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

For the next few days, the village was peaceful and nothing happened, and the villagers returned to their usual routines.

During dinner that day, Grandma Ding Fangfang said at the table, "The matchmaker will bring a girl to our house in a couple of days. Let's tidy up the house in the next couple of days."

"Grandma, which village is the other person from? How old is he? Is he good-looking?" Chen Fu asked.

Grandma: "She's from Niujiao Village, her name is Cai Meiyun. As for whether she's pretty or not, you should ask your second brother."

Chen Gui blushed slightly and said awkwardly, "It's...it's alright."

The two had already met once from afar, and their formal meeting would take place two days later.

Chen Fu grinned mischievously, "Second Brother, you're blushing, you must look good."

"Alright, stop teasing your second brother." Thinking about the upcoming addition to the family, Ding Fangfang was in a good mood. She continued, "Besides the matchmaker, the bride's side will have four people. We'll have them stay for a meal. We have eight taels of meat coupons. Eldest brother, go to town early the day after tomorrow to buy pork. Besides pork, also buy some tofu. Our two hens are hatching chicks, so we can't kill them. Chen Da, you and your siblings should go to the mountains to look for chicken and bird eggs, and hopefully catch one or two pheasants. Your grandfather should go to the river to catch some river shrimp; stir-fried river shrimp with chives will make a dish."

"What if we can't find wild eggs or hunt pheasants?" Chen Da asked.

Ding Fangfang glanced at Chen Da, then turned her gaze to Chen Zhi, "If you haven't gotten anything in two days, then you don't need to come back."

Chen Zhi: "..."

She was threatened again.

As they were going to bed that night, Chen's mother said, "Your uncle's family has helped us so much; we can never repay their kindness in this lifetime. Now that a girl has come to our house to meet A-Gui, everyone in the family is trying to prepare a good meal. Zhizhi, you should also pay attention to this."

Chen Zhi twitched the corner of her mouth. "Why doesn't Mom say this to my brother and sister?"

"Of course I'll do my best," Chen Mu said. "Lend me your slingshot."

"I wouldn't dare lend it. I'm afraid you won't be able to get anything, and it will cause me to be kicked out of the house." Ding Fangfang wouldn't kick out her precious grandson, but she would definitely keep her word with her granddaughter.

Chen Ye also spoke up, "I don't know how to hunt, I'll go to the mountains to find some wild fruits."

The next day, Chen Zhi declined Chen Da's invitation to go up the mountain together.

"I'm used to being alone," she said.

Chen Da didn't force her, but he was unhappy about being rejected, so he said coldly, "Whatever."

Chen Zhi carried a basket on her back and went to find Xi Lang first.

"Going into the mountains again?" Xi Lang asked.

"Yeah, my family gave me a task: to collect wild eggs and hunt pheasants." Chen Zhi sighed, "People go to the mountains every day, but there are only so many pheasants and eggs. If they're not all killed, they'll be scared away. They really think highly of me."

"There's no need to be so pessimistic. There are just fewer pheasants and wild eggs, but we can still find some if we look around." Xi Lang packed his things and slung his basket over his shoulder. "I'll go with you."

Chen Zhi chuckled; his goal had been achieved.

Do you have a rope here? We'll bring one with us.

"Yes, we have both hemp rope and straw rope. Which one do you want?"

"hemp rope."

"Okay, it's under the bed, I'll go get it."

Xi Lang put the hemp rope into the basket, then asked Chen Zhi, "What do you need the rope for?"

"I'm craving fish. I'm thinking of catching another grass carp like the one we had last time, but I'm a little hesitant to go alone," Chen Zhi said, revealing her purpose.

Xi Lang suddenly realized, "No wonder you came to find me. Okay, I also want to eat fish. Let's go cave exploration together."

An adventure?

This sounds like a child's game.

Chen Zhi, however, found it inexplicably appealing, saying, "Exploration is great."

This is the first time someone has said they want to go on an adventure with her.

In May and June, the mountains are covered with lush vegetation.

The path worn smooth by everyone's footsteps has grown grass and become less easy to walk on.

Xi Lang walked ahead with a sickle, and Chen Zhi followed behind him. Ignoring what was ahead, Chen Zhi looked around and spotted several bird nests. However, most of the nests contained newly hatched chicks; only two nests had unhatched eggs.

Chen Zhi picked up bird eggs and also gathered some wild vegetables, including wild lettuce.

"This dish is very bitter," Xi Lang reminded him.

Chen Zhi naturally knew that this wild romaine lettuce was bitter, "bitter with a hint of sweetness, and it helps to reduce internal heat."

"Are you feeling hot?" Xi Lang turned to look at her face, which was fair and white with a faint pink tinge, clearly indicating that she was very healthy.

Chen Zhi shook her head, "It's hot now, so this dish should be served cold with some chili peppers. It'll make you want to eat it with rice."

Xi Lang nodded, "You can come eat here. I can make quite a few cold dishes, like cold bracken salad, cold wood ear mushroom salad, cold peanut salad, cold houttuynia cordata salad..."

He rattled off more than a dozen in one breath.

Chen Zhi swallowed hard. "I'll go tomorrow."

Having achieved his goal, Xi Lang smiled and said, "It's a deal."

The two walked quickly and unknowingly crossed two mountains, arriving at the cave entrance.

Xi Lang took out a flashlight, turned on the light, and was the first to enter the cave.

"When did you buy it?" Chen Zhi couldn't help but ask, her eyes filled with envy.

