What Wang Xiaohong held in her hand was precisely that blue handkerchief bundle, clearly something used by men.
Moreover, inside the handkerchief bundle was a small mirror, and on the back of the mirror were drawn two little naked figures fighting. Anyone who saw it would let their imagination run wild.
Chuntao had hidden this thing under her pillow, originally planning to throw it away halfway when she returned to her maiden home today. But she left in such a hurry that she forgot to take it, never expecting Wang Xiaohong to find it under the bed.
"Sister-in-law, where did this come from?"
"I picked it up while working in the fields!" Chuntao's face turned pale, squeezing out a few words from her throat.
Wang Xiaohong's eyes instantly widened. "Sister-in-law, you really know how to find things!"
Her words made Chuntao's heart clench even tighter, and her face grew even paler. Just as she was about to defend herself, Wang Xiaohong suddenly moved closer to her.
Bringing her mouth to Chuntao's ear, she blushed and said, "So shameless, the drawing is disgusting."
"Yeah!" Chuntao felt incredibly guilty, her voice as low as a mosquito's hum.
Wang Xiaohong insisted on getting to the bottom of it. "Which field did you find it in?"
"Just in the East Ditch!"
Wang Xiaohong suddenly smacked her forehead, startling Chuntao. "It must have been dropped by someone having an illicit affair in the East Ditch!"
Hearing Wang Xiaohong say this, Chuntao's heart clenched even tighter, not daring to look at her.
Although this small mirror was deliberately placed by someone with ulterior motives, she indeed had an unclear relationship with Zhou Zhijun. To put it harshly, it was an "illicit affair!"
Wang Xiaohong held the small mirror up to her face, the corners of her mouth raised high.
A sixteen-year-old girl is at the age where she loves to look pretty. She couldn't bear to put the small mirror down, looking at herself in it over and over again.
This small mirror was indeed a rare item, but to Chuntao, it was a disaster, and her heart was in turmoil.
"Sister-in-law, are you going to use this small mirror?"
Chuntao could see that Wang Xiaohong wanted it. Although she had many concerns, she still shook her head. "No!"
Hearing this, Wang Xiaohong immediately smiled. "Sister-in-law, if you're not using it, can you give it to me?"
Since she had said she found it, Chuntao couldn't refuse. "Alright, you use it, but make sure no one sees it!"
"Okay!"
Chuntao was still very worried, but couldn't say no to giving it to her. A trace of complex emotion flashed in her eyes.
Her hand subconsciously reached for the silk scarf in her pocket. She didn't believe Zhou Zhijun's words at all; this silk scarf was definitely not bought by Aunt Zhou.
She couldn't wear it. She had to find a hidden place to stash it so Xiaohong wouldn't discover it again.
If Xiaohong found this silk scarf and she claimed it was "found" again, who would believe her?
The next day, taking advantage of Wang Xiaohong being out of the inner room, Chuntao quickly took the silk scarf out of her pocket and stuffed it into her pillow. She then took out a needle and thread, planning to sew it inside the pillowcase so it wouldn't be exposed.
"Chuntao!" Aunt Zhou suddenly called her from outside.
Chuntao quickly put down the needle and thread and walked to the door of the main room. "Godmother!"
Aunt Zhou stood at the kitchen door, holding a coarse porcelain bowl. "These are red dates dried by my family. I brought you a bowl! You can steam date rolls to take when visiting relatives for the New Year, it'll look decent!"
Back then, when visiting relatives for the New Year, if there were elders in the family, besides taking two gifts, particular families would also include two date rolls.
Chuntao's family had little white flour and hadn't planned to steam date rolls this year. When she returned to her maiden home yesterday, her brother gave her half a sack of white flour, and with Aunt Zhou bringing a bowl of red dates, she could just make a batch.
"Godmother, these dates are great! I don't need this many, half is enough!" Chuntao walked over to take the bowl.
"I already brought them all, keep them all! If you can't use them all for date rolls, eat them raw. These dates are very sweet!"
Chuntao poured the dates into her own bowl and invited Aunt Zhou into the main room to sit, but Aunt Zhou waved her hand. "It's almost the end of the year. The sun is good today, I'm going home to wash and sun-dry the bamboo trays and shallow baskets!"
"By the way, do you like the red silk scarf I had Zhijun buy for you?" Aunt Zhou turned to leave, but suddenly stopped and asked Chuntao loudly.
Wang Xiaohong happened to come out of the outhouse. Hearing this, her eyes immediately lit up. "Great-aunt, what kind of red silk scarf? Why haven't I seen my sister-in-law wearing it?"
Chuntao caught a glimpse of Wang Chunxiao next door coming out of the house with a basin of dirty clothes, turning to look over upon hearing Aunt Zhou's words.
