“Wang Xiaoming! You stop right there!”
The shrill voice made Wang Xiaoming freeze. The hand holding the bucket trembled.
He looked toward the voice and saw a dark, gaunt woman splashing through the muddy water toward him, full of fury.
Even from a distance, she shouted, “Wang Xiaoming, what have you got in that bucket?”
When she reached him, the woman snatched the bucket from his hand. “Those are fish from my pond. What right do you have to take them?”
Wang Xiaoming’s face went white. “I found these fish in our field. How are they yours?”
“My family leased the river embankment. Of course the fish are ours!”
“Your lease expired a whole year ago!” Wang Xiaoming reached for the bucket.
He managed to snatch it back, but the woman slipped. She staggered and fell hard into the muddy water, landing on her backside.
“Wang Xiaoming, you little bastard! Your whole family has no conscience!”
Cursing, the woman scrambled up and lunged at Wang Xiaoming.
Zhou Zhijun stepped forward and planted himself firmly in front of him. He drove the shovel in his hand into the mud and said in a low voice, “Sister-in-law Li, let’s talk this out. Don’t frighten the boy.”
His imposing manner made the woman hesitate, but she still shouted, “Zhou Zhijun, this has nothing to do with you!”
“Nothing to do with me? I’m standing up for what’s right. Your family’s lease on the embankment expired a year ago, and you never renewed it. Those fish aren’t yours!”
Sister-in-law Li was stunned. “The lease may have expired, but I put those fish in there while it was still ours. As long as no one else has taken over the lease, the fish belong to me!”
Zhou Zhijun looked at her coldly. “Quit making trouble. If you keep refusing to be reasonable, don’t blame me for what happens next.”
Several villagers carrying shovels and redirecting the water at the edge of the field turned to look. They all stopped working.
Sister-in-law Li was notorious for being unreasonable, but she was also a coward when faced with anyone stronger than her. With Zhou Zhijun backing Wang Xiaoming, she didn’t dare make a real scene.
“Fine! Then give me the few big fish in that bucket. I’ll let him keep the little ones!”
“Not a single one.”
Zhou Zhijun’s voice was cold and hard as it struck her ears.
“Xiaoming may be the only one left in his family, but as long as I’m here, no one is going to bully him!”
Wang Xiaoming’s eyes reddened. He choked out, “Uncle Zhijun…”
Several villagers gathered around. When they caught sight of the fish in the bucket, their eyes lit up. No one bothered going back to redirect the water. They hoisted their shovels and ran toward the eastern ditch.
Sister-in-law Li panicked and chased after them, shouting as she ran, “What are you doing? Those fish are mine!”
Wang Xiaoming carried the half-full bucket of fish home with Zhou Zhijun.
Aunt Zhou stewed the three largest fish into a pot of fragrant, savory soup. She tossed the small fish and shrimp into hot oil and fried them until they were crisp.
Wang Xiaoming ate lunch at Zhou Zhijun’s house. During the meal, Zhou Zhijun shared his idea.
“Dad, Mom, I want to lease the river embankment and raise fish.”
This was the first time he had said it openly. Before this, he had only mentioned it to Chuntao.
The moment Old Man Zhou heard him, he frowned. “Didn’t Old Zhang raise fish a few years ago, only to have someone secretly poison them? He lost everything and eventually had to quit. With this kind of business, if someone deliberately wants to hurt you, there’s no way to guard against it!”
“Your father’s right,” Aunt Zhou added. “People from our village and the neighboring villages will all want to sneak over and catch a few fish. If you don’t keep watch, you’re bound to lose money. But if you do keep watch, you’ll offend people—and then they’ll sabotage you behind your back. There’s simply no way to prevent it.”
Aunt Zhou had always supported Zhou Zhijun’s decisions, but this time she was genuinely worried.
The lease, the cost of buying fingerlings, and the labor involved would require a considerable investment. If anything went wrong, they could lose every penny.
Zhou Zhijun had already thought it through. His parents’ concerns weren’t unfounded, but he wasn’t nearly as pessimistic as they were.
“Xiaoming, what do you think? Can this work?”
Wang Xiaoming sat at the table without saying a word, though his ears had been perked up the whole time.
When Zhou Zhijun asked him, he glanced at the two older people before finally looking at Zhou Zhijun.
“Uncle Zhijun, what Grandpa and Grandma said is true. I’m just worried that someone with a black heart might try to sabotage us. But that doesn’t mean we have no way to protect ourselves. I think raising fish is worth a try.”
After the commune had been reorganized into a township, several restaurants had opened along Qingshan Street and in Nangang, and the demand for fish was huge.
