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

There were many people going up the mountain today, and the usual chirping of insects and birds had become less frequent.

Chen Zhi, unable to get any meat, was listless and lacked energy. She didn't take out her slingshot to practice along the way, and instead walked at the back of the group with her head down.

"Chen Zhi!"

Li Zhou'an also came up the mountain with a group of educated youth.

Chen Zhi was surprised that he would greet her, and the Chen family was also taken aback.

"We've met again." Li Zhou'an waved to Chen Zhi and nodded to the other members of the Chen family.

After not seeing him for a few days, Chen Zhi noticed that Li Zhou'an seemed to have gotten a bit darker. He was wearing black pants, a white short-sleeved shirt, and a light blue shirt. There were no patches on his clothes or pants, and they were neatly dressed on him, making him look tall and slender, like a small white poplar.

Chen Zhi blinked. She noticed that Li Zhou'an, who had gotten a bit darker, was still beautiful, especially his smiling eyes, which were warmer than the spring sun.

Chen Zhi's face inexplicably flushed, and her voice lowered, "What a coincidence."

Li Zhou'an: "They said the mulberry trees in the mountains have borne fruit, so we came to find mulberries."

Has the mulberry tree borne fruit?

Chen Zhi didn't notice. She didn't see any mulberries, but she knew there were raspberries there. When she met them the day before yesterday, the raspberries weren't ripe yet, but they should be ripe in the next couple of days.

Li Zhou'an and Chen Zhi were going in different directions, so they said goodbye and left.

"Do you know Li Zhou'an?" Chen Ye asked, his gaze scrutinizing.

Chen Zhi: "Who in the village doesn't know Li Zhou'an?"

Chen Ye choked, "Why did he greet you?"

Chen Zhi thought about it carefully, "It's probably because he's kind-hearted."

Li Zhou'an is different from others. He says he believes in science and doesn't believe she's some kind of unlucky person.

Chen Ye agreed with Chen Zhi's words, "He is indeed kind-hearted, unlike other educated youth. He doesn't look down on the people in our village. So don't think that just because Li Zhou'an treats you well, you should have any illusions about him. If he makes a fool of himself, you won't be the only one who will be embarrassed."

Chen Zhi: "..."

Chen Zhi had explored most of the bamboo forest in the past few days, but there was still a western corner she hadn't visited, and that was her destination today.

"I've been to this side, that side, and that other side, but there aren't many bamboo shoots left," Chen Zhi said, turning to point west. "I'm going there today."

Chen Fu didn't care about the bamboo shoots; he asked Chen Zhi, "Where are the bamboo rats?"

"Xiao Fu, we're here to find bamboo shoots," Auntie said sternly.

Chen Fu pouted, "Then after we finish looking for bamboo shoots, you can take us to find bamboo rats."

Chen Zhi shook her head, "They're underground. If you encounter them, it's luck; if you don't, there's nothing I can do."

After saying that, Chen Zhi took the lead and walked forward.

Suddenly, she picked up her slingshot, took a small stone from her pocket, aimed, and fired—

The shot missed, startling the pheasant. The beautifully feathered pheasant flew up from the grass and fled into the forest.

"Quick, grab it!" Chen Fu rushed forward first.

Chen Da, Chen Gui, and Chen Mu were not to be outdone. Chen Mu even turned back to Chen Zhi and said, "Zhizhi, hurry up and use your slingshot!"

Chen Zhi, who originally didn't want to follow, had no choice but to go along. When she left, she gave the basket to her mother and asked her to carry it for her.

Chen Da and his three companions had spent a lot of time running in the mountains, so they were extremely fast. Moreover, the four of them were quite in sync and knew how to flank from all four sides.

But pheasants can fly!

At this moment, Chen Zhi's slingshot came in handy. She used the slingshot to launch stones one by one. Her best shot hit the pheasant's wing and knocked out a few feathers.

The pheasant escaped again. Chen Fu panicked and yelled, "Chen Zhi, are you even capable?"

Chen Zhi rolled her eyes. "If you're so capable, then you do it and catch it."

Chen Fu: "Give me the slingshot."

