Bought Daughter

By Judy Lussie

When she was a child, Mei-Ling's poverty- stricken father sold her to a wealthy family. Despite her status as a Bought Daughter, she was determined to go to America. When the Chinese missionary Ah Pu proposed marriage and travel to the New World, she jumped at the chance, even though she did not believe in his God. Could a Christian and an atheist succeed in marriage? Would her past forever haunt her? Could her powers affect their family's fate?

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Dec 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9780979992971

Judy Lussie

Judy Lussie began writing fiction after her retirement as the Technical Information Department Head from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). Her love of reading and church activities led to her being asked to write devotionals for These Days Magazine. Originally from Chicago, Judy lived in Idaho for thirty years, with a two-year-stint in Japan, and relocated to California to work at the LLNL.

Book preview

Chapter One

Guangdong Province, China

Wong Kee Hong Village

1913

Mei-Ling crept along the bushes edging the tributary of the Longhe River in Guangdong. It was deep in the night, but the moon illuminated the landscape like a spotlight. Luxuriating in the fragrance of Night Jasmine flowers, she hoped no one had seen her leave the house. She still felt the welts on her body for her earlier disobedience. She heard rustling in the bushes. She thought at first it was the wind. Then she heard a loud whisper, Mei-Ling. Over here.

Startled, she tripped on a stone and almost fell into his arms. Elder Brother Ah Pu had come as he promised. Ah Pu, the Chinese man from America whom people in her village referred to as the Jesus-man. She didn’t believe in the Jesus stories he told to the villagers, but there was something about him that attracted her. He was a tall handsome man with eyes that twinkled when he smiled. His style of clothes was foreign—symbolic of America. She desperately wanted to go to America.

Not only could Ah Pu speak the local Chinese dialect and the language of the North, but also English. She never knew anyone who spoke English. At first, he made her giggle. English sounded so funny--like a yapping dog. He was a few years her senior and called her Mei-Ling my child, even though at fourteen she was no longer a child. Not anymore.

They walked along the river, hidden from the Manor by tall reeds. I brought you the children’s stories as I promised, Elder Brother Ah Pu said, as he handed her a book of papers. Please study them. Remember how we discussed your discipleship. You would make a wonderful Sunday school teacher. You have a way with the village children. And you can read and write.

Mei-Ling took the papers. Tell me about America, Elder Brother Ah Pu. She looked up at his handsome face. He wore his hair in an American style, cut short without a long braid. He gazed into her eyes as he spoke, making her feel like she was the only person in existence.

America is the land of the free, he said as they sat on a large rock. People do not have to kowtow to Manchus. Men are elected by the people to run the country. He picked up a stone and skipped it onto the surface of the river, watching the concentric ripples. Even though it is called the Gold Mountain, the hills are still rock and dirt like the rest of the world. I was told the gold hides inside the mountain, but I never saw the precious gleaming metal.

Mei-Ling liked to listen to his stories about America as much as the villagers enjoyed hearing his stories about Jesus. When she slept at night, she dreamed about going to America and finding gold in the mountains. I wish I was born a boy, she said to Ah Pu. Girls are worthless.

But without girls, there would be no boys, he teased. He touched her hand. Besides, girls are much prettier than boys.

The tingle in her hand traveled all the way to her heart. No one had ever touched her so tenderly. She looked into his eyes and wished…she didn’t know what she wished. This was all such a new experience.

She blinked her eyes and shook her head. Come back down to earth. You have a plan in mind.

I wish I could go to America, she said as she raised her head and looked to the stars.

Maybe you will, someday. Your family is wealthy and can afford to travel anywhere.

She gulped and kicked a few pebbles with her shoe. He does not know. She looked down at her large feet. They were not lotus blossoms, which would have been a clue that she was not really a daughter of nobility. If I don’t correct him; it wouldn’t really be a lie, would it?

She was glad to have big feet instead of bound feet like the rich nobility. That was one advantage of being the family servant instead of a real daughter. She remembered hearing the screams of each daughter when her feet and toes were bent into a smaller size to fit into the beautiful, embroidered shoes. I still had to launder the bloody foul-smelling bandages, but that was better than the tortuous procedure to produce lotus blossom feet. She shook the memory out of her mind.

I have to return to the house before I am missed. Will I see you again tomorrow night? Mei-Ling asked.

Of course. I will also speak in town tomorrow. Will you be there to hear me?

"Yes. I will be there. I am sure the whole village will attend. They like to hear you tell your stories about Jesus.

"

Chapter 2

Ah Pu watched Mei-Ling disappear into the quiet spring night. She was an exquisite little creature. Gentle as a deer he once fed in Anhwei Province, yet there was wildness about her that he admired. She was a delightful child with round brown eyes that looked like she was searching for something. He wished he could take her back to America with him.

He had returned to Guangdong with a missionary team which paid his transportation to China so he wouldn’t have to travel in the ship’s hold. Remembering the first time he sailed to the Americas made him wince. He was twenty-four at that time and naive to the ways of the world. Since third class was cheaper, he sailed third class. It was dirty, reeked of human bodies and he swore he would never travel third class again.

On his second trip, his father expected him to return with riches from the Gold Mountain and marry the woman he was betrothed to as a child. The riches he returned with were the pay from working on the railroads. He was lucky to escape with his life. His two traveling companions were not as fortunate. He buried both of them in America.

When he got involved with the missionaries in America, he was convinced God saved him. One white missionary friend directed him to a post office in town where he could write letters to his dead companions’ families. He hoped those families were able to pay someone in China who could read.

He and the missionary had many discussions about God. Ah Pu eventually became a Christian who believed God saved him to return to China and spread the word of God to the Chinese people.

The next morning, he awoke to sunshine slicing through the slats on the roof of his father’s house. He slept on the opposite side of the room to avoid getting wet in case it rained. The loft was comfortable enough, but primitive compared to the dormer rooms where he slept in in America. He stretched as he lay on the hay stuffed mattress and didn’t want to get up. As a dutiful son, he was obligated to assist in his father’s mercantile store, which was in front of the house separated by a courtyard. He dressed, then climbed down from the loft—the place was just as he remembered it—the rickety wooden bridge separating the residence from the store. His father planned to build an addition—an apartment for him and his future family.

He entered the main house and found his mother had breakfast ready for him. The fragrant rice porridge with bits of meat and vegetables smelled like heaven in a bowl. "Thank you, Mama," he said.

She huffed, then hid her smile behind her hand. No thank you necessary. This is my duty as a mother.

He knew she was happy to have him home. Chinese affection was always connected with food. He ate heartily and asked for a second helping, which pleased his mother even more.

He walked across the courtyard into the store, put on an apron and greeted his father with a bow.

I see you finally decided to get up, his father said, stocking the shelves with cans of preserved vegetables.

Traveling to other countries has made you lazy. A good man gets up with the sun and sleeps with the stars.

Ah Pu grinned. Along with his mother’s morning porridge, he also missed his father’s Chinese quotations.

So, when will you marry Lao Fong’s daughter? his father asked.