Countdown to Awakening

After the father and son entered the house, they acted like the bosses, and Sun Pandi didn't dare to say a word. She sat down, picked up her bowl, filled it with rice, and silently picked up some vegetables.

She didn't dare to pick up meat. She remembered that once she picked up meat to eat, Sun Degui and Chen Juan were dissatisfied when they saw it, and beat and scolded her.

From now on, Chen Juan and Sun Degui did not allow her to hold the chopsticks too high, for fear that she would pick up meat to eat.

She was repeatedly scolded by Chen Juan, who told her that the meat was meant for the Sun family. He was a boy, the only male in the family. Only if he ate more could he become smarter. Sun Pandi would marry and become part of another family, so she should just eat more vegetables.

It seemed as if she couldn't touch a single cent in this family. Many families in the village were like this. The girls who stayed behind were the family's labor force and cash cow. Honestly, besides Yuanyuan, she had never seen another family treat their daughters this way.

What she envied even more was that Qi Yuanyuan was the only child in the family... and her name was much prettier than hers, with the most popular reduplicated characters of the era. But her name had a great meaning...

"Degui, what do you think we should do with the money we owe Ma Hui? This money-loser doesn't want to marry him, and the village chief is still protecting her. We have no money at all." Chen Juan said coldly.

Sun Degui slammed his chopsticks down and pointed at Sun Pandi, cursing, "It's all your fault! You're such a jinx, a money-loser! If you hadn't refused to marry Ma Hui, our family wouldn't be like this! You brought bad luck to our family when you were born, and now that you're grown up, you're making us lose money!"

Sun Pandi didn't dare to speak. Everyone's mind was as clear as a mirror, very clear! They had clearly spent half of the money, and they were blaming her... just looking for someone to take the blame.

But she didn't dare to say it.

"I'm telling you, don't think you can marry that poor boy Zheng Haifeng. He has nothing, and he still wants my daughter, Sun Degui? He thinks I don't want to marry such a short-lived son-in-law! Don't you see his father..." Before Sun Degui finished speaking, Sun Pandi mustered up the courage to interrupt him: "Dad, you are going too far. Don't you know why Uncle Zheng passed away? How can you say he has a short life? If it weren't for his protection..."

When Sun Degui heard this, he immediately became unhappy and stood up and raised his hand to slap.

A slap landed heavily on Sun Pandi's face.

Sun Degui slammed the table again. His eyes widened as he glared, "Sun Pandi, I'm your father! You're contradicting him for a stranger?! You're not even married yet, and you want to get married?! You're so impatient? I found a man for you, but you don't want him, so you want to find one yourself? You're really rebellious!"

Sun Pandi pursed her lips. She knew there would be such consequences, but she couldn't just watch Uncle Zheng being slandered.

Chen Juan stood up and patted him on the back.

"Degui, calm down. Don't bother with this money-losing guy. Don't get yourself sick from anger." After hearing this, Sun Degui just glared at Sun Pandi, but when he thought about their family having to pay back more than two hundred yuan to Ma Hui, he felt upset.

Where did their family get so much money? This money-loser refused to marry Ma Hui, so they had to pay it back!

It’s all because of this money-losing thing!

Just then, Sun Degui had just sat down and taken a few bites of his hot meal when Ma Hui sent someone to collect the debt.

"Brother Ma asked me to ask how your money is going?" the man said.

Seeing someone coming, Sun Degui stood up and said flatteringly, "Can you go back and tell Ma Hui that the money is not ready yet? I just got home, how can I have the money ready? Can you give us a few more days? We really can't come up with the money..."

Unexpectedly, the man snorted and laughed. "No, Brother Ma said, if you can't come up with the money in these two days, your family will starve!"

After the man finished speaking, he looked at Sun Pandi before walking away.

After he left, Sun Degui slammed the table again, then pointed at Sun Pandi and scolded, "It's all your fault! Look at what you've done! If it weren't for you, would we be in such a mess now?"

Sun Pandi said nothing. She knew it wasn't because of her.

"Stop eating! Go clear the dishes!" Sun Degui shouted. Sun Pandi had no choice but to clear the dishes.

After she entered the kitchen, she sat down by the faucet next to the back door. She looked like she was washing dishes, but in fact, her ears had already flown outside...

At this point, Sun Degui began to feel melancholy. "Degui, how about this? Let's invite Ma Hui to our house. As long as she spends one night with that money-loser, and as long as she doesn't have to pay back the money, she'll agree to spend several nights. We'll do whatever we ask her to do. She's a money-loser anyway, and it doesn't matter who she marries in the end. We might as well let her just go along with Ma Hui. Even if she doesn't marry Ma Hui in the future, we can get the betrothal money from whoever marries her."

Old houses are not soundproof.

Chen Juan's words scared Sun Pandi, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, so much that she broke out in a cold sweat.

Then he broke a bowl.

"boom!"

This noise made Chen Juan outside furious again. "You're just washing dishes and you're actually throwing them! What else can you do as a money-loser?!"

The sound was getting closer and closer to her, and finally, Chen Juan rushed in from outside with anger, stretched out her hand and twisted her arm a few times, cursing as she twisted to vent her anger.

"What else can you, a money-losing thing, do? What else can you do? Raising you is a waste of rice! I asked you to get married but you refused! That's why our family owes so much money! Now you broke my bowl! You don't want to eat, right?" Chen Juan was still angry and finally pushed her.

Sun Pandi was pushed by her and almost fell into the greasy sink while sitting on the stool.

Chen Juan walked out without even looking at her.

"This method won't work. She has already heard it." Sun Degui shook his head.

"Then what do you think we should do? Didn't Ma Hui say it would be in the next two days?" Chen Juan said worriedly.

Sun Degui stood up. "I'll go borrow some. I'll pay Ma Hui back first."

Chen Juan was even more furious when she heard this. It was all Sun Pandi's fault! If she had agreed to Ma Hui's proposal, perhaps their family would have been well fed and well-fed by now.

So she went into the kitchen again.

By then, Sun Pandi had already washed the dishes. "What are you thinking? You want to tire your father to death, don't you?" Chen Juan said coldly. Sun Pandi also knew what she meant. This time she didn't remain silent. "If you don't spend the money, you can return it all to him, right?"

It's obviously you who spent the money and can't pay it back. You insist on blaming me...

"You dare to talk back?! I gave birth to you in vain! You only know how to eat and not help! And now you're talking back! Do you think you can do whatever you want just because you studied for a few years?" Chen Juan was furious. She twisted her body a few more times.

Sun Pandi was used to it. Her hands were covered in marks from being twisted. So even in the hottest weather, she wouldn't wear short sleeves; she'd wear long sleeves instead.

She heard everything Chen Juan said to Sun Degui outside just now. She didn't expect Chen Juan to come up with such despicable means to force her to marry Ma Hui.

"Mom, I am your daughter. It's fine that you didn't like me or love me since I was a child, but I didn't expect that you would come up with such a method for money. You actually wanted to ask Ma Hui to come to our house to defile me... Then what am I? I am also a human being." There was no emotion in her eyes, but it made Chen Juan feel ashamed.

"You also know that you are my daughter, so just marry Ma Hui! Ma Hui has a car, a house and money. It's worth it if you marry him even if you have to have children! What else are you not satisfied with?! How is it unfair for you to marry Ma Hui, right? If it weren't for you, our family wouldn't be like this!" Chen Juan said.

Then she added, "Don't take advantage of the fact that the village chief is here to do whatever you want. If your father doesn't borrow the money, you will still have to pay off the debt!"

After Chen Juan finished speaking, she went out.