Chuntao was instantly terrified, her entire body freezing up.
But she quickly snapped out of it, stumbling as she ran to Zhou Xiaowei's side.
"Xiaowei, what's wrong?" she staggered and threw herself over, crouching down and reaching out to pull him, only for her fingertips to touch something sticky.
She couldn't help but cry out, yanking her hand back as her heart clenched into a tight knot.
"I... was... stabbed..." Zhou Xiaowei gasped in pain, managing to squeeze out a few words through gritted teeth.
Chuntao's mind buzzed, instantly going entirely blank.
Without a second thought, she staggered to her feet and dashed toward the front gate of Zhou Zhijun's house. She tripped over a clod of dirt, stumbling and nearly falling flat on her face.
"Godmother! Brother Zhijun! Something's wrong! Xiaowei is bleeding—" Her voice cracked as she screamed, pounding heavily on the gate.
Aunt Zhou and Old Man Zhou hadn't gone to sleep yet. Aunt Zhou was sitting by the kerosene lamp stitching shoe soles, while Old Man Zhou was smoking.
Hearing this heart-wrenching scream, they slipped on their shoes and ran to the door.
"Tao, what is it, what's wrong?" Aunt Zhou pulled open the latch, seeing Chuntao trembling all over.
"Godmother, Xiaowei... he's bleeding, on the ground..." Chuntao's voice was thick with tears, trembling uncontrollably.
Her trembling finger pointed toward the base of the gable wall of her own kitchen. "Right over there!"
The old couple's hearts skipped a beat, instantly leaping into their throats.
Aunt Zhou rushed out immediately. Old Man Zhou ran to the door, then abruptly turned back into the house, grabbed the flashlight from the head of the kang bed, and dashed out again.
The beam of the flashlight revealed Zhou Xiaowei curled up on the ground. His pant leg was soaked crimson with blood, and a large, dark red pool of blood had spread across the dirt.
Aunt Zhou's vision went dark, and she nearly collapsed to the ground. Old Man Zhou quickly supported her.
Zhou Zhijun had been hired to build a tile-roofed house these past few days. It was a fifty or sixty-mile round trip through the mountains, and he wouldn't be back for a few days. What were they going to do!
The villagers had all gone to watch a movie; right now, it was hard to find even a single person to lend a hand.
Aunt Zhou stamped her feet in anxiety and hurriedly urged Old Man Zhou, "Quick! Go to the threshing floor and call for help!"
Old Man Zhou grunted in agreement and took off running toward the west end of the village.
Aunt Zhou stumbled back home, tore two old bedsheets from the kang, and ran back to wrap Zhou Xiaowei's leg.
"Xiaowei, bear with it! Your grandpa went to get people!" Her voice trembled, tears falling thick and fast.
Zhou Xiaowei's breathing grew weaker and weaker, leaving only a few faint groans. He could barely keep his eyelids open.
Old Man Zhou ran to the movie screening area and shouted frantically at the projectionist, "Quick! Use the loudspeaker! Call Zhou Zhiguo and his wife! Tell them their Xiaowei was stabbed! Quick!"
As soon as those words came over the loudspeaker, the lively movie screening instantly devolved into chaos.
Who had the mind to watch a movie anymore? The villagers grabbed their stools and ran in the direction of Chuntao's house. The sound of footsteps and frantic discussions echoed messily through the dark night.
Several strong laborers from the village hastily lifted Zhou Xiaowei onto a handcart, found a cotton quilt to cover him, and pulled the cart toward the commune clinic.
No longer watching the movie, the villagers crowded onto the dirt road in front of Chuntao's house, whispering and discussing among themselves.
"What's going on? It's normal for our village to have arguments and bickering, but no one has ever used a knife!"
"Exactly! That boy Xiaowei is always cheerful and carefree. Who could have such a deep grudge against him to want him dead?"
"Xiaowei was stabbed right at Chuntao's doorstep..." someone muttered. The crowd fell silent for a moment, and then the murmurs grew quieter. Many people couldn't help but let their gazes fall on Chuntao.
It wasn't until the handcart carrying Zhou Xiaowei turned the corner and disappeared from sight that the villagers reluctantly dispersed, still discussing the incident as they went.
Zhou Zhiguo, his wife, and Zhou Hongxia all followed along to the clinic, leaving the young Zhou Xiaobao in Aunt Zhou's care.
Aunt Zhou held Xiaobao's ice-cold little hand, watching the beams of the flashlights fade into the night. Her calves trembled so much she could barely stand.
She kept muttering to herself, "God bless us, please don't let anything happen to Xiaowei..."
Chuntao stood beside Aunt Zhou, her heart filled with fear and anxiety, pounding like a trapped rabbit. Who was that person? Why would they stab Xiaowei?
Thinking about how Zhou Xiaowei had been stabbed just because he came specifically to bring her roasted sunflower seeds, panic gripped her heart, overwhelmed by guilt.
