A jinx, me? But I bring good fortune to my whole family!

A dark figure pushed open the door, and a cold wind carrying snowflakes rushed into the room, causing the flame of the kerosene lamp to flicker.

Grandma Gu was so frightened that she took two steps back. When she saw who it was, her face turned pale.

"You... what brings you here?"

The newcomer was dressed in black and wore a felt hat, obscuring his face except for a pair of sinister eyes. He closed the door behind him, plunging the room into darkness once more.

"How did I get here?" the man sneered. "I can't contact my men, so how do you think I'm here?"

Grandma Gu's heart skipped a beat, and her legs went weak.

That idiot Wang Guixiang got arrested.

"Grandma Gu, my patience is limited," the man approached step by step, his imposing aura making it hard for Grandma Gu to breathe. "You've already taken the money, when are you going to give me the person I want?"

"This...this was a bit of an accident..." Old Mrs. Gu stammered, cold sweat streaming down her forehead. "That family of the third son is really strange..."

"I don't care about anything weird or not!" The man slammed his hand on the table. "I'm giving you three more days. If you still can't see him, you'll have to pay back that fifty dollars with your own heart and soul!"

After speaking, the man looked at her again, opened the door, and disappeared into the night.

Grandma Gu's legs gave way and she collapsed to the ground, her whole body trembling uncontrollably.

She is finished.

No, she can't just let it go like this!

Grandma Gu got up from the ground and hurriedly ran towards Zhang Aidi's house.

"Open the door! Zhang Aidi, you dead person, open the door right now!"

Zhang Aidi had just fallen asleep when she was startled by the banging on the door. She opened it, grumbling, and when she saw it was Old Lady Gu, she asked irritably, "What are you howling about in the middle of the night?"

"That person is here!" Old Mrs. Gu grabbed Zhang Aidi's arm, her nails digging almost into her flesh. "He's only given us three days. If we don't hand over that wretched girl, we're all doomed!"

Zhang Aidi's face also turned pale. She was also in debt and was counting on this money to turn her life around.

"Where's Wang Guixiang? How's that idiot doing?" Zhang Aidi asked anxiously.

"How should I know!" Old Mrs. Gu waved her hand dismissively. "What do we do now? The third son's family is too guarded now. How are we supposed to make a move?"

Zhang Aidi paced restlessly around the room, finally gritting her teeth and saying, "I'm going to find Wang Guixiang! She knows people from the south, I refuse to believe she can't handle it. She initiated this, she has to get it done for us!"

After saying that, Zhang Aidi didn't care about the difficult road ahead, put on her cotton-padded coat and rushed out.

She ran all the way to the village committee, but the gate was ajar and the house was dark and silent.

Zhang Aidi had some doubts in her mind. She pushed open the door and went in, and smelled a mixture of foot odor and saliva.

She groped her way to the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and saw Wang Guixiang lying sprawled out on it, fast asleep, snoring loudly with her mouth open.

Her face was badly swollen, and the areas on her eyelids where she had been stung by wasps were still purplish.

"Wang Guixiang! Get up! Wake up!"

Zhang Aidi pushed her, but there was no reaction.

She increased the force and shook it vigorously.

Wang Guixiang simply turned over, smacked her lips, and continued snoring.

"You dead pig! Get up!" Zhang Aidi snapped, reaching out to pinch Wang Guixiang's thigh hard.

Wang Guixiang didn't even utter a sound.

Zhang Aidi's heart sank as she leaned closer to look and found that Wang Guixiang had drool at the corner of her mouth and her swollen face was flushed.

She realized it immediately.

This...this is drugging!

That idiot actually spilled the medicine on himself!

Zhang Aidi was so angry that she trembled all over. She pointed at Wang Guixiang on the kang (a heated brick bed), but couldn't utter a word of curses. She sat down on the ground with a thud, feeling utterly cold inside.

That's it, our only hope is gone!

Can they rely on their own struggle against the third son's family?

Having failed so many times, she had absolutely no confidence.

……

The next morning, the atmosphere in the Gu family courtyard was unusually lively.

