As soon as the Ai Cao entered the house, he found that the atmosphere in the house was not right. It was broad daylight, but the door to the central room was closed. This was definitely not in line with the habits of the Ai family. There must be something fishy going on.
The Ai Cao carried his basket to the backyard. He did not immediately go to the kitchen in the west side to cook. Instead, he sneaked to the window of the central room and listened to the movements inside.
"Er Gou, since things are like this, I will still say the same thing. Let the Ai Cao follow my Dongzi. Your Da Bao and Yaozong stole the second team's corn. Let's just pretend that I didn't see it. Otherwise …" The person inside paused for a moment before continuing, "I'm an old landlord who's stuck in the mud and can't turn over. I'm going to show my loyalty to the organization and catch the thief."
"Old Gu! Don't you dare! "The Ai Cao immediately knew that it was the old woman's voice.
However, he did not know who the other person with the old voice was. Also, what did he mean by letting the Ai Cao follow Dongzi? Could it be that what they were discussing was related to him?
The Ai Cao was afraid that he would be implicated in this matter, so he listened even more carefully.
"Hmph, why wouldn't I dare? I am a person with half my body buried in the ground. Every day I live is a day I earn. If one day I really don't like this world, I will go straight to hell to drink tea. "The old woman's voice revealed a hint of carelessness. "However, my Dongzi still hasn't married a wife. I don't want to die. Even if I die, I have to leave something for my grandson."
"Your Dongzi is one year younger than my San An. You are his grandfather's generation. It's not good for you to give birth to a son's wife." The old woman's voice started to soften.
"What's so bad about that? Mugwort hasn't arranged a banquet with your son, Anzi. You can just treat it as an adopted daughter getting married." The old man in the house refused to relent.
"Damn old man, do you believe that I will burn down your house at night? Get lost! You dare to blackmail my family? You must be tired of living! " Flaunting her prowess, impudent, and full of threats. Needless to say, she was the Little Tyrant at home, Ai Yaozong.
"Yo! Old Sister-in-law, this grandson of yours is really something, shouting and shouting. Look at his sturdy appearance, he won't be a coward in the future. "The old man completely ignored Ai Yaozong.
"Yaozong, sit down!" Old Madam Ai rarely scolded her grandson.
"Old Gu, let's be frank. If I don't give the Ai Cao to your family, are you determined to report my family's Da Bao and Yaozong?"
"What are you talking about? What do you mean by reporting them? You're making it sound so unpleasant. I'm giving them a chance to undergo reform through labor and let the country educate them so that they won't make bigger mistakes in the future."
"Alright! You win, Old Gu! But you have to keep your word. We'll admit it. Sending the girl to your house will be a blessing for my two grandsons. "Old Madam Ai gnashed her teeth as she spoke.
"Mom! San An … "Ai Cao's adoptive mother opened her mouth.
"Shut up!" Old Madam Ai's heart was extremely aggrieved. Her voice trembled: "Old Gu, let's make it clear that Ai Cao is getting married to our family. Do you need to give a betrothal gift?"
With this sentence, the room suddenly quieted down. Ai Cao, who was eavesdropping outside the room, couldn't see the situation inside. His heart leaped to his throat.
"Yes, your family is marrying a wife. Who doesn't give a betrothal gift!" Ai Yaozong began to stomp his feet again.
"That's right, Old Gu. My family can't raise Ai Cao for so many years in vain." Ai Cao didn't expect Ai Dabao, this loafer, to speak up at this time.
In fact, if she was in the room, she would be able to see it. It wasn't that Ai Dabao became capable, but that his wife, Ge Er Ni, was watching him from the side.
"Alright, it's the reason not to pay when marrying a wife. Give me a number. How much?" Old Gu asked.
"Fifty!" Old Madam Ai immediately reported a number energetically.
There was a sudden gasp in the room. It seems that this number not only exceeded Old Gu's expectations, but also the rest of the Ai family didn't expect Old Madam Ai to ask for so much.
"Oh, old sister-in-law, you must be joking. It's not like you don't know my family's situation. My ancestors' furniture has long been handed over to the country. The three thatched huts that Dongzi is living in now were all found by him. My family doesn't even have a proper house. If you want fifty, isn't that the same as going to the Fire God Temple to pray for rain? At most five yuan. If you really don't have the heart for marriage, I won't either?? Aluminum? Let's change it to Songqiao's stubbornness? Umbrella!
"Hey! Hey! "Seeing that Old Gu was about to leave, Ai Dabao became anxious.
"Thirty!" Old Madam Ai relented, but still wanted more.
Even if this price was given to any family in the village, it would make them stand out and show their face. However, for the Gu family, not to mention that they couldn't afford it, even if their family really had the money, they still couldn't find a wife within fifty miles of Xinglin Village. After all, Old Gu was the landlord's wealth that everyone hated.
