"Chuntao, if you are willing to leave the Wang family, I can help you..."
Chuntao had always regarded Li Mingliang as her benefactor and respected him from the bottom of her heart, but at this moment, he suddenly grabbed her wrist.
Panicked and confused, Chuntao abruptly pulled her hand away, her voice trembling. "Brother Mingliang, thank you for your kindness... I'm going back!"
She rushed out of the melon shed in a flurry, and Li Mingliang chased right after her. "Chuntao, you are still young, and you have a long life ahead of you. You have to think for yourself..."
Hearing the commotion, a person outside the shed quickly hunched over and hid on the other side, a pair of venomous eyes glaring fixedly at Chuntao's receding figure.
...
Zhou Zhijun arrived at the commune compound and went straight to the police station to find Wu Mingwei. A female comrade on duty at the station told him that Wu Mingwei had gone out of town on a business trip.
"I want to split my household registration and get a new household register!" Zhou Zhijun said.
"It's a special period right now, and the commune isn't handling household splits. Go ask at the county level and see if they can do it!"
As Zhou Zhijun rode his bicycle out of the commune compound, he ran head-on into Liu Cuilan.
Her hair was as messy as a chicken's nest, her eyes were bloodshot with dark circles underneath, and she was grinding her teeth audibly.
"Zhou Zhijun, you bastard! It's all because of you! You ruined my family!
If my life is miserable, don't think you can live comfortably either! I'm going to fight you to the death today!"
It turned out that Wang Haihu had told her about Chuntao staying at Zhou Zhijun's house, and also mentioned that on his way over, he saw Zhou Zhijun riding his bike toward the commune.
Hearing this, Liu Cuilan struggled up from her hospital bed and stumbled all the way to the commune compound.
If it weren't for Zhou Zhijun, Wang Haichao and the others wouldn't have been arrested, and she wouldn't have lost the baby in her belly. Liu Cuilan wished she could lunge at him and bite off a piece of his flesh.
Cursing, Liu Cuilan threw herself at him. Because Zhou Zhijun was tall, she couldn't reach his face at all and could only wildly tear at his clothes.
Seeing this scene, Wang Xiaohong rushed forward to pull Liu Cuilan back. Wang Xiaoming also ran over, and the siblings had to exert a great deal of effort to finally hold Liu Cuilan back.
"Zhou Zhijun, you are not human! You ruined my family! I'm not done with you!"
Unable to break free, Liu Cuilan could only stand on her tiptoes and curse. Her voice was sharp and piercing, and it wasn't long before she attracted a crowd of onlookers who pointed and whispered at her.
Zhou Zhijun didn't have time to deal with her. He wanted to go to the higher authorities in the county town to ask if he could get a temporary household register for Chuntao.
The noon bus to the county town had already left, so Zhou Zhijun had to spend two yuan to rent a large tricycle, rushing toward the county town as fast as he could.
Upon arriving at the county town, Zhou Zhijun found a police station without much trouble. After explaining the situation, the staff member said, "Have her come here in person!"
"It's not convenient for her to come. Can I apply for one on her behalf..."
Zhou Zhijun had always been a tough man his entire life and had never groveled to anyone. But this time, for Chuntao's sake, he pleaded endlessly with the staff, nearly wearing his lips out, yet they still wouldn't budge.
Zhou Zhijun had no choice but to take the large tricycle back home. By the time he arrived, it was already the middle of the night.
Aunt Zhou and Chuntao were still awake, sitting under the kerosene lamp doing needlework while waiting for him.
As soon as Zhou Zhijun walked through the door, he told them about the household register. Of course, he didn't mention his plan to get a marriage certificate with Chuntao. He wanted to wait until everything was settled before telling his mother about his relationship with Chuntao.
Finally, he looked at Chuntao and said, "First thing tomorrow morning, I'll take you into town."
Aunt Zhou looked at Chuntao and said, "Tao, once your household register is sorted, your godmother will find you a cadre with a government job! I guarantee you'll eat well, drink well, and enjoy a life of comfort!"
Chuntao's small face grew hot from Aunt Zhou's words, burning like fire. She buried her head low, not daring to glance at Zhou Zhijun.
Zhou Zhijun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Oh, Mother, you're undermining your own son and stealing his girl right from under him!
He coughed dryly twice to break the awkward silence. "It's getting late, let's all go to sleep! We have to leave early tomorrow!"
Chuntao and Aunt Zhou shared a bed. Aunt Zhou started snoring the moment her head hit the pillow, but Chuntao tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
Her heart was filled with anxiety, and her left eyelid kept twitching wildly, as if something bad was about to happen.
At the first crow of the rooster, Aunt Zhou got up to cook, and Chuntao got up with her to help tend the fire.
Zhou Zhijun drank two large bowls of porridge and ate a big white steamed bun, but Chuntao had no appetite. She just poked at the porridge in her bowl with her chopsticks, barely taking a few sips after a long while.
"Eat a little something, it's a long journey!" Zhou Zhijun handed her half a steamed bun and a salted egg.
Forcing herself, Chuntao swallowed the half bun but left the salted egg untouched.
Zhou Zhijun put the egg in his pocket and said, "Eat it later on the road when you get hungry."
It wasn't fully light yet when they finished breakfast. Zhou Zhijun pushed his bicycle out the front gate.
He got on, resting his arms on the handlebars and planting both feet on the ground, turning his head to wait for Chuntao to get on.
Farmers woke up early; by this time, there were already people in twos and threes carrying hoes and sickles, heading to the fields to work.
Chuntao was thin-skinned and afraid of being seen and gossiped about. Blushing, she said, "Brother Zhijun, you ride ahead first, and I'll catch up with you via the small path!"
"Hurry up! If you keep dawdling, it'll be noon by the time we reach the county town!"
Zhou Zhijun frowned and urged her in a low voice, "The more you act coy, the more people will gossip.
Just sit on the back openly and naturally. We have nothing to hide, so let them talk!"
Chuntao was shy. Whenever she thought of those matters, her heart thumped wildly like a rabbit trapped in her chest.
But she didn't dare delay their important business, so she gritted her teeth and forced herself to sit on the back seat of the bicycle.
"Hold on tight, I'm off!"
Just as Zhou Zhijun finished speaking and was about to start pedaling, a sharp yell came from behind.
"Li Chuntao—"
Zhou Zhijun and Chuntao turned their heads at the same time. On the dirt road behind them, they saw a few figures stumbling toward them, their faces unclear.
