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

Chen Zhi became even busier. She had to learn Taoist magic, practice swordsmanship, and practice calligraphy; her days were completely filled. Originally, she had wanted to learn cooking from Aunt Liu, but now, she didn't even have time to go into the kitchen.

Because she was so busy, she seemed to have forgotten about Sandong Village.

On this day, Xi Lang suddenly said he wanted to take her out for a walk.

Having not left the house for over a month, Chen Zhi hadn't found it difficult. However, Xi Lang's announcement that he was going out surprised her. "What about today's study assignments?"

"We have a day off today," Xi Lang said, looking up at the sky. "It's gloomy outside; it'll probably snow tonight or tomorrow."

When the snow was mentioned, Xi Lang went to find Liu Ma and asked her to go home, which was considered giving her an early holiday.

Liu's mother lives in the suburbs. She has two children; one just got married this year and doesn't have children yet. The other graduated from high school and is currently unemployed. A little over a month ago, news broke that the college entrance examination would be reinstated, and her younger son plans to take it. He's currently preparing at home, and the exam is only a few days away. Liu's mother is going back early so she can take good care of her son.

Aunt Liu wanted to go back, but she couldn't bear to part with a month's wages.

As a result, Xi Lang gave her fifty yuan. "Twenty-five is this month's salary, and the extra part is this year's bonus."

Aunt Liu immediately beamed with joy, showering him with compliments as if they were free.

Xi Lang didn't interrupt her. He brought out two more fish and two pieces of meat. The fish were large, weighing fifty or sixty pounds each, and the meat also weighed five or six pounds.

"This is a New Year's gift." Xi Lang put it in her basket. "If you can't carry it, take a bus back. I remember there are buses outside."

"Oh, don't worry, I know what I'm doing. This adds up to over a hundred pounds of meat. Thanks to the young master and young mistress, we'll have a sumptuous New Year this year." Looking at the fish and meat, Aunt Liu's old face beamed with joy. Fish was good; it would be perfect for nourishing her second son. He'd been studying hard lately, and fish heads were good for his brain, so she'd leave both large fish heads for him. And this pork—the fat was so thick; it would render a lot of oil.

Xi Lang nodded. "It's getting late, you should go back now. Don't linger on the road, it looks like it's going to snow."

Aunt Liu readily agreed, packed a few clothes, and left with a full basket of meat on her back.

After Aunt Liu left, Xi Lang and Chen Zhi also went out, each carrying a basket on their backs.

The sky was overcast, but there were quite a few people on the road. After not going out for a month, Chen Zhi noticed that there were more and more street vendors.

Many of the vendors are farmers from the surrounding area who bring vegetables to the city to sell, followed by various snacks and fried dried goods.

Xi Lang: "We might have to make a few more trips today. Let's go buy some vegetables first."

They have no shortage of meat, but they lack vegetables.

From one end of the street to the other, the most popular and cheapest items sold at the stalls were cabbage and radish.

"Should we buy 100 catties each of radish and cabbage first?" Chen Zhi asked Xi Lang for his opinion.

Xi Lang: "One hundred jin might not be enough, how about two hundred jin?"

This was the first time Chen Zhi had bought so many vegetables, and she blurted out instinctively, "How long will this last?"

Xi Lang: "After the weather gets cold, people don't go out much, so there are fewer people selling vegetables. It's good to stock up, just in case."

Xi Lang took out several burlap sacks from his basket; it was unclear when he had put them in there.

Xi Lang packed two sacks each of cabbage and radish. He said he would take the vegetables back first and let Chen Zhi wander around here and buy some things she wanted to eat.

Chen Zhi wanted to buy fruit; she had just seen someone selling apples, oranges, and pomelos on the street corner.

"Chen Zhi".

Yang Hong hadn't seen Chen Zhi for a month. He waited for her to come to him and wandered the streets every day, but Chen Zhi seemed to have vanished. He hadn't run into her at all in the past month.

Several times, he almost couldn't resist going to see her, but he couldn't find a reason to do so.

Today, he finally met Chen Zhi, but there was another man by her side. The man secretly held Chen Zhi's hand several times, and Chen Zhi did not refuse.

Is that man Chen Zhi's boyfriend?

