Song Sanya didn't say a word in the car. Zhang knew her daughter was upset, but there was nothing she could do. After all, she was their only daughter. If they had another daughter, they could sell her for more money.

The oxcart arrived at an inn. Zhang got off, asked the innkeeper for directions, and then waited with Song Sanya at the entrance of the alley to the side of the inn.

The two waited and waited, but no one came. Zhang was getting impatient.

"You're not allowed to go anywhere, understand?" After saying that, he hurried off to find the outhouse.

Zhang was gone for a short time, but when she returned, Song Sanya was nowhere to be found.

Taking advantage of Zhang's absence, Song Sanya immediately ran away.

She didn't know where Song Rui was, only that it was a general store.

There are quite a few general stores in town, and she's never been to town before. If she really runs around aimlessly, she might not be able to find it even after a whole day.

So the day before she came to town, she specifically asked someone who had been to town before, and learned that Song Rui worked at a place called Laixi Grocery Store, which was located in the south of Dahe Town.

Song Sanya ran and asked for directions all the way south.

There were many streets to the south, and she asked many people and ran through several streets, getting blisters on her feet, before finally finding this Lai Xi General Store.

Catching her breath at the door, Song Sanya then went into the shop.

The shop assistant thought she was a customer and was about to greet her with a smile, but when he looked up, he saw a little girl dressed in tattered clothes, who looked like she was begging for food, and his face immediately fell.

"We have nothing here, go away, go away."

Song Sanya asked in a hoarse voice, "I want to find my brother."

"Your brother? This is a general store, where would you get a brother? If you want to find someone, go to the brokerage."

"No, my brother's name is Song Rui, and he also works here."

Upon hearing this, the waiter looked Song Sanya up and down. This little girl who looked like a beggar was actually Song Rui's sister.

This is going to be interesting.

"Wait here, I'll go get someone for you."

Upon hearing that she was going to call for help, Song Sanya nodded happily.

After waiting for a while, she saw someone rushing out of the store. As soon as he came out, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out, all the way to the alley outside the grocery store.

Before Song Sanya could speak, Song Rui impatiently asked, "Why are you here?"

"Father, it's Father! Father owes gambling debts and has been detained by the gambling den. They said that if he can't pay the ransom, they'll cut off one of his hands. Big brother, please save Father!" Song Sanya grabbed Song Rui's hand and pleaded.

Song Rui frowned deeply, his face full of disappointment: "Where will the money come from? How is he going to gamble?"

Song Sanya didn't know much either, so she told Song Rui the general situation. Song Rui looked incredulous and cursed under his breath, "This idiot."

"Brother, that's our own father! You can't just stand by and watch him die!"

"How much do you owe?" Song Rui asked coldly.

“Say it, say it’s ten taels.”

"Ten taels?" Song Rui couldn't help but raise his voice.

“Now Mother has raised five taels. Brother, only Grandmother and Mother are willing to save Father. If you don’t take care of him, he will really become crippled.”

Song Rui never expected that his good-for-nothing father would have such audacity. Ten taels of silver was enough to support a family for several years, and he just gave it away like that.

But no matter how much he hates him, he's still his father. If he really doesn't care, he'll be punished by heaven.

As the two were talking, someone outside the alley called out, "Song Rui, the boss is calling you."

Having no other choice, Song Rui could only try to appease Song Sanya, saying, "You wait here for me while I think of something."

As soon as Song Rui stepped out of the alley, Song Sanya heard cursing coming from outside. She glanced over and saw a middle-aged man pointing his finger at her and cursing in the street.

"Have you forgotten what I told you before? None of your poor relatives are allowed to visit anymore!"

"If you still want to be with my daughter and stay here, you'd better behave yourself from now on, or pack your things and get out!"

Song Rui dared not refute, and bowed his head repeatedly in agreement.

Song Sanya always thought that her older brother was just as her family said, very capable, able to gain a foothold in the town, and that their whole family would benefit from it in the future.

But after seeing what happened today, Song Sanya no longer dared to have such a fantasy.

The man must have been tired of cursing before he finally returned to the shop. Song Rui followed him in without saying a word.

Song Sanya waited and waited in the alley, and as the sun rose higher and higher, Song Rui finally ran out.

Song Rui shoved a handful of money into Song Sanya's hand, his face grim. "Here's five taels of silver. Take it and tell your family I'll go back home when I have time." Without a second thought, he ran back home.

Just as Song Sanya was about to leave the alley, she saw a girl coming out of the shop to get into a carriage. Song Rui quickly knelt down and let the girl step on him to get into the carriage.

Song Sanya bit her lip, clutched the money in her hand tightly, and ran away without looking back.

When Zhang knew that Song Sanya had gone to see Song Rui, she immediately slapped her daughter hard across the face, but Song Sanya didn't utter a sound.

But since things had come to this, and they had raised enough money, they quickly took the money to ransom the person.

The owner of the gambling den was a reasonable man. Seeing that they were all poor people, he didn't make things difficult for them. He accepted the money and released them directly.

On the way back, Zhang's face was ashen, and Song Sanya also lowered her head and didn't say a word. Song Erhai was as cowardly as a chick when he was at the gambling den, but now he was showing off his power in front of his wife and daughter.

"I told you to redeem me, why are you only coming now? You made me suffer so much."

Seeing that neither of them spoke, he kicked Song Sanya and leaned against the side to go to sleep.

Li Daniu, who was rushing to catch the carriage, shook his head and didn't meddle in other people's business.

Everyone in the village knew that the Song family had gone to sell their daughter today. As it was getting late, they all came out to see if the family had returned. When they heard that they had seen the oxcart return, some people even forgot to eat.

The oxcart slowly drove into the village entrance. Liu Yuelan saw Song Sanya still on the cart and Song Erhai had also returned. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank God, Sanya is alright."

Hearing that Sanya had returned, everyone rushed out to see what was going on. Zhang jumped out of the carriage and went straight home; she couldn't bear the shame.

Even someone as shameless as Song Erhai couldn't stand the way everyone was staring at him like he was a monkey.

Only Song Sanya walked slowly with her head down. When she saw Song Ning standing not far away, she gave her a thumbs up, slightly tugged at the corners of her mouth, and then went home.

Liu Yuelan said worriedly, "I wonder if Sanya's mother will be angry when she gets home?"

It wasn't just anger; a beating was inevitable. But compared to being sold, a beating wasn't unbearable.

She underestimated Song Sanya; she never expected that Song Sanya would actually go to see Song Rui.