"Get out of the way!"
Chuntao's heart pounded wildly, her face flushed crimson, yet she stubbornly held her ground, glaring at the group of men.
"Heh! We're not moving. Whatcha gonna do about it?"
Goatee smirked and took two steps closer, stretching out a grimy, dark hand to touch Chuntao's face. "What a looker, so fair and tender. Wasting away guarding an empty house all day, what a shame!"
Chuntao jerked her head away, but the coarse hand still grazed her cheek. A wave of nauseating filth made her want to vomit.
A Lanky fellow next to him, with one side of his hair grown long enough to cover half an eye, chimed in. He took a drag from his clumsily rolled cigarette, blew a smoke ring, and sneered, "Heaven's got no eyes! Us brothers here, we got arms and legs, plenty to offer, but can't get ourselves a wife! And you, guarding an empty room, what a waste!"
"Come with us, girlie!" Another man, short and stout, rubbed his hands together, his lecherous eyes roving over her chest. "Come play with us brothers. We'll make sure you have a good time, way better than the taste of an empty house!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Baldy joined in, his fists still clenched from the fight. "Us brothers are strong and healthy, guarantee you'll get a taste of something sweet!"
The stream of filthy words poured over Chuntao like dirty water. Her whole body tensed, tears welling in her eyes, but she bit her lip hard, refusing to let them fall.
"You... you can't do this!" she shouted at them, her voice trembling with fear.
But the men paid no heed. Seeing her struggling to stand firm only excited them more.
Lanky suddenly reached out and grabbed Chuntao's arm. "Come on, let's go have some fun in the woods by the river!"
"Let me go!" Chuntao struggled desperately, but his grip on her arm was like iron, impossible to shake off.
The others closed in with snickers and laughs. One grabbed the handle of the cart, another reached out to tug at her clothes.
"Don't be ungrateful!"
"Come with us, we'll treat you right!"
Surrounded, Chuntao trembled like a leaf in a storm.
"What's going on here?"
A man's voice suddenly rang out from a distance.
The men froze mid-action, turning their heads in unison toward the sound.
On the dirt road not far away, a young man was approaching on a bicycle.
Goatee spat a glob of yellow phlegm. "Damn, where did this brat come from, daring to stick his nose in our business?"
"Today, you'll get a taste of my fists!" Baldy clenched his fists tighter.
Lanky flicked the long hair from his forehead. "Heh, trying to play the hero and save the damsel, are you? We'll teach you a lesson today, show you who's boss!"
...
"What do you think you're doing?" The young man rang his bicycle bell. The "ding-a-ling" sound grew closer and closer, and in an instant, he was upon them.
Chuntao glanced over from the corner of her eye, and her heart gave a violent jolt. It was Zhou Zhijun's nephew, Zhou Xiaowei!
"Sister-in-law Chuntao, is that you? Are they bothering you?" Zhou Xiaowei saw the tears at the corner of Chuntao's eyes and looked shocked.
He then swept his gaze over the group of men and shouted angrily, "What do you think you're doing? How dare you harass a woman in broad daylight? Aren't you afraid of being charged with hooliganism?"
Seeing Zhou Xiaowei was young and alone, the men didn't take him seriously at all. Goatee sneered, "Kid, mind your own business! Beat it if you know what's good for you, or I won't be polite!"
The short, stocky man rubbed his hands together, chiming in, "Her own man doesn't want her anymore. What's the point of guarding an empty house? What's wrong with having some fun with us? You're an outsider, so stay out of it!"
Zhou Xiaowei's face darkened. He bent down, picked up a fist-sized stone from the ground, and pointed it at the men, speaking sharply, "Bullshit! You hooligans dare to harass a decent woman? Think no one can stop you?
I'm telling you, the commune's joint defense team patrols this area every day. If you don't leave now, I'll go call them right away!"
At these words, the men's expressions changed instantly. Harassing women was a serious crime. If they were really dragged in, the lightest punishment would be a public parade of shame, and the worst could be re-education through labor or even a prison sentence.
