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

"Twenty-two yuan a month! That's more than what the commune cadres earn!"

In Wangjia Village, in the Zhao family's east room that never sees sunlight, Zhao slapped the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), her cloudy eyes filled with greed and resentment.

"This money, if it weren't for that brat interfering, would have been ours all along! Jianguo, your sister's life-saving money has now gone to outsiders. Don't you, as her brother, feel any remorse?"

Beside the kang (a heated brick bed), lay her eldest son, Song Jianguo, the man who indirectly caused his sister's death because of gambling debts.

He was timidly peeling peanuts.

Hearing this, he trembled and muttered softly, "Mother, but... but they've already signed the disownment agreement. That stubborn mule Gu Yanqiu, do you think he'll give it to me?"

"A letter of severance?" Zhao sneered, spitting out a curse. "Can a letter of severance put food on the table? As long as that little bastard Nian Nian is still in his hands, we have plenty of ways to control him! Can blood ties be severed by paper?"

"But I...I dare not go." Song Jianguo's legs went weak at the thought of Gu Yanqiu's murderous eyes.

"waste!"

Zhao cursed him in exasperation, then turned her gaze to another carefree young man in the corner.

That was her youngest son, Song Jianjun.

He's in his thirties, doesn't have a proper job, and spends all his time idly, either at the card table or on his way to the card table.

He was more presentable than Song Jianguo, with a slicked-back hairstyle and a quick tongue, but his darting eyes revealed a shrewdness and calculation.

"Jianjun," Zhao's tone softened a bit, "your brother is a blockhead, you can't count on him. This matter, you'll have to handle it."

Song Jianjun spat out the sunflower seed shells in his mouth and asked lazily, "Mom, what's the benefit?"

"Benefits?" Zhao's eyes widened. "Gu Yanqiu gets twenty-two yuan a month! If you can squeeze ten yuan out of him, five yuan is yours! That's enough for you to live on for a month!"

Upon hearing the word "money," Song Jianjun's eyes immediately lit up.

"Okay! I'll take care of it!"

Zhao leaned closer, lowered her voice, and gave him instructions: "When you go, don't mention money. Just say that as your uncle, you miss your niece and are going to see her. When you see Gu Yanqiu, plead poverty, saying that you can't even afford to eat at home, and that your niece is suffering with him in the countryside, and that you, as her uncle, feel sorry for her..."

"Remember, you need to lower your stance and make him feel that you genuinely care about the child. Men, they all fall for that!"

Song Jianjun nodded repeatedly, a confident smile on his face.

He felt that dealing with a country bumpkin like Gu Yanqiu would be a piece of cake.

So, a few days later, a suspicious figure appeared at the entrance of the Qinghe County Agricultural Machinery Station.

Song Jianjun stayed here for three whole days.

He watched Gu Yanqiu, dressed in a clean blue overall, chatting and laughing with her colleagues at the station.

Watching him skillfully direct the crane as it disassembles the massive engine.

His brother-in-law, who was once considered worthless in the countryside, is now a sought-after technical expert, exuding a confidence and composure that he most envied.

This jealousy made Song Jianjun feel even more unbalanced.

On what grounds?

Why is it that he, a peasant, can make such a name for himself in the county town?

His sister died, and now he's living a good life?

That afternoon, as soon as the bell rang to signal the end of the workday, Song Jianjun immediately straightened his collar, put on a fake smile, and went to greet the person.

"Oh my! Isn't this Brother Yanqiu!"

Gu Yanqiu had just stepped out of the workshop and was wiping the grease off her face with a towel when she heard this slick, oily voice and paused.

He looked up and saw that face that was both familiar and disgusting.

Song Jianjun.

His wife's younger brother, who was a compulsive gambler.

Back then, Wanqing secretly gave him the money she had saved up countless times, just so he wouldn't bother his parents.

The smile on Gu Yanqiu's face vanished instantly, and her eyes turned as cold as ice.

"What's up?"

He uttered two words, not even bothering to give an extra expression.

