The person running over was Zhao Tiezhu, the small team captain in the village.
Just now, he, another team captain, and the Wang Haihu brothers had taken Liu Cuilan to the commune clinic on a cart.
Halfway there, they suddenly realized that Liu Cuilan had stopped breathing. Zhao Tiezhu immediately turned back to notify Zhou Dana and the Wang Xiaoming siblings.
"Xiaoming, where's your sister? You two hurry to the clinic, I'm going to call the party secretary!"
Before Wang Xiaoming could react, Zhao Tiezhu took off running.
Earlier in the brigade courtyard, Wang Xiaoming had seen with his own eyes that his mother was bleeding a lot. He just felt she brought it upon herself and didn't want to care at all.
Looking at Zhao Tiezhu's panicked appearance, he knew his mother must be seriously ill.
Chuntao was missing, and his mother was like this. Wang Xiaoming's head was buzzing, and for a moment he didn't know what to do.
"Xiaoming!" Zhou Zhijun walked over with large strides and called out to him.
Seeing him, Wang Xiaoming felt like he had grabbed a lifeline, his voice carrying a sob. "Uncle Zhijun, my sister-in-law is missing!"
Zhou Zhijun's heart skipped a beat. Last night he had carried Chuntao back to his own home on his back. With his mother watching her, how could she be missing?
He took two steps to his own front door, pushed it open, and rushed in.
It was already dawn by now. Aunt Zhou was in the kitchen making breakfast. Seeing Zhou Zhijun return with an anxious face, she quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhou Zhijun said urgently, "Mother, where's Chuntao?"
Aunt Zhou sighed and added a handful of firewood to the stove. "She didn't close her eyes all night and just fell asleep."
She paused and couldn't help but spit, "Wang Haichao and Wang Jieshi, those bastards, actually did such an unconscionable thing!"
Zhou Zhijun's eyes darkened, and his voice was cold and hard. "They have already been taken away by the people from the commune and will definitely be severely punished!"
"It's best if they are never let back to harm people again!"
Aunt Zhou wiped the corners of her eyes, muttering with heartache, "Chuntao, this girl, cannot suffer this kind of torment again!"
Wang Xiaoming, who had followed him in, heard the conversation between mother and son, and a complex emotion flashed in his eyes.
Aunt Zhou was about to say something more when she turned her head and saw Wang Xiaoming at the door.
Seeing his pale face and red eyes, she quickly walked to the door, grabbed his arm, and asked, "Xiaoming, what's wrong with you? Are you alright?"
Learning that Chuntao was at Aunt Zhou's house, Wang Xiaoming's nose tingled, and tears instantly welled up.
"Granny, please help me watch over my sister-in-law!" Saying this, he turned and ran out.
Last night, he had unloaded a cart full of watermelons, originally planning to take them to Nangang to sell today.
But now his mother was seriously injured. Although he hated her in his heart, he couldn't really ignore her.
And his brother, Wang Jieshi, was simply not human!
Wang Xiaoming ran along the small path of Donggou towards the commune, his mind full of the ugly faces of Wang Haichao, Wang Jieshi, and the others.
On the other side, Zhao Tiezhu saw Wang Xiaohong and told her everything about Liu Cuilan, urging her to hurry to the clinic.
Wang Xiaohong's mind was a mess. After reacting, she ran east.
With scums like Wang Haichao and Wang Jieshi appearing in Wangjiazhai, Zhou Dana was already overwhelmed.
Now Zhou Zhaodi had smashed Liu Cuilan into a miscarriage. If someone really died, not only would they have to pay a large sum of money, but they might also end up in jail.
Hearing Zhao Tiezhu say that Liu Cuilan had already lost consciousness, Zhou Dana didn't dare to delay for a moment. He got on his bicycle and rushed to the commune clinic with Zhao Tiezhu.
As for Chuntao, she slept in Aunt Zhou's room until late morning.
She opened her eyes and looked at everything around her. It wasn't her room, and she suddenly sat up.
Her head was aching and heavy, her cheeks were hot, but her body felt waves of coldness.
Where was this? She rubbed her swollen temples, and her chaotic mind slowly cleared up.
Thinking of the scene from last night, her heart tightened in waves.
She had previously felt that Wang Jieshi's change was abnormal, and now she understood that the crux was here.
To "borrow seed to have a child," they really racked their brains.
First they went to the East Mountain for "treatment," and then they found someone to come to the house to "see the illness." Wang Jieshi also said his illness was cured, but it was all a lie.
Fortunately, Zhou Zhijun brought people and arrived in time, otherwise...
Chuntao didn't dare to think any further, and her eyes turned red.
She curled up her legs, buried her face in her knees, and her thin body trembled uncontrollably.
"Tao'er, are you awake?"
Aunt Zhou lifted the door curtain and walked in. Seeing Chuntao in this state, she thought she was crying, so she lightened her steps and called out softly.
Chuntao suddenly raised her head and looked at Aunt Zhou. Her eyes were full of tears, but she held them back from falling.
