Chuntao didn't know what he was going to do. Since he didn't want to say, she didn't ask any further.
Zhou Zhijun pulled the handcart toward the Wanggang Health Clinic, and Chuntao could only follow closely behind.
Upon arriving at the Wanggang Health Clinic, Zhou Zhijun told Chuntao to wait in the courtyard while he went to find a doctor. He wanted to ask about getting a vasectomy injection.
He had a cousin who got the injection. It worked for a year, but later the couple secretly had two more sons. By the time the commune's family planning office heard about it, it was already too late.
Zhou Zhijun wanted to get an injection. As long as it lasted for six months to a year, that would be fine, and it wouldn't affect having children in the future.
However, getting the injection required paperwork from the production brigade. As a bachelor, he naturally couldn't go openly to the Qingshan Commune to get it.
He had already asked around and found out that the person in charge of vasectomies at the Wanggang Commune was a middle-aged male doctor. When he went to the street to buy lunch at noon, he conveniently bought two packs of Maolu brand cigarettes, preparing to try his luck at the Wanggang Health Clinic.
Zhou Zhijun found a room with a sign that read Family Planning Department. The door was closed but not locked, meaning the doctor probably hadn't gotten off work yet.
He gently pushed the door and found it was latched from the inside, so he raised his hand to knock.
Just as his knuckles were about to strike the door, a strange sound suddenly came from inside the room.
A man's heavy breathing accompanied by a woman's irrepressible soft moans.
Zhou Zhijun was an experienced man; he was all too familiar with this kind of sound, and his hand paused mid-air.
The sounds inside grew more intimate and seductive. Listening to it sent the blood rushing straight to Zhou Zhijun's head.
The image of Chuntao's pretty little face floated into his mind, and he couldn't help but glance toward the courtyard. He saw Chuntao looking his way too, her small face flushed red.
Seeing Zhou Zhijun looking at her, she quickly turned her face away and stared at the piglets in the handcart.
Zhou Zhijun, however, felt as if he had been set on fire, his veins pulsing with heat.
Suddenly, the door next to him creaked open, and Zhou Zhijun instinctively turned his head to look.
He saw a woman in her early thirties stepping out of the room.
The woman was dressed plainly, with a few conspicuous patches on her clothes. At a glance, it was clear she wasn't a doctor at the clinic.
When Zhou Zhijun's gaze shifted to the woman's face, his heart skipped a beat.
This woman was Wang Xuemei, his aunt's next-door neighbor, who lived in a village near the Wanggang Commune.
Wang Xuemei's husband had died of illness when she was twenty-four, and she had never remarried for the sake of her three children.
Rumor in the village had it that various men were helping her raise those three kids.
Zhou Zhijun never expected that she, an uneducated rural woman with average looks, would actually get involved with a doctor from the Wanggang Commune Health Clinic.
Clearly, Wang Xuemei recognized him too. Her already flushed cheeks turned even redder. Her lips trembled, but she didn't say a word, simply lowering her head and hurrying away as if fleeing.
Actually, as an experienced man, Zhou Zhijun could understand a widow needing a man's help, but what he couldn't understand was how Wang Xuemei could find so many men. That was a bit too much.
Sigh, that was her business; he couldn't control all that. The most important thing right now was to find the doctor to give him an injection so he wouldn't have to wear that thing anymore. Wearing it was really uncomfortable.
An idea flashed in his mind. He quickly walked to the door of the room. The door was ajar. He didn't push it open directly but knocked gently.
Who is it? a man's voice came from inside, carrying a trembling impatience.
Zhou Zhijun simply pushed the door open. It's me. I heard you and Wang Xuemei were busy just now, so I waited to the side for a while!
The doctor wasn't tall and wasn't considered fat. His hair was a bit sparse, making it hard to tell his exact age, probably around his thirties or forties.
His face still carried the exhaustion of having just finished that business, but hearing Zhou Zhijun say this, the exhaustion vanished instantly, and a trace of panic flashed in his eyes.
However, he quickly composed himself. I'm off the clock. Come back another day! the balding doctor glanced at Zhou Zhijun disdainfully and started packing up the things on his desk.
