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

"Niannian—! My dear granddaughter—! Grandma has come to see you—!"

Sun Fenglan's loud voice, like a broken gong, exploded at the quiet village entrance.

She spotted Gu Yanqiu at the other end of the road and Niannian hiding behind him immediately, and started shouting at the top of her lungs, her face plastered with a fake smile.

Zhao also saw them.

Her eyes first swept across Gu Yanqiu's gloomy face, and then, like poisoned nails, they were fixed on Nian Nian.

The little girl she thought had long since died in Wangjia Village and turned into ashes was actually standing here alive.

Not only was it alive, but it also had a brand new red ribbon tied in its hair.

Zhao's eyes narrowed slightly, her gaze devoid of any affection, only filled with calculation and a barely perceptible hint of annoyance.

"What's there to be afraid of!"

Gu Yanqiu felt his daughter trembling. He took Nian Nian's cold little hand in his own, his voice deep and powerful.

"With Dad around, the sky won't fall down."

He tucked Niannian behind him again, and like a wall, walked towards the three people.

The villagers who had gathered at the village entrance automatically made way for them.

All eyes were focused on the few people in the standoff.

Although Chengjiawan was poor, the neighbors were mostly honest and kind.

The idea of ​​selling one's own granddaughter for a ghost marriage is utterly unheard of and appalling.

Everyone looked at the Zhao family with disdain and wariness.

"Hey, isn't this Yanqiu?"

Zhao was the first to speak, her face bearing the smile of a kind elder, as if all previous grievances had vanished.

"It's been years since we last saw you; you've grown quite strong. Your uncle and I came to visit the child; everyone at home has been talking about him."

As she spoke, she reached out to pull Niannian.

"Don't touch her!"

Gu Yanqiu suddenly turned to the side, completely blocking Nian Nian behind him, his voice as cold as ice.

Zhao's hand froze in mid-air, and the smile on her face instantly vanished.

"What do you mean by that?"

Aunt Sun Fenglan immediately jumped out, put her hands on her hips, and struck a quarrelsome pose.

"We came all the way from the provincial capital to see the child! And this is the attitude you, as the father, have? What, are you afraid we'll eat the child?"

"You all know what you're really up to!"

Gu Yanqiu's gaze passed over her and shot straight at Zhao Shi.

"You're not welcome here, get out of here right now!"

"you--!"

Sun Fenglan's face flushed with anger. "Who do you think you are! We are Nian Nian's maternal uncle and maternal grandmother! We are her family! What right do you have to prevent us from seeing our child?"

"Because I'm her father!"

Gu Yanqiu refused to budge an inch.

Just then, Cheng Tiezhu and Aunt Wang pushed through the crowd and rushed over.

"What are you all doing! Making such a racket at the village entrance, what kind of behavior is that!"

As soon as Cheng Tiezhu opened his mouth, his authoritative demeanor as the brigade secretary immediately put the room in control.

Sun Fenglan's arrogance immediately diminished.

"Captain Cheng, you've come at the perfect time."

Zhao immediately put on a wronged expression and began to cry to Cheng Tiezhu.

"You be the judge. My daughter is gone, and I only have this one granddaughter left. I've been thinking about her day and night, and I finally managed to come see her, but he..."

She pointed at Gu Yanqiu with her finger.

"...He wouldn't even let us in the door, wouldn't let us see the child even once. What kind of logic is this? We're the child's own grandmothers!"

Her crying might actually move some people who don't know the truth to a little pity.

But Cheng Tiezhu knew exactly what was going on.

He glanced at Niannian, who was hiding behind Gu Yanqiu, trembling with fear, and his anger flared up.

"Old Mrs. Zhao."

Cheng Tiezhu's voice was devoid of any warmth.

"We won't stop you from visiting the children. But if there's anything you need to discuss, go to the village committee office. Don't block the village entrance; it's not a good look."

He was supporting Gu Yanqiu, shifting the battleground from "emotional blackmail" that was detrimental to Gu Yanqiu to "business as usual" that he could control.

Zhao's eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed.

"Fine, let's go to the brigade headquarters! I refuse to believe there's no place in this world where justice can be served!"

She was making plans in her mind.

Upon arriving at the brigade headquarters, in front of the cadres, she laid out Gu Yanqiu's two accusations: "poverty" and "being born out of wedlock."

She refused to believe that a village official would dare to go against the country's laws.

The group marched in a grand procession toward the brigade headquarters.