Seeing her small face flushed, Aunt Zhou quickly reached out to touch her forehead. This touch gave her a fright.
"Tao'er, do you have a fever? You're so hot!"
Chuntao only felt cold all over, and her teeth chattered uncontrollably. "I'm freezing!"
Aunt Zhou helped her lie down. "You definitely have a fever. I'll go call Zhao Qingjiang to come and take a look at you!" Saying this, she turned and walked out.
Zhao Qingjiang had a patient at his house. He told Aunt Zhou to go back first and said he would go over immediately after finishing the work at hand.
Aunt Zhou rushed back to the room and quickly boiled a bowl of piping hot ginger sugar water for Chuntao.
"Drink some hot water quickly. You'll be fine once you sweat it out!"
While Chuntao was holding the bowl and taking small sips of water, Zhou Zhijun returned.
He was weeding in the fields, feeling very anxious and worried about Chuntao, so he shouldered his hoe and came back early.
Seeing Chuntao's flushed face and trembling body, he quickly stepped forward and asked, "What's wrong?"
Aunt Zhou sighed, "She has a fever. I already went to call Zhao Qingjiang. He said he'll be here in a while."
Hearing this, Zhou Zhijun turned and rushed out.
As soon as he rushed out the gate, he saw Zhao Qingjiang hurrying over with his medicine box on his back.
"Where is she?" Zhao Qingjiang asked urgently.
"In my mother's room!"
The two walked quickly into the room. Zhao Qingjiang took out a thermometer, wiped it with an alcohol swab, and handed it to Chuntao. "Here, put it under your tongue and take your temperature."
When he took out the thermometer and looked at it, Zhao Qingjiang was also startled: "Such a high fever! Thirty-nine degrees!"
Aunt Zhou and Zhou Zhijun's hearts instantly clenched into a ball upon hearing this.
"Qingjiang, quick, give her a fever-reducing shot first!" Aunt Zhou urged anxiously from the side.
Zhao Qingjiang didn't dare to delay. He immediately gave Chuntao a shot and wrapped up a few packets of medicine, saying, "Take the medicine quickly, and remember to avoid the wind.
If the fever doesn't go down in half an hour, hurry and call me!"
Zhou Zhijun turned and ran to the kitchen, quickly bringing a bowl of hot water for Chuntao to take her medicine.
Aunt Zhou said, "You watch over her here. I'll go cook a bowl of dough drop soup. It's bad for the stomach to be empty."
As soon as Aunt Zhou left, Zhou Zhijun sat on the edge of the bed.
He held a handful of pills in one hand and more than half a bowl of warm water in the other. His voice was deep but carried a rare gentleness. "Tao'er, come, take your medicine."
Chuntao had been afraid of taking medicine since she was a child. Others swallowed it all at once, but she had to swallow it slowly, pill by pill.
When she encountered large pills, she had to break them in half before she could swallow them.
She took the small pills first, and finally, only one analgin pill was left.
The pill was large and bitter; she frowned just looking at it, unable to swallow it down.
"I can't swallow it. Please break it in half."
Zhou Zhijun broke the Analgin pill into two. Only then did Chuntao furrow her brows and force it down, the bitterness bringing tears to her eyes.
She thought of the life she had been living, which was even more bitter than this medicine.
"Tao'er, get some sleep," Zhou Zhijun said, his heart aching as he looked at her pale little face.
Lying in bed, Chuntao suddenly remembered the cartload of watermelons they had unloaded the night before.
While she was lying here, Wang Xiaohong and her brother must have gone to sell the melons.
With the two of them gone, there was no one left to watch the melon field.
In these times, anyone passing by the field—whether cutting grass, herding cows, or working in the fields—would be tempted to snatch a couple of melons.
"Brother Zhijun, Xiaohong and Xiaoming went to sell the melons. I have to go watch the field!"
She said this while struggling to sit up.
Zhou Zhijun quickly pressed down on her shoulders, a hint of command in his voice. "You have such a high fever, why are you still worrying about the melon field?
Be good, lie down properly to stay out of the draft, and don't go anywhere!"
"But how can we leave the field unattended? I've already taken my medicine, I'll just go lie down in the melon hut!" Chuntao was so anxious her eyes turned red.
Just then, Aunt Zhou walked in carrying a bowl of egg drop dough soup. Hearing Chuntao's words, she hurriedly advised, "You're sick, don't worry about those things!"
She then turned to Zhou Zhijun and said, "Zhijun, why don't you go check on the melon field?"
"Alright!" Zhou Zhijun agreed, then urged Chuntao again, "Eat your food and get a good sleep. Don't overthink!"
Zhou Zhijun turned and walked out the door, thinking to himself that the crimes committed by the Wang Haichao brothers and Wang Jieshi were not light. Coming right during the strict anti-crime campaign, they definitely wouldn't get a lenient sentence.
This time, he was determined to save Chuntao from her sea of suffering and give her a good life!