“As long as there’s demand, there’s money to be made. If we can supply the city, we can get an even better price…”
In Zhou Zhijun’s eyes, Xiaoming had always been a quiet, half-grown boy. He hadn’t expected him to see things so clearly.
“Xiaoming, well said!” Zhou Zhijun gave him an approving look.
Wang Xiaoming grew embarrassed. “I was just thinking out loud.”
Old Man Zhou and Aunt Zhou also felt that his reasoning made sense, but they were still uneasy.
The lease, the fingerlings, and the labor would require a substantial investment. If something happened, they could lose everything.
Chuntao sat quietly to one side, listening. She was both surprised by and impressed with Wang Xiaoming, and she discreetly gave him an encouraging look.
That night, after they had lain down in bed, Zhou Zhijun finally asked Chuntao softly, “Tao, do you think I should lease the embankment and raise fish?”
He hadn’t asked her in front of his parents at noon—not because he didn’t value her opinion, but because he was afraid of putting her in an awkward position before the older couple.
Chuntao’s eyes were firm. “Brother Zhijun, I believe in you. Whatever you want to do, you’ll succeed.”
“Tao, you’re wonderful.”
He suddenly pulled her into his arms. “You understand me better than anyone. Whatever I, Zhou Zhijun, set my mind to, I can accomplish…”
He leaned close to her ear, his voice low and husky. “Like taking you…”
They spent the night wrapped up in each other.
The next morning, Chuntao didn’t wake until the sun was high in the sky.
She had been going at it nonstop for several days, and her entire body felt limp. When she lifted the sheet, she saw that the old marks had not yet faded—and new ones had been added.
“Nuannuan’s hungry. Grandma will make you some rice noodles. Let your mother sleep a little longer.”
Aunt Zhou’s voice suddenly came from the main room. Only then did Chuntao realize that the spot beside her was already empty.
When had Aunt Zhou taken Nuannuan away?
The sheet had slipped down to her chest just now. Aunt Zhou must have seen all the marks on her body.
Chuntao bit down on her lower lip, her little face burning red. Afraid that Aunt Zhou might suddenly come in, she could only get dressed beneath the covers.
Her heart still pounding, she sat on the edge of the bed for quite a while after dressing before finally walking out of the inner room on unsteady legs.
Aunt Zhou had already scalded the rice noodles and smiled when she saw her. “You’re awake? I’ll feed Nuannuan a couple of bites first. Go to the kitchen and eat.”
Chuntao felt a heavy fullness in her chest. “I’ll feed Nuannuan.”
She picked up Nuannuan. The moment the little girl saw her mother, her tiny hands and feet began waving excitedly.
“Fine. Give the rice noodles to Jianshe.”
Chuntao carried Nuannuan back into the inner room to nurse her, her face still burning.
“Tao, you’re up?”
Zhou Zhijun lifted the curtain and walked in.
He wore a pair of army-green trousers washed nearly white and a white-and-blue striped undershirt. Sweat had soaked through the fabric, clinging to his solid chest.
He wiped his forehead. “I just went to see Zhou Dana and talked to him about leasing the embankment.”
Chuntao was startled. “He agreed?”
“The fishpond has been empty for a year. Why wouldn’t he agree? The old fox is just demanding an outrageous price—twelve hundred a year. I only offered six hundred.”
“He won’t agree to such a huge reduction.”
“No one but me dares take on this embankment, and no one else can keep it under control.”
Zhou Zhijun’s gaze darkened, but his tone remained steady. “If he won’t accept it now, he’ll come begging me later.”
Chuntao was still worried. “I’m afraid that if we really take it on, people will get jealous and try to sabotage us. What will we do then?”
Zhou Zhijun clasped her hand, his voice low but firm. “It’s not that I haven’t thought about it.
These days, whatever you do, someone’s bound to be jealous. If you want to make money, you can’t always be looking over your shoulder, afraid of wolves ahead and tigers behind.
The very reason no one dares take on this riverbank is that people are afraid someone will secretly trip them up. That’s why the price has been driven so low.
Other people may be scared, but I’m not.
The things no one else dares touch are often where the greatest opportunities lie.”
In truth, Zhou Zhijun had seen it all coming long ago.
Once word spread about the contract, those lazy good-for-nothings, local troublemakers, and people who already held grudges against his family might well come out of the woodwork to cause trouble and throw obstacles in his way.
But Zhou Zhijun had never been one to scare easily.
This time, he was determined to seize the opportunity. Not only would he raise fish—he would do it well, striving to become a ten-thousand-yuan household within a year.
