Aunt Zhou had gone out to wash the diapers and wasn’t home.
Chuntao hurriedly said to Zhou Xiaobao, “Xiaobao, go see who it is.”
Zhou Xiaobao set the bowl in his hands on the cabinet and ran out of the inner room.
As soon as he reached the doorway, he saw Shi Yanhua leading a man and a woman into the house. Shi Yanhua spoke first. “Xiaobao, are your grandma and your second uncle home?”
Zhou Xiaobao blinked and answered in his clear little voice, “No! Only my second aunt is home, along with my baby brother and baby sister!”
Shi Yanhua froze for a moment. “Chuntao!” she called as she led the two people farther inside.
Only then did Chuntao recognize Shi Yanhua’s voice. She called back from the inner room, “Yes, Sister-in-law Yanhua!”
Her heart sank. She didn’t need to think twice to know why Shi Yanhua had come. She was surely here to persuade her to undergo sterilization.
Shi Yanhua entered the inner room and first went over to look at the two sleeping babies. With a smile, she praised them, “Chuntao, you really know how to have children. You had twins in one go—a boy and a girl, no less! The whole village is green with envy!”
After finishing her compliments, she abruptly changed the subject and got straight to the point. “Now that you have both a son and a daughter, your family is complete. I came today to persuade you to get sterilized. The people from the commune’s family-planning office are here too. Zhijun is to take you to the clinic tomorrow!”
Although the family-planning crackdown was extremely strict, as long as no one reported them to the commune, Shi Yanhua, the village women’s director, usually turned a blind eye and gave the villagers a little leeway.
But with people from the commune coming directly to their door today, someone had obviously reported them in secret.
Zhang Shuanzhu, the director of the commune’s family-planning office, had never gotten over the fact that he had failed to catch Chuntao the last time he went to Dongshan. Now that he had heard she had given birth to twins—a boy and a girl—putting her squarely in the sights of the sterilization policy, he felt even more frustrated. He was determined to regain face.
He immediately sent two subordinates to Wangjiazhai, ordering them to bring Chuntao to the commune clinic for sterilization, if only to vent the anger he had been holding inside.
Chuntao had always been frail, and giving birth to twins this time had nearly cost her her life. The difficult delivery had left her on the brink of death. Though Aunt Zhou had cared for her day and night, she was still terribly weak.
If she had to undergo surgery now, Chuntao was afraid she wouldn’t survive it.
But she also understood that a woman in her situation—giving birth to twins in one pregnancy—would eventually be forced to undergo sterilization whether she agreed or not. It was simply a matter of sooner or later.
In a soft voice, she pleaded, “Sister-in-law Yanhua, I’m too weak right now. Could I wait until I’ve finished my month of confinement?”
Before Shi Yanhua could reply, the female family-planning official who had followed her inside walked straight into the room.
The woman was named Lin Chun. She was in her thirties and stood well over six feet tall. She was Zhang Shuanzhu’s most trusted subordinate.
Lin Chun had always been zealous in her family-planning work and never showed anyone the slightest mercy. Even when her own cousin’s wife became pregnant and was on the verge of giving birth, Lin Chun had led people to the woman’s home in the middle of the night and forcibly taken her away for an abortion.
Everyone in the commune knew Lin Chun’s name, and no one had a good word to say about her. She had long since become the sworn enemy of the entire commune’s common people.
The moment Chuntao saw her, her heart sank halfway to her knees. She knew there was no room for negotiation.
Lin Chun’s sharp eyes swept over the two babies and then Chuntao. In a hard, unyielding voice, she said, “Plenty of women go for sterilization three days after giving birth. How long do you intend to keep dragging this out? You can’t delay any longer. You have to go tomorrow!”
Just then, Zhou Zhijun returned on his bicycle.
He saw an unfamiliar man standing in the main room. From the man’s clothes and bearing, it was obvious that he was a commune official.
Zhijun rammed his bicycle against the wall of the courtyard and strode into the house.
He had known that the family-planning office would come sooner or later, but he hadn’t expected them to arrive so quickly.
Zhou Zhijun ignored the male official in the main room and went straight into the inner room, lifting the curtain as he entered.
Inside, he saw Chuntao leaning weakly against the headboard, her face deathly pale, while Shi Yanhua and Lin Chun stood beside the bed.
“Sister-in-law Yanhua.” He turned toward Shi Yanhua.
Seeing how cold his expression was, Shi Yanhua hurriedly put on a smile. “Zhijun, you’re back. This is Comrade Lin from the commune’s family-planning office. The man in the main room came with her.
