The adults said that these people would take the children away to the big cities outside the village to beg for money.
Back then, I was very small. Even though my family was poor, we didn't have enough to eat, and I was beaten and scolded all the time, I didn't think about leaving this broken home to become a beggar. Like everyone else, we looked down on beggars.
When strangers came to our home, Grandpa and Grandma called out me and my three sisters. Being the youngest and unable to fight for food, I was skinny and short. After seeing me, the strangers shook their heads, saying I looked like I wouldn't live long, and they didn't want me.
I felt particularly happy then. Them not wanting me meant I could stay in this home. I even thought if they could take all my sisters away, then there would be no one to compete with me for food!
But I was unprepared. I didn't want to leave this home, and neither did my three sisters.
