The aroma of cooking filled the house: I sent my eldest brother to become the Grand Secretary.

Feng Er looked slightly smug and gave Shen Cao a provocative look.

“I already told you, I am her adoptive father, but you still wouldn’t believe me. Now you see.”

“Even if I’m not her adoptive father, I can still take her away with this indenture.”

He walked up to the small bridge and, disregarding her wishes, dragged her toward the door.

The little bridge was startled and struggled fiercely.

"No, I don't want to go back with him."

"don't want!!!"

Shen Chen walked up to Feng Er and stopped him from pulling on the small bridge.

"Stop!!! Didn't you hear her say she didn't want to?"

Feng Er was very unhappy that someone was pulling his arm.

In the struggle, Shen Chen's hand loosened, and he staggered and fell to the ground.

He gritted his teeth in anger, his eyes flashing with ruthlessness.

He tried his best to stand up and fight back, but he couldn't hold on and fell heavily to the ground again.

He was so angry that he pounded the ground a few times.

After he stood up, he rushed to Shen Chen and raised his fist to hit him.

The raised fist never fell; Shen Chen overwhelmed him in both height and imposing presence.

He looked up at Shen Chen, and the coldness in Shen Chen's eyes startled him.

He took a few steps back after being stared at by Shen Chen, and then fell to the ground.

"You...what do you want to do?"

“I have a written contract of servitude here. She has already sold herself to me, so she is mine now.”

Do you even respect the law?

Shen Cao winked at her two younger brothers, signaling them to help Feng Er up.

Shen Qing and Xiao Qi reluctantly helped Feng Er up and sat him down at a table nearby.

Shen Cao took the indenture and pulled Xiao Qiao into her arms.

"Don't be afraid, we're all here."

He patted her back gently, giving her immense warmth.

After calming Xiaoqiao down, Shen Cao walked to the opposite side of Feng Er and sat down.

"I suppose you've inquired about our family before, otherwise you wouldn't have come to the Shen family to find her only now."

Actually, this wasn't the first time Shen Cao had met Feng Er; she didn't recognize him at first.

This Feng Er is the same person she saw arguing with Xiao Qiao on the street a few times before.

“Xiaoqiao has been with our family for several months now, and we already consider her family.”

"If she doesn't want to today, no one can force her."

Feng Er's expression changed upon hearing Shen Cao's words.

"However, I also know that you want to take Xiaoqiao away."

"How about this, I'll pay for your indenture?"

Upon hearing this, Feng Er immediately changed his expression and began to consider it.

Actually, he had already found Xiaoqiao, but he didn't expect that the girl would be so lucky, not only still alive.

Moreover, she moved into the Shen family's house, got work to do, and even received wages.

He changed his mind about taking the small bridge with him.

When he heard Shen Cao say those words, he stopped pretending.

Shen Cao didn't urge him; instead, she patiently waited for him to speak.

Feng Er's eyes darted up and down, his gaze full of calculation.

He was assessing the Shen family's wealth and how much Xiaoqiao meant to them.

"One thousand taels."

"What!?" Xiao Qi exclaimed upon hearing the number.

"Why don't you just rob someone?"

Shen Cao stared at him, "Then you should take her away."

"A thousand taels, do you think she's worth that much?"

Sure enough, Feng Er became anxious when Shen Cao asked him to take Xiao Qiao away.

"Don't rush, this is just a discussion!"

"discuss?"

"The five hundred taels?"

"Please!" Shen Cao gestured for him to leave.

"Three hundred taels, that's the lowest I can go."

"I've spent quite a bit of money looking for her over the years."

"Besides, I'm counting on her to go back and earn money for my retirement."

“If you can’t even come up with three hundred taels, then I’ll report you to the authorities today and take her away.”

"Anyway, the contract of sale is written clearly in black and white."

“The fingerprints on those were drawn by this girl herself.”

Shen Cao stood up, took a cup from the counter, and poured herself a cup of tea.

She walked up to Feng Er, put down her teacup, and said, "Have a sip of tea first. To be honest, three hundred taels is a lot of money for my family."

"Our little eatery doesn't make much money all year round."

"I need to discuss this with my family."

After saying that, Shen Cao asked Xiao Qi and the others to watch over Feng Er, while Shen Wan and Xiao Yu stayed with Xiao Qiao.

She and Shen Chen went to the backyard.

She led her elder brother to the main room, saying, "Brother, please have a seat."

