Third Grandma thought of Gu Daya running away with Qi Panzi, and felt so stifled that she cried. Back when Daya ran away, she didn’t dare tell Dashan and the old man the truth. Instead, she said Ms. Pan wanted to sell Daya off and she didn’t want to be sold, but there was a peddler who was decent and took a fancy to Daya. Daya was also willing to go with him, so she decided on her behalf to let Daya follow the peddler back to his hometown to marry. If she hadn’t said so, everyone within ten miles and eight villages would know Gu Daya eloped with Qi Panzi! If Gu Daya ever came back, she wouldn’t even be able to enter the village. She would be cursed to death. Even though she had spread the word that she had arranged for Gu Daya and Qi Panzi, people still gossiped about Gu Daya behind her back, calling her shameless, not preserving the dignity of womanhood, and running off with a peddler. How could a good girl like Daya end up in such a plight without making Third Grandma feel stifled? She also blamed herself. If she had been firmer back then and adopted Dashan and Daya over, they wouldn’t have suffered for most of their lives. "I let your mother down," cried Third Grandma. "She entrusted you to us on her deathbed, but we failed to take good care of you siblings." Gu Daya quickly said, "Third Aunt, don’t say that. It was my fault for not listening and insisting on running away with Qi Panzi." Third Grandma had a hard life for being unable to bear children, enduring the scorn of the villagers. She wanted to help the siblings, but as a childless widow without an influential son and with Third Grandpa often working odd jobs away from home, she couldn’t rally the villagers to help. Seeing Third Grandma crying so hard, Qi Panzi quickly knelt down and said, "Third Aunt, please, don’t be angry. It’s the fault of your son-in-law." "Ptah, don’t mention son-in-law. First, clear up what happened back then. If you can’t explain clearly, this old woman dares not accept you as her nephew-in-law!" Third Grandma felt Qi Panzi got Daya as a wife for nothing, and it made her suffer so much. She felt like tearing Qi Panzi apart. Gu Jin’an also said with a smile, "Uncle, since Third Grandma wants to know, tell us what happened back then." It had to be discussed, to weigh right and wrong, so they could decide how to deal with his family. His own family had just started to do well, still struggling, and hadn’t even built their house yet. They didn’t want to waste their hard-earned money on an ungrateful uncle. Hearing this, Qi Panzi had no choice but to say, "I... I’ll tell." This matter is related to that marriage certificate. At that time, after Qi Panzi brought Gu Daya back to Mingshan County, he didn’t dare to take her to the village, but had her stay in the county first. Then he found a Gu-named farm family on the outskirts of the county and gave them silver, asking them to say Gu Daya was their daughter. After settling Gu Daya, he returned to Daaozi Village in Huaizi Town and told his parents that he knew a girl in the county and asked them to propose marriage. Qi Panzi also had bad luck. His family was large with six sons, and he was the fourth, the one neither favored by father nor loved by mother. It was also because there was no way forward at home that he left to sell goods from Mingshan County in Gaoshui County, becoming a peddler. When Qi Panzi’s mother heard this, she was unhappy, complaining that Qi Panzi found a wife without consulting her; but Qi Panzi’s father was overjoyed, saying, "A girl from the county? Huh, such a marriage can be made." Seeing that the head of the family agreed, Qi Panzi’s mother didn’t stop him and just said with a dark face, "It’s fine if we go there to propose, but the family can’t afford the dowry." Qi Panzi, becoming a peddler, must have made quite a bit of money; his mother wanted to pinch money from him. Qi Panzi agreed, saying as long as his parents would propose the marriage, he would pay for the bride price and the banquet, and even give back three taels of silver to his family. Northwestern families were all poor, and three taels of silver could secure a wife, so Qi Panzi’s mother finally smiled. Because it was his parents who proposed, and Gu Daya had those fake parents from the Gu family, the marriage certificate was smoothly obtained. After Qi Panzi and Gu Daya got married, they had two years of comfortable life, but when Gu Daya was pregnant with Qi Kangping, the matter of her fake parents came to light. When Qi Panzi’s parents learned they were not Gu Daya’s real parents and that she had eloped with Qi Panzi, they made a huge fuss. Qi Panzi’s mother despised Gu Daya for bringing shame, and Qi Panzi’s father dismissed her for not being a girl from the county town, unable to bring benefits to their family; with many sons between them, they simply decided to kick Qi Panzi and his wife out of the house and took many of their secretly stashed belongings. So Qi Panzi and Gu Daya were driven out like that. Gu Daya, with a belly big with child, for the sake of survival, had no choice but to take her elder son and join Qi Panzi in work. But as misfortune would have it, shortly after the birth of Qi Kangping, their elder son caught a cold. The couple went to beg Qi Panzi’s parents, pleading for some silver to save their grandson. Qi Panzi’s parents had many sons and even more grandsons, so they didn’t miss one; seeing that the child had caught a chill and fearing contagion, they took a broom to beat them, wanting to drive them away. When beating them didn’t work, Qi Panzi’s mother went as far as to dump a bucket of cold water on Gu Daya. Soaked, Gu Daya, holding the less than three months old Qi Kangping, shivered their way back home. That night, both mother and child came down with high fevers. Crying breathlessly, Qi Panzi said, "It’s my fault, I couldn’t provide a good life for Daya and the children." Nor could he save Baodan. Baodan was only two years old and after such an ordeal, he died within a few days. When Baodan passed away, Qi Panzi was busy taking care of Daya and Kangping. By the time he finished preparing the medicine and went to give it to Baodan... the child was already stiff. He held Baodan in his arms and cried silently for a long time. The next day, he had to hide the truth from Daya; it wasn’t until a few days later, after Daya and Kangping’s fever subsided, that he dared to tell her about Baodan’s untimely death. Daya cried until she fainted and upon waking, said, "Let’s sell ourselves. With no land, no home, the children sick, and Baodan needing burial... He was unfortunate to be born into our family, never having a good life. Now that he’s gone, I must give him a proper funeral, even if it kills me." Qi Panzi also felt he had wronged Baodan, and the couple went to a broker to sell themselves. But with a three-month-old child, most households were not interested; they ended up being sold cheaply as a whole family. After burying Baodan, they took his frequently worn little clothes and went to their new master’s house, where they began a life of servitude, no longer masters of their own fate. Upon hearing the circumstances of their indenture, Third Grandma was so furious she almost fainted, beating Qi Panzi and cursing, "Beasts, your whole family are beasts, you killed Baodan alive!" Gu Jinli was also furiously angry; he wished he could rush to Qi Panzi’s family home and beat his parents to death, for they weren’t human; that was their own flesh and blood. Gu Dashan was also infuriated, and he, who rarely cursed, vehemently reprimanded Qi Panzi’s parents. Seizing the opportunity, Gu Jin’an asked for the names of Qi Panzi’s parents, secretly noting down these two old goods’ names, thinking if he ever came across these bastards, he would definitely give them a harsh lesson.