Zhou Zhijun's hand holding the bowl paused for a moment, and Chun Tao's heart also skipped a beat.
Earlier in the morning, she heard Zhou Xiaowei say that Liu Cuilan was bleeding and was taken to the commune health center... Could something have happened to her?
Chun Tao and Wang Jieshi didn't have a marriage certificate, nor did they have a de facto marriage. They weren't a married couple at all, and Liu Cuilan certainly wasn't her mother-in-law. What's more, she often beat and scolded Chun Tao, so she didn't care about her life or death.
But hearing the crying and shouting outside, Chun Tao's heart still inexplicably tightened.
"Brother Zhijun, go out and have a look!"
Zhou Zhijun glanced at her, handed the bowl to her, and walked out of the room.
Aunt Zhou and Old Man Zhou also holding their bowls, walked out of the gate and followed the sound to the back of the east room.
They saw a lot of people gathered by the threshing floor across the road. Zhou Zhiguo was pulling an old yellow ox, with a person lying horizontally across its back, slowly turning in circles.
Aunt Zhou's heart skipped a beat.
As they walked closer, they realized the person on the ox's back was Huang Meili.
Zhou Zhimin was slumped on the ground, and the three children were squatting next to him, crying at the top of their lungs, out of breath.
Huang Meili usually liked to take advantage of others and gossip, so Aunt Zhou was very annoyed by her.
But at this life-and-death moment, she was still her daughter-in-law, so they couldn't just ignore her.
"What's going on?" Aunt Zhou shoved her bowl into Old Man Zhou's hands and quickly walked over to Zhou Zhimin. Old Man Zhou also frowned and followed.
Zhou Xiaowei, who was soaking wet with water dripping from his trouser legs, saw Zhou Zhijun standing behind the crowd and squeezed over.
"Second Uncle! My dad and I went to the river dam to take a bath and happened to see Third Aunt fall into the water!
I pulled her out, and she threw up a lot of water when we got her to the shore, but she just won't wake up. Could she..." Zhou Xiaowei's face was full of anxiety.
Zhou Zhijun also didn't like the behavior of Zhou Zhimin and his wife, but they were blood brothers after all. Blood is thicker than water.
He rushed over in three steps, pulled Huang Meili down from the ox's back without a word, and laid her flat on the ground.
Last time Zhou Zhaodi fell into the river dam, it was Zhou Zhijun who saved her.
The villagers instantly held their breath, their eyes all fixed on Zhou Zhijun.
When the sisters Zhou Xiaoying and Zhou Xiaomei saw this scene, their cries suddenly stuck in their throats, and their eyes widened.
Usually, their grandmother and Second Uncle hated their family the most. Was Second Uncle trying to take the opportunity to harm their mother today?
Zhou Xiaoying reacted the fastest. With a howl, she pounced on Huang Meili and lay tightly on top of her, "Don't touch my mother! Don't even think about hurting her!"
When Aunt Zhou saw this, she went to pull Zhou Xiaoying, "You wretched girl! Are you blind? Your Second Uncle is saving your mother! You ungrateful thing!"
Wang Haiying also hurried up to help, "Xiaoying, get up quickly! Stop messing around! If we delay any longer, your mother really won't make it!"
Zhou Xiaoying was forcefully pulled aside. Zhou Zhijun squatted down, pressed the heel of his palm firmly against Huang Meili's chest, and pressed down rhythmically.
Zhou Zhimin also stumbled forward, staring at Zhou Zhijun's hands without blinking.
With the rise and fall of the hands, his heart also leaped into his throat, feeling anxious and unsettled.
After a good while, some muddy water mixed with sand slowly trickled out of the corner of Huang Meili's mouth, flowing down her chin and into her neck.
Zhou Zhimin clumsily lifted the corner of his clothes to help wipe it off.
At this time, Zhao Qingjiang also ran over panting, followed by Zhou Hongxia.
He squatted down, put his ear near Huang Meili's mouth and nose to listen, and then reached out to feel her carotid artery, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.
"Uncle Qingjiang, how is it?" Wang Haiying asked anxiously from the side, and Zhou Xiaoying and her sisters also forgot to cry, looking at him together.
"I can't feel a pulse!" As soon as Zhao Qingjiang finished speaking, everyone's hearts instantly twisted into a knot.
Zhou Zhijun knew clearly in his heart that he had to do artificial respiration at this time.
He turned his head and shouted at Zhou Zhimin, "Pinch her nose, open her mouth, and blow air in!"
As soon as these words came out, the watching villagers immediately exploded into an uproar, whispering and discussing.
Zhou Zhimin couldn't care about being embarrassed at this moment. As long as he could save Huang Meili's life, he was willing to do anything.
Following Zhou Zhijun's instructions, he pinched Huang Meili's nose with trembling hands, pried open her mouth, and blew hard into it.
This action was a huge novelty in the rural areas of southern Henan in this era.
Everyone had only seen men and women kissing in movies, where had they seen this in reality?
