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

Chen Zhiyuan was startled by the flames in Gu Niannian's eyes.

He looked at the stubborn little girl, almost subconsciously adjusted his black-rimmed glasses, and solemnly replied:

"meeting."

"Niannian, remember this: when your light shines bright enough, those whispers in the gutter will no longer reach your ears."

"Because you stand higher than them and see farther than them."

Upon receiving an affirmative answer, Gu Niannian's tense face finally relaxed slightly.

She nodded vigorously, as if making a solemn promise to herself.

"Uncle Chen, I want to participate in that knowledge competition."

"But...but I'm not a primary school student, and my name isn't in the literacy class."

Gu Niannian's voice carried a hint of anxiety.

Chen Zhiyuan smiled and gently patted Gu Niannian's head.

"Silly girl, roads are made by walking."

"The literacy class organized by the brigade invited Mr. Zhao Wenhai, a retired teacher from the commune primary school. He is a person who appreciates talent. As long as you can show him your abilities, he will definitely find a way."

The next day, a temporary literacy class officially started in the warehouse of the Chengjiawan brigade headquarters.

Inside, all the people sitting were adults from the village, including young men in their twenties and women in their forties.

Everyone sat on long benches, holding brand-new notebooks and pencils, their faces showing a mixture of curiosity and awkwardness.

On the podium, Mr. Zhao, with gray hair and wearing a clean Zhongshan suit, was holding a piece of chalk and writing the first character on the small blackboard: "人" (person).

Outside the classroom window, a small head was standing on tiptoe, peering intently through the windowsill.

It was Gu Niannian.

She didn't go inside; she just stood quietly outside, like a sapling trying to absorb sunlight.

Mr. Zhao is a very experienced lecturer with a loud and clear voice, and he teaches from simple to complex concepts.

"The Chinese character for 'person' (人) is simple to write, but difficult to embody. When we learn about culture, the first thing we must learn is to be an upright person..."

The adults listened with a mixture of understanding and confusion; some were taking notes diligently, while others had already begun to doze off.

Only the small figure outside the window stood ramrod straight.

On the first day, she stood there and listened to the entire class.

She came again the next day.

On the third day, she appeared outside the window on time as usual.

Mr. Zhao had actually discovered this special "student" long ago.

At first, he thought it was just some mischievous child watching the excitement, but for three days in a row, the little girl came rain or shine. The focus and longing in her eyes moved him, a teacher who had taught all his life.

During the break between classes that day, Mr. Zhao put down his lesson plan and went to the window.

"Little student, what's your name?"

Gu Niannian, who was taking notes in her notebook, was startled. She looked up and saw that serious yet gentle face.

"I...I'm called Gu Niannian."

"Would you like to come in and listen to the lecture?"

Gu Niannian's eyes lit up instantly, and she nodded frantically like a chick pecking at rice.

Mr. Zhao pushed open the door and waved to her.

Gu Niannian walked into the special classroom with some nervousness, and all the adults' eyes fell on her.

"What's a little brat doing here?"

"Yeah, she's still breastfeeding, isn't she? What could she possibly understand?"

A few whispered murmurs came from the corner, which drew a burst of snickers.

Mr. Zhao frowned and tapped on the podium: "Quiet!"

He looked at Gu Niannian, his voice still serious: "Gu Niannian, this is a literacy class, not a kindergarten. You can stay here and audit the classes if you want, but you have to prove that you have the ability."

As he spoke, he picked up the chalk and wrote a few words on the blackboard:

"tractor."

"Serve the people."

Do you recognize these characters?

The classroom fell silent immediately, and the adults craned their necks.

They themselves can't even recognize all of these characters!

Gu Niannian looked up at the blackboard and read it aloud in a clear voice:

"tractor."

"Serve the people."

The voice wasn't loud, but every word was pronounced clearly.

"Whoosh—"

A suppressed gasp of surprise rippled through the classroom.

A hint of surprise flashed in Mr. Zhao's eyes, but he did not stop.

