At his question, Li Mingliang froze.
Looking at her swollen, reddened eyes, he sighed softly. “Xiaohong, you’re a good girl. Don’t ask me that again.
“There’s never been anything between Chuntao and me. She’s married now and has children, and her life is stable and peaceful. I’m genuinely happy for her.
“I came back this time simply to visit her and the children as a friend.
“And don’t waste your time on me. It isn’t worth it. You’ll always be a good girl—and a good little sister—to me.”
Without waiting for Wang Xiaohong to reply, Li Mingliang mounted his bicycle and pedaled away.
Wang Xiaohong watched his retreating figure, tears streaming down her face like a burst spring.
She had always been strong-willed and rarely shed tears, but she had cried more that day than she had in all the years before it combined.
At that moment, she felt like the most miserable, most pitiful person in the world.
Her family had fallen apart, her feelings had come to nothing, and the road ahead was completely dark. She couldn’t see even the faintest glimmer of hope.
Why? Why did Heaven treat her this way? It was so unfair!
Her legs gave way, and she dropped heavily onto the ridge between the fields, crying out in anguish.
When Wang Xiaoming returned with his shoulder pole and buckets of water, he saw her sitting at the edge of the field, sobbing. Then he looked toward Li Mingliang in the distance, and instantly understood everything.
At a time like this, nothing anyone said would help. He neither tried to comfort her nor asked what had happened. He simply lowered his head and watered the sweet-potato seedlings that had just been planted in the holes.
A perfectly good family had now been torn apart, and his heart ached too. But no matter how painful it was, he had to grit his teeth and carry on.
Every family had its own troubles. Life still had to go on.
Before they knew it, the day of the babies’ full-month celebration arrived. Once the celebration was over, Zhou Zhijun set about renovating the house.
Zhou Zhiguo’s whole family came over to help, patching every place on the roof where tiles were missing or rain leaked through.
The walls inside and out were coated with white lime and scrubbed until they gleamed.
In the inner room, a ceiling made of sorghum-stalk mats was stretched beneath the roof, so dust could no longer fall from above. The room looked clean, bright, and spacious.
The front gate and the doors were painted with glossy red lacquer, polished so brightly they could reflect a person’s face.
Inside and out, everything was tidied until the place looked completely renewed.
Once the house was in order, Zhou Zhijun had the Simmons bed and large wardrobe he had ordered in the county town brought home. He had also replaced the tables, chairs, and stools with new ones.
In the countryside, every family slept on wooden beds made by carpenters. Who had ever seen a Western-style mattress like this?
As soon as the truck entered the village, men, women, and children all crowded around to see the novelty.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk. So this is the big bed people in the city sleep on? I hear it’s terribly soft!” one young wife said, her eyes full of envy.
As Zhou Zhiguo, his son, and the driver carried the bed down from the truck, a middle-aged man reached out and gave it a pat. With a grin, he said, “This bed must be wonderful to sleep on. No more creaking all night!”
His remark sent everyone into gales of laughter.
“You should buy one too and enjoy it properly with your wife!”
“I’m not buying one. If it’s too comfortable, who’d be willing to get up and work in the fields?”
The villagers gathered around the truck, joking and teasing one another, their faces wreathed in smiles. But beneath those smiles was undisguised envy—and jealousy.
Only after all the furniture had been unloaded and the truck had driven away did everyone slowly disperse. They gathered instead beneath the gable wall not far away and began whispering among themselves.
One woman curled her lips. “Chuntao didn’t have anything this grand the first time she got married. Now that she’s marrying for the second time, she’s putting on quite a show!”
“A second marriage with such fanfare isn’t even the strangest part. Giving birth first and holding the wedding afterward—that’s what’s truly unbelievable! Has anyone here ever seen anything like it? I certainly haven’t. It’s a first for me!” Wang Chunxiao chimed in.
As soon as she said that, the conversation turned once again to Chuntao’s twins.
“I heard Haiying say those two babies are exceptionally handsome and pretty!”
“So what if they are? Everyone knows where they came from.”
“Exactly. She got pregnant long ago. Doesn’t she feel ashamed?”
“Liu Cuilan said ages ago that the two of them had been carrying on together. Looks like she was telling the truth!”
“Whatever the truth is, Zhou Zhijun certainly has some ability. He managed to keep everything under control, and the babies were born safe and sound!”
Just then, Wang Xiaohong came walking over with a basket of grass.
When she drew near, Wang Chunxiao deliberately lowered her voice and called out, “Xiaohong, when Uncle Zhijun and your sister-in-law hold their wedding in a few days, you’d better give them a generous gift!”
The others joined in, egging her on. “That’s right! You and Chuntao used to be so close. You absolutely have to give them a big wedding gift!”
Wang Xiaohong was already distraught. At those words, she stopped abruptly. Her eyes were bloodshot as she swept a furious gaze over the group of gossipmongers.
