Huang Meili's clever scheme was clicking along in her mind.
She thought, if she could just have her second daughter, Zhou Xiaomei, adopted by Zhou Zhijun, then in the future his house, his money, all his property would belong to Xiaomei.
Her own family's circumstances were poor, and by then, Zhou Xiaomei could also help support her little son, Zhou Xiaohai.
Zhou Zhimin looked up at Huang Meili, a glint flashing in his eyes too. "This matter isn't out of the question, but we can't rush it. We have to take it slow!"
A calculating smile tugged at Huang Meili's mouth. "The farm work is too busy right now. After the autumn harvest, you can first drop a hint to the old lady, sound her out..."
As the couple worked, they continued plotting the adoption of Zhou Xiaomei by Zhou Zhijun. The more they discussed it, the more foolproof the idea seemed.
Meanwhile, Zhou Zhaodi, clutching the handkerchief, had returned home and sat in the inner room in a daze.
Zhou Zhijun was usually cold and seemed unapproachable, but deep down, he wasn't a bad person.
Yet she couldn't understand, how could he have just thrown away the handkerchief she gave him?
Could it really be like Pandi said, that he had someone he liked in his heart? Was that person really Li Chuntao?
Or was it, as Liu Cuilan said, that he wasn't a real man?
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got, her hand clenching the handkerchief tightly, her fingertips turning white.
After turning it over and over in her mind, she still felt she had to get closer to Aunt Zhou, to coax some information from her, to find out what Zhou Zhijun was really thinking.
That day, seeing Aunt Zhou tending vegetables in the garden, Zhou Zhaodi picked up a bamboo basket and went over too.
The private plots at the east end of the village were where each family had their vegetable gardens. Their family's plot wasn't far from the Zhou family's.
"Auntie, tending the vegetables?" she asked. Normally loud and brash, she now softened her voice, speaking gently.
Aunt Zhou glanced up at her and nodded. "Mm, picking some beans. You here for vegetables too?"
Zhou Zhaodi walked over to Aunt Zhou's side, smiling. "I'm here to cut some chives to make dumplings for dinner."
She paused, then made small talk. "Auntie, have you picked your mung beans yet?"
"Picked them twice already."
"I thought so, no wonder Brother Zhijun has been so free lately, going to sell watermelons with Xiaohong every day!"
Mentioning this stirred a bit of annoyance in Aunt Zhou's heart, but she didn't show it, only saying mildly, "Isn't that right! With Jieshi in that state, someone needs to be around. That girl Chuntao even fainted from exhaustion last time selling melons; they're really short-handed. We're neighbors, after all. If you can lend a hand, you lend a hand!"
"Yeah!" Zhou Zhaodi went along with it. "Brother Zhijun has helped their family so much these past few years, yet that Liu Cuilan doesn't know what's good for her, even badmouthing people behind their backs..."
She had a bellyful of complaints she wanted to voice, but Aunt Zhou simply had no interest in hearing them.
She lowered her head, picking beans. After finishing, she casually picked a few cucumbers, stood up, and started to leave. "It's so hot at high noon. You'd better hurry and cut your chives. Finish up and go home early to cool off."
Truth be told, Aunt Zhou didn't care for Zhou Zhaodi's temperament from the bottom of her heart.
Last time she suggested to Zhou Zhijun that he spend some time with Zhou Zhaodi, it was only because she didn't want him helping the Wang family anymore.
She knew perfectly well Zhou Zhijun had no interest in Zhou Zhaodi, so she hadn't brought it up again.
Zhou Zhaodi's little scheme was transparent to her; she was just here to fish for information.
Watching Aunt Zhou's retreating back, Zhou Zhaodi's face fell instantly. She muttered, "I was just trying to stand up for her, and she doesn't even want to hear it. Talk about a warm face meeting a cold backside!"
The two acres of watermelons were finally sold after about a month, leaving only two cartloads of end-of-season melons.
Though these final melons were a bit smaller, their flesh was mealy and sandy, and the taste wasn't much worse than the earlier good ones.
Wang Xiaohong had already sent quite a few watermelons to Aunt Zhou before. Now that the melon patch was finished, if you wanted more, you'd have to wait until next year.
To thank Zhou Zhijun for his help selling melons all these days, Wang Xiaohong specially bought canned goods, pastries, and a packet of brown sugar from the market. She also loaded a sack of the end-of-season melons onto the handcart.
"Sister-in-law, let's take these to Granny Zhou."
Hearing Wang Xiaohong say this, Chuntao's heart filled with trepidation.
A few days ago, while Wang Xiaohong wasn't at the melon field, Zhou Zhijun had brought up that promise she'd made before. Her heart was a mess of fear and confusion.
