Zhou Zhijun looked at Chuntao and said in a deep voice, "A woman should just live her life steadily, don't let your imagination run wild!"
How could things change overnight? Li Dazhuang couldn't figure it out, but seeing Zhou Zhijun's serious look, he believed these words.
As long as Zhou Zhijun and his mother didn't interfere, Chuntao wouldn't leave the Wang family.
Zhou Zhijun's words were like a reassuring pill for Li Dazhuang.
He ran home excitedly and repeated Zhou Zhijun's words word for word to Grandma Shen and Wang Lanhua.
Grandma Shen's brows instantly twisted into a big knot, and she muttered, "What exactly is this Zhou Zhijun up to?"
"Zhou Zhijun is an old fox, I'm afraid there's some trick here!"
Wang Lanhua curled her lips and snorted softly, "I don't think it's that simple!"
"Who cares if it's simple or not, as long as Chuntao doesn't leave, it's fine!" Li Dazhuang waved his big hand and said carelessly.
As for Wang Jieshi, he stayed in the hospital for five days and then went home.
On the day he was discharged, Zhou Zhijun asked Chuntao to go back to take care of him, and didn't say a word about anything else.
At night, Wang Jieshi had a nightmare.
He dreamed that he had become Wu Dalang, and Zhou Zhijun and Chuntao were that adulterous couple Ximen Qing and Pan Jinlian.
Chuntao brought a bowl of dark, bitter medicine soup and forced him to drink it.
As soon as the medicine went down his throat, his stomach felt like it was being gouged by a sharp knife, and he rolled on the ground in pain.
He let out a miserable scream and suddenly woke up from the dream, covered in cold sweat, his heart almost jumping out of his chest.
Wang Jieshi felt that Chuntao would put medicine in his food, and he was even more afraid that she would be ruthless to him when he was fast asleep in the middle of the night.
The next day, he refused to eat the food Chuntao brought. At night, he asked Wang Xiaoming to sleep in his room, and Chuntao slept in the melon field with Wang Xiaohong to watch the melons.
The sisters-in-law, who used to talk about everything, were now very awkward. Lying on the bamboo bed in the melon shed, neither of them spoke.
Chuntao felt stifled in her heart. Several times she wanted to talk to Wang Xiaohong, but the words reached her lips and she swallowed them back.
She was afraid that Wang Xiaohong would ignore her, and even more afraid of hearing those heart-piercing words.
"Xiaohong, do you... hate me?" Chuntao finally couldn't hold back and spoke first.
"I hate myself!" She hated herself for being blind and trusting Chuntao and Zhou Zhijun so much, but they...
Although she hadn't caught any solid evidence, recalling what had happened over the past year, she was 100% sure that they had hooked up a long time ago.
But Wang Xiaohong couldn't figure out why Zhou Zhijun had suddenly changed in just a few days.
Not only did he not let Chuntao live in his house, but he also kept a straight face in front of her and told Chuntao to serve Wang Jieshi well.
Hmph, this must be Zhou Zhijun's trick, he must be plotting some bad idea behind her back!
In the blink of an eye, it was the day for the Li family to invite people to eat happy noodles. Chuntao got up before dawn to prepare.
According to the rules in the countryside of southern Henan, when a married daughter gives birth to a child, she invites her maiden family to eat happy noodles, and the congratulatory gifts must be carried on a shoulder pole to be decent.
The two woven baskets were full. The bottom layer was paved with wheat, a layer of eggs was stacked on top of the wheat, on top of the eggs were fine dried noodles and a few packets of brown sugar, and on the very top were a few small floral clothes she had rushed to make for the child overnight.
This load of things weighed more than a hundred catties, and she had to walk more than twenty miles of dirt road. Ordinary people couldn't carry it.
After much thought, Chuntao had no choice but to ask Zhou Zhijun to carry the load.
But she was also afraid that Wang Lanhua would make a scene if she saw it. If she made a scene in front of relatives, it would be too embarrassing.
Just as she was sitting on the threshold worrying, footsteps came from outside the courtyard door.
Looking up, Zhou Zhijun had actually come dressed neatly, holding a carrying pole tied with a red string.
"I'll carry the load for you!"
Unable to find anyone else, Chuntao didn't decline.
