Zhao Aidi lived in a village where boys were valued far more than girls.
Ever since she was little, the words she heard most often were "money-losing goods."
Whether it was her grandmother or her mother, whenever they were unhappy, they would grab her by the ear and call her "money-losing goods" over and over.
Apparently, her mother had already given birth to six children before having her.
The first five had all been girls, but apart from the family's only older brother, she had never seen any of those five older sisters.
She had heard that her grandmother had sold them all before she was born.
Not long after she was born, her grandmother saw that she was another piece of "money-losing goods" and planned to sell her too.
But then her grandmother went to the village entrance to chat with her old friends, and they brought up sending girls to work in the city so they could earn money to buy homes for their brothers.
Her grandmother slapped her thigh, finally remembering that she needed to save money for her eldest grandson to marry a wife someday.
Only then was Zhao Aidi allowed to stay.
All the household chores had been handed over to her since she was three.
She had thought her whole life would pass like that, but when she reached the age to start primary school, a village official came to their house.
The official argued her case with her parents, telling them that the country now enforced nine years of compulsory education, and all children had to attend school.
At first, her parents refused to listen to any of the official's advice, until the official said that children with good grades could receive scholarships from the school.
Only after hearing that studying could bring