Dream: New beginning, New hope

I was admitted to a prestigious university, becoming the first university student in our village.

A fifty-year-old widower in our village came with 100 thousand dollars, seeking to marry me. "A son born to a college student must be smart!"

My grandmother smiled from ear to ear and agreed immediately.

The night before my wedding, my mother secretly opened my locked door, giving me all my documents, a cell phone with a SIM card, and 800 dollars.

"Among my three children, I feel the most sorry for you. Emily, run!"

——

My mother gave me the 800 dollars she had saved for nearly twenty years, allowing me to escape from the hell where I had lived for eighteen years.

With the 800 dollars, I took a train for more than ten hours to the capital.

I wore a tattered single garment complete with patches, ate bread for one dollar, and slept on park benches.

Fortunately, it was summer, and I wouldn't freeze to death.

But this kind of life did not last for more than a few days.

I found a part-time job, and my life gradually improved.

I earned enough for tuition by working, attended university, and got a part-time job as a tutor.

With the prestige of the school, the parents paid me 100 dollars per hour.

In less than half a month, I earned the 800 dollars that my mother had saved for over a decade.

I thought studying was really a good thing.

Over four years at university, I saved 100 thousand dollars through scholarships and part-time work.

What does 100 thousand dollars mean? Four years ago, it could buy the life of a young girl.