Peng Fei, clad in worn-out cloth shoes with holes, a pair of shorts repurposed from his mother's old trousers, and a sweat-stained blue tank top, listlessly followed his uncle, who was lecturing him.
His uncle, puffing on a pipe, walked and spoke earnestly.
"Your father left early. It wasn't easy for your mother, a single woman, to raise you three siblings. Although you're grown now and independent, you still need to listen when it's time to listen. What good will it do you if you anger her to the point of illness?"
"Look around our village, which young man your age isn't married with children? You say you don't want to marry, but I think you're foolish. Once you're past 25, even if you want to marry, no one will want you. You won't even be able to buy one, and you can't let the Peng family line end, can you?"
"Don't worry about the money. Once you marry and have children, life will get better and better, and you'll pay it back someday. I'm not rushing you, so stop worrying unnecessarily."
"It wasn't easy for them to come all this way. If you break a promise and renege on a business deal, you lose 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, this has to be settled today, or your mother won't let you off the hook when we get back."
The two, facing the scorching sun, finally reached the car. His uncle walked over with a smile to greet the two men.
The man standing in front impatiently reprimanded his uncle.
"This is a young lady from the city, not just pretty, but exceptionally so. Your boy is lucky!"
"Your village is the furthest, making me drive dozens of extra kilometers on mountain roads. The girl is beautiful, but the roads are bad. The initial payment isn't enough anymore."
His uncle hadn't expected them to pull such a stunt, and 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..."
"Wang boss didn't make it clear beforehand that it was this far. These broken roads, steep, dangerous, and long. If they had told us clearly, we wouldn't have come. Who wants to earn this little bit of money from you? You don't want it, right? If you don't want it, I don't want to give it to you either. If you don't want it, I'll keep it myself. Just reimburse me for the travel expenses."
What kind of talk was that? They had agreed to give her as a wife, how could they keep her for themselves?
As his uncle was about to argue, Peng Fei, who was already reluctant to find a wife, suddenly looked up.
"If you don't want to, then forget it. We don't want her. Uncle, let's go."
Hey!
The two men and his uncle looked at Peng Fei simultaneously. Before they could scold him, his uncle reached out and hit him.
"What nonsense are you spouting? You brat, did everything I just said go in one ear and out the other? Shut up and get out of the way. Gentlemen, you..."
The two men impatiently retorted, "Stop with the damn nonsense. I hate dealing with you poor folks. What kind of people are you! You have such a beautiful wife delivered to your doorstep, and you're still so stingy. I don't think you really want to get married and have children! If that's the case, I'm 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! For the travel expenses, two thousand yuan. Give it to us and we'll leave!"
The two men were fierce, their faces showing they were about to turn hostile. His uncle quickly put on a 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 can be negotiated, but at least let us see the person first. What if she's not as good as you say?"
"Do you think I'd lie to you about this? Fine, fine, let you have a look! We've 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 bleeding them dry?
But seeing that his nephew was already 22 years old, 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 saw the light of day was three dark, ugly, rough men covered in oily sweat.
Although she was weak, dizzy, and nauseous, she clearly heard their 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, and you were too stingy to do it! Aren't you afraid something will happen!"
"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's no window, and she can't see anything even if she's awake."
"Old guy, stop standing there like an idiot. 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 called out to Peng Fei.
"Xiao Fei, come over and take a look yourself."
Peng Fei didn't want to go. He really didn't want to get married, let alone borrow money to do it, and with someone he didn't know at all, someone brought from some unknown place...
He remained rooted to the spot. After his uncle called out a couple of times and saw no reaction, he angrily threw his pipe at him.
"Are you deaf? I'm calling you, why aren't you coming? Get over here now!"
Peng Fei's forehead was hit, but he didn't dare show any expression. Reluctantly, he shuffled his feet over.
Two seconds later, Zhan Jingchun saw a tall, thin man, his body a shining black with well-defined muscles, who appeared very young, silhouetted against the light.
She couldn't see his features clearly, nor did she hear his voice. Her heart pounded nervously. She hoped he would say he didn't want her, so she would have a chance to escape.
However, Peng Fei stared at her breathtakingly beautiful face for a few seconds, then inexplicably blushed and nodded awkwardly at his uncle.
He agreed!
Was she going to stay?
Zhan Jingchun wanted to jump up and curse them, to hit them, but she could do nothing. Angrily, she could only close her eyes.
The driver closed the car door again, and the group began counting the money outside.
A few minutes later, the car door was opened again, and the tall young man appeared before her alone.
Their eyes met. He seemed a bit flustered, hesitating to touch Zhan Jingchun.
It was only after his uncle kicked him from behind that he stepped forward, grabbed her legs, and dragged Zhan Jingchun out a bit. Then, with the world spinning, 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 sick, couldn't hold back and vomited at the smell.
The sour liquid flowed down his blue tank top and onto his waistband.
She wanted to ask the man to put her down, but Peng Fei, seeing such a beautiful girl for the first time in his life, felt how soft and fragrant she was. Even though she was vomiting now, he couldn't bear to put her down.
And so, walking with constant ups and downs, Zhan Jingchun vomiting, the three entered a dilapidated courtyard.