In Wang Family Village, a storm that would determine the fate of Chuntao and her child was quietly brewing.
On the other side, at the foot of East Mountain, in Liu Family Hollow.
The morning sunlight, still damp with dew, spilled into the yard.
A few old hens, led by a big rooster, slowly pecked at the grain on the ground, letting out an occasional cluck.
Suddenly, a yellow dog that had been crouching by the wall basking in the sun darted over, startling the chickens into flapping their wings and scattering.
These days, Zhou Zhijun barely left Chun Tao’s side. Whatever she craved, he figured out how to make.
The man who used to avoid the kitchen stove had now grown skillful—he could cook porridge and stir-fry dishes with confidence.
Every morning, he would first pour her wash water, then squeeze toothpaste onto her brush and hand it to her. After she finished washing, he would immediately pass her a towel.
Every evening, he personally washed her feet and bathed her, helped her up during the night to relieve herself, tending to her with great care.
Right now, Zhou Zhijun carried a bowl of thick millet porridge and walked softly into the inner room of the north house.
Chuntao was already sitting up against the headboard, her hands gently resting on her swollen belly.
She was only five months pregnant, but her belly looked like someone at seven or eight months. Aunt Zhou and Second Aunt Zhou both said it must be twins.
Zhou Zhijun felt both joy and worry. He planned to take time to visit the health clinic on the main street and ask the doctor, afraid that a lack of nutrition might harm Chuntao and the babies inside her.
“Tao, the millet porridge is ready. I added a few red dates.”
Zhou Zhijun set the bowl on the bedside table, carefully helped her sit up straighter, placed a pillow behind her back, and tucked in the edge of her blanket.
“The weather’s nice today. After we eat, I’ll help you walk around the yard for a bit. Second Aunt said moving around a little makes childbirth easier later.”
He picked up the bowl, took a spoon, scooped up some porridge, blew on it, tested it with his lips to make sure it wasn’t hot, and then brought it to Chuntao’s lips.
“Here, try it. This millet is really fragrant!”
“Brother Zhijun,” Chuntao reached out to take the bowl. “I can drink it myself. I’m not a child.”
Zhou Zhijun’s gaze softened until it could melt, his eyes full of affection. “In front of me, you are a child.” He smiled and held the spoon to her mouth again.
Chuntao had grown up with endless chores. She had never known such pampering.
Ever since leaving Wang Family Village and coming to East Mountain, Zhou Zhijun had treasured her like a jewel. The warmth she had never received before—he gave her all of it.
Thinking of this, her tears fell like rain, streaming down her cheeks.
“Silly girl, why are you crying?” Zhou Zhijun put down the spoon and wiped her tears with his rough thumb. “Are you feeling unwell somewhere?”
“I’m just happy,” Chuntao forced a smile. “I feel like this is the happiest time in my whole life.”
“Tao, you’ve been through so much,” Zhou Zhijun said, holding her hand, his tone serious. “Making you hide here, making you suffer—I’ll make it up to you double in the future.
I’ll make sure you eat well, dress well, and do no work at all. You just have to live a peaceful life.”
Chuntao couldn’t stop her tears. She believed Zhou Zhijun’s words, but a stone of worry still weighed on her heart.
After breakfast, Zhou Zhijun helped Chuntao slowly walk a few circles in the yard.
When her legs felt swollen and uncomfortable, he helped her sit inside, then brought a basin of warm water for her to soak her feet.
He put his hands into the basin, first splashed the warm water onto her calves, then gently massaged her calves. “Tao, let me rub them for you. It’ll help you feel better.”
Chuntao looked at his focused expression, her eyes reddening. “Brother Zhijun, you’re so good to me.”
Zhou Zhijun looked up at her, his gaze tender and firm. “You’re my wife. If I’m not good to you, who should I be good to?
I’ll treat you well for my whole life. I won’t let you suffer even a little!”
Chuntao’s face flushed red. She bit her lip and blushed with a shy smile, so sweet that the very air seemed drenched in honey.
Now, on the other side, Li Dazhuang and Wang Lanhua had run off to hide from the family planning officials with their baby.
