Sold into a ghost marriage? Four-year-old and his thuggish father go on a killing spree.

"Have you heard? Gu Lao Er wants to divide the family property!"

The news spread like wildfire, reaching the entire Chengjiawan district in just one morning.

The old men squatting in the threshing ground, basking in the sun, were whispering among themselves.

The women washing clothes by the well were huddled together, whispering amongst themselves.

"That second son of the Gu family? The spineless coward?"

"They're not so pathetic anymore—they've attended a training course at the commune."

"What's the use of a training course? If we're going to split up, we'll just split up. I'll leave with nothing, not even a dilapidated house—"

"You don't know, do you? It was Wang Guifang who wanted to sell his daughter, that's why he made a scene—"

"Sell? Sell to whom?"

"Old Li's family in the neighboring village, twenty yuan—"

"Hey! How old is that girl? Four? Heartless!"

The chatter filled the entire village like sparrows fluttering about.

She doesn't care what others say.

There was only one thing she cared about—today's family division meeting.

-

The brigade headquarters office was not large.

A square table, several long benches, and a portrait of Chairman Mao hanging on the wall, the frame covered in a layer of dust.

A sheet of red paper was laid out on the table—that was the kind of paper Cheng Tiezhu used to write resolutions.

Nine o'clock in the morning.

Everyone has arrived.

A party—

Gu Yanqiu.

Niannian stood beside him.

The other party to the case—

Wang Guifang sat on the stool, her face long and drawn.

Gu Yanchun stood behind Wang Guifang, his hands in the pockets of his cotton-padded coat.

Sun Xiufen. Huddled in the corner, the handprint on her face hadn't completely faded, and her eyes darted around.

witness--

Cheng Tiezhu sat at the table.

Accountant Lao Sun, holding an abacus.

There were two respected elders in the village—Uncle Cheng and Uncle Zhang. One was in his sixties, and the other in his early fifties; both were influential figures in the village.

There was no seat for Aunt Wang—she stood at the door, glancing inside every now and then.

There is one more person—

Gu Dehou.

The old man sat by the window, leaning on his pipe.

I sat down as soon as I entered.

I didn't speak to anyone.

The pipe was stuck in his mouth, but the cigarette wasn't lit.

Cheng Tiezhu tapped on the table.

"Everyone knows what happened today. Gu Yanqiu proposed dividing the family property—I won't repeat the reasons."

He glanced at Wang Guifang.

The old lady's face twitched—and she lowered her head.

"Same as always. The person involved speaks first. Yanqiu, you go first."

Gu Yanqiu stood up.

He didn't spout any grand principles.

He was saying—

"Uncle Tiezhu, uncles and elders, I only have one thing to say. My daughter was almost sold twice. The first time was by her maternal grandmother, and the second time was by my mother. If we continue to eat from the same pot, I'm afraid there will be a third time."

"We've broken up. We're each living our own lives. Let's not get in each other's way."

After saying that, he sat down.

-

Wang Guifang initially disagreed.

"Divide it up?!" she wailed, slapping her thigh. "The Gu family has never divided its assets for generations! It's only natural that the whole family eats from the same pot—"

"Sister-in-law," Cheng Tiezhu's voice interrupted her.

"It's perfectly justified? Selling your granddaughter for twenty yuan is perfectly justified?"

Wang Guifang's howling seemed to have been paused.

Cheng Tiezhu did not press the matter further.

He just looked at her.

That look—the look of a captain who had seen and remembered everything.

Wang Guifang dared not howl anymore.

But her reason for disagreeing with separating the family was not actually because she couldn't bear to part with Gu Yanqiu.

What she feared was that if she separated the business, things would escalate.

The news of "selling her granddaughter" has spread—it can still be considered a "misunderstanding" at this point.

If they really split up—then it's confirmed.

Everyone in the village knew what Wang Guifang had done.

But Gu Yanchun's reasons for opposing were more subtle.

He stood behind Wang Guifang, and when he spoke, his tone was very flat, as if he were discussing official business:

"Uncle Tiezhu, we can discuss dividing the family property. But we have to follow the rules. To be honest, the second son hasn't done much work at home these past few years. After Yanqiu's wife left, he was in a daze for a year or two, and my father and I did all the work in the fields. If we're going to divide the property, it has to be based on our contributions."

