576 Come Out with Me
The inside of the woodshed was a completely different world from the outside. Not only were there rats, but there were also snakes and poisonous insects. It was very dark all year round and even when the kerosene lamps were lit, it was still very dim.
Qiao Yu sat on the ground with listless eyes. This woodshed which did not see daylight was like her life, dark and hopeless.
Liu Ying slowly opened the door of the woodshed and a ray of sunlight shone on Qiao Yu. Qiao Yu remained indifferent. She knew that what awaited her was not a good life, but the beginning of a life of pain.
“Qiao Yu, Eldest Sister-in-law will bring you to take a bath and eat something. Come with me.” Liu Ying reached out to Qiao Yu.
Qiao Yu remained unmoved. She knew that nothing good would happen if she was brought out. Nothing good ever happened to her in this house.
Everyone had disliked her since she was young. She had five elder brothers at home and by right, she should have been the most pampered child. However, the situation was the exact opposite.
She had been treated like a slave in the family since she was young. It was even too mild to describe her as a slave.
She could only wear her brothers’ castaway clothes, and had never had any new clothes in her life. She had to use her brothers’ old clothes to make new ones for herself.
Among the six children in the family, only her eldest and second brother had gone to school. The fifth son, Qiao Gang, was currently in school. Even if she wanted to study, she would not get the chance.
She still remembered that there was a famine one year and there was no food at home at all. All the food they had was given to the boys first. By the time it got to her mother, Shen Ge, and her, everything in the bowls had been licked so cleanly that the bowls looked cleaner than after they were washed.
Qiao Yu could only eat tree bark and the cores from the corn stalks to fill her stomach. After eating these things, she would be so constipated that she could not go to the toilet and her stomach would hurt terribly.
“Qiao Yu? Qiao Yu, what’s wrong?” Liu Ying asked fearfully.
Qiao Yu’s lips were dry and cracked. She slowly raised her head and said, “I’m not going…”
“Qiao Yu, listen to Eldest Sister-in-law’s advice. Don’t torture yourself like this. Your mother will feel sad if she sees you like this,” Liu Ying said as she could not bear to see the girl like this.
“My mother? Didn’t my father hit my mother?” Qiao Yu asked.
Only at the mention of Shen Ge did Qiao Yu look more energized and her eyes seemed to light up.
During those difficult days, only Shen Ge was by her side, saving up her own rations for her.
“No, your mother wanted to argue with your father yesterday and I stopped her. Otherwise, your mother would definitely have been beaten up by your father,” Liu Ying said.
Actually, Shen Ge did not argue with Qiao Zhuang at all. She also did not know how to help Qiao Yu escape her fate of marrying into the Guo family.
“Does my mother ask about me?” Qiao Yu said as she stood up with difficulty, holding on to the wall.
“Well… of course! Your mother is especially worried about you and is always thinking about your health,” Liu Ying said with a smile.
Worried? If she was worried, why did she not send her any food for so many days and did not sneak out to talk to her at night.
“You must be lying to me! If she cares about me, why doesn’t she come to see me!” Qiao Yu asked sadly.
“Because… because your mother is also locked up. She can’t come out now and can’t come and see you,” Liu Ying said.
Qiao Yu did not believe these words at all. After living in this family for so long, she had long known about Qiao Zhuang’s tricks. It was all a lie to talk about locking people up. The real thing he did was to punch them hard.
Wang Qin waited outside anxiously. As time passed, she still did not see any no movement in the woodshed at all. The matchmaker would leave in a while!
Unable to wait any longer, Wang Qin rushed into the woodshed and said, “Qiao Yu, come with me quickly!”
Qiao Yu looked at Wang Qin in fear and gradually crawled towards the corner.
Wang Qin pressed on and slowly approached Qiao Yu. “Your mother is already locked up in the storeroom by our father. If you don’t go out today, your mother will definitely be beaten to death by our father.”
Hearing this, Qiao Yu suddenly covered her face and sobbed. She had no way out now. Why was her life so hard!
“Qiao Yu, Second Sister-in-law also knows that it’s difficult for you, but think about it. It’s not as if there’s nothing to gain from the Guo family. They are a big family with so much money and assets. Won’t it all be yours when the time comes?” Wang Qin said agitatedly.
Liu Ying stood at the side and listened quietly. If she did not know that the person getting married was Qiao Yu, she would have thought that Wang Qin was the one eyeing the Guo family’s assets!
