improve her family’s circumstances if Du Yun married into the Dong family.

The Dong family was, after all, the richest in the village, their wealth even outstripping that of the village chief. If her granddaughter Du Yun married Dong Yuejin, the Dong family’s only son, all that wealth would eventually belong to Du Yun and her children.

To be frank, the Du family’s situation was dire. Grandmother Du had three sons, who together had seven or eight children, making for a household of more than ten people, young and old, all living in abject poverty. Thinking of her family’s plight filled Grandmother Du with resentment; she wished she could drag her long-dead father-in-law out of his grave and give him another sound beating.

With so many able-bodied young men in the family, they should at least have been able to put enough food on the table and keep everyone clothed and warm. But decades-old debts left by her father-in-law had pressed down on the entire household, keeping them impoverished.

For years they’d been repaying those debts. Children were born into hunger and hardship, the whole family squeezed into three mud-brick rooms where one could barely turn without bumping into someone else. Such days had drained Grandmother Du’s spirit completely.

Now, her eldest and second son’s boys were of marriageable age, yet there was no money, no house, not even a place for a new bride to stay. If not for her eldest granddaughter’s engagement, which had allowed them to pay off their last major debt, the family’s situation would be even more desperate.

Much as she favored Du Yun among her grandchildren, the family’s hardships took precedence; money had to come first. When it came to marriage, she couldn’t just consider Du Yun’s feelings—she also had to think of her two older grandsons’ futures. After all, flesh is flesh, whether from the palm or the back of her hand.

Besides, Du Yun was soft-hearted and loyal to her family. If she married well and saw her siblings struggling, could she really harden her heart and not help them? Surely, she would find ways to support the family in the future.

“Don’t you worry, Granny Du. The two hundred yuan bride price you asked for—my parents have agreed, and the promised three big items will be included as well,” the fat man said loftily, hands in his pockets, looking down at her with the air of a young master.

That the Dong family had agreed to her demand of two hundred yuan filled Grandmother Du with excitement. In these times, a bride price in the village rarely exceeded thirty or fifty yuan, and some families got away with as little as eight or ten. For the Dong family to offer two hundred meant they were truly wealthy and genuinely valued Du Yun.

Her face blossomed with delight as she calculated that, of those two hundred yuan, she could keep at least a hundred for herself. If she was frugal, perhaps she could outfit Du Yun with only fifty yuan’s worth of dowry, leaving over a hundred to help arrange marriages for her two grandsons.

At this thought, Grandmother Du felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her heart. Much as she ached for her eldest granddaughter, she also pitied her grandsons. The eldest grandson was now eighteen, but with no money and no house, he could only find work as an apprentice in town, not daring even to think about marriage.

Other families’ boys, his age or younger, already had children, while her own grandson had no hope of marrying. The delay for one would cascade to the rest, and Grandmother Du’s anxiety grew by the day.

While Grandmother Du was overjoyed, Aunt Dong remained uneasy. Glancing at Du Yun’s face, dark as the bottom of a pot, she couldn’t find any peace of mind.

“Wait—wait! You’re arranging my marriage to him? And for just a two hundred yuan bride price?!” Du Yun might have been naive, but she wasn’t stupid. She understood everything after just a few words. Forcing down the tumult in her chest, she bit out, coldly, “So the family that claims to love me is just selling me off to that fat, dark man sitting on the kang for two hundred yuan! If you’re going to sell me, at least ask for a million! Two hundred isn’t even worth a pig!”

“What do you mean, ‘just’ two hundred? Have you asked around? When has there ever been a two hundred yuan bride price in this village? Most families would be over the moon for thirty or fifty!” Aunt Dong, stung by Du Yun’s words, protested. She had promised she would make this match happen.

The thought that the marriage might fall through made Aunt Dong nervous. She swallowed hard and kept praising the Dong family to Grandmother Du. The Dong family had invested plenty to secure this match, showering even her, the matchmaker, with gifts.

When collecting her gifts, Aunt Dong had sworn in front of her own younger brother that she would see the matter through. If she failed, she’d have to return three laying hens—those would be easy enough to give back, but the two bolts of fine cotton had already been cut and made into clothes…

Thinking of the gifts she’d received and the ten-yuan fee promised by the Dong family, Aunt Dong steeled herself, despite knowing that Du Yun and Dong Yuejin were a poor match. Aside from wealth, Dong Yuejin had nothing to recommend him. Yet she ignored her conscience and spoke up.

“Aunt Du, while it’s true that your granddaughter is one of the finest girls in the village, you must admit the Dong family’s conditions are far better than anyone else’s—they’re the only real wealthy household!” Aunt Dong leaned in, lowering her voice conspiratorially.

“Just look—Old Li’s daughter, Xiaoxiu, has her eye on this match as well. If I weren’t a close relation of Yuejin’s father, and if the Dong family hadn’t set their sights on Du Yun, someone else would have snatched this chance up already. I say you’d better decide quickly. If you agree, let’s hold a meal in the next few days and settle the engagement—before someone else does,” Aunt Dong coaxed, seeing that Grandmother Du was wavering.