The whole family overheard her innermost thoughts and went crazy.

Chapter 76 Selling Daughter to Make Money

[She was like a canary forced into a cage, unable to have her own thoughts or do what she wanted. Everything had to be arranged by her mother. Bai Shiyao was twenty-two years old and had her own job, but her mother controlled every penny she spent.]

[You can't come home late, and you have to report when you go out: who you're with, what you're doing, and when you'll be back. Actually, Bai Shiyao is very repressed, but her mother will give her a lot of sweetness, only to stab her in the back at the very end.]

[Having lived in such an environment for so long, she had considered changing things, but after twenty-two years, it was difficult to change overnight. Her mother was very good at brainwashing her, constantly saying things like, "I'm so good to you, everything I do is for you, all the money is for you," and so on.]

[This causes Bai Shiyao to feel guilty whenever she tries to argue back, a guilt that has accumulated over time. Today, her mother pressured her to marry, and the two had a huge fight. Bai Shiyao broke down. If the host doesn't intervene today, there's a 99% chance Bai Shiyao will commit suicide.]

Upon hearing this, Shen Wantang's heart sank.

Actually, this is the most difficult situation. If it were just physical abuse, Bai Shiyao would hate them and might be able to leave such a family very quickly.

However, the current situation is like this: to use an analogy, Bai Shiyao is like being in the sea, floating and sinking, struggling between suffocation and breathlessness. But what makes her hesitate is her own mother, so she becomes indecisive.

Whenever she wanted to break free, she would think of how good her mother had been to her, and she kept exhausting herself like this.

It wasn't that Bai Shiyao didn't want to, it was that she truly couldn't make a decision!

"But I just don't want to, and you didn't even ask for my opinion!" Bai Shiyao bit her lip tightly, trying not to burst into tears.

"Yaoyao, why did it take you so long to come to me?" Shen Wantang tightened her grip on Bai Shiyao's hand, wanting to give her some strength.

Bai Shiyao hadn't expected that a complete stranger would offer her a helping hand on their first meeting. "I... I was held up by something," she said, her voice trembling, but she tried her best to cooperate with Shen Wantang.

If she goes back today, she may never be able to leave that house again.

"Who are you? Are you Yao Yao's friend?" Bai Shi Yao's mother asked Shen Wantang with some confusion.

As the saying goes, family scandals should not be aired in public, so she still had to save face for him.

"Yes, Auntie, what's wrong?" Shen Wantang suddenly changed her expression. She smiled gently and acted very naturally: "Although Yao Yao is a bit stubborn, she will listen to you if you talk to her nicely, Auntie."

(What's going on? The other person is unwilling, yet Shen Wantang is speaking up for the adults?)

(Are forced marriages still happening? Isn't that illegal?)

(What on earth is Shen Wantang doing?! I'm speechless.)

"Oh, that's right! My Yaoyao is too stubborn." The middle-aged woman sighed, "Child, come here and Auntie will tell you."

Bai Shiyao subconsciously gripped Shen Wantang's hand, and Shen Wantang gently patted the back of her hand: "Don't worry, wait for me."

The middle-aged woman pulled Shen Wantang aside and began to complain: "You know, that man may be old, but he's the only son in his family. He has a car and a house. Yaoyao doesn't have to do anything after marrying him. Wouldn't it be better for her to enjoy a life of luxury?"

"Moreover, that man really likes our Yao Yao and, to show his sincerity, offered a very high dowry!"

"Her younger brother just happened to be growing up and wanted a car. Our family isn't well-off either, so this would make things much easier for us!"

"Yaoyao doesn't have much of a social circle, and being single all the time isn't a good solution. Good girl, please help Auntie persuade Yaoyao to agree!"

Shen Wantang rolled her eyes as she listened. Are there really parents like this in the world who don't care about their children's wishes and only think about their own interests?

Looking at her closely, I realized she really has a huge face, big enough to hold a thousand mountains and rivers!

“But Auntie, Yao Yao doesn’t want to.” Shen Wantang took a step back.

The middle-aged woman immediately retorted, "Why wouldn't she want to! She's just shy! What do you know!"

Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, she turned around and glared angrily at her daughter: "Bai Shiyao, are you coming back with me today or not? If you don't come back with me today, we'll sever our mother-daughter relationship! Don't ever come back!"

"Hey, Aunt Zhang, what are you doing?" Since they're all from the same town, it's easy for acquaintances to spot them.

When Aunt Zhang saw someone arrive, her expression instantly changed. Her face was full of worry: "Tell me, what's the use of Yao Yao, who has neither ability nor talent? I told her to marry into a good family, but she still insists on running away from home. I've already coaxed her all the way here, but she still doesn't want to go back!"

“From childhood to adulthood, I’ve never let her wash my clothes or dishes, and now she’s so disobedient!”

"My sincere heart has been completely wasted!"

The villagers generally believe whatever they hear, whether it's wind or rain.

"Yaoyao, your mother is so good to you, how can you not be grateful?"

"She's incompetent, yet she found such a good family. She shouldn't be too picky about people, or no one will want her in the future!"

"Look at you, you haven't found any good jobs yet, you have no money, and you still have to rely on your mother to survive!"

"Your mother has had such a hard time raising you and your brother all these years. Can't you understand the difficulties adults face?"

Bai Shiyao's face was pale; she felt as if she were about to be overwhelmed by these words: "No, it's not like that..."

Shen Wantang's face turned completely cold.

(Wait, why is this involving moral blackmail?)

(She's 22, an adult, can't she decide her own marriage?)

(Hilarious! What kind of adult is this? Standing on some moral high ground and letting others condemn their own daughter?)

(This is completely humiliating my daughter!)

(Oh no, I'm so angry! Can I call a police officer?)

(You can practically feel the girl's suffocation even through the screen.)

(I can totally empathize with her because my family is like that too; every time I come home, it feels so suffocating!)

(Feeling sorry for you, giving you a hug.)

Shen Wantang stepped in front of Bai Shiyao and looked at Aunt Zhang: "I respect you and call you Auntie, but why do you talk like you've applied an enema?"

"This is your daughter, not an outsider. How can you let outsiders condemn her and trample on her dignity? Are you proud that others are on your side?"

"A person like you doesn't deserve to be a mother!"

"You don't have money? Your son wants to buy a car, why should she have to bear the burden? It's your and your husband's own choice that you don't have money, how can you blame your children?"

"And your son, is he disabled? Does he have no hands or feet? Why do you want a car but don't you know how to earn the money to buy it?"

"You have the nerve! I'm doing this to be good to her—I think I'm doing it to your whole family!"

"Making money by selling your daughters..." After finishing her rant to Aunt Zhang, Shen Wantang looked at the onlookers around her and said, "What, do you all make money by selling your daughters?!"