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

"Have you heard? The county is setting up an agricultural technology extension station and they're selecting people!"

"That's right! I heard they'll only choose three people in the end. That's a secure job; they'll be government officials!"

The news from the agricultural technology extension station spread like wildfire throughout the county.

Countless eyes were fixed on these three precious spots.

After initial screening, only three people were ultimately selected for the candidate list.

The first one, naturally, is Gu Yanqiu.

He has a proven track record of increasing grain production by 15% in Chengjiawan, and he also received an "excellent" rating in the quarterly assessment of the agricultural machinery station.

In addition, there was a joint recommendation from the brigade leader Cheng Tiezhu and Lao Han, the station chief of the agricultural machinery station.

She is undoubtedly a top contender.

The second one is named Sun Wei.

He is the apprentice of Station Chief Han. He has worked at the county agricultural machinery station for seven or eight years. He has solid technical skills, is honest and upright, and is a representative of the technical school.

The third one surprised everyone.

His name is Zhao Dayong, and he is a technician from Shuanghe Brigade in the neighboring village.

In terms of technical skills, he was mediocre; in terms of performance, his Shuanghe Brigade consistently ranked at the bottom in terms of output.

But he somehow managed to squeeze into the final candidate list.

The reason was simple: he had a cousin named Zhao Youfu who worked as an officer in the commune!

"It's them again!"

Upon hearing the news, Gu Niannian's small brows instantly furrowed into a knot.

That invisible, poisonous net has entangled me once again.

The competition was fierce from the very beginning.

Gu Yanqiu spent almost all his time at the agricultural machinery station.

During the day, he followed the experienced workers, studying the blueprints of various new agricultural machines and learning more complex maintenance techniques.

At night, he would lie on his desk in the dormitory, reading through thick theoretical books over and over again.

He knew the structure of every part and the principle behind every type of malfunction by heart.

He knew that he was the least experienced, and if he wanted to win, he had to put in ten times more effort than others.

However, at this crucial juncture, something unexpected happened.

A dark rumor about Gu Yanqiu suddenly emerged and began to circulate quietly throughout the county.

"Hey, have you heard? Gu Yanqiu from Chengjiawan used to be a notorious lazybones. He never even went to the fields; he just lay at home waiting to die!"

"I've heard about it too! His wife was worked to death by him!"

"That's not all! I've also heard that he's a morally corrupt man with questionable conduct, and that he has an improper relationship with a widow from the county textile factory!"

The so-called "widow" refers to Li Huilan, who kindly helped the Gu family father and daughter in the past!

Li Huilan's husband died in the line of duty, and she raised her child alone. She was an upright and kind person with an excellent reputation in the factory.

Just because she visited Niannian in Chengjiawan and brought fabric to the child, such a simple and kind good deed was turned into a filthy and unbearable mess in the mouths of these rumor-mongers!

The rumors, spreading with increasing detail and becoming more and more offensive, were becoming increasingly distorted.

Some people even claimed to have seen Gu Yanqiu sneaking into Li Huilan's house in the middle of the night!

These words, like poisoned knives, pierced Gu Yanqiu's heart.

He can tolerate people saying he's lazy or poor.

But he could not tolerate such malicious slander against a good person who had once helped him!

"This is outrageous!"

In the dormitory of the agricultural machinery station, Gu Yanqiu was trembling with anger. He slammed his fist on the table, his eyes red.

He knew that Zhao Youfu was definitely behind this!

No one but him would resort to such despicable means!

"Dad, don't be angry."

On the weekend, Gu Niannian returned from school and, seeing her father's bloodshot eyes and haggard face, poured him a glass of water with heartache.

There was no anger on her small face, only a calmness beyond her years.

"People can say whatever they want, it's none of your business."

Gu Yanqiu clutched his hair in anguish: "But Niannian, they... they can't bully people like this! They're trying to kill me!"

In this era, "moral conduct issues" is a label that can be fatal.

