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

"Red Star Commune? Schoolteacher?"

On the way back to Chengjiawan, Gu Yanqiu pedaled his bicycle and turned to ask his daughter on the back seat.

"Niannian, are you sure you didn't hear me wrong?"

"Mmm!" Gu Niannian nodded her little head vigorously, her voice filled with barely suppressed excitement. "Daddy, those two driver uncles said they came from the south, have beautiful handwriting, and were once... professors."

Grandpa Cheng Fulai gives the impression of being a cultured old man.

He speaks slowly and deliberately, and he can also write.

This clue matches up!

Gu Yanqiu's heart also warmed up.

It's good that we found it!

This debt of gratitude is the heaviest stone weighing on the hearts of the father and daughter.

That was the light in their desperate situation, the direct force that brought father and daughter together again.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Gu Yanqiu asked Cheng Tiezhu for half a day off.

They took Gu Niannian and borrowed a bicycle from the brigade.

They headed straight for the Red Star Commune, which was dozens of miles away.

Hongxing Commune was larger and more bustling than Baima Town.

The father and daughter inquired about the "schoolteacher from the south" with almost no effort.

"Oh, you're looking for Mr. Zhou! He's in the commune primary school; he teaches Chinese, and his handwriting is truly beautiful!"

The helpful person's guidance made Gu Niannian's heart beat even faster.

This is it! It must be here!

However, when the father and daughter stood expectantly in the commune primary school office and saw the so-called "Mr. Zhou," their hearts sank.

The man in front of me was in his early forties, wearing glasses, and had a refined and scholarly air.

But he is not Cheng Fulai at all!

The age and appearance didn't match at all.

"You're looking for... Cheng Fulai?" After listening to Gu Yanqiu's description, Mr. Zhou frowned and thought for a long time before finally shaking his head. "I'm sorry, comrade, I've been in Hongxing Commune for two years and have never heard of this person. None of the teachers at our school have the surname Cheng."

The flame of hope was doused and extinguished with a bucket of cold water.

Gu Niannian's face fell instantly, and the light in her eyes dimmed.

"Thank you, Professor Zhou. Sorry to bother you."

Gu Yanqiu patted his daughter's head, mustered his spirits, and left the school with her.

On the way back, Gu Niannian remained silent, her small body leaning against her father's broad back, her mood extremely low.

She believed that as long as she worked hard and put her heart into it, she would definitely find it.

But in this vast sea of ​​people, finding someone turns out to be so difficult.

Back in Chengjiawan, Gu Yanqiu felt a pang of sadness seeing her daughter's dejected expression.

He thought for a moment, gritted his teeth, and took Niannian directly to the brigade headquarters.

"Find Uncle Cheng Tiezhu! He's the brigade leader, he knows a lot of people, he'll definitely have a way!"

After listening to the father and daughter's purpose and their day's journey, Cheng Tiezhu took a deep drag on his cigarette. His expression was complex amidst the swirling smoke.

"Yanqiu, Niannian, you two... are so foolish!"

He tapped his pipe on the sole of his shoe.

"Cheng Fulai, that's a distant cousin of mine, beyond the fifth degree of kinship. Why didn't you ask me sooner!"

Gu Niannian suddenly raised her head, her eyes regaining their light.

"Uncle Tiezhu, do you know where Grandpa Cheng is?"

"Sigh..." Cheng Tiezhu sighed, his gaze becoming somewhat distant. "He's a man with a hard life. His wife passed away early, and he only has one son who works in the provincial capital. The year before last, his son wrote to him, saying that his daughter-in-law had given birth and that he should go to the provincial capital to take care of his grandson and enjoy a peaceful retirement."

"He returned his house and land in his hometown to the brigade and left."

provincial capital!

For the people of Chengjiawan, this word is as distant as the ends of the earth.

Gu Yanqiu hurriedly asked, "Then...do you have an address? We can write to him!"

"I do have an old address." Cheng Tiezhu pulled out an old notebook from a locked drawer, found a page, copied down an address, and handed it to Gu Yanqiu. "However, this address is from two years ago. After he left, he never contacted his family again, and we don't know how he's doing now."

Getting the address felt like receiving our last hope.

That evening, Gu Niannian lay down under the lamp, took out her most precious composition book, and solemnly wrote a letter, stroke by stroke.

In the letter, she described in detail her current life with her father.

It describes the changes in agricultural technology extension stations,

He recounted how he skipped a grade to attend school.

She wanted Grandpa Cheng to know that the little girl he had saved was doing very well now.

At the end of the letter, she attached the detailed address of Chengjiawan and carefully drew a map of Chengjiawan in pencil, marking the location of the promotion station and her own home.

She imagined how surprised and happy Grandpa Cheng would be when he received the letter.

The letter was carefully placed in an envelope, stamped with an eight-cent stamp, and mailed.

For the next two weeks, Gu Niannian's happiest moment each day was waiting for the postman under the big locust tree at the village entrance.

She hoped to receive a reply from the distant provincial capital.

However, two weeks later, she did not receive a reply.

It was the letter she sent out.

The envelope was stamped with a cold, blue postmark by the post office.

The message only contained four words: "No such person found".

"Clatter".

A tear fell onto the envelope, quickly spreading into a small ink stain.

Gu Niannian stood under the big locust tree, holding the returned letter, her small shoulders trembling uncontrollably.

The only clue has been lost.

Gu Yanqiu walked over, squatted down, and hugged her daughter tightly in her arms, feeling an overwhelming pang of heartache.

"Niannian, don't cry." His voice was hoarse. "Repaying kindness isn't something that can be done in a short time. As long as we keep it in our hearts, there will always be another chance. When Dad is more capable in the future, we'll go to the provincial capital and find them ourselves!"

"Um……"

Gu Niannian buried her face in her father's arms and nodded vigorously.

She knew her father was right.

She wiped away her tears, went home, and opened her account book.

She didn't put a checkmark next to the name "Cheng Fulai" as she had before.

Instead, he used a red pencil to solemnly draw a five-pointed star.

This favor will be owed to me for now.

As long as I live, I will repay this debt!

What she didn't know was that at that moment, in the provincial capital a thousand miles away,

In the attic added to the top floor of an old residential building, which is cold in winter and hot in summer,

An elderly man with gray hair and a hunched back was eating a bowl of plain noodles.

Coughing, he gazed out the window at the myriad lights of the city, his cloudy eyes filled with desolation.

This broken line will one day be reconnected in a way that no one could have imagined.

But now, for Gu Niannian, summer has arrived.

This summer, she arranged a brand new and even more important "secret mission" for herself.

Dad, this time, let me help you!