After my mother died, I became the most humble concubine in the house.
My mother-in-law twisted her Buddha beads and forced me to move to a remote courtyard with a smile.
No one knew that the shabby purse my mother stuffed into me before she died contained secret accounts that made the entire company tremble.
I hunkered down in the firewood shed and secretly learned how to do business.
Ten years of forbearance, one day to take charge of the family.
When my aunt knelt at my feet and begged, the beads were scattered on the ground.
"Please, for the sake of mother-daughter love..."
I leaned over and picked up a blood-stained bead:
"Does mother remember? This bead is stained with my mother's blood."
Horse hooves beat loudly outside the house, and the caravan returned with a full load.
My real battlefield has just begun.
Intention: The entanglement of survival, power, family affection and interests; seeking self-worth between feudal ethics and business rules; the grayscale of human nature and the price of choice.