“Who is it?”
Aunt Zhou’s shout rang especially clearly through the silent night.
Then Old Man Zhou’s voice came from inside. “What is it?”
Chuntao’s heart leapt into her throat. Her hand jerked, and the door bolt gave a sharp click as she pulled it open and shoved the door wide.
Big Yellow let out a howl and shot out like a black shadow.
It raced to the gate and barked furiously into the darkness at the village entrance. Every hair along its neck stood on end, its teeth bared as if it were ready to pounce and tear someone apart at any moment.
The beam of Aunt Zhou’s flashlight swung wildly as she hurried to the gate and opened it. There was no one outside. It was completely empty.
Aunt Zhou turned and saw Chuntao standing in the courtyard. She sighed. “Peach, it was probably just someone passing by. Go back inside and get some sleep.”
Though she said that, suspicion began to gnaw at her.
Zhou Dana had lost face that day. There was no way he would let the matter go.
Could he be planning to hurt Big Yellow?
But then she thought better of it. Zhou Dana had been the village Party secretary for more than a decade, and he was cunning as a fox.
If he really wanted revenge, he wouldn’t use such a foolish method.
Meanwhile, inside the brigade headquarters, Zhou Dana was sitting beside a table.
He took a thick account book out of the drawer and opened it.
Every payment related to the oil field’s land acquisition was recorded inside: whose land had been taken, how much had been used for roads, oil wells, mud pits, or sheet-metal buildings. Every single transaction was listed in meticulous detail.
The oil-field compensation money had been paid out long ago.
He had deliberately refused to distribute it because he was afraid that Troublemaker Zhou Zhijun would interfere.
Now Zhou Zhijun was building a reservoir at Banqiao, more than a hundred li away. With that biggest obstacle out of the way, the stone weighing on Zhou Dana’s heart had finally been lifted.
How the compensation money was divided was entirely up to him.
His gaze moved down the names in the account book. At last, his finger stopped on Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao.
Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao, along with several of their brothers, had all gone to prison. Zhou Dana could easily find an excuse to withhold their compensation money, claiming that it was being “managed collectively.”
Then there was Baldy Zhang. He was dead and had left no descendants, so that money could naturally be “returned to the collective” as well.
In the end, it would all end up in Zhou Dana’s pockets.
After Zhou Pandi had fallen into the mud pit, the family fortune had been drained to pay for her medical treatment and pull strings to get her off the hook.
His son, Zhou Jinzhu, was now in high school and would be taking the college entrance exams in two years. Sending him to college would cost a great deal of money.
If he skimmed off part of the compensation this time, he wouldn’t have to worry about the money for Jinzhu’s college education.
The more Zhou Dana thought about it, the more pleased he became. He pulled a pouch of tobacco from his pocket, lit it, and took a slow drag.
Suddenly, three knocks came from outside.
Knock, knock, knock.
Zhou Dana’s brows drew sharply together. He hurriedly shoved the account book back into the drawer and locked it.
His eyes fixed on the old wooden door. His heart leapt into his throat, but he pretended not to hear anything and sat perfectly still.
Lately, one troublesome thing after another had been cropping up.
Earlier that day, while he was working in the fields, Huang Meili had deliberately sidled up to him.
She narrowed her little eyes and lowered her voice. “Uncle Dana, when are they going to hand out the oil-well compensation money? My family doesn’t even have money to buy salt. Hurry up and distribute it—I’m waiting to buy salt!”
“What, if there’s no compensation money, your family won’t eat salt anymore?” Zhou Dana had snapped irritably.
That night, he had already given her several dozen yuan, thinking that would settle everything between them.
But the woman was like glue that couldn’t be shaken off. She kept hounding him.
“Uncle Dana, you can’t put it that way.” Huang Meili edged even closer. After glancing around to make sure no one was nearby, she lowered her voice further. “Give me another hundred yuan, and after that, we’ll be even!”
Zhou Dana recognized the threat hidden in her words. His brows knitted together, and his face darkened like the bottom of a cooking pot.
“Huang Meili, don’t push your luck!”
Huang Meili gave a cold laugh, a fierce glint flashing in her eyes. “You get to eat the meat, so what’s wrong with letting me have a little soup? If you won’t, then I’ll make sure the meat gets stuck in your throat!”
If she exposed what had happened between Zhou Dana and Shi Yanhua, he would be in serious trouble as village Party secretary.
But Zhou Dana was certain that Huang Meili was all bluster. He didn’t believe she had the nerve to completely fall out with him.
“Huang Meili, you’re no saint yourself. If Zhou Zhimin found out about the things you’ve done, do you think he’d let you off?”
“What things have I done?” Huang Meili raised her voice slightly, then quickly lowered it again. “Wasn’t I forced into it by you? If I report you for rape…”
She deliberately left the sentence unfinished, staring straight at him.
Zhou Dana growled, “You wouldn’t dare, not even if I gave you ten times the nerve!”
