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

Chen Zhi finished eating the food in the lunchbox, but still felt unsatisfied and wished she could lick the lunchbox clean.

But this wasn't her lunchbox.

Chen Zhi put the lunchbox on the ground with some regret and went back to digging for lotus roots.

The sun began to set in the west and soon disappeared behind the mountains, causing the temperature to drop as well.

The four men who went to catch the rats hadn't returned, so the eldest uncle said, "Stop digging for now, go wash the lotus roots."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhi immediately dropped the shovel, stretched, and rubbed her sore back and limbs. She looked at the people in the distance who were still digging out rat holes and was filled with envy. It must be so good to be a boy. You can smoke out rats and go down to the river to catch fish and shrimp. Why wasn't she a boy?

"Don't just stand there, get ready and let's go to the river," Chen's mother said.

Chen Zhi rolled her eyes. Was she a slave? Did she have to work non-stop?

Pian Chenzhi dared not argue, because if she disobeyed, she would go hungry that night.

Looking at the lotus roots she had dug, Chen's mother nodded in satisfaction, "We need this much tomorrow too, no slacking off."

Chen Zhi left with her family, while Xi Lang remained where he was.

The river water was icy cold, and Chen Zhi's hands were red from the cold after washing the lotus roots.

Carrying a shovel with a bag of lotus roots hanging from one end, Chen Zhi and her family hurried home before it got completely dark.

Chen Da and his three companions had already returned home before them. The eldest sister-in-law was cooking and had also boiled water.

"Sister-in-law, what are we having for dinner tonight?" Chen Zhi went straight to the kitchen, warmed her frozen hands by the stove, and then peered into the pot.

The eldest sister-in-law didn't want to pay attention to Chen Zhi, but they were too close, so she couldn't pretend she hadn't heard. She just said irritably, "Eat rat meat stewed with dried bamboo shoots."

"My older cousin and the others actually caught a mouse!" Chen Zhi exclaimed in shock.

The eldest cousin's wife was displeased upon hearing this, "What's so surprising about your cousins ​​catching a mouse!"

She was genuinely surprised. Chen Zhi thought to herself, then asked, "How many did you catch?"

The eldest sister-in-law choked, her face darkening, and her tone turning unfriendly, "As long as there's food, that's enough. Why are you asking so many questions!"

Chen Zhi understood; it seemed that his older cousin and the others had only caught one mouse, and it wasn't even that big.

Chen Zhi smelled the aroma, swallowed hard, but didn't get up; she just stayed by the fire. Anyway, it wasn't her turn to take a bath yet, and the kitchen was warm, so she wasn't going anywhere else.

The dried bamboo shoots simmered for an hour, and before Chen Zhi could even take a shower, dinner was served. Chen Zhi wasn't in a hurry to shower either, afraid that if she came out, there wouldn't be anything left on the plate.

Dinner consisted mainly of mixed grain and sweet potato rice, with a side dish of dried bamboo shoots stewed with rat meat, and a mustard green soup. The rat meat was chopped into pieces the size of a fingernail, so small that it was impossible to find without careful searching.

However, the bamboo shoots have a meaty aroma, and the dried bamboo shoots, after absorbing the meaty flavor, become delicious.

Grandma still served the food. Everyone else's bowls were overflowing, but Chen Zhi's bowl was nine-tenths full. After finishing her food, Chen Zhi drank a bowl of mustard green soup, feeling warm and comfortable all over.

Chen Zhi knew her mother would bring up the fact that Xi Lang had treated her to food earlier that day. Sure enough, as soon as she finished showering and lay down on the bed, her mother spoke up, "What's going on between you and that Xi Lang?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Ye and Chen Mu, who were in the same room, both perked up their ears.

"Nothing much happened, he just treated me to something to eat," Chen Zhi said frankly.

"Why did he invite only you and not your sister?" Food is such a precious thing; he wouldn't easily share it with others. Besides, why didn't Xi Lang invite his more beautiful eldest daughter, but instead invited his youngest?

Chen Zhi's eyes darted around. "Probably because I was quite close to him at the time."

The three women, including Chen's mother, did not believe it.

"Xi Lang is a very strange person. The people at the educated youth settlement said they saw him talking to thin air. They suspect he has mental problems. You should stay away from him," Chen Mu said.

Chen Ye: "His reputation is bad. Being with him will affect you."

Chen Zhi twitched the corner of her mouth, not caring much, "My reputation isn't good either."

The air in the room seemed to freeze.

"Little sister, what do you mean by that? Because of your bad reputation, you've given up on yourself and are seeking comfort from Xi Lang? You're not young anymore; you could get married in a couple of years. If you're hanging out with Xi Lang now, what kind of good family do you think you'll marry into in two years?" Chen Mu's tone was unfriendly.

Chen Ye: "Zhizhi, you wouldn't happen to have a crush on that Xi Lang, would you?"

"He's not good enough," Chen's mother was the first to object.

"He's a grown man who only earns seven work points a day, less than me. If you marry him, you'll be starving." Chen Mu disagreed. He didn't want Chen Zhi to marry out and then bring her husband and children back home to freeload. He wanted to get married and have children in the future, not do poverty alleviation work.

In the darkness, Chen Zhi gave a mocking laugh. "You guys are really thinking too far ahead. I have absolutely nothing to do with him. I'm going to sleep, don't bother me."

"This matter hasn't been clarified yet, I can't sleep," Chen Mu said, getting angry.

Chen Zhi remained silent and closed her eyes.

