"Step on it!" Baldy Zhang craned his neck to look out the car window. Dawn was about to break, and he couldn't help urging again.
The men in the back of the truck were also anxious. After driving over a hundred li and putting in so much effort, it would be a real waste if they couldn't catch the person.
Finally, the car pulled up under a large jujube tree. Baldy Zhang shouted for them to stop, "We're here!"
He was the first to jump out, pointing at a mountain gully not far to the east where a few scattered houses stood on the slope. "Look, right there—Xiawa Village!"
Director Zhang jumped out first and yelled at the others, "It's almost broad daylight. Get a move on! Block the doors, guard the windows—don't let anyone escape!"
Just thinking about facing Zhou Zhijun made Baldy Zhang's heart pound with fear.
"Director Zhang, Zhou Zhijun is a village bully. If he finds out I led you here, he'll never let me off! You all go first. I'll stay here and watch Zhou Xiaowei—make sure he doesn't run!"
Liu Cuilan, who had been ranting with spit flying in the car, now went weak in the knees too, dawdling and refusing to move.
"You're government cadres. Zhou Zhijun won't dare touch you. But I'm just an ordinary villager. I'm afraid he'll come back to get even!"
"Get even? This is a society of law! It's not Zhou Zhijun's turn to play king and bully people!" Director Zhang's dark, piercing gaze swept over the two of them, and his voice dropped. "Less nonsense. Lead the way now! Keep dawdling, and if the person gets away, you two are accomplices. Opposing the family planning policy will land you in jail just the same!"
At these words, Baldy Zhang and Liu Cuilan had no choice but to brace themselves and lead the way.
To get from the main road into the village, they had to cross several slopes and gullies. The group stumbled along, panting and exhausted, until they finally found the village.
The village had few households, scattered far apart. Second Aunt Zhou's place sat at the very back.
Each of them clutched a firewood stick. Hunched over and tiptoeing, they crept to the back wall of the house.
Liu Cuilan trailed at the rear. Scared in her heart, she couldn't help muttering under her breath, "Let's see where you two run this time. We'll be sure to abort that bastard child in Li Chun Tao's belly!"
In the kitchen, Zhou Zhijun had just finished washing up and was rolling up his sleeves to cook when Second Aunt Zhou walked in.
"I'll take care of the cooking. You stayed up all night watching over Tao and didn't sleep well. Get some more rest in the morning!"
"I'm used to it." Zhou Zhijun had never broken the habit of waking before dawn since returning from military service, summer or winter, all year round.
In the inner room, Chun Tao was still asleep, with a faint smile at the corners of her mouth.
She was dreaming.
She dreamed she had given birth to a pair of chubby, fair-skinned children, a boy and a girl. They had big eyes with double eyelids, thick black lashes that fluttered like little fans. Their skin was soft and pink, so tender she didn't dare reach out to touch them, afraid that even a little pressure might hurt them.
The two little dumplings grinned at her, and she smiled back, laughing out loud, "Maoni, Maohai, hurry up and grow up. Mama will take you to pick wild shoots, chase butterflies, and gather sheep's milk berries..."
But somehow, for no reason, the two lovely little dumplings stopped smiling and suddenly burst into loud crying. Chun Tao's heart lurched, and she jolted awake.
What happened to her happy dream? Thinking about it, a vague sense of dread rose in her, a feeling that something was about to go wrong.
Her heart suddenly pounded like a drum, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead and the tip of her nose.
She instinctively touched her belly. The little one inside was still there, stirring slightly.
With a long sigh of relief, she supported herself on the bedding and slowly sat up. Her belly was so big now that everything was a struggle.
"Tao, you're awake? Sleep a bit more. I'll call you when the food's ready." Zhou Zhijun walked in.
"I can't sleep."
Chun Tao suddenly grabbed Zhou Zhijun's arm, her voice trembling. "Brother Zhijun, I just had a dream. I don't think it's a good one."
Zhou Zhijun held her cold hand tightly, his eyes full of care. "What did you dream about that scared you like this?"
"I dreamed I gave birth to two babies, a boy and a girl. They were so well-behaved, smiling at me. But then, all of a sudden, they started crying. Could it... could it mean something bad is going to happen?"
Zhou Zhijun's heart also skipped a beat.
When he saw Liu Ergen the other day, the man had a strange look in his eyes. Could it be that this cousin had tipped off the Family Planning Office? But they had no deep grudge between them. He shouldn't do something so low.
No matter how uneasy he felt, Zhou Zhijun didn't dare show it, afraid of frightening Chun Tao.
He reached out and wiped the sweat from her forehead, his gaze soothing. "It's nothing. Dreams are always the opposite. Don't overthink it."
The truth was, he had been thinking about moving somewhere else. Staying in one place too long always seemed risky.
But with Chun Tao so heavily pregnant, he feared the jostling of the road might hurt her, so for now, they had to stay put.
"Wait here. I'll get you some washing water." Zhou Zhijun helped her lean back against the headboard and headed to the kitchen.
