Liu Cuilan still refused to give up. Glaring, she shouted, "I am your mother! Would I harm you?!"
"Enough!" Wang Jieshi's eyes were bloodshot as he glared fiercely back at Liu Cuilan. "I'm not a three-year-old child! From now on, my affairs are none of your business! Hurry up and leave!"
Liu Cuilan stomped her feet in hatred, spittle flying. "Fine! I see that not only is your body ruined, but your brain is ruined too! What kind of magic potion did Li Chun Tao feed you?"
She dropped a harsh ultimatum, "Wang Jieshi, from this day forward, whether you live or die has absolutely nothing to do with me!" With that, she turned to leave.
Zhou Zhaodi and her group stood to the side. Having failed to catch anyone in the act of adultery today, they all felt stifled and uncomfortable.
But they didn't dare say much. They could only huddle together, muttering curses under their breath, preparing to disperse.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave!" Zhou Zhijun's voice suddenly exploded like a clap of thunder.
His gaze, like two icy blades, scraped back and forth across the faces of Liu Cuilan and her gang. "You people ruined my sister's reputation, and now you want to just dust off your hands and walk away. Isn't that letting you off a bit too easy?"
The words were hard and cold, smashing into their hearts like a heavy stone.
Panicked expressions flashed across their faces, their eyes darting away, not daring to meet Zhou Zhijun's gaze.
"W-what do you want to do?" Zhou Ergan shouted, trying to muster his courage, but his voice couldn't help trembling.
Zhou Zhijun's eyes sharpened. In two strides, he was right in front of Zhou Ergan, reaching out to grab his arm.
"Zhou Ergan, you said that if you couldn't find anyone, you would walk around the village upside down, didn't you?"
Hearing this, Zhou Ergan's face instantly went pale. Stiffening his neck, he argued, "Zhou Zhijun, even though I didn't catch them in the act, I found ironclad proof of their illicit affair!"
The grip of Zhou Zhijun's hand suddenly tightened. Zhou Ergan grimaced in pain and howled like a slaughtered pig, "Ahhh!"
"Start right here. Upside down, one lap around the village!"
Zhou Zhijun kept a cold face, sweeping his gaze over the others who were shrinking back, his eyes finally scraping fiercely across the faces of Liu Cuilan and Zhou Zhaodi.
"All of you listen well. From now on, whoever dares to fabricate rumors and stir up trouble, Zhou Ergan will be your example!"
Before his voice faded, he violently flung away Zhou Ergan's wrist, bent down to grab his ankles, and hoisted him up in one swift motion.
"Ahhh!" Zhou Ergan felt the world spin. His two hands flailed wildly in the air, and his jacket slid down to cover his head.
Expressionless, Zhou Zhijun gripped his ankles and dragged him forward like a dead pig.
On the uneven dirt ground, several bloody marks were quickly scraped onto Zhou Ergan's forehead.
The kicked-up dust entered his mouth and nose, choking him into a fit of coughing as he mumbled indistinct pleas for mercy, "Zhou... Zhou Zhijun... put me down..."
His hands scrambled blindly across the ground, his fingertips digging into the dirt clods, filling with mud, the pads of his fingers scraped until beads of blood appeared.
Liu Cuilan, Zhou Zhaodi, and their group shrank back into the crowd, not daring to breathe loudly, terrified that they would be the next to suffer.
Zhou Zhijun dragged Zhou Ergan just like that, going around the village for an entire lap.
By the time he dragged him back to the courtyard, the skin and flesh on Zhou Ergan's forehead were scraped raw, several of his fingernails had fallen off, and he lacked even the strength to groan. He was tossed onto the ground like a puddle of mud.
the southern woman was sitting on the threshold playing with mud. Seeing Zhou Ergan covered in blood on his face and body, she pointed at him and burst into a foolish giggle.
This adultery-catching storm ended just like that.
Seeing Zhou Ergan's miserable state, Liu Cuilan, Zhou Zhaodi, and their group felt a wave of lingering fear.
Equally afraid were Zhou Xiaoying and her sister, terrified that Zhou Zhijun would come knocking on their door to settle scores.
...
Late into the night, Chun Tao had a terrible dream.
Suddenly, a miserable howl came from the courtyard.
She jolted awake, her clothes soaked in cold sweat.
The cries outside grew louder and louder; it was the sound of the old sow!
Chun Tao shuddered, bounced up from the bed, slipped on her shoes, and ran into the courtyard.
Rushing to the pigpen, she saw the old sow lying on the ground, pushing hard, its grunts rising and falling in a way that made one's scalp tingle.
Chun Tao's heart immediately clenched.
Was the old sow going into labor?
This was Chun Tao's first time experiencing such a thing, and she didn't know what to do.
Find Old Man Han to deliver the piglets! But in the middle of the night, with a round trip of over ten miles, she simply didn't dare.
At this moment, the only one who could help her was Zhou Zhijun.
But thinking about the events of the day...
Chun Tao felt as if something was tearing at her heart.
She was still counting on selling the piglets to save up for a cow, and she also had to support Xiaoming's schooling. Tuition, living expenses—which of these didn't require money?
Absolutely nothing could happen to this sow!
The dog belonging to Wang Chunxiao next door heard the commotion and started barking non-stop, its barks growing fiercer.
Chun Tao gritted her teeth, ignoring everything else, and in a few steps, she arrived at the door of Zhou Zhijun's main room.
Inside, Zhou Zhijun was lying in bed, completely sleepless, his mind full of Chun Tao.
He had thought of her for four whole years, and finally, he had made her his woman.
How he wished to take her away, to leave this cage, so that he could hold her and cherish her every day, but she simply refused.
The more Zhou Zhijun thought about it, the worse he felt. He couldn't help but pull out the piece of old coarse cloth from under his pillow, clutching it tightly in his hand as if he were holding onto her.
"Brother Zhijun..."
That soft, light voice suddenly came from outside the door.
Zhou Zhijun froze, thinking he was dreaming.
Listening closer, it wasn't a dream; it was real!
Why had she come in the middle of the night? Had something happened?
Zhou Zhijun's heart tightened. He scrambled out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and ran to the door.
The door creaked open, revealing the hazy moonlight in the courtyard.
The little woman he had been yearning for stood right there beneath the moonlight, her silhouette so delicate that his heart trembled at the sight.
"Tao..."
A large, rough hand grasped her wrist.
