Tang Daniang was from a village nearby. She was seventeen, worked hard and quickly, and had three older brothers and two younger siblings at home.
With so many mouths to feed and only nine mu of land, even getting enough to eat was a struggle—let alone selling grain for money. The family was desperately poor; her eldest brother was already past twenty and still couldn't find a wife.
Tang's parents were frantic. As it happened, a family in the next village was also poor, with only one son and one daughter, and they proposed a swap marriage.