Zhou Zhijun and Chuntao froze at the same time, then whipped their heads toward the direction of the sound.
The cornfield belonged to Zhou Zhiguo. The ears of corn were not fully ripe yet, and the leaves were so thick they looked like a woven net. Nothing could be seen through them.
The two of them strained their ears to listen, but there was no further sound. The surroundings fell quiet, with only the rustling of corn leaves in the wind.
Zhou Zhijun’s gaze settled on Chuntao’s face again, and he reached out to caress her.
“Peach, let me kiss you!” he said, leaning in at once.
Chuntao hurriedly turned her head away. “We’re out here in the fields. What if someone sees us?”
“You’re my wife. So what if they see us?”
He cupped Chuntao’s delicate face in both hands. Just as his thin lips were about to touch hers, a woman’s voice suddenly rang out.
“Zhao Qingyun, be gentler! You’re hurting me!”
Zhou Zhijun immediately froze. Chuntao took advantage of the moment to break free, then glanced into the pitch-black cornfield.
“I’m going home.”
“Go on.”
Knowing too much about this sort of thing would only bring trouble.
Zhao Qingyun was a bachelor who usually kept to himself. Who would have thought he had the nerve to meet a woman secretly in the fields?
Zhou Zhijun had been through it himself and understood the difficulties of being a bachelor.
Besides, after the people’s commune had been changed into a township, the village militia had long since disbanded. He was no longer the militia captain. There was no need to meddle in matters like this. It was better to pretend he knew nothing.
He bent down, picked up the sickle from the ground, and continued cutting beans. Unfortunately, every sound from the cornfield still reached his ears.
Zhao Qingyun really had stamina. It took him nearly half an hour to stop.
“Was that good enough? That old bastard Zhou Dana could never satisfy you!”
“Don’t mention him!”
“Why not? Why can’t I mention him?”
“What’s the point of bringing him up when it’s just the two of us?”
Zhou Zhijun recognized the woman’s voice. It was Shi Yanhua, the village’s Women’s Director.
Her husband had died more than ten years ago. Zhou Zhijun had long suspected that she and Zhou Dana were carrying on behind everyone’s backs. Hearing this today finally confirmed it.
What surprised him even more was that Shi Yanhua was actually involved with two men.
If he had only been shocked before, what he heard next made his scalp prickle.
“My son—I’ll acknowledge him sooner or later!”
“You’ve gone crazy! Zhao Qingyun, I’m warning you, Jinzhu is at a critical point right now. You can’t act recklessly…”
Zhou Zhijun’s pupils contracted sharply.
Zhou Jinzhu—the son Zhou Dana treasured above all else—was actually Zhao Qingyun’s child?
He could hardly believe his ears. He dropped the sickle and crept to the edge of the cornfield, straining to hear everything clearly.
He had to admit, Shi Yanhua was quite a woman. She had borne a child with one man, had another man raise him, and had kept the truth hidden for more than a decade without anyone discovering it.
He suddenly remembered what had happened over ten years ago. Zhou Dana had brought home a baby boy from somewhere outside the village, claiming that the child’s parents had died and that his grandparents were too old to raise him. So he had taken the boy in.
Wang Jinzhi had given birth to five daughters in a row. Three of them had been given away, leaving only the eldest, Zhou Zhaodi, and the youngest, Zhou Pandi.
By then, Zhou Pandi had already been several years old, and Wang Jinzhi had not become pregnant again. It had seemed perfectly reasonable for Zhou Dana to bring home an abandoned baby boy.
But who could have guessed that Zhou Jinzhu’s real father was Zhao Qingyun and his real mother was Shi Yanhua?
Afraid the two of them might discover him, Zhou Zhijun quietly slipped into the ditch at the edge of the field and pretended to relieve himself.
Once he reckoned they had left, he crept back into the field and continued cutting beans.
That old fox Zhou Dana had been the village Party secretary for more than a decade. He had pocketed no small amount of public money, and his morals were rotten to the core.
Zhou Zhijun spat on the ground and cursed inwardly.
You’ve committed all those filthy deeds. Sooner or later, they’ll be dragged into the sunlight for everyone to see! Everything you’ve swallowed will have to be spat back out!
Shi Yanhua had no idea that the secret she had hidden for more than a decade had been overheard by Zhou Zhijun.
After lunch, Zhou Dana sat inside the house smoking. His tobacco pipe went puff, puff, puff, while his brows were knitted so tightly they looked as though they could trap a fly.
A few nights earlier, Qian Wanyin had come to his door and demanded that he hand over Zhou Pandi to settle a debt.
He had been so furious he had nearly stopped breathing. He had even raised his tobacco pipe and smashed it toward Qian Wanyin’s head.
“Qian Wanyin, you good-for-nothing bastard! If you spout that nonsense again, I’ll send you straight to the police station to settle this!”
Qian Wanyin was a shameless thug by nature. When he got ruthless, he was not even afraid of death. He grabbed Zhou Dana’s arm, his face flushed red.
