A heavy rain soaked the ground, and the autumn crops shot up rapidly. The weeds also grew crazily, and if they didn't hurry up and hoe them, the weeds would eat the crops.
Zhou Zhijun helped Chuntao sell melons on the street every morning. When he came back from selling, he went to the fields to hoe the weeds. He was so busy every day that his feet didn't touch the ground.
Fortunately, Wang Xiaoming came home after the college entrance examination and could help Chuntao sell melons. Zhou Zhijun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He worked from dawn to dusk, hurrying to hoe his own land once, and also helped Chuntao clean up her land.
After the land was hoed, he let it be known in the village that he was going to work out of town with a distant relative.
Early that morning, Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong were cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Zhou Zhijun came to Chuntao's house with a rice bowl.
"Uncle Zhijun, you're eating!" Wang Xiaohong quickly brought a small stool for him to sit on.
"I came to tell you that I'm going out of town to work today, and I'll be back in half a month."
Zhou Zhijun took the stool and sat down, his voice neither high nor low, "If you're too busy selling melons, ask your uncle to lend a hand!"
He said this to Wang Xiaohong, but his peripheral vision stuck to Chuntao's face.
Chuntao lowered her eyes, her face expressionless, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.
Wang Xiaohong quickly said, "The land has been hoed once. As long as it doesn't rain, there's no big deal. We can handle just selling watermelons!"
When the meal was almost ready, Wang Xiaohong took the washbasin to the main room to wash Wang Jieshi's face. Zhou Zhijun then turned his head and looked fixedly at Chuntao.
"Tao, while I'm away, be careful. Go to crowded places when working, be sure to go home before dark, and it's best to stay with Xiaohong and the others!"
Those malicious people in the village, who wasn't staring at Chuntao, this "fat meat"? She was soft-tempered, and Zhou Zhijun really couldn't rest assured.
Wang Xiaohong just came in with the washbasin, heard this, and said, "Uncle Zhijun, just rest assured! With me here, no one can bully my sister-in-law!"
This girl Wang Xiaohong was fierce, and Wang Xiaoming also protected Chuntao. With them around, Zhou Zhijun's hanging heart eased a little.
If anyone in the village dared to have bad ideas about Chuntao, they would be the first to disagree.
At night, Wang Xiaoming watched the melons at the end of the field, and Wang Xiaohong went to Zhou Hongxia's house to sleep.
In this way, the two of them would not hinder Wang Haichao and the others from doing bad things. This was exactly the situation Zhou Zhijun wanted.
As long as he could catch their weakness, he could save Chuntao from the fire pit.
After breakfast, Zhou Zhijun went out with a bulging bundle.
As soon as he reached the main road, he met Zhou Xiaowei and Zhou Hongxia carrying hoes, heading to the fields.
"Second Uncle, where are you going?" Zhou Xiaowei shouted from a distance.
Zhou Zhijun turned around and said unhurriedly, "I'm going to the north of the city to help build houses. I'll be back in half a month. If your grandparents have any heavy work, help them out more!"
"Okay! Second Uncle, you can go with peace of mind!"
Several villagers working in the fields by the road heard this and looked up.
Watching Zhou Zhijun's receding back, Zhou Xiaowei breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart.
When his second uncle was at home, he didn't even dare to say one more word to Chuntao, for fear of being scolded for "showing off".
Now that his second uncle was gone, he finally didn't have to be on tenterhooks anymore.
Zhou Xiaowei liked Chuntao, from the first time he saw her.
But he also knew that this liking could only be hidden in his heart, and it was absolutely impossible between them.
Since he had no fate with Chuntao, he also thought about finding a good girl like Chuntao to live with, but he had seen several, and none of them caught his eye.
Last time there was a movie in the village, he was stabbed for no reason, which was really unlucky.
Li Aihua from Liumen Village was pestered by her neighbor Liu Qiusheng. In order to get rid of Liu Qiusheng, Li Aihua said she liked Zhou Xiaowei, which aroused Liu Qiusheng's jealousy and he vented his anger on him.
From beginning to end, Zhou Xiaowei didn't know anything about this matter. He was purely shot while lying down, which was very unjust.
During the few days he was hospitalized in the health center, Li Aihua came to see him every day and secretly stuffed love letters at the head of his bed.
Li Aihua was of medium height, ordinary looking, neither beautiful nor ugly, just an ordinary girl.
If he hadn't seen Chuntao, Zhou Xiaowei might really have tried to get along with her.
But after seeing Chuntao, looking at other girls, he always felt that something was missing, and he really couldn't like them.
A few days ago, Zhou Xiaowei went to the east ditch to take a bath, and saw Li Aihua cutting grass over there from a distance. Without saying a word, he turned around and took a detour.
While Zhou Xiaowei was in a daze, he saw Chuntao and Wang Xiaoming pulling a cart full of watermelons coming up from the path of the east ditch.
