There was no moonlight outside, and the yard was dimly lit.
Chuntao peered out through the crack in the door and suddenly saw two terrifying green lights near the pigpen. She couldn't help but shiver.
A wolf?
Chuntao's heart sank. Wolves in the mountains had become scarce in recent years, but occasionally they still sneaked down to snatch pigs and sheep from the village.
Before she was married, a baby barely a hundred days old in Lijiacun had been taken by a wolf.
That scene flashed through Chuntao's mind, and a layer of cold sweat broke out on the back of her neck.
After marrying into Wangjiazhai, she heard that Zhou Zhijun had once beaten a wild wolf to death with his bare hands, but Zhou Zhijun wasn't home right now.
Wang Jieshi was an invalid, and it was just her and Wang Xiaohong at home. What were they to do?
The two green lights were getting closer and closer to the pigpen. The old sow and the piglets in the pen were the entire hope of this family. Chuntao's heart leaped into her throat, and she trembled all over with fear.
The next second, the black shadow with flashing green eyes actually jumped straight into the pigpen.
The pigpen instantly exploded into chaos. The old sow roared as if her bristles were standing on end, her hooves scraping the mud floor with a loud "clatter."
The piglets' miserable squeals were sharp and piercing, each sound like a sharp knife stabbing into Chuntao's heart. Her soul was frightened away, and tears flowed uncontrollably.
The little piglets were so pitiful, but she couldn't do anything.
She herself was just like these piglets, being eyed by that hungry wolf Zhou Zhijun, and there were many wolves hiding in the dark staring at her, giving her no peace.
"Sister-in-law!" Wang Xiaohong was also awakened by the noise outside, and she quickly lit the kerosene lamp in the room.
Throwing on a jacket and slipping her feet into her shoes, she ran out of the inner room and called out when she saw Chuntao standing behind the door.
"Xiaohong, there's a wolf in the yard!" Chuntao's voice trembled.
Hearing this, Wang Xiaohong was also stunned with fear, but she quickly reacted.
Grabbing an iron shovel from behind the door, she said, "Sister-in-law, Uncle Zhijun said wolves are afraid of light and noise. Quickly light the kerosene lamp in your room and bring it over. I'll use the shovel to hit the door and scare the wolf away!"
Chuntao hurriedly went to the inner room, lit the kerosene lamp, and brought it out. Wang Xiaohong hit the door hard with the iron shovel.
As she hit the door, she shouted loudly, "Help! A wolf is here! Help!"
The shouts mixed with the "bang, bang" of hitting the door were so loud they almost deafened her own ears.
The wolf's low growl in the pigpen paused for a moment, but the old sow's angry howling and the piglets' miserable squeals became even fiercer.
Trembling, Chuntao raised the kerosene lamp to the crack in the door, and the dim yellow light shone out through the crack.
The wolf was probably startled by the sudden loud noise and bright light. It let out a low howl, jumped out of the pigpen, and ran away.
Hearing the noise in the pigpen getting softer, Chuntao felt weak all over and slowly slid down against the wall to sit on the ground.
The iron shovel in Wang Xiaohong's hand also dropped to the ground with a "clatter," and she didn't even have the strength to cry.
After a good while, the two finally recovered from their fear, opened the door, and ran to the pigpen with the kerosene lamp to look.
There were bloodstains all over the walls and floor of the pigpen. The old sow had been bitten by the wolf, and the piglets also had blood on them. Furthermore, one was missing; it must have been taken by the wolf.
Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong were heartbroken, their eyes red.
Aunt Zhou and her husband were awakened by the noise just now. They got out of bed and walked into Chuntao's yard with a flashlight, only to see Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong standing by the pigpen.
"Chuntao, Xiaohong, what happened?"
"There was a wolf just now, and it took a piglet!" Wang Xiaohong said with a sob.
Aunt Zhou sighed and said, "In this day and age, petty theft is already a headache, and now this beast comes to harm people! If only there were a courtyard wall!"
Old Man Zhou got some ash from the stove and smeared it on the old sow's wound to reduce inflammation and stop the bleeding.
That night, neither Chuntao nor Wang Xiaohong slept. They were afraid that the hungry wolf would come back, and they sat until dawn.
