Publisher's Synopsis
The work is about the main character, Ms. Dau. Before getting married, her name was Le Thi Dao, a beautiful girl, talented, resourceful, and (according to the writer) born into a middle-class family.
Initially, Mr. and Mrs. Dau's family had plenty of money, but because Mr. Dau's mother and younger brother both passed away at the same time, even though they were very frugal, they still had to spend too much money on two funerals. Yet, after the funeral for his younger brother was over, Mr. Dau suddenly contracted malaria, unable to do anything, all the hardships fell on Ms. Dau's shoulders, causing the family's situation to fall into a situation of being "first and second in the lowest class in the village." When the collection season came, Ms. Dau had to run everywhere to borrow money to pay her husband, but could not find it anywhere. Even though Mr. Dau was sick, he was still shackled and dragged by the guards to the village communal house. In the end, being so poor, she was forced to give up her heart and sell Ti, her 7-year-old first daughter who was obedient, filial, and a litter of newborn puppies who had not even opened her eyes yet, to Mr. Nghi Que and his wife in Doai village. to get two coins to pay for the collection. But just when she had enough money to pay the tax to her husband, the village guards forced her to pay the tax to Dau's younger brother because he died in our year but at that time the western calendar had already turned to the new year. So Mr. Dau was still arrested and could not go home. At midnight, Mr. Dau, half dead, was brought home. With help from neighbors, he gradually regained consciousness. An old woman in the neighborhood, concerned that her family had been starving since yesterday, brought her a bowl of rice to cook porridge for him to regain his strength. But as soon as he put the bowl of porridge to his mouth, the rulers and the chief's family rushed in to pressure him. Ms. Dau tried to beg but couldn't. Finally, she was so frustrated that she couldn't bear it anymore, so she attacked both the ruler and the leader's family. Committing the crime of beating a government official, she was escorted to the Mandarin. The district official was a lewd man and intended to molest her. She then threw the silver in his face and ran away. After that, she was lucky enough to meet a Mandarin family member in the province. This person gave her 2 dong to pay for the rest of the collection and promised her the job of milking his milk for the Mandarin to drink (because the Mandarin had lost all his teeth and could not eat rice). She then went back to discuss with Mr. Dau and let Tiu be adopted by a neighbor and go to the province to work. At first, she made money and sent it to Mr. Dau. But one night, the mandarin crept into her room, intending to play a cruel trick on her... The work ends with the sentence "She ran out in the middle of the pitch black darkness, as black as her future." !"
