Huang Meili ran straight into someone. The tip of her nose throbbed with pain, making her see stars, and she felt as though she had knocked it crooked.
She had no time to worry about the pain. She hurriedly looked up—and froze on the spot, her mind going completely blank.
The person standing in front of her was none other than Zhou Zhijun. When had he slipped back?
“Why are you wandering around in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?” Zhou Zhijun frowned, his voice cold as ice.
Huang Meili’s heart began to race. Stammering, she hastily made up a story. “N-No… nothing. A chicken from our house went missing, so I came out to look for it…”
Zhou Zhijun had just come back from Zhou Zhiguo’s house. He had never expected to run into Huang Meili in the dead of night.
Watching her hurried, flustered retreat, he knitted his brows into a tight knot.
There was no way Huang Meili had been up to anything proper.
But he had no time to meddle in such trivial matters. The reservoir construction was already giving him enough headaches.
The next day, Zhou Zhijun made another trip to the commune.
The moment Wu Mingwei saw him, he said, “The people assigned to help build the reservoir have to leave tomorrow. Your situation is special, so your request was approved. You can delay your departure for one month!”
At that, Zhou Zhijun felt the heavy weight in his heart finally lift. He thanked Wu Mingwei at once, then turned around and hurried toward Dongshan.
He did not dare stop even once along the way. By the time he reached Dongshan, it was already the middle of the night.
Chuntao had just finished nursing the two babies, and she and Aunt Zhou were still awake.
As soon as Zhou Zhijun entered, he told them everything about his business at the commune.
After hearing him out, Aunt Zhou smiled and said, “Good. Once the mud on the road dries up, we’ll return to Wangjia Village and hold the babies’ one-month celebration first. You’ll still have time to go build the reservoir afterward.”
“Mm, that’s what I was thinking too. The reservoir construction site is only a few dozen li north of the city. We won’t be able to work on rainy, overcast days, so I can still find time to come home!”
As he spoke, Zhou Zhijun turned to Chuntao, his eyes filled with tenderness.
“You gave me a pair of twins—a boy and a girl—and the whole family is overjoyed. When we go back this time, we won’t just hold a grand celebration for their first month. We’ll even invite people to show a movie and have a proper celebration!”
Chuntao’s feelings were mixed. On the one hand, she longed for the two babies to return to Wangjia Village with proper recognition. On the other, she was afraid the villagers would gossip.
After all, she had conceived the two children before she and Zhou Zhijun had registered their marriage. She could not help worrying that people would point fingers and whisper behind her back.
During her confinement, Aunt Zhou and Zhou Zhijun busied themselves every day with Chuntao and the two babies. They brought her tea and water, washed clothes, cooked meals, and took wonderfully good care of her.
Chuntao grew rosier and healthier by the day, and she had plenty of milk. Jianshe simply had a bigger appetite than most, but with a little rice powder added each day, there was still enough to fill him.
The two babies ate when they were hungry and slept when they were full, like little bean sprouts growing before one’s eyes. Each day they became plumper and fairer, with large double-lidded eyes. They were as adorable as the babies in New Year paintings.
There were only ten days or so left before they reached one month old, and the weather had finally warmed up completely.
Old Man Zhou missed his daughter-in-law and grandchildren, so he sent Zhou Xiaowei to Dongshan to help bring Chuntao and the babies home to Wangjia Village.
But the mountain roads were rough, and the flatbed cart let in the wind. He was afraid Chuntao, who had only just finished her confinement, and the two babies might be chilled. After thinking it over, he tucked two packs of cigarettes into his pocket and went to see his old schoolmate, Zhao Yunlong, at the grain station, asking him to drive their truck over.
Zhao Yunlong usually had little to do at the grain station. After mentioning it to his supervisor, he took Zhou Xiaowei and set off for Dongshan.
Chuntao held Nuannuan and sat in the warm cab, while Zhou Zhijun and the others sat in the truck bed.
Aunt Zhou wrapped Jianshe so tightly that not even the slightest draft could reach him. She was terrified her little grandson might catch cold.