From that day on, Chuntao never slept peacefully at night, terrified that the wolf would come again to harm the piglets.
The melon vines in the field had already been pressed down once, and it was time to press them again. If they weren't pressed firmly, the wind would blow them down, and they wouldn't bear melons.
This was their second year planting watermelons, so Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong had experience, and the melon vines were pressed down neatly.
It took three days to finish pressing the watermelon vines, and the grass in the sweet potato field had grown tall again, so they went to pull weeds in the sweet potato field next.
The house Zhou Zhijun was building had also been completed. When he returned home, he heard that one of Chuntao's piglets had been taken by a wolf.
Not having a courtyard wall was indeed not secure. It couldn't keep out wolves or petty thieves. He planned to build a courtyard wall for Chuntao's house.
No sooner said than done. He didn't tell Chuntao, but set up on the threshing floor to make adobe bricks.
Zhou Zhimin's family of four returned from the sweet potato field and saw Zhou Zhijun busy on the threshing floor from afar.
He had taken off his coarse cloth undershirt and draped it over a stone roller nearby, leaving only an old tank top. His back was soaked with sweat, his pant legs rolled up to his knees, and his calves were splattered with mud.
"What is the second brother going to all this trouble making adobe bricks for?" Huang Meili frowned, her tone full of displeasure.
"How would I know," Zhou Zhimin said sullenly.
Walking to the edge of the threshing floor, Zhou Zhimin took two steps forward and asked, "Second brother, what are you making these adobe bricks to build?"
Zhou Zhijun didn't stop working and said without looking up, "To build a courtyard wall for Chuntao's house."
Huang Meili and her daughters, Zhou Xiaoying and Zhou Xiaomei, all looked over, jealousy bubbling in their eyes.
Zhou Xiaoying leaned into Huang Meili's ear and said, "Mother, my second uncle is really good to Li Chuntao! My father is his own brother, why doesn't he think of doing this for our family?"
Huang Meili was dissatisfied in her heart but didn't dare to speak loudly, so she could only lower her voice and say, "Your father's face isn't as big as hers!"
Saying this, she turned to Zhou Xiaomei and said, "Tell your father to go home and start the fire, don't be an eyesore here!"
Zhou Zhimin also felt uncomfortable. His own brother didn't favor him but was so attentive to an outsider?
But he was a capable person, and he never showed his displeasure on his face.
For those few days, whether going to or coming from the fields, Chuntao could see Zhou Zhijun making adobe bricks on the threshing floor, but she never went up to ask.
It was only when she passed by Aunt Zhou's gate that she learned from Aunt Zhou that Zhou Zhijun was making adobe bricks to build a courtyard wall for her house.
She also wanted a courtyard wall. If the courtyard wall was built, it would be safer, not only keeping out wolves but also keeping out those malicious stares.
But it couldn't keep out Zhou Zhijun. If he wanted to come in, he could easily do so.
Zhou Zhijun was busy on the threshing floor for four or five days and finally made enough adobe bricks to build the courtyard wall.
The weather was getting hotter, and the sun was very fierce, which was perfect for drying adobe bricks.
He turned them over to dry two or three times a day, and in a few days, the adobe bricks were completely dry and made a solid sound when tapped.
He used a handcart to pull the adobe bricks cart by cart into Chuntao's yard and piled them in the corner.
Seeing that the rapeseed was almost yellow, and they still had to be busy harvesting wheat, planting autumn crops, and hoeing the fields, the matter of building the courtyard wall would have to be delayed until after autumn.
After unloading the last cart of adobe bricks, Zhou Zhijun walked to the pigpen, looked at the plump piglets inside, and frowned.
He turned his head to look at Chuntao, who was adding wheat bran to the pig trough, "These pigs are over a month old and will soon be ready to leave the pen. Why haven't they been castrated yet?"
Chuntao's hand holding the gourd ladle paused; she had actually forgotten.
She had heard the old folks in the village mention before that piglets needed to be castrated, but she wasn't exactly sure when it should be done.
"Mhm, I'll head over to Hanzhuang today to find someone to do it!" she murmured, her head bowed.
Zhou Zhijun glanced around to make sure no one else was about, then suddenly lowered his voice.
"Tao, did you miss me?"