“If you have nothing decent to say, then shut your mouths!” she snapped before turning and striding away.
“Such a paper tiger. If she’s got the nerve, she should go pick a fight with Zhou Zhijun!” a young woman muttered under her breath. “That whole family’s completely unhinged—like rabid dogs, snapping at anyone who comes near!”
Outside, the gossip buzzed like a swarm of flies. Inside Zhou Zhijun’s home, however, everything was completely different.
Zhou Xiaowei had pasted two New Year prints of chubby babies on the wall above the bed. Between them, he had put up a large red paper-cut character for double happiness.
Red ribbons hung beneath the ceiling mat, and red characters for happiness decorated the windows. The new bridal room looked warm and festive.
As he gazed at the transformed room, a faint bitterness suddenly rose in Zhou Xiaowei’s heart.
Chuntao was his second aunt. The feelings he had hidden deep inside had long since been crushed to dust by reality.
Yet when he looked at the brand-new bed and the glaring red symbol of double happiness, he still couldn’t stop himself from imagining things he shouldn’t. The more he imagined, the tighter and more uncomfortable his heart became.
Out in the courtyard, Chuntao and Aunt Zhou sat in the sunshine, each holding one of the babies.
Aunt Zhou was grinning from ear to ear. Looking at Chuntao, she said, “Let’s choose an auspicious day and hold your wedding. We can celebrate the twins’ full month at the same time. It’ll be double happiness for the family!”
Chuntao, however, looked a little embarrassed. The babies had already been born, and she was afraid the villagers would gossip if they held the wedding now.
“Let’s not have a wedding. We can just hold a full-month celebration for the babies.”
Aunt Zhou waved her hand with a smile. “That won’t do! You’re the great benefactor of the Zhou family. How could we let you suffer any injustice? Every proper ritual and every bit of ceremony should be observed. We won’t leave anything out!”
Wang Haiying was sitting in the courtyard, fitting a new quilt cover. She looked up at Chuntao and nodded in agreement with a smile. “Mother’s right. You’ve given the Zhou family two babies at once. That’s an enormous contribution. The wedding has to be held—and it has to be held in grand style!”
“Second Aunt, you’re going to be a new bride! Are you happy?” Zhou Xiaobao asked, his bright eyes fixed on Chuntao.
A blush spread across Chuntao’s face. She didn’t answer. She merely lowered her head to look at Nuannuan in her arms and smiled, her curved brows and eyes gentler than the warm sunshine of early spring.
The next day, Wang Haiying stayed home to help look after the babies, while Zhou Zhijun rode his bicycle with Chuntao to Qingshan Street.
The two of them first went to a photography studio, where they had a wedding portrait taken together.
After that, they went shopping for wedding supplies. Zhou Zhijun had originally wanted to buy all three of the major household items, but Chuntao firmly stopped him.
“A Simmons bed and a complete set of furniture have already cost us plenty. How can we keep throwing money at this? There will be expenses everywhere once we start living together.
“Besides, our family already has a bicycle and a sewing machine. Buying new ones would be wasteful.”
What she said made perfect sense, so Zhou Zhijun could only agree. They would keep the sewing machine and bicycle for now and replace them once they had more money to spare.
“We already have a sewing machine and a bicycle at home, so there’s no need to buy those. But we must get a watch. It’s one of the standard three wedding gifts—we can’t leave it out.”
The three standard wedding gifts were indeed considered essential, but in the countryside, few families could afford to buy all three.
“I don’t want one. It’ll only get in the way, and it won’t be convenient when I’m working.”
“I don’t want you to suffer even the slightest bit. If other people have something, I’ll make sure you have it too. And if there’s something they don’t have, I’ll get that for you as well.”
Zhou Zhijun’s tone was firm, but Chuntao refused no matter what he said.
“Peach, if you don’t accept it, I won’t be able to get it off my mind.”
“It’s not that I don’t want one. I’m just thinking that once you’ve made your fortune, you can buy me the very best watch.” Chuntao could only put it that way to persuade him.
How could Zhou Zhijun not understand that Chuntao was being considerate of how hard it was for him to earn money?
He clasped her hand tightly and said solemnly, “Peach, one day I’ll buy you a Baoshihua ladies’ watch. I’ll buy you a gold ring, too!”
Since Chuntao refused the watch, Zhou Zhijun went to buy her clothes, shoes, and socks instead, outfitting her with two brand-new sets from head to toe, inside and out.
This time, he didn’t listen to her. He stubbornly bought everything himself.
He also bought some fabric for himself and planned to take it home so Haiying could cut and sew him a brand-new outfit to wear at the wedding banquet.
Washbasin, towel, comb, mirror, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, face cream—he bought every last item they would need.
By the time they finished shopping, it was already well past noon.
With large and small packages hanging from both hands, Zhou Zhijun led Chuntao into a restaurant to eat. The moment they stepped inside, they saw two familiar figures.
