How could I possibly be confined in a cage?

When Sister-in-law Niu arrived at the village chief's house, almost everyone had already gathered. The village chief rubbed his hands together, his usual haughty demeanor gone, and greeted Sister-in-law Niu with a friendly smile, "Sister-in-law Niu, I heard the city is hiring female workers again?"

Sister-in-law Niu said proudly, "That's right, the person is at my house now. I had someone send them over."

The villagers who gathered around were immediately delighted. Every family had a girl of marriageable age, and if she could be selected as a female worker, their family would have a better life.

Everyone eagerly asked questions, and Sister-in-law Niu answered them in a lively and engaging manner. After the most enthusiastic moment passed, the village chief secretly asked, "What are the requirements for recruiting girls this time?"

After she had her fill of smugness, Sister-in-law Niu sat down on the millstone at the village chief's house, as if she were the boss. "Same as always, around fifteen years old. Too young won't do, they can't work. Too old won't do either. You should arrange marriages for them. That's the requirement."

The village chief habitually puffed on his hookah, silently counting in his mind that after this selection process, there should be at least twenty or thirty eligible girls in the village. He then asked, "How many people should we recruit?"

Sister-in-law Niu was taken aback. That's right, her second sister-in-law hadn't mentioned this. She couldn't exaggerate, lest the one who was rejected hold a grudge against her. "It's hard to say. Let's make our selections first. We'll have to go to my house to help others choose later."

The village chief nodded knowingly. "You should all go back now. Quickly wash your suitable girls clean, dress them neatly, and bring them over here for everyone to see."

Sister-in-law Niu quickly followed, saying, "Hey, wait a minute, the factory is hiring. They need someone hardworking and quick-witted. No troublemakers, and the best are the honest and obedient ones..."

No one cared about anything else; as long as she wanted them, they were all obedient and well-behaved children.

Since the person wouldn't be back for a while, the village chief invited Sister-in-law Niu inside to warm up.

Sister-in-law Niu was not without pride. "Hmph, they looked down on me so much back then, wasn't it just because they were jealous? Including this village chief's wife, who said she ruined the village's reputation, but now they're all trying to curry favor with her."

The village chief's family was also frustrated. Who would have thought that this widow would suddenly become a powerful figure and the object of everyone's flattery? Even she was ordered by the village chief to be more polite to people.

Besides, I had a favor to ask this time. "Um... Mr. Niu, I have a niece, you know..."

Sister-in-law Niu looked at the village chief's house with satisfaction. "What? You want me to do you a favor and open a back door?"

The village chief's wife was quite embarrassed and said awkwardly, "This child has had a tough time. After my brother passed away, her mother remarried. My family couldn't afford to raise her, so they sent her here. I heard you were hiring, and I thought it would be an opportunity for her. You're practically her aunt, so please take care of her."

When Sister-in-law Niu heard the village chief's family pleading with her, she felt a surge of satisfaction. "Oh, the way you're talking, it's as if I don't care about people. Alright, let me meet this person. If he's too bad, then I definitely won't take him."

"Hey, don't worry, she's definitely a good girl. She's an embroidery worker, skilled both at home and outside, and she's also very pretty."

Sister-in-law Niu got excited. She was beautiful and had lost her father; she was a rare find. "Hmm, let's bring her out to meet everyone."

"Oh, she's coming. She went out to herd cattle. I asked my son to look for her. She'll be here in a bit."

Sister-in-law Niu looked at the village chief's family with disdain. Sending people to herd cattle at mealtimes? Is this something an aunt would do?

The way the woman called the village chief's wife looked at her was unbearable. She didn't want it to be like that, but although her husband was the village chief, he was responsible for the livelihood of the entire village, and he often had to help this person or that person for the sake of his reputation.

With so many children in the family, it's inevitable that some things will be neglected. Her sons are all of marriageable age, and with a niece to support, they can barely make ends meet. If she could be given a proper job, even if it's tough and tiring, it would be good enough to support herself. It would be her way of doing her part as an aunt.

