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

"I'm not going! I'd rather die than go!"

Gu Mingyuan slammed the dirty rag in his hand to the ground and yelled hysterically at Liu Cuihua.

He couldn't take it anymore!

They get up earlier than the chickens, go to bed later than the dogs, work harder than the oxen, and eat worse than the pigs!

What devastated him the most was that he realized he really was an idiot!

Those oddly shaped lumps of iron that he saw could be easily dismantled by Gu Yanqiu.

Put it back together, and the machine will come back to life.

He couldn't even tell which screw matched which nut!

What made him even more ashamed was that Gu Niannian was only five years old!

That "money-losing" guy in his eyes!

"Dad, this is the carburetor. The tractor from Lijia Village got stuck here last time."

"Dad, listen to the sound, is the valve clearance too large?"

"Dad, you need a 16-gauge thin copper wire to open this fuel injector!"

Gu Niannian can already accurately name hundreds of parts.

It can even determine the approximate cause of the malfunction based on the unusual noises emitted by the machine.

She always hands out tools quickly and accurately.

She cleaned the parts ten times better than Gu Mingyuan did.

When Gu Yanqiu was making repairs, he would occasionally test her with a few questions, which she answered fluently.

Gu Mingyuan, standing to the side, looked like a complete fool.

This stark contrast, like red-hot steel needles, pierced his pride.

He would rather be beaten by Gu Yanqiu than endure the humiliation of being completely outclassed by a five-year-old girl!

"Mom! I'm not learning anymore! Second Uncle is deliberately not teaching me any real skills! He's giving all the good stuff to that little girl, Gu Niannian!"

Gu Mingyuan, the guilty party, filed a false accusation, shifting all the blame onto Gu Yanqiu.

Liu Cuihua was already furious, and hearing her son's words only made her angrier.

She immediately concluded that Gu Yanqiu was deliberately hiding something and using Nian Nian to put her son down!

With her hands on her hips, she went to the Chengjiawan brigade headquarters again, demanding that Cheng Tiezhu "uphold justice" for her family.

"Secretary Cheng! You have to be the judge for us!"

Liu Cuihua sobbed, tears streaming down her face, "My Mingyuan kindly went to be his apprentice, but he did all the work, not teaching him a single word of real skills. He secretly taught it all to that unknown girl! Isn't this blatant bullying of honest people like us?!"

At that time, Gu Yanqiu happened to be at the brigade headquarters, discussing the tractor station exam with Cheng Tiezhu.

Gu Yanqiu didn't even lift an eyelid in the face of Liu Cuihua's slander.

After listening, Cheng Tiezhu took two puffs of his pipe before slowly speaking.

"Xiufen's daughter, I'm asking you, did Yanqiu make Mingyuan work from dawn till dusk?"

"Yes! This is torture!" Liu Cuihua replied immediately.

"I'll ask you again, did Yanqiu make Mingyuan do chores?"

"Yeah! He gets to do all the dirty and hard work!"

"Then let me ask you one last question," Cheng Tiezhu tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe, raised his eyelids, and his gaze sharp as lightning, "when Yanqiu was repairing the machine, did Mingyuan have to watch over her?"

Liu Cuihua was taken aback: "I...I did watch, but what's the use of just watching! He's not teaching!"

"Foolish!" Cheng Tiezhu slammed his hand on the table, his voice booming like thunder. "The master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you! How can a craft be taught by just talking? Isn't it all about the apprentice watching attentively, remembering carefully, and secretly learning on their own?"

He pointed at Liu Cuihua and scolded her without any politeness: "Yanqiu learned it this way himself! He gave Mingyuan the opportunity by letting him see! It's your Mingyuan who's brainless, useless, can't understand, and can't learn, and now he's blaming the teacher for not teaching him?"

"You...!" Liu Cuihua was speechless, her face turning red and white in turns.

Cheng Tiezhu stood up, walked up to her, and lowered his voice, which was even more intimidating.

"Let me tell you something else. Niannian, every night after her dad goes to sleep, lights an oil lamp and draws all the parts she saw during the day, writing down their names and uses. Her account book is almost full! What about your Mingyuan? Has he put in the same effort?"

"Don't treat everyone like fools! Mingyuan isn't cut out for it, so don't blame the pot for being too round! This matter ends here! If you dare to cause any more trouble, I'll deduct a year's worth of your family's work points!"

Cheng Tiezhu's words were like a resounding slap in the face to Liu Cuihua.

This farce of "learning a craft" ultimately ended with Liu Cuihua and Gu Mingyuan being humiliated and losing face.

Gu Yanqiu's reputation was not damaged at all; on the contrary, it became even more renowned in the village because of his "rule-abidingness" and Niannian's "extraordinary intelligence".

Everyone says that the good feng shui of the Gu family has probably all been taken by the second wife.

When Liu Cuihua returned home, she was so angry that she smashed pots and pans all over the floor.

She didn't hate her son for being unambitious, nor did she hate Cheng Tiezhu for not being on her side.

She transferred all her resentment and hatred onto the five-year-old girl who had humiliated her.

In her view, the root of everything is Gu Niannian!

Without this little girl, Gu Yanqiu would still be that spineless coward who could be manipulated at will!

If it weren't for this little girl, the money he earned from repairing machines should have been used to support his parents-in-law and help his uncle!

Without this little girl, he would never have become so shrewd and difficult to deal with!

It's all her fault! It's all because of this little nemesis, this little vixen!

Liu Cuihua stood in her own courtyard, staring intently at the wisp of smoke rising from Gu Yanqiu's house in the distance.

Her eyes no longer held simple jealousy and scheming.

It was a chilling, poisonous resentment, like a venomous snake lurking in the shadows, locking onto the small figure watering the garlic sprouts in the vegetable garden.

Since we can't do anything about the big things, let's start with the small things!

She refused to believe that a five-year-old girl could cause such a commotion!

Liu Cuihua's lips curled into a sinister smile.

How would she deal with an unarmed five-year-old child?