Zhou Zhijun didn't retreat; instead, he walked up to the desk and lowered his voice, Doctor, I'd like to ask you for a favor. Making things convenient for others makes things convenient for yourself...
How could the balding doctor not hear the underlying threat in his words? His hands paused, and his breathing grew slightly heavy.
What favor? He looked up at Zhou Zhijun, his voice softening a bit.
Seeing a chance, Zhou Zhijun realized he didn't even need to take out the cigarettes in his pocket.
It's actually nothing major. My wife doesn't want to get her tubes tied, so I just want you to give me a vasectomy injection!
Family planning was very strict in that era. If the first child was a girl, you could have a second; if the second was also a girl, you couldn't have any more.
If the first child was a boy, you absolutely couldn't have a second. But where there are policies from above, there are countermeasures from below. Many people hid here and there, leaving their hometowns, even willing to go out and beg just to have a son.
Every household had at least two children, and some had as many as seven or eight. Sterilization had to be strictly enforced; almost no one came voluntarily.
At that time, most sterilization surgeries were performed on women; few men got vasectomies. A few men had their tubes tied or received injections, but because the injections were ineffective, they had long been halted by higher authorities.
This man wanting an injection was just to exploit this loophole. the balding doctor thought he had seen through the other man's intentions, but he had no choice but to do it.
The other party not only knew Wang Xuemei but had also overheard his illicit affair with her. If word got out, he would lose not only his job but his family as well.
I can give you the injection. Which production brigade are you from? Do you have a certificate?
I'm not from the Wanggang Commune!
Hearing this, the balding doctor felt relieved. The family planning of an outside commune had nothing to do with him. Even if the man had ten more kids after the injection, the blame wouldn't fall on him.
He gave Zhou Zhijun a meaningful look. Alright! Seeing as it wasn't easy for you to come all this way, just this once. You absolutely must not tell anyone about this injection...
Naturally. You helped me; I'd be less than human if I sold you out!
Just like that, Zhou Zhijun got his wish and received the vasectomy injection. He let out a long sigh of relief. He would never have to wear that wretched thing again; it was too uncomfortable.
Wearing that thing, it felt as if he was thrusting not into his Little Taotao, but into a bag.
Anyway, this injection would only last for six months to a year. By then, Chuntao might have figured things out and agreed to leave with him, and they could have babies openly and legitimately.
Feeling delighted, Zhou Zhijun took large strides toward Chuntao.
By now, the sky was already getting dark. Just as he was about to reach Chuntao, he abruptly turned around and saw the balding doctor walking in their direction as well.
Doctor, when does that injection take effect? Zhou Zhijun asked, lowering his voice.
the balding doctor saw the urgency in his eyes and frowned slightly. In one day!
Zhou Zhijun suddenly felt as if a scoop of cold water had been poured over him. He had been planning to have some good fun halfway home, but now that was damn well out of the question.
the balding doctor's gaze had already shifted away from Zhou Zhijun and was fixed intensely on Chuntao.
His Adam's apple bobbed. It was his first time seeing such a beautiful young wife, and it truly made his mouth water.
Seeing his sleazy gaze fixed on Chuntao, Zhou Zhijun wanted nothing more than to beat him to a pulp. But since he still needed a favor from the man, he could only grit his teeth and endure it.
"Doctor, give me a few of those, will you?" Zhou Zhijun leaned close to his ear, his voice hard and grating.
The balding doctor quickly averted his eyes and looked at Zhou Zhijun. Seeing the man's face full of wrath, he shuddered and forced a dry laugh.
"Alright, come with me!"
He turned and went back inside, with Zhou Zhijun following closely behind.
The balding doctor took a few items from the cabinet and handed them over, pretending to ask casually, "Your wife is quite the looker. You must go at it a few times a night, huh?"
As Zhou Zhijun reached out to take the items, he grabbed the doctor's hand and squeezed with crushing force. The balding doctor cried out in pain, letting out a miserable shriek.
With a humorless smile, Zhou Zhijun warned, "Watch your mouth, or you might just get your tongue ripped out!"
Meanwhile, Chuntao watched the sky grow darker and darker, her heart tightening with dread.
Zhou Zhijun had not touched her for a few days; he was definitely going to toss her around on the way back...
