Outside, Old Madam Gu was tied to a tree. Hearing the commotion in the yard, she even noticed that the little yellow dog had meat to eat.
Inside, the aroma of noodles drifted out—light and fragrant, mixed with the rich scent of meat broth. Her stomach began to rumble loudly. Saliva gathered at the corners of her mouth; she swallowed it back again and again.
“Gu Zhao, you cursed brat! You’re torturing your own grandmother like this!”
Smelling but unable to eat, Old Madam Gu went mad with frustration, shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Before her voice even faded, Xiao Huang stood in front of her, baring its teeth and barking fiercely.
It looked just as fierce as Gu Zhao, as if it might tear her apart.
“You damn dog! Get away! Stay away from me!” Old Madam Gu panicked, but her hands and feet were tied—she couldn’t move.
The more terrified she looked, the fiercer Xiao Huang became, barking even louder.
“Help! Help! Gu Zhao, that cursed brat—not only tied me up but set a dog on me!”
Her voice turned hoarse with fear.
“What’s going on now? Can’t you people behave for a single day? Is the whole commune going to explode?”
From not far away, Lei Zhenxing’s rough voice approached.
After the chaos from Shu Ning’s incident last night, and with Sun Guofei pestering him endlessly, he had barely gotten any rest. Just as he was about to have a quiet lunch, trouble broke out here again.
Old Madam Gu instantly felt like she had found support and shouted, “Team Leader! Save me! You must help me deal with this tyrant in our family!”
“Comrades! Over here! That old woman is a human trafficker—she steals and sells children! Luckily my brother came back in time, or his younger siblings would’ve been sold!”
At the same time, Ergouzi’s voice rang out.
Team Leader Lei Zhenxing and the police officers arrived at Gu Zhao’s house almost simultaneously.
Hearing the commotion, villagers gathered one after another.
Even the educated youths came to watch.
Bai Zhiping, wearing a suit jacket, blended into the crowd. He wasn’t just there to watch—he wanted to confirm something.
At the educated youth dorm, he had been waiting for Shu Ning to make noodles for him.
He waited a full hour, but she never showed up.
Then someone told him that Shu Ning had taken meat and vegetables to Gu Zhao’s house.
Looking up, he saw Shu Ning and Gu Zhao walking out together.
Under the morning sunlight, the two of them looked strangely harmonious.
Something stabbed at Bai Zhiping’s heart, and anger surged within him.
So Shu Ning really came to Gu Zhao’s house.
From afar, he could see the bowls and chopsticks from the noodles they had just eaten.
She didn’t cook for him—but came here to cook for this “country bumpkin” instead!
A sudden sense of something being taken from him filled his chest. His face darkened, his gaze heavy.
Shu Ning sensed the sharp stare from the crowd. Looking up, she met Bai Zhiping’s gloomy, angry eyes.
She smirked faintly, gave him a cold glance, then turned away.
Beside her, Gu Zhao walked steadily, calm and composed, showing no sign of tension as more people gathered.
“Team Leader, you must stand up for us! Look at this brat Gu Zhao—yesterday he smashed our house, broke all our pots and pans, and took our cooking pot. Today, when we asked him to return it, he tied up my mother—his own grandmother—to a tree!”
Gu Dajiang cried loudly, snot and tears running, accusing Gu Zhao.
Hearing this, Old Madam Gu cried even louder, feeling her suffering was immense.
Shu Ning clenched her fists, wishing she could punch Gu Dajiang to death.
“What a shameless man—accusing others first!”
“Team Leader… it’s not like that…” Shu Ning tried to speak.
But Old Madam Gu’s wailing drowned her out completely.
Just as Shu Ning was about to argue, her hand was suddenly held.
Gu Zhao’s fingers were long, his calloused fingertips rough—but that roughness felt steady and reassuring.
He gently pulled her behind him and said in a low voice only she could hear, “Stay out of this.”
A warmth surged in her heart.
He was protecting her.
Shu Ning didn’t insist. She quietly stood behind him, shielding Gu Yao and Gu Kai.
This scene fell right into Bai Zhiping’s eyes.
His fists clenched tightly, something sharp piercing his heart.
In front of everyone, they were holding hands so openly.
“Team Leader, officers—Gu Zhao is a complete scoundrel! He’s always causing trouble. Yesterday he beat his cousins, today he tied up his grandmother! He even kicked down our door and wrecked our house! You must arrest him!”
“Oh, and he even molested a female educated youth! Yesterday many people saw him taking off her clothes!”
“Lock him up for life!”
Seeing Gu Zhao remain silent, Gu Dajiang became even more emboldened.
Gu Zhao’s gaze turned icy, like a blade.
He didn’t care if they called him a scoundrel—but dragging Shu Ning into it was unacceptable.
Just as he was about to speak, a group of elderly women suddenly rushed forward, forming a line.
“Gu Dajiang, you shameless thing! Don’t you know why our Zhao boy took your pot?” Grandma Zhao shouted first.
“You tried to steal his chicken and even took Comrade Shu’s coupons while he wasn’t home! Since you robbed him, isn’t it normal that we smashed your pots and pans?”
“Exactly!” Grandma Chen continued. “Today you came again, trying to destroy his things and even sell his younger siblings! You’re the ones who deserve to be cursed!”
Then Grandma Li spoke up.
“When has our Zhao boy ever behaved improperly? Yesterday he was saving Shu Ning—he loosened her clothes so she could breathe! She herself is grateful—yet you call him a hooligan?”
Shu Ning quickly nodded.
Grandma Li was absolutely right.
“People judge others by their own character! Gu Dajiang, haven’t you done enough shameful things? Didn’t you get caught at Widow Chen’s house last time with your pants undone? And now you slander our good boy!”
The grandmothers took turns, their voices loud and arguments sharp.
Gu Dajiang and Old Madam Gu were left speechless.
The villagers watching were stunned.
These elderly women, who usually seemed weak and unnoticed, turned out to be incredibly formidable.
Shu Ning was equally astonished.
So this was what real strength looked like.
One against ten—and now four against two.
Effortless.
Gu Zhao rubbed his forehead slightly.
He had intended to handle things himself.
But seeing the grandmothers in action, he quietly stepped back.
Fine—he would continue playing the role of the “pitiful, helpless” Zhao boy.
By now, the police officers understood the situation.
When they asked Gu Zhao, he lowered his head, looking miserable, his voice hoarse with emotion.
“She is my grandmother by blood… but five years ago, I severed ties with her. Our household registrations are separate. Still, she dislikes me and my siblings and has tried to sell them for money.”
Then he lifted his head slightly, gazing upward at a forty-five-degree angle, his expression full of sorrow.
“Sometimes I wonder if my father was really her son.”
His perfectly timed performance stirred deep sympathy among the villagers.
The officers watched him quietly.
If they hadn’t known him beforehand, they might have believed it.
But child trafficking was serious.
“There have been missing children in nearby communes. Several cases have already occurred in the county. We’ll take her to the station first.”
“What? Take me to the police station? No, no—it’s not like that…”
Only when the ropes were untied and her hands were restrained behind her did Old Madam Gu realize—
Gu Zhao was truly serious this time.