At that moment, the girl being aggressively promoted by the village chief's family was walking weakly along the village road, leading an ox. She had only eaten one meal that day and was truly exhausted. She still had to herd cattle. She knew what this meant, but after all, she was staying at her aunt's house. She was already grateful that they gave her a place to stay and food to eat. She didn't expect to receive the same treatment as the village chief's children.

Winter has arrived, and all the edible wild fruits have long since fallen. Even a chestnut has been picked clean by small animals. She can't find anything to eat in the mountains and can only drink water to fill her stomach.

"Guiying, Guiying..." It was as if she heard someone calling her.

"Guiying," the voice called out as it drew closer, confirming that it was indeed her second cousin calling her.

"Second cousin? What's up?"

My second cousin was panting heavily, clearly from running too fast. When he saw Guiying, he quickly grabbed her hand and ran, saying, "Hurry...hurry back, there's good news."

It's like grabbing a handful of bones; they're really hard to chew.

Guiying was passively led along, asking, "What's going on? What good news?"

"Stop asking, hurry back, you'll find out soon enough, don't let someone else beat you to it."

Guiying pursed her lips and didn't speak, running stiffly. Her second cousin, not wanting her to go any faster, threw Guiying onto the ox's back, saying, "Guiying, you ride the ox back, I'll run behind you."

Guiying found it strange but didn't ask any further questions. Bad memories flooded back: after her father died, her mother remarried, taking her with her. Her grandmother and the others didn't want her, saying she was a jinx, that she caused her mother to be unable to have a younger brother and that she had even caused her father's death. Her mother's new husband also disliked her, always looking at her with lustful eyes, and her mother dared not intervene. Then one day, that same man urgently summoned her home, intending to take advantage of her. She fought back desperately, even kicking and injuring the man, before finally escaping.

She knew she had an aunt who had married far away, and every time she came home she would bring her delicious food and be very kind to her. This was the only person she could think of to rely on. So, with that kind of determination, she walked more than a hundred miles from an unfamiliar place to the village chief's house.

The village chief's family did feel sorry for their niece. After hearing about her plight, they went home and scolded their brothers, managing to earn a meager inheritance for their niece.

As her thoughts gradually returned, she realized that riding an ox was not as good as riding a horse, especially since the ox was not trained. As a result, Guiying was almost thrown off. She had no choice but to concentrate on lying on the ox and holding tightly to its neck with both hands.

My second cousin was driving the cow behind, and luckily it knew the way home, so we arrived in no time.

We've already arrived at a few nearby houses, and there are several girls standing in twos and threes in the courtyards.

Before his second cousin could even catch his breath, he immediately pulled Guiying into the house.

Several women were talking inside when the second cousin pulled Guiying towards Sister-in-law Niu, saying, "Aunt Niu, look at my sister, Guiying, she's very capable."

When Guiying saw so many people in the room, she immediately lowered her head, clamped her legs together, and couldn't move her hands and feet freely. She had deliberately worn old clothes for the convenience of herding cattle, which were not suitable for receiving guests at this moment.

The village chief's family said the same thing, "Guiying, quickly greet her, this is your Aunt Niu, she's a very nice person, you should go change your clothes to greet her."

Guiying's hands and feet were trembling, a mixture of fear and nervousness.

"Sigh." With that, she ran off.

When her second cousin saw her come out, he immediately followed her, asking, "What are you doing out here? Did they not choose you?"

Guiying was extremely puzzled, then blushed with anger and lost her temper for the first time, saying, "Why are you in such a hurry when people are talking about marriage?"

Now it was the second cousin's turn to be confused. "A marriage proposal? Wasn't this supposed to be a job posting? How did it turn into a marriage proposal? I'll go ask..."

Guiying quickly grabbed him, "Come back, it's nothing, I misheard."

"Oh, so you got selected? It includes room and board, and you get a dollar a month. It's pure profit."

"Don't ask anymore, my aunt told me to go change my clothes."

