"Sister-in-law Chuntao! Are you home?"
Zhou Xiaowei stood at the kitchen door, holding a bloody wild rabbit in his hand, knocking and shouting.
Zhou Zhijun and Chuntao both froze, their breathing becoming lighter.
Chuntao gently twisted her body, broke free from Zhou Zhijun's arm, and retreated to the side of the stove in a panic, holding her breath and staring at the kitchen door.
Who knew that in the next second, the kitchen door would be pushed open a crack. Zhou Zhijun took a big step behind the stove, keeping a cold face, and stood motionless in the shadows.
Zhou Xiaowei saw Chuntao standing by the stove, her eyes red, as if she had just cried.
His heart skipped a beat. No wonder she didn't answer after he called for a long time. She must have encountered some difficulties.
"Sister-in-law Chuntao, what happened?" Zhou Xiaowei pushed the door completely open and asked with a worried face.
But as soon as he stepped into the kitchen, he was almost scared out of his wits.
Zhou Zhijun stood behind the stove with a dark face, his eyes cold and frightening. Zhou Xiaowei shuddered all over and subconsciously shivered.
"Second Uncle!" He braced himself and called out sheepishly.
His second uncle wasn't a bad person, just too serious. Why was Chuntao crying when she was perfectly fine? Could it be that he bullied her?
Zhou Xiaowei's mind spun quickly, and then he thought it was impossible.
Chuntao was his grandmother's goddaughter and his second uncle's godsister. He couldn't bully her no matter who he bullied.
Besides, his second uncle was an upright person and the captain of the village militia. He usually only punished evil and eliminated bullies, and he had never been seen bullying anyone.
The more Zhou Xiaowei thought about it, the more confused he became, so he simply stopped thinking about it.
Last time he helped Chuntao call Old Man Han to breed the pigs, he was scolded by Zhou Zhijun, who said he was "showing off blindly."
This time he brought the rabbit over, and he was bound to be scolded again.
But since he was here, he couldn't go back with the rabbit. Zhou Xiaowei gritted his teeth and lifted the rabbit in his hand.
"Sister-in-law Chuntao, this is a rabbit I caught on the slope. Have a taste!"
Chuntao looked up at Zhou Xiaowei and was about to say "no" when Zhou Zhijun spoke first, "Is your leg completely healed? How dare you run to the slope to catch rabbits?"
Zhou Xiaowei didn't injure his bones, and young people have strong bodies and recover quickly.
He was a restless person by nature and was anxious lying at home every day.
Yesterday evening, when it was getting dark, he went to the slope and set a beast trap. When he went over to look today, he actually caught a fat rabbit.
He was stabbed outside the kitchen of Chuntao's house, and Chuntao must have been scared at the time.
The next day, she specially took eggs and ran to the health center to see him.
Later, Zhou Xiaowei also heard that when Chuntao went to the police station to provide clues, she was dragged into the bamboo forest and threatened.
Zhou Xiaowei always felt bad about it, and when he caught a rabbit today, he thought of bringing it to Chuntao.
He really didn't expect Zhou Zhijun to be here, nor did he expect the kitchen door to be closed and Chuntao's eyes to be red.
"It's okay, I have a strong body and I'm completely healed!" Zhou Xiaowei said, deliberately lifting the injured leg to prove that he wasn't lying.
"If your injury has just healed, don't be restless. Take the rabbit back and nourish your mother's body!" Zhou Zhijun's cold eyes swept over, and Zhou Xiaowei felt scared.
He kindly brought the rabbit to Sister-in-law Chuntao, not to him. Why was he interfering so much?
Zhou Xiaowei thought so in his heart, but he didn't dare to say it out loud. He could only squeeze out a smile, "I'll go to the slope to catch another one tomorrow. This one is for Sister-in-law Chuntao!"
Zhou Zhijun's face was so gloomy that water could drip from it.
Chuntao quickly smoothed things over, "Xiaowei, your mother is weak. Take it back for her to eat. While the body is still warm, it's easy to skin!"
Zhou Zhijun's eyes were still fixed on Zhou Xiaowei, and his gaze made Zhou Xiaowei afraid to speak again.
At this moment, Wang Xiaohong came back carrying a bamboo basket. The basket was filled with tender chives and a few green peppers.
"Sister-in-law!" She shouted from afar, "Our peppers have borne fruit! I picked a few, and we'll mix them to eat at noon today!"
Chuntao quickly walked to the kitchen door and took the bamboo basket that Wang Xiaohong was carrying on her arm.
Wang Xiaohong looked up into the kitchen and saw that Zhou Zhijun and Zhou Xiaowei were both there.
Zhou Zhijun's face was cold enough to freeze someone to death, and Zhou Xiaowei stood with his back to the door, holding a bloody rabbit in his hand. She thought, what's going on?
"Uncle Zhijun, Brother Xiaowei!" She called out softly.
Zhou Zhijun glanced up at her and didn't say anything. Zhou Xiaowei turned around and managed to squeeze out a smile at her.
