After being hit, the woman naturally retaliated.

Fearing that Li Zhenzhu would suffer a loss, Shen Qiyin quickly had Chu Si, who was guarding nearby, step forward and separate the two who were tearing at each other.

Seeing that they had helpers, the man dared not make a move again.

He grabbed his own child and, cursing, prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, Li Zhenzhu called out to her, "You just said how much this little girl costs?"

When the topic of money came up, the woman's attitude immediately changed. Regardless of the unpleasantness she had just had with Li Zhenzhu, she immediately smiled obsequiously and said, "Does this lady want to buy something?"

"Hehe, not expensive at all..." She rubbed her hands together: "Only five taels of silver."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhenzhu, who usually haggled over the price of even a cabbage, was unusually generous: "Okay, I'll take this person!"

After saying that, he took out five taels of silver from his purse and exchanged it for the child's indenture.

Xianglan originally thought that Li Zhenzhu had bought the girl and was going to take her to the mansion. But after the woman walked away, she gave the contract of sale to the girl and said, "You can choose your own path from now on."

The child looked up at her, his face full of confusion.

Not only her, but Shen Qiyin was also full of doubts, not knowing what she was going to do.

Li Zhenzhu said impatiently, "The indenture is now in your own hands. You can come with us and become a maid who serves tea and water in our home."

"Or, you can find a job at a workshop or similar place."

"Or else..."

She paused for a moment, then continued without much emotion, "Go home and find your heartless mother, and make her sell you again."

As soon as she finished speaking, the little girl knelt down at her feet with a "thump".

Those once dull eyes regained some light, and he kept kowtowing to Li Zhenzhu, saying, "Thank you for your life-saving grace, Madam. Thank you for your life-saving grace, Madam."

Li Zhenzhu raised her hand and said, "You don't need to thank me. I didn't buy you to do good deeds."

She only vaguely saw the shadow of Shen Qiyin in this child.

Or to be more precise, he saw the shadow of the Shen family in that woman.

Therefore, we can no longer stand idly by.

The past cannot be retrieved. She can no longer protect the once weak Shen Xiyin. The only thing she can do is to make her now strong child even more confident.

She wanted her to know that she was also a child who was cared for.

Whether she gets married or leaves home in the future, she can still be a child in her eyes.

The young girl was unaware of Li Zhenzhu's thoughts. She only knew that she had been rescued, so she said, "I will never forget your kindness, Madam. I will definitely repay you for this silver in the future!"

She tore up the contract of servitude and ran into the wind and snow.

Shen Qiyin looked at her, tears welling in her eyes: "She might freeze or starve to death."

"So what happened?"

"It is also possible to find a way out of a desperate situation."

"so what?"

Shen Qiyin smiled through her tears: "So good..."

Whether one lives or dies is a choice made by oneself, not a fate controlled by others from which one cannot escape.

Just as I was thinking this, I suddenly felt a warm touch on my hand.

She looked down and saw that a rough, large hand was holding hers.

Li Zhenzhu walked forward without looking back: "It's cold, hurry back."

Shen Qiyin looked at her figure, which was half a step ahead of her, and then glanced at the oil-paper umbrella that had somehow tilted towards her. Suddenly, the leaky window in her heart was blocked.

Her lips moved slightly, and she softly called out, "...Mother."