Aunt Zhou’s family had lived at Second Aunt Zhou’s home for more than half a year. Now that they were leaving, Second Aunt Zhou felt utterly empty inside. She held Aunt Zhou’s hand, unable to stop her tears from falling.
Aunt Zhou invited her to stay in Wangjia Village for a while, but there was farm work to be done, and she truly could not get away. All she could do was wipe her eyes and watch them leave.
With tears in their eyes, they waved goodbye to Second Aunt Zhou as the truck drove toward Wangjia Village.
All along the way, Chuntao’s heart rose and fell uneasily. After all, the troubles of her past had been witnessed by everyone in the village.
Before they set out, Zhou Zhijun and Aunt Zhou reassured her again and again. He and Chuntao were legally married and had a birth permit, so they were acting openly and properly. No one had any right to say a word against them.
Aunt Zhou thumped her chest and declared, “If anyone dares wag their tongue, this old woman will be the first to refuse to let it go!”
Zhou Zhijun added in a deep voice, “If anyone dares whisper behind our backs, I’ll straighten out her tongue myself!”
Nuannuan opened her large, dark, shining eyes in Chuntao’s arms and stared curiously at the crossbeam above the cab. A moment later, she tilted her head to look at Chuntao’s face. Then her little mouth split into a sweet, soft smile.
Looking at her daughter’s obedient, lovely face, Chuntao felt her unease gradually fade, and the corners of her lips lifted unconsciously.
She secretly told herself that she was a mother now. For the sake of her two children, she had to stand tall. There was no need to fear any idle gossip.
The truck jolted along the bumpy dirt road. The shaking made Nuannuan’s eyelids droop, and before long she curled up in Chuntao’s arms and fell into a deep sleep.
By the time the truck reached their home, it was already midnight. The village was pitch-black and utterly silent, which saved them the awkwardness of running into anyone.
Old Man Zhou had spent the whole day counting down the hours on his fingers. Knowing they would arrive in the middle of the night, he had waited up for them.
A pot of steaming rice porridge was ready, along with golden, fragrant fried flatbreads. He had also made several fried eggs for Chuntao and stir-fried a few simple home-style dishes.
In the days Aunt Zhou had been away, Old Man Zhou’s cooking skills had improved considerably.
Zhou Zhijun and his uncle ate with Zhao Yunlong in the main room, while Aunt Zhou had Chuntao sit on the bed and eat with her in the inner room.
Jianshe had just finished nursing. His bright eyes darted around as he took in the unfamiliar surroundings.
Old Man Zhou held him in his arms, cherishing him so much that he could barely bear to let go. He kept murmuring, “This boy looks exactly like his father did as a child—so sturdy and lively!”
Zhou Zhijun turned to glance at the son in his father’s arms, unable to keep the smile from spreading across his lips.
He thought smugly to himself, My son naturally looks like me. What would we do if he looked like someone else?
They were still eating when footsteps sounded outside the courtyard gate. Zhou Zhiguo and his wife had arrived.
Wang Haiying carried a basket filled with eggs. Two packets of brown sugar and several bundles of fine noodles rested on top.
Zhou Zhijun was already in his thirties when he finally married. Now that he had children—and twins at that—Zhou Zhiguo and Wang Haiying were sincerely delighted for him. They had saved the eggs and bought the noodles and brown sugar long ago, waiting for the day he returned to the village.
Zhou Xiaowei had set out for Dongshan at three in the morning. Like Old Man Zhou, Zhou Zhiguo and Wang Haiying had calculated the timing carefully, figuring that the family would reach home around midnight.
A short while earlier, Zhou Zhiguo had taken a flashlight and gone to wait beside the main road at the edge of the village. When he saw a truck approaching in the distance, he knew they had returned. He hurried home to call Wang Haiying, picked up the gifts, and rushed over.
Standing in the doorway of the main room, Zhou Zhiguo looked at Jianshe in Old Man Zhou’s arms, grinning from ear to ear.
