Baozi Xishi's Struggle

With a torch, Shen Yu quickly returned home along the path beside the village. Along the way, she was thinking about how to persuade Li to let her go to the town to work.

As soon as she entered the room, Li rushed over, hugged Shen Yu's shoulders, and in the light of the torch, she looked Shen Yu up and down with a nervous look on her face.

Shen Yu was totally confused and dared not move as she held him. His heart was beating fast. Could it be that she was found out to be not the original owner?

After a long while, he forced a smile: "Mom, what's wrong with you?"

Li was relieved when she saw that Shen Yu was the same as when she left. She started to curse, "You damn girl, where did you go in such a dark and dark time? You haven't come back for half a day. Did you want to scare me to death?"

Shen Yu was about to explain, but she was surprised by what Li said next.

"You didn't meet anyone when you went out, did you? No one followed you when you came back?"

When she heard that Shen Yu went to Doctor Sun's house and walked along the small path at the edge of the village and did not meet anyone on the way there and back, Li breathed a sigh of relief and the expression on her face relaxed.

Shen Yu extinguished the torch and walked into the house. For the first time ever, there was an oil lamp burning on the table.

Li, Yutao and Yucheng sat around the table, all looking nervous and depressed.

The flame of the oil lamp was small and flickering, and the atmosphere was a bit creepy.

Shen Yu had a lot of questions in his mind. As soon as he sat down, Li said, "Yuzhi, pack some clothes and stay at your uncle's house for a few days tomorrow."

Shen Yu was puzzled: "Mom, what happened? What happened when you said someone was following me? Why did you go to my uncle's house?"

Li sighed and said angrily, "It's a good thing you went out at night. As soon as you left, the village chief came to our house with a group of people. He said that he had someone calculate that the long drought and the dry stream are because of you. You hindered the fortune of Dongxi Village. They want to drive you out of the village. If you don't leave, they will tie you up and sacrifice you to the Dragon King for rain."

"I told them you weren't home, but they didn't believe me. More than a dozen of them searched the whole house, even opening the cabinets. They told me to come back tomorrow. If they see you again, don't blame them for kidnapping you."

"What did our family do to offend anyone? Who is this black-hearted person who made up such a story to harm others? You, a little girl, can influence the fate of the entire village? Bah, you just don't like us and want to drive us out of Dongxi Village."

Shen Yu was dumbfounded after hearing this. He was stunned for a while before stammering, "How could this happen? This is too feudal and superstitious."

Mrs. Li didn't understand what she said about feudal superstition. She just thought her daughter was scared, so she tried to comfort her: "Don't be afraid, Yuzhi. I've figured it out these days. You can't beat me. Your father is gone, and there's no man in our family. If we fight with them, we'll only suffer. Pack up now. Tomorrow I'll send you to your eldest uncle's house to live for a while. You can come back later when no one mentions this anymore."

"Mom, I'm afraid my aunt won't be happy about my sister going to live there."

Yutao, who had been listening silently, reminded her mother in a low voice.

"She dares. It's not her turn to make the decision in our Li family. I'll pack the clothes you want to take now. Don't worry, just go there with peace of mind."

Li swept away her previous dejection and helplessness, and regained her strong look, but she seemed to be forcing herself, which made Shen Yu feel sad.

"Mom, I just went to Doctor Sun's place, and I was thinking of something I need to discuss with you. It won't be too late to clean up after we've finished talking."

Shen Yu held Li down and turned on the oil lamp. The room immediately became brighter, which made people feel brighter and more relaxed.

"What can you do? You can only take some embroidery work. Don't do this work for now. You can't stay at home any longer. The village chief said he will come tomorrow. If they really come to kidnap you, a good girl will be tied up and paraded through the streets. Even if I die, I will be sorry for your father and I will not be able to give an explanation to your Shen family."

Mrs. Li was anxious and angry. She had no time to listen to what her daughter said. She just wanted to send her daughter away as soon as possible and was about to get up.

"Mom, I won't go to my uncle's house. I asked Doctor Sun to find me a job in a restaurant in town. I will go for a trial the day after tomorrow."

"Don't mess around. Where else are you going if not to your uncle's house? Wait, what did you say? Going to work in a restaurant in town, how can that be possible?"

Li was already worried, and after the village chief and his men made a fuss, she became even more confused and anxious. She wanted to pack up Shen Yu and send her away immediately. Suddenly, she heard her say going to a restaurant, and she didn't understand what was going on. When she came to her senses, she immediately shook her head in opposition.