He tried to grab the slingshot, but Chen Zhi dodged him, saying, "No."

Chen Fu was unwilling to give up and grabbed Chen Zhi's clothes to continue snatching them. With a tearing sound, the clothes were ripped open.

Chen Fu was stunned.

Chen Zhi seized the opportunity to give him a hard shove, "If you delay any longer, the pheasant will escape."

Chen Zhi didn't even glance at Chen Fu and continued chasing the pheasant.

"It's in the tree," Chen Zhi pointed to the pheasant on the branch, then looked at the slingshot in his hand. "May I try it?"

"This is a good opportunity, let the eldest brother come," Chen Mu also advised Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi shook her head. "I believe in myself more."

Chen Zhi aimed at the pheasant, tightened the rubber band, held his breath, and released it. A slight whooshing sound came from the air as a pebble hit the pheasant's abdomen. The pheasant fell from the branch, and Chen Da took the lead, rushing forward to grab it.

"We've taken it down!"

"We really hit it."

"Wow, we're amazing!" Chen Fu was the last to arrive. "Brother, let me see!"

.......

Chen Zhi's clothes were torn at the back. The clothes had been with her up and down the mountain, washed until they were faded and the fabric had thinned considerably. Chen Zhi knew they would fall apart sooner or later, but she didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

Chen Zhi turned her head to look behind her and saw a small patch of her fair skin. She touched it again and found that the opening was quite large.

I'm going to get scolded again.

Chen Fu will be fine, but she will inevitably be scolded and beaten.

I wonder if we have any fabric left at home to mend her clothes.

She's grown taller in the last few months, and her clothes and pants are too short and too small. If she keeps growing, she's afraid she won't have any clothes to wear when she goes out.

Chen Zhi was filled with worry. The family only had so many cloth ration coupons, and even her older brothers couldn't afford new clothes, let alone her. The clothes she was wearing were made from her mother's old clothes.

If all else fails, just wear a burlap sack when you go out.

"Chen Zhi?"

An uncertain voice came from behind.

Chen Zhi turned around and saw that it was Li Zhou'an again. "We've run into each other again."

Li Zhou'an's eyes were somewhat unnatural. He hesitated for a moment, then took off his shirt and tossed it to Chen Zhi, saying, "Your clothes are torn. Use mine to cover it up for now."

Chen Zhi, holding the blue shirt, was burning up. Had he seen it?

That's so embarrassing!

Chen Zhi blushed as she put on the shirt and whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Li Zhou'an said.

Someone called Li Zhou'an's name from not far away. He responded and then said to Chen Zhi, "I'm leaving now. You can wear these clothes for now and return them to me when you get back."

Chen Zhi nodded, "Okay."

Chen Zhi watched Li Zhou'an walk away and realized that she was the only one left in the place; Chen Da and the others had already left.

They didn't even say hello.

Chen Zhi twitched the corner of her mouth and walked westward.

Li Zhou'an was tall, and his shirt was long enough to cover Chen Zhi's bottom. Wearing Li Zhou'an's shirt, Chen Zhi became more careful when walking, afraid that she might accidentally tear such a nice shirt.

"Chen Zhi, whose clothes are you wearing!"

Chen Ye's eyes widened in shock. "You didn't go off to do something bad, did you?"

"What are you thinking? Xiao Fu tore my clothes, and Li Zhou'an lent me his shirt to cover up my embarrassment." Chen Zhi went to Chen's mother to get her own basket, grabbed it, and ran away.

Sure enough, a bamboo shoot flew towards her the next second.

"Are you out of your mind? How dare you ruin my clothes!" Mrs. Chen looked as if the sky had fallen.

"I already said it wasn't me, it was Xiao Fu who tore it apart," Chen Zhi said, continuing to run without turning her head.

Behind them came the sound of Chen's mother cursing loudly. The person she was cursing was naturally Chen Zhi, and she didn't mention Chen Fu at all.

Chen Zhi had run far away; she wasn't going to be foolish enough to stay behind and get beaten up.

Throughout the day, Chen Zhi avoided the Chen family and didn't meet them again. Once the basket on her back was full, Chen Zhi went down the mountain first.