That's a half-truth.

Gu Yanqiu was indeed depressed at times.

But the work he did for more than twenty years before his decline was not in vain.

Niannian sat on the stool, her legs not reaching the ground, dangling in the air and swaying gently.

She did not speak.

But her ears were listening.

I memorized every single word that everyone said.

Sun Xiufen didn't speak—she didn't dare. The theft of the belongings hadn't been long ago, and she was now seen as a thief by the entire village. Her words carried no weight.

But her gaze remained fixed on Gu Yanchun.

There was a silent understanding between the couple—Gu Yanchun would unconsciously glance in his wife's direction before speaking a single word.

Niannian saw it.

She saw everything.

-

The debate lasted for the entire morning.

The core contradiction is just one thing—how to divide it.

Wang Guifang's bottom line is "leaving with nothing"—Gu Yanqiu, if you want to leave, then leave, but don't even think about taking a needle from this house.

"This family was built up by your father and me from scratch! What right do you, a second wife, have to claim a share?"

Gu Yanchun chimed in from the side—

"Yes, Uncle Tiezhu, the second son hasn't contributed much over the years. It's okay to divide the family property, but it can't be divided haphazardly."

Cheng Tiezhu frowned.

He looked at Gu Yanqiu—

Gu Yanqiu remained silent.

No arguing or quarreling.

It's not that I've admitted it.

He knew that arguing with these people was pointless.

He is waiting.

Waiting for someone to speak.

That person hasn't said a single word since he walked in.

A pipe was stuck in his mouth. Ashes fell all over his knees.

Gu Dehou.

-

It's noon.

The sun shone through the window, cutting a bright white line of light across the square table.

Wang Guifang's throat was dry from talking.

Gu Yanchun remained silent—he had already made his position very clear.

Cheng Tiezhu was about to start summarizing—

"Let's split it."

The sound came from the direction of the window.

Deep, hoarse, like a stone crushing dry grass.

Everyone looked in that direction.

Gu Dehou took the tobacco stick out of his mouth.

He did not look at Wang Guifang.

They did not look after Gu Yanchun.

I didn't see Sun Xiufen.

He was looking at Gu Yanqiu.

To be precise—it's Niannian, who's by Gu Yanqiu's side.

The four-and-a-half-year-old girl sat there quietly, her two feet dangling in the air.

The frostbite on his face was still purplish-red.

The shoes are worn out.

There were still mud stains on his cotton-padded coat from running thirty miles of mountain road last night.

But her back was ramrod straight.

Her eyes were clear and bright.

Like a sapling that has been battered by frost and weighed down by snow—but it just won't bend over.

Gu Dehou stared at her for a long time.

Then he tapped his pipe twice on the stool leg. Two loud "thumps." Ashes fell to the ground.

"Let's split it."

He repeated it again.

Two words.

Wang Guifang's face—she almost fainted.

"Old man! What—what did you say?!"

I said let's break up.

Gu Dehou's voice had never been so strong in his entire life.

"If the second son wants a share, then let him. He's my son—he has that right."

He stood up.

The tobacco pipe rested on the ground, replacing the walking stick.

When people get old, they become unsteady even when they stand up.

But his two cloudy old eyes were fixed on Wang Guifang's direction.

That's enough.

There are only these two words.

But those two words encapsulate decades of silence, patience, and exhaustion.

"That's enough"—that was said to Wang Guifang.

It was also addressed to this family.

I was also saying it to myself.

Wang Guifang sat on the stool, trembling all over.

It's not from anger.

Yes, I'm afraid.

She managed the household for decades.

Under this roof, her word is law.

Gu Dehou never argued with her.

Never.

today--

This is the first time.

Cheng Tiezhu gave the old man a deep look.

"Alright." He picked up the pen on the table. "Then let's discuss—how to divide it."

He spread the red paper out flat.

Outside the door, Aunt Wang quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

But Nian Nian knew—this wasn't over yet.

The division is settled.

How to divide it—that's the real battlefield.

Although Wang Guifang's eyes were red, a calculating, cold light gleamed beneath her cloudy pupils.

It's gradually getting brighter.