Chuntao's shout immediately stunned the two of them.
But they quickly recovered. Auntie Wang stood by the slop bucket with her hands on her hips and yelled, "Li Chuntao, who are you trying to scare?"
Sister-in-law Li looked disdainful. "You? You want to report us to the commune? Go ahead if you have the guts!"
Neither of them backed down and continued scooping the slop from the large bucket.
Chuntao rushed over to grab their water ladles, but how could her delicate and weak little frame be a match for these two fierce shrews?
Just as she got close, Auntie Wang shoved her away. Chuntao stumbled and almost fell to the ground.
"What are you doing?" a crisp, clear male voice suddenly rang out.
Li Mingliang had seen Chuntao when she carried her buckets into the workers' canteen.
He had wrapped a packet of braised beef in kraft paper and waited at the door, wanting to give it to her when she passed by.
But after waiting a good while without seeing her come out, he went into the canteen to look for her. As soon as he entered, he saw Auntie Wang push Chuntao. He shouted and ran over.
"Chuntao, are you okay?" He quickly supported her.
Li Mingliang knew that collecting the slop was done in turns by every household. Besides Chuntao, how did two more people suddenly appear?
He quickly figured it out. These two women saw that Chuntao had a soft temper and no strong backing, so they dared to come and steal her slop.
He had long experienced the unreasonableness of some people in the village and couldn't be bothered to argue with these two women. He just said "Wait here" to Chuntao, turned around, and left.
He first called Section Chief Zhang from logistics, and then jogged all the way to find the village party secretary, Zhou Dana.
Zhou Dana was already sick of these petty domestic disputes and didn't want to get involved, but he wanted to maintain a good relationship with the oilfield so he could reap some benefits later.
If he didn't even have the authority of a village secretary, things would be hard to manage in the future. So he followed Li Mingliang to the workers' compound canteen, where Section Chief Zhang from logistics was already waiting.
Meanwhile, Auntie Wang and Sister-in-law Li had already filled their two carrying poles with slop. Just as they were about to carry them away and before they even stepped out the door, they ran head-on into Zhou Dana.
"Put that down! Is there no sense of rules anymore? You've completely disgraced our Wang Family Village!"
Startled by Zhou Dana's roar, the two women shuddered, and the slop in their buckets splashed all over the floor.
Auntie Wang quickly squeezed out a smile. "Secretary, what brings you here? The pigs at my house are almost out of food, so I came to carry some slop to feed them!"
Sister-in-law Li chimed in, "Exactly, exactly! I also came to get some to feed the pigs!"
Zhou Dana couldn't be bothered to waste breath on them. His face was darker than the ash at the bottom of a pot. "You two carry this slop to Wang Jieshi's house!"
The two women looked at Zhou Dana at the same time, their eyes wide and practically bulging out of their heads.
"I don't want it anymore, I'll pour it back!"
"I don't want it either. With that kind of effort, I might as well rest for a bit!"
As they spoke, they turned around and walked toward the canteen's slop buckets.
"Halt! I told you two to carry it to Wang Jieshi's house. Can't you understand human speech?"
Zhou Dana's voice suddenly rose an octave. "If you don't carry this slop to Wang Jieshi's house today, you two can forget about getting the compensation money the oilfield is giving our village!"
Hearing the words "compensation money," the two felt defiant and wanted to argue back, but when Zhou Dana's knife-like gaze swept over them, they didn't dare make a sound.
"Carry it over, and we'll pretend this never happened. If you don't, don't regret it later!"
Zhou Dana had been the village secretary for over ten years and still held some authority in the village. No matter how difficult these two women were, they didn't dare truly clash with him.
If he really withheld their compensation money, it would be a huge loss. They knew what was more important. Even if they were grinding their teeth in hatred, they could only obediently listen.
At this time, Wang Xiaohong also hurried over. Seeing the two women standing there with their slop buckets, she was about to ask what was going on when she heard Zhou Dana say, "Xiaohong, you lead them and have them carry this slop to your house!"
Wang Xiaohong immediately understood what he meant. She looked at the two of them with a half-smile. "Auntie Wang, Sister-in-law Li, sorry for the trouble. Let's go!"
No matter how angry the two were, they didn't dare go against money. They could only shoulder the slop and reluctantly follow Wang Xiaohong.
