After being jilted, the entire neighboring village was filled with deep regret.

The old village chief was distributing silver to those who weren't selected, one tael per person. Seeing Ruan's mother's behavior, he was furious!
"How dare you say that! People are supposed to be honest, obedient, and well-behaved. Your daughter turned against us in public when she wasn't chosen, which almost caused our village's fishing boats to be taken back by the benefactor. It's already good enough that they didn't hold it against her. What more do you want?"
Let me tell you, if this important person really takes back the fishing boat, your whole family will be sinners in the entire village! Then let's see how you'll stay in the village!

Ruan's mother originally wanted to take the initiative. In the past, no matter what happened, she could always get what she wanted by throwing a tantrum. However, she did not expect to run into a snag today.

He immediately sat on the ground, slapping his thigh and wailing, "Why is my life so miserable! You all bully my family! Gods! Open your eyes and see!"

Ruan's mother's cries attracted many villagers to watch.

The old village chief, however, kept a stern face and gestured for the others to take the money and go back first.

A nosy villager asked a couple of questions, and Ruan's mother embellished the story of how the wealthy man looked down on Ruan Haizhu, saying, "Does having money give you the right to treat people like this? The village chief even sided with outsiders to bully my daughter! He didn't even speak up for her!"

The villagers were talking about it, but the old village chief remained unmoved.

Mr. Ruan, who had been hiding in the crowd, saw that Mrs. Ruan's fussing had no effect and had no choice but to come out and demand an explanation. "Village Chief, you have to stand up for us!"

The old village chief sneered, glanced at the villagers who were still gathered around, and said indifferently, "Fine! You'd better return the fishing boat to them now, otherwise you won't have any confidence!"

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed.

"Village chief, what does this have to do with the fishing boat? Why should we return the fishing boat because of Ruan Haizhu's matter!" Several men who had come to watch the commotion protested.

The old village chief glanced at Mr. and Mrs. Ruan with a mocking look. "Our village doesn't have the money to buy a fishing boat. That fishing boat belongs to a wealthy person, and we'll be carrying this debt for decades! We can't even pay it back, so what right do you have to point fingers at them?"

Don't even mention how others look down on the people from our village; even if they come knocking on your door, you'd better shut up! You ignorant fools!

Upon hearing this, everyone rebuked Mr. and Mrs. Ruan for being unreasonable. Some even went forward and kicked the couple out of the village chief's house, warning them, "If you dare to offend this important person and implicate the entire village, I'll kill you!"

Ruan's mother was so frightened that she didn't dare to utter a sound, and followed Ruan's father home in a huff, feeling very unconvinced.

When the couple got home, they discovered that Ruan Haizhu was gone, along with her luggage.

The two men assumed that Ruan Haizhu was unwilling to give up and had gone to Xiaogang Village to ask a benefactor to buy her. They were not worried at all, but secretly hoped that they could get the money the next day.

The next day, before dawn, Su Tai and her group set off.

Before they left, the villagers also prepared a lot of dried seafood for them.

For example, dried shrimp, dried mackerel, small miscellaneous fish, dried shellfish, dried seaweed, etc.

These things are rare in Langya Kingdom and are sold at a very high price, but here they are as cheap as homegrown vegetables.

Xu bought a whole cartload in one go.

Su Tai realized that they were likely to encounter danger while crossing the uninhabited ice field, so it was necessary to buy some seafood as a backup, especially fish.

They bought large quantities of dried fish from the village.

By the time everything was packed, the sun was almost up.

The convoy sped up and hit the road, completely unaware that a tail was following behind them.

Ruan Haizhu had been lying in wait in Xiaogang Village since last night. She stayed outside the house of an old woman she had seen the day before, and waited at the village entrance until dawn.

Seeing the convoy leave the village, they immediately followed.

She had made up her mind. As long as she followed the caravan to Langya Kingdom, even if this family didn't want her, she could sell herself to another wealthy family and definitely live a good life. After the caravan had been traveling for half a day, the镖师 (bodyguard/escort) finally noticed Ruan Haizhu, who had been with them all the way, and went up to report the situation to Su Tai.

“Madam Shen, that little girl has been following us for a long time, and it seems she plans to cross the ice plains with us.”

Su Tai lifted the carriage curtain and looked back carefully, her eyes showing a hint of understanding.

Xu asked, "What's going on?"

Su Tai smiled and said, "It's nothing. She's just a quick-witted girl. We don't need to worry about her. If she wants to come, let her. We'll just keep going."

The镖师 (bodyguard/escort) understood and instructed the caravan to maintain its speed.

Seeing that the convoy showed no sign of stopping, Ruan Haizhu, who was following behind, became even angrier. Those people had clearly spotted her, yet they remained indifferent! Were they even human?

At this moment, Ruan Haizhu was filled with resentment towards Su Tai and completely forgot about her family.

Ruan's parents waited at home for most of the day but received no news, so they had no choice but to make a trip to Xiaogang Village themselves.

The two were extremely nervous when they arrived, fearing that they might run into the guards of a nobleman and get beaten up if they weren't careful.

When I arrived, I found the whole village quiet. Apart from elderly people with mobility issues and children who had difficulty walking, there wasn't a single person in sight.

I learned that all the men in the village had gone out to sea, and the women and children had all gone to the beach to collect seafood, including the village chief's family.

The couple had no choice but to grit their teeth and go to the beach to look for them.

Upon finally seeing Yu Xinghai, Mr. Ruan immediately demanded, "Where is my daughter Haizhu? Where have you taken her?"

Yu Xinghai looked completely bewildered. "Who are you? I don't know your daughter!"

"You're still trying to deny it! You're the one who went to our village and said that a nobleman wanted to buy servants. My daughter must have come to your village!" Mr. Ruan was extremely agitated.

Yu Xinghai's expression changed, realizing that something was wrong, and he kept asking questions.

Upon learning that the Ruan Haizhu mentioned by Ruan's father was the little girl who had talked back to Su Tai yesterday, his face instantly turned very ugly.

“Your daughter has quite a temper! She even dared to talk back to someone important! I’ve already had your village chief take her home. What? Hasn’t she gotten home yet? I’ll have to go to your village and ask!” Yu Xinghai gave the things to his wife and was about to go to the next village.

Feeling guilty, Mr. and Mrs. Ruan had no choice but to soften their tone and tell the truth, "Our daughter did go back, but she ran away again! She said she came to your village!"

Yu Xinghai hurriedly denied it, "No, no, no, she didn't come to our village! The important person stayed at my house yesterday, and my family and the nearby villagers can all testify to that. No one came to our house last night! Don't blame us for your own failure to keep an eye on your daughter!"

Some people from Xiaogang Village who knew Ruan's parents came over and said to them, "I wonder if your daughter has run off somewhere in a fit of pique? This morning, before the esteemed person left, he was still collecting dried fish in the village. Every household that had any stock sent it over for the esteemed person to choose from."

We didn't see your daughter at all.

"Yes! Your daughter is beautiful. If she were really there, we would have noticed her long ago."

Everyone started talking at once, and the more they talked, the paler the Ruan couple's faces became.

Ruan's mother plopped down on the beach and wailed, "My Haizhu is lost! My Haizhu is lost! Waaaaah!" (End of Chapter)