As the landlord's grandson, no innocent family would be willing to marry off their daughter to him.
"Five yuan! My family can't afford any more than that. Just five yuan, this old man has to shamelessly beg everyone in the village to borrow it. You don't have any more than that! "
"Fifteen! It can't be less! " Old Madam Ai's voice was rough and unpleasant. "No matter what, our family has raised that girl for sixteen years, Old Gu."
Ai Cao, who was outside the room, listened to the discussion in the room. Her heart was in turmoil. Were they talking about whether she would stay or leave, or whether she would get married?
However, the people in the room didn't seem to think that she had anything to do with this matter. It was only related to money. Whether she stayed or left was decided by money. No one thought of asking for her opinion.
This situation made Ai Cao's heart feel cold. What kind of family would she end up in? What kind of family would she be "married" to?
While Ai Cao's thoughts were tumbling, confused, and in a daze, the two parties in the room had reached a final agreement.
The old man agreed to pay fifteen yuan, but from then on, Ai Cao and the Ai family would have nothing to do with each other. The two families would not recognize each other as in-laws!
The final result shocked Ai Cao so much that she clutched her chest. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings. Her fate was decided just like that. Fifteen yuan would go to another family, and from then on, she would have nothing to do with the Ai family.
Was there any difference between this and selling?
Hearing the commotion in the room, Ai Cao didn't have time to be sad. She quickly and carefully moved away from the window. Then, she went to the kitchen on the west side to start cooking.
After sending Old Gu away, the old lady of the Ai family was obviously sullen. She stood in the yard and pointed at Ai Cao and scolded her until Ai Ershun and Ai San An came back. Then, she stopped scolding and went into the house to rest.
It wasn't that she couldn't scold her anymore. It was just that Ai San An's body was weak. She was afraid that Ai San An would hear that she was going to send Ai Cao to the Gu family. She was afraid that he would either lie on the ground and be sent to the hospital directly or make a scene and ruin this matter.
Ai San An and Ai Cao had finished junior high school this year. However, Ai Ershun was weak and couldn't do heavy work at home. His mother wanted him to study in a technical school so that he could work for the country. And Ai San An knew his own physical condition. He couldn't stand the hardships at home. What's more, he didn't want to do farm work.
So he kept his head down and didn't do anything all day. After studying hard for more than a year, he was really admitted to a technical school. In the past few months of studying in the city, he opened his eyes and felt that he was different from his friends who dug for food in the soil in the village.
Because the capable son came back, the atmosphere at home at night was relatively harmonious on the surface.
After dinner, Ai Cao washed the dishes and chopsticks. When she returned to the hut in the backyard, she quietly heard Ge Er Ni and Ai Yaozong whispering under the wall. Only then did she know that the Ai family was afraid of Old Gu because Ai Dabao and Ai Yaozong were caught stealing corn by Old Gu in the afternoon. Their minds went blank for a moment and they fell into Old Gu's trap. They pressed a red handprint on the note written by Old Gu to make them promise not to steal corn again in the future.
For them, this was irrefutable evidence. They had to get it back from Old Gu no matter what!
In fact, if Ai Cao really didn't want to go to Gu House, she could secretly reveal what happened in the afternoon to Ai San An. However, although Ai San An had regarded Ai Cao as his own private property since he was a child, he didn't seem to love her that much or protect her in this family.
Didn't he see that the original owner used to wash clothes, cook and serve the whole family all day? Ai San An took it for granted. So Ai Cao thought about it in her heart and decided not to tell this matter first.
In addition, if she changed to another family, her life might be better than it was now.
Even though she knew that this idea was unrealistic, Ai Cao still held onto a glimmer of hope. She decided to secretly check on the Gu family's situation while she was gathering grass tomorrow. It would be even better if she could find out about the "landlord's son".
The original owner was too boring in the past. Other than burying herself in work, she wasn't familiar with anything else. She had already lived in the same village for more than ten years. There were many people she had only heard of from the Ai family.
Also, Old Gu was able to suppress Ai family's Old Madam Ai in front of the whole family. Listening to his tone, he didn't seem easy to get along with. So Ai Cao felt that this landlord's son was definitely not a good person.
But in her current situation, she didn't expect Gu Dong to be a good person. As long as he wasn't ugly and ugly and had a better personality than the lawless and immoral Little Tyrant Ai Yaozong, she might be able to clench her teeth and close her eyes and accept this matter.
Ai Cao endured another night with worry, fear, and all kinds of thoughts. Finally, in the afternoon at the foot of the mountain, she hid in the grass and watched Gu Dong's group.
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