Zhou Chunping felt that he was possessed by bad luck recently.
First, Zhang Zhixin failed to complete her task and was scolded by Lao K, a nobleman and follower from Kyoto. Then, Zhou Jiaxing was arrested and taken to the police station.
As proud as Zhou Jiaxing had been before, he felt as embarrassed now. Zhou Chunping went to Sanhe Town to inquire with acquaintances about Zhou Jiaxing's situation. He heard that it was a gang crime, and a few small-time thugs had defrauded the Sanhe Town Supply and Marketing Cooperative of a large amount of materials. This batch of materials was extremely valuable, and it seemed that Zhou Jiaxing was doomed this time.
Zhou Chunping wanted to go to the police station to see Zhou Jiaxing and get him to shift the blame onto his accomplices. Unfortunately, he couldn't even get through the station. The case against Zhou Jiaxing and his associates had even reached the higher authorities, and until the verdict was announced, all the perpetrators were barred from visiting.
The public trial is scheduled for after the New Year. At that time, a high platform will be set up in Sanhe Town, and the verdict will be announced on Zhou Jiaxing and his gang in the presence of the people.
Thinking of the public trial, Zhou Chunping became so angry that he fell ill. If the villagers in Sanhe Town had seen Zhou Jiaxing on the podium awaiting sentencing during the public trial, would they have been able to leave the house again? When talking about Zhou Chunping, the villagers would inevitably add: "Grandfather of that thief Zhou Jiaxing."
Zhou Chunping grew increasingly furious. Regardless of the fact that it was New Year's Eve, he summoned his eldest son, Zhou Zhigang, and his eldest daughter-in-law, Li Chunjiao, to his bedside and gave them a scathing scolding. Wu Jinfeng chimed in, chiding Li Chunjiao like a worthless person.
In the eyes of Zhou Chunping and Wu Jinfeng, Zhou Jiaxing's failure to learn was due to Li Chunjiao's failure as a mother. And as for Zhou Zhigang? A man, he was supposed to be working outside to support the family, so how could he have the time to care for his children? At this point, Zhou Chunping and his wife had chosen to forget that Li Chunjiao never missed a day of work in the production team, nor did she miss any chores at home. Speaking of busyness, Li Chunjiao was far busier than Zhou Zhigang.
Li Chunjiao had been married to the Zhou family for so many years, but because of her cousin, Zhou Chunping and his wife had always been cautious of her status as a relative of the village chief and had never said a harsh word to her. It was the first time that Zhou Chunping and his wife had pointed at her nose and called her a jinx.
Li Chunjiao was also a ruthless person. After being scolded, she wiped her tears, ran back to her room, and silently hanged herself from the beam. Fortunately, Zhou Meimei was at home the whole time. When she saw Li Chunjiao hanging herself, she quickly cried out.
Li Chunjiao was rescued by Zhou Zhigang. Wu Jinfeng and Zhou Chunping were frightened by Li Chunjiao and finally calmed down.
Gu Dahua was deeply upset by Zhou Jiaxing's arrest. In those days, having a prisoner in a family ruined the family's reputation. She worried that her daughter, Zhou Miaomiao, and son, Zhou Jiajie, would be dragged down by Zhou Jiaxing. These days, she had a sullen face, as if the Zhou family owed her hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Zhou Zhiqiang was also a man who sought profit and avoided harm. His thoughts were similar to Gu Dahua's. If he wasn't short of money, he would have wanted to move out. Anyway, the three Zhou brothers had already separated, and if they lived farther away, others might see their family as separate from that of their eldest brother, Zhou Zhigang.
The Zhou family's New Year's Eve was dismal. Wu Jinfeng didn't even prepare a reunion dinner, only cooking for her own family. Zhou Zhiqiang, usually known for his cracking jokes and livening up the atmosphere, was too lazy to join his parents and eldest brother. He simply instructed Gu Dahua to cook a few dishes, and the family of four had a full stomach.
Only Zhou Zhigang was left. Because of Gu Dahua's suicide, he didn't dare to wake her up to cook. Instead, he rolled a few bowls of noodles himself and ate some with Zhou Meimei and Zhou Jiaqin. As he ate his noodles, he thought of his third brother Zhou Zhixin, who had mysteriously "disappeared" that night, and he felt an indescribable irritation in his heart.
The scene from that night recurred in Zhou Zhigang's dreams more than once over the next few days. In his dreams, Zhou Zhixin was indeed dead, lying beside Liu Moli's bed. Zhou Zhigang was overjoyed, but then he saw Zhou Zhixin, bleeding from all seven orifices, chasing him, asking why he had killed him. Startled, Zhou Zhigang awoke.
This dream continued for several days, and Zhou Zhigang couldn't help but wonder if Zhou Zhixin was really dead. The drug in the noodles that day was put in by Zhou Zhigang himself. There was no reason why Zhou Zhixin could have escaped death after being drugged.
A few days before the Lunar New Year, Zhou Zhigang searched Zhoujia Village extensively but found no sign of Zhou Zhixin. The thought of Zhou Zhixin's life or death became a thorn in his throat, piercing his mind.
Zhou Zhigang had wondered if Zhou Zhixin had gone to Zhaojiagou. He and Zhou Zhiqiang had made several trips to Zhaojiagou, only to receive the news that Zhao Qingshan had gone to Qingshan City and hadn't returned. He wondered if Zhao Yunxiang and her children had also followed Zhao Qingshan to Qingshan City; they hadn't seen him in Zhaojiagou.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, even if it was just to silence outsiders, the Zhou family should have gone to the Zhao family to pick up Zhao Yunxiang. However, Zhou Chunping, whether he had forgotten or had other plans, never brought it up. Now that Zhou Jiaxing was in trouble, Zhou Zhigang was already busy and overwhelmed, so he would not mention Zhao Yunxiang to his father Zhou Chunping.
However, to relieve his frustration, Zhou Zhigang actually became closer to Liu Moli. He was desperate. His son, Zhou Jiaxing, was about to become a labor camp inmate, and he didn't know how long he would be able to hold onto his position as village accountant. He decided to take advantage of his remaining power and have some fun with Liu Moli.
Besides, Liu Moli is now Zhou Daniu's wife. Zhou Zhigang doesn't know if there is something wrong with his mind, but he is more interested in Liu Moli than before.
New Year's Eve passed in a dismal manner for Zhao Chunping's family. Zhou Chunping was so angry about Zhou Jiaxing's incident that he didn't even buy any firecrackers. Zhou Zhiqiang and Zhou Zhigang pretended not to know. Anyway, things had come to this, and since the family couldn't even afford food, they felt it was a waste to ask them to spend money on firecrackers.
For years, Zhou Chunping prepared the Zhou family's New Year's firecrackers. It was customary in Yuyuan County that, regardless of the harvest, every household would set off a string of firecrackers in the early morning hours of New Year's Day, symbolizing a prosperous life.
In the early morning hours of the first day of the Lunar New Year, Zhou Chunping lay in bed, listening to the cacophony of firecrackers from the village. His own firecrackers remained silent. Zhou Chunping felt a burning pain in his heart, tossing and turning in bed for most of the night, only managing to get some sleep in the early hours.
That morning, Zhou Chunping's home was quiet. The entire Zhou family lay in bed, unwilling to get up. They had nowhere else to go anyway. The two daughters-in-law didn't want to return to their parents' home either. Li Chunjiao had a frightening bruise around her neck, while Gu Dahua feared the interrogation they'd face. Zhou Jiaxing's affairs were no secret; those who cared would have seen through them.
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