The damp chill of an autumn morning hung in the air. Chuntao was awakened by birds chirping in the branches.
Sunlight filtered through the thin morning mist and the cloth curtain, slanting across the bed and casting a soft halo beside her cheek.
Chuntao suddenly opened her eyes. The space behind her felt empty. She reached back and found that Zhou Zhijun was already gone.
A soft, warm breath brushed against her. Looking down, she saw Nuannuan sleeping soundly with her head nestled in the crook of her arm.
She gently pulled her arm from beneath Nuannuan’s neck and propped herself up to get out of bed, only to find that her whole body was sore and weak.
Then she looked down and saw that she was completely naked, with quite a few marks still visible on her skin.
Images from the previous night rose unbidden in her mind, and her little face flushed bright red.
Just then, the door curtain was lifted from outside, and a tall figure appeared beside the bed.
Chuntao hurriedly wrapped herself in the thin quilt and pretended to check on the sleeping Nuannuan, not daring to look up at the man.
Her face was hot enough to fry an egg. If he saw her like this, he would surely start making more shameless remarks.
But in the next instant, Zhou Zhijun’s large hand reached out and grasped her chin.
“Peach, did last night feel good?”
The images that had just flashed through her mind came rushing back all at once.
“I dunno!” Every time he asked her that, Chuntao truly had no idea how to answer.
If she said it felt good, he would be even more outrageous next time. But saying it hadn’t felt good didn’t seem right either!
Zhou Zhijun leaned closer. “If you don’t know, then it must not have been good enough. I’ll put in more effort tonight…”
“You’re such a pest… Get out. I need to get dressed!”
“Go ahead. I’m right here. Why can’t you get dressed?”
Chuntao’s face reddened. “I need to put on my clothes!”
Knowing she was embarrassed, Zhou Zhijun chuckled and walked out.
Chuntao quickly got dressed. For a moment, she forgot about the soreness in her body, but the instant she climbed down from the bed, her legs went weak again. Supporting herself against the wall, she slowly made her way out of the inner room.
The sun was already high in the sky, dazzlingly bright.
Zhou Zhijun was standing at the entrance to the main room. The moment he saw her, he hurried over to support her.
“Going to the outhouse?”
Chuntao said nothing, which amounted to an admission.
She did not want Zhou Zhijun to help her there. She was afraid his parents would see and she would die of embarrassment.
“I can go by myself!”
Zhou Zhijun did not let go or say a word. He simply insisted on supporting her to the outhouse.
After she finished, he looked after her as she brushed her teeth and washed her face, then brought the food over and set it in front of her.
Aunt Zhou and her husband had already eaten breakfast and had taken Jianshe out to visit the neighbors. Zhou Zhijun had eaten as well, leaving only Chuntao yet to have her meal.
Chuntao always felt embarrassed about sleeping so late every day. But after being worn out by him at night, she simply could not wake up early.
“From now on, wake me when you get up. Sleeping this late every day isn’t right,” Chuntao said to Zhou Zhijun as she took small sips of her rice porridge.
“Why isn’t it right?”
“I should get up and help Ma make breakfast!”
“No need. I’ll make breakfast.”
During the busy farming season, that might have been different, but the fields had been too wet and slippery to work in these past few days. Breakfast really had been made by Zhou Zhijun. Aunt Zhou and her husband had even praised him, saying he was becoming more capable with every passing day.
“People will say I’m lazy! I don’t want to be a lazy woman!”
Looking at her demure little expression, Zhou Zhijun’s heart softened. The affection in his eyes nearly overflowed.
“If they say you’re lazy, it’s because they’re jealous of you. They’d like to be lazy too, but nobody spoils them. You’re my wife, Zhou Zhijun’s wife. I’m willing to spoil you. So what if you’re a little lazy? I’m happy to do it, and nobody gets to interfere!”
Just then, Zhang Dongsheng arrived. Before he even entered the house, he called out, “Zhijun, you home?”
Zhou Zhijun rose and walked to the kitchen doorway. His expression was calm. “Village Chief, what’s the matter?”
Through the gap between Zhou Zhijun’s arm and his body, Zhang Dongsheng caught sight of Chuntao eating in the kitchen.
“It’s nothing much. I went to look at the fields just now. They’re still terribly wet. We won’t be able to plow them for another three to five days.”
