Chapter 4: The Duck Laid an Egg

Du Wanchun was not surprised by his words. Today, even the matchmaker had arrived, yet Zhou Ruiyuan had not come out to perform the wedding ceremony with her. He must have already made other plans. She slowly walked to his side, picked up the book he was reading, and said with a smile, “Since I have stepped through the doors of your house, I am now a daughter-in-law of the Zhou family. Since you do not mind me being foolish, I shall not mind you being crippled. We are two halves of the same whole—a match made in heaven.”

As she spoke, her eyebrows arched playfully, and two small dimples appeared at the corners of her lips.

Zhou Ruiyuan was stunned by her words. He lifted his gaze to look at the lively and mischievous young girl before him, momentarily dazed.

Du Wanchun lowered her head and glanced at the book in his hands. It was an uncommon book. She flipped through it briefly before continuing, “However, in the future, I will need my husband to be tolerant of me. I am willful, headstrong, and reckless… Please don’t despise me…”

Her words were clear and sharp. Zhou Ruiyuan slowly recovered from his surprise and lazily took the book back from her hands. “So, you’re not actually foolish?”

Du Wanchun was not the type to become shy in front of a man. Since the topic had been brought up, she spoke openly and without restraint. The petite girl leaned against his desk, resting her chin on her hand as she grinned at him with round, bright eyes. “No, I am foolish. Everyone in the county says I’m foolish, so I must be a fool.”

Zhou Ruiyuan met her gaze and stared at her blankly, momentarily at a loss for words.

After all, he was only seventeen or eighteen himself and had never been close to any woman before. Du Wanchun was so near to him that he could even catch the faint fragrance of her hair. His once-calm heart, like still water, suddenly stirred, pounding wildly in his chest.

At that moment, a voice suddenly called from outside the room.

“Mother! Hurry to the backyard!”

It was Zhou Zhao’s voice.

Du Wanchun quickly got up, lifted the curtain, and pushed the door open to step outside.

She saw Madam Zhou still holding a spatula in her hand, hurrying toward the backyard in a rush. “Zhao’er, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Zhao didn’t respond and simply kept running toward the backyard. “Mother, come quickly!”

Du Wanchun immediately followed after him.

The Zhou family’s backyard was an area of red soil enclosed by a bamboo fence. However, due to a month of continuous rain, it was now full of uneven puddles of water.

On either side of the puddles were straw nests, where two thin ducks lay, and beside them sat a large duck egg.

These two frail ducks had been bought with the last of Madam Zhou’s jewelry, which she had pawned off. When they were first purchased, they had been lively and energetic, but within a few days, they had fallen ill—poisoned by the eldest sister-in-law from next door.

Originally, these two ducks had been so weak they were unlikely to survive the night. But now, not only were they still alive, but they had even laid an egg.

Madam Zhou was overjoyed at the sight of the duck egg. She carefully cupped it in her hands and said with a smile, “This is wonderful! Zhao’er, Feng’er, we can finally have eggs to eat!”

This duck egg was still an egg. Although Zhou Feng was blind and Zhou Zhao was deaf, they could still feel their mother’s joy.

Their family had been in Changliu Village for three years.

Madam Zhou, whose maiden name was Chen, had been sold to the capital as a child bride when she was only five or six years old. By the time she returned with her three sons, her parents had already passed away, leaving behind only an estranged older brother and two younger sisters.

Both sisters were married and lived in the neighboring Xiangtan Village. Knowing how difficult it was for their eldest sister to raise three children alone, they convinced their elder brother to let her stay in three abandoned mud-brick houses on the family property.

However, their older brother and his wife, Madam Jiang, had always despised Madam Zhou and her three children. Not only did they refuse to help the struggling widow and orphans, but they also took over their land and constantly made trouble for them, hoping to drive them away as soon as possible.

To survive, Madam Zhou relied on her sewing and mending skills, washing clothes for the wealthy families in the county. But in a farming village, having no land meant there was no way to truly make a living.

Madam Zhou tried to find another way and bought two ducks, hoping to raise and sell them at the market. However, her sister-in-law, jealous and resentful, poisoned them.

But now, things had taken a turn for the better. The ducks had survived and even laid eggs. From now on, they would have some security.

Holding the duck egg in her hands, Madam Zhou’s eyes welled up with tears, and she nearly broke down crying.

Just then, the two ducks in the nest suddenly lifted their heads, stretched their long necks, and looked toward Du Wanchun. Their eyes shone as if they were twinkling with starlight. Then, in unison, they stood up, wiggling their tails and flapping their gray-and-white wings.

Madam Zhou looked into the nest and saw a few more eggs inside. She counted them—there were about four. Including the one in her hand, there were a total of five.

She quickly bent down to pick them up. “Oh! Exactly five eggs—just enough for us to eat!”

Du Wanchun looked at the round, green-shelled eggs with curiosity. Delighted, she ran forward, eager to help Madam Zhou gather them.

But Madam Zhou, cradling the eggs in her arms, stopped her with a smile. “Wanchun, the ground is muddy. Stay where you are.”

Then she called for Zhou Zhao.

Zhou Zhao hurried forward to help take the eggs from her hands. His face was full of joy, and perhaps he was too excited because he blurted out, “Mother, these duck eggs are even bigger than the ones we used to have in the pal—”

Before he could finish, Madam Zhou quickly interrupted him, clutching the eggs tightly. “Zhao’er, come on, let’s go inside.”

Without another word, she led Du Wanchun into the house.

Zhou Zhao immediately realized he had misspoken. He quickly shut his mouth and followed behind them.

“Mother, Third Brother!” Zhou Feng, hearing their voices grow distant, reached out and carefully followed after them.

Once inside the house, Zhou Zhao suddenly stopped in his tracks, standing motionless.

Madam Zhou turned to look at him, feeling a bit puzzled. She set the duck eggs down and gestured with her hands, asking, “Zhao’er, what’s wrong?”

Zhou Zhao lifted his head, his expression dazed. “Mother, just now, when we came in from the backyard… what did you say to me?”