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

"Something terrible has happened! Brother Tiezhu! Something's wrong!"

A commune member ran into the brigade headquarters, panting and looking anxious.

"Someone from the county...the county submitted a letter of complaint! Saying that Brother Yanqiu is of bad character and unqualified to be the station chief!"

These words were like a bucket of cold water, instantly extinguishing the joyous atmosphere that had prevailed in Chengjiawan for the past two days.

The news that Gu Yanqiu had amazed everyone in the assessment and won first place had already spread throughout the entire village.

Every household felt proud, as if the lintel of Chengjiawan had risen considerably.

Cheng Tiezhu had even prepared firecrackers, just waiting for the public notice period to end.

Once the official appointment is confirmed, let's have a proper celebration for Gu Yanqiu.

But at this critical juncture, someone has stabbed us in the back again!

When Gu Yanqiu heard the news, his heart sank.

His worst fears came true.

As expected, Zhao Youfu, that venomous snake, was unwilling to give up easily!

"Dad, don't panic."

Gu Niannian tugged at her father's calloused hand, her little face displaying a composure beyond her years.

"When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. Let's first see what's written in the letter."

Cheng Tiezhu slapped his thigh: "That's right! Niannian is right! What's the panic? An upright person has nothing to fear!"

He immediately rode the old, rattling bicycle from the brigade, which rattled everywhere except for the bell, and headed straight for the commune. He then asked someone to find Old Han, the station chief of the county agricultural machinery station.

When Station Master Han heard about this, he was furious!

"Outrageous! They resort to such despicable tactics because their skills are lacking! I'd like to see what kind of tricks they can come up with!"

Old Han was also stubborn, so he went directly to the county official in charge and, after much pleading and cajoling, finally saw the so-called "letter from the masses".

This whistleblower letter is much more "professional" than the previous rumors.

The letter was written with a fountain pen, and the handwriting was neat.

It detailed Gu Yanqiu's major "crimes".

First, he said that he came from a lazy family and that his problem stemmed from his own laziness and love of food.

Second, it is said that he killed his wife and had no sense of responsibility towards his family.

Third, he brought up Li Huilan's matter again, even fabricating details that someone "personally witnessed" him staying at Li Huilan's house late at night on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year.

The most insidious part was that at the end of the letter, several signatures were crookedly attached, masquerading as a joint report from the villagers of Chengjiawan.

When Station Chief Han relayed the contents of the letter to Cheng Tiezhu, Cheng Tiezhu was so angry that he almost overturned the table in the brigade headquarters!

"Bullshit! This is pure malicious slander!"

Gu Yanqiu listened, his face turning ashen, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

He may not care what others say about him, but he cannot tolerate them tarnishing the reputation of a good person like this!

"Dad, can I see a copy of that letter?"

Gu Niannian spoke calmly.

When Station Chief Han arrived, he was careful and asked someone to make a copy of what the letter looked like.

Cheng Tiezhu unfolded the thin sheet of paper on the table.

Gu Niannian leaned closer, her small brows furrowed tightly as she carefully examined each word on it.

She read very slowly and attentively, her little finger lightly tracing over a few specific words.

Back when she was at the educated youth settlement, Chen Zhiyuan jokingly taught her some tricks to distinguish handwriting when he was teaching her to write.

For example, everyone's handwriting habits are unique, and the way some radicals are written is like a fingerprint, which is very difficult to imitate.

"This character 'Zhao'," Gu Niannian suddenly pointed to a signature at the end of the letter, "and this character 'de', the dot on the right side, both habitually point upwards very high."

Her little brain was working at lightning speed, and a familiar handwriting popped into her memory.

It's Zhao Xiaohu!

A few days ago, Zhao Xiaohu forgot his homework at school, and she helped him hand it in to the teacher.

On his workbook, his father, who is Zhao Youfu's cousin, signed his name like this!

To confirm, she quickly ran back into the house and pulled a crumpled piece of paper from her small schoolbag.

That was the arithmetic draft paper that Zhao Xiaohu had dropped on the ground when he was showing off to her last time. It had a few words written on it by his father when he helped him check the calculations.

Gu Niannian placed the draft paper and the copy of the letter side by side.

It's exactly the same!

That upward-pointing "dot" is practically identical!

"It was written by Zhao Youfu, Zhao Dayong's cousin!"

Gu Niannian raised her head and said to Cheng Tiezhu and Gu Yanqiu with a firm and resolute tone.

"This letter was forged by him from beginning to end!"

Cheng Tiezhu and Gu Yanqiu were both stunned!

Looking at the little girl in front of them, they felt a chill run down their spines.

How does this brain even work?

"Okay! Okay!"

Cheng Tiezhu slammed his hand on the table in excitement, picked up the draft paper as if he had obtained a royal sword.

"I'm going to find Station Chief Han right now! The evidence is irrefutable! Let's see how Zhao Youfu tries to deny it now!"

Once Station Chief Han obtained the evidence, he immediately took it to the desk of the county official in charge.

That official already had doubts about the report that "happened" to appear during the public notice period.

Upon seeing this irrefutable evidence of forged handwriting, his face immediately darkened.

When Zhao Youfu was called in for "talks," he thought it was because his whistleblower letter had worked.

A smug smile played on his lips.

But when the supervising official slapped the draft paper and a copy of the whistleblower letter in front of him, the color drained from his face in an instant.

"Your actions are no longer a simple complaint from the public," the official said coldly. "This is fabricating facts and maliciously accusing someone! It's a serious violation of discipline!"

Zhao Youfu's legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the ground.

He never imagined that his flawless plan would...

It's unbelievable that a five-and-a-half-year-old toddler could completely expose my ignorance because of a few sheets of scrap paper!

The three-day public announcement period passed uneventfully.

On the morning of the fourth day, the county's official document was formally issued to Baiyang Commune.

Gu Yanqiu has been officially appointed as the technical head of Chengjiawan Agricultural Technology Extension Station, effective immediately!

"Crackling and popping—"

The string of 500-shot "Big Red" flares that Cheng Tiezhu bought finally went off at the entrance of the Chengjiawan brigade headquarters!

Red confetti flew everywhere, and the whole village was in an uproar.

Gu Yanqiu, dressed in a brand-new blue overalls with a large red flower pinned to her chest, stood in the center of the crowd, looking somewhat at a loss.

Those villagers who used to talk behind his back and call him a "lazybones" all gathered around him now, their faces beaming with the warmest smiles.

"Yanqiu, you've really made something of yourself! You've really brought honor to Chengjiawan!"

"I knew it! That's what they call 'a hidden talent'!"

"What lazybones? This is called a prodigal son returning home, more precious than gold! Don't you understand?!"

Gu Niannian stood beside her father, tugging at his clothes.

Looking at the changing faces before me, my mind was completely clear.

She knew that Zhao Youfu's connection had been temporarily severed.

But the Zhao family, my maternal grandmother's family, is like a huge, intricately intertwined poisonous web.

Zhao Youfu fell, and in that net were Zhou Ming, who worked at the county civil affairs bureau, and Zhao Xiaohu, his classmate with whom he had long harbored hatred.

Dad's good days are just beginning.

But she had a premonition that those enemies lurking in the shadows would not let them live in peace so easily.

Where will the next trouble come from?