Zhou Zhijun didn't respond. He gave Zhou Xiaowei a cold look, which was as sharp as an icicle. It made Zhou Xiaowei swallow the words that were on the tip of his tongue.
Seeing his expression, Aunt Zhou turned to Wang Xiaoming and Zhou Xiaowei and said, "Don't worry. Chuntao is fine. It's cool outside. You two go out for a walk!"
Wang Xiaoming turned around and left, but Zhou Xiaowei was still reluctant to give up. However, in front of Zhou Zhijun, he didn't dare to ask again.
"It's almost dark. What are you still standing here for?" Zhou Zhijun stood up, picked up the sickle and rope by the wall, and walked out with a stride.
He planned to go to the fields to see how many days it would take to harvest the autumn crops. By the way, he would cut some grass to feed the cows.
Seeing Zhou Zhijun go out, Zhou Xiaowei quickly ran over to bolt the gate. Then he grabbed Aunt Zhou's arm and asked anxiously, "Grandma, where on earth has Sister Chuntao gone?"
Aunt Zhou glared at him and scolded, "Why do you care about this? First, take care of your own business! You're in your twenties. It's time to look for a wife. By the way, didn't the Li family from Liu Gate Village send someone to propose marriage? Is that girl suitable?"
At the mention of this, Zhou Xiaowei felt depressed. He shook his head like a rattle and said, "No! Absolutely not!"
The last time he was stabbed, it was because of a word from Li Aihua.
If he really married her, wouldn't Liu Qiusheng come out and stab him to death? Most importantly, he had no feelings for Li Aihua.
Aunt Zhou sighed and said, "That girl is quite capable. It's just that the incident last time made people feel uncomfortable."
"Exactly!" Zhou Xiaowei pulled Aunt Zhou's arm and swayed it back and forth, acting coquettishly. "Grandma, I just want to know where Sister Chuntao has gone. Just tell me, what's the big deal..."
"I've told you she's fine. Don't keep asking questions!"
Aunt Zhou raised her hand and patted the hand that was holding her arm. "You're a grown - up young man. Why are you so nosy like a girl? It's getting dark. Go home quickly!"
Just as she finished speaking, there was a knock on the door outside the yard. "Aunt Zhou, are you at home?" It was Li Mingliang's voice.
Both Aunt Zhou and Zhou Xiaowei looked towards the gate and replied, "Yes, we are!"
"Go and open the door!" Aunt Zhou glared at Zhou Xiaowei again.
"Brother Mingliang!" Zhou Xiaowei opened the gate, and Li Mingliang was standing outside.
Aunt Zhou also walked over and greeted him with a smile, "Mingliang, come in quickly, come in quickly!"
Li Mingliang had been worried about Chuntao these days. Just now, when he was having dinner in the canteen, he heard the workers chatting. They said they saw Zhou Zhijun return to the village, but didn't mention Chuntao.
He absent - mindedly took a few mouthfuls of food, put down the bowl, and rushed over in a hurry.
Entering the yard, Li Mingliang scanned the room with his eyes. He didn't see Zhou Zhijun, let alone Chuntao. Immediately, he felt suspicious.
Aunt Zhou had long noticed that Li Mingliang was interested in Chuntao. Originally, she had planned to match them up in the future. Unexpectedly, her own son had got ahead of him.
She had been kept in the dark about this matter. Now, thinking about it, she found it both funny and a bit angry.
Was it because she, as a mother, was too muddle - headed, or was it because her son had hidden it too well?
But in her heart, no one was better than her own son. It would be better for Chuntao to be her daughter - in - law than to marry anyone else.
Now that Chuntao was already with Zhijun, she had to put an end to other people's thoughts and not delay them.
Aunt Zhou put on a smile and said to Li Mingliang, "Mingliang, come in and sit down. Have a glass of water!"
"Aunt, has Sister Chuntao come back?" Li Mingliang didn't beat around the bush and asked directly.
Aunt Zhou replied with a smile, "Mingliang, I'll tell you the truth. Chuntao was sent away by Zhijun. It's nothing serious. You know, she's a shy girl, and there are a lot of gossips in the village. He was afraid that she would be upset if she heard them. Zhijun is always a chivalrous person. He couldn't bear to see her suffer, so he sent her to a relative's house to stay for a while and have a good rest."
Hearing this, Zhou Xiaowei quickly interrupted, "Grandma, which relative's house did Sister Chuntao go to? Is it far?"
