Qiu Mang stood in the hall, her eyes firm and resolute. "Go out and find a job!"

Then, pulling the suitcase, he resolutely continued walking out. The suitcase slid on the ground, making a slight sound.

"Amang!" Qiu Hongwei quickly placed his hand on the suitcase handle and applied slight force.

Qiu Mang felt the box pause, and frowned slightly. She looked up at Qiu Hongwei, her eyes filled with helplessness and disappointment.

"Brother, you heard it yourself, I don't have a single penny on me. This 500,000 yuan is all borrowed. If I don't go out to find a job and earn money, will you help me pay it back? Can the family afford 500,000 yuan? Or are you willing to sell the house to pay off my debts?"

Qiu Mang looked into Qiu Hongwei's eyes and asked, her eyes filled with despair at having nowhere else to turn.

Qiu Hongwei felt a little ashamed. He silently let go of the suitcase, avoided Qiu Mang's eyes, lowered his gaze, and his voice trembled slightly.

“Amang, I’m sorry, I didn’t want this to happen. I know you’ve had a hard time, and I feel so sorry for you. But this is all Mom and Dad’s wish. They want me to get married so they can carry on the family line. We don’t have the money to buy me a car or a house, and no girl is willing to marry me. Mom and Dad have no choice but to use your and my older sister’s dowry to get me a wife. I’m so sorry to you, and I’m so sorry to my older sister…”

Qiu Mang took a deep breath. "Don't talk about this anymore, I don't want to hear it. If you really feel sorry for me, then please treat Qiu Li well. My older sister and I have already earned you 700,000 yuan for carrying on the family line. Qiu Li is still young, so please let her go. I hope she won't follow in our footsteps."

After Qiu Mang finished speaking, he dragged his black suitcase out of the hall. The wheels of the suitcase left shallow marks on the soft mud in the courtyard.

"Third Sister! Third Sister!" Qiu Mang heard the excited voice of a little girl behind her as she dragged her suitcase to the door.

Qiu Mang turned around and saw three-year-old Qiu Li running towards her. The girl had a red hair tie in her hair, and her two ponytails swayed gently with her bouncy steps.

She was wearing a red suit with a "福" (good fortune) character printed on it, which looked very festive. Qiu Mang bought this outfit for her, originally intending for her to wear it during the Chinese New Year, but the little girl was vain and couldn't wait that long, so she put it on as soon as it was bought.

"Third sister, are you going to work? Don't you want Ali anymore? Can you take Ali with you? Ali wants to go with you..."

As Qiu Li spoke, her lips were pursed into a straight line, and her round, large eyes were filled with tears.

Qiu Mang felt a pang of pain in her heart. She had watched the little girl grow up and they were very close. Now that she had to leave, the person she would miss the most in the whole family was Qiu Li.

But she knew she couldn't be soft-hearted and had to leave. She hugged Qiu Li and comforted her for a while before putting her down, telling her she would be back soon and to wait for her at home. The little girl reluctantly agreed.

Qiu Mang stopped at the entrance of the village.

The black suitcase leaned against a stone with the words "Huangtu Village" written on it.

Qiu Mang glanced back at the village where she had lived for over twenty years. The entire village was built at the foot of the mountain, and it was already nine o'clock at night. The dark shadows of the mountains loomed over the village, making its outline invisible.

New Year's Eve is just two days away, and some people have already started setting off fireworks.

Clusters of ironwood blossoms bloomed in the air, looking dazzling and beautiful. At this moment, the atmosphere of the Spring Festival was brought to its peak.

During this joyous holiday, everyone returned to their hometowns for the New Year, but she left alone.

Qiu Mang turned her head, her back to the village and to the dazzling fireworks, and checked the amount of debt on her phone. The total amount owed, including the loan platform debt and the debt owed to Lu Yanting, was over 500,000 yuan.

Qiu Mang suddenly smiled, a bitter smile.

She walked forward step by step. Although she was burdened with huge debts, she felt incredibly relieved for the first time. There was no more endless work to do, and she no longer had to marry Zhao Gang, whom she didn't like.

She is finally free!

She was wearing a black down jacket as she walked along the rugged mountain path.

The biting wind stung her face. She didn't know how long she had walked when finally car headlights shone behind her, casting a long shadow of her.

She turned around, reached out and stopped the car; it was a bus heading to Guangcheng.

Without thinking twice, she got into the car, not caring where she was going, as long as she could escape this place.

The train was full, and since it was night, some people were already snoring. Qiu Mang laid his suitcase across the floor and sat on it.

After driving for more than an hour, the driver suddenly received a phone call saying that there were traffic police ahead, and that it was almost Chinese New Year and the traffic police were checking things very strictly.

The driver frowned, glanced at Qiu Mang sitting on the suitcase in the rearview mirror, and said, "Young lady, I'll drop you off at the next intersection! I can't give you any more rides."

Qiu Mang was taking a nap leaning against the seat next to her. Upon hearing this, she was wide awake. "No, I've already paid. Why are you suddenly kicking me off the bus?"

The driver patiently explained, "There are traffic police ahead. It's almost Chinese New Year, so they're cracking down hard. You're overloaded in our vehicle. If we get caught, I'll be fined, and the car might be impounded. There are so many other people on the bus. You don't want to delay everyone because of you, do you? I could have refused to let you on, but I took you on because I felt sorry for you! Don't make things difficult for me!" The driver's voice was loud, and everyone on the bus heard him.

A middle-aged woman wearing a red scarf looked worried and said, "My daughter is alone at Guangcheng Hospital and is about to give birth. I have to get there right away; I can't delay!"

After he finished speaking, the car fell silent.

Suddenly an old voice rang out, and an old woman began to cough incessantly. A man wearing a hat gently patted her back.

The man looked in Qiu Mang's direction and said, "Young lady, my mother is in poor health. She's been treated at the hospital in our hometown, but it hasn't been cured. I heard that the hospitals in Guangcheng have good medical skills, so I finally learned how to book appointments online. It took me a month to get this appointment, and it's for tomorrow. If this is delayed, I don't know when I'll be able to get an appointment!"

Qiu Mang looked in the direction of the sound and saw that the coughing old woman was coughing even more violently, as if she was about to cough up her entire lungs. She stretched out a hand that looked like a withered twig and covered her mouth, looking very uncomfortable.

The atmosphere inside the car became even more oppressive. Everyone in the car fell silent, except for the old woman's coughs, which seemed to be denouncing her crimes.

Qiu Mang took a deep breath. "Okay! I'll get off the bus."

The driver sincerely apologized to her, saying that it wasn't easy for a young girl like her, and refunded her the entire fare.

Fearing something might happen to her, they told her there was a small hotel about a kilometer ahead, and she could walk there and stay overnight before setting off again the next day.

Qiu Mang dragged her black suitcase along the road. She had intended to stay overnight in the direction the driver pointed, but after counting all the money she had several times, she worried that if she stayed somewhere, she wouldn't have enough money for transportation the next day.