"Anyway, you can't marry Xi Lang. Stay away from him from now on, do you hear me?" Chen Mu said in a commanding tone.

Chen Zhi remained silent and soon fell asleep. She could no longer hear what Chen Mu and the others said afterward.

Chen Zhi slept soundly through the night and expected to wake up with a sore back, but she was perfectly fine.

It must be because she ate something good yesterday, which relieved her fatigue.

I hope we can still find river clams today.

Chen Zhi was in high spirits and secretly decided to find a good spot later to dig up more river clams today.

However, when Chen Zhi arrived at the riverbank, she found it packed with people. It was a miracle if there was even a place to put her feet down, let alone find a spot.

"What should we do?" Mrs. Chen asked her aunt.

Aunt took a deep breath. "Let's try walking forward."

So they walked a little further, but there were still people everywhere.

"These few sections of the river where lotus roots grow are all occupied," the aunt said helplessly.

Chen Ye: "Why are there so many people today?"

Auntie wasn't surprised. "Several families in the village are having banquets this year, and one of the main dishes is lotus root stewed with pork bones. These people are probably relatives of the families having banquets and are here to help dig lotus roots. I'm afraid we won't be able to eat much lotus root this year."

Everyone looked disappointed upon hearing this.

Chen Zhi's eyes lit up. "If we're not digging for lotus roots today, let's go catch fish and shrimp instead."

Aunt shook her head. "We'll go back and cut some thatch. The roof of the house needs repairing. The newly built house also needs thatch."

Chen Zhi shook her head, "I'm not going, I want to go catch fish."

"Chen Zhi!" Chen's mother shouted coldly.

Chen Zhi's face immediately fell. "I just wanted to catch fish."

Chen's mother picked up a shovel and was about to slap Chen Zhi's bottom when her aunt stopped her, saying, "Let the child go if she wants to. There's no rush to cut thatch. It'll be fine if we wait a day or two."

The aunt looked at Chen Zhi and said, "We'll go cut some thatch, and you can go catch fish yourself, okay?"

"Mmm," Chen Zhi readily agreed.

Mrs. Chen: "If you're going to catch fish, do it properly. I'll be checking the results tonight."

Chen Zhi pouted and muttered softly, "Even my uncle and the others might not be able to catch them."

Mrs. Chen glared at her, "Then you shouldn't go."

Chen Zhi immediately changed her tune, "I'll try my best to make sure my whole family has fish tonight."

After the autumn harvest, people in the village went down to the river every day, and the fish and shrimp had long been caught.

Although Chen Zhi made a boastful statement, she was not really sure about it.

She tied the burlap sack around her waist, rolled up her trousers and sleeves, and went into the river. The water level had dropped, and even the deepest part was only a little over a meter deep.

The water was icy cold, and Chen Zhi couldn't help but shiver as soon as she stepped into the river.

"fish!"

She saw a small fish swim past her and immediately chased after it.

There really are fish!

But we can't catch it!

Chen Zhi has lost count of how many times the fish have escaped from her grasp.

No wonder my uncle and his friends couldn't catch many fish even after a whole day out; it turns out that fish and shrimp are really hard to catch.

"You can't catch it like that; you have to touch it."

A voice came from behind her. Chen Zhi turned around and met a smiling face. The smiling face looked warm in the morning sunlight.

Chen Zhi knew this person; his name was Li Zhou'an, and he was an educated youth who had just arrived this spring.

Li Zhou'an has a face shaped like the Chinese character "目" (eye), with thick eyebrows and big eyes. He likes to smile, and when he smiles, he reveals a set of big white teeth, giving people a kind and approachable feeling.

He had an excellent reputation in Sandong Village; he had the kind of looks and personality that mothers-in-law liked.

Chen Zhi had observed Li Zhou'an from afar several times before, but this was the first time she had seen him so closely. Li Zhou'an was quite good-looking.

"You're from Sandong Village too, right? My name is Li Zhou'an, a former educated youth from Sandong Village," Li Zhou'an introduced himself.

"My name is Chen Zhi," Chen Zhi said, then asked him, "You just said to touch, how do I touch you?"

Li Zhou'an had heard of the name Chen Zhi before, and he was taken aback for a moment.

Chen Zhi frowned. She had thought Li Zhou'an was different from the others, but it turned out he was just as easily swayed by rumors. Was he afraid her bad luck would affect him?

Forget it.

Chen Zhi turned and left; she would stay as far away as possible.

"It's about feeling for the footprints in the water. Small fish and shrimp hide in those footprints."

Li Zhou'an called out to Chen Zhi's retreating figure.

A hint of surprise flashed across Chen Zhi's face, but she continued walking forward. "Thank you."

Many people go down to the river every day, and the river is full of footprints. Chen Zhi listened to Li Zhou'an's advice, bent down to touch the footprints, and when he touched the third footprint, he found a small fish about the size of two fingers.

It really works!

Chen Zhi turned around, wanting to say "thank you" to Li Zhou'an again, but saw that the other party had already walked far away.

As the sun rises higher and the water temperature increases, Chen Zhi notices that the fish are also swimming from the deep water to the shallow water. Sometimes she can catch two or three small fish at a time.

The fish were very small, about the size of one or two fingers, and the shrimp were also small, the largest being only the size of her thumb.

More and more people are coming into the river.

Chen Zhi avoided the crowd and walked downstream.

By noon, Chen Zhi's bag contained quite a few fish, weighing about two pounds.

Just as she looked down at the fish in the bag, five teenage boys surrounded her.

"Hand over the fish in your bag."