Hearing this, Zhou Zhaodi's eyes instantly widened. This little bitch Li Chuntao was pregnant?
Good! You adulterous couple actually made a baby! I'm going to the commune tomorrow to report you!
A sinister and cunning light flashed in Zhou Zhaodi's eyes. Not only were the two of them messing around, they even dared to break the rules of family planning!
She pressed her face against the crack of the door again, squeezing her winter melon face into a flat cake, tugging her ears with both hands to listen carefully, for fear of missing a single word.
"Did you eat something wrong? I'll go to Zhao Qingjiang's right now to get you some medicine!"
Chuntao raised her hand to press her churning chest, feeling uneasy.
She and Zhou Zhijun hadn't used anything the first few times, and she hadn't gotten pregnant. Later, they used something, and it was even safer.
But ever since that time they went to Wanggang to sell piglets, Zhou Zhijun said he got an injection that could last for a year or half.
It had only been a few months, and the medicine should still be working, so how could... Could she really be pregnant?
Her small face turned pale, and a surge of sour water rushed up, making her vomit again with a "wow".
She didn't have much of an appetite at dinner and only managed to drink a few mouthfuls of noodle soup, which she had now completely thrown up.
With her stomach empty, her body felt slightly more comfortable, but her legs were as soft as cotton, and she couldn't even stand steadily.
Zhou Zhijun gently patted her back and helped her up. "Go back to the room and lie down. I'll pour you some water to rinse your mouth, and then I'll go to Zhao Qingjiang's to get some medicine!"
Just as they were about to walk to the east room, they heard Aunt Zhou cursing outside the gate.
Aunt Zhou and her husband felt hot, so after drinking soup, they took a stroll along the main road north of the village. When they returned, they saw a figure clinging to their door.
Getting closer, it was actually Zhou Zhaodi! Aunt Zhou was instantly infuriated.
"Bah! I thought it was some wild dog squatting at my door, but it turns out to be you, you unruly dead girl!
Zhaodi, Zhaodi, didn't your parents teach you that peeping into other people's affairs will make your eyes rot?
Get out of here! If you stay here any longer, I'll call your father to peel off a layer of your skin!"
Zhou Zhaodi was concentrating on peeping into the yard through the crack in the door when Aunt Zhou's curses suddenly came from behind, almost scaring her soul away.
"Ouch! Oh my mother!" She turned around and tried to run like a monkey with a burned butt.
Her fat body was already clumsy, and she tripped over something unknown under her feet. With a muffled "smack", she fell solidly onto the muddy ground, her screams stuck in her throat, leaving only a hoarse humming sound.
"Ouch, it hurts to death!"
Her hands and face hit the hard mud, scraping the skin and causing a burning pain.
Hearing the commotion, Zhou Zhijun hurriedly helped Chuntao sit properly on a chair in the yard, took a few strides to the door, and pulled the gate open with a "clang".
Before Aunt Zhou and her husband could react, he had already stepped forward, grabbed Zhou Zhaodi by the back collar, and lifted her up like a sow.
His eyes were as cold as ice shards in the twelfth lunar month, and his voice was deep and hoarse, revealing a ruthlessness. "Zhou Zhaodi, if you come near my door again, I'll break your legs!"
Zhou Zhaodi rolled her eyes under the pressure of the collar, her toes leaving the ground, kicking and struggling wildly with her hands and feet.
She wanted to shout, but the collar tightly choked her neck, turning her face red, and she couldn't squeeze out a single word.
She opened her mouth and panted hoarsely. The sneaky look she had when she was peeping was completely gone, leaving only fear in her eyes and heart.
"Zhijun, let her go! Don't dirty the ground at our door!"
As soon as Aunt Zhou finished speaking, Zhou Zhijun suddenly let go.
Zhou Zhaodi's legs went soft, and she squatted back on the ground with a "plop", her throat feeling dry and painful as if it were smoking.
She hated it so much that her teeth itched, but she hurriedly defended herself. "I didn't do anything! I was just passing by!"
Zhou Zhijun squatted down, leaned close to Zhou Zhaodi's ear, and said coldly in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If you don't want to go to the cell to find Baldy Zhang, behave yourself."
After saying that, he stood up, turned around with Aunt Zhou and her husband, and entered the yard, bolting the gate with a "clang".
In the yard, Chuntao was still sitting on the chair.
She had heard the commotion outside clearly. It was Zhou Zhaodi eavesdropping outside the gate and happened to be caught red-handed by Aunt Zhou.
Zhou Zhaodi had always been jealous and resentful of her, racking her brains to catch a handle on her and Zhou Zhijun.
She must have heard her retching just now! Chuntao's heart tightened more and more, and the cold sweat on her back soaked her clothes.
