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

Zhao Jinbao and others had long ago discovered that wherever Chen Zhi was, the plants always grew exceptionally lush, verdant, and vibrant, appearing lively and possessing remarkable vitality.

It used to be vegetables and crops, now it's all kinds of flowers.

In the ancient, solemn, and luxurious courtyard, you can see flowers of all colors everywhere. The moment you step in, the air is fresh, the fragrance of flowers is intoxicating, and every cell in your body relaxes.

As they walked further in, the shock in their hearts grew, until they reached the main courtyard, where they were so stunned that they couldn't speak.

After a long while, Yang Wenyu murmured, "This must have been the residence of a prince in the past."

"I think so," Zhao Jinbao affirmed, then turned to Chen Zhi, "Is this Xi Lang's house? Where is the rest of the family?"

"This is Zhizhi's house," Xilang said. "There's no one else here but us."

"The house that Xi Lang bought for me," Chen Zhi added.

These words silenced the three men.

Chen Xiuzhen was so jealous that she was unrecognizable.

Xi Lang went to cook, while Chen Zhi led Zhao Jinbao and the others on a tour of the house, showing them her own flowers, vegetables and fruit trees, and the fish she raised in the pond.

"You have several acres of land in total, enough to be self-sufficient. Even if you don't go back to Sandong Village, the two of you won't starve," Yang Wenyu said with envy.

He couldn't imagine the wealth and power that Xi Lang possessed, given that he owned such a house in such a place.

However, Yang Wenyu could not have imagined that Xi Lang was able to buy this house because of a combination of favorable timing, location, and people. If it were now, the house might not have ended up in his hands.

Chen Zhi smiled. She wanted to go back to Sandong Village. Besides farming, she also missed the mountains and rivers there.

Li Zhou'an pursed his lips, his expression complex. An hour ago, he was still determined to surpass Xi Lang, but now, standing in this nearly 10,000-square-meter house, his confidence had been completely shattered.

He might be able to compete with Xi Lang in other areas, but when it comes to money, he has absolutely no chance.

Zhao Jinbao's expression was also complicated. Before finding Chen Zhi, he was worried about her and even hoped that she had already found Xi Lang and that the two were living happily in some corner of Beijing. But now that he had actually seen Chen Zhi and that her life with Xi Lang was even more prosperous and happier than he had imagined, he couldn't help but feel sad again.

It felt like a dull knife cutting into his heart, leaving it numb and painful.

While Chen Zhi was showing Zhao Jinbao and the others around the house, Jiang You and Feng Ruyu arrived.

Jiang You and Feng Ruyu were also visiting this place for the first time, and they were amazed as soon as they entered.

Jiang You: "You guys really kept it a secret! Buying such a big house without saying a word, that's not very nice!"

His tone was a mixture of envy and anger.

"I was originally coming to pick up some goods today, but now I've had a sippy of kimono too."

Jiang You sat down, deciding not to leave.

Feng Ruyu sat down as well. "This house must have cost at least 200,000, right?"

When the figure of 200,000 was mentioned, Li Zhou'an, Yang Wenyu, and the others were all shocked. It was so expensive!

Chen Zhi nodded. "Yes."

"Where did you get the money? Did you sell your imperial green jadeite?" Jiang You asked, heartbroken. "Didn't I tell you not to sell it?"

Chen Zhi: "I didn't sell it. Xi Lang said he wanted to use that jade to make jewelry for me."

"It's good that it wasn't sold." Jiang You was finally satisfied. "But speaking of which, while it's possible to find a second piece of imperial green jadeite, there's no second one in this mansion. You made a good purchase, a brilliant one. Xi Lang is truly capable."

Chen Zhi nodded, "Yes."

Feng Ruyu: "Are these your friends?"

Chen Zhi then remembered to introduce Zhao Jinbao and the others, "They are all college students, these three are educated youth sent to the countryside, and this one is from my village. We all took the college entrance examination last year and got into Beijing on our first try. Isn't that amazing?"

Feng Ruyu nodded, "Impressive."

Jiang You chuckled. "You're a college student yourself. When you praise others, aren't you indirectly praising yourself?"

"Brother Feng is a college student?" Chen Zhi asked in surprise.

Feng Ruyu waved her hand and laughed, "A college student who hasn't graduated yet."

"Why?" Chen Zhi asked, puzzled.

Feng Ruyu: "My family had a bad political background, so I was expelled from school."

This isn't something that can't be mentioned, and Feng Ruyu has come to terms with it now.

"I think my life is pretty good right now, and I'll stick with you from now on. Staying in your shop makes me feel alive again, and the longer I stay, the less I want to leave. By the way, all the flowers that came in today are sold out. Grandpa Tang asked if you still have any camellias; he wants some more, as well as chrysanthemums, peonies, and herbaceous peonies. Some customers have also ordered orchids, specifically high-quality ones, and the price is negotiable. The most frequently asked questions are about roses; many people want large rose bushes. In addition, asparagus ferns, money trees, and pennywort are also selling well. One customer wants a bonsai pine tree; can you grow that?"

