A slap landed on Liu Cuilan's face, shocking the courtyard full of onlookers into instant silence.
Wang Qingshan froze in place, staring blankly at Zhou Zhaodi, unable to recover his senses for a long while.
"You dare hit me?" Liu Cuilan's voice was as shrill as a rooster's. "Zhou Zhaodi, you shrew, I'll fight you to the death!"
She lunged forward, baring her fangs and brandishing her claws. Zhou Zhaodi twisted her fat body but couldn't dodge in time, and her hair was tightly grabbed by Liu Cuilan.
Liu Cuilan was agile and strong. Zhou Zhaodi, covered in fat and struggling just to walk, was no match for her.
Zhou Zhaodi grimaced in pain, but her voice was loud, "You tear at my man, do you really think I, Zhou Zhaodi, am a pushover?"
Neither refused to yield, and they scuffled together.
Zhou Dana, standing next to Wu Mingwei, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot.
Wang Haichao and his gang of scum had already thoroughly disgraced Wangjia Village, making him, the village party secretary, too ashamed to show his face.
Now, his own daughter Zhou Zhaodi had gotten involved, publicly brawling with Liu Cuilan. He truly had nowhere to hide his old face.
Zhou Dana felt a stifling tightness in his chest and his teeth itched with hatred. But with the commune officials watching, he couldn't easily lash out. He could only roar at the two women, "Stop it, both of you! What a scandal!"
Before he finished speaking, there was a muffled thud. Zhou Zhaodi's round body had actually pinned Liu Cuilan fiercely to the muddy ground.
"Ouch! Zhou Zhaodi, you bitch, get up!" Liu Cuilan cried out in pain, squealing like a slaughtered pig.
Zhou Dana trembled with anger and shot a glance at a few militiamen nearby.
The militiamen immediately stepped forward and clumsily pulled the fighting duo apart.
Suddenly, someone pointed at Liu Cuilan and screamed, "Secretary, she's bleeding!"
Zhou Dana looked down and saw a patch of bright red seeping through the crotch of Liu Cuilan's pants.
His mind buzzed, and he shouted at the top of his lungs, "Zhao Qingjiang! Zhao Qingjiang, come here and take a look!"
If this shrew Liu Cuilan tried to blackmail Zhou Zhaodi, he, as her father, wouldn't have a moment of peace.
Wu Mingwei stood to the side, watching in stunned silence.
Wangjia Village was notoriously backward in the commune, and seeing it today, it truly lived up to its reputation.
The commune officials couldn't be bothered to watch this farce any longer. They escorted the dejected Wang Haichao and his gang back to the commune.
Meanwhile, Zhao Qingjiang had crouched down and pulled aside Liu Cuilan's trouser leg to take a look.
Liu Cuilan was in her forties and had finally managed to get pregnant. With two consecutive bouts of bleeding, she probably wouldn't be able to keep the baby.
Zhao Qingjiang sighed, gave her an injection, and waved to the brothers Wang Haihu and Wang Hailong nearby, telling them to take her back first.
Liu Cuilan, however, refused to let it go. She struggled to get up from the ground, wanting to lunge at Zhou Zhaodi again, but Zhou Zhaodi had long since run away.
She turned and threw herself in front of Zhou Dana, grabbing the lapels of his clothes and crying, "Your daughter hit me! She killed my baby! If you don't give me an explanation tonight, I'll die right here!"
Blood trickled down Liu Cuilan's trouser legs. Zhou Dana completely panicked; if someone really died, this would become a massive incident.
He roared at the Wang brothers, "Quick! Take her home!"
Wang Haichao and Wang Haibao had just been arrested, and Wang Hailong and Wang Haihu were suppressing a bellyful of anger. They wouldn't listen to Zhou Dana.
Wang Hailong stiffened his neck and shouted, "She's bleeding like this! What if she dies when we get her home? Your daughter Zhou Zhaodi beat her up. She ran away, and you're her father, so you have to take responsibility!"
"That's right!" Wang Haihu chimed in from the side.
The blood kept flowing, and Zhou Dana broke out in a cold sweat.
His own daughter caused this trouble, and as the village secretary, there was no way he could shirk this responsibility.
Gritting his teeth, he turned and rushed into the room, pulled ten yuan from a drawer, and stuffed it into the hands of a team leader. "Take this money, go with them, and send her to the commune health clinic!"
