"Sec... Second Uncle, where have you been?"
Zhou Xiaowei's cheeks were slightly flushed, and beads of sweat covered the tip of his nose.
The blush on Chuntao's face hadn't faded yet. She didn't dare look at Zhou Zhijun at all, turning her head to the side instead. Her hands gripping the handles of the cart tightened, her palms sweating.
The old bull at Zhou Zhijun's house was in heat. After breakfast, he had gone to find Old Man Han for breeding.
On his way back, passing Wang Xiaohong's sweet potato field, he saw her alone cutting the vines. Not seeing Chuntao, he asked, "How come it's just you? Where are your sister-in-law and the others?"
"My sister-in-law went to the school to exchange meal tickets for Xiaoming!"
Hearing this, Zhou Zhijun felt a surge of joy in his heart—finally, a chance. He led Old Man Han, who was there for the breeding, home and handed him over to his father to look after. Then he hopped on his bicycle and hurried towards the town street.
He had thought for sure he would run into her on the road, but he rode all the way along the southern route without spotting a single person.
Rushing to the school, he asked the gatekeeper. The old man said, "There was a good-looking girl who came to exchange meal tickets. She left a while ago pulling a cart. Probably took the northern route."
So, Zhou Zhijun had taken the southern route, while Chuntao had chosen the northern route. They had missed each other completely.
Hearing this, Zhou Zhijun pedaled his bicycle furiously, only catching up to Chuntao near the village entrance.
He shot a cold glance at Zhou Xiaowei, his tone hard. "What were you doing?"
Zhou Zhijun was never one for smiles, his face always stern and tight. The children in the village were all afraid of him.
Even though Zhou Xiaowei was famously mischievous, the king of the kids, he trembled before this second uncle.
The crude talk he had just been saying to Chuntao might very well have been overheard by Zhou Zhijun. His heart was pounding with anxiety.
He forced out a smile, stammering, "Second Uncle, I... I had business in town. I ran into Sister-in-law Chuntao on the road. Thought it wasn't safe for her to pull the cart alone, so I walked with her for a bit..."
A while back during the autumn harvest, Chuntao had been harassed by Zhou Ergan, so Zhou Xiaowei's excuse was watertight.
"Enough. Get back home now!" Zhou Zhijun's face turned even colder.
This kid, clearly up to no good!
Zhou Xiaowei felt as if granted a pardon, pedaling his bicycle away in a flash.
Chuntao stood frozen in place, her legs wouldn't even move.
Zhou Zhijun stared intently at her flushed little face, feeling both anxious and frustrated, his heart pounding wildly like a restless old donkey.
He had finally been looking forward to Chuntao going out alone, yet they hadn't met. The longing he'd been suppressing for so long was nearly driving him mad. If he kept holding it in like this, he was afraid he really would have a problem!
Chuntao could feel his scorching gaze. Her cheeks burned even hotter, and her heartbeat quickened.
It was broad daylight, right at the village entrance on the main road, with villagers still working in the surrounding fields. No matter how strong his desires, Zhou Zhijun wouldn't dare do anything.
But Chuntao was terrified of being seen and gossiped about. She quickly lowered her head and pulled the cart forward with all her might.
Zhou Zhijun pushed his bicycle alongside her, his voice extremely low. "Tired?"
Chuntao had thought he was going to say something shameless again. She hadn't expected this question. After a moment's pause, she replied, "No."
"Next time you go out, call me." With that, Zhou Zhijun got on his bicycle and left.
Only then did Chuntao let out a sigh of relief, but she still kept her head down, not daring to look ahead, nor glance at the people in the fields to either side.
Since the incident with Zhou Ergan, the village gossip hadn't stopped. She was terrified of those strange, prying looks.
"Oh, Sister Chuntao, back from town?"
A voice called out ahead. Chuntao looked up to see Wang Chunxiao, the wife from the neighboring household.
"I went to exchange meal tickets for Xiaoming."
Wang Chunxiao walked up to her in a few steps, lowering her voice urgently. "You'd better hurry home and take a look! Your mother-in-law is trying to take all the family's grain to sell. Xiaohong is arguing with them right now!"
What? Chuntao's heart skipped a beat.
A few days ago, she had overheard Liu Cuilan whispering with Wang Haichao about selling grain to build a new house. The family only had that little bit of stored grain. If they sold it all, the whole family would have to tighten their belts and starve!
She had no say in this family. If there was no grain, she could at most dig for wild vegetables to fill her own stomach. But Wang Xiaoming needed meal tickets for school. Without grain, that wouldn't work!
Thinking this, Chuntao quickened her pace.
Just as she turned off the main road, she heard noisy arguing from the courtyard. A crowd of villagers had gathered to watch the commotion.