The store is doing even better business today than when it first opened, which shows how high the quality of Chen Zhi's flowers is. Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many repeat customers, and those repeat customers would bring in new customers.

Today's sales reached over seven hundred, a number that surprised both him and Jiang You.

Feng Ruyu felt that the flower shop could continue operating indefinitely.

Chen Zhi nodded, "It can be planted."

Jiang You: "If it were before, we could rent a piece of land outside the city and set up a fruit seedling planting base. Now the land belongs to the collective and can't be rented to individuals, which is a pity."

The others remained silent.

Xi Lang, however, paused in the kitchen, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Xi Lang prepared sixteen dishes by himself, half of which were seafood, which could be steamed without much trouble.

Seeing such large seafood gave everyone a deeper understanding of the couple's standard of living.

Chen Zhi, Xi Lang, Jiang You, and Feng Ruyu enjoyed the meal very much.

Li Zhouan, Zhao Jinbao, Yang Wenyu, and Chen Xiuzhen, however, had no appetite.

On the way back, the four of them remained silent, and no one spoke.

Later, the four of them split into two groups: Li Zhou'an escorted Chen Xiuzhen back to school, while Zhao Jinbao and Yang Wenyu went together.

Yang Wenyu patted Zhao Jinbao on the shoulder and sighed, "Our school has a social event next week, do you want to come?"

Zhao Jinbao looked at Yang Wenyu, his eyes reddening.

"Oh dear, don't cry."

Yang Wenyu was extremely helpless. "One Li Zhou'an, and one of you, aren't you two enough?"

"I can't control myself." Zhao Jinbao choked up. He told himself he should let go and wish Chen Zhi well, but his heart still felt like it was being pierced by a thousand needles, and the pain was so intense that he felt like he was dying.

The thought that Chen Zhi would have no connection with him in the future, and that he would hardly ever see her again... suddenly made Zhao Jinbao feel that his last year as an educated youth was not so difficult to endure.

Yang Wenyu sighed, "Chen Zhi is a good person, but she's not your moon. You have to find your own moon. Xi Lang is too outstanding. Not to mention you, even Zhou An has no hope."

Zhao Jinbao looked up at the sky. "I know."

I don't want to think about it anymore.

On the other side, Chen Xiuzhen had a gloomy face the whole way.

Chen Zhi, whom she had looked down upon since childhood, now possessed wealth that she could never have in her entire life. How could she bear it?

Chen Xiuzhen felt resentful and couldn't let it go, but she didn't know what to do or what to do.

Envy, jealousy, resentment, anger, helplessness... a barrage of intense emotions overwhelmed her, pushing her to the brink of collapse, making her feel like she was about to explode at any moment.

Li Zhou, who was beside her, seemed distracted and lost in thought.

Looking at the cold Li Zhou'an, and then thinking of Xi Lang's constant protection of Chen Zhi—peeling shrimp and crabs for her at the dinner table, always taking care of her, not to mention the huge house he gave her—

She thought she had won, having married the best man in the whole village.

The results of it?

Chen Xiuzhen sneered; the best man had already been chosen by Chen Zhi.

Why should she? Isn't Chen Zhi a jinx, a jinx? Why should she marry Xi Lang and have such a good life?

"The main gate is just ahead. I have things to do at school, so you don't need to come down to the dormitory building," Li Zhou'an said.

Lost in thought, Chen Xiuzhen suddenly snapped out of it, meeting Li Zhou'an's cold face and the hint of impatience in his beautiful phoenix eyes. Her temper flared instantly. "If Chen Zhi were standing here today, would you say the same thing?"

Li Zhou'an's face stiffened, then he said impatiently, "Can you please stop being unreasonable?"

"I'm being unreasonable?" Chen Xiuzhen sneered. "If you don't want me to be unreasonable, then stop sneaking glances at Chen Zhi every time we meet. Since you liked Chen Zhi in the first place, why didn't you go and compete with Xi Lang for her?"

Li Zhou'an pursed his lips, staring straight at Chen Xiuzhen, his eyes devoid of any warmth.

"Ha, I guessed right?"

Chen Xiuzhen gave a mocking smile, "You're no match for Xi Lang. Chen Zhi won't choose you, so just give up on that idea."

Li Zhou'an: "Chen Zhi and I are just friends. Please don't say things like that in the future, it will cause misunderstandings."

After saying that, Li Zhou'an turned and walked away, his pace quickening until he finally jogged and rushed onto a passing bus.

The train's route was in the opposite direction from Kyoto University.

"Did you panic and run away because I found out what you were thinking?"

Chen Xiuzhen's smile was more like a grimace. "How ridiculous that I, Chen Xiuzhen, could lose to Chen Zhi!"