She quickly responded loudly, "Godmother, the silk scarf you bought is very beautiful, I like it!"
She originally thought Zhou Zhijun was lying, but she didn't expect Aunt Zhou really did ask him to buy it. Now she finally didn't have to hide it.
"It's the New Year, wearing a red silk scarf is festive!" Aunt Zhou felt a bit sour in her heart. This girl lived a hard life all year round; wearing a bit of red for the New Year would brighten her mood.
"Sister-in-law, where's the silk scarf? Why aren't you wearing it!" Wang Xiaohong pulled Chuntao's arm and pressed her.
"I figured I'd wear it for the New Year!"
Wang Xiaohong then looked at Aunt Zhou and joked, "Great-aunt, you're so good to my sister-in-law, just like a real mother!"
"You little rascal, quite the talker! If you want to acknowledge me, Great-aunt will find a match for you too!"
"Please don't, I have a bad temper, no one would care to acknowledge me!"
The sound of the few people laughing and talking in the yard drifted far away with the wind. Lying in bed, Wang Jieshi heard it loud and clear. The hatred in his heart grew wildly like weeds.
He hated Zhou Zhijun, he hated Aunt Zhou, and he hated his own useless body even more.
This mother and son pair meddling in his family's affairs under the guise of being god-relatives was blatantly bullying him for being a cripple.
Hate as he might, he had absolutely no way out.
He wanted to completely cut ties and draw a clear line, but for the seven or eight mu of contracted land at home, he still had to rely on Zhou Zhijun's help with plowing, planting, and harvesting. He could only act like a coward.
His cloudy eyes were full of malice, staring dead at the rafters of the roof.
After Aunt Zhou went home, Wang Xiaohong pulled Chuntao wanting to see the red silk scarf. Chuntao had no choice but to take it out from the pillow.
"It's so beautiful! Uncle Zhijun really knows how to buy! Sister-in-law, try it on!" Wang Xiaohong said as she wrapped the silk scarf around Chuntao's neck.
The bright red silk scarf made her small face look even more delicate and fair, with a faint blush, looking as charming as peach blossoms blooming in spring.
"Sister-in-law, you're pretty, and wearing this red silk scarf makes you look even more outstanding!" Wang Xiaohong shouted excitedly.
Chuntao blushed and dodged. "Take it off, I'm not going to wear it right now!"
She folded the silk scarf, put it back under the pillow, and turned to go to the kitchen to prepare the batter for steaming the date rolls.
Just as she scooped a bowl of flour from the flour vat, she saw Liu Cuilan come in, clutching a cloth bag in her hand.
Seeing Chuntao scooping flour, she said self-righteously, "Give me some flour!"
Wang Haichao and his brothers were all lazy gluttons. The grass in the few mu of contracted land at home grew taller than the crops, and after handing in the public grain, not much food was left.
After the family division, the little bit of rations Liu Cuilan took with her had long been eaten up. Normally, they relied on petty theft and digging wild vegetables to get by.
It was almost the New Year, and there was no white flour at home. She thought Chuntao was careful with her household and definitely had some white flour saved up, so she came specifically to ask for some.
Before Chuntao could react, Liu Cuilan yanked off the bamboo cover on top, saw that there was still half a vat of white flour inside, and without a word, picked up the flour scoop to dig in.
This flour was brought back step by step by Chuntao from her maiden home. The family of four had to rely on this flour to live. She quickly tried to stop her. "What are you doing?"
She grabbed the lid to cover the flour vat. Seeing her try to stop her, Liu Cuilan roared, "Have you lost your mind? What's wrong with me taking a little flour?"
"The flour we got when we divided up the household was finished long ago. I carried this flour back from my own mother's house!" Chuntao's voice trembled with anxiety.
"What do you mean, from your mother's house? Once it crosses the threshold of the Wang family, it belongs to the Wang family!" Liu Cuilan hollered, scooping a heaping ladle of flour and dumping it into her cloth bag.
Wang Xiaoming was in the main room doing his homework. Hearing the commotion in the kitchen, he rushed over. Seeing what was happening, his temper flared immediately. "What are you doing?"
He closed the distance to Liu Cuilan in two strides and snatched the cloth bag right out of her hands. "You think you can just rob us? No way!"
He grabbed Liu Cuilan by the arm, dumped the flour from the bag right back into the vat, and with bloodshot eyes, pointed out into the courtyard. "Get the hell out!" he roared.
Just at that moment, the large loudspeaker at the edge of the village suddenly crackled to life. Zhou Dana's voice echoed from it: "Emergency notice! Emergency notice! Attention, all villagers..."
