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

Liu Cuihua has been feeling restless lately, as if she has nothing but worries.

Ever since that day when I slunk back from the Chengjiawan brigade headquarters,

She had been sending her son, Gu Mingyuan, to secretly keep an eye on Gu Yanqiu's family.

As a result, the more he stared at her, the more uncomfortable he felt.

Gu Yanqiu, that kid, has been a completely different person ever since he separated from the family and left!

He worked at the brick kiln during the day and earned more work points than anyone else.

When he got home at night, he would still tinker with those broken machines. People from all around would come to him for help. I heard that he could earn several yuan by repairing one machine!

In such a short time, their lives have become prosperous.

They were eating white flour and eggs.

Even when that little money-loser had his birthday, the whole village came to give him gifts!

On what grounds?

Why should Gu Yanqiu, a lazy man who was kicked out of his home, live a better life than those of them who stayed at home?

What drove her even more insane with jealousy was that she heard some shocking news from a relative who had come back to visit her parents—the county tractor station was recruiting permanent employees!

Once you pass the exam, you'll get an urban household registration, a secure job, and a government job!

By then, Gu Yanqiu will have completely escaped the small mountain village of Chengjiawan and become a superior person!

Her husband, Gu Yanchun, remained a brigade cadre, which sounded good to outsiders, but in reality, he was still a peasant.

Her beloved son, Gu Mingyuan, was thirteen or fourteen years old and spent his days idly.

Aside from climbing trees to steal bird nests and going down to the river to catch fish, they don't do anything productive.

The contrast between the two made Liu Cuihua feel as if she had been bitten hard by a poisonous snake, her heart aching with both soreness and pain.

No!

She absolutely couldn't stand by and watch Gu Yanqiu rise to prominence like this!

She had to think of a way to bring all of Gu Yanqiu's benefits into her own home!

That evening, Liu Cuihua's eyes lit up and a "brilliant" idea popped into her head.

She ran to the main room and found her mother-in-law, Wang Guifang, smoking a pipe.

"Mom, I have something to tell you."

Liu Cuihua leaned close to Wang Guifang's ear and embellished the story, recounting how Gu Yanqiu was going to take the exam for a permanent job and how prosperous his life was.

Wang Guifang's face grew increasingly grim as she listened, her grip on the pipe tightening.

"This second son has grown too big for his britches and doesn't respect us elders anymore!"

"That's right!" Liu Cuihua immediately added fuel to the fire upon seeing this. "Mom, think about it, if Yanqiu's skills could be passed on to Mingyuan, wouldn't that be our own family's skill?"

A glint of shrewdness flashed in Wang Guifang's cloudy eyes: "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, let Mingyuan learn a trade from Yanqiu!" Liu Cuihua revealed her true colors. "You're his own grandmother; if you go and tell him yourself, does he dare refuse? If he dares not teach him, he's unfilial! If word gets out, he'll be drowned in spit!"

This scheme can be described as extremely vicious.

If Gu Yanqiu agrees to teach him, and Gu Mingyuan masters the skill, it will belong to the eldest son's family.

He lived a life of luxury from then on, paying no heed to Yanqiu's needs.

If Gu Mingyuan fails to learn, or if Gu Yanqiu's teaching is not thorough enough,

Liu Cuihua could then go around badmouthing him, saying he was "narrow-minded, wary of even his own nephew, and his cooking skills must be terrible."

They ruined his chance to get a permanent job.

Either way, they're not at a disadvantage!

Wang Guifang slapped her thigh: "That's a great idea! Let's do it!"

The next morning, Wang Guifang pulled a reluctant Gu Mingyuan to the gate of Gu Yanqiu's courtyard.

At this moment, Gu Yanqiu was preparing to leave for the brick kiln.

Upon seeing Wang Guifang and Gu Mingyuan, his brows furrowed instinctively.

This is the first time they've come to our door since the last time we separated and had a falling out.

A weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken—it has no good intentions!

"Ahem." Wang Guifang cleared her throat, forcing an unprecedentedly "kind" smile onto her face.

"Yanqiu, are you going to work?"

Gu Yanqiu simply nodded indifferently without saying a word.

Wang Guifang didn't feel embarrassed at all, and pulled Gu Mingyuan forward on her own.

"Yanqiu, look, Mingyuan is also your nephew. He's not young anymore, and it's not good for him to just mess around all day."

She pointed at Gu Mingyuan and said earnestly, "I've discussed it with your older brother, and we're thinking of having Mingyuan learn your machine repair skills from you. You can't keep it to yourself; you have to teach him properly. This skill is meant to be passed down through generations!"

She emphasized the words "nephew" and "family heirloom" with particular emphasis, speaking in a tone that seemed perfectly natural.

Gu Mingyuan stood to the side, impatiently kicking the pebbles at his feet, his face full of reluctance.

If Liu Cuihua hadn't promised to buy him candy after the deed was done, he wouldn't have bothered coming to this wretched place.

Gu Yanqiu looked at the ugly faces of the grandfather and grandson singing in unison and sneered inwardly.

He understood the other party's sinister intentions almost immediately.

This is putting him on the hot seat!

Teaching him would be like doing all the work for my uncle's family for nothing, raising an ungrateful child.

If you don't teach them, you'll be considered "unfilial and unjust, and disown your own family," and you'll never be able to hold your head high in the village.

Inside the house, Nian Nian, who was watering the vegetable garden, also heard the conversation outside.

A layer of frost instantly settled on her small face.

She walked to the doorway and looked coldly at Wang Guifang and Gu Mingyuan in the courtyard through the door frame.

The look in his eyes was as if he were looking at two clowns jumping around.

Gu Yanqiu felt his daughter's gaze, took a deep breath, and made up his mind.

He couldn't let Niannian down, and he couldn't fall into this despicable trap.

He looked at Wang Guifang and slowly began to speak.

"Mom, you want Mingyuan to learn a trade from me, fine. But..."

Wang Guifang and Gu Mingyuan were both surprised that he agreed so readily.

A meaningful smile appeared on Gu Yanqiu's lips.

"I have my own rules here."

Wang Guifang's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose spontaneously.

"What are the rules?"