"Sister-in-law Chuntao, Xiaoming, are you two going to sell melons?" Zhou Xiaowei quickly went up to greet them.
Last time Zhou Xiaowei was stabbed at the base of the kitchen wall of Chuntao's house, Chuntao always felt guilty.
Later, gossip about her and Zhou Xiaowei spread in the village, and this guilt became even heavier.
Her life was like this, but Zhou Xiaowei was an innocent young man who hadn't started a family yet. Spreading this kind of gossip was bad for his reputation.
Since then, Chuntao had always tried to avoid Zhou Xiaowei, and didn't speak if she could help it.
Now that they met head-on and he took the initiative to greet her, she couldn't pretend to be dumb.
Besides, Zhou Xiaowei's family were all good people, and they had helped them a lot in daily life. She remembered this favor in her heart.
"Yeah!" Chuntao replied softly, bending over to take two large watermelons out of the cart, "Xiaowei, Hongxia, take them! Eat them when you're thirsty working in the field!"
The brother and sister quickly waved their hands to decline, but Chuntao forcefully stuffed the watermelons into their arms without explanation.
"They grew in our own field, not worth much money, take them to eat!" Seeing that she offered sincerely, Zhou Xiaowei and Zhou Hongxia accepted them.
God was really unfair! Why didn't he, Zhou Xiaowei, have the blessing of having such a good woman as Chuntao?
Watching the receding backs of Chuntao and Wang Xiaoming, Zhou Xiaowei's heart felt empty, as if something had been dug out.
The news that Zhou Zhijun went out to work soon reached the ears of the brothers Wang Haichao.
"Brother, that boy Zhou Zhijun has left, and won't be back for half a month!" Wang Haibao rubbed his hands anxiously, thief-like light flashing in his eyes.
"Let's make a move tonight, we can satisfy our cravings and make more money..."
Wang Haichao frowned tightly and interrupted him in a deep voice, "That old sly fox Zhou Zhijun is not that simple!"
"Brother, you think too highly of him!" Wang Haibao curled his lips, his face full of disdain.
"He's just a reckless fellow, he can't do anything but fight, how can he have so many schemes like you!"
"Wait two more days and see." Wang Haichao stroked his chin, his eyes sinister.
"Last time we stumbled, we were lucky not to be sent to the commune by him. If we are caught by him again, we will be completely finished!"
Wang Haibao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, but he didn't dare not to listen to his elder brother's words, so he had to say resentfully, "Okay, then wait two days!"
After lunch, Wang Haichao walked towards the back of the village.
From a distance, he saw Wang Jieshi sitting in the shade of the locust tree in the yard, shaking a broken fan in his hand, his face dark, his brows twisted into a big knot, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Jieshi, enjoying the cool?" Wang Haichao walked into the yard and called him in a low voice.
Hearing his voice, Wang Jieshi didn't even bat an eyelid, the muscles in his face pulled tight.
"Go inside, I have something to say to you!" Wang Haichao leaned in, lowering his voice even more.
Wang Jieshi knew exactly what he was going to say. Slowly, leaning on a tall stool nearby, he inched his way into the house.
"Jieshi, that kid Zhou Zhijun left, and he won't be back for half a month! This is a golden opportunity!"
As soon as they were inside, Wang Haichao said eagerly, "We need to do it a few more times, just to be safe..."
"No!" Wang Jieshi suddenly spoke up, his voice hoarse. "I've been feeling anxious these past few days, like something bad is going to happen. I can't risk it anymore!"
Wang Haichao was about to persuade him when he heard footsteps outside the courtyard gate. Wang Xiaoming returned, dripping with sweat.
He pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat while reaching for the hoe leaning against the door of the main room.
"Xiaoming, sold all the melons?" Wang Haichao quickly put on a cheeky, smiling face.
Wang Xiaoming remained expressionless, not wanting to entertain him, and hoisted the hoe onto his shoulder, ready to leave.
"Xiaoming, wait a minute!" Wang Haichao suddenly stopped him, his eyes fixed on the handkerchief in his hand. "Where did you buy that handkerchief? I want to go buy one too!"
That small mirror had been found by Liu Cuilan, but the handkerchief was nowhere to be seen. It turned out to be in Wang Xiaoming's hands all along.
"It's nothing special, they sell them everywhere!" Wang Xiaoming knew he was just making small talk, and stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket as he spoke.
"Hey, are there words on that handkerchief?" Wang Haichao didn't give up, pressing him with a fake smile. "Did some little girl give it to you?"
Wang Xiaoming couldn't be bothered to waste his breath on him. Carrying his hoe, he walked away without looking back.
Snubbed, Wang Haichao turned back to Wang Jieshi and gritted his teeth, "I bet that handkerchief wasn't bought by him. It belongs to Li Chuntao!"