Wang Jieshi in the inner room heard it clearly and cursed inwardly, Zhou Zhijun, you won't be jumping around for a few days!
Zhou Zhijun carried the load and walked in front, and Chuntao carried a cloth bag and followed behind. The bag contained cloth shoes she had made for her grandmother and niece.
Just after walking out of the village, seeing that there was no one around, Zhou Zhijun lowered his voice and told his plan.
After hearing this, Chuntao finally understood what medicine Zhou Zhijun was selling in his gourd.
"There are so many people today. What if someone sees us?"
"It's exactly because there are many people that it's good to get things done! When the time comes, the courtyard will be chaotic, who will notice you..."
The two hurried, and when they arrived at Li Family Village, it was already late morning.
The Li family's courtyard and outside were already crowded with people. The neighbors had all come to help. Those washing vegetables, lighting fires, and setting tables were talking and laughing, and it was very lively.
According to the old local rules, when a daughter gives birth to a child and invites her maiden family to eat happy noodles, the maiden mother cannot come, for fear of ruining the joy. Liu Cuilan asked Wang Haihu and Wang Hailong to come.
Chuntao's heart tightened, and she suddenly became anxious. These two people were not good things. If they found out, it would be troublesome.
Today the Li family was fully treating. Except for relatives, all the people in the village came.
More than a dozen tables were set up inside and outside the house, and each table was packed. Adults sat, and children stood holding onto the edge of the table.
Chuntao was a married daughter. She was not a guest when she returned to her maiden home to eat happy noodles. She had no place to sit, so she picked up a little food and sat in the kitchen eating with a bowl.
After three rounds of wine and five flavors of dishes, the banquet reached its most lively moment.
The men drank until their faces and necks were red, and the sound of finger-guessing games shook the sky, "Five chiefs! Six six six!" Saliva flew everywhere.
The women gathered together, chatting about family affairs of the east family and the west family.
The village chief held a wine cup, stood up tremblingly, and shouted at the top of his voice, "Our old Li family has added a big fat boy, which is a great joy for our whole village!
I toast everyone, and also wish this child a promising future, to pass the college entrance examination and become a big official!"
As soon as the voice fell, the people in the courtyard raised their cups and bowls and cheered along.
Grandma Shen and Li Dazhuang also came out cheerfully, toasting everyone table by table, and the wrinkles on their faces smiled like a flower.
Chuntao put down her bowl, quietly slipped into the main room in the chaos, and tiptoed into Grandma Shen's room.
Before she got married, she saw a blue cloth bag at the head of her grandmother's bed, wrapped tightly layer by layer. Inside were all kinds of shoe patterns, as well as colorful silk threads and scraps of cloth.
She remembered that there seemed to be a green book hidden in the bundle. She didn't look closely at the time, and didn't know if it was the family's household registration book.
Chuntao had been well-behaved since she was a child. This was the first time in her life she had done such a sneaky thing. Her heart was in her throat, and her palms were sweating.
She held her breath and hurriedly rummaged through the things in the room. Under the quilt, in the corner of the wooden box, and in the broken wooden cabinet with peeling paint at the head of the bed, she searched everything, and finally found the blue cloth bag.
Chuntao's small face flushed red, and beads of sweat on her forehead flowed down her cheeks.
Her cloth shirt was also soaked with sweat, clinging tightly to her back.
With trembling hands, she opened the thick blue cloth bag. The cloth scraps inside were pressed flat, and there were several brightly colored fine silk threads.
She opened the cloth scraps and didn't find the green book, but saw a red handkerchief. She carefully opened it, and there was actually a silver ring wrapped inside.
A ring? She had never seen her grandmother wear one.
With no time to dwell on it, she hurriedly wrapped the ring back up and tucked it safely away.
What she really needed to find was the household register. But even after scouring every possible place, she still could not find it.
The noise outside was as loud and bustling as a lively country fair, leaving Chuntao with her heart in her throat. Moving with the utmost care, she gently placed the blue cloth bundle into the wooden chest.
She had just set it inside, the lid of the chest not yet closed, when the door curtain was suddenly thrown open with a sharp swish.
Chuntao jumped in fright, spinning around abruptly to look up at the doorway.