"You were picking vegetables in the melon field just now. I saw you when I came back from the slope!"
Zhou Xiaowei held the rabbit and was at a loss for words, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere.
Chuntao quickly took over the conversation, "Xiaowei, take it back quickly!"
Zhou Zhijun's attitude toward Zhou Xiaowei made Chuntao feel ashamed and embarrassed, indescribably awkward.
Zhou Xiaowei was already afraid of Zhou Zhijun, and at this moment, he didn't dare to be stubborn anymore. He quickly responded, "Okay!"
He looked back at Zhou Zhijun again and whispered, "Second Uncle, then I'll give the rabbit to my grandma to stew!"
After speaking, he carried the rabbit and quickly walked out of the kitchen door. Zhou Zhijun also followed him out.
"Your grandma and the others have bad teeth and can't chew it!"
Zhou Zhijun took two steps to get in front of Zhou Xiaowei, walked to the small vegetable garden behind the east room, squatted by the vegetable field, pulled weeds, and lowered his voice extremely low, "Come here, I have something to say to you."
Zhou Xiaowei felt uneasy. He put the rabbit at the base of the wall, squatted next to Zhou Zhijun, and asked softly, "Second Uncle, what do you want to tell me?"
Zhou Zhijun didn't look up, and his tone was cold and frightening, "What were you doing at Chuntao's door in the middle of the night that day?"
Zhou Xiaowei's heart skipped a beat, and a layer of cold sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.
"No... I didn't do anything." His eyes dodged, and his voice was a bit weak.
"Didn't do anything?" Zhou Zhijun snorted coldly, and the wild grass in his hand was broken by him.
"You were stabbed at her door. Do you know how much trouble you caused her?
Those gossiping women in the village can drown people with their spit. Do you know what they are talking about?"
After Zhou Xiaowei was discharged from the hospital, he heard those gossips in the village.
Some people said that he went to find Chuntao in the middle of the night, and the two of them must have an unclear relationship.
Others said that the person who stabbed him was also Chuntao's lover, and it was out of jealousy that he struck so hard.
Zhou Xiaowei knew in his heart that he had a good impression of Chuntao, but the two of them were innocent.
He wasn't afraid of the rumors in the village, but he was afraid that these gossips would hurt Chuntao.
At that time, he was so angry that he took a washbasin and was about to go to the head of the village to scold them, but he was held back by Zhou Hongxia.
"Those people have nothing better to do than gossip!
If you go out and make a fuss, they will definitely make up even uglier words, and then it will implicate Sister-in-law Chuntao!"
Zhou Xiaowei felt that Zhou Hongxia made sense, so he endured it. But in his heart, he always felt sorry for Chuntao.
"I know! Those people are just talking nonsense!
If Hongxia hadn't held me back, I would have walked around the village beating a basin and scolding for three days and three nights!" Zhou Xiaowei said angrily, sticking his neck out.
Zhou Zhijun gave a cold snort, "What problem does cursing solve? If you don't want people gossiping in the future, stop running over here to Chuntao's place!"
"Second Uncle, I just felt bad for Sister-in-law Chuntao, so I brought a rabbit over to apologize!" Zhou Xiaowei got anxious and hurriedly defended himself.
"The more you try to apologize, the messier it gets!" Zhou Zhijun jerked his head up, his gaze sharp. "If people see you running over here again, the gossip will only get uglier!"
"I have a clear conscience, so I have nothing to hide!" Zhou Xiaowei's face flushed slightly as he stiffened his neck and retorted.
"You are a grown lad with thick skin, so you aren't afraid of people gossiping!
But what about Chuntao? She is a woman, and the village gossip is already suffocating her. Are you trying to make things worse for her?"
Zhou Zhijun's brows knitted tightly together. His voice was hard, hitting Zhou Xiaowei's ears like heavy stones.
"I... I really didn't expect it to turn out like this. That day..." Zhou Xiaowei stopped mid-sentence, suddenly realizing he had slipped up, and quickly shut his mouth.
"Instead of behaving yourself and watching the movie that day, what were you doing running over here?" Zhou Zhijun pressed.
"I... the movie they were showing that day, I had already seen it before!" Zhou Xiaowei stammered.
"If you had seen it, couldn't you have gone home to sleep?" Zhou Zhijun's tone grew even heavier.
"A young man like you running to a young wife's house in the middle of the night—who wouldn't get the wrong idea?"
Zhou Zhijun stood up, dusted the dirt off his pant legs, and added, "You are not a child anymore. You are already nineteen; it is time to settle on a marriage.
Getting married and having a kid in a couple of years is what you should be focusing on! Stop idling around every day, catching rabbits, chasing dogs, and fooling around!"
Having said his piece, Zhou Zhijun didn't look at Zhou Xiaowei again. He strode out of the vegetable garden and headed home.
Zhou Xiaowei watched his retreating back, curled his lips, and muttered under his breath, "You are thirty-five and still haven't taken a wife. I am only nineteen, what is the rush!"