They were used to throwing their weight around, but they were all bullies who preyed on the weak. Facing someone who dared to stand up to them, their courage faltered. Their bravado deflated by more than half as they exchanged uneasy glances.
Only Baldy stepped forward, putting on a tough front. "You're just a wet-behind-the-ears kid, trying to scare us with the defense team? I wasn't born yesterday!"
Zhou Xiaowei's gaze shot over like a knife. "Oh? You want to test that? My uncle, Zhou Zhijun, is the village militia captain. If you keep causing trouble, I'll go get him and bring the militia right now!"
Zhou Zhijun was a former soldier with real skill; he once killed a wild wolf with his bare hands. His reputation was known throughout several nearby villages.
Hearing the name "Zhou Zhijun," the men wilted instantly, like eggplants hit by frost.
"Damn it, I can't be bothered with you today!" Baldy glared fiercely at Zhou Xiaowei, shot a reluctant, lingering look at Chuntao, then turned to pull the woman on the ground up. "Let's go, home!"
The others followed, cursing under their breath, and couldn't resist throwing back a final threat to save face: "We'll see about this later!"
Only after the men had gone far away did Zhou Xiaowei let out a sigh of relief. He quickly asked with concern, "Sister-in-law Chuntao, are you alright? Did they do anything to you?"
Chuntao finally snapped out of it. Her tense body went limp, and she almost collapsed to the ground. Zhou Xiaowei hurriedly reached out to steady her. "Sister-in-law Chuntao!"
Tears she could no longer control streamed down her cheeks. "I... I'm fine. Thank you, Xiaowei!"
Zhou Xiaowei was on his way to his aunt's house today and never expected to run into Chuntao here.
Seeing her cry so bitterly, he quickly pulled out a neatly folded blue handkerchief from his pocket and offered it to her. "Sister-in-law, dry your tears."
"No need!" Chuntao hastily wiped her face with the back of her hand, sniffled, and said, "Xiaowei, you should ride your bike back first."
"It's fine, I'll walk with you!" he said, lifting his bicycle and placing it on the flatbed cart.
Chuntao and Zhou Xiaowei were about the same age. If villagers saw the two of them returning together, who knows what gossip they might cook up.
"You should ride your bike and go ahead. I can pull the cart myself!"
But Zhou Xiaowei wouldn't listen. Without another word, he took the cart handles from her. "I'll pull it!"
He pulled the cart ahead, while Chuntao followed far behind, keeping as much distance between them as possible.
As they neared the village entrance, Chuntao urged Zhou Xiaowei to go ahead again. Knowing she was afraid of gossip, Zhou Xiaowei didn't insist. He got on his bicycle and rode off first.
Entering the yard, Chuntao saw Wang Jieshi leaning on a stick, struggling to walk out of the house.
She was taken aback for a moment, quickly averted her gaze, and looked elsewhere. Wang Jieshi saw her, his lips moved slightly, but in the end, he didn't say a word.
"Sister-in-law, you're back!" Wang Xiaohong came back from the field, carrying a sickle.
She said with a smile, "Today, Xiaoming, Uncle Zhijun, and I have finished cutting all the melon vines in the field! Uncle Zhijun said he'll help us plow the land tomorrow!"
Chuntao hadn't wanted to trouble Zhou Zhijun, but her brother was busy, so she had no choice but to let him do the plowing.
Her mind was still preoccupied with Zhou Zhijun's internal injury. The next day, during the plowing, taking advantage of Wang Xiaohong not being nearby and seeing that no one else was around, Chuntao quickly fished out that small paper packet from her pocket and handed it over.
"This is a pain-relief powder my grandma gave me. You... you should try applying it."
Zhou Zhijun looked at the crumpled little paper packet, then at Chuntao's shy and timid expression, and felt a sudden warmth in his heart.
Before he could say anything, Chuntao turned and hurried to the other end of the field.
Zhou Zhijun watched her slender figure, touched his still faintly aching abdomen, and a complicated smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
This girl, he was afraid he truly wouldn't be able to let go of her in this lifetime.
