Part 7/13:
Historically, some families in rural China, especially in impoverished regions, adopted the custom of "童养媳" (child-bride), where girls were raised as brides for boys in the same village or family. These arrangements often arose from economic necessity, with some girls being bought or arranged into marriage at a young age—sometimes as early as 16 or 17. Such practices, though outlawed and recognized as illegal, persisted unofficially into recent times.