Zhou Zhijun already had a good idea in his mind. Zhou Zhaodi must have overheard Chuntao retching last night, and in all likelihood, she was the one who spilled the beans.
Zhou Zhijun clenched his fists and took two strides into the courtyard. Just as he was about to speak, the bearded man at the front beat him to it, "Who is Zhou Zhijun?"
"I am Zhou Zhijun!" Zhou Zhijun's face showed no emotion, and his voice was as cold as ice.
"Oh, so you're Zhou Zhijun," the bearded man cleared his throat, his tone carrying a bit of deliberate arrogance.
"Someone reported you and Li Chuntao for messing around, and also said Li Chuntao is already pregnant..."
Before the words could even settle, Zhou Zhijun took a sudden step right up to him, his tall figure completely overshadowing the bearded man.
"You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! Whoever is chewing the fat, let them step forward!"
The bearded man, frightened by his imposing manner, took a half-step back. The arrogant air on his face diminished significantly, but he still yelled stiffly:
"Y-you don't act tough! We're acting on orders!
Someone submitted a written complaint to the commune, saying the two of you are ruining the village's morals, having an illicit affair and even getting pregnant. We're here to take you to the commune to clear things up!"
A joint defense team member behind him quickly chimed in, though his voice trembled, "Exactly! We're in the middle of a strict strike-hard campaign right now. Your messing around makes the crime even worse!"
Zhou Zhijun's gaze was like an ice blade, scraping fiercely across their faces. His clenched knuckles turned white, making a crisp "crackling" sound.
"Even a strike-hard campaign requires evidence! Without evidence, you guys are just spreading rumors and framing us!"
The gate was already crowded with villagers watching the excitement, all whispering and discussing among themselves.
"Evidence? Take Li Chuntao to the commune health center for an examination, and won't we know?"
A joint defense team member shouted, "If she's really pregnant, then the illicit affair is a sure thing! If she's not, it proves you two innocent. Do you dare?"
Zhou Zhijun's heart skipped a beat. If Chuntao was really dragged to the commune by them, and it turned out she was pregnant, then it would be completely over!
Guilty as he felt inside, his face didn't show the slightest bit of it. He ground his back teeth and asked in a deep voice, "Fine! And what if she's not?"
"If she's not, it proves you two innocent!" the joint defense team member replied without thinking.
Zhou Zhijun pointed his finger at the group, his eyes cold as a knife. "If she's not, you guys, and the person who made something out of nothing, spreading rumors and slander, will all have to go to jail!"
The group was intimidated by his certain ruthlessness. They looked at each other, doubts beginning to form in their minds.
In the crowd at the courtyard gate, Zhou Pandi stood on her tiptoes, looking inside. The corners of her mouth couldn't help but turn up; she wanted to laugh but didn't dare make a sound.
Last night, after Zhou Zhaodi left Zhou Zhijun's house, she didn't return to the Wang family but went back to her maiden home.
As soon as she walked in, she started cursing, "Li Chuntao, that slut, is really shameless to the extreme! She actually got pregnant with a bastard..."
At that time, Zhou Pandi was sitting in the room, worrying.
She liked Li Mingliang, but Li Mingliang was interested in Li Chuntao.
To make Li Mingliang give up on Li Chuntao, she had to make him see Li Chuntao's true colors, see that she was a shameless woman!
She had long concluded that Zhou Zhijun and Li Chuntao were having an affair, but she could never find any evidence. She couldn't just gossip in front of Li Mingliang for no reason.
Just as she was worrying about how to find evidence, she heard Zhou Zhaodi's words. Zhou Pandi's eyes instantly lit up, so excited she almost jumped up.
She ran out of the inner room in a few strides, grabbing Zhou Zhaodi's arm and asking, "Sister! Is everything you said true? How do you know?"
Zhou Zhaodi plopped down on the threshold, clutching her cheek and grimacing, "Fuck his mother... quickly get me some wall-leaching dirt, my face hurts like hell!"
Only when Zhou Pandi got closer did she see that Zhou Zhaodi's face was scraped.
She quickly ran into the courtyard, scooped up a handful of wall-leaching dirt, and haphazardly smeared it on Zhou Zhaodi's face and hands.
While smearing, she urged, "Sister, tell me quickly, how do you know Li Chuntao is pregnant?"
"I heard it with my own ears and saw it with my own eyes!" Zhou Zhaodi gasped from the pain.
"Li Chuntao was retching terribly in the courtyard, looking exactly like I did when I was pregnant!"
Zhou Zhaodi recounted everything she had seen and heard, down to the last detail.
After hearing this, Zhou Pandi's heart bloomed with joy. Right now, during the strict strike-hard campaign, if this matter was reported to the commune's joint defense team, they would definitely take care of it!
