vrcanaries Chapter 184 Lü Tong's Past
Chapter 184 Lü Tong's Past
Time flies, and two days have passed in the blink of an eye.
The maid also led Lü Tong to the Xiao family.
"Greetings, benefactor." Lü Tong bowed gracefully to Lin Qin.
Xiao Siyue watched Lü Tong from the side. Lü Tong's face was still somewhat pale, and she had a white cloth tied around her head, but she had changed into a light pink dress.
"Miss Lü, how are you feeling now? Does your head still hurt?" Lin Qin quickly pulled Lü Tong down to sit and asked with concern.
"Thank you for your concern, I'm fine now." Lu Tong's voice was still soft and weak, which Lin Qin liked very much.
Lin Qin herself is a very gentle woman, so she has a good impression of the equally gentle Lü Tong. In addition, Lü Tong's pitiful state makes Lin Qin feel more affection for her.
"Don't call me your benefactor, just call me Aunt Lin." The constant use of "benefactor" made Lin Qin feel a little embarrassed.
Lu Tong's body stiffened, but she still managed to call out, "Aunt Lin."
"Okay, then I'll call you Xiaotong." Lin Qin said with a smile and a gentle tone.
"What are Xiaotong's plans for the future?" Lin Qin asked cautiously. She had heard from those people that Lü Tong was used by her family to pay off debts, and now that the debts had been cleared, she wondered if she had any plans to go home.
The smile that had been on Lü Tong's face just moments before vanished instantly when she was asked about it.
Seeing this, Lin Qin felt a pang of regret; why had she been so talkative?
Just as Lin Qin was about to say something to comfort Lü Tong, she heard Lü Tong speak.
"Aunt Lin, I... can I stay here? I can stay as a maid. I can do anything, dirty or hard work." Lü Tong's voice was very excited.
"This..." Lin Qin didn't know what to do for a moment. She liked this girl very much, but it was not good to let her be a maid. But if she didn't become a maid, what status would she have to stay?
Lin Qin never considered adopting Lü Tong as her goddaughter. She already had her own son and daughter and never thought about adopting another child. Besides, it would be unfair to her own children, and she didn't want to use her excess maternal love on someone else.
Besides, even if she really did adopt a goddaughter, it wouldn't be fair to Lü Tong. She wouldn't be able to treat everyone equally, and who knows what might happen in the long run.
So Lin Qin really didn't know what to do for a moment.
Lu Tong noticed the difficulty and hesitation on Lin Qin's face, and a hint of disappointment appeared on her own face.
"Xiaotong, do you know that being a maid isn't so good? You have no freedom, and you have to sign a contract of servitude. That's not good for you."
“We’ve already paid off your family’s debts, and those people won’t bother you anymore. Do you want to go home?” Lin Qin asked tentatively. If Lü Tong wanted to go home, they would give her some additional compensation.
Just after Lin Qin finished speaking, Lü Tong suddenly stood up from her chair and knelt down on the ground.
This action startled everyone in the room.
Xiao Siyue was also startled; she was still thinking about how to deal with Lü Tong.
"Aunt Lin, please don't send me home. I can go anywhere, but please don't send me home. That's not my home." Lü Tong's voice choked with sobs, tears streaming down her face, her words filled with pleading.
"Xiaotong, get up first. Let's sit down and talk about it." Lin Qin quickly got up and tried to help her up, but whether it was because Lin Qin was too weak or something else, she couldn't move the extremely thin-looking Lü Tong.
Finally, it was with the help of Huiyan, who was standing to the side, that they managed to pull the person up.
After Lü Tong sat down, she tearfully explained why she didn't want to go back.
Lü Tong's family is from a small mountain village in Qianyuan County. Besides herself, she has an older brother, a younger brother, and her parents.
Logically speaking, if a family only has one daughter, even if she is not favored, she shouldn't be too bad off.
But who would have thought that the elderly couple in the Lü family would favor sons over daughters? Well, it's not quite right to say they favor sons over daughters; the elderly couple only liked their youngest son.
They spoiled their youngest son so much that he became lawless and ignorant.
Lu Tong and her brother did almost all the housework together, but the best food was always for the younger brother.
Under such exploitation, Lü Tong's brother grew up, became independent, and used methods to separate himself from the family, but he left with nothing.
In this way, only Lü Tong in the family was being exploited.
However, some time ago, Lü Tong's good-for-nothing younger brother got into trouble. He beat up the son of the landlord in their village, and the landlord came to their door, wanting to break Lü Tong's brother's leg in revenge. But Lü's parents were indignant; he was their lifeblood.
Finally, after the elderly couple begged on their knees, the landlord's family agreed to compensate the Lü family, but the first demand was fifty taels of silver. Where would an ordinary farming family like theirs get so much money?
The elderly couple had no choice but to go to their eldest son, but he had already separated from them and was unwilling to do so. Even if he were willing, he wouldn't have that much money.
Finally, someone in the village suggested that they could borrow money, but the interest rate was too high.
At first, the two were unwilling, but later the landlord's family sent someone to urge them, so the old couple gritted their teeth and went to borrow money.
The landlord's matter was settled, but the borrowed money was not so easy to repay.
When the debt collectors arrived, the elderly couple had no idea that in just one month, their debt of fifty taels of silver had ballooned to one hundred taels.
Upon hearing such a number, the elderly couple nearly fainted and burst into tears.
However, these people were even more troublesome than the landlord's family; they were truly capable of killing. Right in front of them, they chopped off Lü Tong's younger brother's finger.
This terrified the elderly couple, who knelt down and begged for mercy.
Lu Tong, who was originally inside the house, did not intend to pay attention to it, but when she saw that her younger brother's fingers had been chopped off, she softened and ran out.
That's when she went out, and those people took a liking to her.
Although Lü Tong was a peasant girl and ate poorly, making her thin and weak, she was very beautiful.
Those people immediately had evil intentions and told the old couple that as long as they gave their daughter to them, the money would be offset.
The elderly couple were initially reluctant, but upon hearing their son's cries, they agreed.
When Lü Tong heard that her parents had agreed, she begged them to change their minds, but no matter how much she pleaded, her parents still gave her to those people.
At this moment, Lü Tong finally gave up.
However, this matter did not end there. Lü Tong was taken away, but the people who wrote the IOUs did not return them to the Lü family.
In the end, the Lü family could only lose both their people and their wealth.