Chuntao and Wang Xiaohong were weeding together in the bean field north of the village. Zhou Zhijun's family's plot was just separated from theirs by two others.
Zhou Zhijun was bent over, hoeing the ground. Wang Xiaohong glanced over there and whispered to Chuntao, "Sis, I heard that Uncle Zhijun was fancied by lots of girls when he was young, but he didn't fancy any of them back. What kind of woman do you think he likes?"
Chuntao's heart gave a sudden jolt. She didn't know what kind of woman Zhou Zhijun liked. All she knew was that he was a hypocrite, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"I couldn't say!"
"Is liking someone really that important?" Wang Xiaohong said, thinking of her brother Wang Jieshi again.
He liked another woman. He abandoned Chuntao on their wedding night and ran off.
Their family was busy searching everywhere for him. The Cao family was about to come and accuse Wang Jieshi of having run off with their daughter.
Liu Cuilan refused to take the blame for this. She said her son had just gotten married that day and wouldn't have run off, that it was Cao Meiying who had seduced Wang Jieshi away.
The two families argued fiercely, and in the end could only go search together. They looked everywhere, on the streets, in the county town, but couldn't find them.
It had been four years since Wang Jieshi left, without a single word of news. Yet Chuntao hadn't left. She lived her life honestly and dutifully.
She was the busiest from dawn till dusk, doing the most work in the family, eating the worst food, and still often getting scolded by her mother-in-law.
Wang Xiaohong's heart ached for Chuntao. Thinking of all the hardship and toil she had endured over the years, she felt a sour taste in her heart.
She cursed her brother in her mind for being inhuman, abandoning such a good wife to elope with another woman.
She knew her brother's temper. Once he set his mind on something, not even nine oxen could pull him back. It seemed he truly didn't want the wife at home anymore.
She turned to look at Chuntao. "Sis, do you hate my brother?"
Chuntao didn't answer immediately. She had hated him before, hated him for making her unable to hold her head up. But now she didn't.
Hatred was not only useless, it also made her heart ache. So she had decided to let go. With less hatred in her heart, perhaps her days would become a little brighter.
"No," she said. "Hating others only makes you suffer too. What's the point?"
Wang Xiaohong sighed and tried to console her. "My brother was just confused for a moment. When he realizes his mistake and regrets it, he'll come back!"
Chuntao fell silent, but tears welled up in her eyes. She kept her head very low, afraid Wang Xiaohong would see.
When she was a maiden, she too had yearned for a beautiful love. She had also secretly liked the neighbor's brother, Weiming, in her heart.
Yang Weiming was a high school graduate, educated and very handsome. After graduating, he joined the army.
The night before he left, he asked Chuntao to meet him in the small grove south of the village. He took her hand and said, "Chuntao, wait for me at home. When I get promoted to officer, I'll come back to propose!"
Chuntao had only liked him secretly, not even daring to speak a word when they met. She never expected Yang Weiming liked her too, which made her feel both flustered and overjoyed.
She lowered her head, her little face flushed crimson with shyness, tears of happiness falling.
But she understood in her heart. Her grandmother had always planned for her to be part of a marriage exchange for her brother. She had no say in her own marriage.
Yet she didn't want to shatter this beautiful hope. Deceiving herself, she nodded. "Mm, Brother Weiming, you'll surely succeed, you'll definitely get promoted. I'll wait for you!"
Yang Weiming, overcome with emotion, pulled her into his arms, his voice trembling. "Tao, Chuntao, you're so good... I won't let you down..."
He cupped her burning little face and kissed her deeply. The moon was very round that night, and she tasted the flavor of love.
That sweetness wasn't a cloying kind of sweet. It carried a hint of freshness, a touch of sourness, and a bit of astringency.
She broke her promise. The second year after Yang Weiming joined the army, she entered the Wang family's door as part of the marriage exchange for her brother.
The bitterness of these years was something she couldn't voice. She could only swallow it silently. It was that bit of sweetness that had once belonged to her that propped her up, preventing her from collapsing.
