The poor girl from the 1970s was forced to kiss by the damp educated youth.

A wildfire broke out in the mountains behind Sandong Village, and it burned for five days and five nights before it was finally extinguished.

All the trees were burned, leaving only a charred ruin.

After the fire, people from nearby villages came to the mountain to collect the branches that hadn't been completely burned. Chen Zhi's children were kicked out of the house by their grandmother early in the morning. The grandmother said, "One load in the morning, one load in the afternoon. If you can't collect any firewood, you don't need to come back."

Several older brothers and sisters were the first to grab sickles and wood-chopping knives. When it was Chen Zhi's turn, only a round carrying pole remained. This pole was more than two meters long and pointed at both ends, and it was usually used for carrying firewood.

When Chen Zhi went out with the stick, her older siblings had already disappeared, and even her youngest cousin was gone.

She was left all alone again.

Chen Zhi was used to this. Just as she was about to leave, her mother spoke up, "Come back and change your pants. There are too many thorns on the mountain. If you ruin these pants, you won't have any pants to wear all winter."

Chen Zhi hesitated, "But Mom, I only have these trousers."

"Wear shorts." Mom said it as a matter of course, not thinking there was anything wrong with wearing shorts in November weather.

Chen Zhi went out wearing shorts and a short-sleeved shirt, her long, thin arms and legs exposed. When the wind blew, she got goosebumps all over her body.

"Achoo!"

Chen Zhi sneezed and ran barefoot up the mountain, where she felt warmer once she started running.

"Ah Zhi, are you going up the mountain to collect firewood too?" Chen Mei greeted Chen Zhi, who was accompanied by several other people.

Chen Zhi nodded, and seeing that Chen Mei and the others were carrying sickles and carrying poles, she grinned and asked, "Why don't you go gather firewood too? Let's go together."

"No, we're going somewhere very far, you can't go." Chen Mei refused very quickly, and then ran away. Not only did she run, but the people around her also ran after her.

Chen Zhi paused, it was happening again, she was used to it.

Those people ran far away and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that she hadn't chased after them.

"You shouldn't have said anything earlier; you almost got entangled with her."

"I couldn't control myself for a second, I won't do it again. But she's the same, she's a jinx, whoever's with her is doomed, doesn't she know that? How dare she suggest being with us?"

"She only cares about herself and doesn't care about others."

"Is she unlucky? I've only heard about it, but I've never witnessed it."

"She killed her father, don't you think?"

.......

The mountain was covered in black ash; all the grass and thorns had been burned away, so Chen Zhi didn't have to worry about getting pricked by the thorns as she walked barefoot. The thick ash crunched underfoot, and when the wind blew, Chen Zhi turned into a "coal ball."

The black ash got into her eyes, nose, and mouth, which was really torturous.

Chen Zhi didn't want to go up the mountain at this time, but she couldn't go against her grandmother's wishes, otherwise her grandmother would really let her go hungry.

Although she hasn't had a full stomach in the past sixteen years.

Chen Zhi used her hands, legs, and feet to get two bundles of firewood with great effort. As a result, blisters formed on her palms and soles.

When Chen Zhi returned with firewood, her family of more than a dozen people were having lunch: a pot of boiled vegetables and a pot of sweet potato and rice bran porridge.

Everyone glanced at Chen Zhi, then silently looked away, no one uttering a sound to greet her. Chen Zhi was used to it; she put the firewood in the corner of the yard, then went to wash her hands. As she was about to head to the main room, her grandmother called her back.

"You're so dirty, don't come in."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhi sat down on the steps under the eaves. The steps were icy, but she had just worked up a sweat and didn't feel too cold.

Grandma brought her a rough earthenware bowl, which was filled with sweet potato and rice bran porridge and boiled green vegetables, about eight-tenths full.

One bowl per person, and there won't be any more once you finish eating.

The children and women each had a bowl, while the men each had two bowls. Everyone else's bowls were overflowing, but Chen Zhi's bowl was not full.

Chen Zhi dared not say anything. She had resisted several times before, but was always violently suppressed. She was beaten and starved. Later, she learned to be docile and accepted whatever they gave her.

The dishes and porridge had no oil, but salt was added, so they tasted pretty good. Chen Zhi ate in small bites, not wanting to eat too quickly. Mealtime was the happiest time of the day, and she wanted to prolong that happy time.

But there was only a little food in the bowl, and it was empty in less than ten minutes.

Chen Zhi went to wash the dishes and handed the clean bowls to her mother.

"After you've eaten, go out and gather firewood. It gets dark quickly these days, and the afternoons are very short," Mom said.

Chen Zhi nodded and went to get her load.

"Sister, I don't have a sickle. Can I come with you?" she asked her older sister, Chen Ye.

Chen Ye didn't even glance at her. "I have to use my sickle with Xiao Mu. It's never idle."

Xiao Mu, also known as Chen Mu, is Chen Zhi's older brother.

Chen Ye is 19 years old this year, and Chen Mu is 18 years old. They are only one year apart and have a very good relationship.

The autumn wind was chilly, and Chen Zhi shivered from the cold. Snot dripped uncontrollably from her nose and was blown away by the wind.

It wasn't until she climbed the mountain and started working that she felt warmer.

In late autumn, it gets dark early; the sun sets at four o'clock. Chen Zhi was afraid of getting dark, so she kept speeding up all afternoon, panting heavily, and finally made it down the mountain before dark.

