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

Two weeks later, the vegetables in the mansion were growing lush and green, and some flowers had even formed buds.

The fruit tree saplings sprouted new buds and tender leaves, and all of them survived.

The fish swam around in the lake, vying for the vegetables Chen Zhi had thrown in.

The vegetables grew so well that there were too many to eat, so Chen Zhi picked some to feed the fish.

The same goes for the weeds in the yard; they have to be pulled up almost every two days, and all of them are used to feed the fish.

Nowadays, Chen Zhi comes here every morning to practice his bone whip for an hour, then waters the vegetables, pulls weeds, and picks some vegetables to take home. In the afternoon, he stays home to read and practice drawing talismans.

In the past few days, she has successfully drawn two more talismans, and now she can draw three kinds of talismans.

That day, Chen Zhi returned from the mansion and found a strange man standing outside the door.

The man was thin, looking to be in his early forties, dressed in a blue robe with long sleeves, exuding an air of otherworldly elegance. When his piercing eyes swept over her, she froze on the spot.

Their eyes met, and neither of them spoke, but they saw a hint of surprise in each other's eyes.

Chen Zhi looked at the house number on the front door; it was indeed her house.

"Who are you looking for?" she asked.

"Looking for Xi Lang." Ye Fengrong sized up the girl in front of him. Was this the uncouth, unruly country girl that Xi Fangxiu had described? She didn't seem like it.

Ye Fengrong took a liking to this spirited girl at first sight.

Before Chen Zhi could press further, Ye Fengrong said, "I am Xi Lang's uncle."

Does Xi Lang have an uncle?

She had never heard Xi Lang mention it.

Aunt Liu only said that his great-uncle sent Xi Lang to the Taoist temple, but she didn't mention that Xi Lang had such an uncle.

Chen Zhi observed Ye Fengrong's facial features and found some resemblance to Xi Lang. The two had similar eyebrows, eyes, and noses, and might even be uncle and nephew.

"Xi Lang isn't home," Chen Zhi said, taking out her keys to open the door. "Please come in and sit down."

Ye Fengrong frowned. "You haven't even verified my identity, yet you dare to invite me into your home?"

Isn't this girl a little too undisciplined?

Chen Zhi went to make tea for Ye Fengrong, and upon hearing this, she simply smiled and said, "You and Xi Lang look somewhat alike."

Ye Fengrong was taken aback. "Really?"

He hadn't seen Xi Lang for over ten years. He only remembered what Xi Lang looked like when he was a child. He had no idea what Xi Lang looked like when he grew up.

By the way, does Xi Lang still remember his uncle?

"Hmm, it does look somewhat similar." Chen Zhi boiled water and put away the vegetables she had brought back from the house. "Are you staying for dinner tonight?"

"No, I have something to do later. Maybe next time, when you and Alang come to your uncle's house." Ye Fengrong took out a red envelope from his pocket. "I came in a hurry today, so I only prepared this."

Chen Zhi accepted it, saying, "Thank you, Uncle."

Ye Fengrong was taken aback again, then laughed, "If only Alang were as easy to coax as you."

Chen Zhi's face flushed slightly. Had she been too calculating?

But the village says that once an elder gives a red envelope, the new bride has to change how she addresses him. Although she's no longer a new bride, today was the first time she met her uncle, and after receiving his red envelope, she subconsciously changed how she addressed him.

Ye Fengrong left Chen Zhi his current address and phone number before leaving.

The red envelope was quite thick. When Chen Zhi opened it, she found it contained one hundred "big unity" bills.

She was stunned. Why did they give her so much?

Xi Lang returned the day after Ye Fengrong's visit.

He arrived home in the morning, and no one was home. He guessed that Chen Zhi must have gone to the courtyard house, so he went upstairs to take a shower, changed his clothes, and then went out to the courtyard house.

When Xi Lang arrived, Chen Zhi was feeding the fish. She threw all the grass into the pond and watched the fish scramble for it, feeling inexplicably happy.

"You've raised fish?" Xi Lang looked at the fish in the pond. They were all edible species, something Chen Zhihui had done.

The koi carp, on the other hand, waited pitifully to the side, looking like punching bags.

Two little turtles were basking in the sun on the grass, looking quite content.

"Not only do we raise fish, but we also grow vegetables, fruit trees, and grains. Let me show you." Chen Zhi threw all the grass in her hand into the river, then grabbed Xi Lang's arm and pulled him to other courtyards.

"No rush."

Xi Lang grabbed her waist, lifted her onto the railing, and leaned down to kiss her.

"Ugh—"

Chen Zhi nudged Xi Lang, "We're outside."

Xi Lang ignored her and, in a domineering and forceful manner, held her down, preventing her from moving.

An accidental discharge of a weapon can happen in an instant.

Xi Lang supported Chen Zhi's round, peach-like buttocks with one hand and protected her waist with the other. They walked and kissed each other all the way until they found a room with a door and went inside.

Two hours later.

Chen Zhi was lying on a leather sofa, naked except for a thin blanket.

The leather sofa and the thin blanket were both taken out of Xilang's sleeve.

Chen Zhi's eyes were hazy and watery, with reddened corners, as if she had been deeply loved. Xi Lang had one arm around her and the other hand playing with her smooth, black hair.

"My hair has grown," he said.

Chen Zhi grunted, her consciousness slowly returning. "Where did you get this furniture?"