Yang Hong felt as if he had been doused with a bucket of cold water, and he was completely sobered up.

It's truly inappropriate that he harbored such inappropriate fantasies about Chen Zhi.

Yang Hong quickly composed himself and only dared to approach Chen Zhi to greet her after the man left.

"Yang Hong, what a coincidence," Chen Zhi said with a smile.

Yang Hong laughed too, "It's not a coincidence at all. I come to the street to wait for you every day."

"What are you here to buy?" he asked.

"My wife said it might snow tonight, and it will be very cold for a while, making it inconvenient to go out. We plan to stock up on some groceries at home," Chen Zhi said.

spouse?

So Chen Zhi is already married?

A dark glint flashed in Yang Hong's eyes, but his smile remained. "Have you finished buying? What else is missing?"

"I bought some vegetables. Now I'm going to go there to buy some fruit," Chen Zhi said, pointing to the street corner.

Yang Hong: "I'll go with you."

When Xi Lang came over, he saw that there was another person next to Chen Zhi. The two were chatting and laughing, and they didn't look like they had just met.

"Xi Lang, come here quickly, let me introduce you to someone." Chen Zhi waved to Xi Lang, "This is Yang Hong, whom I mentioned to you."

Yang Hong was delighted that Chen Zhi had mentioned him.

"Hello, I am Chen Zhi's lover, my name is Xi Lang." Xi Lang's voice was cold with a metallic quality, which was very similar to the feeling he gave off.

Yang Hong had to look up to see Xi Lang's eyes, but after just one glance, he quickly looked down again.

This man gives off a scary vibe.

For some reason, he had a feeling that the other party had seen through him.

Yang Hong almost fled in panic, but he was reluctant to leave. If he left today, he didn't know when he would see Chen Zhi again.

Yang Hong tried his best to appear calm. "Hello, my name is Yang Hong."

Xi Lang nodded, then turned to Chen Zhi and asked, "What are you buying?"

Chen Zhi: "I suddenly really want to eat fruit."

Xi Lang: "Then buy more."

Xi Lang looked at the apples, oranges, and pomelos, and frowned. There were too few varieties.

"I know where I can buy fruit without needing a ticket," Yang Hong said.

Chen Zhi became interested. "Where?"

Yang Hong pointed in a direction, "There's a large private vegetable market over there. It just opened a few days ago. Besides fruit, it also sells meat. But you have to pay to enter, one yuan per person, and it's non-refundable regardless of whether you buy anything or not."

Xi Lang raised an eyebrow. "There are places like this?"

Yang Hong nodded, "Recently, patrol teams have been frequently appearing, so setting up a stall on the street is not safe. We often have to hide from the red armbands and patrol teams. So someone provided this place, and what's rare is that the goods there are all very good, no worse than those at the supply and marketing cooperative."

Xi Lang became interested. "Take us to see it."

Yang Hong led Xi Lang and Chen Zhi through several alleys, finally arriving at the outside of a bungalow.

The bungalow was dilapidated, and there was no one at the front door, so they entered through the back door.

The gatekeeper was a seventy-year-old man. He held an old pipe, lifted his eyelids, and lazily glanced at the three of them. "Pay three yuan."

Yang Hong was about to say he wouldn't go in, but Xi Lang was faster and had already handed over three yuan.

From the outside, the bungalow doesn't look very big, but once you go inside, you'll find that it's a combination of several houses, covering an area of ​​nearly a thousand square meters. Rows and rows of stalls are neatly arranged, and the goods cover all aspects of life, including not only vegetables but also large items such as radios and bicycles.

Chen Zhi was amazed; it was the first time she had ever seen such a large market.

Yang Hong was also surprised. He had only heard about it, but this was his first time entering. He didn't expect the place to be so big.

Xi Lang, however, remained unfazed. "Shall we go buy some fruit first?"

Chen Zhi nodded.

There were seven or eight fruit stalls, selling apples, oranges, pomelos, jujubes, pears, bananas from the south, and even strawberries.

Xi Lang: "Buy some of everything."

After saying that, he began to select fruit.

Xi Lang was picking out fruit, and Yang Hong was watching from the side. When he saw Xi Lang buy more than 100 jin of fruit without even blinking, his eyes widened. How much money did that cost?