Aunt Wang stayed close to Gu Yanqiu and reached out to take Niannian's little hand in hers.

"Don't be afraid, Niannian, Grandma Wang is here."

Grandma Wang's hands were warm and thick, giving Nian Nian a bit of strength.

Upon arriving at the brigade headquarters, Cheng Tiezhu sat down behind his desk.

Accountant Lao Sun and several production team leaders rushed over upon hearing the news, filling the small office to the brim.

This is a public confrontation.

"Speak," Cheng Tiezhu tapped his pipe, "What exactly do you want from me today?"

"We're taking Niannian with us!"

Sun Fenglan spoke up quickly.

"My mother-in-law is the child's maternal grandmother. The child's father died and her mother died. She lives alone with a grown man. What kind of situation is that? We've come to take her back to the city to enjoy a better life!"

"Enjoying life?"

Gu Yanqiu sneered, "Is this the 'blessing' of being sold off and forced into a ghost marriage?"

The moment those words were spoken, the entire office erupted in a buzz of excitement.

Everyone's gaze was like a knife, piercing Zhao's side.

Zhao's face instantly turned a deep liver color.

She never expected that Gu Yanqiu would reveal this matter in front of so many people!

"You...you're talking nonsense! You're slandering me!"

Zhao was trembling with anger. "What evidence do you have?!"

"evidence?"

Gu Yanqiu took something out of his pocket and slammed it on the table with a "thud".

It's that aluminum lunchbox with the words engraved on it.

"Wangjia Village, Wang Erzhu, betrothal gift of two hundred yuan. Does this inscription count as evidence?"

"besides!"

Gu Yanqiu's gaze swept over Song Jianguo's pathetic face.

"You, Song Jianguo! Your sister's body is barely cold, and you, along with your mother, sold your own niece! Do you even deserve to be called a human being?"

Song Jianguo shuddered under his gaze and instinctively took a step back, not daring to utter a sound.

Looking at the lunchbox and then at the disdainful and angry eyes of the surrounding villagers, Zhao knew that she couldn't deny the fact that she had sold her child.

But she's a seasoned veteran.

If one plan fails, another immediately comes up.

She suddenly plopped down on the ground and began to wail loudly.

"My life is so hard! I'm just an old woman, struggling to raise three children. Do you know how difficult it was for me?!"

She cried and slapped her thigh.

"That wretched girl Wanqing, she's so disobedient! She insisted on marrying a penniless man! She didn't give the family a single penny of dowry before running off with him! She's made me lose all face!"

"I was just frustrated with her and made a mistake in a moment of confusion! But no matter how wrong I was, she's still my dear grandmother! Blood is thicker than water, and that can't be changed!"

She raised her head, a fierce glint flashing across her tear-streaked face.

"Gu Yanqiu! I'm asking you, have you and Wanqing registered your marriage?!"

She finally unleashed her true trump card.

Gu Yanqiu's heart sank.

The office fell silent instantly.

Everyone was looking at him.

Seeing his silence, Zhao stopped crying, scrambled to her feet, and wore a victorious grimace on her face.

"No, right? I knew it!"

She pointed at Gu Yanqiu's nose, her voice sharp and shrill.

"Without a marriage certificate, you're not a legal couple! Niannian is just an illegitimate child without any status! Gu Yanqiu, what right do you have to hold onto the child? In terms of closeness, I, as the grandmother, have more right to claim custody of the child than you, a mere bastard!"

"What makes you think Daddy is some kind of bastard?!"

A crisp, cold voice, filled with barely suppressed anger, rang out from behind the crowd.

Everyone was stunned.

Then, Nian Nian walked out from behind Aunt Wang.

She stood straight, her small body radiating an astonishing light from her pale face, which was pale with fear and anger.

She walked step by step to Zhao Shi, raised her head, and met her grandmother's astonished and vicious eyes.

"You blocked my mother's letters for six years and lied to my father for six years."

"You left my mother alone in the city when she was sick, and you raised me alone until she died."

"You sold me for two hundred dollars the day after she died."

Niannian's voice wasn't loud, but every word was like a sharp awl, piercing deep into everyone's heart.

The office was deathly silent.

Everyone was utterly shocked by what the four-and-a-half-year-old child had said.

Niannian looked at Zhao Shi, her eyes filled with ice, not tears.

A cold, bone-chilling hatred.

"A person like you doesn't even deserve to mention my mother's name."

She paused for a moment, then used all her remaining strength to utter her last words.

"What right do you have to be my grandmother?"