"Zhou Xiaoying, is Li Chuntao a name for you to just blurt out? Show some respect!"
The tobacco pipe smashed onto the dirt floor at the doorway of the main room with a sharp crack, snapping into two pieces.
Startled, Zhou Xiaoying tightened her grip on the hem of her shirt, trembling all over.
Zhou Xiaomei pressed her arms tightly against her sides, her head buried so low it almost touched her chest.
Even the usually mischievous Zhou Xiaohai was so scared that he buried himself in Huang Meili's arms, his little hands tightly clutching the patches on her blouse.
Huang Meili held Zhou Xiaohai tightly, her eyes so red they looked ready to bleed, her teeth grinding audibly.
With her temper, she was never someone to be trifled with in the village.
Usually, if anyone provoked her, she would scratch their face to shreds!
With Zhou Zhijun coming over in the middle of the night to cause trouble, the anger in her heart had already surged to her throat.
No matter how stern and intimidating he was, if she really threw caution to the wind, she wouldn't be afraid of him!
Several times, Huang Meili wanted to lift the door curtain, storm out, and have a massive falling-out with Zhou Zhijun, but her feet felt like lead and wouldn't move.
Her family still owed Zhou Zhijun grain and dozens of dollars. Even the rafters used when building the east room were borrowed from him.
Right now, the most crucial issue was that the village branch secretary, Zhou Dana, was going to withhold their relief grain and subsidized fertilizer. They still needed to rely on Zhou Zhijun to go and plead their case to Zhou Dana.
After all, he was the captain of the village militia, so Zhou Dana had to give him some face.
The expression on Zhou Zhimin's face was complicated; half of it was anger at his two girls for being ignorant, and the other half was dissatisfaction with Zhou Zhijun for protecting Li Chuntao.
But he could only keep this dissatisfaction bottled up inside, not daring to utter a single word of it.
He stood up abruptly, strode over to Zhou Xiaoying, and delivered a moderate slap to her shoulder, roaring, "You wretched girl, you're already fourteen or fifteen, how can you still be so ignorant?
You should call Li Chuntao 'Aunt'. If I ever hear you call her by her name again, I'll smash your mouth!"
He then turned his head and pointed at Zhou Xiaomei, who had squatted on the ground in fear, curled up into a ball, and yelled, "And you! A girl acting nothing like a girl! If your hands are ever this quick to cause trouble again, I'll chop them off!"
Tears streamed down Zhou Xiaoying's and Zhou Xiaomei's faces, but they didn't dare cry out loud, only biting their lips to hold it in.
"From now on, the two of you better behave. Work hard in the fields and stop looking for trouble! Got it?"
"Got it!" Their voices were as low as the buzzing of mosquitoes.
"Louder!" Zhou Zhimin shouted again.
"Got it!" This time, their voices were finally louder, though still trembling.
After scolding the two of them, Zhou Zhimin quickly turned to look at Zhou Zhijun, an apologetic smile on his face. "Second Brother, the kids don't know any better. It's all my fault for not teaching them well.
If they ever act recklessly again, I absolutely won't let them off lightly! You can rest assured!"
Zhou Zhijun knew clearly in his heart that Zhou Zhimin's scolding of the two girls just now wasn't sincere at all; he was just putting on a show.
He glanced at the two sisters, Zhou Xiaoying and Zhou Xiaomei, his tone as cold as ice. "Xiaoying, Xiaomei, Li Chuntao is your grandmother's goddaughter. It's only right for me and your grandmother to help her.
What is there for you two to be so upset about? Behave yourselves from now on and stop making trouble out of nothing!"
He bent down, picked up the broken tobacco pipe from the ground, and stepped out of the room.
As soon as he walked out, Zhou Zhimin chased after him. "Second Brother, don't be mad. This won't happen again..."
Zhou Zhijun didn't speak; he just kept taking large strides forward.
"Second Brother, wait a minute. I still have something to talk to you about!"
Only then did Zhou Zhijun stop and turn his head to look at him.