Whenever she thought of that night, a tiny spark of vitality would stir in Chuntao's heart.
That spark was like a blade of grass peeking through in spring, prying open a crack in the accumulated bitterness of years, allowing a sliver of light to be seen.
Once, returning to her parents' home for the New Year, she ran into Yang Weiming in the village. He was wearing a crisp green military uniform, and beside him was a pretty city girl. Feeling ashamed of her own inferiority, she didn't even dare to lift her head and hurried away.
Thinking of this, Chuntao couldn't help but let a tear drop onto her arm holding the hoe handle. She quickly turned her face away to wipe it.
Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Zhou Zhijun looking over. She flusteredly avoided his gaze, lowering her head to continue hoeing.
The thing he had slipped into her pocket this morning was now hidden under her pillow, making her heart uneasy!
Since childhood, her grandmother had taught her, "If you accept food from others, your words grow shorter; if you accept gifts, your hands grow softer! Never take advantage of others. Small gains lead to great losses!"
She had always remembered her grandmother's words. From childhood till now, she had never taken advantage of anyone.
She wanted to return it to him quickly. Otherwise, he might think she had accepted his gesture and would feel justified in bullying her later.
Chuntao kept thinking about that matter. The weather was so hot; if she didn't return it soon, it would spoil. But she simply couldn't find an opportunity.
After drinking the evening soup, Liu Cuilan and Wang Haichao went out. Chuntao washed the pots, and Wang Xiaohong helped feed the pigs.
"Sis, we're all sweaty. Let's go take a bath in the Donggou River later!"
Wangjiazhai had a man-made river embankment that encircled half the village. In summer, men, women, young and old, all went to the river to bathe.
Naturally, men and women bathed separately, but not far from each other.
While bathing, the women's eternal, never-tiring topic of conversation was the business between husbands and wives.
And the men always talked about which woman had big breasts, a slim waist, or a round bottom.
They would also peer over towards the women's side without restraint, some even whistling and telling crude jokes.
Although Chuntao was a young married woman, she was still in a rather innocent state. Listening to those women's conversations made her feel very embarrassed.
Some women specifically teased her, saying a pretty young wife like her, with no one to dote on her, was such a waste. It made her blush crimson, leaving her speechless.
So she didn't like joining those women to bathe. Most times, she would just fetch a basin of cold water and wipe herself down in her room.
After Wang Haichao moved in, Liu Cuilan wouldn't let her wash at home anymore, saying, "A grown man is right next door to you. Who are you trying to seduce with all that splashing water?"
The weather was so hot. After a day's work, her body was sour and smelly. Not bathing was unbearable. But tonight the moon was so bright, and the bruises on her chest hadn't faded yet. What if Xiaohong saw them?
While Wang Haichao and Liu Cuilan were out, she thought about fetching some cold water for a quick wipe-down. But Wang Xiaohong insisted, saying the moon was nice tonight, the breeze by the river was strong, and they could cool off right there after bathing.
Chuntao had no choice but to go with her. They didn't join the group of women but bathed not far from them.
Chuntao didn't take off her clothes; she bathed with them on. Wang Xiaohong, being an unmarried girl, was also shy and always bathed in her vest and shorts.
Tonight the moon was exceptionally bright. There were also a few men on the opposite side constantly glancing over. Wang Xiaohong didn't take off her outer clothes either and jumped into the water wearing her long pants and top.
The two had brought clean clothes with them. After climbing ashore, they headed towards the watermelon field, intending to change in the melon shed and then wash their wet clothes by the river.
As they approached the shed, a strange sound reached their ears, loud enough to drown out the croaking of frogs in the field.
Though Chuntao had never experienced intimacy herself, she recognized the nature of those sounds, and they made her blush crimson.
She quickly grabbed Wang Jieshi, meaning to turn and leave, but a pained moan made her freeze in her tracks.
"Ah—it hurts so much, you damned scoundrel..."