Wang Haiying took the baby and held him for a moment, praising him repeatedly. “This child is so handsome! He’s even better-looking than the babies in New Year pictures!”
After handing the baby back to Old Man Zhou, she quietly stepped into the inner room.
Nuannuan was sleeping soundly on the bed.
Her little face was round and plump, fair with a rosy glow. Her skin was soft and delicate, as though it had been dusted with a light layer of face powder, with a faint blush shining through.
Her long, delicately curled lashes lay thickly against her eyelids like two tiny feather fans, trembling faintly with each soft breath.
The tip of her petite nose rose and fell ever so gently. Her little mouth was plump and pink, like a ripe cherry, slightly pursed as she occasionally pressed her lips together unconsciously. They were so soft they could melt a person’s heart.
Wang Haiying’s eyes remained fixed on Nuannuan’s face, her own beaming with delight. She raised a hand, wanting to touch the baby’s tender little cheek, but worried that her rough hands might hurt such a precious little darling, so she stopped herself.
“Little Sister Chuntao, you really know how to have children! One pregnancy, and you’ve got both a son and a daughter—a perfect ‘good’! And they’re both such beautiful babies. They’re absolutely adorable!”
Lowering her voice, Wang Haiying continued with a smile, “Xiaobao has been clinging to his brother and sister’s return every day. When he sees them first thing tomorrow morning, he’ll be over the moon!”
A smile touched Chuntao’s lips as she asked softly, “Sister-in-law, has Xiaobao grown taller lately?”
“He’s grown quite a bit! When he heard that his uncle had gone to bring you all back, he was so excited he wouldn’t even go to sleep after finishing his soup. He only just fell asleep after he could no longer keep his eyes open!”
Aunt Zhou chimed in with a smile, “Xiaobao’s a big brother now, too. That boy is kindhearted—he’ll surely protect his little brother and sister!”
After a pause, Aunt Zhou asked, “I heard Hongxia has become a permanent employee at the oilfield?”
“That’s right. She’s officially employed now, but she has to travel everywhere with the drilling team, facing the wind and rain. It isn’t easy.”
Wang Haiying sighed. “I’d originally planned to ask around and see if we could get her transferred to the oilfield residential compound, but that girl is so stubborn. She wouldn’t listen…”
A few days earlier, Wang Xiaohong had happened to run into Zhou Xiaowei and Zhou Hongxia while they were visiting Li Mingliang. They had gone to see him precisely because of the transfer.
Li Mingliang’s mother was a teacher at the oilfield elementary school, while his father was also a minor leader at the work unit. They had some influence and could have helped with the transfer, but in the end, the matter had gotten stuck because of Hongxia’s educational qualifications.
On New Year’s Eve, Old Ma, the oilfield cook, had come to their house to act as matchmaker. The prospective groom’s mother was in charge of personnel transfers, and as long as Zhou Hongxia agreed to marry her son, transferring her to a job in the residential compound would have been a simple matter.
Unfortunately, the son had a slight limp. Though it wouldn’t prevent him from working or living a normal life, Zhou Hongxia was unwilling.
With the transfer still out of reach, Zhou Hongxia had no choice but to continue traveling all over the place with the drilling team.
Wang Haiying told Aunt Zhou the whole story, never realizing that her own daughter already had someone she liked.
After hearing everything, Aunt Zhou nodded. “It’s right that she refused. My granddaughter is a fine girl. She needs to find someone well matched with her—someone she likes herself.
“If she forces herself into a marriage, then no matter how good the conditions are, there’s no guarantee she’ll have a happy life afterward!”
After dinner, Zhao Yunlong followed Zhou Xiaowei off to sleep, while Zhou Zhiguo and his wife carried the empty basket back home.
Next door, Wang Xiaoming and Wang Xiaohong had already heard the roar of the truck outside the courtyard and knew that Chuntao’s family had returned.
Wang Xiaoming threw on his clothes and was about to hurry over, but Wang Xiaohong grabbed him by the arm, her expression darkening.
“They’re having a lively family reunion. What are you going over there for as an outsider? You’ll only annoy them.”