Shen Cao poured herself and her older brother a cup of tea. She sat down next to Shen Chen and started cracking open some melon seeds.

"Little sister, what's wrong?"

"No rush, let's wait a bit."

"Hey bro, have some sunflower seeds."

"Aren't we going to discuss it?"

"What's there to discuss? I'm determined to get Xiaoqiao's indenture, but I definitely can't let that guy Feng Er have his way."

"You can tell how Feng Er treated Xiaoqiao and her brother by looking at Xiaoqiao."

"Does this kind of person really think they can live a peaceful and comfortable life for the rest of their days with the money they made from selling the small bridge?"

About half an hour passed.

Shen Cao and Shen Chen had piled up a small mountain of sunflower seed shells, and the tea had been changed several times.

Meanwhile, Feng Er was getting increasingly restless. Could it be that this girl wasn't that important after all?

Wasn't this girl supposed to be treated like her own daughter by the Shen family?

Why did it take so long to negotiate over just three hundred taels of silver?

Is it really that he's asking for too much?

"Let's go, brother, we can't keep them waiting too long."

Shen Cao stood up, clapped her hands, finished the tea in her cup, and led Shen Chen to the front.

They walked in unhurriedly. When Xiaoqiao saw Shen Cao come in, she immediately sat up straight, her body noticeably stiffer.

Feng Er visibly breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shen Cao and the others walk in.

Completely different from his previous tough stance, he even adopted a somewhat obsequious attitude.

Shen Cao walked up to Feng Er, first looked at Xiao Qiao, then frowned and was about to speak.

Feng Er raised his hand to stop her from saying what she was about to say.

"Miss Shen, please don't be anxious, please listen to me first."

“I’m not a cold-blooded person either. Look how sad Xiaoqiao cried when she talked about separating from you.”

"As the adoptive father, I don't want to see my child so heartbroken."

"Alright, I'll reduce the price by another fifty taels, making it two hundred and fifty taels of silver. You can buy this girl."

"This girl may not be good at anything else, but she's excellent at housework. When she grows up, her dowry will be quite a sum of money."

Shen Cao clenched her fists, telling herself not to act impulsively.

Composing herself, she looked up at Feng Er as if she had made up her mind, "Two hundred taels, I can give it to you today."

"As you know, the New Year is just around the corner, and all the money shops are closed. All we have at most is two hundred taels of silver."

"We don't have a single penny more to spare."

Feng Er thought for a moment and decided that if they waited until after the New Year and the family didn't want to buy it anymore, he could let them take the small bridge with them.

Xiaoqiao is a feisty and stubborn girl. Before, when her younger brother was around, he could at least keep her in check.

Now that her younger brother is gone too, he really has no confidence that he can get her to obey him.

He feigned heartache, glancing in the direction of Xiaoqiao, "Sigh, if it weren't for the fact that Xiaoqiao really likes your family, I really wouldn't be able to part with this child."

"Alright, two hundred taels it is. Then the fifty taels will be my dowry for Feng Ya."

Seeing his feigned pain and insincerity, Shen Cao took back the money pouch she had handed him. "Well, how about..."

Fearing that Shen Cao might change her mind, Feng Er quickly snatched the money pouch, counted it, and confirmed that it was indeed two hundred taels.

He handed the indenture to Shen Cao, saying, "Alright, I'm handing Feng Ya over to you now. Whether she lives or dies has nothing to do with me, Feng Er."

After saying that, he picked up his tattered pipe and left without looking back.

"Qing'er, Xiao Qi, you two go and close the gate." As soon as Feng Er left, Shen Cao immediately told her two younger brothers to close the gate of the Shen Family Restaurant.

Seeing that things were mostly settled and he had nothing else to do, Shen Chen prepared to go to his study to continue reading.

He finally understood what his older sister meant: she was deliberately leaving Feng Er hanging so that people like him would think that their family didn't care about Xiao Qiao that much.

This way, we can prevent him from making exorbitant demands.

However, it must be said that his younger sister was too soft-hearted; if she wanted him, she would definitely have to push him down a bit more.

He glanced at the small bridge, hoping that his younger sister's heart wouldn't be betrayed.

Xiaoqiao finally felt relieved after seeing Feng Er's departing figure, and her body relaxed.

"Sister Xiaoqiao, you don't have to be afraid anymore." Shen Wan patted her back gently and considerately.