“Zhou Dana, you either pay me back or hand over a person. Those are your only two choices!”
Qian Wanyin claimed to do business out of town, but in reality, he ran with a gang of hooligans, stealing, brawling, and collecting debts for people.
He had spent all the money he had on fish fry, and now the entire batch had died from the heat. There was no way he was willing to let it go. He was determined to make Zhou Dana compensate him.
“Qian Wanyin, keep dreaming! If I’d known this would happen, I never should have leased the river embankment to you!”
“I’m done leasing the river embankment!” Qian Wanyin’s eyes drifted toward the curtain covering the inner room where Zhou Pandi was.
“I genuinely care about Pandi. If she comes with me, I guarantee she’ll live in comfort and never suffer a day of hardship!”
Zhou Pandi was inside the room and heard every word.
Qian Wanyin had really been to prison before, but he was tough, had money, and treated her well. If she married him, she would surely live a better life than she would with that dull, spineless Liang Dashan.
She immediately walked to the doorway of the inner room and spoke in a firm, decisive voice.
“Dad, I’m willing to go with him!”
The moment Qian Wanyin heard that, he released Zhou Dana and rushed over to grab her hand.
“Pandi, don’t worry. Once you’re with me, I’ll make sure you live a good life!”
Zhou Dana’s eyes blazed with fury. He raised his tobacco pipe and cursed.
“You stupid girl! Have you lost your mind?”
“Liang’s family is so poor they can barely keep the stove warm, and Liang Dashan is a useless coward. I’d rather marry Qian Wanyin than him!”
Deep down, Zhou Dana looked down on Liang Dashan. But for the sake of his daughter’s illness, he had been willing to accept the marriage. At least the Liang family was respectable.
Qian Wanyin had been to prison, and his reputation was utterly rotten. Though he had some money, none of it had been earned honestly.
If Zhou Pandi went with him, where would that leave his dignity? The villagers’ gossip alone would drown him.
“Shut up! Zhou Pandi, it’s fine if you refuse to marry into the Liang family, but you absolutely cannot go with him!”
Qian Wanyin stepped in front of Zhou Pandi, blocking her from view. With a mocking smile, he said, “Secretary Zhou, what exactly about me is beneath you? Why do you look down on me so much?”
Zhou Dana trembled with rage, and the tobacco pipe nearly slipped from his hand.
“Qian Wanyin, get out!”
“Secretary…”
Just as the two men were on the verge of coming to blows, Zhang Dongsheng hurried inside. Bits of crushed bean leaves still clung to his clothes.
Wang Jinzhi followed behind him, panting heavily.
When she saw Qian Wanyin causing trouble, she had hurried to the threshing ground and called Zhang Dongsheng away from the piles of beans he was stacking.
Zhang Dongsheng entered the room, still catching his breath.
“Secretary, calm down. Don’t let this ruin your health!”
Then he looked at Qian Wanyin and spoke as mildly as he could.
“Brother, have you finished harvesting all the crops at home?”
“Cut the crap! I’m here today to collect my debt. If there’s no money, I’ll take the girl instead!”
Zhang Dongsheng forced a conciliatory smile.
“Brother, if you really care about Pandi, you should come and formally ask for her hand. Making a scene like this—what will outsiders think of you? This is a new society. We don’t do things the old-fashioned way anymore. If you’re not careful, you could actually be breaking the law!”
“Don’t you try to scare me. I wasn’t raised to be scared!” Qian Wanyin stuck out his neck. “Pandi and I are both single, and we’re willing to be together. How is that against the law?”
Zhang Dongsheng turned to Zhou Pandi. “Pandi, you really want this?”
“I do!” Zhou Pandi answered without the slightest hesitation.
Zhang Dongsheng had never expected Zhou Pandi to choose Qian Wanyin.
He looked back at Qian Wanyin and softened his tone. “If that’s what you both want, there’s no need to rush. Go home for now. I’ll discuss it properly with the Party secretary and give you a definite answer.”
After a great deal of coaxing and persuasion, Zhang Dongsheng finally managed to send Qian Wanyin away.
He had just turned back to persuade Zhou Dana when Zhou Dana raised his pipe as if to strike him. Wang Jinzhi quickly grabbed Zhou Dana’s arm and stopped him.
“Secretary, Qian Wanyin is desperate and capable of anything. I’m only doing this for your own good…”
“Get out! If Qian Wanyin comes here causing trouble again, you can forget about being village chief!”
Qian Wanyin did not come looking for trouble again over the next few days, and Zhang Dongsheng stopped trying to persuade Zhou Dana. But Zhou Dana knew the matter was far from over.
The only solution now was to hurry and contract out the river embankment project, giving Qian Wanyin some money, though he was reluctant to do so.
Then there was only one other option: send Zhou Pandi to the Liang family as quickly as possible. Once she married into the family, Qian Wanyin would be breaking the law if he tried to take her by force.