"I bought them in Hong Kong. I didn't go directly to the south; instead, I went to see Shi Xin first, got some money from him, and then went to buy the goods. I didn't buy trendy clothing; I bought electronics and appliances. I handed the goods over to Shi Xin to sell, and I pocketed the difference," Xi Lang said.

"Electronic products and appliances are hard to get, aren't they?" These things sell very well in Beijing, and you can't buy them without connections.

Xi Lang ruffled Chen Zhi's hair. "You're so smart, you even guessed that. It wasn't easy to get it. I went to Hong Kong and helped someone solve a small problem. I got paid and also got the supplies. I saw some nice furniture there, so I bought some, and some bedding too. I'll show you when we get home."

Chen Zhi was surprised, "You've traveled to so many places in such a short time."

Xi Lang: "I was in such a hurry to come back and see you that I kept shortening the time."

Now that I'm back, I shouldn't have to go out for a long time.

The two lay on the sofa, and Xi Lang talked about his experiences over the past few days, while Chen Zhi also told him about what had happened to her.

"Was that willow tree a person turned into a tree, or a tree that became a spirit?" Chen Zhi never figured it out.

"It's a forced fusion between a human and a tree spirit. Those people will stop at nothing to become stronger; there's nothing they wouldn't dare to do, only things we can't imagine. If they were here, we would just wipe them out completely. But they're like rats in a stinking ditch, constantly coming to disgust you; they're really annoying." Xi Lang was somewhat irritated. It was like a time bomb, exploding every now and then. Chen Zhi dodged it this time, but what about next time?

He can't sleep peacefully until he completely eliminates them.

If given the chance, he would storm their headquarters.

Chen Zhi, on the contrary, had a good attitude. "When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it. This time, I've turned misfortune into blessing and become stronger."

"I'm afraid they'll use tricks and schemes that will catch us off guard." It would be fine if these things were aimed at him, but since they're targeting Chen Zhi, he can't feel at ease.

He'll go see Song Zhaoyuan tomorrow to see if there's a way to solve the problem once and for all.

"Oh right, my uncle came to our house yesterday." Chen Zhi had almost forgotten about her uncle.

"Which uncle?" Xi Lang subconsciously assumed it was Chen Zhi's uncle.

"The Ye family's uncle, he said his name is Ye Fengrong."

Back at the villa, Chen Zhi handed the red envelope Ye Fengrong had given her to Xi Lang.

Xi Lang confiscated it, saying, "Just take what's given to you."

"But that's a bit too much, a thousand yuan," Chen Zhi said.

"It's not much, he should give it to me." Xi Lang said indifferently, seemingly having no feelings for this uncle he hadn't seen for over a decade.

Chen Zhi: "My uncle said that when you come back, we'll all go to his house for a meal."

"Okay, I'll go tomorrow." Xi Lang agreed quickly, and he put his arm around Chen Zhi. "Let's not talk about him anymore, let's have dinner."

Chen Zhi: "We haven't cooked yet."

"It's in my pocket, still warm. I packed a lot of local specialties from Hong Kong, we'll have this for dinner tonight."

Xi Lang took out the packaged food from his Qiankun sleeve. The first was roast goose, the second was steamed shrimp dumplings, the third was sweet and sour pork, followed by curry fish balls, char siu buns, claypot rice...

"Alright, that's enough. We can't finish too much." Chen Zhi stopped them in time.

"We'll try the rest tomorrow. Besides the food, I also bought cakes and bread, and a lot of candy and desserts." He wanted to bring her everything he saw.

"Do you still have any roast goose? We'll bring one when we visit my uncle's house tomorrow. Are the cakes and bread baked? We'll bring some for my uncle to try tomorrow, and we'll also buy some fruit—"

"Zhizhi, you like your uncle that much after just one meeting?" Xi Lang said sourly.

Chen Zhi asked in surprise, "This is your uncle."

If it were her uncle, she wouldn't even greet him when they met.

"So you're only nice to him because he's my uncle?"

"certainly."

Xi Lang was finally satisfied. "You don't need to be nice to him. Just be nice to me."

Ye Fengrong looks to be in his early forties, but he is actually over fifty. During the turmoil of previous years, he went to the south alone, married a wife there, and had a son and a daughter. Now he has returned to Beijing with his family.

Ye Fengrong sold the house before leaving back then. Now, the Ye family's house is occupied by more than ten households, making it too difficult to buy it back. So, Ye Fengrong bought another two-courtyard house.

The courtyard house has been renovated and looks neat and grand, appearing to be about 60-70% new.

Yesterday, Xi Lang learned that his bicycle had been destroyed, so he went and bought a new one that same day. Today, the two of them rode the new bicycle to Ye Fengrong's place, which took them more than twenty minutes.

Xi Lang pushed the cart while Chen Zhi knocked on the door. A middle-aged woman opened it. She was wearing a khaki trench coat, skinny jeans, and ankle boots—a very fashionable outfit. Chen Zhi thought the woman's outfit looked much better than the flared pants she wore on the street, especially since she was tall and slender, making it easy for her to pull off any clothes.

As Chen Zhi sized up the woman, the woman was also sizing up Chen Zhi.

Today, Chen Zhi was wearing a tracksuit that Xi Lang had brought back from Gangcheng, along with sneakers, looking youthful and vibrant. At 1.72 meters tall, her skin was as smooth and delicate as fine white porcelain, with no visible pores even up close. Her exquisite features were flawless... How could someone be so beautiful?