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Tongyangxi, also known as "waiting daughter-in-law" or "foster daughter-in-law", was a common practice in old China. Usually, due to poverty, people could not afford to marry off their sons, so they would adopt a girl from elsewhere to be a tongyangxi. When she grew up to 14 or 15 years old, they would arrange for her to "complete the marriage" with their son. On that day, the tongyangxi and the groom only needed to change into clean clothes and host a few simple tables of wine and dishes to entertain relatives and friends. This way of handling marriage was both convenient and economical.
Most of the child brides were adopted from outside or disaster areas, and some were picked up from the side of the road. Some were bought back at a low price from street vendors who sold children. After being adopted, these girls generally did not go to school, but stayed at home doing chores all day. If they encountered an evil mother-in-law, they would often be subjected to beatings and abuse, living a very miserable life. When they grew up and were supposed to "complete the marriage", if the young girl was unwilling, they would use coercive measures to "complete the marriage". Therefore, these child brides played the role of a little daughter-in-law from an early age.
Although child brides are not necessarily the result of a mercenary marriage, even in normal marriages, there may still be severe mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationships. However, some child bride marriages are established as mercenary marriages, and their status is generally lower, often requiring them to do a large amount of household chores, and some will be abused by the husbands family, similar to slaves.
But some of the luckier ones may have a better life than they would have had in their natal home, although they are usually treated less well than the husbands biological children. In their natal home, they might be living a poor and difficult life. If the fiancé dies before the wedding or if he does not want to marry the adopted daughter-in-law, some families may allow her to remarry or send her back to her natal family. Some will formally adopt her as a daughter and treat her like one. Some cruel families will sell the adopted daughter-in-law into slavery or prostitution, or force her to marry another man.
Its clear that Ah Xiu and her sister encountered a rather harsh and demanding family. Her husbands family was originally wealthy, but later declined, leaving only a dilapidated mansion, yet they still wanted to maintain their former prestige. Ah Xiu and her sister were treated like servants there, being ordered around without any regard for their well-being, and physical punishment was not uncommon. For the sake of her younger sister, Ah Xiu endured all this, doing chores from dawn till dusk, spinning yarn and weaving fabric, yet often going hungry and suffering abuse.
Its this kind of life that makes Ah Xiu far more mature than her age, she has insight, knows how to get things done, and has a sweet mouth, all of which are honed by her environment, not cunning or flattery, at least able to avoid some beatings.
"Whats next?" Meng You Tian fell silent for a moment, then asked in a low voice.
"Later, my husband died." Ah Xiu pursed the corner of her mouth and revealed a hint of a pleased smile. "That little boy was not big in stature, but his heart was bad, always bullying Yaner, once pushing Yaner into the river almost drowning her to death. It was also heavens retribution, he was playing with water by the river, fell into a big pit and drowned."
Meng You Tian didnt say a word, and added a few more pieces of charcoal to the brazier, causing several sparks to fly out.
"The man died, but they pushed the blame onto me, scolding me for being hard-hearted and killing my husband." Ah Xius delight only lasted for a moment before her expression turned gloomy again. "They secretly discussed with the human traffickers, saying that I should remarry, but in reality, they wanted to sell me to that dirty place in the county town. They also said that even if I raise my daughter for another two or three years, they will still sell her off."
"So they ran away and came to seek refuge with their old uncle, whom they had not contacted for many years." Meng You Tian simply stated the outcome of the matter, sighing: "Its finally a happy ending after all the hardships. My mother is a kind-hearted person, she wont treat them as harshly as her family did. Although were poor and struggling, at least there are fewer troubles."
"Aunt is a good person, and so is Brother Tian. " Ah Xiu looked at Meng You Tian with gratitude.
"Of course Im a good person, or else whats the point of saying anything?" Meng You Tian smiled and stood up, nodding his chin at Ah Xiu, "What was said before, is it still valid now?"
Axiu lowered her head and muttered something under her breath, the flames suddenly surged, Meng You Tian had already lit a torch and walked towards the depths of the mountain cave.
"Whats going on?" Ah Xiu hastily got up and followed Meng You Tian.
"Heh heh, following is fine too, just light another torch and shine it under your feet. Just now I was only listening to the conversation and almost forgot something very important." Meng You Tian also didnt turn his head back, lightly smiling.
Whats the most important thing? Ah Xiu was confused and followed Meng You Tian to a bend, stopping at a fork in the mountain cave.
"This side is a big gap, and that side will be the end in a dozen meters or so, its a dead alley." Meng You Tian stopped his footsteps and pointed out.
"Didnt you say wed go take a look when it gets light?" Ah Xiu asked in confusion.
"Yes, we have to wait until dawn to enter this place. But this very important matter cannot be done now." Meng You Tian nodded and took the torch towards the dead end, and as he said, the two of them soon reached the end.
"Eating, drinking, shitting, pissing, sleeping - thats all people do in this life." Meng You Tian held up the torch and looked around, indicating to Ah Xiu to take a good look. "This is where I found the toilet. For one night, or maybe even longer, if we didnt have it... heh heh."
Ah Xius face turned red as she stomped her feet, feeling both shy and angry, and quickly turned around to leave.
Things are often like this, sounding unpleasant but having their indispensable uses. At midnight, Ah Xiu slowly opened her eyes, her face gradually turning red, and her legs clamped together seemed to be trembling slightly. Meng You Tian on the other side of the brazier was snoring heavily, seemingly sleeping very soundly. Only then did she quietly get up, pick up a torch and light it, and slowly head towards the "toilet" in the mountain cave. Perhaps at this moment, she would no longer be annoyed with Meng You Tians rudeness, but instead feel grateful to him.
When Ah Xiu returned lightly, she found that Meng You Tian was no longer sleeping there. She hesitated for a moment, extinguished the torch, and felt her way towards the entrance of the cave.
The wolf howled, and judging from the sound, it was a mournful cry of a wolf that had been caught in a trap. Meng You Tian used his gun to gently lift up the withered grass covering the entrance of the cave, trying his best to get a good look inside.
Snowflakes floated in the air, and the sky was so dark that no stars or moon could be seen. Meng You Tian had placed some ice blocks with bamboo signs on them, and also hung several pieces of meat as bait on the branches of a small tree, with traps and snares set up below. If wolves or foxes came to get the meat and jumped up and down under the tree, they would inevitably be caught by the snares or traps.
At this time, a wolf was under a tree making painful cries, its hind legs clamped by an iron clip. It futilely turned around in place. But Meng You Tian could only wait, as several black shadows swirled around him. This wasnt a lone wolf, but a small pack of wolves. The range of the hunting rifle was limited, and he didnt have confidence.
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