Su Xiulan counted the 220 yuan and three industrial coupons over and over again, a smile on her face the whole time.

"Jianguo, look at all this money! Our Da'an is a genius!"

Gu Jianguo felt happy and proud as he looked at the money.

Nuannuan, clutching a bag of fruit candies, ran happily to Da'an: "Big brother, have some candy, it's sweet!"

Da'an looked down at his younger sister, reached out and took a piece of candy, clumsily unwrapped it, and put it in his mouth.

Just as the family was having a good time, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the yard.

"Gu Jianguo! You come out here!"

"Is this how the Red Star Brigade bullies people? Is there no law anymore?!"

The brigade leader, with a dark face, led several militiamen into the courtyard, followed by the brigade leader of Niulan Village and an old woman in her fifties.

As soon as the old woman entered the courtyard, she looked around aimlessly, and finally fixed her gaze on Nuannuan.

She rushed over in a few steps, pointed at Nuannuan's nose, and started cursing.

"You little jinx! You ingrate! Your aunt came to see you out of kindness, and you actually harmed her! You're so young and already so vicious; what will you be like when you grow up!"

This old woman was Wang Guixiang's mother-in-law, Old Lady Lin.

Su Xiulan immediately got angry when she saw this, and quickly shielded Nuannuan behind her.

"Get out of here! Your daughter-in-law is kind-hearted? She came to kidnap my child with drugged candy. We're being lenient by not sending her to be executed! And you still have the nerve to come here!" Su Xiulan was trembling with anger.

"You're talking nonsense!" Old Mrs. Lin said, hands on her hips. "My daughter-in-law said it was just ordinary candy. You're all jealous and ganged up on her because she's from another village!"

"You..." Su Xiulan was so angry that she couldn't speak, and she really wanted to go up and tear her mouth apart.

The courtyard was in complete chaos. The officials from the two villages were caught in an awkward situation, unsure whether to intervene or not.

Just then, a child's voice rang out.

"grandmother."

Nuannuan peeked out from behind Su Xiulan and looked at Old Lady Lin without any fear on her face.

"Are you planning to take Nuannuan back and sell her to human traffickers?"

The moment the little girl spoke, the courtyard fell silent.

Everyone was stunned.

How could a five-year-old child ask such a terrifying question in such a calm tone?

If it were any other child, they would be terrified and cry at the mere mention of the word "human trafficker."

Grandma Lin was also stunned. She didn't expect this little girl to be so cunning, hitting the nail on the head as soon as she opened her mouth. She panicked for a moment, but quickly denied it with her neck stiff.

"What nonsense are you spouting, you brat! I...I'm your dear grandmother! How could I sell you!"

"Oh." Nuannuan nodded.

She tilted her head and counted on her fingers, saying, "Alright then, dear Grandma, if you return my father's pension and the big house we used to live in at the east end of the village to me, Nuannuan will go back with you."

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Lin's face immediately turned red.

She's already taken all the compensation and that big house; asking her to give them back would be like taking her life!

"You...you greedy little slut!" Old Mrs. Lin shouted angrily, jumping up and down. "Just like your deadbeat mother! You're obsessed with money! Even at such a young age, all you know is wanting money and a house!"

As soon as she uttered those words, the surrounding villagers all looked at her differently.

The village head of Niulan Village was so embarrassed that he wished he could disappear into a crack in the ground. He realized that Old Lady Lin hadn't come to reason with anyone; she was just there to throw a tantrum and demand something in return.

Gu Jianguo sneered and stood ramrod straight, leaning against the wall.

"Did you hear that? These are the people from Niulan Village! They took my daughter's parents' compensation money, seized my daughter's house, and now they want to sell my daughter! This isn't over!"

Ye Qing, who had been leaning against the door without saying a word, had a cold expression.

He looked at the noisy crowd, but his attention was focused on the few people from Niulan Village at the very back.

A timid man was peeking cautiously into the yard.

Ye Qing felt that face looked somewhat familiar.

He remembered that the man who had been talking furtively to Grandma Gu at the village entrance a few days ago was this very man!

How did he end up with the people from Niulan Village?