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

Wang Jianguo, you want to play, don't you?

Gu Yanqiu sneered inwardly.

He returned to the cramped storage room, closed the door, and shut himself out from everything outside.

He didn't go to sleep immediately, but instead, under the dim light, took out paper and pen.

Start memorizing the internal structure diagram of that Soviet engine.

He knew that in this place, the only way to survive was through technology.

It's the kind of hard-to-learn, undeniable technology that no one can take away!

Wang Jianguo acted swiftly.

He used a distant relative in the commune as a connection, and a few days later...

A document about Gu Yanqiu's "glorious history" in Chengjiawan was delivered to him.

As Wang Jianguo looked at the contents of the paper, his smile grew increasingly sinister.

"Turns out he's a notorious lazybones!"

"He's an adult and still relies on his parents to support him, he doesn't even do any work!"

"My family disliked me so much that I almost couldn't even get married!"

"And a bastard daughter of unknown origin... Heh, now we've got you covered!"

Holding this embellished "black material," Wang Jianguo felt confident of victory.

He didn't even knock before barging into Station Chief Han's office.

"Station Chief Han! Something terrible has happened! A corrupt element with questionable political background has infiltrated our agricultural machinery station!"

He slammed the paper heavily on the table and, spitting as he recounted Gu Yanqiu's "crimes."

"How can such a morally corrupt, lazy good-for-nothing be allowed to stay in such an important unit? This is irresponsible towards our revolutionary work! He must be dismissed immediately!"

As Lao Han listened to Wang Jianguo's accusations, his brows furrowed into a deep frown.

He picked up the paper, looked at it carefully, and then silently smoked his cigarette.

The atmosphere in the office suddenly became extremely tense.

Wang Jianguo stood aside, smugly waiting for Lao Han to give the order.

In his opinion, Gu Yanqiu was doomed this time.

In this day and age, either label—"lazybones" or "of dubious origin"—is enough to ruin a person's future.

"Go and call Gu Yanqiu here."

After a long while, Old Han finally spoke.

Gu Yanqiu arrived at the office quickly.

As soon as he entered the room, he saw Wang Jianguo's gloating face and immediately understood seven or eight parts of the situation.

"Gu Yanqiu," Old Han pushed the paper in front of him, "is what's written here true?"

Gu Yanqiu picked it up and glanced at it; the wording was even more vicious than he had imagined.

He didn't evade or defend himself; he simply calmly raised his head to meet Old Han's sharp gaze.

"It's true."

Wang Jianguo almost burst out laughing as soon as he opened his mouth.

He admitted it! He actually admitted it!

"Most of it is true," Gu Yanqiu continued, his voice completely flat, as if he were telling someone else's story.

"In the years before I got married, I was really a jerk. I didn't work in the fields, I didn't earn work points, and I did nothing all day. Because my mother favored my older brother and gave him everything good, I never got a kind word no matter how much work I did. My uncle's family also bullied us in every way. I was disheartened and felt that there was no hope for this life."

He paused, his gaze passing through the window, as if he could see that small figure in the village.

"Until my daughter arrived."

His voice softened instantly when he mentioned the word "daughter," yet it was filled with strength.

"Only now do I realize what kind of life I should lead as a man and a father."

"So that she can have enough to eat, go to school, and live a good life,"

"I'd be willing to risk my life, let alone work as a repairman at an agricultural machinery station."

"I was indeed a jerk in the past. But now, my name is Gu Yanqiu, and I am Gu Niannian's father."

He finished speaking.

There was not a single impassioned defense, nor a single tearful confession.

He simply laid bare his past, and then revealed his new, unbreakable core to everyone.

The office was deathly silent.

Wang Jianguo opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found that he couldn't utter a single word.

All the harsh words he had prepared seemed so pale and laughable in the face of Gu Yanqiu's frighteningly frank sincerity.

Old Han stubbed out his cigarette and remained silent for a long, long time.

His eyes, which had seen countless machines and countless people, were fixed intently on Gu Yanqiu.

Finally, he slowly opened his mouth and said something that struck Wang Jianguo like a thunderbolt.

"When I was in the army, in the reconnaissance company, there was a new recruit who was notoriously cowardly and afraid of trouble. He would tremble at the sight of blood. We all called him 'coward'."

"Later, during a mission, we were surrounded by the enemy, and everyone thought we were doomed. That 'coward' grabbed a satchel charge and charged toward the enemy's machine gun position, sacrificing himself to kill the enemy and blasting a way out for us."

"From that day on, I understood a principle."

Old Han stood up, walked to Gu Yanqiu's side, and patted him heavily on the shoulder.

Whether a person will change, and what kind of person they will become, doesn't depend on their past, but on whether they have something in their heart that is worth risking their life for.

"You have."

Old Han's gaze shifted to Wang Jianguo, whose face was ashen, and his voice turned cold.

"Wang Jianguo, your skills have been declining in recent years, but your ability to spread rumors and sow discord has been improving!"

"If this happens again, you can forget about being the senior technician!"

Wang Jianguo's plan has completely failed.

Like a defeated rooster, he slunk out of the office without even daring to look back.

He could feel Gu Yanqiu's gaze behind him, calm and undisturbed, yet like a needle pricking his back painfully.

In this confrontation, he suffered a crushing defeat.

But he was not willing to give up!

He was absolutely unwilling to let a peasant trample on his head like this!

That night, Wang Jianguo locked himself in his dormitory and drank half a bottle of cheap liquor.

The alcohol burned his eyes, making them bloodshot, and an even more wicked thought began to frantically grow in his mind.

Since Station Chief Han is protecting you, then I'll go all the way to the top!

Report it to the commune! Report it to the county!

I want to see who dares to protect a "speculator" and "morally corrupt" bad element at this critical juncture!

Fueled by alcohol, he spread out a sheet of paper, picked up a pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote several startling characters at the top of the paper:

"An anonymous letter of denunciation from the revolutionary masses!"