Aunt Zhou glared at him, then turned to Li Mingliang and continued, "There are people taking care of her there. She won't lack food and drink. When she's in a better mood, Zhijun will go to pick her up."
She glanced at Zhou Xiaowei and then asked Li Mingliang with a smile, "Mingliang, are you about the same age as Xiaowei?"
Li Mingliang was only thinking about Chuntao. It took him a long time to come to his senses. "Aunt, I'm several years older than Xiaowei!"
Aunt Zhou chased after the question, "Then have you found a wife?"
"Not yet!" Li Mingliang didn't expect Aunt Zhou to ask this. His ears turned red.
Aunt Zhou quickly said, "You're educated and have a formal job. There must be a lot of girls who like you! Any girl who can marry you is really lucky. It's a blessing from a previous life!"
Aunt Zhou was right. There were indeed many girls who liked him, but he didn't take a fancy to them.
Li Mingliang didn't know how to respond to Aunt Zhou, so he could only change the topic, "It's good that Sister Chuntao is okay!"
Zhou Xiaowei wanted to ask again, but there were footsteps outside the yard. It was Zhou Zhijun carrying a bundle of grass back.
Seeing that Zhou Xiaowei hadn't left yet, Zhou Zhijun frowned and said in a deep voice, "Why haven't you left yet?"
Why is Uncle so annoying? Zhou Xiaowei wondered in his heart, but put on a flattering smile on his face and said, "Uncle, you've cut such a big bundle so quickly!"
Zhou Zhijun ignored him and turned to Li Mingliang. His voice was cold, "Do you have something to do?"
"I came to see Sister Chuntao. I heard from Aunt that she went to a relative's house." Li Mingliang replied.
Zhou Zhijun snorted coldly in his heart. One by one, they still had their eyes on her. One day, he would make them give up completely.
"Yes, Chuntao is at a relative's house." He glanced at Zhou Xiaowei and Li Mingliang. His eyes were as sharp as knives. "Don't worry about her business. I'll take care of it. I won't let her suffer!"
Li Mingliang always felt that there was something more to what Aunt Zhou and Zhou Zhijun said. Could it be that the gossips in the village about him and Chuntao were true?
After leaving Zhou Zhijun's house, Li Mingliang's mind was in a mess. The more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong.
After seeing off Li Mingliang and Zhou Xiaowei, Aunt Zhou turned to Zhou Zhijun and said, "Mingliang is really a good young man. It's just that he hasn't found a wife yet."
Zhou Zhijun twitched the corner of his mouth and said indifferently, "He doesn't put his mind in the right place."
"Hey, Zhijun, do you think Hongxia and him are a good match?"
Aunt Zhou slapped her thigh, and her eyes lit up.
"Hongxia is already nineteen. Many of the girls in the village of the same age as her are already engaged."
Zhou Zhijun replied casually, "He's a worker, and Hongxia is a farmer. A marriage between a worker and a farmer might not work out."
"That's not necessarily true!" Aunt Zhou retorted. "Hongxia is sensible and capable. She's worthy of him. I think we should introduce them to each other when we have a suitable opportunity!"
"Mom, you'd better worry about your daughter - in - law first!" Zhou Zhijun said with a hint of blame in his tone. "She's carrying your precious grandson!"
"Do I need you to tell me that?" Aunt Zhou smiled. "I'll worry about my daughter - in - law, and I'll also worry about my granddaughter. Li Mingliang is a young man with good conditions. There must be a lot of girls eyeing him. If he's taken away by someone else, it'll be hard to find such a good one again!"
Although Aunt Zhou said so, Chuntao was the one she cared about the most.
On Chuntao's side, her mind was in a complete turmoil.
She was pregnant with Zhou Zhijun's child. If this got out, she would surely be gossiped about behind her back.
After the child was born, people would talk about her even more.
She wondered how her grandmother and her elder brother were doing. Had her sister - in - law quarreled with her brother?
The more she thought about it, the heavier her heart became, and her brows furrowed involuntarily.
"Auntie..."
Just as she was deep in thought, she suddenly heard Xiangguo's voice coming from outside the yard.
Chuntao suddenly looked up and glanced around, but she didn't see anyone. Instead, there was a big yellow dog walking towards her step by step.
She was so frightened that her whole body trembled. She sprang up from the chair, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.
