"Brother Zhijun, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future..." Chuntao said with red eyes.
Zhou Zhijun didn't expect Chuntao to say such words; it seemed she couldn't leave him anymore.
Sometimes he cursed himself for being inhumane, scaring her into shedding who knows how many tears, but he just couldn't control himself!
Looking at her pitiful appearance and hearing her incredibly soft, low pleas, Zhou Zhijun felt a sudden pang in his heart.
Suppressing the surging fire in his body, he let her go, "Tao, you said it..."
Chuntao didn't know why she suddenly blurted out such a sentence; this man would definitely not let her off in the future.
As for the future, they would deal with it later.
Zhou Zhijun helped her tidy her clothes, picked her up barefoot, and carried her out, dropping her off at the door of the main room.
Before leaving, he didn't forget to say something shameless, "..."
Chuntao was stunned; he was full of wicked ideas.
A man who was usually serious and unsmiling—Chuntao would never have dreamed before that he could be such a shameless person.
Probably besides her, no one else would believe that Zhou Zhijun was a beast.
Just after falling asleep, she had a beautiful dream.
Little did she know, Zhou Zhijun had the exact same dream.
When Zhou Zhijun woke up, it was already broad daylight. He quickly got out of bed and put Chuntao's two worn undergarments into the cabinet.
Walking out of the main room, Aunt Zhou was sweeping the courtyard with a broom.
"You're up. The food is cooling in the kitchen, hurry and go eat!"
Zhou Zhijun washed his face, went to the kitchen to grab a bowl of food, and walked out the front gate. He turned his head to look into Chuntao's courtyard but didn't see anyone.
Soon after, he saw Wang Xiaohong returning with two water buckets on her shoulders, greeting him from afar, "Uncle Zhijun, having your meal!"
Zhou Zhijun gave a grunt of acknowledgment and stayed squatting there without moving.
However, Wang Xiaohong's voice calling Zhou Zhijun reached Wang Jieshi's ears in the outhouse.
Didn't Zhou Zhijun go to build a house? His heart skipped a beat.
So Zhou Zhijun was at home. Wang Jieshi ground his teeth in hatred, but he remained outwardly calm, only thinking about putting that plan into action.
But he was also afraid the plan would fail, leaving him with nothing. Wang Jieshi was conflicted to death inside.
Last time his sister Wang Lanhua came back, she even told him to go to the commune with Chuntao to get their marriage certificate, saying that only with the certificate would they be a real married couple.
Because of his limited mobility, Wang Jieshi hadn't been in a rush to get it.
Thinking about it now, his sister was right; without the certificate, nothing was guaranteed.
After finishing his meal, Zhou Zhijun couldn't help but come over.
Chuntao was sitting in the kitchen having her meal; she paused when she saw him, and then her face turned red.
He said seriously, "I'm going to the commune police station today to tell the police about that matter!
That house isn't finished yet, I still have to go. You need to be careful at home.
When you go out to work, go with Xiaohong, and you must come back before dark..."
Chuntao lowered her head and murmured in agreement, "Hurry up and go, I know!"
Zhou Zhijun went back home and told Aunt Zhou, saying that Chuntao was too kind-hearted and always got bullied, asking his mother to look out for her.
Aunt Zhou said, "Don't worry, with me here, who would dare bully her? I won't allow it!"
Zhou Zhijun knew his mother's capabilities, but it is easy to dodge a spear in the open, yet hard to guard against an arrow in the dark!
He thought that once this house was built, he wouldn't travel far anymore. He would build houses nearby so he could come back every day and take care of Chuntao if anything happened.
Although working far away earned a bit more, not seeing her for a day made him panic, terrified that something might happen to her.
Zhou Zhijun rode his bicycle to the commune police station first and told the police comrades exactly what Chuntao had said last night.
After listening, the police comrade said the culprit had already been caught. His name was Liu Qiusheng, twenty-two years old, from Liumen Village east of Wangjiazhai.