At the same time, a sense of powerlessness and inferiority welled up from the bottom of his heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

After buying fruit, Xi Lang took Chen Zhi to buy some biscuits and snacks, as well as some dried roasted goods.

By this time, both of their baskets were full.

Xi Lang took out a burlap sack. "I saw they sell mutton. Let's go buy some."

Chen Zhi: "I want to eat roasted lamb leg and lamb hot pot."

Xi Lang: "Then let's buy one."

Yang Hong: "..."

He was numb.

Xi Lang bought a sheep and half a pig. He originally wanted to buy some beef, but the beef stall was already empty.

Xi Lang: "The butcher said he'll slaughter another cow tomorrow, so I'll come early. He also said if I'm lucky, there might be donkey meat too. Want some donkey meat dumplings?"

Chen Zhi nodded, "I want to."

She thought everything Xi Lang made was delicious.

When they reached the exit, Xi Lang bought two more chickens, two ducks, and a goose.

The three returned laden with their loot, with Yang Hong helping to carry the chicken coop.

Yang Hong walked behind Chen Zhi and Xi Lang and arrived outside the small Western-style building.

He was familiar with this place; he had secretly come here a few times, but always from afar, never daring to approach. Now, stepping inside, the luxurious and grand interior was exactly like the one he had seen in the movies.

Yang Hong didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

Xi Lang first took the things to the kitchen, then took the chicken coop from Yang Hong and carried it to the backyard. When he returned and saw Yang Hong still standing there, he invited Yang Hong to sit down on the sofa.

Yang Hong glanced at his pants, which hadn't been washed for days, shook his head, and said, "I'm going back."

Xi Lang noticed his embarrassment but didn't press him. He simply said, "Wait a moment. Zhizhi, pour Yang Hong a cup of hot water."

Chen Zhi sighed, "I'm pouring it now, it'll be ready soon."

It was a cup of hot water with a few spoonfuls of sugar added. Chen Zhi handed it to Yang Hong with a smile, saying, "You're so well-informed. Next time there's a place like this, remember to tell us."

Yang Hong took the cup and smiled, giving a soft "hmm".

Seeing that he was standing, Chen Zhi simply pulled over a chair from the side. It was a solid wood chair that had been there for a while. "Sit down quickly. Your legs must be sore from walking all this way."

Yang Hong's legs were indeed sore. Not only were his legs sore, but he was also hungry and cold. He carefully sat down on the chair, only daring to sit on about a third of his buttocks. He held the cup in both hands, and the warmth of the water passed through the cup to his hands, which were frozen red and slowly regained some feeling.

Yang Hong sipped the sugar water slowly, the sweet taste spreading in his mouth, which improved his depressed mood a bit.

Chen Zhi was talking to him, saying that she would be studying at home from now on and probably wouldn't be going out much, and that he could come to her house if he needed anything.

Yang Hong agreed, but he knew he didn't dare.

After Yang Hong finished his sugar water, Xi Lang brought out a burlap sack. The sack was full and tied with a rope. It felt light in his hands, as if it had no weight at all.

"We bought a lot of things today, and we've set some aside for you to take home and eat."

"No, no need."

Yang Hong waved his hand repeatedly, put down his cup, and turned to leave.

To his surprise, Xi Lang grabbed him and said, "Take it, don't be shy. Zhizhi said you've helped her a lot and are her friend. Since we're friends, you shouldn't be so formal."

Xi Lang shoved the bag into Yang Hong's hand. "The weather will get colder and colder, so don't go out unless necessary, or you'll catch a cold."

Chen Zhi nodded in agreement, "Yes, it's too cold outside, you shouldn't keep going outside."

Yang Hong looked up and saw Xi Lang's sincere expression. He felt even more ashamed and replied softly, "I understand."

"Alright, let's go back now. It's going to snow today, don't linger on the road."

Xi Lang and Chen Zhi escorted Yang Hong to the door, watching his thin body carry the sack further and further away.

Chen Zhi: "This is the first time I've seen you so kind."

Xi Lang: "I am truly grateful to him. It's a good thing you met him. If it had been someone with ulterior motives who had tricked you away, I would have been in big trouble."