“Jinzhu, the schools in the city are far better than the ones around here. With grades like yours, you’d still rank near the top after transferring there. Don’t let it scare you!”
“I’m not going!”
Seeing him as stubborn as a mule, the trace of fatherly affection vanished from Zhou Dana’s eyes.
He scolded him sternly, “What’s gotten into you, boy? Your godmother has run herself ragged and called in every favor she has to arrange this transfer. Do you have any idea how much effort she’s put in?”
Seeing Zhou Dana lose his temper, Shi Yanhua hurriedly shielded Zhou Jinzhu behind her and tried to smooth things over. “Let’s talk this out calmly. Jinzhu just hasn’t come around yet. It’s not too late for him to go once he’s thought it through!”
“I’m not going! I’m staying right here. I’m not going anywhere!” Zhou Jinzhu shouted, then ran off without looking back.
Zhou Dana stamped his feet in frustration and sighed repeatedly. “How’s this boy gotten more and more hopeless as he’s grown?”
“He’s been studying here for over a year. It’s only natural that he doesn’t want to move. Just take your time persuading him.” Shi Yanhua made it sound easy, but inside she was burning with anxiety.
The two of them left the school dejectedly. They didn’t even stop for a meal, heading straight to the bus station to catch a ride back to the village.
As soon as they were gone, Zhao Qingyun emerged from around the corner of the courtyard wall.
He hadn’t heard their conversation clearly, but from their expressions and the commotion, it was obvious that Zhou Jinzhu had refused to do as Zhou Dana wanted.
“That’s my son, Zhou Dana. Of course he shouldn’t listen to you!”
A smug smile curled his lips as he secretly swore to himself: Once my son gets into a prestigious university and graduates, I’ll acknowledge him openly. You, Zhou Dana, can step aside!
Zhou Dana and Shi Yanhua didn’t give up on the idea of transferring Zhou Jinzhu.
Since Zhou Jinzhu was studying in the county town and only returned home once every two weeks, Shi Yanhua went to the county town every few days. But each time she went, Zhou Jinzhu hid from her and refused to see her.
When Sunday came and Zhou Jinzhu returned, Shi Yanhua steamed a basket of meat buns and brought them over.
“Jinzhu, I heard you were back, so I made these meat buns especially for you.”
She picked one up and held it out to him, coaxing gently, “Take a break and eat a bun before you get back to your homework.”
“I’m not hungry.”
Zhou Jinzhu tightened his grip on his pen. Without even raising his eyes, he continued working through his problems with his head lowered.
“These buns are soft and fluffy. Even if you’re not hungry, you can manage one!”
Shi Yanhua forced a flattering smile. When he still didn’t move, she set the bun on a shallow plate at the edge of the table.
“If you can’t finish them, take them to school. I packed them with plenty of meat.”
As soon as she finished speaking, the curtain to the inner room was pushed aside, and Zhou Pandi stumbled out. Without saying a word, she snatched up a bun and stuffed it into her mouth.
Because of her marriage troubles, she had gone several meals without eating out of spite. The smell of the meat buns had made her stomach rumble, so she had finally dragged herself out of bed.
“Pandi, what happened to you? Why do you look so awful?”
Shi Yanhua was startled by her disheveled hair and dark circles under her eyes.
Zhou Pandi only focused on eating and didn’t say a word. She wolfed down four large buns, then rushed into the kitchen and drank half a gourd of cold water. After wiping her mouth, she went back into the inner room and lay down again.
Shi Yanhua looked at Zhou Jinzhu, who kept his head lowered and focused solely on his homework, then glanced toward the doorway of the inner room. She didn’t bring up the transfer again. After sitting for a while, she got up and left.
She had spent money and called in favors, yet Zhou Jinzhu was refusing to transfer no matter what. All her previous efforts had gone to waste.
With no other options, Shi Yanhua could only go to Wang Jinzhi and ask her to persuade Zhou Jinzhu.
After hearing the reason, Wang Jinzhi looked astonished. “He’s doing just fine here. Why does he have to transfer?”
“Jinzhu’s grades are good, but he isn’t at the very top yet. The schools in the city have better teachers and keep a tighter rein on the students. If he transfers there, his grades could improve another level, and he’d have a better chance of getting into a prestigious university!”
“Moving somewhere new, where he doesn’t know anyone, will take him quite a while to adjust. I think it might affect his studies instead. He doesn’t want to go, and forcing him will only make things worse.
“In my opinion, he should stay right here in the county and study steadily. With his grades, getting into a prestigious university won’t be a problem at all!”
