That night, Chuntao lay in the melon shed, her eyes fixed on the pitch-black roof above.
The wooden planks beneath her were hard and dug into her bones, yet she felt no pain.
The night was stifling, suffocating, like an impenetrable net wrapping tightly around her, threatening to choke her the next moment.
For four years, she had endured sleeping alone in an empty room, the villagers' gossip, the endless farm work in the fields, and countless nights of bitter torment, forcing herself to hold on with all her might.
Deep in her heart, she clung to a hope she hardly dared believe herself—that he might one day return.
But now he was back. What returned was not a prodigal son reformed, but a disabled man who had lost a leg, forced back home only because he had nowhere else to turn.
Life was hard before; from now on, it would only be harder! Besides toiling day and night, she would also have to care for this disabled man.
She wanted to weep and wail, to rail against the unfairness of fate, but her tears had long since run dry.
Her heart was like a dried-up well, as dark and fathomless as this boundless night. Even if you threw a stone into it, it would only make a dull thud in the mud, unable to stir a single ripple.
She lay there with eyes wide open until dawn. The sun rose, blazing hot, yet a bone-deep despair had already consumed her, as if she had fallen into an icy abyss, leaving her shivering with cold.
The watermelons in the field needed to be sold every day. Zhou Zhijun arrived at the melon patch early in the morning with a meal. Seeing Wang Xiaohong and her brother unloading melons, he walked straight into the shed.
He poured a bowl of plain rice porridge from a small rubber bucket, took out an egg, and spoke softly, his usual cold edge absent. "Get up and eat something."
But Chuntao's stomach felt bloated and full; she couldn't eat a thing. Lying on the bed, she didn't even have the strength to sit up. She kept her eyes closed and gave a slight shake of her head.
"A body needs food like iron needs steel. How can you go on without eating?
You're already worn out. If something else happens, you're the one who'll suffer. No one can suffer for you...
Come on, get up and eat, then you can rest some more. I'll have Xiaohong stay here today. Xiaoming and I will go to Nangang to sell the melons."
Chuntao remained motionless, eyes still shut.
Seeing her like this, Zhou Zhijun reached out and grasped her hand. In this sweltering heat, her hand was actually ice-cold. A pang of concern tightened his heart. "Listen to me. Eat," he said firmly.
Chuntao was startled by his sudden move, her whole body giving a violent jerk. She tried to pull her hand back, but the man's grip was too strong; she couldn't move it.
"Let go!" She had no strength at all; the two words squeezed from her throat were almost inaudible.
Zhou Zhijun not only didn't let go but tightened his grip slightly. "Get up and eat, then I'll let you go."
How bold this man was! The siblings were right outside picking melons, yet he dared to hold her hand like this.
"Let me go!" Chuntao mustered all her remaining strength, and her voice finally rose a little.
Only then did Zhou Zhijun release her hand. He helped her sit up from the bed and handed her a water flask to rinse her mouth.
Then he took a damp towel from his shoulder for her to wipe her hands and face. He squatted in the melon shed, watching her eat, making Chuntao extremely uneasy.
"Please go out. I'll eat," she pleaded. Seeing her genuine fear, Zhou Zhijun turned and left the shed.
The three of them had unloaded a full cart of watermelons. Wang Xiaohong, feeling she had troubled Zhou Zhijun enough, said, "Uncle Zhijun, you can go back. Xiaoming and I can manage going to sell them."
Zhou Zhijun glanced back at the figure in the melon shed, his tone brooking no argument. "Your sister-in-law is in no state to be alone in the field. You stay. Xiaoming and I will go to Nangang to sell the melons."
Wang Xiaohong wanted to say more, but Zhou Zhijun had already picked up the cart shafts and was heading down the field path.
Chuntao wasn't the only one who lost sleep last night; the entire Wang family lay awake, and Zhou Zhijun was no exception.
He cherished Chuntao. He had hoped Wang Jieshi would never return, so this woman could belong to him completely.
Even if she resisted at first, he believed he could eventually win her over entirely.
But now Wang Jieshi was back, and a cripple at that. Taking on this burden would be heavier, more exhausting, and bitter than any farm work.
Liu Cuilan certainly wouldn't shoulder it. In the end, it would fall on Chuntao's slender shoulders.
