Li Guixiang sighed deeply, then lost all interest in drinking the bowl of cold water in her hand and splashed it on the ground.

The yard hadn't been tended to for over a month, and weeds had grown over most of it, but neither of them paid any attention to it.

This courtyard and these brick houses were built thirteen years ago, the year Zhou Qiqi came to the Xu family.

Back in the village, they were quite the star for a while, and everyone was envious.

Over the years, no one in the Xu family has taken care of the place. Half of the courtyard wall has collapsed, but they haven't bothered to repair it, revealing the equally old and dilapidated house inside.

But the brick and wood frame is still there, and compared with the surrounding mud-brick houses, it still exudes a certain "grandeur," which is really unmatched by other houses in the village.

"The Xu family!..."

The shouts outside rang out, and the bowl in Li Guixiang's hand fell with a "clatter" and shattered into pieces.

She suddenly stood up from the ground, her triangular eyes initially blank and unfocused, then bursting with unbelievable ecstasy, her arched eyebrows raised so high they almost reached the top of her head!

"Dad! Did you hear me? Did you hear me?"

She was so excited that she grabbed Xu Tiesheng, who was still squatting, and pulled him up with such force that she almost made the small Xu Tiesheng fall over.

"A big truck! A big truck from the city is looking for us! What did I tell you? I told you our Shu'er is successful, he must have made it big in the city and is here to take us old folks to enjoy life! Thank God!"

Old Xu grunted a muffled "hmm," quickly threw away his pipe, and didn't even bother to brush the clods of dirt off his clothes.

Li Guixiang, trembling with excitement and as if she had suddenly become ten years younger, rushed out.

The two stumbled and ran out of the half-collapsed courtyard gate, revealing the red bricks inside, and just then they saw the black jeep surrounded by villagers slowly driving towards them.

Under the sun, the black car body gleamed so brightly that it made one's eyes blurry.

The surrounding area was full of villagers who came to watch the spectacle, pointing and saying all sorts of things.

Those envious and slightly jealous glances made Li Guixiang's vanity soar to its peak. She stood up straight and held her chin high, as if she were now a city dweller.

"Look! Look! What did I tell you? Our Shuer is the most promising person in Xujia Village! Look, a pound... a pound..."

She wanted to say something, but the words lingered in her mouth and she couldn't utter them.

A quick-witted woman next to him, wearing a blue headscarf, chuckled and shouted at the top of her lungs:

"Aunt Guixiang! What is a jin? A jin of sorghum or a jin of wheat? You mean 'returning home in glory'?! My goodness, how come you don't even know this?"

Someone in the crowd immediately chimed in, their voice blatantly mocking:

"Hey! Who in her family can even read a few characters? Only Qiqi, that little girl, learned a bit from her parents. She's the most educated one in the family, but she looks down on them and I don't know where they sent her off to. Poor little girl..."

These words stirred up a hornet's nest, and many villagers nodded in agreement.

Everyone in the village knows what kind of people Li Guixiang and Xu Laonian are.

No one in the village wanted to see the couple, so the family had to live in the most remote place at the foot of the mountain.

That's all.

Back then, this family treated Qiqi very harshly. At the age of seven or eight, she had to cook for the whole family, and in the dead of winter, they even made the little girl fetch water from an ice hole.

The villagers witnessed everything, and everyone felt sorry for the girl.

Unfortunately, Qiqi's parents handed her over to Xu Laonian's family back then. She was someone else's child, so their love for her didn't help much.

Hearing everyone's complaints, the smugness on Li Guixiang's face vanished instantly. Her triangular eyes narrowed, and she swung her arm like she was shooing away flies.

"Get out of my way! You're blocking my son's path home in glory!"

She finally managed to shout out the word completely, spitting saliva all the way.

"Don't mention that heartless, wretched girl! She's an ungrateful wretch! Where could she have gone? Didn't I tell you last time? She ran off with some random guy! You guys don't know what that girl is like, eating and drinking the food of the Xu family, and in the end..."

"Here it comes! The car has stopped!"

Someone shouted, interrupting Li Guixiang's cursing.

All eyes immediately focused on the gleaming black Jeep.

The car door slammed shut with a loud clang, the heavy metallic sound particularly jarring in the quiet foothills.

Li Guixiang eagerly moved forward, her face instantly plastered with a fawning smile, her wrinkles bunching up as she opened her mouth to call out "Shu'er".

The car door opened, and a foot wearing heavy black leather shoes stepped steadily on the loose soil, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Immediately afterwards, a tall and imposing figure emerged from the car door.

The person who came was wearing a crisp, dark gray Zhongshan suit. The fabric was thick and sturdy, without a single wrinkle.

The collar buttons were fastened tightly to the neck, giving it a dignified and imposing look.

The Zhongshan suit commonly seen on city cadres, when worn by him, was given a different weight by his broad shoulders and steady, mountain-like aura.

He was extremely tall, and as he stood there, his calm and unwavering eyes swept across the crowd, making the air seem to freeze.

This isn't Xu Shu at all.

He's clearly a demon!

Li Guixiang's smile froze. She cried out in fright, as if she had stepped on hot coals, and jumped back, almost bumping into the onlookers behind her.

The villagers watching were also somewhat surprised.

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