Chuntao really didn't want to see Zhou Zhijun, but on second thought, letting Xiaohong go alone didn't seem right either. She could only brace herself and go.
When they arrived at the Zhou house, Old Man Zhou and Zhou Zhijun weren't home. Aunt Zhou was in the kitchen kneading dough for steamed buns.
"Granny, we've brought you some watermelons!" Wang Xiaohong called out loudly from the kitchen doorway.
She first carried the net bag of gifts into the main room, then she and Chuntao together lifted in the sack of melons.
Aunt Zhou wiped her hands on her apron and followed them into the main room, smiling. "We've eaten so many of your family's melons this year already. Why bring so many more?"
"The melon patch is done for the season! We saved these last few for you to enjoy. If you want more, you'll have to wait until next year!" Wang Xiaohong wiped sweat from her forehead, smiling.
Chuntao added, "They're just a bit smaller, but the taste is just as sweet as before."
Seeing the gifts on the table, Aunt Zhou picked them up and tried to stuff them back into Chuntao's hands.
"You silly girls, what's all this unnecessary spending! I'll take the melons, but you take these things back!"
"Granny Zhou, we can't do that!" Wang Xiaohong quickly stopped her.
"In this sweltering heat, Uncle Zhijun helped us so much. We don't have anything good to show our respect, just this small token of our gratitude. You really must accept it!"
Aunt Zhou thought to herself, these two girls were much more sensible than Liu Cuilan. She wasn't greedy for the things themselves; what she valued was this sense of knowing right from wrong, this gesture of appreciation.
That girl Chuntao had a hard life, married to a useless man, still having to support her brother-in-law's schooling. Money wasn't easy for her to come by; how could Aunt Zhou possibly accept their things?
But faced with their sincere insistence, pushing back and forth endlessly wasn't the way either. She had to accept.
She turned and went into the inner room, brought out two big red apples, and pressed one into each of their hands. "Take these. They're from your Aunt Zhicai's family. Very sweet. Try them!"
Wang Xiaohong took the apple, took a small bite, and smiled. "So sweet! Even better than the ones from the market!"
Chuntao didn't refuse either. She took the apple and said, "Thank you, Granny."
Aunt Zhou reached out and patted Chuntao's arm, saying with concern, "I heard from your Uncle Zhijun that you fainted from exhaustion last time selling melons. Now that the watermelons are all sold, you should get some proper rest. Don't always push yourself so hard."
Chuntao sighed inwardly. How could she possibly rest? The sesame leaves and sorghum leaves still needed harvesting! And right after that comes the autumn harvest; a pile of work in the fields is waiting.
Having been busy selling melons for over a month, she hadn't visited her grandmother at her mother's home in a long time. She thought she'd bring a sack of melons to her grandmother's place tomorrow.
After thanking Aunt Zhou, the two were just about to leave when they saw Zhou Xiaoying and her two siblings walk into the courtyard.
Zhou Xiaohai, with a greedy eye, spotted the red apple in Chuntao's hand immediately. He tugged on Zhou Xiaoying's sleeve, whining, "Sis, I want an apple too!"
Hearing this, Chuntao quickly handed her apple to him, smiling. "Here, Xiaohai, you can have this one."
Seeing the three children, Aunt Zhou's face darkened. "Didn't your aunt bring apples for your family last time she visited? Why are you asking for more?"
"Ours were finished a long time ago!" Zhou Xiaomei said, pulling on her older sister Zhou Xiaoying's arm, her eyes darting towards the main room.
Whenever Granny Zhou's two daughters returned to their parents' home, they brought gifts not only for her but also for the families of Zhou Zhiguo and Zhou Zhimin, not daring to offend either household.
But Aunt Zhou refused to indulge them, especially looking down upon someone like Huang Meili with her petty, greedy nature.
She saw right through the three children's visit today; they were surely sent by Huang Meili after seeing Wang Xiaohong and Chuntao deliver their gifts.
Wanting no part in this drama, Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong said their goodbyes to Aunt Zhou, pulled the cart, and headed out to fetch melons from the field.
"Sister-in-law, you take the cart to the melon field first. I'll run home to use the toilet and catch up right away!"
Just outside the Zhou family compound, Wang Xiaohong handed the cart over to Chuntao and hurried home.
Chuntao pulled the cart along the main road toward the melon fields. Not far along, she saw Zhou Zhijun riding his bicycle toward her.
Her heart fluttered. She quickly lowered her head, eyes fixed on the ground, hoping to slip by unnoticed. But Zhou Zhijun called out to her.
"Hey! Wait!"
Chuntao's heart sank, and her steps halted.
Zhou Zhijun stopped his bicycle, walked up to her, and quickly pulled a small box from his pocket, thrusting it into her hand.
He didn't know that from a ditch not far away, a pair of eyes was fixed intently on them.
