Chapter 2The Price of a Daughter

The women in the community all said that since my mom's belly was pointy and she craved sour food, it must be a boy.

My dad kept saying a boy or a girl was the same to him, but at dinner, he told my mom: "John invited me to go work in Texas next year. He says there are more opportunities there."

"I'll work for a few years, save some money, and we'll build a nice two-story house. Otherwise, he won't be able to find a wife in the future."

My grandma brought over two laying hens and instructed me:

"Lily, the eggs are for the little brother in Mommy's tummy. You can't be greedy, understand?"

The gossiping women in the neighborhood asked me: "Lily, do you want a little brother or a little sister?"

I answered without hesitation: "A little brother!"

The women laughed out loud: "If you have a little brother, your parents won't love you anymore."

I got anxious: "No way! I'll always be Mommy and Daddy's precious."

The women laughed even louder, completely oblivious to how terrifying those words were for a four or five-year-old child.

The day came, and my mom went into labor.

She was in pain all day without giving birth. Before dawn the next day, my grandma went to the local butcher and bought a large piece of fatty pork and a huge pork bone.

By the time she returned with the meat.

My mom had given birth. It was a little sister!

My grandma stood in the yard holding that bag of meat. The midwife called out to her: "Come in and see your granddaughter, she's so fair and chubby!"

"I'm not looking. My oldest's boys are still waiting for me to make breakfast!"

She left the bone behind and took all the meat with her.

Times were hard then, meat was scarce. Every household loved fatty meat, so bones were sold cheap.

I went into the room to see my sister.

She was wrinkled, her face red like a little old man, completely different from the "fair and chubby" the midwife described.

My mom lay weakly on the bed, staring at the thatched roof, tears streaming from the corners of her eyes.

My dad smoked his cigarette: "Don't cry, since she's here, she's here."

My mom gave birth right during the autumn harvest.

My grandparents were busy at my uncle's farm, and my dad was busy harvesting our crops too.

My mom stayed in bed for three days before getting up to cook for us.

Because of this, she developed a chronic condition; her whole body would ache whenever it rained.

That year during Thanksgiving, my two aunts from the city also came back for dinner.

My aunt was playing cards with them while my sister cried from hunger.

My mom was in the smoky kitchen preparing the Thanksgiving dinner with my grandma.

After a busy afternoon, it was finally ready.

My mom found a moment to go nurse my sister. When she finished, she found there was no seat for her at the table.

My dad and my older cousin were about to get up, but my grandma stopped them: "Why make it so complicated? We'll just eat in the kitchen."