Several young girls and young wives were so ashamed that they quickly covered their eyes, but they couldn't help peeking through their fingers.
After blowing two breaths, Zhou Zhijun immediately took over and continued to press on Huang Meili's chest rhythmically.
"Mother! Wake up, Mother..." Zhou Xiaoying and her sisters were covered in tears, crying and shouting at the top of their lungs until their voices were hoarse.
After a lot of effort, Huang Meili suddenly choked out a mouthful of water, made a "ho-ho" sound in her throat, and slowly opened her eyes.
The onlookers finally breathed a sigh of relief and dispersed while discussing.
Almost losing her life over a few watermelons. Huang Meili was carried home on Zhou Zhimin's back, groaning all the way.
"If it wasn't for that bastard Zhou Zhijun, would I have fallen into the river dam? He's really not a good person!"
Huang Meili's body was as soft as mud, but her mouth was unforgiving, still cursing.
"If it wasn't for the second brother, you would have died long ago!" Zhou Zhimin retorted angrily, "Is it worth it for two melons?"
Zhou Xiaoying muttered softly on the side, "It's not his family's melon, why does he care so much!"
"Enough! Stop nagging!" Zhou Zhimin glared at her, "Now the whole country is cracking down on crimes, and you still dare to steal melons? Aren't you afraid of being caught and locked up?"
Saying that, Zhou Zhimin bent down, preparing to hide the two watermelons that the Zhou Xiaoying sisters had brought back.
Just then, two men walked in through the courtyard gate, both wearing washed-out navy blue coarse cloth short sleeves, with red armbands with white characters reading "Joint Defense" on their arms. They were from the commune's joint defense team.
Zhou Zhimin's heart instantly skipped a beat, and sweat poured down his back.
He glared fiercely at the Zhou Xiaoying sisters, forced a flattering smile on his face, and quickly went up to greet them.
"Comrades, what brings you here? Come inside, take a seat!"
One of the men said with a straight face, "We received a report from the masses that Huang Meili took some children to steal someone else's watermelons! Tell her to come with us to the commune and explain things clearly!"
Hearing this, Zhou Zhimin's legs went soft, and he almost fell headlong to the ground.
How could he have imagined that two watermelons would cause such a big fuss. The Zhou Xiaoying sisters were also so scared that they shrank their necks and didn't dare to breathe.
Huang Meili, lying on the bed in the inner room, heard the words outside, and her face turned pale. She thought to herself, it must be that coward Zhou Zhijun who reported them!
"Comrades!" Zhou Zhimin said with an apologetic smile, "Huang Meili is my wife. She just fell into the river dam and almost drowned. She is still paralyzed in bed and can't get up!
Besides, how could she dare to steal melons, it's all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
The two joint defense team members didn't listen to his explanation at all and walked straight into the house.
Zhou Zhimin quickly followed them in. Seeing that he couldn't stop them, he simply didn't hide it anymore, "Comrades! It was my two girls who didn't know better and greedily picked two of someone else's watermelons!
"I've already scolded them severely! I'll have them take the watermelons back right now!"
He turned his head and roared at the two Zhou sisters, "What are you just standing there for? Hurry up and return the watermelons to them!"
Zhou Xiaoying and her sister were scared out of their wits. Not daring to delay for even a second, they each grabbed a watermelon and stumbled out the door.
"Take them right to their doorstep! And make sure you apologize properly!"
Zhou Zhimin shouted after them. He then turned back to bow and scrape before the joint defense patrolmen, swearing up and down that he would keep his children under strict discipline from now on.
In truth, the joint defense patrol had come today to arrest Zhou Ergan and Baldy Zhang.
Someone had reported that Zhou Ergan was coercing the Sichuan brute, and that Baldy Zhang had stolen a bicycle from a worker at the oil field.
The villagers who hadn't managed to get their hands on any watermelons felt resentful, so they conveniently reported Huang Meili for stealing melons as well.
In the past, a matter like this wouldn't have been worth mentioning, but catching the wind of the nationwide anti-crime campaign, even a matter as small as a sesame seed could be blown up to the size of a watermelon.
Meanwhile, Zhou Ergan and Baldy Zhang had already been escorted away by several other patrolmen.
Seeing that Zhou Zhimin's attitude was relatively sincere and that the two girls had indeed taken the watermelons back, the two patrolmen decided not to pursue the matter further. They simply gave him a severe dressing-down and a lecture before turning to leave.
The moment they stepped out, Huang Meili sat up in bed and cursed, "It must be that bastard Zhou Zhijun who snitched!
What exactly is that little slut Li Chuntao to him? Why is he protecting her like that!"
On the other side, the Zhou sisters carried the watermelons at a trot all the way to the door of Chuntao's kitchen. They set the melons down and immediately tried to slip away.
Who knew that the moment she turned around, Zhou Xiaoying would smack right into someone. She let out a terrified shriek, her face turning as white as a sheet.
