Wang Jieshi definitely knew about Chuntao being carried to the barren slope in the middle of the night by the Wang Haichao brothers.
The man cursed viciously in his heart, thinking that Wang Jieshi was absolutely worthless, worse than a beast!
Holding his breath with effort, he carried Chuntao on his back and walked all the way toward Wangjia Village.
As he neared the village entrance, he changed direction and ran toward the East Ditch.
Earlier that morning, while he was seeding the fields over there, he noticed that the melon shed of Chuntao's family had already been set up. There was a small bamboo bed inside, which was the perfect place to lay her down.
At some point, the moon quietly peeked out from the clouds, casting a hazy glow over the melon field.
The watermelons in the field grew densely, one next to another. Afraid of stepping on them, he took every step with extreme caution.
Just as he reached the door of the melon shed, he saw someone lying on the bamboo bed. Startled, he took a step back.
His heel stepped squarely on a watermelon, causing him to stagger and nearly fall, letting out an involuntary cry of alarm.
The person in the melon shed was none other than Zhou Zhijun.
Thinking it was a melon thief, he scrambled up, grabbed the flashlight by the bed, and shined it over, stepping to the shed's doorway at the same time.
When he clearly saw the person before him and Chuntao slung over the man's shoulder, Zhou Zhijun's eyes nearly bulged out of his head.
"Wang Qingshan, you bastard, what do you think you're doing?"
He snatched Chuntao from Wang Qingshan's shoulder, his fist immediately smashing into the man's face.
Wang Qingshan was knocked back several steps and fell into the melon patch with a heavy thud, crushing two watermelons with a crisp cracking sound.
Zhou Zhijun gently laid Chuntao on the bamboo bed. Seeing that her clothes were still relatively neat, his hanging heart finally relaxed a little.
Wang Qingshan was usually quiet as a mouse and seemed like an honest peasant; Zhou Zhijun never expected him to be this kind of scum.
Zhou Zhijun stepped forward, grabbed him by the collar, hauled him up from the ground, cursed "Wang Qingshan, you bastard" again, and raised his fist to strike.
"Brother Zhijun, stop hitting me! I didn't do anything, I saved her!" Wang Qingshan shouted in panic.
Zhou Zhijun's fist froze in mid-air. The hand gripping the collar loosened, throwing him back onto the ground.
"Brother Zhijun, it was Wang Haichao and Wang Haibao, those two beasts, who wanted to violate her..."
Tonight, after drinking his soup, he had just gotten into bed when Zhou Zhaodi came over, clinging to him affectionately.
But ever since the wheat harvest, he had been working from dawn to dusk every day, tired as a dead dog, with absolutely no mood for that. Because of this, Zhou Zhaodi angrily ran back to her mother's house.
The weather was as hot as a steamer. Lying in bed, Wang Qingshan was covered in sweat. Mosquitoes buzzed endlessly in his ears, and he tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
He simply rolled up a sorghum mat and planned to go sleep in the threshing floor to the north, where there was a breeze and it would be cooler.
Just as he reached the corner of the back wall of Wang Haichao's house, he saw Wang Haichao and Wang Haibao sneaking out suspiciously.
These brothers were no good, always engaged in petty theft. Wang Qingshan quickly hid in the shadows of the gable, wanting to see what bad deeds they were up to this time.
"Brother, tonight we'll carry Li Chuntao up to the barren slope and have some good fun! Then we'll send her to Niuzhuang for him to play with.
Not only can we make money, but Li Chuntao can even bear us a child in the future!"
"Cut the crap, be careful not to be heard!"
The brothers' words drilled into Wang Qingshan's ears without missing a single syllable.
From the very first day Chuntao married into Wangjia Village, Wang Qingshan felt she was a good woman, beautiful and with a good temperament.
But he knew his place. In his heart, Chuntao was like the moon goddess Chang'e; he could only look at her from afar, not daring to have the slightest thought of profaning her.
Now, hearing that the Wang Haichao brothers were going to violate her, Wang Qingshan ground his teeth in anger. He quietly followed behind them all the way to the vicinity of Wang Jieshi's house.
The dog at Wang Chunxiao's house suddenly started barking, having heard his movements.