The second cousin looked at Guiying wearing an inappropriately tattered cotton-padded coat and scratched his head sheepishly, saying, "You wait here."

Guiying didn't know what her second cousin had rushed off to do again, and she didn't have time to care. She wanted to seize this opportunity, so she quickly went back to her room to change her clothes.

Guiying originally had nice clothes. Her father only had one daughter, and she was hardworking and capable. Therefore, every year he would buy cloth to make two new sets of clothes, two sets for summer and two sets for winter, which made her cousins ​​very envious.

Unfortunately, her father died later, and her mother remarried, leaving behind all the good things in the house. If it weren't for the village chief's family causing a scene at her parents' home, she wouldn't even have a change of clothes.

At the very bottom of the box, she found the last set of clothes her father had made for her. She held them to her heart with immense tenderness for a while, then quickly took off her tattered outer coat and put them on.

It was a pity it was a summer outfit, but thankfully it was long-sleeved and loose-fitting, so it would fit well as an outer layer. Guiying let her hair down again, re-braided it into a long braid, and then, with a determined heart, spat on a towel and carefully wiped the black ash off her face.

"Knock knock".

"Guiying," her second cousin called cautiously from the doorway. Guiying opened the door, and her second cousin slipped inside.

"How did you get in here?" Guiying asked anxiously. Her second cousin handed her a piece of red string. "Tie it up, it'll make you look brighter."

Guiying blushed and tied the red string in her hair, not knowing where he got it from.

Her second cousin looked around to make sure everything was alright, then pushed her and said, "Hurry up and go, don't let someone else get there first."

"Yes," Guiying replied and hurried into the village chief's house.

"I say, how could you come up with such a wicked idea? That man will have to..." Before she could finish speaking, someone tugged at her sleeve, and the woman stopped talking.

A group of people were warming themselves around the stove. Guiying changed her clothes and mustered up her courage to call out, "Auntie, Aunt Niu..." She called out to everyone in the circle.

Sister-in-law Niu then looked at her and saw that Guiying was wearing coarse cloth trousers, which were large and bulky. Her upper garment was still brand new, but it was too thin. It was obvious that it was a thin summer garment worn over a winter garment.

Although the clothes were new, the style was not nice. They were also a loose-fitting, long, slanted-front gown with yellow flowers printed on a blue background, which was somewhat colorful. The thick braid on her head was tied with a red string, but the hair was coarse and oily, and had not been washed for a long time.

Sister-in-law Niu dared not touch her, afraid of getting lice. But these external things were unimportant; what mattered was that Guiying was indeed quite beautiful. Unlike Qingru's delicate and charming beauty, she was more like a rough, long wildflower in the mountains, swaying in the wind, stubborn and strong, with particularly bright eyes. Sister-in-law Niu nodded repeatedly, "Hmm, not bad, she does have some beauty."

Guiying breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, and her smile became more natural. After hearing this, the village chief's wife also felt at ease. It was good that he was willing to praise her; there was still hope. So she said, "More than that! This child has suffered because of me. If he could be raised in the city, oh my, I'm afraid he would be even more beautiful. Besides, this child is honest and hardworking; he's a very capable worker."

Sister-in-law Niu squeezed her hands and found that Guiying had a thin callus on her palm. "She looks like someone who works, but this yarn factory produces cloth. Her hands can't be too rough. What if she gets hurt? She needs to take care of them."

The village chief's wife became anxious. "We never expected this, sister, you have to think of a way for your niece." What girl in this village doesn't work? And if she didn't work, she wouldn't need to go out to work. Sister-in-law Niu's words made everyone even more anxious.

Seeing everyone praising her again, Sister-in-law Niu's vanity was greatly satisfied. Then she changed her tone and said, "Don't worry, I didn't say I didn't want to. There are still plenty of jobs that do manual labor. Not everyone has to handle cloth. If you go, they certainly won't ask you to start working right away. Just start working and see who does well."

