Before Chuntao could even react, Zhou Zhijun had already pulled her into the kitchen and shut the broken wooden door behind them.
He fished out a match from his pocket and struck it with a sharp scratch, lighting the kerosene lamp on the stove. The dim yellow light spilled over her face, casting a soft, gentle halo.
Chuntao did not dare to look at him. She turned her face away, her voice tinged with anxiety. "What are you doing? I have to go to Uncle Qingjiang's house to buy some headache powder!"
She struggled to pull her hand back, but he gripped it even tighter. His rough, large hands wrapped around her icy small hands, bringing them to his mouth as he continuously breathed hot air onto them.
"Look how cold your hands are! Let me warm them up for you!"
After breathing a few puffs of hot air, he unbuttoned the front of his jacket and tucked her hands inside his cotton-padded coat. "Tao, you have suffered so much!"
The thought of Chuntao being dragged down for the rest of her life made Zhou Zhijun's heart ache as if it were being sliced by a knife. He cherished this girl and could not just watch her suffer.
"Tao, come with me. Let's leave Wangjia Village and never endure this suffering again!" His eyes grew hot, and his voice trembled.
Chuntao's heart violently tightened. She forcefully pulled her hands out from his clothes. "I am not leaving! Let me go, I need to go buy headache powder!"
He still held onto her small hand, pulling her and pressing her down onto a stool. "Sit down!"
"What are you doing? He is in terrible pain!" Chuntao was so anxious that her eyes turned red.
"He deserves it!" Zhou Zhijun gritted his teeth.
"He is only in physical pain, but you are suffering both physically and mentally...
All the bitterness and suffering you have endured these past few years, which of it wasn't caused by him? It is about time he tastes what pain feels like!"
These words pierced right into Chuntao's heart. Her nose tingled with a sour ache, and tears welled up in her eyes.
He was right. The hardships and torments she had suffered, the endless gossip in the village—it was all too much to count.
Chuntao sat blankly on the stool, staring at the tips of her toes, and did not try to stand up again.
Zhou Zhijun walked over to the stove, lifted the pot lid, and brought out a small earthen basin wrapped in a lined jacket.
He carefully unfolded the jacket, held the earthen basin, and squatted down in front of Chuntao. "Look what this is!"
As soon as the lid was lifted, a rich, savory aroma of meat wafted directly into her face.
"I stewed some chicken for you. Hold it!" He took her hands and placed one on each side of the basin. "Hold it tight, do not drop it!"
He stood up to grab a pair of chopsticks from the stove, then squatted back down. He picked up a piece of chicken, blew on it near his mouth, and said, "It is not too hot now, eat up!"
His tone carried an undeniable firmness as he brought the chicken right to her lips.
Chuntao's nose tingled again, and she could no longer hold back her tears. They fell, pattering into the earthen basin. She did not refuse anymore, opening her mouth to bite into the piece of chicken.
In those days, even plain white steamed buns were a rarity. People were reluctant to eat eggs all year round, and chicken soup with meat was a delicacy one would not even dare to dream of.
She never expected that on such a cold winter night, he would go out of his way to stew chicken soup for her.
The slight distance she had kept from him in the past vanished in an instant. Yet, she knew clearly in her heart that this was playing with fire; sooner or later, she would get burned and implicate others as well.
"Silly girl, what are you crying for?"
He raised a hand to wipe the tears from her face while his other hand supported the bottom of the basin, bringing the rim to her lips. "Drink some soup to warm your body, otherwise it will get cold soon! Drink!"
Chuntao knew that once he made up his mind, she could not resist. She could only obediently take a few sips.
As the piping hot chicken soup settled in her stomach, her entire body warmed up from the inside out, spreading from her mouth straight to her heart.
Zhou Zhijun had anticipated that Chuntao would have to stay up all night looking after Wang Jieshi. Her petite frame could not withstand the torment of this freezing weather.
Thinking of her suffering from cold and hunger, he had felt so distressed that he tossed and turned, unable to sleep. In the latter half of the night, he quietly got up, caught an old hen from the coop, and slaughtered it.
The chicken weighed about three or four catties. Knowing Chuntao had a small appetite, he chopped half of it to stew and hid the other half in an empty vegetable jar, planning to cook it for her tomorrow.
He poured the stewed chicken soup into the earthen basin, wrapped it in his lined jacket to keep it warm, and stealthily sneaked into Chuntao's kitchen, placing the basin inside the large iron wok to keep it insulated.
Then, he tiptoed to the door of the main room and pressed his ear against it to listen. He only heard Wang Jieshi's painful groans; he did not hear Chuntao's voice.
He originally wanted to go near the chicken coop to startle the flock and draw her out, but just as he turned around, he heard footsteps in the inner room, so he waited at the door.
The north wind whipped snowflakes against his face, but his heart was warm. Seeing her open the door and come out, he pulled her into the kitchen without a word.
Chuntao had not had any soup for dinner, so her stomach was completely empty, and her body lacked any trace of warmth.
Under Zhou Zhijun's coercion, she ate every last piece of chicken in the basin and drank most of the soup.
"Are you full?"
"Mhm," Chuntao replied softly. Just as she stood up from the stool, Zhou Zhijun grabbed her again.
"I need to go buy medicine!"
"I will go!"
He was about to head out the door when he suddenly turned back, gripping her shoulders with both hands. His voice turned a few degrees colder. "What were you and Zhou Xiaowei doing in the kitchen today?"
Chuntao froze for a moment, taking a long while to realize what he meant. "He was helping me find someone for breeding."
"Breeding for whom?" Zhou Zhijun suddenly pinched her chin, leaning in with a cold face, a flash of hostility in his eyes.
"What are you doing!" Chuntao was both anxious and angry. This man was always thinking about dirty things. She quickly explained, "It is to breed the sow!"
"If you want to breed pigs, go find Old Man Han!" Zhou Zhijun loosened his grip slightly but still frowned. "That Zhou Xiaowei kid is up to no good. Keep your distance from him from now on!"
"He is the one who went to call Old Man Han for me."
"When is he coming?"
"Xiaowei said Old Man Han will come tomorrow morning."