There was still some watery slop left in the large bucket in the canteen. Chuntao scooped it into her own buckets, shouldered the pole, and left.
Li Mingliang followed beside her and said, "Chuntao, wait a moment!"
Before Chuntao could react, he ran back to his dorm and came running back with a kraft paper packet in one hand and a jacket in the other.
"This is braised beef. Take it back and eat it!" He held the kraft paper packet out to Chuntao.
Chuntao knew Li Mingliang was a kind-hearted person; he had sent food and supplies to her house quite a few times before.
She didn't want to owe anyone any favors, but Li Mingliang had said before that he lived here alone, and if he ever needed any sewing or mending done, he would have to ask for her help.
If she didn't accept it, it would seem like she didn't want to help him. With things put that way, Chuntao couldn't flatly refuse.
But the last time Li Mingliang brought things over, Zhou Zhijun had bumped into them. His face darkened immediately, and he warned her when no one else was around.
"Tao, don't just take things from people. Whatever you want, I'll earn money and buy it for you.
They don't have good intentions giving you things for no reason. Don't be foolishly tricked by others!"
In Zhou Zhijun's eyes, only he was allowed to give her things; anyone else giving her things was up to no good.
She had retorted in a low voice, "He's an oilfield worker with a formal job. I'm just a rural woman with nothing to my name. What bad intentions could he possibly have toward me?"
"You silly girl, just listen to me and you can't go wrong!" Zhou Zhijun had said stiffly.
Now that Li Mingliang was trying to give her something again, Chuntao quickly waved her hand. "I don't want it, you keep it to eat yourself!" She said this without stopping her steps.
Li Mingliang quickly chased after her. "I also have a favor to ask you!"
Only then did Chuntao stop and turn her head to look at him. "What is it?"
Li Mingliang handed over the jacket in his hand. "The seam on my jacket has come undone. Could you help me mend it?"
Chuntao was afraid that Zhou Zhijun would see and scold her again, and she was also afraid that the villagers would gossip if they saw. But owing someone a favor and not returning it wasn't right either, so she reached out and took it.
Holding the carrying pole on her shoulder with one hand and the jacket with the other, she carried the slop back home.
On the other side, Auntie Wang and Sister-in-law Li had just poured the slop into the large vat in the yard. When they turned around and bumped into Chuntao coming back, their eyes immediately turned red with anger.
Auntie Wang glared and cursed, "Li Chuntao, don't think you're so great just because someone is backing you up!"
Sister-in-law Li spat in agreement, "Shameless vixen, you even dare to hook up with the oilfield workers! We were just unlucky today, but you'll get what's coming to you later!"
Just as these words were spoken, Zhou Zhijun returned from the fields with a hoe on his back. He happened to witness this scene and clearly heard Sister-in-law Li's words. His face instantly froze over.
He didn't go straight into his own yard. Instead, carrying his hoe, he walked over and asked coldly, "You two seem quite free today. Where are you heading with those buckets?"
Everyone in the village knew that Zhou Zhijun protected Chuntao. Gossiping behind his back was one thing, but right in front of him, the two women didn't have the guts to speak recklessly anymore.
Seeing Zhou Zhijun approach, the person paled. Not daring to say a word, they grabbed their empty buckets and quickly slipped away.
Chuntao walked straight into her own courtyard and bent down to lift the slop bucket, planning to empty it into the large vat in the yard.
But before she could even touch the handle, a large hand reached over and hoisted the bucket up.
"Whose clothes are these?" Zhou Zhijun asked hoarsely without looking at Chuntao, his tone carrying a hint of suppressed anger.
Chuntao's heart skipped a beat. She knew Zhou Zhijun's temper; he was the type who wanted to control absolutely everything.
However, she had a clear conscience and wasn't afraid of his questioning, so she told him the truth. "They belong to Li Mingliang from the oilfield. The seam on his jacket came undone, so he asked me to help mend it."
Zhou Zhijun's grip on the bucket's handle suddenly tightened. He leaned in close to Chuntao's ear, his voice lowered so that only the two of them could hear.
"Tao, in this life, you are my woman. You belong to me, Zhou Zhijun... No one else gets to even think about having you..."