She had already guarded an empty room in the Wang house for four years, all because of that arranged marriage swap. Now, bound by those same ties, she would have to shoulder this mountain of a burden.
A woman like her was too foolish, and too pitiful.
In those times, too many women were like moths trapped in cocoons, bound tightly, with no control over their own lives.
Whether life was good or bad, they had to endure it. No matter how difficult, they had to resign themselves and carry on. This was not just the helplessness of the era, but Chuntao's personal tragedy!
Just as Zhou Zhijun had guessed, Liu Cuilan had no intention of looking after Wang Jieshi.
That night, she racked her brains thinking of how to shake off the burden of Wang Jieshi.
After half the night, she finally settled on the simplest and most effective method: dividing the family.
Didn't Chuntao want to support Wang Xiaoming's schooling? Then let Wang Xiaoming, Chuntao, and Wang Jieshi form one household.
Wang Xiaohong was hardworking, capable both at home and in the fields. She would stay with Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao as one family.
But the family only had three dilapidated mud-brick rooms, plus a half-collapsed little kitchen shed. There was also a west-facing cattle pen you could see the sky through. If they split up, they wouldn't even have a place to live!
"Your family only has those few run-down thatched houses. Where would everyone live if we split?" Liu Cuilan, afraid Wang Jieshi next door might hear, kept her voice very low.
Wang Haichao naturally wanted to divide the family too. "I'll ask Second Brother and the others to help make mud bricks. We'll build two rooms first to live in..."
Seeing Wang Jieshi in his current state filled Liu Cuilan with bitter hatred—not just towards Chuntao, but even more towards that heartless Cao Meiying.
First thing in the morning, she stood in the yard and started cursing. "Shameless creature! You were the one who lured my son away back then. Now he's ended up like this, and you just wash your hands of it!"
Wang Haichao quickly tugged her arm, whispering, "Keep your voice down, won't you? Aren't you afraid people will laugh?
Do you know what folks in the village are saying? They say this is Jieshi's retribution!"
"Retribution, my foot! It's all that jinx's fault!" Liu Cuilan retorted stubbornly.
Lying in bed, Wang Jieshi heard Liu Cuilan's curses, a tumult of emotions churning in his heart.
His current state was indeed retribution.
He had abandoned such a good woman as Chuntao and run off with Cao Meiying.
Back then, Cao Meiying was like a flower in his eyes. Now, thinking of her only brought a heart full of bitterness and resentment.
He was now a useless cripple, unable to do anything, dependent on others for care.
He and Chuntao had never even registered their marriage, let alone consummated it. Remembering all the wretched things he had done, he felt too ashamed to face her. How could he have the gall to let her wait on him?
With Wang Xiaohong, her brother, and Chuntao all not at home, there was no one even to cook.
The moment Liu Cuilan stepped into the kitchen, her temper flared. She said to Wang Haichao, "You, go to the melon field and call that jinx back!
Her man is home, and there she is, hiding out in the melon field to avoid work!"
Wang Haichao was also wary of Wang Xiaoming and his sister and had no desire to be the bad guy. He dodged, "I'm not going. I'll stay and light the fire to cook. You go!"
Liu Cuilan shot him a fierce glare and stomped off towards the melon field in the eastern gully.
Before she even reached the melon shed, she started shouting, "Li Chuntao, you jinx! Your man is back, and instead of tending to him at home, you're hiding out here in the melon field shirking your duties! Get back with me right now!"
Wang Xiaohong, hearing the shouts from inside the shed, immediately stepped out.
"Where is that jinx? Tell her to get out here!" Liu Cuilan said aggressively.
Seeing her stance, Wang Xiaohong immediately blocked the entrance to the shed. "My sister-in-law isn't feeling well. The doctor said she needs proper rest!"
"Rest what rest? Who does she think she is, some delicate young miss? She's got no lady's fortune but dares to have a lady's ailments!"
As she spoke, Liu Cuilan tried to pull Wang Xiaohong aside. "You wretched girl, taking an outsider's side! Your brother can't move now, he's bedridden. If she doesn't go back to take care of him, am I supposed to do it?"
Wang Xiaohong's eyes reddened. "The state he's in now... he brought it on himself..."
Even as she said the words, her nose stung and tears began to flow.
