When Zhang Dongsheng heard this, his mouth fell open in shock. It was wide enough to fit an egg.
“Cousin, have you got a fever?” He reached out to feel Qian Wanyin’s forehead, but Qian slapped his hand away.
“I’m perfectly fine! The fish fry dying from the heat cost me a fortune. I lost all the money I’d saved to get married. Making him give me his daughter would already be letting him off easy!”
Zhang Dongsheng shook his head repeatedly. “No way. Absolutely not. Forget whether Secretary Zhou and his wife will agree. Zhou Pandi won’t agree either. That girl has always been proud.”
“She’s got asthma. What right does she have to be picky?”
“That still won’t do! You’re more than ten years older than her. This is nonsense! I can’t bring that up with him!”
Zhang Dongsheng patted him on the shoulder again. “Wanyin, take good care of the fish. In less than two years, you’ll be a ten-thousand-yuan household. By then, what kind of wife won’t you be able to find? Zhou Pandi is sick. Marrying her would be taking on a burden, and who knows whether she can even have children? I’m saying this for your own good!”
“I’ll tell you the truth. When I bragged about taking the river reservoir under contract, it was because I had my eye on Zhou Pandi. I only took it on for her!”
Qian Wanyin dropped onto the grass and stuck out his chin. “If you won’t go talk to him, I’ll go myself!”
Zhang Dongsheng knew Secretary Zhou Dana’s temper all too well. He also knew Qian Wanyin was a walking powder keg. If he really went to their door, something was bound to happen.
After holding his tongue for a long while, he finally said, “You go home first. I’ll sound out Secretary Zhou and see what he thinks.”
“Fine! I won’t pressure him, since I’m doing this for your sake. I’ll give you two days. Whether it works or not, send me word!”
“Fine, cousin. You go on home. Leave this to me!”
Watching Qian Wanyin walk away, Zhang Dongsheng cursed furiously under his breath.
This was absurd. There was no way he could bring it up with Zhou Dana. All he could think of was to put it off for as long as possible.
Meanwhile, as soon as Zhou Dana returned home, he dropped onto the doorstep.
“That Qian Wanyin is completely unreasonable!”
He lit a pipe of dry tobacco and took a deep drag before cursing, “If I’d known he was this kind of person, I would rather have left the river reservoir to rot than let him take it!”
Zhou Pandi had just returned from the outhouse. Hearing him curse Qian Wanyin, she came over and asked, “Dad, what happened?”
“Nothing!” Zhou Dana did not want to say more. He frowned at her. “Why do you stay cooped up at home every day? Go to the fields and help your mother!”
“I’m not feeling well. I can’t work.”
Ever since Bald Immortal had come to ask for her hand in marriage, she had felt miserable and had not gone to the fields again. She spent every day lying in bed.
The more she lay around, the weaker her body became. Eventually, she was too lazy even to sit up, let alone go work in the fields. No matter what anyone said, she refused to go.
Zhou Pandi had already made up her mind. She could marry into the Liang family, then leave once her illness was cured.
If she could not recover, she would stay with the Liang family, but she had to live as the young mistress. She absolutely would not tolerate the slightest hardship.
She lifted the curtain and walked into the inner room, then flopped onto the bed with a thud.
“Sleep, sleep! One of these days you’ll sleep yourself into paralysis!” Zhou Dana shouted irritably.
From inside the room, Zhou Pandi muttered, “Even if I do, it won’t be any of your business!”
Zhou Dana was already seething because of Qian Wanyin. After coming home and being talked back to by his daughter, he flew into an even greater rage.
“Fine! I won’t care about you. Do whatever you want!”
Zhou Dana got to his feet and was about to go outside for some air. But before he could step over the threshold, he saw Zhang Dongsheng approaching with his head bowed.
“Secretary Zhou!” Zhang Dongsheng looked at him, clearly hesitant to speak.
“What did Qian Wanyin say?” Zhou Dana turned back inside and sat down in a chair.
Zhang Dongsheng lowered his voice. “Secretary Zhou, he said… he doesn’t want the river reservoir anymore.”
“He hasn’t even paid the contract fee. Good riddance!”
Though he said that, worry stirred in Zhou Dana’s heart.
Aside from Zhou Zhijun, there probably was not another person in the village willing to take on the river reservoir.
“Exactly. Since he hasn’t paid, just give it to someone else.”
In the inner room, Zhou Pandi pulled the red hair flower from beneath her pillow and stared fixedly at it. A strange ripple passed through her heart.
Qian Wanyin had a criminal record, was older, and was only average-looking, but he was thoughtful in his own way.