No sooner had their child turned a month old than Wang Lanhua became pregnant again.
Grandma Shen, the old lady and her grandson, were at home, and Li Dazhuang couldn’t rest easy. Besides, there were livestock and farmland to tend. After Wang Lanhua got pregnant, he came home.
The moment he stepped through the door, Li Dazhuang was stunned.
The house was empty. The family planning officers had taken all the wheat, led away the donkey and the cow, and even carried off the red-lacquer wardrobe they’d had made for their wedding.
He gripped the doorframe, his vision darkening, and nearly fainted.
Grandma Shen quickly caught him. “Dazhuang, sit down and rest!”
“Grandma, how are we going to live from now on!” Li Dazhuang covered his head and sobbed, trying to hold it in.
“Stop acting so spineless!” Grandma Shen patted him on the back. “If things are gone, we’ll earn them back!
As long as you have people, you can get everything back. If you have no people, even if you’re rich, you can’t hold onto it…
There’s an old saying: With people, poverty won’t last long; without people, wealth won’t endure. Lanhua is still carrying our child. Better days are ahead!”
Under Grandma Shen’s encouragement, Li Dazhuang slowly stopped crying and wiped his tears.
“I understand. If Lanhua can give me another boy this time, it’ll be worth it!”
Grandma Shen had also heard about Chuntao, and she told Li Dazhuang.
“…That heartless Wang Jieshi actually came up with such a dirty trick!”
Li Dazhuang nodded. “Chuntao has suffered so much. If Zhou Zhijun can treat her sincerely, that’s a good thing too.”
Before, they had feared that if Chuntao left, Liu Cuilan would take Wang Lanhua away, but now they had no such fear.
Wang Lanhua had already given Li Dazhuang a son and a daughter, and now she was pregnant again—her heart was rooted in the Li family.
Grandma Shen sighed. “That girl Chuntao has finally escaped her misery!”
After the autumn harvest and planting were finished, Li Dazhuang went to visit Wang Lanhua, and couldn’t help telling her about Chuntao’s divorce.
Wang Lanhua wouldn’t divorce Li Dazhuang over Wang Jieshi’s affair, but hearing this, she couldn’t help getting angry.
“Li Chuntao is shameless! I knew she was sneaking around with another man all along, and she wouldn’t admit it. Now her tail is showing!”
“Lanhua, you’re pregnant—don’t get angry!” Li Dazhuang panicked and quickly tried to soothe her with his hands.
“You and she swapped families, that’s true, but you and Chuntao lived different lives. On the wedding day, Jieshi ran away…
Later, he came back, but he was a cripple… And those two never even got a marriage certificate. They were never really husband and wife…”
He thought saying this would calm Wang Lanhua down, but it only added fuel to the fire.
Wang Lanhua’s voice shot up sharply. “Li Dazhuang, you’re defending your shameless sister? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
She was sitting in the yard and stood up in a fury, but her foot slipped on a pile of chicken droppings.
Her body lost control and she fell, the back of her hip hitting a sharp stone beside her.
“Ah! My stomach…” Wang Lanhua’s face went pale with pain, and cold sweat burst out instantly.
Blood seeped through her pants, running down her legs.
Li Dazhuang was frozen with shock, his hands and feet icy, his voice trembling. “Lanhua… Lanhua…”
By the time relatives carried Wang Lanhua to the health clinic, the child in her belly was already gone.
What Li Dazhuang found even more unbearable was that Wang Lanhua could no longer bear children.
He crouched outside the hospital ward, wailing loudly, slapping his own face hard, and muttering over and over, "It's all my fault, it's all my fault..."
Wang Lanhua lay on the hospital bed, her face pale as paper, but her eyes held a bone-deep bitterness.
She bit her lip so hard that words squeezed out through clenched teeth: "Chuntao, you took my child. I’ll make you pay for this..."
Outside the ward, a sneaky figure clung to the doorframe, peering inside, catching every word Wang Lanhua said.
His brow furrowed, and a flicker of glee flashed in his eyes. He slipped out of the clinic and headed straight for Wang Family Village.