“They’re here today about Chuntao’s sterilization. Since she gave birth to twins, she meets the policy requirements. The commune is pressing hard and says she must go to the clinic tomorrow.”
Zhou Zhijun’s gaze shifted from Shi Yanhua’s face to Lin Chun’s. His voice was as hard as stone. “I understand the sterilization policy, and I never said we wouldn’t cooperate. But Chuntao had a difficult delivery giving birth to these two children and nearly lost her life. She’s only halfway through her confinement, and she’s so weak she can barely lift a bowl. You’re forcing her to undergo surgery now—is this your way of trying to kill her?”
Lin Chun stepped forward, her tone not softening in the slightest. “Everyone is equal before the policy. Women who give birth to twins must be sterilized. The entire commune follows the rules. There are no exceptions! She must go tomorrow. There’s nothing to discuss!”
Hearing the argument in the inner room, the male official from the doorway also came over.
Zhou Zhijun immediately shifted to the side, placing himself firmly in front of Chuntao to shield her. His eyes were bloodshot, and the veins stood out on his clenched fists.
He swept his gaze over Lin Chun and the male official, his voice cold and fierce. “Nothing to discuss? My wife gets dizzy after taking just a few steps. If you drag her off for surgery and something happens, who’s going to take responsibility? The commune? Or the two of you?!”
His tone eased slightly. “I know you’re only doing your jobs, and I’m not trying to stand in the way of the policy. Once Chuntao finishes her confinement, I’ll take her to the clinic myself. You won’t have to come nagging us again and again—I give you my word.
“But right now, if anyone dares lay a hand on my wife, I’ll fight them to the death! If necessary, I’ll go to the commune and demand justice. I refuse to believe there’s no one in this world who cares whether people live or die!”
Shi Yanhua quickly tried to smooth things over. “Zhijun, you’re right. Giving birth to twins is hard on the body, and she’s suffered a serious loss of strength.”
Then she turned to Lin Chun, a pleading look in her eyes. “Comrade Lin, given her special circumstances, couldn’t you make an exception and wait a few more days?”
Lin Chun had always been a woman of her word in her family-planning work. She had also heard that Zhou Zhijun was stubborn and hot-tempered, and now that she was seeing it for herself, she felt an inexplicable flicker of fear.
But she had already made her position clear. Backing down now would make her lose face.
She straightened her back, her face still hard as iron. “If everyone came up with excuses to delay, how would we carry out family-planning work? No one gets special treatment before the policy!”
A murderous glint surged in Zhou Zhijun’s eyes, and his voice rang out with force. “Policies are dead, but people are alive! No matter how strict the policy is, it can’t ignore human life, can it?
“I’ll say it one more time: if Chuntao has to be sterilized, I’ll take her myself after her confinement is over! Now get out. My wife needs to rest!”
Lin Chun had worked in family planning for many years. Plenty of people cursed her behind her back, and some had even tried to sabotage her in secret. But Zhou Zhijun was the first person who had ever dared confront her so aggressively to her face.
The trace of fear in her heart was instantly swallowed by anger. “Zhou Zhijun, don’t you dare bully people with your temper! I’m only doing my job. If you refuse to go tomorrow, I’ll personally bring people here and drag you there!”
“Fine! I’ll be waiting!”
Chuntao’s face flushed with fear. She hurriedly reached out and tugged lightly at Zhou Zhijun’s sleeve, her voice trembling. “Stop arguing…”
Zhou Zhijun turned around, the fierceness in his eyes instantly melting into tenderness. He gently reassured her, “Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”
Lin Chun let out a cold snort and turned to glare at Shi Yanhua. She snapped, “Just what kind of women’s director are you? Tomorrow, you take that woman to the commune clinic. If you can’t get her there, you can forget about being the women’s director!”
Without waiting for Shi Yanhua to respond, Lin Chun stormed out of the inner room, called for the male cadre, and left without looking back.
Shi Yanhua hurried after them, following Lin Chun with an ingratiating smile as she pleaded, “Comrade Lin, Chuntao is truly too weak. If she undergoes surgery now and something happens to her, what are we going to do?”
“Which woman isn’t weak after giving birth?” Lin Chun replied coldly without turning around. “This matter is in your hands. If you can’t get her there, your production brigade can forget about being named an advanced unit this year!”
Not far from the gate of Zhou Zhijun’s house, several villagers stood beneath an old Chinese parasol tree, craning their necks to watch.
Among them, Zhou Pandi wore a smug, barely concealed smile.
Zhou Zhijun, so you think you’re tough and powerful? Can you really defy the policies of the state? Li Chun Tao won’t escape this ordeal!