Liu Cuilan's shrill voice was piercing. "I have the final say in this family! Not only are we selling the grain, we're selling the pigs and the ox too!
What kind of sight is it, a big family crammed into this broken-down house? I want to build a new house!"
"Want to sell the grain? Separate the household first!"
Wang Xiaohong stood blocking the doorway, holding a shovel. "Anyone who dares touch one bag of our family's grain, I'll fight them with this shovel!"
Wang Haichao's younger brothers were trying to carry sacks of grain out from inside the house but were blocked by Wang Xiaohong.
Liu Cuilan had originally planned to sell everything first and then divide the household, still intending for Wang Xiaohong to live with her. She hadn't expected this girl to bring up separating the household first. Instantly, her anger flared.
She stepped forward and grabbed Wang Xiaohong's arm, scolding, "You ungrateful little wretch! Your wings have hardened, is that it? How dare you talk to me about separating the household!"
Wang Xiaohong had a fiery temper, but Liu Cuilan was strong as an ox. She was no match. Pulled hard by Liu Cuilan, she stumbled and nearly fell to the ground.
"Stop arguing, all of you! If we're separating, we'll do it today!"
Suddenly, Wang Jieshi emerged from the inner room leaning on a cane, his steps unsteady, his eyes red as if about to bleed.
He had long been fed up with the endless noises coming from Wang Haichao and Liu Cuilan's room next door.
The creaking of the rickety wooden bed made his whole body burn with restless heat. But he was injured in his manhood, full of desire but powerless. It was pure torture.
Wang Haichao was a lazy good-for-nothing to begin with. Since getting together with him, Liu Cuilan did nothing but fool around. Wang Jieshi had long been disgusted by them.
But now that he himself was a useless cripple, he couldn't very well complain about Wang Haichao being a freeloader. Better to separate the household—out of sight, out of mind.
"Fine! A bunch of ungrateful wretches! I worked my fingers to the bone raising you all, and now your wings are hardened, you all want to split off from me!
We only have these few rundown rooms and these pitiful belongings. If you want to split up, how do we divide it?"
Chuntao stood outside the crowd with her cart, not daring to go in.
Zhou Zhijun had arrived home before Chuntao. Seeing the Wang family arguing, he didn't go near either, just sat in the main room smoking.
Noticing Chuntao had returned, he shifted closer to the doorway, thinking that if Liu Cuilan dared bully Chuntao, he couldn't just stand by and watch.
"How to divide? First, settle the grain and the livestock!" Wang Xiaohong shouted defiantly.
The watching villagers whispered among themselves, discussing animatedly. Someone caught sight of Chuntao, and their voices grew a bit louder.
"Ever since Wang Jieshi ran off with that woman, this family hasn't known a moment's peace!"
"Exactly! Making a ruckus every day like a pond full of turtles turning over!"
"Liu Cuilan is simple-minded too. Wang Haichao could sell her, and she'd still help him count the money!"
...
"The one who suffers the most is still Li Chuntao. So young, stuck with a useless man. What kind of life is that..."
Amidst the chatter, the villagers automatically made a path for Chuntao.
In this family, she was just a laboring maid. Apart from keeping her head down and working hard, nothing came her way. When it came to a major event like dividing the household, she certainly had no right to speak.
But at this moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on her, making her whole body tense and her hands and feet feel tied.
"Li Chuntao! You jinx! I was wondering where you'd disappeared to, so you were sneaking off to sell the grain!"
Liu Cuilan spotted Chuntao the moment she saw her, rushed over in a few steps, spraying spittle as she yelled.
When Chuntao had gone to exchange for meal tickets early in the morning, Liu Cuilan had known about it and had already pointed at her nose and cursed, "You want Xiaoming to go to school, then you pay for the grain you're taking!"
Wang Xiaohong was so angry she stamped her foot, shielding Chuntao. "Wang Xiaoming is your son! My sister-in-law is getting meal tickets for your son, and you still want money? That's completely unreasonable!"
With Wang Xiaohong backing her up, Liu Cuilan could only curse a few more times and ultimately failed to stop Chuntao.
Now, seeing Chuntao return pulling the cart, she wanted to turn the tables and blame her.
The grievance in Chuntao's heart could no longer be contained. Her eyes reddened, and her gaze no longer dodged away, instead locking fiercely onto Liu Cuilan's twisted face. "I didn't steal and sell the grain. I went to get meal tickets for Xiaoming!"
"You dare talk back!" Liu Cuilan glared, raising her hand to slap Chuntao across the face.
Zhou Zhijun, who had arrived at some point without anyone noticing, took a swift step forward and firmly seized Liu Cuilan's wrist, stopping it mid-air.
