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

"Next up, Gu Niannian from Chengjiawan Commune Primary School."

When the name was announced over the loudspeaker, a small commotion arose throughout the Qinghe County Auditorium.

All eyes turned to the small figure who stood up from the corner.

The county-wide primary school student essay competition attracted "top students" selected from various schools.

They wore their best clothes, with brand-new red scarves pinned to their chests.

Each of them stood tall and proud, their faces radiating confidence and arrogance.

Among this group of children, the oldest being twelve or thirteen and the youngest ten,

Gu Niannian's presence was particularly conspicuous.

She was only six and a half years old, and her height only reached the waist of the child next to her.

She had two neat braids, with bright red hair ties tied to the ends of the braids.

She was wearing the red corduroy jacket that her father had brought back from the provincial capital. In a sea of ​​blue, gray, and black, it looked like a small, dancing flame.

"My goodness, so small? Can she even write?"

"Is it from Chengjiawan Commune? That poor mountain village?"

"I heard he skipped a grade, so he must have gotten in through connections?"

A murmur arose from the surroundings, filled with undisguised contempt and suspicion.

Gu Niannian ignored the voices; her small face showed no sign of tension or fear.

She simply walked steadily to her seat, straightened her small back, and waited quietly.

Soon, the proctors began distributing the exam papers.

The essay paper was printed with the title of this competition: "My Home".

Upon seeing this question, many children smiled with relief.

They've written about this topic far too many times.

Write about a bright and clean house, kind parents, delicious food, and a happy family scene.

These are things that city kids can learn effortlessly.

However, Gu Niannian fell into deep thought upon seeing this topic.

Her home?

What is her home like?

Was it that dark little house in Wangjia Village, filled with beatings and hunger?

Or is it the same old house in the Gu family, with the same mean faces of Grandma and Aunt?

Or perhaps it's the dilapidated tile-roofed house where her father and she live now, a house with only a kang (a heated brick bed) and a table.

Scenes flashed through her mind like a movie.

She remembered that dilapidated house that let in drafts in winter and leaked rain in summer.

The wind blew in through the cracks in the wall, causing the kerosene lamp to flicker.

Like a firefly that might die at any moment.

Rainwater dripped down through the holes in the roof, splashing into small puddles on the ground. Dad used all the pots and pans in the house to catch it, creating a clanging and clattering sound like a chaotic symphony.

She remembered countless nights when her father sat under the moonlight, mending her shoes by that faint light.

His hands are so rough that he doesn't even feel pain when pricked by a needle.

The sewn shoes were crooked and ugly, resembling a centipede.

But when you wear them, they're so warm, warm enough to keep you cozy all winter long.

She remembered Granny Wang.

Every time she passed by her house, Aunt Wang would mysteriously pull her aside.

He slipped a still-steaming boiled egg into her pocket.

"Hide it quickly, don't let anyone see it! Eat it while it's hot!"

The warmth of the egg, even through the thin fabric, reached deep into her heart.

She thought of her uncle, Gu Yandong.

After the family split up, he still didn't dare to openly oppose his grandmother.

He would always secretly leave a few wild eggs or a comic book he'd found somewhere at her doorstep before dawn.

He never said a word, just left his things and left, like a silent fairy godmother.

She thought of Aunt Su Xueqing.

The first English word she learned was not "apple" or "book," but "home."

"Home," Aunt Su's voice was so gentle, "Niannian, it means home."

When Aunt Su said this, her eyes were filled with longing and sadness.

Gu Niannian didn't understand it then, but now, she seems to understand it a little.

Home is more than just a house.

Thoughts surged, emotions accumulated.

Gu Niannian finally raised her head and picked up her pen.

Unlike other children, she didn't rush to write. Instead, she first made a simple outline on a draft paper.

Then she started writing.

Her pen moved swiftly across the paper, making a "swish" sound.

She wrote with such focus that it was as if the whole world consisted only of her and the home she described.

Time passed by, second by second.

Just as the bell rang to signal the end of the exam, Gu Niannian had finished writing the last punctuation mark.

She breathed a long sigh of relief, neatly folded the composition paper, and handed it to the proctor.

In the afternoon, at the exam paper marking site.

The three judges are all renowned senior-level Chinese language teachers in the county.

In front of them were stacks of essay papers as high as a small mountain.

After reading through them one by one, most of them were just the same old praises and eulogies, with fancy words but no substance.

The judges were drowsy and kept yawning.

"Sigh, kids these days, their essays all look like they were made from the same mold." A judge surnamed Zhang took off his reading glasses and rubbed his sore eyes.

