The person who had arrived was none other than Qian Wanyin.
He had been arrested for stealing electrical cables from the oil field and should have been sentenced to at least a year or two. How had he gotten out so quickly?
Zhou Dana was scared out of his wits, but he forced himself to remain calm and asked, “Qian Wanyin, what are you doing here?”
Wang Jinzhi’s lips trembled and her face had gone deathly pale. She couldn’t get a word out.
“I’m here to take someone with me. Zhou Pandi is coming with me. From now on, we’ll be one family, and I’ll write off the money for the fish fry.”
He strode into the house without the slightest hurry, turned around, and headed straight for Zhou Pandi’s room.
Zhou Pandi had gone to the market with several women from the village that day and wasn’t home. Zhou Dana and Wang Jinzhi didn’t dare step forward to stop him.
Qian Wanyin lifted the curtain and saw that the room was empty. He turned around and demanded harshly, “Where’s Zhou Pandi? Where have you hidden her?”
“Qian Wanyin, I’ll give you the money for the fish fry. Don’t even think about taking Pandi!”
“Zhou Dana, since you put it that way, then hand over the money. Five hundred yuan. Give it to me and I’ll leave immediately.”
“What? Five hundred yuan? Why don’t you just rob a bank?”
“My fish fry were worth that much. I won’t take a penny less!”
Qian Wanyin was being so unreasonable that Zhou Dana didn’t dare argue with him. But the truth was, he couldn’t come up with five hundred yuan.
“I don’t have that much money!”
Wang Jinzhi was trembling all over, but she also mustered the courage to speak. “There really isn’t that much money in the house!”
“Don’t have it? Then I’ll take the girl. Hurry up and hand her over!”
It was nearly noon, and Zhou Pandi ought to be back from the market soon. The hearts of Zhou Dana and his wife tightened with every passing moment.
“If you’re going to act this unreasonable, we’ll take it to court!”
Zhou Dana sounded tough, but inside he was scared stiff.
“Debts must be repaid. That’s only right and proper. Don’t try to threaten me with the courts!”
As he spoke, Qian Wanyin suddenly grabbed Zhou Dana around the neck. Then he pulled a sharp knife from his pocket and pressed it against Zhou Dana’s throat.
Glaring at Wang Jinzhi, he roared, “Go get the money, now! Otherwise, this knife of mine won’t know the difference!”
Wang Jinzhi was so frightened that her legs nearly gave way. With her back against the wall, she edged slowly toward the inner room.
She turned the trunks and cabinets upside down. Banknotes, small bills, and even one- and two-cent coins—all of them were dug out. Trembling, she held the money out to Qian Wanyin.
“This is everything we have. There’s really nothing left!”
Qian Wanyin released Zhou Dana and snatched the money from Wang Jinzhi’s hands, stuffing it haphazardly into his pockets. Several coins and small bills fell to the floor.
“This isn’t enough. I’ll come back for the rest later!”
“All right, all right. Once we have more, we’ll give it to you. Just let him go!” Wang Jinzhi pleaded through her tears.
Zhou Dana’s neck was rigid with fear. He didn’t dare move a muscle, afraid that even the slightest motion would cause the blade to slice his skin.
With the knife pressed against him, Qian Wanyin forced him toward the doorway. He glanced around outside, and only after making sure the coast was clear did he release Zhou Dana, tuck the knife into his waistband, and dart away like a rabbit.
Wang Jinzhi’s legs felt weak as she hurried over to support Zhou Dana. The old couple collapsed onto the floor together.
“What are we going to do? He’ll definitely come back!”
“Go report him to the township authorities!” Zhou Dana sprang to his feet. “He must have escaped from prison!”
His legs were so weak that he could barely stand. He waited until later that afternoon before riding his bicycle to the township to report the matter.
Just as expected, Qian Wanyin had escaped from prison, and the public security authorities were doing everything they could to track him down.
“You have to catch him as soon as possible,” Zhou Dana urged. “Otherwise, someone’s bound to get killed sooner or later!”
A few days later, Zhou Dana learned that Qian Wanyin had been arrested by the police. This time, his crimes would earn him an even harsher sentence—at least three to five years. Only then did the weight that had been hanging over Zhou Dana’s heart for days finally ease a little.
After the winter wheat was planted, Zhou Pandi also married successfully into the Liang family.
Since Qian Wanyin would be in prison for three to five years, Zhou Dana didn’t take the initiative to look for Zhou Zhijun. Instead, he quietly waited for Zhou Zhijun to come to him.
Not long afterward, the township held a meeting. The villages were instructed to make use of their local advantages—to rely on the mountains if they had mountains and on the water if they had water. They were to first help a group of capable, enterprising people become prosperous, and then lead the entire village toward prosperity together.
Secretary Wang gave every village a strict assignment: within one year, each had to cultivate one leader in the drive to become rich.
The land around Wangjia Village was barren, and the harvests from growing crops were meager. The villagers had no experience with other kinds of farming, so their only hope lay in the river embankment beside the village.