Zhou Zhimin rubbed his hands together, a fawning smile plastered on his face. "Second Brother, the branch secretary said he's going to withhold our family's relief grain and subsidized fertilizer.
You see, life is hard enough as it is. We never have enough grain to eat every year. If it gets withheld on top of that, the whole family will have to starve!
Look, I was hoping you could go with me to talk to the branch secretary and see if he could not withhold it!"
"Why is he withholding it?" Zhou Zhijun asked, even though he already knew the answer.
Zhou Zhimin mumbled as he spoke, downplaying the issue with every word. "I-isn't it just because of what those foolish kids did!
Brother, just help me out, please. Go talk to the branch secretary!"
Zhou Zhijun couldn't be bothered to ask more and just said flatly, "My face isn't that big. I'm not going!" After saying that, he strode away.
After Zhou Zhijun left, Huang Meili cursed Zhou Zhimin mercilessly, calling him useless, saying that even his own mother and brother looked down on him, and adding that they all turned their backs on their own family.
Zhou Zhimin was also holding in his anger, so he didn't indulge her and shot right back.
"Huang Meili, you're only tough at home! If you're so capable, why didn't you come out when Second Brother was here just now? You hid inside like a coward!"
"Zhou Zhimin, you heartless man! I've suffered and toiled with you, never enjoying a single day of happiness, and you still talk to me like this!"
Huang Meili's face was covered in tears and snot, and the more she spoke, the angrier she got. "It's exactly because you treat me poorly that your mother and Second Brother dare to bully me like this!
My own daughters, I can't even bear to say a harsh word to them myself. Is it Zhou Zhijun's place to come and dictate things?
As their father, you actually help outsiders bully your own daughters. Are you even human?
Zhou Hongxia speaks with no respect. When has she ever treated me like an aunt? Why doesn't he discipline her..."
As Huang Meili complained amid her tears and runny nose, the two sisters, Zhou Xiaoying and Zhou Xiaomei, cried even louder seeing their mother like this.
Zhou Zhimin squatted at the doorway, holding his head, feeling as if a stone was blocking his chest. How could he not want to protect his wife and daughters? But he just didn't have the ability!
Zhou Zhijun was his older brother. The bride price for his marriage, building their house, repairing the roof—every single thing relied on Zhou Zhijun's help.
He simply had no standing to fall out with Zhou Zhijun. No matter what Zhou Zhijun said, right or wrong, he had to listen.
He suddenly raised his head, his voice incredibly hoarse. "If we want to stand tall, we can't rely on others!
Once we live a good life ourselves and don't have to look at anyone else's face, I'll naturally be able to protect you and the kids. But right now, we just can't!"
Zhou Zhimin didn't sleep all night, constantly worrying about the relief grain and fertilizer.
As dawn approached, he nudged Huang Meili's back with his elbow and softly advised, "How about you just apologize to Li Chuntao?"
Huang Meili flipped over abruptly, her eyes wide open. "Me, apologize to her? Only if the sun rises in the west!"
"Then what do you say we do? If you don't apologize, Second Brother won't go talk to the branch secretary, and our whole family will be left to starve!"
...
Truth be told, Huang Meili was quite a carefree person. Once the sun came up, she completely forgot about last night's troubles.
After breakfast, she went out to gossip, only to unexpectedly run into Zhou Zhijun.
Zhou Zhijun didn't give her a good look, and she didn't even have the courage to retort, so she could only return home resentfully.
Meanwhile, Zhou Hongxia was rushing towards the street on her bicycle, the bell ringing continuously.
Arriving at the south end of the street, she parked her bike in an empty spot by the road.
She then untied the front seat, held Zhou Xiaobao in her arms, and sat by the road waiting for her grandmother and Chuntao.
Her eyes were fixed intently on the passing pedestrians, terrified of missing them.
At this moment, a familiar figure rode over on a bicycle, and Zhou Hongxia's eyes instantly lit up!
She placed Zhou Xiaobao on the ground and abruptly stood up from the seat.