With that, he hoisted his hoe onto his shoulder and turned to leave, abandoning Huang Meili where she stood, trembling with rage.
Huang Meili cursed after him. “Zhou Dana, you old fox! Don’t think I wouldn’t dare. Push me too far, and I’ll do anything!”
Could Huang Meili have come back again?
Zhou Dana stopped smoking and stared at the door, his heart in turmoil.
Knock-knock, knock-knock.
The knocking paused for a moment, then began again.
Zhou Dana rose from his seat and crept to the door. Lowering his voice, he asked, “Who is it?”
“Open up, it’s me!”
It was Shi Yanhua’s voice.
These two women were driving him absolutely mad.
Shi Yanhua had also been keeping an eye on the compensation money, always trying to get her share. He had already given her two hundred yuan, but she wasn’t satisfied in the slightest.
“It’s late. Go home and get some sleep,” Zhou Dana said, with no intention of opening the door.
“Open the door! I have something to say!”
“What could you possibly have to say that can’t wait until tomorrow?”
“I have to say it tonight. Tomorrow will be too late!”
Shi Yanhua was different from Huang Meili. She wasn’t merely sharp-tongued—she was ruthless too, and she was the mother of his beloved son.
Naturally, Zhou Dana didn’t dare treat her as forcefully as he treated Huang Meili.
Creak—
The door opened.
“What can’t wait until tomorrow? Why did you have to come tonight?” Zhou Dana stepped aside to let her in.
Shi Yanhua slipped inside and immediately bolted the door behind her. She got straight to the point. “You’re planning to distribute the oil-field compensation money?”
“I don’t want to keep dealing with this thankless chore either.”
Shi Yanhua held out her hand. “Give me another two hundred.”
“Didn’t I already give you money?” Zhou Dana’s brows furrowed even more deeply. “Besides, this is everyone’s money, not mine.”
“Everyone’s money?” Shi Yanhua sneered. “Isn’t it still you who gets to decide what happens to it?”
She paused, then continued, “The north room at my house leaks whenever it rains. I want to replace the roof with small clay tiles.
“And the wall in the east room is about to collapse. I want to tear it down and rebuild it. How can I do that without money?”
The oil-field compensation money was in Zhou Dana’s hands. He alone decided how much each person received and how it was distributed.
But he couldn’t go too far.
If he withheld too much and someone discovered it, the villagers would make a scene. When that happened, even he, the village Party secretary, wouldn’t be able to bring things under control.
“The two hundred yuan I gave you is enough to repair the house and fix the roof.” Zhou Dana gritted his teeth. “I can’t give you any more. The villagers are all as sharp as monkeys. If they find out, they’ll kick up a fuss, and neither of us will come out ahead.”
“There are several thousand yuan in there. Don’t tell me you’re planning to distribute every last cent.” Shi Yanhua refused to back down, fixing him with a piercing stare. “Give me another two hundred. As for however much you decide to keep, I won’t ask for a cent.”
“What I keep is for Jinzhu’s sake too, isn’t it?” Zhou Dana brought up their son, trying to persuade her.
“He’ll be starting his second year of high school this fall. In two years, he’ll be taking the college entrance exams. Once he gets into college, the expenses won’t be small…”
“You can rest easy with the money in my hands. In the end, won’t it all be spent on Jinzhu?”
If he hadn’t brought that up, things might have been fine. But the moment he did, Shi Yanhua exploded.
“That’s easy for you to say!” Her voice rose sharply, then she hurriedly lowered it again. “When Pandi fell into that mud pit, didn’t you spend money? When the police station was going to charge her with making a false accusation and defamation, wasn’t it you who paid to settle the matter?
“You keep saying all the money is spent on Jinzhu, but hasn’t it really all been used up by your whole family?”
Shi Yanhua stepped closer, her voice edged with menace. “What you just said actually gave me an idea. Give me the money you’ve been holding back. I’ll keep it for you, and we can use it for Jinzhu’s schooling later!”
Whoever held the money was the one who could feel at ease. Zhou Dana certainly couldn’t agree to that.
Shi Yanhua added, “Fine, I won’t keep it for you. But you have to give me another two hundred yuan!”
Zhou Dana knew there was no way he could argue with her. Gritting his teeth, he agreed to give her another two hundred yuan.
He took the key from his waist, carefully opened the cabinet, counted out the money, and handed it to Shi Yanhua.
“Here.” He did his best to keep his voice calm. “I’ll distribute the rest tomorrow.”
Shi Yanhua snatched the money from him, moistened her finger with saliva, and counted it carefully. Only after confirming that it was exactly two hundred yuan did she stuff it into her pocket.
She couldn’t be bothered to exchange any more affection with Zhou Dana. Turning around, she opened the door and left.
When she reached the corner of the gable wall, a pair of large hands suddenly shot out and clamped tightly over her mouth.
A powerful stench of sweat flooded her nostrils at once, so foul that she was too choked to struggle.