"Why not, Mom? Don't be anxious. Sit down and listen to me. There are only a few pieces of clothes. It won't delay anything if you pack them later."

Li looked at Shen Yu with puzzled eyes, while Yutao and Yucheng also looked at her eagerly.

"Mom, going to my uncle's house is not a long-term solution. Once the rumor spreads, it's hard to guarantee that it won't spread to other villages. If I go to my uncle's house, won't it scare my uncle's family?"

"Even if my uncle lets me stay here because I am his niece, but when can I come back? As long as someone in the village remembers this, will I have to hide in my uncle's house and eat and drink for free?"

"My uncle's family has seven or eight mouths to feed. They're not so poor that I don't have a bowl of rice to eat, but I've been eating and drinking for free. How can my aunt be happy? I'm already fifteen years old, not a child. It's not convenient for me to stay in someone else's house like this."

"But if I go to work as a helper in a restaurant in town, it will be different. Not only will I be provided with food and drink, but I will also get paid. As long as I work hard, the boss will be happy and will never give me a cold shoulder. Not only will it save money for the family, but I can also earn some money to support the family."

Li wanted to object, but when she thought of her eldest sister-in-law's ugly face every time she shamelessly took some rice from her eldest brother, she gritted her teeth and said with heartache: "You are not eating and drinking for free, you can embroider. At most, you can give all the wages for embroidery to your eldest uncle, and mother won't take your money. This is okay, right?"

"I got the embroidery work before because I was from the same village as Mrs. Dong's sister-in-law. Mrs. Dong gave me the work out of consideration. Now I have such an unlucky name. People are trying to avoid me. Who will still give me work? Moreover, if I live in my uncle's house, will Doctor Sun also go all the way to deliver the work to me every time, and I will pick it up after the embroidery is done?"

Li was so refuted that she couldn't say a word. She muttered in a weak voice, "How can a good girl like you work in a restaurant where there are so many people coming and going? If this gets out, how can any good family want you?"

"Mom, I'm in this state now, do you think there's anyone in this area who dares to marry me?"

"I'm going to be a helper in the kitchen, not a waiter. I don't have to go out to entertain guests, and no one will know."

"Besides, if it doesn't rain, most of the seedlings in the field will die of drought. How much grain can we harvest this year? By then, I'm afraid we won't even be able to pay off the money we owe last year, let alone have enough food to survive the winter. Do we have to wait for help from our uncles in the winter?"

After hearing this, Li's eyes turned red and she was about to cry. She could no longer say anything against it. She just sighed, lowered her head and said nothing.

Shen Yu waited patiently, waiting for Li to come to her senses. She knew that Li would agree to her.

In this situation, I really can't think of a better solution or way out.

Mrs. Li couldn't just watch her daughter being tied up and sacrificed. She heard that she would be tied next to the statue of the Dragon King, paraded around the village, and then taken to the threshing ground to bask in the sun and pray for rain. She would not be released unless it rained.

If it doesn't rain, she will be sunburned to death. If it rains, a good girl will be tied up and pointed at by people. If she is released, she will suffer such a great humiliation and have no choice but to commit suicide. There is no way out.

After a while, Li raised her head and said with a guilty and helpless look, "Go to the town. Mother can't protect you this time. Go tomorrow. Mother will go with you to see what kind of restaurant it is and whether it is reliable. Mother will feel more at ease."

Shen Yu felt warm in her heart. It had been many years since anyone had worried about her like this. She reached out and held Li's thin, calloused hand, and for the first time she sincerely called her mother.

Shen Yu explained to Li that Doctor Sun had to prepare herbs at home and could not go to town until the next day. She planned to hide at Doctor Sun's house for a day tomorrow and go to town to try out the job the next morning.

It took a lot of persuasion to persuade Li to go with him to the town. She swore that Li would take good care of herself and that she was a shopkeeper that Doctor Sun was familiar with, so nothing would happen to her.

Li couldn't resist, and after the shock that night, she was really tired, so she had to give up, told her to be careful, and quickly sent the children to bed, complaining that a lot of lamp oil was wasted that night, blew out the oil lamp, and went to her bedroom in the dark. Yutao and Yucheng also stumbled out, leaving Shen Yu sitting in the dark room in a daze.

The emotion that Shen Yu had just felt was gone in an instant, and he only felt angry and amused. The original owner's mother was really straightforward. She was crying just now, and fell asleep in the blink of an eye.