On the way back, Chen Zhi met many people, and everyone greeted each other, but Chen Zhi kept her head down and just kept walking.

When she got home, it was still slightly light outside. Chen Zhi was quite satisfied with the time, as she didn't have to take a shower in the dark.

Chen Zhi was holding onto the firewood with one hand and pushing the cart with the other. Just as her left foot stepped through the door, a broom flew towards her. Chen Zhi's pupils shrank, and she only had time to raise her hand to shield her face.

The broom has been used for a long time, and all the thin, soft twigs have fallen off, leaving only the hard part, which has been worn sharp and pointed by the floor.

Chen Zhi felt numbness and pain in her left arm. She looked down and saw several long, thin wounds, from which blood was seeping.

She looked up at her grandfather, who had a fierce look on his face, under the eaves, wondering what she had done wrong again.

"Why are you all alone? Where's Xiaofu?" Grandpa questioned.

Xiao Fu, the youngest son of the eldest uncle and Chen Zhi's cousin, is eleven years old this year.

Chen Zhi was completely confused. Hadn't she always been alone?

"Sister, did you lose your cousin?" Chen Mu asked Chen Zhi.

The others also looked at Chen Zhi, and seeing that there was no one behind her, their faces turned grim.

Chen Zhi walked in. "My cousin didn't come with me."

"If he's not with you, who is he with?" Grandpa's eyes widened as if he wanted to devour Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi was even more puzzled, "I was alone when I went out."

"You're making excuses. You just left the house, and Xiao Fu left too," Chen Mu said again.

Chen Zhi pursed her lips, put down the firewood, pressed her hand against her wound, and looked at her family standing opposite her. Her heart felt as if a cold wind had blown through it, leaving her feeling icy cold.

"I haven't seen him all afternoon," she said calmly.

"Then go look for it. Don't come back if you can't find it!"

Grandpa threw something again, hitting Chen Zhi right on the forehead.

The thing that fell to the ground was Grandpa's straw sandals.

Chen Zhi's head was buzzing, but she didn't dare to delay and turned to run out the door.

Not only Chen Zhi, but the rest of the Chen family also came out. Chen Fu was lost on the mountain, so they had no choice but to go up the mountain.

As darkness fell and the temperature dropped further, Chen Zhi, still in her shorts and short-sleeved shirt, shivered. She was exhausted, thirsty, and hungry, and her throat had inhaled too much dust. At this moment, she still had to walk and call out "Chen Fu," but after a while, she could no longer make a sound.

The wind howled on the mountain, and black dust filled the air, obscuring everything.

Chen Zhi didn't dare go up the mountain, so she just circled around at the foot of the mountain. Anyway, it was getting dark, and no one could see her.

As she walked, she became too tired to walk any further, so she simply sat down to rest.

Chen Zhi decided that she would go back to the village in a little while, but she wouldn't go home; she would just hide there. The older generation said that there were spirits and ghosts in the mountains. She had never seen them, but that didn't stop her from being afraid.

The voices of my family gradually faded into the distance, and all around me, apart from the sound of the wind, became quiet.

It's getting darker and darker. There are no stars or moon in the sky tonight; it's gloomy and inexplicably makes you feel uneasy.

Chen Zhi felt a chill run down her spine. She turned her head to look around, but all she saw was darkness, and something seemed to be rushing towards her from the darkness.

Chen Zhi didn't even dare to breathe.

She stood up in a panic and ran away, but tripped over something after only two steps.

Her hands were on the ground, black ash covering her face. In a daze, she saw a glimmer of green. Before she could react, the green landed on her arm, moist and soft.

What is it?

Before Chen Zhi could investigate, the creature bit her left arm, right where she had been cut by the broom.

It's drinking her blood!

This must be the mountain spirit the old folks talk about!

It's going to suck her dry!

Chen Zhi panicked and became flustered. She tried to pry the thing away with her hands, but it wouldn't budge.

No, she can't let her blood be drained.

It sucked her blood, so she ate it!

Chen Zhi opened her mouth wide and bit down on the thing.

Chen Zhi stuffed something no bigger than a baby's fist into her mouth, making her cheeks ache. She chewed it forcefully, swallowing it down without really chewing it properly.

belch--

Chen Zhi burped, touched her stomach, and felt the taste of being full for the first time.

Even if she were to die now, she would have no regrets.

Chen Zhi sat there for a while, and apart from feeling full, she didn't feel any other discomfort.

She breathed a sigh of relief, but wasn't completely at ease.

She stood up and walked towards home. Even if she were to die, she wanted to die at home, at home, rather than become a wandering ghost.

When Chen Zhi returned home, she saw her grandmother hitting Chen Fu with a bamboo stick, and Chen Fu was covering his buttocks and running away.

The rest of the family returned, looking exhausted as they witnessed the scene.

Chen Zhi silently walked towards the water vat, washed her hands and face, and then went to the kitchen to boil water. Covered in black ash, she knew she needed to take a good bath tonight.

She started a fire and stared blankly at the flames. She didn't think about where Chen Fu had gone, nor why her grandfather had made such a fuss about hitting her. Her mother had said that life was too hard, and when people felt suffocated and in a bad mood, they always needed to find an outlet.

Chen Zhi was the target of that venting.

Grandma was still cursing, Chen Fu was still yelling, and Chen Zhi felt extremely annoyed. When could she leave this house?