"Xiaoyu, everything has been taken care of, so you can rest assured."

"Grandma Zhang is still waiting at home. You should go back quickly so she doesn't worry."

Xiaoyu suddenly realized that the time she had agreed with her grandmother had passed, so she quickly grabbed her things and left.

"Wan'er, go see if Mother has finished cooking."

Only Shen Cao and Xiao Qiao remained in the room.

Shen Cao walked to the small bridge and sat down.

"Alright, you don't have to worry anymore, and you don't have to secretly save money anymore. You can save money openly now." Xiaoqiao's eyes were filled with surprise and a hint of panic when she heard Shen Cao's words.

"Sister Grass, I..."

"These things are in the past; I'm only looking to the future."

"This is your indenture. You just heard it, this indenture is real, and the fingerprints on it, were drawn by you willingly?"

Xiaoqiao stared at the dark red fingerprints on the indenture and fell into deep thought.

That year, my parents passed away one after another due to illness, leaving only my younger brother and me to depend on each other.

"There's no other way; my parents' remains need to be laid to rest."

"I cried at home with my younger brother for a long, long time, when suddenly I heard someone knocking on the door."

"As soon as the man entered the house and saw the state of my home, he said he could pay for a coffin so that we could give my parents a proper burial."

"After that, he took my brother and me away from home to the county town, saying he was going to buy a coffin."

“I was young at the time, and my parents had just passed away not long ago, so I followed him without any suspicion.”

"By the time I realized what was happening, he had drugged my brother and me. When we woke up, we had no idea where we were."

"That person is Feng Er."

"I don't even know if my parents' bodies have been buried."

She wiped away her tears, paused for a moment, and then continued.

“At first, when he saw that we were disobedient, he would whip us, and my brother and I were often covered in bruises.”

"But as long as we can be together, we can endure these pains."

"We absolutely refuse to sign a contract of servitude."

"Later, one day my younger brother was badly beaten by that beast Feng Er during the day, and that night he developed a high fever. He was on the verge of dying, so I went to beg him to take my brother to see a doctor."

“How could someone like him possibly spend money on my brother? At that moment, he took out the indenture we had been reluctant to sign and handed it over.”

"For my brother's sake, I had no choice but to sign my name and put my fingerprint on the document."

"Later, my younger brother took the medicine and got better."

“We followed Feng Er to a county town near Xin’an County, where I found an opportunity to escape with my younger brother.”

"You know what happened next, Sister Cao'er. When my brother and I were begging, he was kidnapped again."

"It still hasn't been found."

Shen Cao was surprised to learn that Xiao Qiao's background was so tragic. She reached out and wiped away Xiao Qiao's tears, then took her hand in hers.

"Things will get better gradually."

"Sister Cao'er, do you think I can still find my younger brother?" Xiaoqiao looked at Shen Cao with longing in her eyes.

Looking at those expectant eyes, Shen Cao couldn't bear it any longer. "Yes, you will find your brother."

Shen Cao picked up the indenture and tore it to shreds.

"From now on, you will be free."

"Sister Cao'er wants to apologize to you. Before, I deliberately said that you had more than that much money in order to prevent Feng Er's evil scheme from succeeding."

"Xiaoqiao, you must remember this: no matter what, your life is the most valuable thing in the world."

"No matter how difficult it is, you must live, for only by living can there be hope."

"In my eyes, a thousand taels is insignificant compared to you."

Xiaoqiao looked up at Shen Cao, who had a serious expression on her face, and at that moment she realized that she was also cared for and valued by someone.

She hasn't felt this way since her parents passed away.

She nodded vigorously.

It would be even better if her younger brother were here too. She would tell him that even though their parents are gone, they are not people abandoned by God.

"Alright, you've cried your eyes out."

"You know, the reason you were manipulated by Feng Er today is because you're not strong enough. When you have enough money and enough ability..."

"The contract of servitude in his hand is not a threat to you, but his verdict."

“You might not understand what I’m telling you now, but you didn’t want to study before when I asked you.”

"However, only through reading can girls see the truths that they don't want you to see."

"Only by reading books can you understand the rules of the world and eventually become the one who makes those rules."

"Alright, we'll talk about that later. After the New Year, you can go to school with them. I'll find someone else to handle things at home."

"From now on, you're a member of the Shen family. We'll protect you and make sure you're not bullied. Go to the backyard, wash your face, and then have dinner."