Ren Daya knew what it meant to give a man shoes and insoles. She also understood that she had regarded Qin Erzhu as her lifeline. If Qin Erzhu could save her from her suffering, she was willing to suffer with him.

Qin Erzhu never imagined that his momentary lapse of compassion would unexpectedly bring him a young wife. When he received the insoles from Ren Daya, he was stunned and stared at her in disbelief.

Do you even know what you've given me?

Qin Erzhu thought for a long time and finally decided to ask. If she didn't understand, he couldn't accept it. If she did understand, then... should he accept it or not?

After taking a closer look at Ren Daya, Qin Erzhu noticed that she was a bit thin and dark-skinned, and not very tall, but she had a pretty face. If she took good care of herself, she could be considered a delicate beauty, if not a great beauty.

Ren Daya blushed and nodded. Qin Erzhu understood. After thinking for a moment, he put the insole in his pocket, then went home and gave Ren Daya two vegetable pancakes, telling her to eat them quickly.

From then on, Ren Daya and Qin Erzhu secretly started dating. Every day, Qin Erzhu would secretly bring Ren Daya some food and help her with chores. Ren Daya wasn't the type to just enjoy without giving anything in return. Qin Erzhu's mother had poor eyesight, so Ren Daya would help Qin Erzhu mend clothes and bring him a couple of pieces of clothing when she did the laundry. The young lovers weren't exactly inseparable, but their relationship was always going strong.

Half a year passed like this. During this time, thanks to Qin Erzhu's help and her own caution, Ren Daya was not beaten by her family many times. But even so, it was common for her to be scolded and hit a few times, and Ren Daya got used to it.

Just a few days ago, Ren Daya was scolded by her sister-in-law for accidentally ruining her clothes. Not only did her mother-in-law not help her daughter, but she also joined in the scolding.

Ren Daya couldn't hold back and asked Old Mrs. Ren if she was her own mother and why she was being treated this way, since even her sister-in-law could bully her in this family.

Instead of getting a response from Old Mrs. Ren, he was beaten up.

Ren Daya was beaten so badly she couldn't get up. Not only did Old Mrs. Ren not give her money for medical treatment, she also yelled at her to get up and continue working.

Ren Daya couldn't get up at all, and even developed a high fever in the middle of the night. When her family saw that she couldn't get up and seemed to have fainted, they locked her up at home and left her to fend for herself.

Qin Erzhu, who lived next door, naturally knew that Ren Daya had been beaten. He was extremely anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He didn't wait until the next day when the entire Ren family went to work before sneaking back to see her.

Seeing that Ren Daya had a high fever, Qin Erzhu carried her to the county hospital and gave her an injection to reduce the fever. He told her to take her home as soon as she woke up, otherwise her family would not let him off the hook if they found out.

Qin Erzhu originally wanted to take this opportunity to tell her about their relationship, but Ren Daya knew what kind of people her family were and was afraid they would try to extort money from Qin Erzhu, so she quickly waved her hand and disagreed, saying they should talk about it later.

Qin Erzhu had no choice but to send the person back.

Fortunately, Ren Daya's family hadn't returned when she came back, so the matter was kept secret.

When the Ren family returned and saw that Ren Daya had woken up, they couldn't help but marvel at her good fortune in surviving. They thought it was good that she hadn't died despite being so ill, which meant she was lucky and might fetch a better price.

Two days later, Qin Erzhu found another opportunity to take Ren Daya to the county hospital for a follow-up visit. On the last visit, just as they left the hospital, they ran into Ren's eldest daughter-in-law's mother.

The old lady didn't say anything at the time, but later she went to the Ren family and found the old lady and said that she saw Ren Daya in the county town with her neighbor, a hooligan.

Grandma Ren immediately realized that there was something going on between Ren Daya and Qin Erzhu, but she didn't say anything. Instead, she secretly observed for a few days and found that she was right. Ren Daya was always stealing glances at Qin Erzhu, and Qin Erzhu's eyes were also frequently glancing in their direction.

Just yesterday, Old Mrs. Ren asked Ren Daya to go to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy things. Of course, the money was calculated beforehand, and Ren Daya didn't get a single penny. When Qin Erzhu found out, he also went with Ren Daya.

The two secretly strolled around the county town, which brought them even closer. However, on their way back, Qin Erzhu ran into his friends from the black market. Since it was inconvenient to bring Ren Daya along, he asked her to come back first.

The two parted ways, but this morning Ren's family came to their door saying that Ren Daya was missing and had not returned home all night.

After listening to Qin Erzhu's account, Qin Xiaoxiao and Su Lu exchanged a glance and silently shook their heads.

It seems that Ren Daya has been captured. If things had been done quickly, she would have already been sent out of the county town by now.

If they leave the county town, then this person... will be hard to find.

Apart from Su Yu, who was a little slow to react, everyone else present was shrewd and could understand the situation after a little thought.

Qin Erzhu received sympathetic glances from the crowd and could only manage a helpless, bitter smile.

Even if the person is found, Ren Daya will probably...

How could those people let go of a young, unmarried woman? Unless she's pretty and can fetch a good price, but Ren Daya isn't exactly pretty now.

Qin Erzhu knew that his relationship with Ren Daya had come to an end and could only end there. Now he needed to consider clearing his name and proving his innocence.

“Last year, the county arrested a lot of human traffickers. We thought that would deter them and make them quiet for a while. But after only a few days, they’ve started acting up again. This is outrageous! Do they have any respect for the country and the law?”

Qin Ye frowned slightly, clearly not expecting another group of kidnappers to arrive in the county.

Zou Jing sat down next to Su Yu with a nonchalant air and chuckled, "There's profit to be made, and no other forces are entrenched here. In their eyes, we're just lambs to the slaughter. Where else can you find such a good deal?"

However, those who want to take over this place will likely have to pay a price.

Hongxian is not a small place; it's not easy to monopolize such a large piece of the pie.

Su Yu only half understood what she was hearing. She blinked her big, confused eyes and looked left and right before finally fixing her gaze on Qin Xiaoxiao.

"Xiaoxiao, do you think Ren Daya can be found again?"

Qin Xiaoxiao was taken aback, then shook her head slightly, "It's difficult."

But if the speed is fast enough, it's not impossible.

She has limited abilities and can't help even if she wants to, so she can only rely on the male protagonist, Shi Lei.

Hopefully, he'll be lucky and his protagonist aura will work out properly so he can save Ren Daya in time.

Su Yu didn't ask any more questions and slowly lowered her head, clearly feeling sad for Ren Daya.

Qin Xiaoxiao could tell at a glance that something was going on here. Why would Su Yu pay attention to Ren Daya?

"You know Ren Daya?"

Su Yu nodded gently, "Yes, I met her when I went up the mountain to dig for wild vegetables before. She taught me to recognize wild vegetables and how to cook them. She also pointed out to me where wild vegetables grow on Mao'er Mountain. She is a good girl."

Even when things are so tough for them, it's rare to find someone who still maintains kindness. After hearing this, Qin Xiaoxiao immediately felt that Ren Daya had a latent saintly quality. If left to develop, perhaps the East could produce a saintly Ren Daya. (End of Chapter)