Song Jianjun's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

He acted as if nothing had happened, warmly sidling up to him: "Hey, brother, what are you saying! Can't I come see you even if there's nothing wrong? We're family, after all!"

"I was just passing by when I heard you had a good job here, so I came to see you. Brother, you've really made something of yourself!"

As he spoke, he looked enviously at the farm machinery station's compound, his eyes filled with greed.

Gu Yanqiu was too lazy to waste words with him, so she draped the towel over her shoulder and turned to leave.

"Hey, brother, don't go!" Song Jianjun quickly followed. "I... I still want to ask about Niannian. That child, I haven't seen her in so long, I miss her terribly. Is she doing alright in the countryside? Has she suffered any mistreatment?"

Upon hearing the name Niannian, Gu Yanqiu finally stopped in his tracks.

He turned around, his icy eyes fixed intently on Song Jianjun.

"You dare mention her?"

Song Jianjun felt uneasy under his gaze, but he still braced himself and began his performance.

He sighed deeply, a sorrowful expression on his face: "Brother, I know you resent us. Wanqing is gone, and I'm heartbroken too! She was my own sister! I dream about her every night..."

"I came here today to discuss something with you. It's not good for Nian Nian to stay in the countryside all the time. How about... we bring her to our place and have my mother help take care of her? No matter how hard our lives are, we can't let the child suffer..."

"Oh, right," he changed the subject, as if he had just remembered, looking embarrassed and troubled, "Brother, to be honest, lately... we're really... broke. Mom's not well either, she has to take medicine every day. I... I'm really short of money. Could you... lend me some?"

He finally spoke up.

The feigned pitiful appearance made Gu Yanqiu feel nauseous.

He remembered the contents of his wife's last letter, the misappropriated life-saving money, and how this man had clung to his wife like a leech, sucking her blood!

An uncontrollable rage erupted from the depths of Gu Yanqiu's heart!

"cannot."

Gu Yanqiu's voice was calm, yet it carried an unwavering resolve.

He looked at Song Jianjun and said clearly, word by word, "The moment I signed the severance agreement with your Zhao family, we had no further connection whatsoever."

"Niannian is my daughter, Gu Yanqiu's daughter. Her affairs are none of your business."

"As for money," Gu Yanqiu sneered, his smile full of contempt and disgust, "I'd rather throw it into the water and hear the splash than give you a single penny."

After saying that, he stopped looking at Song Jianjun's face, which had turned ashen in an instant, and strode away.

Song Jianjun was completely stunned.

Before he could even begin to deliver his prepared speech, Gu Yanqiu had already shut him down completely.

He never expected that this man, whom he thought was somewhat dull, would refuse so decisively and without any mercy!

Humiliation, anger, resentment... all surged into my heart in an instant.

He watched Gu Yanqiu's resolute back, his slicked-back face contorted with rage.

"Gu Yanqiu!" he shouted fiercely at the retreating figure, "Don't push things too far!"

Gu Yanqiu stopped in her tracks.

He slowly turned around, and his eyes, which had witnessed too much suffering and struggle, were now like unsheathed blades, piercing straight into Song Jianjun's heart.

I'll say it one last time.

"roll."

A single word, carrying immense weight, slammed into Song Jianjun's face.

Startled by that look, Song Jianjun instinctively took a step back.

He gritted his teeth, knowing he wouldn't get any money today.

He turned and walked out in a disheveled state, muttering venomous curses under his breath.

"Fine, you've got guts! Gu Yanqiu, you just wait!"

"Don't regret it when you need our help someday!"

Gu Yanqiu stood there, watching Song Jianjun's resentful departing figure, her brows furrowed tightly.

Should we ask them?

Even if it means his death, Gu Yanqiu would never beg the Zhao family for help!

However, Song Jianjun's last words were like a thorn, piercing his heart.

What secrets are they holding that they don't even know they have?

A strong sense of unease, like a dark cloud, enveloped Gu Yanqiu's heart.