Even if she wasn't really pregnant, Zhou Zhaodi would embellish and spread rumors about her.
If she really was... the consequences would be unimaginable!
Chuntao trembled uncontrollably all over, her upper and lower teeth chattering, making a soft "cluck" sound.
"Tao'er..." Seeing her sitting in the yard with a pale face under the moonlight, Aunt Zhou couldn't help but call out worriedly and walked quickly towards her.
Zhou Zhijun had already poured a bowl of warm water from the kitchen and handed it to Chuntao. "Drink some water to rinse your mouth. I'll go to Zhao Qingjiang's right now to get some medicine!"
"What's wrong? Why is your little face so white?" Aunt Zhou became even more worried, her brows furrowed into a knot.
Chuntao took the bowl, lacking even the strength to speak, and only gently shook her head.
Zhou Zhijun hurriedly said, "Her stomach feels uncomfortable. I'm going to get some medicine."
Aunt Zhou caught sight of the vomit on the ground out of the corner of her eye, and her brows furrowed even tighter. "Did she throw up? Did she eat something bad?"
Chuntao drank two mouthfuls of water, rinsed her mouth, and barely managed to make up a lie. "I was very thirsty, so I drank a scoop of cold water..."
Chuntao usually ate coarse grains and often went hungry. Her stomach was already weak, so this explanation made sense.
"You silly girl! You dare to drink cold water when your body is not well? You must drink warm water even in hot weather!" Aunt Zhou scolded gently.
She still hadn't figured out her situation. Regardless of whether she was really pregnant or not, this matter couldn't be known by anyone else.
Zhou Zhaodi had already heard it. If the whole village knew about it, Chuntao became more and more afraid as she thought about it.
"Brother Zhijun, don't go..." Chuntao hurriedly stopped him, her voice trembling. "I just got it from drinking cold water. I'm fine after throwing up. No need to get medicine."
Aunt Zhou nodded. "Alright then, don't go get medicine."
She turned back and said softly to Chuntao, "Go back to the room and lie down. I'll go boil some fennel water. It'll warm your stomach and you'll be fine!"
Zhou Zhijun supported Chuntao into the inner room of the east room, carefully laid her down, and asked in a low voice, "Tao'er, is there anywhere else that feels uncomfortable?"
Chuntao felt as if a large stone was pressing on her heart, suffocating her.
"What... what day is it today?" She suddenly grabbed Zhou Zhijun's wrist, her voice trembling with a hint of urgency.
There was a calendar hanging on the wall of the north room, but Zhou Zhijun usually didn't pay attention to it and casually replied, "I don't know. Why do you ask?"
Chuntao tried hard to recall. Her period came on the fifteenth of last month. It had been a long time, and it should have come by now. Why was there no sign?
"Brother Zhijun, go check the main room! Hurry!" Chuntao gripped his wrist even tighter, urging him with a crying tone.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Zhijun's heart also tightened, his brows furrowing. "What exactly is wrong?"
"Don't ask! Hurry and check! Hurry!"
Seeing her eyes turning red with anxiety, Zhou Zhijun didn't dare to ask more. He reached out and touched her forehead, then turned and walked quickly towards the main room.
It was not long before he came over. Just as he was about to speak, Aunt Zhou's voice rang out from outside the room.
"Tao'er, come, drink this fennel water. Once your stomach is warmed up, you will feel much better!"
Zhou Zhijun swallowed the words that were on the tip of his tongue. He hurried forward to take the bowl from Aunt Zhou's hands, bringing it to his lips to gently blow on it.
Seeing Chuntao's forehead covered in cold sweat and her small face still deathly pale, Aunt Zhou's heart ached for her. She reached out and wiped the sweat from the girl's brow.
"Your body is just too weak. From now on, you must rest and recover properly. You absolutely cannot drink cold water anymore!"
Chuntao agreed absentmindedly, but her eyes were fixed dead on Zhou Zhijun. She was terrified that he would blurt out the date, which would prompt Aunt Zhou to ask more questions.
Zhou Zhijun took a small sip to test the water and coaxed her softly, "It is not too hot anymore. Sit up and take a few sips while it is warm."
Aunt Zhou helped Chuntao sit up, took the bowl back, and scooped up a spoonful, bringing it to her lips.
Chuntao took a sip, then turned her head to look at Zhou Zhijun. "Brother Zhijun, you should go to sleep!"
Zhou Zhijun walked to the door of the inner room, but suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked back at Chuntao and said, "Tao'er, today is... the twentieth."
Chuntao's heart skipped a beat. It felt as if a basin of ice water had been poured right over her head, instantly freezing the blood in her veins.
