Li Dashan secretly groaned inwardly. Two taels of silver wasn't even enough for his Qingyun to pay his tuition. Xiao Jingchuan, that brat, was clearly playing him for a fool!

Xiang couldn't stand it anymore. She pulled her husband aside and gently persuaded him, "Honey, let's... let's just forget about it! We'll feel at ease knowing that Hongyu is with Jingchuan and his wife."

His wife tried to persuade Li Dashan, but Li Dashan got angry and said, "What do you know? If we can't redeem Hongyu, who will do the farm work?"

Xiao Jingchuan sneered. This old fox had finally shown his true colors. It seemed that without Li Hongyu, his Li family couldn't survive.

When the atmosphere became so tense it was suffocating, Li Hongyu suddenly stepped out from the crowd, her eyes filled with despair and sorrow, staring straight at her father.

"Father! Please don't worry about me anymore. Even if Brother Jingchuan agrees to set me free, I won't go back with you."

Li Hongyu's voice trembled, as if every word carried endless pain.

The people around fell silent, their eyes fixed on the father and daughter. They could sense the inner struggle and determination within Li Hongyu, as well as the irreconcilable conflict between her and her father.

Li Hongyu crossed the street, and Li Dashan immediately showed an angry expression: "Do you know what you're saying? If you don't redeem yourself, do you want to be a lowly person for the rest of your life?"

Li Hongyu looked at her father and sneered disdainfully, "I would rather be a lowly person for the rest of my life than be sold into slavery by you."

"You...you...you don't know what's good for you."

Enraged, Li Dashan raised his hand to strike Li Hongyu, but before his hand could land on her cheek, Xiao Jingchuan intercepted his wrist.

“Uncle Dashan, from the moment you decided to sell Hongyu, she was no longer your daughter. You have no right to lecture her.”