As soon as Nan Yu finished speaking, the onlookers burst into a clamor of discussion, pointing their fingers straight at Li Guihua.
Before anyone could discuss it further, Nan Yu continued.
"What makes me the angriest is that not only did Li Guihua know about this, but my own father knew as well, and he was fully aware that this job was bought for Li Guihua's younger brother.
Everyone tell me, is there any father who acts like this?
He knew perfectly well that the family was a wolf's den, yet he still made his own biological daughter jump right into it, all to please the younger brother of the woman he lives with.
Is this something a human being could possibly do?
I tried to stop my older sister from marrying into that family, but Nan Dashu smashed my head open, insisting by all means to force my sister—"
"Shut your mouth!"
Nan Dashu leaned against the doorframe and shouted at Nan Yu, his flustered and exasperated expression fully exposed to everyone watching the commotion.
A look of utter contempt was plastered across the faces of the crowd toward Nan Dashu.
"Dashu, it's not that we want to lecture you, but how can you act like a father? That's your own biological daughter! Even if she doesn't marry into a wealthy and powerful family, at least you should find her a decent one!"
"Exactly, exactly! Who doesn't hope for the best for their children? How could you pull something like this?"
"Usually, when you mistreat your four biological children and make them do all the heavy work, we don't say anything to you. After all, they are your own flesh and blood, and since you're their father, it's not our place as outsiders to say too much.
But for you, their own father, to push your child into a fiery pit, that is just completely unacceptable!
When you grow old and go down below to meet Nan Yu's mother, tell me, how will you ever have the face to face her?"
"Nan Dashu, your father was such a man of strong backbone and unwavering integrity. How on earth did he end up producing a spineless wretch like you, who obeys a woman in everything?!"
"That's right, Elder Brother Nan was a war hero, a real man who fought the Japanese invaders and went through life and death. Nan Dashu, why aren't you the least bit like your father?"
"Ain't that the truth? What kind of ability is it to bully your own children!"
Voices mingled in the chaotic courtyard entrance, and the contempt for Nan Dashu and Li Guihua in everyone's eyes was glaringly obvious.
Nan Dashu's father, which meant Nan Yu's grandfather, was truly a veteran who had fought on the front lines, and his prestige in the village was exceptionally high.
Back then, if not for his failing health, he would never have retired from the army and returned to the village.
The old man had shrapnel lodged in his brain and body that could not be removed, which was why he chose to retire.
The villagers showed respect for the Old Master, which was why they usually let Nan Dashu off without saying much. Even when Nan Dashu treated his children poorly, at most someone would feel it was unjust and say a word or two to him, and nothing more.
But things were different now. Nan Dashu was actually going to sell his own daughter just to curry favor with his brother-in-law, and this made the villagers utterly despise him.
If the job had been bought for Nan Yu, no one would have said a word; an older sister willingly sacrificing her marriage for her younger brother's future was a very common occurrence in the village.
Yet this couple had actually teamed up to push a child into a fiery pit, and it wasn't even for Nan Yu's sake. That was something these villagers, overflowing with a sense of justice, simply could not stomach.
Which family didn't have children? Which family didn't have daughters?
Putting themselves in that position, if this had happened to their own children...
A few aunts with tear ducts easily triggered started wiping away their tears, and the voices pointing fingers at Nan Dashu grew even louder.
At the same time, Li Guihua got thoroughly cursed out by the aunts, though that woman still dared to talk back.
For a moment, the courtyard entrance grew livelier than a vegetable market.
This was exactly what Nan Yu wanted to see: the bigger the fuss, the better.
Only in this way would his sister's safety be somewhat guaranteed. At the very least, when Nan Yu was not home, if Li Guihua and Nan Dashu tried to spirit Nan Zhi away, the villagers would step in to stop them, or at the very least come over and ask a few questions.
It was impossible for Nan Yu to stay home all day watching his sister to keep her from going out. Once Nan Yu was away, how could Nan Zhi alone possibly resist the two of them, Li Guihua and Nan Dashu?
Xiaosan and Xiao Si were still too young; even if they wanted to stop it, they wouldn't be able to.
Nan Yu knew very well that with Li Guihua's personality, having suffered such a huge grievance, she would never let the matter rest quietly. This mess was bound to drag on and on!
And Nan Yu was just waiting for Li Guihua to keep making a scene. If she didn't make a scene, how could Nan Yu ever legitimately and rightfully sever ties with Nan Dashu?
In this era, cutting ties the way Nan Yu was doing was considered disowning one's biological father and committing an act of unfilial rebellion.
But if Nan Yu stood in a position of utter helplessness, no one could find fault with him.
Nan Yu had thought it through very clearly: the root cause of all this was Nan Dashu.
If Nan Dashu were a good father, how could he watch Li Guihua bully his children while cheering her on from the sidelines, treating Li Guihua's children as his own?
If Nan Dashu were a good father, how could he know what kind of family Li Guihua had picked for Nan Zhi, yet still force Nan Zhi to go exchange her life for a job for Li Guihua's brother, completely disregarding his own daughter's survival?
The starting point of all this lay right here with Nan Dashu.
Since Nan Dashu didn't regard the four children as his own in the first place, it was far better to sever ties with him sooner rather than later.
Only by cutting all ties with Nan Dashu could Nan Yu and his three siblings truly live their own lives.
Nan Yu had thought this through thoroughly in his previous life, which was why he chose to sever ties with Nan Dashu the moment he was reborn.
Of course, he wouldn't let Li Guihua and her two children off the hook either, but there was no rush for that. The days ahead were long, and they could take things slowly.
First, he had to let the villagers see the true faces of Nan Dashu and Li Guihua so that he could justify cutting ties.
As Nan Dashu looked at the fellow villagers pointing fingers at him, he felt he had completely lost face. Glancing at Nan Yu, he felt an even deeper hatred, and he hated Nan Zhi as well.
He was Nan Zhi's father; a father tells his daughter to marry, and Nan Zhi should have just obediently gone through with it. Wouldn't that have spared them all this trouble?
Now look at this mess—Nan Yu had made it so that the whole village knew, and Nan Dashu only felt humiliated.
How could he not know that what he was doing lacked a conscience? That was precisely why he hadn't wanted anyone else to find out.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have been in such anxious haste to force Nan Zhi into an immediate marriage.