He then wrote another arithmetic problem on the blackboard:

"A strong laborer earns ten work points a day, and a woman earns six work points. If the Zhang family's strong laborer worked for three days and the woman worked for two days, how many work points did they earn in total?"

As soon as the question was presented, the adults in the classroom immediately started counting on their fingers, muttering to themselves, but they couldn't figure it out after a long time.

"Thirty... plus twelve... equals... equals..."

Gu Niannian blurted out without even thinking:

"That's equivalent to forty-two work points."

Mr. Zhao's pupils suddenly contracted!

He stared intently at the little girl, who barely reached his waist, and pressed, "What else can you do?"

Gu Niannian thought for a moment and whispered, "I can also recite poems."

"Recite it and let me hear it."

"The sun sets beyond the mountains, the Yellow River flows into the sea. To see a thousand miles further, climb one more story."

The child's innocent voice echoed clearly and fluently in the simple warehouse.

The literacy classes, which originally aimed to eradicate illiteracy as the standard of success, fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone looked at Gu Niannian as if she were a monster.

Is this...is this still a five-year-old?

Mr. Zhao was so excited that his lips were trembling. He quickly walked down from the podium, squatted down, and looked Gu Niannian in the eye.

"Good child! Who taught you all this?"

Gu Niannian answered earnestly, "My mother taught me some, Uncle Chen taught me some, and the rest... I learned by myself from books."

I learned it by reading books!

Mr. Zhao could no longer contain his excitement. He suddenly stood up and announced to the whole class:

"From today onwards, Gu Niannian will sit in the last row of the classroom! Anyone who has a problem with this, stand up now!"

No one dared to object anymore.

The way they looked at Gu Niannian had changed from watching the spectacle to looking at a "child prodigy".

And so, Gu Niannian became the youngest and most special student in the literacy class.

A week later, the literacy class held its first diagnostic test.

When Mr. Zhao read out Gu Niannian's name after the hair was curled, everyone perked up their ears.

"Gu Niannian, 98 points! First in the class!"

boom!

This score was like a bombshell, exploding in the hearts of all adult students.

These adults, in their twenties, thirties, and forties, scored as high as seventy-something on the test.

He was completely outmatched by a five-year-old girl!

For a moment, the expressions on everyone's faces were varied and fascinating, ranging from shame and disbelief to genuine admiration and amazement.

"My God, how did this girl's brain work?"

"The Yanqiu family is about to produce a top scholar!"

The news quickly spread throughout Chengjiawan.

Those who used to gossip behind Gu Niannian's back, saying she was "hard-fated" and "worse to her family," have now shut their mouths.

Ignorance and superstition, for the first time, seem so pale and powerless in the face of absolute genius.

When Liu Cuihua heard this news in her own yard, she was so angry that she crushed all the melon seeds in her hand.

She said to her neighbor with a sour look on her face:

"Hmph, what's the use of being smart? Does getting a perfect score mean you can fly to the sky? Without a city residency permit, you'll still be toiling in the mud for the rest of your life!"

Few people were willing to listen to her anymore.

People are more willing to believe miracles they witness with their own eyes.

Gu Niannian ran home with the test paper that had "98" written on it.

She didn't get complacent because of other people's praise; she just carefully put the test paper under her pillow.

This was the first shot she fired.

She knew that this was far from enough.

Her goal is to be number one in the county!

Her small victory, like a ray of light, illuminated her lonely life in the village.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away at the Qinghe County Agricultural Machinery Station, her father, Gu Yanqiu, was also facing a severe test that would determine his fate.

The three-day deadline has arrived, and we are now at the very end.

The pile of engine parts, which everyone considered scrap metal, was undergoing an astonishing transformation in his oil-stained and scarred hands.

Station Master Han, with a cigarette dangling from his lips, watched the tireless, seemingly mad figure from afar, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

Beside him, the young apprentice, Xiao Li, curled his lip and said disdainfully:

"Station Chief Han, just you wait. I bet he won't even be able to put half of it together! A peasant like him, does he really think he's an engineer?"

Old Han didn't say anything, he just exhaled a thick smoke ring.

Can he really create a miracle?