"Yes, it's all 'I have a mom and dad at home, they love me, I love my family,' there's no genuine feeling at all," another judge surnamed Liu echoed.

Just then, the chief judge sitting in the middle, a teacher named Li with gray hair, picked up an essay with neat but slightly immature handwriting.

He only glanced at the beginning, and his brows furrowed slightly.

"My home is very small, so small that it only has one room. It's dilapidated, with mud walls. When the wind blows, chunks of dirt fall down, like it's secretly crying."

This is quite an unusual beginning.

In this era that glorifies happiness and light, who would write about their home like this?

Mr. Li became interested. He adjusted his glasses and continued reading.

The more he read, the more serious his expression became.

The more he read, the more rapid his breathing became.

He saw the dilapidated house that leaked wind and rain, and his father clumsily sewing shoes under the moonlight.

I saw the warm egg in my pocket, and the comic book I'd secretly left by the door...

Each word was like a pebble thrown into the calm lake of his heart, stirring up ripples upon ripples.

When he read the English word "home" that Su Xueqing had taught him, his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Finally, he saw the ending.

"They say home is a house, it's mom and dad. But sometimes my home only has a dad, and we don't even have a complete house. But Aunt Su told me that 'home' is a place. I think my home is big. Big enough to hold my dad's rough hands, big enough to hold Aunt Wang's eggs."

It can hold my uncle's comic books, and it can hold all the people who love me. Therefore, my home is the biggest and warmest home in the world.

After reading the last sentence, Teacher Li could no longer hold back.

He abruptly took off his glasses, raised his hand, and covered his face.

The other two judges were startled by his reaction and quickly gathered around.

"Old Li, what's wrong?"

"Yeah, what did you see?"

Teacher Li didn't say anything, but simply handed them the essay.

The two judges took it with a puzzled look and started reading it together.

The examination room was once again so quiet that you could hear your own breathing.

A moment later, the silence was broken by a suppressed, low sob.

The female judge, surnamed Liu, was already in tears, sobbing uncontrollably.

Even the male judge surnamed Zhang, a tough man who had taught all his life, had tears welling up in his eyes and kept wiping them away with the back of his hand.

"This...this child...has suffered so much..."

"This isn't an essay...this is clearly...a letter of accusation written in blood and tears!"

Finally calming down, Mr. Li put his glasses back on, picked up his red pen, and wrote a large score in the upper right corner of the essay with unprecedented solemnity.

"100 points!"

Then, he wrote two more words heavily below.

"First place!"

The awards ceremony was still held in the county auditorium.

When the host announced in an excited, trembling voice that the first prize winner of the essay competition was "Gu Niannian from Chengjiawan Commune Primary School," there was a brief silence in the audience, followed by thunderous applause.

Everyone craned their necks, eager to see what this "genius" who had written such a groundbreaking work looked like.

Amidst a sea of ​​attention, Gu Niannian walked onto the podium to receive her award.

She is too young.

She only reached halfway up the mahogany podium that was taller than her.

She stood on tiptoe and stretched out her arms to barely manage to take the bright red certificate from the awarding leader's hand.

The audience below the stage laughed at this scene.

It was a kind smile, tinged with tenderness.

But as they laughed, many people stopped laughing.

They remembered the essay that had brought them to tears, and their dilapidated, drafty home.

Looking at the thin, small girl in front of them, who seemed like she could be blown away by a gust of wind, their hearts felt a sharp pang.

In the crowd, someone, I don't know who, was the first to burst into tears.

Soon, the crying spread throughout the auditorium as if it were contagious.

Many people are laughing, and many are crying.

They were amazed by the child's talent, and even more heartbroken by her resilience and maturity beyond her years.

Director Xu of the county education bureau was sitting in the first row.

From beginning to end, he gazed at the little girl on the stage with a complex and deeply moved look.

He personally inquired about Gu Niannian's situation and heard the complete story about the "mathematical genius" and the "literary genius" from Director Qian.

A thought grew clearer and more resolute in his mind.

As soon as the awards ceremony ended, Director Xu immediately approached Principal Wang.

Without any pleasantries, he went straight to the point: "Principal Wang, this child can no longer stay at your commune primary school!"

Principal Wang's heart skipped a beat, wondering if he had done something wrong and displeased the leaders.

"Director Xu, what...what do you mean by this?"

Director Xu looked at him and said solemnly, word by word, "What I mean is, I want to bring this child to the county! I want to personally arrange for her to enter the best experimental primary school in the entire county!"

This news was like a bombshell, exploding in Principal Wang's ears.

A new opportunity, and at the same time a new test, was presented to the Gu family father and daughter without warning.

Will this decision bring them glory, or another separation?