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

"You...you little beast! What nonsense are you spouting!"

Zhao felt a chill run down her spine from Nian Nian's icy gaze, as if she had been stripped naked and thrown into the snow. All her pretense and scheming were laid bare.

Enraged, she raised her hand to slap Niannian across the face!

"You dare touch her!"

Gu Yanqiu rushed forward and grabbed Zhao's wrist.

His hand was like an iron clamp, squeezing Zhao's hand bones so hard they cracked.

"Ouch—! It hurts! It hurts so much! Murder! He's going to kill this old woman!"

Zhao was in so much pain that she grimaced and immediately started throwing a tantrum.

"Let go!"

Cheng Tiezhu slammed his hand on the table, making a loud "bang" that shook the entire office.

"Gu Yanqiu, let go of my hand!"

Gu Yanqiu glanced at Cheng Tiezhu, then at his daughter whom Cheng Tiezhu was protecting behind him, his anger surging. But he still slowly released his grip.

Zhao rubbed her reddened wrist, glaring venomously at Gu Yanqiu and his daughter, cursing them rudely.

"You ill-mannered bastard! Just like your shameless mother! You ingrate!"

"Shut up!"

Aunt Wang rushed up and pointed at Zhao's nose, cursing.

"How dare you talk about her like that! I've lived for over fifty years and I've never seen such a heartless grandmother! Even tigers don't eat their cubs, you're worse than an animal!"

"Exactly! Selling their own granddaughter for a ghost marriage, aren't they afraid of being struck by lightning!"

"People like this should be paraded through the streets!"

The villagers in the office were indignant, their spittle practically drowning Zhao.

They may not understand any grand principles, but they know who is good and who is bad, who is human and who is a devil.

Seeing this scene, Zhao knew that she had completely lost morally today, and that she would not gain any advantage by continuing to argue.

Her eyes darted around, and the shrewish look on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold laugh.

A cold laugh of desperation, as if the fish were going to fight to the death.

"Fine, so you're all on his side, huh? You people from Chengjiawan are sticking together, aren't you?"

She straightened her disheveled clothes and straightened her back.

"You're being unreasonable, but others are! You don't understand the law, but others do!"

Her gaze, like that of a venomous snake, swept across the faces of Gu Yanqiu and Cheng Tiezhu.

"It's a fact that Gu Yanqiu and Song Wanqing didn't get a marriage certificate, right? It's also a fact that Niannian is a 'child born out of wedlock' in the law, right?"

She sneered and said, word by word:

"I am the child's maternal grandmother. I have the right to visitation, and even the right to apply for guardianship! Your refusal to let me see him is illegal! Your obstruction of justice is an obstruction of justice!"

She emphasized the words "law" and "judiciary" very much.

In this remote mountain village, these two words have a natural deterrent effect on ordinary villagers.

Sure enough, the murmurs in the office subsided.

Although everyone hated Zhao, they had to admit that what she said seemed to make some sense.

Cheng Tiezhu's brows furrowed tightly.

This is exactly what he is most worried about.

This old woman has found their weakness and is going to play the rogue with them.

"I'm putting my words right here and now!"

Seeing that she had quelled the situation, Zhao became arrogant again.

"Today, I must take the child away! If any of you dare to stop me, I will report you to the commune! I will report you to the county! I will accuse Chengjiawan of harboring a criminal, committing a crime, and disregarding national laws!"

She pointed at Gu Yanqiu, a determined look on her face.

"Gu Yanqiu, I'll give you two choices."

"First, let Niannian come back to the provincial capital with me. I promise she'll live a life of luxury, a hundred times better than being with a penniless guy like you!"

"Article Two..."

She paused, revealing her fox tail, her eyes gleaming with greed.

"Fine, you can refuse. But you'd better give me a detailed breakdown of all the money Wanqing has sent home over the years, and the child support we, the old couple, have paid to raise her until she was eighteen! Also, give me two hundred yuan as 'compensation for emotional distress'!"

"Once you've given me the money, I'll pretend I never had this granddaughter. From this day forward, our two families will sever all ties and never see each other again!"

See the picture poorly.

After all that talking and fussing, the ultimate goal is still money.

She didn't want to talk about this "burden" at all; she just wanted to use the pretext of kidnapping the child to extort money!

"Pah!"

Before Gu Yanqiu could speak, Aunt Wang spat on the ground.

"I see you now, you old hag, all you've ever done is chase money! You're not even human!"

"So what if it is?"

Zhao completely abandoned all pretense of civility, acting as if she were a dead pig unafraid of boiling water.

"I raised my daughter, and she ran off with someone. What's wrong with me taking a little money? It's my right! Gu Yanqiu, if you don't give me the money today, I'm not leaving! I'll make a scene at your doorstep every day, at your brigade headquarters, I'll even stage a sit-in at the county government! Let's see where Chengjiawan will put its face!"

This is blatant threat and shameless behavior.

Gu Yanqiu clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white from the force.

He can work as a bricklayer, repair machines, or dig for medicinal herbs in the mountains; he can earn money with his own blood and sweat.

But he would never give a single penny to the devil who killed his wife and sold his daughter!

That was an insult to Wanqing, and a second blow to Niannian!

"He won't give you a single penny."

Gu Yanqiu's voice was eerily calm.

"Child, you won't be able to take a single hair from my head."

"Fine! Fine, Gu Yanqiu!"

Zhao was trembling with rage. "You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences! You just wait! I'm going to the county right now to find the Women's Federation and the court! I refuse to believe that there's no law in this country!"

As she spoke, she pulled Song Jianguo and Sun Fenglan, who were already terrified, to their feet.

"Let's go! We're going to the county town!"

Watching Zhao storm out of the brigade headquarters in a fit of rage, everyone in the office breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time, their hearts were in their throats again.

This old woman is really going to file a complaint.

Things have blown up.

"Yanqiu..." Cheng Tiezhu's face was full of worry, "What should we do? What if she really goes to court..."

Gu Yanqiu remained silent.

He crouched down and looked at Niannian, who had been clutching his clothes tightly the whole time.

The little girl's face was still pale, but the fear in her big eyes was gone.

Instead, there was an unusual calm and steadfastness.

"dad."

Niannian raised her head and looked at Gu Yanqiu.

"They also went to the county town."

"Go to the county town?" Gu Yanqiu asked, puzzled.

"Um."

Niannian nodded, and with her little hand, she took something out of her pocket.

It's not that group photo that was just taken.

Instead, it was a neatly folded, yellowed piece of letter paper.

It is Song Wanqing's last letter.

Her finger touched the name and address on the letter that she had read countless times.

"Dad, Mom said that if there are any difficulties, we can go to him."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was like a calming pill, instantly soothing all of Gu Yanqiu's anxiety and unease.

"Now is the time of greatest difficulty."

Niannian looked into her father's eyes and said, word by word:

"They went to him. Someone her mother trusts can definitely help them, right?"