As the weather grew hotter, farmers lived by the mood of the heavens. If the rain didn’t come, they had to find ways to irrigate their fields themselves. Most farmland lay near the river, so irrigation was relatively convenient.
In the early morning, every household’s men went out to check their fields. If it was too dry, they would need to use waterwheels for irrigation. The women and older wives stayed home to handle domestic chores.
Some fields were farther away and required climbing the hills, where water had to be carried up manually.
Zhao Hu was also carrying a bucket up the mountain. Recently, he had been in a low mood. At first, he was very grateful after learning Yuan Zhao had saved him, but the more he asked around, the more impressive Yuan Zhao seemed.
He had actually agreed to marry Shi Wuxiang, that sickly scholar, for a marriage of convenience, and yet he could climb mountains and go down to the river—doing work even men struggled with. Even Zhao Hu’s mother said that a husband would be fortunate to marry such a capable little husband.
So Zhao Hu had started trying to get closer to him, using the excuse of repaying a debt. He knew Yuan Zhao was already married, but he convinced himself that the scholar was frail and would not treat him well.
He even thought that if he kept trying, and waited until Yuan Zhao was divorced one day, he could marry him then. To him, that was already a generous compromise.
But he was still rejected.
He sighed heavily.
His disappointed expression caught the attention of Shi Zhangshi and Shi Qingyue, who were also heading to the fields. Shi Zhangshi greeted him, “Zhao Hu, why aren’t you going to irrigate your fields yet?”
Zhao Hu immediately brightened when he saw her. “Auntie, why hasn’t Yuan Zhao come to the fields today? Where is he?”
He had come early on purpose, hoping to run into Yuan Zhao and speak with him again.
Shi Qingyue immediately understood and narrowed his eyes, irritation flashing across his face. “My sister-in-law went to town with my brother. There’s no need for you to worry. My sister-in-law has my brother with him, and they’re having a fine time together.”
The second son had always been carefree and obedient, rarely showing hostility. Shi Zhangshi glanced at Zhao Hu and quietly became suspicious.
Zhao Hu didn’t catch Shi Qingyue’s anger and only felt vaguely uncomfortable. “They… get along well…”
“Of course they do!” Shi Qingyue became even more displeased.
“Enough. It’s hot, don’t argue. Go finish your irrigation and head home early before you overheat,” Shi Zhangshi said, tugging Shi Qingyue away.
Zhao Hu sighed again and continued toward the fields.
He was not someone who learned from hardship. The slope he had once fallen on before was familiar now, and he no longer paid attention to it.
But this time, for some reason, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shifted—revealing several sharp, large, rounded stones he had never noticed before.
With his balance already unstable from carrying the buckets, his foot slipped.
He fell.
Buckets of water spilled over him, and the wooden buckets and shoulder pole struck him repeatedly as he rolled downhill. He thought it would end there—but at the bottom of the slope were even more rocks.
His body slammed into them—back, head, arms, legs—while the buckets smashed into his face.
“Ahhh!!”
He screamed in agony, sweat instantly pouring out as his eyes rolled back, nearly fainting from the pain.
On the other side, Shi Zhangshi seemed to hear something faintly. “Did you hear someone screaming?”
Shi Qingyue replied flatly, “No. You must have heard wrong. It’s probably just the heat.”
The two of them continued irrigating the fields, working until the sun had moved across the sky and the fields were still not fully watered. They were exhausted.
“Mother will go home and cook first. Rest a bit before continuing,” Shi Zhangshi said.
“Mother, I want meat!” Shi Qingyue said immediately, full of energy. He was at the age where he needed plenty of food to grow.
Shi Zhangshi agreed and told him to take care of the fields before heading home.
Meanwhile, Shi Qingyue sat down to rest comfortably in the field. He suddenly glanced toward where Zhao Hu had gone earlier.
He had heard that scream.
But so what?
That man kept bothering his sister-in-law. He had seen it clearly.
No one was going to take their family’s person.
When Shi Zhangshi returned home, Yuan Zhao still had not come back.
She did not think much of it and began preparing lunch with the children’s help.
By midday, Yuan Zhao still had not returned.
“Mother, sister-in-law still hasn’t come back?” Shi Qingyue asked while eating.
“He should be back soon,” Shi Zhangshi replied. “Don’t worry. He’s with Shi Wuxiang.”
Later that afternoon, when Shi Zhangshi returned from the fields, Yuan Zhao still had not come home.
He hadn’t said anything more unpleasant, but if he had known earlier that Zhao Hu would end up entangling himself with his sister-in-law, he would never have saved him in the first place, no matter what.
Madam Shi Zhangshi chided him a few times, but did not say much beyond that.