As long as Li Chuntao was dragged to the health center for a check-up, if she was really pregnant, it wouldn't just be a matter of reputation anymore.
When the time came, Li Mingliang would definitely see Li Chuntao's true colors clearly.
"Sister! They are too shameless!" Zhou Pandi clenched her fists, her eyes flashing with calculation.
"I'll write a report for you right now. You take it to the commune's joint defense team, and it'll hit the mark!"
Zhou Zhaodi's teeth itched with hatred, and she wished she could report it immediately. But on second thought, she wilted; Zhou Zhijun still had leverage over her!
If Zhou Zhijun revealed her scandalous affair with Baldy Zhang, losing face would be a small matter; Wang Qingshan would definitely divorce her!
She was already in her thirties. Trying to marry a young and strong man like Wang Qingshan again would be harder than climbing to heaven!
Zhou Zhaodi cursed fiercely, but inside she was terrified of Zhou Zhijun and didn't dare to report it at all.
"I'm not going!" She turned her head away and said sullenly.
"Sister!" Zhou Pandi was anxious, both provoking and persuading, "Can you just watch them live happily and feel good about it? I feel suffocated for you!"
No matter what Zhou Pandi said, Zhou Zhaodi was unwilling to report it, only cursing fiercely.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Pandi coldly snorted in her heart. If she won't go, fine, she'll go herself!
If this matter was true, Zhou Zhijun and Li Chuntao would definitely go to jail.
If Li Chuntao wasn't pregnant, Zhou Zhijun would never let it go and would definitely find the person who reported it to settle the score! Zhou Pandi was also scared.
Zhou Pandi's eyes darted around. Writing an anonymous report letter would do the trick.
But then again, if she didn't write a name, her sister would definitely be one of Zhou Zhijun's suspects, and following her sister would lead to her.
Zhou Pandi's brain spun, and a plan came to mind. She quickly wrote a report letter and signed it with someone else's name in crooked handwriting.
Before dawn, she rode her bicycle in the dark to the commune and gave the report letter to the old man guarding the gate, asking him to pass it on to the joint defense team.
She didn't expect the joint defense team to take it so seriously and arrive so quickly!
If Li Chuntao was really pregnant, her goal would be achieved.
Even if she wasn't, when Zhou Zhijun went looking for the person who spread the rumors and framed them, he wouldn't find her!
Zhou Pandi, standing in the crowd, looked at the commotion in the courtyard, a sly smile hooking the corners of her mouth.
Seeing that Zhou Zhijun was a tough nut to crack, the joint defense team members didn't dare to act rashly and gathered to the side to discuss for a long time.
Finally, the bearded man braced himself, walked over, and forced a calm tone, "Fine! We'll do as you say!"
Aunt Zhou stood to the side, thinking to herself, Chuntao is most likely pregnant, but that child... was it ruined by Wang Haichao and his gang of animals?
She was just about to ask Zhou Zhijun if Wang Haichao and his gang really ruined Chuntao, but before the words could leave her mouth, these bastards burst in.
Aunt Zhou was not panicked at all. If they really found out that Chuntao was pregnant, Wang Haichao and the others would be in even deeper trouble. Chuntao was a victim and would not be convicted at all.
But she was afraid that if this matter spread through the village and the commune, how would Chuntao ever be able to show her face again?
She wanted to stop them, but she feared that the more she resisted, the more these people would believe they had something to hide. After thinking it over, she decided she might as well just play along with their demands.
Aunt Zhou walked up to the men, her cold gaze sweeping over each of them, and scolded sharply, "You people come to our door to ruin my reputation without even investigating properly. Sooner or later, you will end up in jail!"
A young security team member sneered, "Cut the crap! Where is Li Chuntao? Tell her to hurry up and come with us!"
In the east room, Chuntao had long been awakened by the clamor outside.
The conversation between Zhou Zhijun and the security team members pierced her ears like needles, word by word. Fear engulfed her like a flood.
She was not afraid of hardship and exhaustion, but she was terrified of becoming a loose woman despised by everyone. Rather than being pointed at and scorned behind her back, she would rather just end it all!
Just like Chouni. Once you died, there was nothing left. You would soon be forgotten by everyone, forgotten by the world.
Using every ounce of her strength, she climbed out of bed, tore the bedsheet into strips, and tied them together.
She then dragged over a tall wooden stool, stood on it unsteadily, and tied one end of the sheet firmly to the ceiling beam.
She looked back at the door to the inner room, and the last glimmer of light in her eyes completely extinguished.
Slipping the makeshift noose around her neck, she slowly closed her eyes, letting cold tears silently slip down her cheeks.
