Li Youcai

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Li Youcai (李有才)
Gender	Male
Age	Over sixty 13 33
Affiliation	Li family; Li Family Village, Greenwood City 23 40
Occupation/Role	Farmer; civil plaintiff and witness in Wang Qiang’s homicide trial 23 37
Spouse	Liu Cui, called Zhang Cui in the early village confrontation 7 39
Children	Li Erniu, his only son, deceased 7 13
Grandchild	Li Yang, nicknamed Dahu; also addressed as Xiaoyang 36 38
Status	Alive at his latest documented appearance; evidence of his involvement in Wang Mei’s purchase has been recovered, but no verdict against him is shown 40 48
First Appearance	First named appearance in the provided context: Chapter 7 7

Background / History

Purchase of Wang Mei

Ten years before the main case, Li Youcai and Liu Cui borrowed 1,000 yuan from Li Jianguo to buy a daughter-in-law. Their IOU explicitly recorded that purpose, promised repayment within three years, and carried their signatures and fingerprints. Li Li later stated that Wang Mei was brought home three days after the loan; Li Youcai himself remembered paying 5,000 yuan for her 33 39 40.

Wang Mei had been abducted at fourteen and was held in Li Family Village for ten years. During her captivity, she was chained in a woodshed and repeatedly assaulted. The initial investigation attributed her purchase to Li Erniu rather than his parents, leaving Li Youcai and Liu Cui’s involvement unproven at that stage 5 10 20.

Resistance to the Rescue

Li Youcai opposed the police effort to remove Wang Mei and defended the village’s practice of buying brides. Xu De temporarily softened his resistance by falsely claiming that the trip would secure household registration, schooling, and benefits for her son—and that refusing could bring a large fine. Li Youcai and his wife then helped explain this supposed arrangement to Li Erniu 7.

The confrontation escalated when Li Erniu tried to drag Wang Mei from the police minibus and fought her father, Wang Qiang. Li Erniu suffered a fatal abdominal wound from a sickle during the struggle. The following morning, Li Youcai and Liu Cui made a scene at the police station, demanding punishment, money, and Wang Mei’s return to support them in old age 7 8.

Custody Dispute and Criminal Proceedings

Li Youcai initially tried to obtain legal representation without signing a contract or paying a proper fee, offering a hundred-yuan deposit instead. On October 25, the court awarded custody of Li Yang to Wang Mei. Li Youcai responded by abusing her outside the courthouse and insisting that she remained part of the Li family for life 10.

After several unsuccessful approaches to law firms, the couple hired Chen Wei of Yang Teng Law Firm. Their strategy was to use Wang Qiang’s possible punishment to make Wang Mei surrender custody and return to care for them. Through Chen, they offered forgiveness in exchange for the child; Xu De rejected the proposal 11 12 16.

At the November 10 hearing, Li Youcai and Liu Cui appeared as civil plaintiffs and witnesses. Chen sought 218,343 yuan in compensation, including support for the parents, funeral costs, and emotional damages. The couple visibly brightened at the amount before adopting grief-stricken expressions when questioned by the judge. Xu De’s challenge to the case led to an adjournment 23 24 30.

Loss of Leverage

After the hearing, Xu De’s group retrieved Li Yang from the village relatives caring for him and brought him to Wang Mei. During the same visit, Xu obtained the old IOU from Li Li. He considered it potential corroboration of the grandparents’ involvement in Wang Mei’s purchase and deliberately kept it secret until he could secure their forgiveness and settlement documents 32 33.

Li Youcai learned that his grandson was with Wang Mei when Xu De arranged a phone call within his hearing. After confirming the boy’s departure, he collapsed in the courthouse lobby and demanded Xu’s arrest. Prosecutor Wang Wei declined to intervene, and the police’s Legal Affairs Division subsequently concluded that no crime had been committed. Complaints to other authorities failed to recover the child 36 37 38.

Unable to regain control through officials, Li Youcai confronted Xu De at Jinmao Law Firm. Xu turned the situation around by drawing attention to the forgiveness letter and settlement agreement he wanted. Under Liu Cui’s urging, Li Youcai agreed to sign rather than risk losing contact with his grandson. Xu recorded the discussion and repeatedly clarified that the documents would not transfer custody 38 39.

Exposure in Court

The resulting settlement reduced the compensation to 9,000 yuan, payable over ten years. Xu De also intended to preserve the grandparents’ ability to see Li Yang without granting them custody 40.

At the resumed hearing, Li Youcai and Liu Cui angrily confronted Li Li for helping return their grandson and testifying for the defense. She then stated that the couple had persuaded villagers to give false accounts to the police. Xu presented the signed settlement and forgiveness documents, exposing an agreement the grandparents had not disclosed to Chen Wei 46 48.

Wang Qiang was ultimately acquitted and released. Although Xu had assembled the IOU and witnesses for a case against Li Youcai and Liu Cui, the provided chapters do not establish that either grandparent was subsequently tried or sentenced 33 40 50.

Appearance

• Build: Thin and scrawny 39.
• Face: Deeply wrinkled, with sinister or shifty eyes 11 39.
• Family resemblance: Li Erniu strongly resembles him 7.
• Habitual accessory: Smokes a dry-tobacco pipe, including while weighing whether to sign Xu De’s documents 19 39.

Personality

Li Youcai treats Wang Mei’s purchase as a lasting entitlement to control her. Even after her rescue, he insists that she cannot leave the Li family and resents losing someone he paid for. His demands combine custody of her son with an expectation that she will support him and Liu Cui in old age 10 16 39.

His attachment to Li Yang is closely tied to continuing the family bloodline. With his only son dead and no prospect of having more children, losing the grandson feels to him like the end of his family. That fear ultimately outweighs his desire to punish Wang Qiang 13 39.

The narrative distinguishes his bullying from simple stupidity: he pushes police and prosecutors because he knows they are constrained in how they can respond. He recognizes Xu De’s implied pressure immediately, but cannot counter it once the child is beyond his control 39.

Relationships

• Liu Cui / Zhang Cui — Wife and partner in resisting Wang Mei’s rescue, pursuing compensation, and seeking custody. She persuades him to sign the forgiveness documents by prioritizing their surviving grandson 7 8 39.
• Li Erniu — Only son. Li Youcai uses his death as grounds for compensation and pressure against Wang Mei’s family 8 13 24.
• Li Yang (Dahu) — Only grandson and intended continuation of the family line. Li Youcai retains physical control despite losing the custody case, then accepts contact without custody after Xu De’s intervention 13 39.
• Wang Mei — Abducted woman purchased as a daughter-in-law. He demands her submission and lifelong support while refusing to recognize her independence or custodial rights 10 16 39.
• Wang Qiang — Wang Mei’s father and defendant in Li Erniu’s death. Li Youcai initially pursues punishment and compensation, then signs a letter forgiving him 23 39 48.
• Xu De — Opposing lawyer who defeats his custody leverage, obtains his fingerprints on settlement documents, and gathers evidence of his involvement in Wang Mei’s purchase 33 38 39 40.
• Chen Wei — Hired attorney. Li Youcai relies on his confidence in securing a favorable trial outcome but settles directly with Xu De without informing him 19 48.
• Li Li — Relative whose recovered IOU and changed testimony threaten his position. She accuses him and Liu Cui of organizing false witness statements 33 46 48.

Notable Quotes

“I'm telling you, once you're part of the Li family, you're part of it for life!” 10

“As long as I can be with the child, I don't care about custody.” 39