After Zhou Dana returned to the village from the township meeting, he immediately called a general assembly. He conveyed the township leaders’ instructions and publicly invited bids to lease the river embankment.
When the villagers heard that the township would strongly support anyone who could lead them to prosperity, every one of them was eager to try. But when the crucial moment came, no one dared volunteer to take on the lease.
For one thing, they had neither capital nor technical knowledge. For another, they were afraid that raising fish in the embankment would offend someone and leave them ruined, just as it had the Zhang family.
With pressure from above and no one in the village willing to take the contract, Zhou Dana had no choice but to grit his teeth and go to Zhou Zhijun.
Zhou Zhijun had a stubborn streak, but Zhou Dana was still the village Party secretary, and the time had not yet come to completely fall out with him.
Seeing Zhou Dana take the initiative to make peace, he went along with it. At an annual rent of five hundred yuan, he took over the lease of the river embankment at the head of the village.
The township attached great importance to the project. Not only did it approve an interest-free loan, it also provided subsidies for purchasing fish fry.
By the time the contract for the embankment was signed, winter had already arrived. The fish fry could not be released until around the Qingming Festival the following year, when the weather had warmed up for good.
During the period before the New Year, Zhou Zhijun kept himself busy. Beside the embankment, he built two tile-roofed houses with blue-brick facades.
He also brought several wolfdog puppies down from the mountains. Along with Big Yellow, he now had six dogs in all, specifically to guard the embankment in the future.
As for Zuo Jinhui, she had applied for two years of leave without pay and gone to Qing Shan Street to open a clothing shop. In truth, she had done it all to get closer to Zhou Zhijun.
When Zhou Zhijun returned from working on the reservoir, the autumn harvest had not yet begun. She had already paid one visit, bringing not only fish and pork but also a basket of nutritional supplements. She had prepared gifts for every member of the Zhou family as well.
Zhou Zhijun understood her intentions perfectly. He knew that Zuo Jinhui had never truly given up on him. But because she had once helped him, and because of her connection to Wu Mingwei, he couldn’t bring himself to reject her outright.
Aunt Zhou assumed that she was Wu Mingwei’s cousin. She also remembered how Zuo Jinhui had helped pay Chuntao’s medical expenses when Chuntao was hospitalized in the city, and she was filled with gratitude. She even specially killed an old hen to entertain her.
When Zuo Jinhui was leaving, Aunt Zhou stuffed eggs, mung beans, millet, and other local specialties into her bag.
Zuo Jinhui tried to refuse, but Aunt Zhou would not hear of it. She insisted that Zuo Jinhui take everything and personally escorted her to the roadside.
“Girl, come visit us often in the future. But don’t bring any more gifts, all right?”
“Auntie, I’ll come see you often, as long as you don’t find me a nuisance.”
“How could I ever be bothered by such a fine girl? Come whenever you have the time. Whatever you feel like eating, I’ll make it for you!”
Aunt Zhou and her husband treated her with such warmth and consideration that Zuo Jinhui was secretly delighted. She began planning to visit several more times.
Unexpectedly, the very next day, Zhou Zhijun took the initiative to find her and returned the lighter she had given him.
“Sister Jinhui, it isn’t easy for you to take leave without pay and run a business. Every penny you make comes from hard work, so don’t waste your money on gifts from now on.
“Besides, people in the countryside love to gossip. Don’t come to my family’s house anymore. It could damage your reputation.”
His meaning could not have been clearer: he didn’t want to have anything more to do with her.
Zuo Jinhui gently took the lighter from him. Her fingertips trembled slightly, yet she forced a sensible smile.
“Brother Zhijun, I’ve always thought of you as my own brother. Uncle and Aunt have always been so warm and kind to me. I live so far from home, and I just can’t help clinging to the warmth of having a family around me. If I’m making things difficult for you, I won’t come anymore.”
“You go on with what you were doing. I’m leaving.”
After coming to Qingshan Street to do business for several months, Zuo Jinhui had only visited the Wang family’s village once.
She didn’t want to irritate Zhou Zhijun, but she thought about him day and night.
Unable to bear the longing any longer, Zuo Jinhui quietly went to Wang Village again on market day.
This time, she hadn’t brought much—just a net bag containing malted milk powder and several large red apples. She had also bought snacks and little toys for the two children.
When Zhou Zhijun returned from the river embankment, he saw Zuo Jinhui standing at the kitchen door. His expression remained utterly calm as he merely said, “Why are you here again?”
Before Zuo Jinhui could answer, he turned around, hoisted his tools onto his shoulder, and headed back toward the river embankment without looking back.
Zuo Jinhui watched his resolute figure recede, her eyes slowly reddening.
She knew perfectly well that Zhou Zhijun cherished Chuntao and was the kind of man who held his wife at the very center of his heart. There was not the slightest opening for her to enter his heart.
And yet, the more she understood that, the more she couldn’t let him go.