Zhou Zhijun knew that Zhang Dongsheng never came without a reason. He had already guessed what this was about, but deliberately said nothing.
Zhang Dongsheng chatted about this and that for quite a while before finally steering the conversation toward the river basin.
“…That fool Qian Wanyin wouldn’t listen to you. He insisted on releasing the fish fry in the middle of the day, and they all died. Now he regrets it terribly.
“Raising fish is a technical business. Without real know-how, you simply can’t do it! Zhijun, you understand fish farming. When did you learn?”
“I only know a little.”
“In my opinion, nobody but you can take over our village’s river basin. It just won’t work with anyone else!”
This was Zhou Dana sending him to sound Zhou Zhijun out. Zhou Zhijun did not take the bait. Instead, he turned his head toward Chuntao in the kitchen.
“Finished? I’ll get you another bowl when you are.”
Seeing his cold, aloof attitude, Zhang Dongsheng was furious inside, but he continued smiling on the surface.
“Fish farming is a path to prosperity. The township is vigorously promoting aquaculture. In less than two years, you could become a household with ten thousand yuan…”
This was in the early days of the reform and opening-up era. The country was strongly encouraging economic development. Wang Jinlong, the top official of Qingshan Township, was personally overseeing the effort.
The township planned not only to develop aquaculture and farming, but also, rumor had it, to attract foreign investment and build factories.
If Zhou Zhijun went to Secretary Wang to discuss taking over the river basin, the matter would surely be approved.
The last time he had gone to the township government compound, he had intended to speak with Secretary Wang about it. Unfortunately, Secretary Wang had been away on a business trip, so the matter had gone nowhere.
Now that Zhou Dana was desperate to lease out the river basin, Zhou Zhijun no longer needed to seek him out. He could simply wait at home and still have plenty of time to stock the pond with fish fry when spring arrived.
Meanwhile, Zhou Dana was growing both angry and anxious because Zhou Zhijun still had not taken the initiative to come to him.
He was afraid that once Qian Wanyin got out of prison, he would come back to cause trouble.
The wedding date for Zhou Pandi and Liang Dashan had already been set. Zhou Dana could only use money to settle this reckless man down.
But where would the money come from? He certainly was not going to pay out of his own pocket. Besides, he did not have much money in his hands.
The compensation money from the oil field had nearly all been taken away by Shi Yanhua.
The only thing he could do now was lease out the river basin as quickly as possible and collect the contract payment. If Qian Wanyin came to make trouble, at least he would have money to get rid of him.
Zhou Dana struck the bowl of his tobacco pipe hard against the leg of the table.
He had been the village Party secretary for more than a decade, yet he had never expected to stumble so badly over this matter.
If he had simply leased the river basin to Zhou Zhijun in the first place, he would never have provoked a bastard like Qian Wanyin.
Zhou Dana understood Zhou Zhijun’s temper all too well. This time, the other man was determined to make him come begging in person, and would probably demand an even lower price than before.
As the secretary and the top man in Wangjia Village, Zhou Dana truly could not bring himself to lower his head and plead with Zhou Zhijun.
But apart from Zhou Zhijun, nobody else dared to take on the river basin!
Seeing Zhou Dana sitting there with a gloomy face, restless and unhappy, Wang Jinzhi knew that something was weighing on him.
Unable to hold back, she complained, “Qian Wanyin is no good at all. We should never have leased the river basin to him in the first place. Now we’ve brought this reckless troublemaker upon ourselves, and we won’t have a peaceful day from here on out!”
Zhou Dana shot her an irritated glare. “Shut that foul mouth of yours! Why do you always bring up the sorest subject?”
“You think I want to? I’m just afraid he’ll cause trouble again after he gets out!”
Wang Jinzhi lowered her voice. “He’s always had his eye on Pandi. Now that Pandi is marrying into the Liang family, do you think he’ll go cause trouble at their house later?”
“Cause trouble? This is a new society. If he dares to make trouble, the government will deal with him!”
Just then, someone suddenly walked into the courtyard.
“Zhou Dana and Wang Jinzhi looked up at the same time. Zhou Dana’s hand jerked, and the bowl of his tobacco pipe clattered to the ground.
Wang Jinzhi was even more startled. She cried out in shock, “Y-you… why are you here?”