The conversation between Zhou Dana and Zhang Dongsheng drifted into her ears, and her heart suddenly jolted.
Why had he suddenly decided not to take the reservoir?
Could Zhou Zhijun be stirring things up behind the scenes?
“Qian Wanyin only took the river reservoir a few days ago. Why doesn’t he want it anymore?” Zhou Pandi climbed out of bed and stood at the entrance to the inner room as she asked.
Zhou Dana and Zhang Dongsheng looked up at her at the same time, but neither said a word.
The longer they remained silent, the wilder Zhou Pandi’s thoughts became.
“Did Zhou Zhijun cause trouble?”
“He wouldn’t dare,” Zhang Dongsheng said coldly.
Zhou Dana was secretly hoping Zhou Zhijun would come to him of his own accord to discuss taking over the river reservoir. What he did not know was that Zhou Zhijun was waiting for him to make the first move.
While they were drinking soup, Zhou Xiaowei came over with his bowl. The moment he saw Zhou Zhijun, he said excitedly, “Uncle Second, all of Qian Wanyin’s fish fry died from the heat, and he even tried to frame you by saying you poisoned them!
“When that failed, he turned around and took a bite out of Zhou Dana, demanding that he reimburse him for the fish fry! This time Zhou Dana really got nothing for his trouble. It’s so satisfying!”
The fish fry dying from the heat had been within Zhou Zhijun’s expectations. He had also anticipated Qian Wanyin making a scene, so he was not surprised in the slightest.
“Did Zhou Dana compensate him?”
“How could he? With Zhou Dana’s temperament, would he ever pay him? But Qian Wanyin is shameless. If he doesn’t get his money, he definitely won’t let it go. If the two of them truly start fighting, it’ll just be two scoundrels tearing into each other!”
Zhou Zhijun said nothing. He carried two bowls of rice into the main room, handed one to Chuntao, and sat down with the other.
Zhou Xiaowei followed him in. “Uncle Second, Qian Wanyin and Zhou Dana have fallen out. You should take over the river reservoir!”
Zhou Zhijun still did not respond. Aunt Zhou also came over with her bowl of rice.
“That Qian Wanyin is no good. He actually accused you of poisoning the fish. Luckily, the police had sharp eyes and figured out right away that the fish fry had died from the heat!
“But I’m worried. If you really take on the river reservoir and raise fish, Qian Wanyin might cause trouble for you behind your back.”
“It’s fine.” Zhou Zhijun glanced at Aunt Zhou. “Qian Wanyin isn’t the type who can endure hardship. Even if the fish fry hadn’t died, he wouldn’t have lasted long.”
Chuntao rarely left the house, so she had only just learned what had happened that day.
She suddenly remembered what Zhou Zhijun had said before: Zhou Dana would come to him on his own and ask him to take over the river reservoir. Now, it seemed that might really happen.
She looked at Zhou Zhijun. “Brother Zhijun, if Qian Wanyin doesn’t take it, you’re the only person in the village who would dare to. Do you really think Zhou Dana will come to you?”
“We’ll wait and see.” The corners of Zhou Zhijun’s mouth lifted slightly.
Zhou Xiaowei hurriedly added, “Uncle Second, when Zhou Dana comes to you, make sure you drive a hard bargain. You have to force the contract fee as low as possible!”
Aunt Zhou chimed in, “Zhou Dana has pocketed plenty of the village’s public funds. He’ll probably try to stuff some of the reservoir fee into his own pockets too. We can’t pay him a penny more than necessary.”
Chuntao quietly picked at her rice while listening to them talk.
It was not until they had finished the soup and were lying in bed that she softly asked Zhou Zhijun, “Brother Zhijun, if we push the price too low, will Zhou Dana agree?”
“If he won’t agree, then let the river reservoir sit idle. At least that way, he won’t get a single penny!”
“All right, don’t overthink it. We’ve got more important things to do.”
Zhou Zhijun’s hands had already begun to wander.
Ever since he’d come back, he had wanted to be intimate with Chuntao every night, and she had always indulged him.
But she had noticed that, this time, Zhou Zhijun had many more tricks than before—and that his technique had improved considerably.
Chuntao had heard people say that the women who worked in those little roadside restaurants were the best at seducing men, and that few men away from home could resist them.
She trusted Zhou Zhijun completely. He might have a strong appetite, but he would never do anything to betray her. Still, where had he learned all those new tricks?
She had kept the question bottled up for a long time, always too embarrassed to ask.
“Chuntao, what are you thinking about?”
“Nothing.”
Zhou Zhijun could hold himself back no longer. He leaned over and pressed her down…