The moment he stepped into the kitchen, the men hiding by the gable wall slipped along the wall into the yard and quietly entered the main room.
Chun Tao heard noise from the outer room and turned sharply to look at the entrance of the inner room.
She saw three men in faded Zhongshan suits, each carrying sticks, blocking the doorway. Their faces were all hostile.
Her face instantly went pale, and her lips trembled. "You..."
"We're from the Family Planning Office! You've been hiding out in this mountain gully to have a child, openly violating the family planning policy!" Director Zhang's voice was cold and hard.
He glanced around. Only his own men stood behind him. Liu Cuilan and Baldy Zhang were nowhere to be seen.
He cursed the two cowards under his breath, then signaled his subordinates with a look. "Take her away!"
Only then did Chun Tao snap out of it. She let out a heart-wrenching scream, "Brother Zhijun—!"
Zhou Zhijun had just picked up a ladle to scoop water when he heard Chun Tao's cry. His heart clenched.
He dropped the water basin and rushed toward the main room. "Tao, what's wrong?"
In a few strides, he burst into the room. The scene before him made his eyes turn bloodshot instantly. His mind went blank, and all the blood in his body rushed to his head.
Two men had Chun Tao by the arms, already dragging her toward the doorway of the inner room. Her bare feet were on the cold dirt floor.
Her small body trembled violently. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her face was full of terror.
Zhou Zhijun grabbed the door brace from behind the door, roaring as he charged, "You bastards! Let her go!"
The brace whistled through the air and smashed into one man's shoulder. The man yelped in pain and instantly let go.
The other man panicked and quickly let go too, stumbling back.
Chun Tao staggered and threw herself into Zhou Zhijun's arms, clutching his clothes desperately.
Director Zhang was both shocked and furious, but he didn't panic.
Liu Cuilan had told him that day that Zhou Zhijun was an ex-soldier and a tough nut to crack.
He had come well-prepared, specifically finding two strong men from the village to back him up.
"Go! Tie him up!" Director Zhang barked.
The two burly men accompanying him charged in, circling around to pounce on Zhou Zhijun from the side.
Zhou Zhijun reacted quickly. He swung the brace and hit one man in the thigh. The man staggered and crouched down in pain.
But at that very moment, Director Zhang lunged forward and grabbed Chun Tao by the arm.
When Zhou Zhijun saw Chun Tao seized, his heart leaped into his throat, and his movements involuntarily slowed.
"Brother Zhijun!" Chun Tao screamed, trying to break free, but Director Zhang pulled her ruthlessly toward the door.
Zhou Zhijun was burning with rage. He suddenly exerted all his strength, trying to shake off the person clinging to him from behind, but another man seized the moment and slammed a stick hard into the back of his knee.
"Hiss—"
Zhou Zhijun gasped in pain. His knee buckled, nearly sending him to the ground, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay upright.
For all his tall, strong build and brute strength, he was no match for so many people. He was even more afraid that any violent move might hurt Chun Tao, who was right beside him.
Panting heavily, the group struggled and labored until they finally had Zhou Zhijun tied up tight.
Zhang Shuanzhu was dragging Chun Tao by the arm toward the doorway. Her cries were muffled and desperate. "Brother Zhijun..."
Zhou Zhijun lay face down on the ground, every muscle taut, the veins on his arms bulging, fists clenched so tight they cracked.
He had been a scout in the army, once overpowered three thugs with his bare hands—never in his life had he felt so humiliated.
Today, he had fallen into the hands of these men who had been lying in wait. Even more, he hated himself for failing to protect Chun Tao and their child.
He fixed his eyes on Chun Tao, who was being dragged to the door, and spoke in a hoarse voice full of menace. "Zhang Shuanzhu, if you lay a single finger on her, I swear I'll tear the door off your family planning office!"
Zhang Shuanzhu glanced at him, a sinister grin on his face. He spat on the ground. "Zhou Zhijun, you go against the authorities, and you'll get what's coming to you."
"Let me go..." Chun Tao wept as she struggled, her feet rooted to the spot, refusing to move an inch.
Hiding around the corner of the gable wall, Liu Cuilan dared to slip into the yard only after she heard that Zhou Zhijun had been subdued.
She pointed at Chun Tao's nose and cursed, "Let you go? It's you we're after today!
Li Chun Tao, you shameless slut, hiding away with that belly of yours, you've brought shame to the whole Wang Family Village!"
Chun Tao trembled in fear but somehow forced herself to stop crying.
"Take her away!" Zhang Shuanzhu ordered. His men hauled Zhou Zhijun out of the house while Liu Cuilan stepped forward to shove Chun Tao.
Zhou Zhijun struggled, his eyes bloodshot, and roared, "Let her go!"
"She violated the family planning policy—she's the one we're arresting!" Zhang Shuanzhu said coldly.
Chun Tao refused to move forward, dragging her feet. Liu Cuilan gave her a brutal push from behind. "You shameless thing, still putting up a fight!"
Caught off guard, Chun Tao stumbled forward, her pregnant belly slamming hard into the pomegranate tree in the yard.