"I bought two a few days ago," Xi Lang said, handing the other one to Chen Zhi. "Try it. The switch is here. Push it forward to turn it on, and push it backward to turn it off."

Chen Zhi pressed the power button and gently pushed it forward. The yellow light shone on the stone wall, and she couldn't help but grin like a child who had just received a new toy.

"You like it that much?" Xi Lang asked.

Chen Zhi nodded. "It's amazing."

Xi Lang: "This is for you."

"No need," Chen Zhi refused decisively. "It wouldn't belong to me even if I took it home. Besides, it uses batteries, and I can't afford to replace them."

"You still have two hundred and eighty yuan temporarily deposited with me, don't you remember?"

"I wouldn't be willing to spend that much; money should be used wisely."

Xi Lang didn't know what Chen Zhi meant by "blade," but he wanted her to have whatever she wanted.

The deeper the two went into the cave, the louder the sound of flowing water became. In the very middle of the cave, they found a gap in the ground behind a rock, about 80 centimeters wide. Shining their flashlights down, they could see water flowing gently.

Chen Da and the others must have gone down from here.

It was still early, so Chen Zhi wasn't in a hurry to go into the water. "I want to go and see the other side of the mountain first."

Xi Lang recalled the black dragon from more than two months ago. He had encountered the black dragon behind this mountain, and now most of its body was still lying in his Qiankun bag.

Behind the mountain was another mountain, where the vegetation was more lush and there were more birds and animals. As soon as Chen Zhi came out of the cave, she saw a pheasant. She quickly took out her slingshot and aimed.

Xi Lang stood quietly to the side, his gaze fixed on her, his expression gentle.

As the pebble flew out, Xi Lang's deep eyes narrowed slightly; her strength and speed had increased once again.

With a soft "poof," the pheasant's head exploded in the distance.

Chen Zhi was taken aback and turned to look at Xi Lang. For some reason, she felt a little guilty.

Isn't it too gory?

Xi Lang pointed to the bushes not far away, leaned close to her ear and said, "There's a gray rabbit there, it's very fat, do you see it?"

The hot air sprayed onto her ears, and Chen Zhi felt like her ears were burning, but her hands obediently pulled the rubber band open again and aimed at the rabbit in the grass.

"Aim for the head, kill it instantly, and spare it some pain," Xi Lang said.

Chen Zhi's uneasy heart instantly calmed down because of these words, and another pebble flew out, causing the big gray rabbit to fall down.

Xi Lang was in charge of gathering the prey. "It's hot, I'll make you some cold rabbit."

At the mention of food, Chen Zhi couldn't help but swallow hard. "Okay."

Xi Lang added, "Let's catch another one, and we'll roast a rabbit later."

Chen Zhi's eyes lit up even more. "Okay."

An hour later, Xi Lang's basket was full, containing four pheasants and three rabbits.

The two started a fire to roast a rabbit. Xi Lang did the work while Chen Zhi watched and learned. Their voices echoed in the quiet mountain forest.

Xi Lang brought all the necessary ingredients, including not only oil and salt, but also his own ground chili powder and pepper powder, and, remarkably, a small bottle of cumin powder.

The overpowering aroma of cumin powder wafted into Chen Zhi's nostrils, making her swallow even louder.

Xi Lang watched her lick her lips, his eyes darkening. She probably didn't know that she herself was more appetizing than the roasted rabbit.

Once the rabbit was roasted, Xi Lang first cut a rabbit leg for Chen Zhi, instructing her, "It's hot, be careful."

Chen Zhi wouldn't listen to any of that. After getting it, she immediately took a bite, exhaling warm air as she praised, "Delicious!"

Xi Lang smiled indulgently, "Eat more if you like it."

After the rabbit was eaten, the two of them were full.

They rested for a while, covered the fire with soil, and began their return journey. Upon reaching the cave, Chen Zhi said to Xi Lang, "I want to go into the water too."

The underwater scene was dangerous, and she was worried about leaving Xi Lang alone.

"I can protect myself." Xi Lang said helplessly; she didn't believe in his abilities.

"I know you're amazing, but it's really dangerous underwater. Last time my brothers came down there, they almost died. If I go down with you, we can help each other if we encounter danger." This was Chen Zhi's true thought.

She was earnest and persistent, and Xi Lang couldn't do anything about it, so he could only agree, "I'll go down first, you follow behind me."

Xi Lang tied one end of the hemp rope to a stone pillar and put the other end in the water. The two of them grabbed the rope and went down into the river.

With the rope in hand, Chen Zhi felt much more at ease.

The cool river water instantly washed away the heat from her body. Chen Zhi let out a comfortable sigh and looked around in the water.

Xi Lang silently concealed his aura and quietly protected Chen Zhi.

Unlike the tension and fear she felt last time, Chen Zhi was more relaxed this time. Her eyes darted around, and she spotted quite a few fish, including water beetles, yellow catfish, rock bream, and chub, as well as more common carp, crucian carp, silver carp, and grass carp. These fish were much larger than the ones she had seen before, but not as large as the catfish and grass carp she had seen last time.

Xi Lang took out the bag from his waist and started catching fish. Chen Zhi found that even with the resistance of the water, Xi Lang's movements were very fast. Once he targeted a fish, it had almost no chance of escaping.

Chen Zhi was astonished. She hadn't known Xi Lang was such a skilled fish catcher. But why hadn't he gone to the river to catch fish himself last winter, instead trading food with her?

While Chen Zhi was distracted, Xi Lang caught a large grass carp, more than half a meter long and weighing about twenty or thirty kilograms.

The large grass carp was put into the burlap sack, and the sack was almost full.