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

"prove?"

"What proof?"

A buzz of discussion immediately filled the courtyard.

Zhao's face turned pale when she heard the words "Red Flag Commune".

Her ominous premonition grew stronger, and it felt as if something was tightly gripping her throat, making it hard to breathe.

Cheng Tiezhu cleared his throat, held the paper up to his eyes, and began to read it aloud, word by word, in a strong and clear voice.

"The facts prove it!"

"This is to certify that on the twelfth day of the first month of 1969, Wang Guilan (the old lady of the Wang family) and Wang Erzhu, villagers of Wangjia Village in our commune, purchased their granddaughter Gu Niannian (four years old) for RMB 200 as a 'bride price' through the initiative of Zhao (a resident of Chengguan Town, Qinghe County) to arrange a ghost marriage for their deceased son Wang Fugui."

"It has been verified that the payment was received by Mr. Zhao in person. This is to certify!"

Signed: Revolutionary Committee of Red Flag People's Commune!

Date: March 10, 1969!

Finally, Cheng Tiezhu showed the bright red official seal to everyone.

"Above, there are the signatures of Old Mrs. Wang and Wang Erzhu!"

"Bang!"

These words immediately caused an uproar in the quiet courtyard!

The entire courtyard was first deathly silent, then erupted into a deafening roar!

"My God! Two hundred dollars! He really sold it!"

"It's all in black and white, and it even bears the commune's official seal! There's no denying it now!"

"That old hag! Her heart is black!"

All eyes, like knives, were fixed on Zhao Shi in the corner of the courtyard.

Zhao swayed, her vision blurred, and she almost collapsed to the ground.

The color drained from her face in an instant, leaving it as pale as paper.

It’s over.

It's completely over.

She never imagined that Gu Yanqiu, this taciturn man, this good-for-nothing in her eyes, would actually pull off such a drastic move!

He actually went to the Red Flag Commune and obtained irrefutable evidence from the buyer!

This completely blocked all her escape routes.

The commune's civil affairs officer sitting next to Cheng Tiezhu had a face so gloomy it could drip water.

He stood up, walked up to Zhao, and his voice was filled with suppressed anger.

"Comrade Zhao! Do you have anything else to say about this certificate?"

"I...I..."

Zhao's lips trembled, and she couldn't utter a single word.

She wanted to throw a tantrum, to cry and scream, to resort to her old tricks again.

However, in the face of that official document stamped with a black and white seal, any performance seems so pale and powerless.

"What do you mean, 'you'?!"

Aunt Sun Fenglan suddenly jumped up from the ground and pointed at Zhao's nose while cursing.

"This has nothing to do with us! It's all your fault! You old codger, you did it all yourself! And you took all the money!"

Seeing that things were not going well, she immediately began to distance herself from the situation, pushing all responsibility away.

"We just came with you to see your niece, who knew you would do such a heinous thing! Our Jianguo is a worker in the city, we can't let you drag him down with us!"

Song Jianguo also huddled in the corner, his head bowed low, wishing he could disappear into a crack in the ground. He didn't dare utter a single word from beginning to end.

Seeing this ugly family of three turn against each other on the spot, the villagers all showed contempt on their faces.

Looking at her daughter-in-law who had betrayed her, and then at her cowardly and incompetent son, Zhao couldn't catch her breath. Her eyes rolled back, and she collapsed to the ground, bursting into tears.

This time, it's not acting.

It was true despair.

She cried and pounded the ground, cursing incoherently.

He cursed Song Jianguo for being useless, cursed Sun Fenglan for being an ingrate, and cursed his own misfortune.

Yet, not a single word of it was a confession of his or her actions.

Gu Yanqiu watched this farce with cold indifference.

He didn't say anything, but walked forward and pulled Niannian, who had been standing behind him, to his front.

He knelt down, smoothed the wind-blown hair from his daughter's forehead, and whispered, "Niannian, don't be afraid."

Niannian shook her head.

She is not afraid.

When her father produced that certificate, the last trace of fear in her heart vanished.

She broke free from her father's hand, took small steps, and walked step by step to Zhao, who was slumped on the ground.

Everyone in the courtyard fell silent, watching the small figure.

Niannian looked down at her grandmother, who had once filled her with suffocating fear.

There was no anger or hatred on her face, only a cold calm that transcended her age.

"Didn't you want to know why my dad supports me?"

A crisp sound rang out in the quiet courtyard, every word crystal clear.

"Because he's my father."

"Just because when I was about to die, he carried me for dozens of miles through the mountains and knelt down to beg the doctor to save me."

"Just because he was willing to go hungry himself to give me the only shredded meat in the state-run restaurant."

"Just because he was willing to fight to the death with everyone for me."

Niannian's gaze swept over Zhao Shi, over Sun Fenglan, and over Song Jianguo, who never dared to look up.

"My father was poor, lived in a dilapidated house, and wore patched clothes. But he gave me a home."

"You have money, you live in the city, and you wear polyester. But all you gave me was a cold wooden box and two hundred yuan for selling myself."

She took a deep breath, her small chest rising and falling slightly.

Then, looking into Zhao's eyes, she spoke the final verdict, word by word.

"I don't need my grandmother."

"I don't need my uncle, nor do I need anyone from the Song family."

"From today onwards, please do not appear before me again."

"I, Gu Niannian, don't have relatives like you."

After saying that, she turned around, no longer looking at them, and walked back to Gu Yanqiu's side with firm steps, hugging her father's legs tightly.

It seemed as if the whole world had been reduced to just this one warm and solid support.

The commune's civil affairs officer sighed deeply as he watched this scene.

He picked up his pen and solemnly wrote a line in his notebook: "With the confirmation of the person involved, Gu Niannian, she voluntarily sever all ties with her maternal grandmother, Zhao."

Cheng Tiezhu looked at Zhao Shi, who was lying on the ground, her cries gradually subsiding, leaving only despair and resentment, and said in a deep voice, "Old Madam Zhao, the matter is already very clear."

"Buying and selling children is illegal. This certificate needs to be kept on file by our brigade and the commune."

"Considering your age and that you're the child's grandmother, we won't take you to the police station. But..."

His tone suddenly shifted, becoming extremely stern.

"From now on, if you dare to harass them, father and daughter, in Chengjiawan again, don't blame us for being ruthless and taking strict legal action!"

Zhao's body trembled violently.

She knew she had lost.

A crushing defeat.

Just when everyone thought the matter was over, Cheng Tiezhu spoke up again.

His gaze fell on Gu Yanqiu.

"Yanqiu, in order to eliminate future troubles, I suggest you do one more thing."

Gu Yanqiu raised her head: "Uncle Cheng, please speak."

Cheng Tiezhu spoke each word clearly and forcefully:

"Write a 'severing ties' letter!"