Chapter 383: Relics of the Times
“I say, Lai Di…” He slowly crouched down, his stench filling the air as he leaned close to me. “I’ve always said you were a real beauty since you were little. Who’d have thought you’d still be unwanted at thirty-five?”
“What…?”
“Your mother told me everything. She said there’s something wrong with your head.” He grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth and blasting me with a truly foul breath. “If you behave yourself, I won’t hit you. But if you don’t, I’ll come back every single day until I beat you into submission.”
“Beat… me into submission…?”
I couldn’t believe something like this could happen in modern society. In my ten years as a lawyer, I’d faced threats and even been placed under house arrest, but no one had ever dared lay hands on me so blatantly.
“Are you out of your mind…?” I said, clutching my stomach. “There’s nothing wrong with my head… Whatever money you gave my family, let me go, and I’ll pay you back double. You won’t lose a single cent…”
“Pay me back?” Butcher Ma reached out a hand and lifted my chin in a lewd gesture. “You’re my woman now. We’re husband and wife. Your money is my money. What’s there to pay back?”
“Don’t you have any common sense…?” I tried to keep my voice from trembling. “A marital relationship requires a marriage certificate to be valid! You conducted some transaction and then dragged me here against my will. That’s practically human trafficking—it’s a serious crime!”
Butcher Ma fell silent for a moment, then twisted his face into an ugly grin.
“You really are sick in the head,” he sneered. “I found a matchmaker, I paid the bride price to your old man. The matchmaker and your old man both agreed. Why shouldn’t you? Aren’t you supposed to be an educated woman who went to university? Haven’t you heard of ‘Parents’ command, matchmaker’s word’?”
“‘Parents’ command, matchmaker’s word’…”
This was absurd. What year was it now?
Had I traveled back to ancient times?
I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. The times had moved too fast.
It had created a schism between generations. Those who could board the train of progress were getting better and better, while those left behind remained stuck in the past.
I remembered how, as a child, even making a phone call meant going to the village’s only commune. But as an adult, a phone the size of my palm could sweep away every obstacle.
And now, in the same province, people could hear cheap marketing slogans like “Love her? Buy her the first cup of milk tea this autumn” and also hear bizarre ancient concepts like “Parents’ command, matchmaker’s word.”
All I could say was that times had changed too fast. Some people refused to keep up and were abandoned in dark corners.
“Bottom line: you took my money… so you’re my woman for life.” He pinched my cheek. “In this village, a sweet sixteen- or seventeen-year-old girl is worth a hundred thousand. Don’t push your luck.”
To be honest, I was terrified.
From his perspective, there was no room for compromise.
If he was the village’s most notorious thug, and someone actually willingly offered their daughter into his tiger’s den, he wouldn’t have remained a bachelor past fifty.
Now he’d “bought” me and didn’t want a refund.
So how was I supposed to escape?
This man was far stronger than me. The only good news right now was that he hadn’t raped me—
But that was only a matter of time.
If he was smart enough to have a recording device on him, what I said next was critical.
“I absolutely do not consent…” I gritted my teeth and declared. “What you’re doing is illegal. I have many friends in Chengdu. As soon as they realize I haven’t returned, they’ll call the police. You’ll go to prison.”
“How sick can you get…” A look of contempt slowly crept into Butcher Ma’s eyes. “I’ll say it one more time: we’re husband and wife. You’re my woman. Understand? Who ever went to prison for marrying a wife?!”
“What husband and wife?!” I couldn’t hold it in anymore. “Can’t you understand what I’m saying? I don’t want this! I don’t want it! There’s nothing wrong with my head—I just don’t want to get married in this village. Is not wanting to get married a disease?!”
Butcher Ma sighed. The stench from his mouth was truly unbearable. “You don’t want to marry in the village, so you want to go to the city? What’s so great about the city? Are the men there reliable? I hear you’re some kind of lawsuit filer in the city. Sounds miserable. From now on, you don’t have to file lawsuits anymore, see? We’ll give you free pork at home. Just give birth to babies for my Ma family. I promise I won’t find another woman.”
Absurd. Absolutely absurd!
What was that just now?
A confession? A declaration of love?
I’ll give you pork, and you give me babies.
What kind of twisted person could say something like that?
He seemed insane.
If I kept resisting, things might get worse. I’d already made my refusal clear earlier. Maybe I should agree for now and ensure my own safety.
“But… who locks up a wife like this?” I said, my voice trembling. “Let’s talk outside. As long as you don’t keep me locked in here, I’ll agree to anything. Okay?”
I thought we might finally have a normal conversation, but to my surprise, as soon as I finished, another slap landed on my face.
*Smack!*
His hand felt greasy, like it was covered in lard—fishy and sticky.
“You think I’m stupid? Every woman bought from the city says the same thing. You think I’d fall for that?!” Butcher Ma cursed. “Just wait. I’ll starve you for five days. Then you’ll beg to be my wife.”
What…?
He stood up to leave, but I stopped him.
“Hey! If you don’t give me food or water in this weather, I won’t last three days, let alone five. I’ll die.” I tried to reason from his perspective. “You want me to be your wife, so you can’t let me die, right? If I die, you’ve wasted your hundred thousand.”
He snorted coldly. “Five days. Even a pig wouldn’t starve. You think you can starve to death?”
“I’m a human, not an animal.” Trembling all over, I covered my face and said to him, “At least give me some water. I haven’t had anything to drink in a long time.”
He thought for a moment, then shoved me hard to the ground, walked out, and locked the door again.
I felt the situation was dangerous. This man thought I was a pig.
He might actually let me starve to death here.
What I hadn’t expected was that, a few minutes later, a bottle of water was thrown in through the window in the wall, along with a bag of bread that had one day left before its expiration.
I carefully examined the bottle cap and the bread wrapper. Neither had been opened. They should be safe.
If Butcher Ma was meticulous enough to drug the water and food, I’d just have to accept my fate.
I downed the water and bread, feeling a bit better. But how was I supposed to get out of this tiny room, maybe six square meters at most?
How long would I be trapped here?
Oh… Xiao Sun?
I suddenly thought of Xiao Sun. It was already evening. He should have realized I was missing by morning. Would he understand that I was in danger?
No… that was hard to say.
To him, this was my hometown.
There was no way he could deduce that my own parents had sold me to a butcher.
He would never imagine that Zhang Chenze, who charged a minimum retainer of twenty thousand yuan per case in Chengdu, had been sold off for a hundred thousand.