Seeing Chuntao looking a bit uncomfortable, the restaurant proprietress smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister, that inn is clean and safe."
Chuntao bit her lower lip and said nothing, gripping the chopsticks in her hand even tighter.
How could Chuntao not know Zhou Zhijun's intentions? She wanted to go back overnight, but was afraid that Baldy would block the way.
If she stayed, she was afraid of the village gossip when they returned tomorrow morning.
Her heart was in turmoil, and she didn't know what to do.
Zhou Zhijun naturally saw through her thoughts and comforted her, "It's okay, I'll take care of everything!"
As he spoke, Zhou Zhijun picked all the donkey meat from his braised noodles and put it into Chuntao's bowl. "Eat more, you've been starving until now!"
Chuntao kept her head down, taking small bites of her food, not even daring to look up.
The boss and his wife were clearing the dishes nearby, stealing glances at them from time to time. Seeing that Chuntao wasn't saying much, they didn't dare to strike up a conversation.
When the two finished eating, the proprietress wiped her hands and said to Zhou Zhijun, "I'll take you two over. It's just at the end of the alley ahead, a short walk away."
Zhou Zhijun paid for the meal. "Sorry to trouble you, sister-in-law!"
They walked out the door and heard the little piglet on the handcart squealing loudly.
The proprietress looked at the handcart and saw the piglet's flat belly, knowing it was hungry.
"Do you sell this piglet by the pound or by the head?"
"By the pound!"
Hearing this, the proprietress made a quick calculation in her head.
Pig sellers usually feed the piglets full so they weigh a few pounds more.
This piglet had an empty stomach, making it a good deal, and she had been planning to buy a pig anyway.
"Just sell this one to me. It's inconvenient for you to drag it around anyway, and once it's sold, you can head back first thing tomorrow morning!"
Zhou Zhijun originally thought that if he couldn't sell it, he would take it home to raise and slaughter it for the New Year, ensuring a prosperous holiday.
Since the proprietress wanted it, he gave her this last little pig.
The proprietress led the way in front, Zhou Zhijun pulled the handcart in the middle, and Chuntao followed behind.
Looking at the man's broad back, her heart fluttered with anxiety.
Recalling how Zhou Zhijun had protected her at noon, and his gentleness when he said they should stay at an inn, a faint trace of longing actually rose in her heart.
They turned into a narrow alley, and at the end of it, they saw a courtyard with a wooden sign that read "Fellow Townsman Inn."
The courtyard wasn't large. The north, east, and west buildings were all blue-tiled houses, totaling about a dozen rooms.
The restaurant proprietress called out towards the house, "Sister-in-law, I brought two guests for the inn!"
A woman in her fifties walked out of the north room. She was the innkeeper, wearing a smile. "Coming, coming. Hurry inside and have a seat."
The restaurant proprietress whispered a few words to her, then turned back to Zhou Zhijun and said, "You two rest easy here. I'll head back now."
Zhou Zhijun thanked the restaurant proprietress and led Chuntao into the north room.
The innkeeper poured them two cups of hot water and asked with a smile, "Do you want one room or two?"
Hearing this, Chuntao's face instantly turned red to the roots of her ears, and she quickly looked up at Zhou Zhijun.
Zhou Zhijun looked at Chuntao, then at the innkeeper, and immediately said, "We'll take one room. We're a couple, we just haven't gotten our marriage certificate yet."
Hearing Zhou Zhijun say this, Chuntao's heart pounded even harder. She lowered her head and stayed silent, even the tips of her ears turning a translucent red.
The innkeeper smiled and said, "I understand, it's no problem! I'll go tidy up a room for you two right now." Saying that, she went into an adjacent room.
Seeing Chuntao gripping the corners of her clothes, blushing and keeping her head down in silence, Zhou Zhijun felt a scratch at the tip of his heart, like a kitten's claw.
Coming to sell pigs today, he had brought a fertilizer bag containing a sheet and a thin mattress, originally intending to lay them on the grass to properly love and cherish Chuntao.
He hadn't expected Wanggang Street to have such an inn. He didn't know before; if he had, he would have figured out a way to bring Chuntao here long ago.
"Brother, sister, it's ready!" The innkeeper walked out of the room. "You two will sleep in this room tonight. The bed in here is big!"
She pointed to the adjacent rooms and added, "These rooms are empty tonight. It's just you two in the north building, so no one will bother you!"
The implication of her words was self-evident. Chuntao's face flushed hot and cold; she really wanted to find a hole in the ground to hide in!
"Alright, thank you!" Zhou Zhijun could feel her fingertips trembling.
He released her hand, his voice hoarse, "You go in first!"
Chuntao felt as if she had been granted amnesty and darted straight into the room.
The light bulb inside was very bright, illuminating the room like daytime.
The room had a double bed covered with a bright red sheet, and a thin quilt with magpies on the back, folded into three layers on one side of the large bed.
On the bedside cabinet sat a thermos and two enamel mugs.
Near the window was a square table with two chairs. The entire room was simply furnished but looked clean and tidy.
This place was over twenty miles from Wangjiazhai, but Chuntao's heart was still in turmoil.
She was afraid that Liu Cuilan and the others would come looking for them in the middle of the night when they saw they hadn't returned.
She was even more afraid of going back tomorrow morning to face everyone's strange looks and the backstabbing gossip...
"Brother, you are truly blessed. Your wife is so shy, and she's so beautiful too!
By the way, bolt the door. I'll pull your handcart to the backyard!"
Zhou Zhijun gave a hum of agreement and hurriedly asked, "Do you have a chamber pot?"
"Yes, I rinse them with water every day, they're perfectly clean. They're right in the outhouse, go grab one!"
The conversation between the two outside reached Chuntao's ears, interrupting her thoughts.
She sat on the chair, both hands tightly gripping the hem of her shirt, twisting it over and over.
The more Chuntao thought about it, the shyer she felt, sweat breaking out on her forehead and the tip of her nose.