This Liu Qiusheng had liked the neighbor girl Li Aihua since childhood and kept pestering her.
But Li Aihua had a crush on her middle school classmate Zhou Xiaowei, and after all these years, she still couldn't forget him.
To make Liu Qiusheng give up, Li Aihua told him she liked Zhou Xiaowei and wouldn't marry anyone else.
She thought this would make Liu Qiusheng give up, but unexpectedly it made him harbor malicious intent toward Zhou Xiaowei.
When a movie was shown in Wangjiazhai, Liu Qiusheng hid a sharp knife on him, blending into the crowd and waiting for an opportunity.
But there were too many people where the movie was showing, so he had no chance to strike.
Coincidentally, that night Zhou Xiaowei watched for a short while before squeezing out of the crowd, and Liu Qiusheng quietly followed him.
Seeing Zhou Xiaowei go into Chuntao's kitchen, he waited outside, planning to teach Zhou Xiaowei a lesson when he came out.
Just as Zhou Xiaowei turned the corner, Liu Qiusheng lunged forward with red eyes and viciously stabbed him in the thigh.
The two villages were only separated by a river dam, and they saw each other often. Liu Qiusheng liked to run around and play, so he also knew Chuntao.
When he struck outside Chuntao's kitchen that night, he saw clearly that Chuntao was standing right at the kitchen door.
She was the only eyewitness, making Liu Qiusheng feel uneasy.
When Chuntao, Aunt Zhou, and the others went to the clinic to see Zhou Xiaowei, Liu Qiusheng sneakily followed behind them.
When Chuntao separated from Aunt Zhou and walked alone toward the commune police station, Liu Qiusheng was terrified.
He lunged from behind to grab Chuntao, covered her mouth, dragged her into the bamboo grove by the road, and viciously threatened her not to speak nonsense, or else he wouldn't hold back.
After that day, Liu Qiusheng hid at his sister's house in the neighboring county.
When Li Aihua heard that Zhou Xiaowei had been stabbed and noticed Liu Qiusheng's sudden disappearance, her heart sank, and she immediately suspected Liu Qiusheng did it.
She held it in at home for a few days, but finally gritted her teeth and ran to the commune police station to report it.
The police comrades captured him in one swoop at his sister's house.
At first, Liu Qiusheng was stubborn, stiffening his neck and refusing to confess.
After being interrogated for several consecutive days, Liu Qiusheng finally hung his head and admitted to stabbing Zhou Xiaowei.
However, he didn't mention threatening Chuntao.
Hearing Zhou Zhijun's words, the police were also taken aback.
They immediately interrogated Liu Qiusheng again, and knowing he could no longer hide it, he confessed to that as well.
Learning that Zhou Xiaowei being stabbed had absolutely nothing to do with Chuntao from beginning to end, Zhou Zhijun's suspended heart finally settled, and he let out a long sigh of relief.
This matter quickly spread to the village, but Zhou Zhaodi and Huang Meili's group didn't believe it at all.
In their view, even if the stabber wasn't brought there by Chuntao, Zhou Xiaowei running to Chuntao's house in the middle of the night instead of watching the movie meant the two of them were definitely not that innocent.
"Hmph, I think it was that Li Chuntao who seduced him!" Zhou Zhaodi said with her hands on her hips, spit flying. "She's just a vixen who goes after both the old and the young!"
When these words reached Chuntao's ears, she felt deeply wronged.
She felt wronged because there was absolutely nothing going on between her and Zhou Xiaowei.
Lying in bed, Chuntao tossed and turned, unable to sleep.
Just then, the big yellow dog at Wang Chunxiao's house next door suddenly started barking furiously.
The barking was different from usual, carrying a mournful whimper, one sound after another, making one's scalp tingle with fear.
Things had not been peaceful in the village lately, with an unusual number of thieves prowling about. Chun Tao felt a sudden knot of anxiety, worried that her few piglets might be stolen. She hurriedly threw on a coat and crept over to the window to peek outside.
What she saw nearly scared her half to death...
