Peng Fei, wearing a pair of tattered cloth shoes with holes, shorts altered from his mother's old long pants, and a faded blue vest stained with sweat, followed his uncle with listless steps, listening to his lecture.
His uncle, puffing on his pipe, walked and lectured him earnestly.
"Your father left early. It wasn't easy for your mother, a woman, to raise the three of you. Although you're grown now and have your own wings, you still need to listen when you should. What good will it do you if you upset her to the point of illness?"
"Look around our village, at your age, which ones aren't married with children? You say you don't want to get married; I think you're just foolish. Once you're past 25, even if you want to get married, no one will want you. You can't even buy one. We can't let the Peng family line end, can we?"
"Don't worry about the money. After you get married and have kids, life will get better and better. You'll pay it back someday. I'm not rushing you, so stop worrying unnecessarily."
"It's not easy for them to come all this way. You agreed to a business deal and then didn't honor it; you've lost credibility. If they never come again, what will you do?"
"Alright, alright, lift your head, straighten your back. We're almost there. No matter what, you have to handle this today, or your mother will never forgive you when we get back."
Facing the scorching sun, the two finally reached the car. His uncle, with a smile, went to greet the two men.
The man standing in front impatiently berated his uncle.
"This is a young lady from the city, not just any pretty girl. Your boy is lucky!"
"Your village is the furthest; you made me drive tens of kilometers more on mountain roads. Pretty girl, bad roads. The initial amount isn't enough anymore."
His uncle hadn't expected them to pull such a stunt. His smile immediately vanished.
"Didn't we agree on eighteen thousand? You businessmen can't go back on your word. We don't have that much money; how can you suddenly increase the price..."
"Mr. Wang didn't make it clear beforehand how far it was. These terrible roads, so steep, dangerous, and far. If he had said so earlier, we wouldn't have come. Who wants to earn this little bit of money from you? You don't want it, right? Fine, I don't want to give it to you either. If you don't want it, I'll keep it for myself. You just pay for our travel expenses."
What kind of talk was that? She was supposed to be their prospective daughter-in-law; how could they keep her for themselves?
His uncle was about to argue, but Peng Fei, who was already unwilling to find a wife, suddenly looked up.
"Forget it, we don't want her anymore. Uncle, let's go."
Hey!
The two men and his uncle all looked at Peng Fei. Before they could scold him, his uncle slapped him.
"What nonsense are you talking? You brat, was everything I just told you in vain? Shut up and get out of the way. Two bosses, you..."
The two men impatiently said, "Stop with all this crap. I hate dealing with you poor people. What are you? With such a beautiful wife delivered to your doorstep, you're still so stingy. I think you don't even want to get married or have kids! Since that's the case, I'm really not giving her to them anymore. Let's go, let's go. I've decided, I'm keeping this woman for myself!"
"Give us the money! Travel expenses, two thousand yuan. We'll leave after you give it to us!"
The two were ferocious, their faces turned sour, and his uncle quickly put on a fawning smile.
"We didn't say we don't want her, why are you in such a hurry? You've come all this way. The price is negotiable, but at least let us see the person first. What if she's not as good as you say?"
"Would I lie to you about this? Fine, fine, let me see her first! We agreed, if you like her, it's twenty-five thousand, not a cent less!"
Twenty-five thousand? His uncle's eyes widened. What kind of celestial beauty was worth them raising the price by seven thousand yuan on the spot?
Wasn't this like drinking blood?
But seeing that his nephew was already 22, their family was dirt poor, and there were no suitable girls in the surrounding villages, he could only grit his teeth.
"Open it, open it. Let me see first."
The first thing Zhan Jingchun saw when she was brought back to daylight was three dark, ugly, and rough men covered in oily sweat.
Although she was weak, dizzy, and nauseous, she clearly heard the conversation.
She knew what was happening to her and desperately wanted to escape, to call for help, but her mouth wouldn't obey.
She didn't know how long it had been since she last ate or drank, and she couldn't make a sound.
"Why is she awake? When did she wake up? I told you to give her more medicine, but you were too stingy to give it! Aren't you afraid something will go wrong!"
"Isn't it good that she's awake? Her eyes are so beautiful. If she didn't open them, this old guy wouldn't see them and wouldn't know their value. Anyway, there are no windows, and even if she's awake, she can't see much."
"Old guy, don't just stand there foolishly. What do you think? Isn't she beautiful? Is she worth the price?"
His uncle stared, dumbfounded, at Zhan Jingchun, who was as white and beautiful as a blooming flower. After a few seconds, he snapped back to reality and turned to call Peng Fei.
"Xiao Fei, come over and see for yourself."
Peng Fei didn't want to go. He really didn't want to get married, let alone borrow money to do so, and with someone he didn't even know, someone brought from who knows where...
He remained rooted to the spot. His uncle called out twice, and seeing no response, he angrily threw his tobacco pouch.
"Are you deaf? I'm calling you, why can't you hear me? Hurry up and get over here!"
Peng Fei's forehead was hit, but he didn't dare show any expression. Reluctantly, he shuffled over.
Two seconds later, Zhan Jingchun saw a tall, thin man bathed in light, with jet-black, shiny, muscular arms, who appeared very young.
She couldn't see his features clearly, nor did she hear his voice. Her heart pounded with anxiety, and she longed for him to say he didn't want her, giving her a chance to escape.
However, Peng Fei stared at her astonishingly beautiful face for a few seconds, then blushed silently and nodded sheepishly at his uncle.
He agreed!
Was she going to stay here?
Zhan Jingchun wanted to jump up and curse and hit them, but she couldn't do anything. Angrily, she could only close her eyes.
The driver closed the car door again, and the group began to count their money outside.
A few minutes later, the car door opened again, and the tall young man appeared before her alone.
Their eyes met. He seemed a bit flustered and hesitated to touch Zhan Jingchun.
It was his uncle who kicked him from behind, urging him forward. He then stepped forward, grabbed her feet, and dragged Zhan Jingchun out a bit. Then, with a dizzying turn, Zhan Jingchun was lifted by his strong arms and slung over his shoulder like a sack.
His body felt sore, and a pungent smell of sweat hit her face.
Zhan Jingchun, already feeling nauseous, couldn't hold back when she smelled this. She vomited.
The sour liquid flowed down his blue vest and onto his waistband.
She wanted to tell the man to put her down, but Peng Fei, seeing such a beautiful girl for the first time, felt how soft and fragrant she was. Even though she was vomiting now, he was reluctant to put her down.
Thus, walking with constant ups and downs, Zhan Jingchun vomiting, the three entered a dilapidated courtyard.