Putting aside her distracting thoughts, Shen Xingmian decided to leave the village and continue on her way.

She wanted to leave some silver for the little girl who had been scolded, so that she could hide it well and if she ever had any trouble in the future, she could dig it out and escape, so that she wouldn't actually be sold off.

I glanced at the little girl and noticed that her clothes weren't particularly bad compared to the other children.

Her clothes were patched, but the other children also had patches, so it didn't seem so bad.

Perhaps her grandmother wasn't very kind to her, but she had loving parents, and one shouldn't judge things solely based on a child's words.

The little girl had been timid just moments before, but upon hearing the boy say he was going to have her grandmother sell her, she immediately mustered her courage and retorted, "You're talking nonsense! My grandmother would never sell me. Even if your mother sold you, my grandmother would never sell me!"

Oh my, it seems her grandma is quite a nice person, otherwise where would this little girl get such confidence in her?

“My mother would never sell me. I’m the only male in our family, and I’m going to inherit the family business!”

The boy spoke with great pride, puffing out his chest like a proud little rooster.

Shen Xingmian set aside her adult prejudices and looked at the group of children again, finding them quite interesting. So she feigned curiosity and asked, "Inheriting the family business? What does your family own? How much land and how many houses?"

When the little boy heard her ask this, he immediately perked up and counted on his fingers: "Five mu of fertile land, three mu of reclaimed land, and three mud-brick houses."

After saying that, his eyes darted around, and he chuckled, "Big sister, if you let me ride your horse, when I grow up, I'll marry you and let you inherit the family business with me. What do you say?"

He felt he had come up with a brilliant idea. He was still many years away from growing up. If she agreed, wouldn't he be able to ride horses for many years to come?

That's such a great deal!

When he gets home after riding his horse, be sure to tell his mother about this clever idea and let her praise him!

Shen Xingmian was amused. She thought that the child might not be that bad by nature, but was just spoiled by adults and dared to say anything.

Not only did they dare to sell her out, they also dared to make empty promises to her.

It's truly remarkable that someone so young can already do this.

He's so young, yet he already knows how much land and houses his family owns. He's clearly intelligent, but he just hasn't put his intelligence to good use.

Shen Xingmian wanted to try and see if she could bend him a little. Of course, it would be best if she could, but if not, she would still have done her best.

"I can let you ride a horse, but you have to apologize to that little girl first before I can agree. I don't lend my horse to bad kids."

After she finished speaking, she proudly crossed her arms and tilted her head back, looking arrogant as if she were the best in the world.

The little boy, without any principles, immediately grinned at the little girl and said, "Er Ya, I was wrong!" Then he turned to Shen Xingmian and asked, "You've apologized, is that alright now? Hurry up and ride this horse for me!"

Wow, he's shameless and cunning too.

Shen Xingmian refused with a serious face: "No, is a verbal apology enough? Do you even know where you went wrong? You haven't recognized your mistake at all, yet you want to be ridden on a horse?"

"Anyone can ride a horse like that? Only soldiers defending their country or heroes fighting for justice can ride one. You're bullying even a little girl, how dare you ride a horse?"

The little boy was considered the king of the kids in the village, and at home he was the little emperor, always having the final say. He had never been rejected like this before.

He was somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, and really wanted to throw a tantrum and curse at the other person in order to get them to agree to his demands.

He was just about to pounce at Shen Xingmian's feet when Shen Xingmian swiftly lifted him up, and then he heard a cold, ruthless sentence—

"Since you're not being sincere, I won't waste my time with you."

After speaking, the man nimbly mounted his horse and prepared to leave.

The little boy immediately became anxious and said, "I was wrong, please don't go. I'll apologize sincerely right away, please wait a moment."

Shen Xingmian sat on his horse looking down at the group of children. He thought it was really fun to tease the kids, but his expression was tense and serious.

The little boy looked at Er Ya, his face flushed, then glanced at the horse before blurting out, "I was wrong. I shouldn't have told your grandma to sell you. Selling people is wrong!"

Shen Xingmian stroked her chin and nodded: "See, you're quite discerning about right and wrong, aren't you? What else?"

The little boy looked on incredulously, on the verge of tears: "There's more? What else? I really don't know, waaaaah—"

Shen Xingmian dismounted, looked at the little boy in front of him, and said seriously:

"Girls are weaker, and as a boy, you should take care of and protect them, not laugh at and bully them. If you do that, you won't be able to find a wife in the future."

The little boy stopped crying after hearing her words, hiccuped, and said, not quite understanding, "Why do I need a wife? I don't want to marry you so I can always ride a horse..."

Seeing Shen Xingmian's face gradually darken, he immediately realized something was wrong and quickly shut his mouth.

"That's wishful thinking."

The other children were younger than him and couldn't quite keep up with his train of thought. They were looking at him with some confusion, unsure of what to say.

They saw Tiger crying and heard him apologize to Er Ya, which they found very strange, as Tiger would never admit his mistakes normally.

Even if everyone thinks he's wrong, he'll stubbornly stick to his guns.

Shen Xingmian is just using his desire to "ride a big horse" to fool people.

When she first learned to ride a bicycle, she wished she could ride for eight hours every day, ideally spending all her time except for eating and sleeping.

She understands that feeling of being high.

If we don't take this opportunity to change his mindset, this child will most likely grow up to be very skewed, looking down on women and being self-centered.

Despite not being wealthy, she was spoiled rotten and treated like a little emperor.

Children like this are common in modern times; I never imagined I could see them so easily in ancient times.

"I don't want to get married, I just want to ride a horse. There are plenty of wives in the village, it's not interesting, a horse is much prettier."

The boy had never experienced rejection before, but at the same time, this was the first time he had ever seen a live horse.

It was so tall, so sturdy, and so beautiful that he couldn't help but touch it again and again, liking it very much.

He was smart; he knew that even with a house and land, his family couldn't afford such a horse. If he missed this opportunity, he might never be able to touch such a beautiful horse again when he reached his grandfather's age.

His little head was racing, trying to figure out how to talk to the older sister in front of him so she would agree.