Once implicated, not only will he be eliminated from the selection process for station chief, but he might even lose his job at the agricultural machinery station!

Gu Niannian walked to her father's side, reached out her little hand, and gently patted his back.

"Dad, look at me."

Gu Yanqiu looked up and met her daughter's clear, calm eyes.

"Why would they spread rumors?" Gu Niannian asked, enunciating each word clearly.

"Because...because they want me to not be elected."

Why would we want you to not be elected?

"Because... my skills are better than theirs, and my performance is better than theirs."

"That's right." Gu Niannian nodded, her eyes revealing a wisdom beyond her years.

"They're afraid of you, so they resort to these underhanded methods to attack you."

"The angrier and more agitated you are now, the more you fall into their trap. They'd love for you to lose your composure and give up on your own."

Gu Yanqiu was stunned.

He looked at his daughter as if he were seeing her for the first time.

Yes, how could he forget that his Nian Nian was never an ordinary child?

"Then... what should I do?"

He looked at his daughter as if she were a lifeline.

Gu Niannian smiled confidently.

"It's very simple."

"They want to bring you down with rumors, so use your strength to utterly humiliate them!"

"Isn't there a final on-site technical assessment?"

"That's the key to deciding the outcome!"

"If you score higher than everyone else in that exam, so high that all the judges are speechless, then all the rumors will naturally fall apart!"

His words were powerful and resounding, like a ray of light that instantly pierced through the fog in Gu Yanqiu's heart!

Correct!

Niannian is right!

strength!

Only absolute strength is the most powerful weapon to shatter all conspiracies and schemes!

Gu Yanqiu's eyes reignited with fire!

"Okay! Dad will listen to you!"

He took a deep breath, transforming all his anger and grievances into boundless motivation.

From that day on, he ignored the rumors and threw himself into the final preparations for the exam with an almost frantic attitude.

Gu Niannian became his most capable "teaching assistant".

Every night, she would stay with her father and review theoretical knowledge together.

Her tiny fingers, when pointing at those complex structural diagrams of parts, could always pinpoint the most crucial points.

"Dad, the book explains the principle of the 'differential' too complicatedly. Actually, you just need to remember that it's to allow the two wheels of the tractor to travel at different speeds when turning, so that it won't tip over."

She used the simplest and most straightforward language to explain those dry theories clearly.

Many of Gu Yanqiu's blind spots in knowledge were actually cleared up by his daughter in just a few words.

He was astonished to discover that his daughter's memory and comprehension were simply terrifying!

No matter how complex the blueprints are, she can recite them completely after just one look.

She can even use a pencil to redraw the intricate structure of those parts on paper with perfect accuracy!

The lines and proportions were even better than those of a master craftsman who had been doing it for almost a year!

"Niannian...who...who did you learn all this from?"

Gu Yanqiu was speechless with shock when she saw the drawing her daughter had made.

Gu Niannian looked up, blinked, and said with a grin, "I learned it from Aunt Su! Aunt Su said it's called 'engineering drawing,' and she taught me a lot of mnemonic devices!"

Su Xueqing!

Gu Yanqiu felt an even deeper sense of gratitude towards that mysterious female educated youth.

With the help of her daughter, a "super cheat code," Gu Yanqiu's review efficiency improved by leaps and bounds.

His technical and theoretical level has reached a new level in just half a month.

At this point, only three days remained until the final on-site technical assessment.

In a small restaurant in the county town, Zhao Youfu was holding a wine glass, clinking glasses with two middle-aged men dressed in cadre uniforms.

"Section Chief Wang, Director Liu, I'm entrusting my son Dayong's matter entirely to you two this time!"

"Don't worry, Officer Zhao!" The fat man, referred to as Section Chief Wang, patted his chest and assured him, "We've taken care of everything. We'll raise his written test score, and give him a break during the on-site assessment. No problem!"

Zhao Youfu smiled with satisfaction, a hint of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

Gu Yanqiu!

You, a peasant, think you can fight me?

So what if you're good at it?

I can crush you with my connections!