The children in the family were all sensible, each with their own calculations and concerns. The one who was willing to speak up like this was already rare. If it had been the eldest son, he would likely have kept everything buried in his heart and not let anyone know.
Shi Qingyue finished his meal in a hurry, then went with Madam Shi Zhangshi to irrigate the fields. At the very least, they needed to water the crops once; otherwise, the seedlings would not be able to withstand the heat.
“…son!”
“…Huzi!”
“Does it sound like someone is calling?” Madam Shi Zhangshi heard it clearly this time. “Are they looking for Zhao Hu?”
Shi Qingyue naturally would not pretend otherwise at such a moment and nodded. “It sounds like it. Maybe they’re calling him back for dinner.”
They had only taken a short stretch of the mountain road together. After separating, they went in completely different directions, so even if he had been resting, he would not have known whether Zhao Hu had come down the mountain.
But from the shouting, it seemed he had not.
Madam Shi Zhangshi was kind-hearted and worried something might have happened. In the same village, people should help one another when needed. So she followed the direction of the voice.
Not long after, Zhao Hu’s mother’s voice grew closer. When she saw Madam Shi Zhangshi, her pair of murky, squinting eyes suddenly widened.
“Shi family’s, have you seen my son Zhao Hu? He wasn’t in the fields either. People said he came up this road!”
Madam Shi Zhangshi said, “We did see him when we came up. We spoke a couple of sentences and then separated. It looked like he went toward your fields.”
As she spoke, she pointed in that direction.
Zhao Hu’s mother didn’t even have time to thank her before she hurried off, panting heavily as she went. Under the blazing heat, her voice had already gone hoarse from shouting.
“You stay here and work. I’ll go take a look,” Madam Shi Zhangshi said, and followed her.
The two of them walked and called out together, but still received no response. Madam Shi Zhangshi asked, “Did he go to a friend’s house? Maybe he already went home from the other side.”
“My Huzi is obedient. He always comes home on time for meals. Even if he goes out, he’ll come home first to tell me. There’s no way he wouldn’t come back!” Zhao Hu’s mother disagreed completely and kept shouting at the top of her lungs.
“Maybe he was in a hurry and didn’t get the chance to tell you—”
“I already said no way, no way! Why do you have so much to say? If you don’t want to help me find him, then leave! Why are you insisting on arguing with me!” Zhao Hu’s mother suddenly shouted.
Madam Shi Zhangshi froze. She had never expected her to flare up like this. After all, when Shi Ge’er had saved Zhao Hu last time, Zhao Hu’s mother had been endlessly grateful, bringing vegetables and eggs in thanks. How had she become like this now?
But she assumed it was only because the woman was desperate to find her son, so she swallowed her irritation and said nothing more. However, she also lost most of her willingness to help search.
“Ah!”
Zhao Hu’s mother, not watching her step, stepped on a stone hidden in the soil and tripped forward. She staggered a few steps and fell hard to the ground.
Madam Shi Zhangshi’s eyes widened instantly. She almost laughed out loud but quickly suppressed it and hurried forward to help her up.
Having suffered such a humiliating fall, Zhao Hu’s mother, once helped to her feet, could no longer hold back her filthy language. It poured out like it cost nothing.
“Which damn bastard buried so many stones in the dirt! Aren’t you afraid you’ll trip over and smash your own head off? Useless trash! Dog-stuffing scum!”
“Heartless bastards! Don’t let me find out who did this! Shameless filthy things! You all deserve to die!”
Every sentence was laced with curses and even death wishes. Madam Shi Zhangshi felt uncomfortable listening. It was just a fall—was there really a need to curse so endlessly?
Moreover, these stones were likely just kicked into the soil by villagers coming up and down the mountain by accident, not deliberately placed to trip her. For her to speak so viciously—she had actually once been intimidated by this woman!
“Zhao Hu’s mother, you should search on your own. I still have work in the fields. I need to go,” Madam Shi Zhangshi said as she let go of her and turned back, no longer willing to stay with her.
Zhao Hu’s mother, unable to find her son and having fallen, was already in a foul mood. Seeing Madam Shi Zhangshi leave, she cursed under her breath a few more times before continuing the search alone.
She still had a bit of cleverness in her. Thinking that Zhao Hu might have also fallen, and recalling that he had once slipped in this area before, she carefully followed the slope downward.
When she finally saw what lay ahead, she let out a sudden, piercing scream of terror.
It echoed through the sky and immediately drew nearby villagers over.
When they saw the scene, everyone was shocked and quickly looked away, unwilling to look again.
Zhao Hu lay on the ground covered in blood, his face and arms full of wounds. Most horrifying of all was his leg.
It was clearly broken, and the bone was even protruding out of the flesh.