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

"Niannian! Look! I got it!"

Like a child, Gu Yandong excitedly ran into the yard, holding a piece of paper stamped with a red seal.

Gu Niannian was squatting on the ground helping her father organize the agricultural technology materials he had brought back from the provincial capital when she heard the sound and looked up.

It was a certificate of completion for a correspondence course, with "equivalent to junior high school level" written on it in beautiful regular script.

In the rural areas of the 1970s, this thin piece of paper carried considerable weight; it was enough to be considered a sign of "high education."

"Congratulations, Uncle!" Gu Niannian was genuinely happy for him.

Since the family split, especially after the incident on New Year's Eve, Uncle Gu Yandong has completely sided with Second Brother Gu Yanqiu.

During the day, he worked hard in the team to earn work points, and at night he studied diligently by the dim light of a kerosene lamp. He was full of ambition.

With this diploma, coupled with his honest and hardworking nature, matchmakers immediately flocked to the Gu family's old house.

"Yan Dong, you truly are a scholar of the Gu family!"

Aunt Wang walked in with a bag of brown sugar, all smiles. She immediately noticed the certificate in Gu Yandong's hand and showered him with compliments.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Aunt Wang took Wang Guifang's hand and explained her purpose.

"Sister-in-law, I'm here today to act as matchmaker!"

The girl that Aunt Wang wanted to introduce to Gu Yandong was Chen Xiuying, a girl from the Hongqi Brigade in the neighboring village.

"I watched that girl grow up. She's nineteen, with a round face, loves to laugh, and has eyes like grapes!"

My family were poor peasants, but we were of impeccable revolutionary lineage!

She's incredibly hardworking, capable of doing the work of half a man, and has a wonderful temperament; she's a well-known good girl for miles around!

Upon hearing this, Wang Guifang's face showed a hint of interest.

My youngest son is twenty; it's time for him to get married.

The matter was quickly settled, and three days later, the "matchmaking" took place at Aunt Wang's house.

That day, Gu Yandong put on his best patched blue cotton jacket, wiped his hair neatly with water, and was so nervous that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

Gu Niannian, as her uncle's "strategist," also went over.

As soon as you enter Aunt Wang's courtyard, you see a girl wearing a floral shirt sitting on a small stool with her head down, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her shirt.

She seemed to sense someone approaching and suddenly looked up.

Just as Aunt Wang had said, she had a round face with a healthy blush on her cheeks and a pair of clear, bright eyes. When she saw Gu Yandong, her face turned red instantly, and she quickly lowered her head again.

Gu Yandong became even more nervous, standing there with her face flushed red to her ears, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Gu Niannian was the quick-witted one. She toddled over to Chen Xiuying, tilted her head back, and flashed a sweet smile that could make anyone swoon. She called out in a clear voice:

"Hello, sister-in-law!"

"Pfft—"

Chen Xiuying couldn't hold back her laughter any longer when she heard her call her "sister-in-law." She covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curving like crescent moons.

That smile immediately eased the tense atmosphere in the room.

Taking advantage of the situation, Aunt Wang pushed Gu Yandong over, saying, "You two talk for a bit, I'll go get you some sweet soup!"

The blind date was a great success. Although Gu Yandong didn't talk much, Chen Xiuying was delighted to see that he was honest and reliable.

Just when it seemed like a good thing was about to happen, Wang Guifang's face fell when she got home.

"No." She sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), tapped her pipe, and said, "I don't agree to this."

Gu Yandong, who was in the midst of his excitement, was suddenly doused with cold water and froze: "Mom, why? Xiuying...she's fine."

"What's so good about her?" Wang Guifang slammed her pipe down on the kang table. "She's just a village girl, doesn't look very clever! I want to find my youngest son a woman with a job in the city, or at least a primary school teacher!"

Aunt Sun Xiufen, who was sewing shoe soles nearby, immediately came over and chimed in sarcastically, "That's right, Mother, you're right."

I've heard that Chen Xiuying's family is dirt poor, with a lot of brothers and sisters. If she marries into the family, won't that just mean there's another mouth to feed?

"We don't have enough surplus grain to support idlers!"

That was an extremely harsh way of saying it.

"Sister-in-law! How can you talk like that!" Gu Yandong's face turned bright red, and he lost his temper with Sun Xiufen for the first time.

"What did I say? Wasn't I telling the truth?" Sun Xiufen pouted, her face full of sarcasm. "Marrying a wife might even mean paying for her family's marriage. Only a fool like you would do something like that!"

"you!"

"Enough!" Wang Guifang snapped, stopping the two from arguing.

She glanced at Gu Yandong, whose face was full of anger, and said coldly, "There's no room for discussion. Either find someone with good prospects, or don't get married!"

"Don't interfere in my affairs!"

Gu Yandong roared suddenly, and the veins on his neck bulged.

This usually quiet, even somewhat timid, honest man, for the first time at home, unleashed an astonishing temper because of his marriage.

He stared at his mother and sister-in-law with bloodshot eyes, and said, word by word, "In this life, I will marry no one but Chen Xiuying!"

After saying that, he slammed the door and left, leaving a room full of bewildered people.

Wang Guifang was trembling with rage, pointing towards the door and yelling, "They've gone too far! They've really grown wings! They dare to talk back to me for some wild girl!"

Sun Xiufen, meanwhile, gloated and fanned the flames: "Mother, don't be angry. I think the third son has been corrupted by that simpleton Gu Yanqiu! You'd better hurry up with this, otherwise you'll suffer if that poor girl really marries into the family!"

Wang Guifang's face was so gloomy it could drip water.

Will the youngest son's marriage be ruined like this?

Gu Niannian, who was eavesdropping outside the door, clenched her little fists.

No, she had to help her uncle!

But what could she do when her grandmother was so stubborn?