In the mountains, you can't see very far ahead; as far as the eye can see, there are towering trees everywhere, which greatly obstruct the view.

So when Shen Xingmian suddenly saw the village after running for a while, she was quite surprised.

Ah, she finally escaped from the mountains!

Looking at the scattered low houses in the distance, Shen Xingmian felt a little excited. She didn't mind the backwardness and poverty at all. As long as she could see a living person, that would be enough!

She was truly fed up with the days when she could only talk to animals and get no response.

She had only been away from home for a few days when she started to miss it.

She was the one who had been eager to go out before.

After stopping to rest and having a hearty lunch with Xue Tuan, the man and the tiger raced towards the distant village.

Long after they left, the mountains came back to life. Small animals emerged from all directions, and only after confirming that the tiger was gone did they dare to sneak around looking for something to eat.

This is really too difficult.

When Shen Xingmian rode the tiger down the mountain, he realized that it would scare people, so he changed to another horse.

Before Snowball could even voice its dissatisfaction, she sent it back to her space. After preparing a bowl of meat for it, it immediately forgot its discontent and happily began to eat.

Animals are easy to coax; there's nothing a meal of meat can't solve.

The person just couldn't keep up.

When people get jealous, it's not easy to appease them without offering real money.

After the weather warmed up, the children in the village started going out to play. After being cooped up all winter, they couldn't wait to run out and play with their friends all day long.

"Hey? There are horses! Horses are coming down the mountain!" A little girl pointed in the direction of the mountain and shouted excitedly.

"Er Ya, are you still half asleep? How could a horse come down from the mountain? If there were, it would have come from the village entrance. Do you even know what a horse is?"

A little boy sniffled and laughed.

A burst of laughter immediately erupted around them, and some children chimed in, "That's right, Er Ya, you've never even seen a donkey, let alone a horse!"

The little girl was so anxious she was about to cry. Pointing in Shen Xingmian's direction, she pouted and said, "Look for yourselves, that's a horse, exactly as Father described."

The children didn't believe her at first, but after hearing her explanation, which seemed quite plausible, they all looked up to look.

They've hardly ever left the village in their entire lives. The farthest they've ever been is to the town where the market is, so they've never even seen what a horse looks like.

But after just one glance, they all stood up and clapped their hands excitedly, exclaiming, "It's a horse! It really is a horse!"

After Shen Xingmian ran down the mountain, she saw a group of children in the distance. When she saw that they had also seen her and were cheering, she felt a little embarrassed.

Am I that popular? Even the kids from a strange village are so excited and happy to see me? Ah, this is kind of embarrassing, hehe...

When she got closer, she realized that the man wasn't looking at her at all, but at the chestnut horse beneath her.

The children skipped and hopped a few steps toward her, but dared not get too close, their excited little faces flushed.

Winter has just passed, and the children's skin is in very bad condition, with some areas even cracked, which looks quite painful.

They seemed to have gotten used to it and didn't pay much attention, focusing all their attention on the horses.

Shen Xingmian had already stopped, letting them curiously crowd around.

Since she arrived here, she has never seen so many children. They are much smaller than Xiao Yanyue, and she can pick up two of them with one hand.

Several families nearby heard the child's shouts and some adults curiously came out of their houses to see what was going on.

Upon seeing that there really were horses, I was immediately filled with envy.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out the rider was a young girl, and everyone's attitudes shifted. Some remained envious, while others were filled with resentment.

Shen Xingmian let them be sarcastic; she wasn't here to settle down, so why should she care about neighborly relations?

She was just passing by; she hadn't seen any living people in a long time and came over to feel the liveliness.

Even if they did speak in a sarcastic or sarcastic tone, she would still feel that being able to hear people talking was much better than being alone in the mountains with no one to talk to.

This might sound a bit cheeky, but she's really been feeling stifled these past few days and is desperately looking for someone to chat with.

Even if it's just to hear the children's cheers, she doesn't mind the noise; on the contrary, she's willing to let them watch for a while longer.

If the horse doesn't mind, you can pet it.

Some of these children were honest, while others would come up with wicked ideas in the blink of an eye.

An older child reached out and first touched the little red horse. Seeing that it didn't kick, he became bolder and started patting it hard.

At first, Shen Xingmian didn't mind. The child was weak and the way he was patting the horse was probably the one who hurt his own hand, but the horse didn't seem to be in much pain.

A little girl with slightly red eyes timidly advised, "Tiger, stop taking pictures. The horse is so well-behaved, letting us touch it. How can you take pictures of it?"

"Mind your own business! I'll go tell your grandma in a minute that she'll sell you to some man in town to be a maid. Let's see if you dare say anything to me then."

Shen Xingmian: ……

Isn't it said that the villagers are generally very honest and simple?

Does this sound like something a simple, honest person would say?

Such a young child already knows about human trafficking; the adults have really taught them a lot by example.

Shen Xingmian couldn't help but feel a little angry. He dismounted and led the horse towards the village entrance.

She had originally thought that these families relied on the mountains for their livelihood, and that they might have some dried goods like mushrooms and wood ear fungus at home. She would buy them if they had any, at a price slightly higher than the market price, so that their lives could be a little easier.

Now she doesn't think that way anymore. It's possible that the local people are simple and honest, but it's also possible that they are unruly and difficult to get along with.

How can such a young child say such things? What are the adults teaching him every day? If he is allowed to grow up like this, won't he grow up to be a bully and cause trouble for the local area?

There are probably thousands upon thousands of villages like this in the entire Linyue region; even if she wanted to manage them all, she couldn't possibly manage them all.

It is far too weak and ineffective for an individual to resolve the injustices of the world. Only by fundamentally addressing the problems of people's livelihoods can the idea of ​​selling one's daughter be put to rest.

Yes, it was the idea of ​​selling his daughter.

Unless faced with a life-or-death situation, probably no one would be willing to sell their son. Only daughters, whom they call "little girls," would be considered for sale to raise money when they encounter difficulties.

Even when things weren't that difficult, they'd still be tempted to sell their daughters for money to buy meat.

This has always been the case.

Regardless of the era, women always face greater difficulties, especially in ancient times when there were even more restrictions placed on them.

Most people have long been accustomed to this, and they are not even aware of the unfairness involved.

Even when someone brings it up, they feel puzzled. "She's just a little girl. She's been sold, so what? What's there to feel sorry about?"