It wasn't dark yet.

Chen Zhi took off Li Zhou'an's shirt, folded it, and put it in her bamboo basket. Since she was carrying the basket on her back, it would be fine if she didn't wear a shirt.

Li Zhou'an kindly lent her the shirt, and she couldn't let it affect Li Zhou'an's reputation.

Someone like her is not a good match for Li Zhou'an.

When Chen Zhi returned home, her mother and the others had not yet come back.

Chen Zhi took a shower and changed her clothes first, then washed Li Zhou'an's shirt.

Grandma and her cousin-in-law were both busy, so Chen Zhi took the opportunity to slip out of the house, carrying Li Zhou'an's shirt, and headed towards the educated youth settlement. She met many people along the way, but no one greeted her. Chen Zhi ignored them, simply crumpling the shirt into a messy ball so that its original appearance was unrecognizable.

Upon arriving at the educated youth settlement, Chen Zhi encountered Xi Lang, who was watering vegetables, before even entering the door.

"What's that in your hand?" Xi Lang asked.

Chen Zhi told Li Zhou'an about how Chen Fu tore her clothes today and how Li Zhou'an lent her clothes.

Xi Lang frowned briefly, then quickly relaxed. He reached out to Chen Zhi, "Give it to me, I'll return it for you."

Without hesitation, Chen Zhi handed the shirt to Xi Lang, thinking it would be better for Xi Lang to deliver it, saving a lot of trouble.

"Why is it wet?"

"I just washed it."

Xi Lang nodded. "Wait for me here."

Inside the educated youth settlement, Li Zhou'an was chatting with Yang Wenyu and a few others when they saw Xi Lang walking straight towards him. The group stood up, and the atmosphere became inexplicably tense.

Li Zhou'an was 1.8 meters tall, the tallest among the educated youth in the settlement, but he didn't expect Xi Lang to be even taller than him. When Xi Lang looked down at him with a cold face, Li Zhou'an felt a sense of oppression.

A sense of oppression from those in power.

But how could that be?

Xi Lang was a sent-down youth like him, and a year younger than him. What kind of superior was he?

"Your shirt," Xi Lang broke the silence first.

Only then did Li Zhou'an notice what Xi Lang was holding. He didn't say anything and took the shirt.

Xi Lang remained silent, then turned and left.

"How did your shirt end up in his hands?" Yang Wenyu asked.

Xi Lang: "Someone asked him to pass it on, right?"

In those days, borrowing clothes was a common occurrence. Xi Lang's clothes and trousers had no patches, and many young people in the village had borrowed clothes from him, either to attend weddings or to go on blind dates.

Yang Wenyu didn't dwell on the shirt issue; his focus was on Xi Lang himself. "The way he acted just now, I almost thought he was here to fight you."

Zhou Zhengping: "I also thought he came to cause trouble."

Zhao Jinbao: "Putting everything else aside, Xi Lang's aura is getting stronger and stronger. I remember when I first came here, I was about the same height as him, but now he's a head taller than me. I don't know what he eats to grow so fast."

Chen Zhi sat on a stone in front of Xi Lang's house. It was already dark, and if you weren't paying attention, you wouldn't even notice that there was someone there.

Xi Lang strode over, ignoring Chen Zhi, and started a fire.

"You gave him the shirt, what did he say?" Chen Zhi asked.

Xi Lang paused, "What do you think he should say?"

In the darkness, Chen Zhi did not notice Xi Lang's gloomy face.

Chen Zhi didn't know, "Just deliver it to him. The clothes are valuable, I can't afford to lose them. You don't know, my clothes were torn, it wasn't my fault at all, but my mom scolded me for an hour in the mountains. Luckily I ran fast, otherwise I would definitely have been beaten."

Upon hearing this, Xi Lang asked, "Are you so concerned about that shirt just because it's expensive?"

Chen Zhi sighed, "It's precious, isn't it? Like me, I've never worn new clothes since I can remember."

Xi Lang: "There will be opportunities in the future."

Chen Zhi didn't have much hope; she wasn't the only one without new clothes, and many people in the village didn't either.