He hid in the woodshed of Wang Jieshi's house. Waiting until the Wang Haichao brothers carried Chuntao out the door, he silently slipped out, holding a stick in his hand, and followed them at a distance.
He was originally afraid he wouldn't be a match for those two beasts, but to his surprise, they separated halfway.
Seizing the opportunity, Wang Qingshan struck Wang Haichao on the back of the head with the stick when he was off guard, knocking him out cold.
He picked up the flashlight Wang Haichao had dropped and sprinted to chase after Wang Haibao...
Of course, he didn't dare reveal a single word about his secret feelings for Chuntao.
Zhou Zhijun listened with half-belief and a dark face, asking, "Then why didn't you take her home? Why did you bring her to the melon shed instead?"
The flashlight beam shone directly into Wang Qingshan's face, glaring so brightly he couldn't open his eyes, and a wave of guilt washed over his heart.
"Brother Zhijun, I figured Wang Jieshi definitely knows about this.
If I took her straight home, Wang Jieshi not only wouldn't thank me, but he would also tell Wang Haichao and the others that I was the one who knocked them out. Those two beasts would definitely seek revenge on me!
My parents are both honest, simple folks, and I was afraid of dragging them into this...
Besides, you know Zhou Zhaodi's shrewish temper. If she found out I meddled in this business, she would turn my life upside down!"
Wang Qingshan was telling the truth, but deep down, he harbored a trace of a secret thought that even he didn't dare to admit.
Zhou Zhijun naturally didn't believe he had zero ulterior motives, but there was no other way right now.
"Alright, I'll trust you this once. I thank you on behalf of Chuntao. You go on back, I'll carry her home in a bit."
Out of the corner of his eye, Wang Qingshan sneaked a glance at Chuntao in the melon shed, his heartbeat still racing.
"Brother Zhijun, I... I have a favor to ask. Please don't tell anyone about what happened tonight."
He said this aloud, but in his heart, he hoped Chuntao would know that he was the one who saved her.
"Don't worry, I'll just say I was the one who beat up those two beasts."
Wang Qingshan's backside still hurt terribly from the fall earlier, and he limped away.
Zhou Zhijun walked into the melon shed and carefully checked Chuntao's clothes again.
Only one button at her collar was loose; the rest were buttoned up tightly, and the belt on her trousers was tied in a dead knot. It seemed those two beasts hadn't succeeded.
The little woman was sleeping very deeply. This was definitely not normal; she must have been drugged.
Wang Haichao, Wang Haibao, Wang Jieshi, these three names swirled around in Zhou Zhijun's mind.
He gritted his teeth and cursed, "Damn it, absolute beasts! When I catch you, I'll send you straight to the commune's joint defense team!"
He didn't plan to tell Chuntao about this right now; he already had an idea in mind.
If it worked, he might just be able to save her from that fiery pit of Wang Jieshi's home.
Zhou Zhijun turned off the flashlight, sat on the ground of the melon shed, and stared at Chuntao without blinking.
The moonlight outside spilled in through the cracks of the shed, falling on her fair and smooth little face. He couldn't help but reach out his large hand to gently stroke it.
"Tao'er, don't worry. I will personally catch those beasts and rescue you from that cage."
Zhou Zhijun sat in the melon shed until the sky began to lighten before leaving. He didn't return to the village directly from the East Ditch but detoured to the private plots, making his way home along the base of the back wall of the oilfield workers' courtyard.
By the time Chuntao woke up, it was broad daylight. She only felt weak all over, so exhausted that she couldn't even lift her eyelids.
Not hearing the grunting of the old sow in the pigpen, her heart tightened. She abruptly opened her eyes, and upon seeing the sight before her, she was instantly dumbfounded.
She clearly hadn't come to the melon shed last night. Could she have misremembered, or had she sleepwalked over here in a daze?
She suddenly remembered. Last night, Wang Xiaohong had cleared out the large bed so she could sleep with Wang Jieshi.
Wang Jieshi had called out to her from inside, but she hadn't gone in. Instead, she had simply lain down on her old small bed. How did she end up in the melon shed?
Subconsciously, she pulled at her collar to check herself. There wasn't a single mark on her skin, and only then did her anxious heart finally settle.
But Chuntao's mind was completely blank. She just couldn't recall what on earth had happened last night.