In Wang Jinzhi’s eyes, the fact that Zhou Jinzhu could consistently rank among the top ten in his class was already more than enough to be grateful for.
“Jinzhu is still young and doesn’t know what’s best for him. As his mother, you need to see the bigger picture. Transferring would do him a world of good.”
“I’m the one who can’t see the bigger picture? Whether Jinzhu transfers or not is his own decision. As his godmother, why are you more concerned about it than I am, his own mother?”
Wang Jinzhi’s words left Shi Yanhua speechless.
After a long while, she said angrily, “Sister-in-law, I’ve watched Jinzhu grow up. I’m only doing this for his own good!”
“I know you mean well, but he doesn’t want to go. You can’t force him!”
In the end, the transfer had been nothing more than Shi Yanhua’s one-sided wish. Zhou Jinzhu refused point-blank, and the matter ultimately went nowhere.
After asking countless people for help and wasting a great deal of money, Shi Yanhua was both aggrieved and furious. She turned around and began blaming Zhou Dana for getting involved with Huang Meili.
“Huang Meili’s mouth is like an old woman’s cotton-padded waistband—it never stops flapping. I’m terrified she’ll go around telling everyone.”
“She has no evidence, only her word. Even if she tells people, someone has to believe her first! Don’t worry. She’s all bark and no bite. She wouldn’t dare make a real scandal of it.”
“How do you know she wouldn’t dare?”
“That woman is only good at talking and making threats. As long as we don’t let her intimidate us, there’s nothing she can do!”
Zhou Dana sounded confident, but he was uneasy inside as well.
Huang Meili had come asking him for money several times, and he hadn’t given her a cent. If he pushed her too far, even a rabbit would bite when cornered.
“Huang Meili is a time bomb. Sooner or later, she’s going to explode!” Shi Yanhua narrowed her eyes, a ruthless glint flashing in them. “We have to defuse that bomb, or it’ll become a problem sooner or later.”
“Don’t ever say that again,” Zhou Dana said grimly.
“I don’t care! Anyone who dares harm Jinzhu—I’ll fight her to the death!”
Shi Yanhua stormed off. When she reached the main road at the edge of the village, she spotted Wang Jinzhi hoeing weeds in the fields, with Huang Meili standing beside her and talking. Her heart gave a sudden jolt.
She strode toward the field and called out before she even reached them, “Aunt Jinzhi, out hoeing the weeds?”
Wang Jinzhi didn’t look up. She merely answered faintly.
Shi Yanhua had never had children of her own and had taken Zhou Jinzhu as her godson, treating him wholeheartedly. At first, Wang Jinzhi had thought there was nothing wrong with that.
But gradually, she began to feel that this godmother was interfering far too much, making Jinzhi’s own mother seem like an outsider.
The transfer was especially galling. Shi Yanhua and Zhou Dana had kept it from her. If they hadn’t needed her to persuade her son, she might still be completely in the dark.
Shi Yanhua reached the edge of the field and looked at Huang Meili. With a false smile, she asked, “Is your field all hoed?”
Huang Meili merely snorted and ignored her completely. Turning to Wang Jinzhi, she said, “Aunt Jinzhi, I’ll let you get back to work. I’m going to thin the sesame seedlings!”
With that, she shot Shi Yanhua a sidelong glance. Her lips moved, but she didn’t say a word. The provocation in her eyes was unmistakable.
Shi Yanhua’s teeth ached with rage. She wanted nothing more than to slap Huang Meili right then and there, but after lifting her hand halfway, she finally clenched it into a fist and held herself back.
As she watched Huang Meili walk away with her basket, Shi Yanhua suddenly remembered something. She turned to Wang Jinzhi and said, “Oh, right. Huang Meili still hasn’t paid the fine for having an extra child. I’d nearly forgotten. I’ll go ask her when she plans to pay.”
She hurried after Huang Meili and quietly crouched down among the sesame plants. Lowering her voice, she demanded harshly, “Huang Meili, what the hell are you up to?”
Huang Meili had been lost in thought when someone suddenly spoke right beside her ear. She jolted in fright and sprang straight to her feet.
“You trying to scare me to death?”
“You’d better keep your mouth shut. I’ve got plenty of ways to make you do it!”
“What ways?” Huang Meili arched her brows and met her gaze with open disdain. “Go ahead and try me if you’ve got the nerve!”
“Don’t put on that I-don’t-care-if-the-sky-falls act with me. I’m not buying it! At worst, we’ll both go down together!”
