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

"What are the rules?"

Wang Guifang stared at Gu Yanqiu warily, afraid that he would propose some harsh conditions.

Gu Yanqiu's gaze swept over the nonchalant Gu Mingyuan, his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable authority.

"First, since he's an apprentice, he should act like one. He has to be here before dawn every morning and leave with me. He can only leave when I finish work in the evening."

"Secondly, I don't employ idlers here. They have to do all the odd jobs: fetching water, sweeping, handing over tools, wiping parts. If they can't do it well, they can forget about touching the machines."

"Third, and most importantly," Gu Yanqiu's eyes suddenly sharpened, "Learning a craft depends on one's own dedication. I'll only teach you once; how much you learn depends on your own ability. If you're lazy and try to slack off and can't learn it, don't blame me, your second uncle, for not doing my best."

He paused, then said, word by word, "Let me make this clear from the start: if he can persevere, I will absolutely not hold back."

If he can't handle the hardship and runs away, don't ever mention learning a trade again!

After he finished speaking, the courtyard fell silent.

Wang Guifang's face turned pale and then red; she hadn't expected Gu Yanqiu to pull this stunt.

These conditions sounded perfectly reasonable, exactly the rules of a proper master teaching an apprentice, leaving her with no room for criticism.

But she knew better than anyone what kind of person her precious grandson, Gu Mingyuan, was.

Why make him work from dawn till dusk, doing dirty and tiring jobs?

That's worse than killing him!

"This...this is too strict, isn't it?" Wang Guifang tried to bargain, unwilling to give up.

"Mom," Gu Yanqiu interrupted her, her tone hardening, "I was an apprentice at the tractor station back then, and it was much harder than this. Learning a trade is always tough. If you feel sorry for your grandson, take him home now; I won't force you."

In short, the ball was kicked back directly.

Liu Cuihua had instructed that the matter must be completed today.

Wang Guifang gritted her teeth and could only nod: "Okay! We'll do it your way!"

She turned around and glared fiercely at Gu Mingyuan: "Did you hear me? If you don't study properly, I'll break your legs!"

And so, Gu Mingyuan became Gu Yanqiu's nominal "eldest apprentice".

However, his apprenticeship was a disaster from day one.

Gu Yanqiu kept his word.

The next morning, before dawn, Gu Yanqiu went to her uncle's house and banged on the door, forcibly dragging Gu Mingyuan, who was still drooling in bed, out of bed.

Gu Mingyuan, still sleepy and full of resentment, followed Gu Yanqiu to the courtyard.

The first task: to fill the large water vat in the yard, which is about half the height of a person.

Gu Mingyuan was thirteen years old and looked as skinny as a monkey; he couldn't possibly carry two buckets of water.

He huffed and puffed as he carried half a bucket, spilling most of it. Exhausted like a dead dog, he sat down on the ground and refused to do anything more.

Gu Yanqiu didn't scold him, but just stood coldly to the side.

"If we don't fill the water tank, we won't eat today. We'll eat when we fill it up."

After saying that, he picked up a bowl of steaming hot cornmeal porridge, sat down next to Niannian, and started eating.

Gu Mingyuan smelled the aroma, his stomach rumbled loudly, and he was so angry that tears almost welled up in his eyes.

After dawdling all morning, he barely managed to fill the bottom of the water tank.

In the afternoon, Gu Yanqiu began repairing a water pump that had been delivered from the neighboring village.

"Mingyuan, hand me that number three wrench over there."

Gu Mingyuan rummaged through the toolbox for a while and then handed over a hammer.

"Is this a wrench?"

"Then... which one is number three?" Gu Mingyuan looked at the row of wrenches of different sizes and was completely baffled.

Gu Yanqiu ignored him.

Niannian ran over with her short legs, stood on tiptoe, and accurately found the size 3 wrench from a pile of tools, handing it to her father.

"Dad, here you go."

Gu Mingyuan was stunned on the spot, his face turning bright red.

He's a thirteen-year-old boy, yet he's not as good as a five-year-old girl!

The days that followed were hell for Gu Mingyuan.

He found cleaning the oil stains on the parts too dirty, so he lazily hid in the corner to play with ants.

As soon as I squatted down, a sickeningly sweet voice came from behind me.

"Mingyuan, Dad said the machine can't be fixed if the parts aren't cleaned properly. Don't you want to give up learning anymore?"

Gu Mingyuan turned around and saw Niannian standing behind him with her arms crossed, looking at him with a smile like a little adult.

He was seething with hatred, but he couldn't retaliate, so he could only go back to work dejectedly.

He wanted to take advantage of Gu Yanqiu's inattention to secretly hide a cleaned part so he could do less work.

"Mingyuan, did you forget to install this crankshaft connecting rod? Dad said the tractor won't run without it."

Niannian pointed to the parts he had hidden behind his back and asked with an innocent look.

Gu Mingyuan felt like he was going crazy.

Gu Niannian is like a tapeworm in his stomach; no matter what wicked thoughts he has, they can't escape her eyes!

Gu Yanqiu, from beginning to end, adhered to his "rules".

Well done, no need for praise.

If someone does a bad job, don't scold them.

He was simply made to bear the consequences in the simplest and most direct way—either go hungry, stand as punishment, or watch helplessly as a five-year-old girl was a hundred times more capable than him.

This silent torment and humiliation was more painful for Gu Mingyuan than any beating or scolding.

Two weeks later, Liu Cuihua looked at her son, who was now dark and thin, and looked like a completely different person, and she was so heartbroken that she burst into tears.

She stormed into Gu Yanqiu's courtyard to argue with him.

"Gu Yanqiu! What are you really up to! Are you training a disciple, or are you deliberately torturing someone?!"

Gu Yanqiu was replacing piston rings on a diesel engine. Without looking up, he simply said, "Sister-in-law, I made the rules clear on the first day."

Learning a trade always involves hard work.

If you feel bad about taking it home, you can take it now; I won't stop you.

Liu Cuihua was rendered speechless by his words, her face turning a deep purplish-red.

Yes, she agreed to the rules herself.

If you go back on your word now, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that your son can't endure hardship and is a good-for-nothing?

She looked at the stubborn Gu Yanqiu, then at Gu Niannian next to her who was pretending to be diligently wiping tools, but whose lips were secretly curving upwards, and almost ground her teeth to powder.

This father and daughter are clearly working together to set a trap for her!

She pointed at Gu Yanqiu, unable to utter a word for a long time, and finally could only stomp her foot in anger.

"Fine! You just wait!"