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

"Have you heard? Gu Mingyuan from the eldest branch of the Gu family smashed someone's window again!"

"That's not all! Just a couple of days ago, he got into a fight with some thugs from the next village, and they even broke his head!"

"Tsk tsk, this kid is getting more and more outrageous. Didn't he say he wanted to be an apprentice at the agricultural machinery station?"

"Hey! Don't even mention it! He said he couldn't handle hardship and ran back after three days! Unlike his younger sister, Niannian, who started studying at five and I heard she always gets first place in the literacy class!"

Under the big locust tree in Chengjiawan, a group of women, mending shoe soles and picking green beans, started another round of idle chatter.

The focus of the conversation was naturally on the two families in the village that had the most striking contrast recently—the eldest branch of the Gu family and the second branch that had separated from the village.

Since the family split up, everyone thought that the eldest branch of the Gu family, having gotten rid of Gu Yanqiu, the "burden," would have a better life.

But the truth was a resounding slap in the face to everyone.

Gu Yanchun's reputation plummeted after he was blacklisted by Cheng Tiezhu for falsifying work points.

In the past, relying on his position as militia captain, he could get good jobs, such as easy tasks like guarding the threshing ground or keeping track of work points.

Now he doesn't get any of it.

Cheng Tiezhu assigned him the hardest and most tiring jobs in the team, and the work points he earned were less than those of a strong laborer.

His wife, Sun Xiufen, was even more ambitious but incompetent.

Seeing that others were making money by trading mountain products, she followed suit and learned from them.

As a result, the mushrooms they collected were mixed with poisonous ones because they couldn't distinguish between good and bad ones, and the people who ate them got sick.

In the end, not only did they lose money, but their reputation was also ruined.

Later, he tried to raise chickens like others, but he didn't even know how to prevent chicken plague. After one outbreak, more than a dozen chickens died, and he lost all his capital.

What's most troublesome is their precious son, Gu Mingyuan.

At the age of thirteen or fourteen, it's the time when cats and dogs dislike you.

His failure to learn the trade made him feel utterly humiliated in front of Gu Niannian, and he gave up entirely after returning home.

He skipped school, got into fights, and stole chickens and dogs, becoming a notorious local bully. People would come to his door to complain every few days.

The most tragic case was that of the elderly woman, Wang Guifang.

Although Gu Yanqiu was not well-liked in the past, he would at least squeeze out some money and food to give her every month.

Now that the family has separated, Gu Yanqiu is giving her the minimum amount set by Cheng Tiezhu, not a penny more.

Gu Yanchun's own family was struggling financially, so naturally he didn't care much about his mother.

Wang Guifang is old and in poor health. In the past, she could buy some medicine and get through the illness with the small amount of money Gu Yanqiu gave her, but now she gets sick every few days and lies on the kang (a heated brick bed) groaning. However, few people in the family really care about her.

On the other hand, what about Gu Yanqiu's side?

It's like sesame seeds blooming, getting better and better!

He established himself at the county agricultural machinery station and became a respected technical backbone, earning a monthly salary of twenty-two yuan, which was the envy of many!

The daughter, Gu Niannian, is even more remarkable.

She's smart, sensible, and academically gifted. Everyone who sees her praises her, saying, "This girl is destined for great things."

Just two days ago, Gu Yanqiu rode his bicycle with Nian Nian to the county to buy two jin of meat!

The aroma of the meat wafted through half the village!

This stark contrast, like red-hot needles, pierced the hearts of everyone in the Gu family's main branch day and night.

"We should never have separated in the first place! We should never have separated!"

In the dimly lit room, Sun Xiufen slammed the bowl she was holding onto the table, her face full of bitterness and sarcasm.

"Now look what happened! You sent away a golden phoenix, leaving behind a nest of money-losing trash! I was blind to have believed your nonsense!"

She pointed at Gu Yanchun, who was lying on the kang (a heated brick bed) smoking a pipe, and began to curse.

Gu Yanchun was so scolded that he couldn't lift his head. His square face turned a deep purplish-red, and he just kept banging his pipe.

How could he not regret it in his heart?

He was the one who insisted on dividing the family property, feeling that by getting rid of his younger brother and that "jinx" niece,

Life will get better.

Who would have thought that what he threw out wasn't a burden, but a glittering gold nugget!

If the family hadn't split up back then, wouldn't Gu Yanqiu's salary of twenty-two yuan have been half of his, the eldest brother's?

If he asked, would Gu Yanqiu dare to refuse?

"Alright! Stop arguing!"

At the end of the kang (a heated brick bed), Wang Guifang, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke weakly.

She glanced sideways at her eldest son and daughter-in-law, a calculating glint in her cloudy eyes.

"What's the use of arguing? They've made it big now, they're workers in the county now, we're just peasants, we can't even reach that level!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiufen became even angrier: "Then what are we going to do? Mother! Are we just going to stand by and watch Gu Yanqiu eat and drink like a king while we're almost out of money to buy salt?"

Wang Guifang snorted coldly and didn't say anything.

She was also wondering to herself.

Gu Yanqiu, that taciturn fellow, is stubborn, but also blindly filial.

As long as his mother speaks up, how could he not listen?

But... that incident about selling Niannian back then caused too much trouble.

If I go to his door now, will that kid just beat me up and throw me out?

No, I can't go by myself.

We need to find a pretext.

One reason he couldn't refuse, one reason that could get the whole village on his side.

Wang Guifang's eyes darted around, and a thought slowly surfaced in her mind.

She looked out the window toward the direction of Gu Yanqiu's small, dilapidated house, a barely perceptible sneer appearing on her face.

Gu Yanqiu, you are my child, so your money and your person should belong to me!

You want to get rid of me and live a good life?

None of the doors!

She cleared her throat and slowly said to Gu Yanchun, who was staring blankly at the head of the kang (heated brick bed), "Yanchun, your younger brother is hard-hearted. But no matter how hard-hearted he is, he's still my son. Tell me, what if I, his mother... am about to die? Wouldn't he come back to see me?"