No matter how shrewish Liu Cuilan was, she was afraid of dying. As she bled more and more, she felt dizzy and her vision blurred. With waves of heavy pain in her stomach, she had no strength left to make a fuss.
Several people awkwardly lifted her onto a handcart. She lay paralyzed on it, still cursing intermittently, "Zhou Zhaodi... I'm not done with you..."
After Liu Cuilan was pulled away, the onlooking villagers slowly dispersed.
Wang Xiaohong also stumbled her way home, her steps uneven.
Last night, she stayed at Aunt Zhou's house for a while, then ran to the brigade headquarters again.
No matter how worthless Wang Jieshi was, he was still her biological brother.
He only had one crippled leg left. If he was locked up, he would definitely be bullied to death.
She originally wanted to beg the police comrades for mercy, but as soon as she squeezed to the front, she heard Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao saying that Zhou Zhijun and Chuntao were having an illicit affair.
That blue handkerchief and that small mirror were indeed found under Chuntao's bed.
At the time, Chuntao said she picked them up in the East Ditch, and she believed her one hundred percent.
But looking at the chaotic scene, her mind became a tangled mess. Standing dazed in the crowd, she completely forgot about pleading for Wang Jieshi.
She didn't even notice when Wang Jieshi was taken away by the police. It wasn't until she heard someone shout, "Liu Cuilan is bleeding!" that she suddenly snapped back to reality.
Liu Cuilan was loaded onto the handcart and sent to the commune clinic. She didn't follow them, but instead stumbled her way home.
She hated Liu Cuilan, hated that she had gotten together with that hooligan Wang Haichao. If she had chosen Zhou Zhijun back then, how would all these awful things have happened?
"Sister!" came Wang Xiaoming's shout from behind. He caught up in a few steps, asking breathlessly, "Where is our sister-in-law?"
Overnight, so many things had happened; Wang Xiaohong simply couldn't accept it.
What she couldn't accept the most was Zhou Zhijun and Chuntao.
Although that handkerchief and small round mirror were ultimately proven to be the tricks of the Wang Haichao brothers, did that prove they were innocent?
Past events, one by one, swirled in her mind like a movie playing.
Zhou Zhijun was truly too good to Chuntao.
Not to mention protecting her at every turn, he prioritized her with everything they ate and used.
When she was hospitalized in the city, he even bought her intimate underwear like vests and panties.
She had never suspected anything before, and only now did she feel like a total fool.
Wang Xiaohong held in a bellyful of anger, keeping her head down and walking forward without saying a word.
Wang Xiaoming grew anxious and asked again, "Sister, what's wrong? Where exactly is our sister-in-law?"
He grabbed Wang Xiaohong's arm. Wang Xiaohong couldn't hold back anymore; she violently shook off his hand and roared at him, "I don't know!"
Wang Xiaoming was startled by her appearance and let go of his hand.
Several villagers nearby, seeing Wang Xiaohong like this, began to whisper among themselves.
"This girl Wang Xiaohong is usually quite bossy in the village. What's wrong with her today?"
"Her brother was taken away by the police, why didn't she even try to stop them?"
"Ha, just a paper tiger! She acts tough in Wangjia Village, but her legs probably turned to jelly when she saw the police!"
"Look at her; she must absolutely hate Liu Cuilan, otherwise why wouldn't she go to the clinic..."
Wang Xiaoming looked at Wang Xiaohong's dispirited appearance, didn't dare to ask any more, and turned around to run home.
Those two bastards, Wang Haichao and Wang Jieshi, actually came up with the filthy idea of borrowing seed to have a child. They were simply inhuman!
Chuntao had endured so much suffering already. Now, falling victim to their cruel schemes, Wang Xiaoming feared she might be pushed over the edge and do something foolish.
"Sister-in-law! Sister-in-law!" Wang Xiaoming called out as he dashed into his courtyard. He scoured the place inside and out, but there was no sign of Chuntao.
His heart leaped into his throat. Spinning on his heel, he sprinted toward Zhou Zhijun's house.
Just as he rounded the corner, he collided with someone rushing toward him in a sheer panic. The person grabbed his arm tightly. "Xiaoming, something terrible has happened..."
