Chuntao heard footsteps and turned her head sharply. Zhou Zhijun had already bolted the wooden door firmly shut.
Hearing the sound, Chuntao's heart tightened. Only then did she realize she had fallen for Zhou Zhijun's trick! A layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on her back.
"What are you doing?" Her face turned deathly pale. She turned to pull the door bolt, but her wrist was seized by Zhou Zhijun, who then hoisted her over his shoulder and carried her into the inner room. His tall frame completely enveloped her.
For over a month now, Zhou Zhijun had been looking for chances to get close to her, but something always foiled his attempts.
These past few nights, she kept having those shameful dreams. In the dreams, she didn't resist, letting him hold and kiss her, her heart even feeling a sweet flutter.
After waking, she hid under the quilt, cursing herself for being shameless, yet the hollow, aching feeling in her chest was impossible to suppress.
Chuntao's heart was pounding in her throat, afraid it would leap out if she opened her mouth. She knew Zhou Zhijun too well; once he set his mind on something, not even eight oxen could pull him back.
Since she couldn't avoid it, Chuntao stopped struggling...
Suddenly, Zhou Zhimin's voice came from outside.
"Second Brother! Mother!"
Zhou Zhijun's body stiffened, but he didn't make a sound. It was hard to get such an opportunity; it would be a shame to miss it. Besides, he was already like an arrow on the bowstring—it had to be released.
...
Just then, the door creaked open. Before Zhou Zhimin could speak, Zhou Zhijun's cold face was thrust toward him. "What's all the shouting? Can't a man even sleep in peace during the day?"
Zhou Zhimin wore a forced smile, rubbing his hands together. "Second Brother, it's broad daylight, how come you're sleeping already?"
"Can't a man sleep during the day? What rule says you can only sleep at night?" Zhou Zhijun didn't give him a friendly look, his tone hard and unyielding.
Zhou Zhimin kept up his ingratiating smile. "Right, right, you can sleep whenever you want!
Second Brother, here's the thing. The New Year is almost here, and we don't have a single cent at home.
We can make do with food and clothes, but we need to pack gift boxes for visiting relatives. I was thinking..."
"I don't have any money!" Zhou Zhijun cut him off directly, his brows tightly knit.
Over the years, Zhou Zhimin and his wife had borrowed money and grain from him countless times—rice, flour, oil, salt, they asked for everything—but never paid back a thing.
Before, he let it slide for their parents' sake, but these two didn't know their place. They even gossiped behind his back, spreading rumors about him and Chuntao.
More importantly, now his heart belonged only to Chuntao. The money he earned had to be saved for her. He couldn't keep filling Zhou Zhimin's bottomless pit.
"Second Brother, didn't you just get paid for that house-building work a while ago?" Zhou Zhimin pressed on, unwilling to give up.
"Just because I got paid doesn't mean I don't have to spend it? With New Year coming, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, food, supplies, gift boxes for relatives—everything costs money!
I'm not a bank!" Zhou Zhijun's tone grew even sharper.
Zhou Zhimin still clung to hope. "Second Brother, just spare me twenty yuan, enough to pack the gift boxes, that's all I need!"
"Not a single cent!" Zhou Zhijun stated firmly, determined to crush his hopes.
Zhou Zhimin's visit today was entirely forced by Huang Meili.
That morning, Huang Meili had stood with hands on her hips, berating him. "Your mother and Second Brother treat Li Chuntao like a treasure, spending all their money on her!
New Year is right around the corner, we need money everywhere. Go borrow some! Borrow as much as you can, it's better than letting an outsider spend it all!"
"I won't go! We've never paid back the money borrowed from Second Brother all these years. I have no face to ask!" Though spineless, Zhou Zhimin still had some pride.
Huang Meili exploded on the spot: "Useless fool! I told you to go, so go! Stop with the nonsense!
If you don't bring back any money, don't come home! Living with a good-for-nothing like you, I'd be better off dead.
If it weren't for the three kids, I'd have left you long ago!"
Scolded into a corner, Zhou Zhimin had no choice but to come with a hardened scalp.
Seeing that Zhou Zhijun left no room for negotiation, he could only play his final card. "Second Brother, with New Year here, if I can't borrow money, Huang Meili will surely raise hell. The whole village will laugh at us.
Our parents will be upset too! She even said if I can't get money for New Year, she won't stay with me!"
Zhou Zhijun sneered inwardly. That kind of talk only worked on someone like Zhou Zhimin.
A woman like Huang Meili—lazy, gossipy, never satisfied with taking advantage—Zhou Zhimin marrying her was pure, eight-generations-worth of bad luck.
An image of Chuntao suddenly flashed in his mind. A gentle, sensible, shy, and lovely woman like Chuntao was hard to find in the whole commune. Huang Meili wasn't even fit to carry her shoes.
Her little tricks only worked on Zhou Zhimin. Zhou Zhijun wouldn't fall for them.
"Whether you stay together or not is your business. It's got nothing to do with me!" After saying this, Zhou Zhijun turned and walked toward the outhouse in the corner of the yard.
Seeing Zhou Zhijun's ironclad refusal, Zhou Zhimin hung his head and started to leave.
Suddenly, a soft sneeze came from the inner room. "Achoo!"
The sound, so abrupt, startled him. His steps halted instantly.
He paused, then turned to look at the curtain over the inner room door. Slowly, he walked over and reached out to lift the blue cloth curtain...