In reality, Sister-in-law Niu had never been to the textile factory; she was just making things up. But the others hadn't been either, so they readily believed what Sister-in-law Niu said, and hurriedly told their children to work hard.

Seeing that it was getting late, Sister-in-law Niu didn't dare to delay any longer. Looking at the many people standing in the house and yard, she asked, "Are you all here? If you're all here, I'll take you with me. You won't be able to wait for me if you're late."

"They're all here, they're all here, you'd better get back to work," the village chief replied, his heart also filled with hope.

Sister-in-law Niu was fawned over by the crowd, who led a large group of people toward her.

During this time, many people tried their best to flatter Sister Niu in order to get their children selected, and some even gave her some things, such as dried sweet potatoes, which were among the few snacks available in winter.

The village chief's family lagged behind, leaving Guiying at the back of the line. Guiying was a little confused, "What's wrong, Auntie? I'm afraid I won't be able to keep up."

The village chief looked around and whispered, "Don't worry, I gave that woman a silver dollar. I'm not afraid she won't choose you."

Guiying felt a surge of emotion, and tears welled up in her eyes. The village chief's wife quickly stopped her, saying, "Why are you crying? Don't let people look down on you. Come here, I have something to say to you."

Guiying nodded and followed the village chief's family to the side, while her second cousin watched the wind from outside the woods.

The village chief's son rummaged in his pocket and finally pulled out a cloth bag, folded three times inside and out. He opened each layer and found ten silver dollars inside. He stuffed the warm package into Guiying's arms. "This is what you left for me. Alas, I'm useless. I can't get the rest back. Take these few. This is what you need to make a living. Don't be afraid when you go to the city. We'll stand tall and earn our own living with our own hands. We won't be any worse off than others. You don't have to keep your head down all the time, okay!"

Guiying finally couldn't hold back her tears. She knew how greedy her grandmother and uncle were. When they kicked her and her mother out, they left them practically penniless. Her aunt was able to get ten silver dollars when she returned, which meant she had practically severed all ties with her family. Her own mother hadn't done that, but her aunt had. How could she ever repay them?

"Aunt!" Guiying cried out, clinging tightly to the village chief's wife. The village chief's wife was also in tears. "Guying, your aunt is just too poor. Otherwise, I would have taken care of you. But I'm not alone. I still have a family... Fortunately, the world is different now. Women can go out to work. I've inquired carefully. The yarn factory is full of female workers. Don't worry, you have fellow villagers to keep you company. There's hope for the future, and you have some income. It's better than toiling in the fields. When you go there, don't argue with people. Try to back down if you can, and be tolerant. If you really encounter injustice, just... just come back. There will always be food for you."

Guiying sobbed uncontrollably and could only nod. The village chief's family continued, "Your father has no sons, you are his only heir. You must make yourself proud and stand on your own two feet, so that your grandmother and the others will regret abandoning you, their precious daughter."

Guiying nodded, her eyes brimming with tears as she looked at the village chief's family. The village chief's family member was also in tears. "It's been five years since you left. You must be strong. Don't cry, never cry. You must live on with a smile."

Guiying wiped away her tears, forcing them not to fall. "Don't cry, I won't cry. I want to live with a smile forever."

The village chief added, "Go to the city to work. After you sign the contract, you'll receive twenty silver dollars. Keep it; you don't need to give it to me."

Guiying agreed.

After thinking it over, the village chief's family member had nothing more to say, so they hurriedly urged everyone, "Let's go quickly, don't fall behind."

With red eyes, Guiying stubbornly refused to let her tears fall, kowtowed three times to her aunt, and walked forward.

Guiying walked briskly, her second cousin escorting her, not allowing herself to look back, and her second cousin could hardly keep up.

Before entering the courtyard, Guiying finally couldn't help but look back. She saw that the village chief's family was still standing in the same place, but the figure that had just been holding her was now a tiny black shadow, getting further and further away from her. Guiying felt a surge of emotion and vowed to make something of herself to repay the kindness of those who had been good to her.