After I Found the Treasure

My name is Daisy Lincoln, and I live in Green Mud Village. This village is tucked away in the folds of the great mountains, and when the wind blows, the whole place smells like yellow earth. In this family, I've always been the invisible one. Dad, Simon Lincoln, is a quiet man; his whole life, he's never said three kind words to me. When I didn't dig up enough wild vegetables, he'd just sit there, puffing on his dry tobacco, glaring at me. Mom, Lily Warren, is even more partial; she stuffs all the good food to my little brother, Ben Lincoln. If I dared to take an extra chopstick of meat, her chopsticks would snap sharply against my hand. Ben Lincoln is five years younger than me, but he's a lot tougher. He always steals my steamed cornbread, and when I'm not looking, throws the clothes I've mended into the mud, then claps and laughs as I cry. My ex-fiance, Howard Clark, broke off our engagement last winter. His mother came to my house carrying half a bag of cornmeal, saying my family was too poor to raise a daughter-in-law, and that I was 'as dull as a stone,' unworthy of Howard. That day, I didn't cry; I quietly buried the red ribbon Howard gave me beneath the old locust tree in the corner of the yard. I thought, this is probably how my life will be—digging wild vegetables in the mountains all my days, helping my parents, and when Ben Lincoln gets married, maybe I'll be sent off to work as a housemaid somewhere. The change began one afternoon last month. That day, I went up the mountain to dig for bupleurum, and when I reached the edge of a cliff, I saw something stuck in a crack between the rocks, sparkling. I reached in and pulled it out; it was a palm-sized iron sheet, its edges rusted and curled, with some dirt still clinging to it. I didn't think much of it and slipped it into my pocket, thinking maybe I could give it to Ben Lincoln as a pad for his slingshot when I got back. But on my way down the mountain, Madam Lee, who lives at the east end of the village, spotted me. Squinting her eyes, she looked at what I had in my pocket, then suddenly raised her voice: 'Daisy, what have you got in your pocket? Is it a gold piece or something?' I froze for a moment, about to explain, but Madam Lee was already running back into the village. Her voice drifted on the wind, growing louder: "Simon Lincoln's daughter found treasure! It's gold bars!" After that, Green Mud Village was in an uproar. Villagers crowded around my front door, tiptoeing to peek inside, whispering excitedly with greed shining in their eyes. The first to change was my mother, Lily Warren. She never used to hold my hand, but that day she grabbed my wrist tightly, her smile so wide the wrinkles on her face all scrunched together: "Daisy, my good girl, did you really find the treasure? Let me see it quick." My dad, Simon Lincoln, came over too, holding a clean cloth, his voice softer than I'd ever heard: "Daisy, don't overwork yourself. If there's any treasure, keep it safe—don't let outsiders see it and get greedy." Ben Lincoln kept hanging around me. He used to always snatch my things, but that day, he shoved the candy he'd hidden under his pillow into my hands: "Sis, if you have gold bricks, can you buy me a new schoolbag?" Looking at their smiling faces, I just felt a chill run all over me. All these years, their coldness and cruelty toward me felt like it never even existed. What disgusts me even more is Howard Clark. He showed up with two pounds of apples, rubbing his hands nervously, eyes darting away: "Daisy, it was my fault before. I shouldn't have listened to my mother and called off our engagement." "If you really have the treasure, let's set the wedding date. I promise I'll treat you well from now on." I didn't take his apples, nor did I meet his eyes. I knew they didn't want me—as a daughter, sister, or fiancee. What they wanted was the treasure that didn't even exist in my pocket. After they'd made enough fuss, I finally took the rusty iron sheet out of my pocket and set it down on the table. The iron sheet glinted with an ugly rusty color under the light, not a hint of golden shine anywhere. The air in the room froze in an instant. Lily Warren's smile vanished first. She snatched up the iron sheet and flung it to the ground. "You damn girl! How dare you lie to us? This rusty old scrap's not gonna fill anyone's belly!" Simon Lincoln's face twisted. He raised his hand and slapped me hard. My cheek burned fiercely, a buzzing filled my ears, and tears almost fell.