Suddenly, it was as if her mind had been cleaved open by a knife, and a thought violently sprang forth: Could it have been that group of people?
If something terrible really happened to Xiaowei, her conscience would never know peace for the rest of her life!
The more Chuntao thought about it, the more terrified she became. Her body went soft as if she had no bones; if she hadn't been leaning against the wall, she would have collapsed onto the ground long ago.
That night, she barely closed her eyes, praying over and over in her heart, wishing for the dawn to break quickly and for Zhou Xiaowei to be safe and sound.
The next day, at the first crow of the rooster, Chuntao got up.
She wanted to go to the clinic to see Zhou Xiaowei, but her family was dirt poor, and she had nothing decent to bring as a gift.
She circled the kitchen and finally pulled out twenty or thirty eggs from an earthen jar, boiled them in the pot, and packed them into a coarse cloth bag.
After eating, with the sky just barely getting light, Chuntao slung the cloth bag over her arm and hurried out the door.
Just as she stepped out of the courtyard, she saw Aunt Zhou locking her front gate. Old Man Zhou was holding a cloth bag filled with things.
"Godfather, Godmother," Chuntao called out softly.
The old couple turned their heads, their gazes landing on the cloth bag in her arms.
"Tao, where are you going?" Aunt Zhou asked.
"I'm going to the clinic to see Xiaowei," Chuntao said, her head bowed and her voice soft.
"Perfect timing, we're going too." Old Man Zhou sighed. "Let's go together."
Just as the three of them were about to set off, they heard the ringing of a bicycle bell approaching from a distance.
Looking up, they saw two police officers in blue uniforms riding over on heavy-duty bicycles.
After the incident last night, the village party secretary Zhou Dana had led a few militiamen on a search around the village. Finding nothing, he rushed to the commune police station overnight to report the case.
The police officers stopped their bikes, pulled out a notebook and fountain pen, and asked Aunt Zhou, "Auntie, you're Zhou Xiaowei's grandmother, right?"
"Yes, yes! Officer comrades, are you here to investigate what happened to Xiaowei? How is he? Is he okay?" Aunt Zhou hurriedly grabbed the officer's arm, asking urgently.
The officers had already gone to the clinic to understand the situation. To avoid affecting the investigation, they replied vaguely, "He is fine for now, still under observation.
We came to ask about the situation. Was Zhou Xiaowei stabbed here last night? Who was the first to find him?"
As the older officer spoke, his gaze swept over the faces of the three. Chuntao's heart skipped a beat, her whole body jerking slightly.
"It was me." She took a deep breath, her voice not loud, but very clear.
The two officers exchanged a glance, their eyes instantly turning sharp as they both looked at her. "Could you describe the situation in detail?"
The younger officer had already opened his notebook, gripping his pen, ready to take notes.
This was a matter of life and death. Chuntao didn't dare hide a single detail, recounting the events of the previous night exactly as they happened.
To the west, Wang Chunxiao was carrying a chamber pot toward the outhouse. Seeing the police officers, his eyes instantly widened into perfect circles.
Tossing the chamber pot by the outhouse door and holding in their pee, someone trotted over and stood to the side, ears pricked up to listen.
In no time, the early risers of the village gathered around, forming a bustling crowd three layers deep.
Hearing Chuntao's words, the people in the crowd began whispering and gossiping among themselves again, and the looks they gave Chuntao turned peculiar.
Chuntao wanted to tell the police about the time she ran into hooligans and how Zhou Xiaowei had come to her rescue. However, with so many people present, she didn't dare to speak up, afraid that the villagers would spin even more idle rumors.
The police officers then asked Aunt Zhou and Old Man Zhou a few more questions, such as who Zhou Xiaowei was usually close to and whether he held any grudges against anyone.
After questioning them back and forth, they failed to uncover any useful clues. Afterward, they went door-to-door in the village to conduct their investigation.
Only then did Chuntao and the elderly couple, Aunt Zhou and Old Man Zhou, hurry off to the commune clinic.
At the clinic, the bleeding from Zhou Xiaowei's wound had finally been stopped. The doctor said that if the blade had been just a bit further off, it would have pierced an artery. Being able to save his life was a true blessing in disguise.
Hearing this, the anxiety that had kept Chuntao on edge all night finally subsided, and her heart settled back into her chest.
Yet, a heavy stone still weighed on her mind: she had not told the police about those thugs.
Upon leaving the clinic, Chuntao told Aunt Zhou that she wanted to visit the commune school to see Wang Xiaoming, suggesting that the elderly couple return to the village first.
Aunt Zhou and Old Man Zhou departed. Chuntao, however, did not go to the school; instead, she headed in the direction of the commune compound.
As she walked, a sudden chill crept down her spine, making her feel as though someone was following her.
She whipped her head around but saw no one suspicious, though the panic in her heart only grew.
She quickened her pace. Just as she was passing by a small grove of trees, someone suddenly clamped a hand over her mouth from behind!
