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

Today, Xi Lang was going to weed, so he specifically asked the team leader to team up with Chen Zhi, explaining that workers were coming to help build his house and he needed to go back to cook.

Logically, family members should separate and form teams with other villagers to achieve mutual supervision.

The squad leader was in a dilemma: "Once this door is opened, my future work will be difficult."

Xi Lang was quite straightforward: "Then shall I ask for leave?"

The team leader also disagreed, saying, "We can't ask for leave on the first day of work, it will affect the team members' enthusiasm for work."

This won't work, that won't work, Xi Lang didn't know what to say.

After a moment's thought, the team leader said, "I'll transfer you to the children's group and find you a child as a partner. It'll be four work points a day."

Weeding is a relatively easy job, and the work points are not high to begin with. At most, you can only get eight work points in a day. But if a married man only gets four work points a day, he will definitely be laughed at.

Xi Lang was silent for two seconds, then agreed, "Okay."

Chen Zhi's partner this time was Liang Xiaoqiu again. After not seeing her for a few days, Chen Zhi noticed that Liang Xiaoqiu seemed to have lost even more weight. Her cheeks were sunken, and her eyes were cloudy and lifeless. When she squatted down and stood up, she saw that Liang Xiaoqiu supported herself on her knees for a while before slowly straightening up.

"Have you not eaten anything?" Chen Zhi asked.

Liang Xiaoqiu gave a bitter smile, "I ate it."

I drank a bowl of porridge, but there were less than ten grains of rice in it.

Chen Zhi took two White Rabbit milk candies out of her pocket and stuffed them into her hand, saying, "Here, have these."

Liang Xiaoqiu was taken aback, her eyes reddening. "Thank you."

That day, Xi Lang went to the Chen family to present betrothal gifts and distribute wedding candies. She went to join in the fun and received six fruit candies. She ate one on the spot; it was the first time she had ever eaten candy and the first time she had ever tasted sweetness.

She thought sugar was the best thing in the world, even better than meat.

But she couldn't bear to eat too many; she planned to save the remaining five candies to enjoy slowly. She carefully put the candies in her pocket, but when she got home, her younger brother asked if she had gone to collect wedding candies. Before she could answer, he pounced on her and tried to snatch them. Inspired by Chen Zhi's courage, she felt a surge of resistance. When her brother tried to grab them, she didn't give them to him, but pushed him away. He stumbled back two steps. The next second, her parents arrived with sticks.

Seeing her parents' murderous looks, she was terrified and ran away as fast as she could, otherwise she would be beaten to death.

She tried to run out of the house, but her brother closed the door and stood guard in front of it, watching her with schadenfreude.

Her mother grabbed her, and her father beat her while cursing her, until she was lying on the ground and couldn't get up. Only then did they stop.

She lay on the floor all afternoon that day, crawling back to her room as darkness fell. That evening, her family wouldn't give her any food. Unable to move, she lay in bed, vaguely recalling the sweetness of that fruit candy, and eventually drifted off to sleep.

She slept for two days and two nights, thinking she was going to die, but she pulled through. In her room, she overheard her mother and father saying, "She's not dead, is she? I was planning to collect a dowry."

Her father asked, "Shall we buy her some medicine?"

Her mother disagreed, "The medicine doesn't cost money, does it? We won't buy it. A worthless woman like her is tough enough not to die easily."

She felt a chill in her heart and wanted to die, wanting her dream of receiving a bride price to be shattered.

But she was also reluctant to give up; she was afraid of dying.

Looking at the two candies in her hand, Liang Xiaoqiu's tears fell one by one. She unwrapped the White Rabbit milk candy and put both candies into her mouth at the same time.

Now she knows that food is only safe once it's in her own mouth.

With a candy in her mouth and tears in her eyes, she smiled and said, "This candy is so sweet."

It's sweeter and more fragrant than the fruit candy from a few days ago.

Seeing her cry, Chen Zhi felt a tightness in her chest and turned her face away. "Of course, candy is sweet."

Before noon, Xi Lang went back to cook for the workers at home. In a hurry, he stir-fried garlic sprouts with cured pork, hot and sour shredded potatoes, a plate of green vegetables, and a bowl of fish head tofu soup.

The fish head is huge; just one weighs several kilograms.

"Where did this fish come from?" Shi Xin was really curious. Xi Lang was home every day, and the fish was fresh. Where did he get it? There shouldn't be any fish this big in Sandong Village, right?

"In the mountains," Xi Lang replied. He didn't stay home to eat; instead, he packed his and Chen Zhi's food and carried it to the fields in a basket.

When Xi Lang arrived, Liang Xiaoqiu was already eating. She had a bowl of mixed grain and vegetable porridge, which was almost entirely rice bran and green vegetables. She ate very slowly, cherishing every bite, and even if she dropped it, she would pick it up and put it back in her mouth.

Chen Zhi couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness; she used to be just like that.

Xi Lang sensed Chen Zhi's mood almost immediately. He glanced at Liang Xiaoqiu beside him, seemed to understand the reason, and quietly changed his position to block Liang Xiaoqiu.

"I made you your favorite fish head tofu soup, give it a try."

The day after they finished weeding, Chen Zhi gave Liang Xiaoqiu two White Rabbit milk candies as soon as she arrived.

Liang Xiaoqiu quickly said thank you, unwrapped the candy, and put it in her mouth.

"Liang Xiaoqiu, what are you eating?"

A loud shout came from the side path, followed by a burly figure rushing towards Liang Xiaoqiu, knocking the slender Liang Xiaoqiu to the ground, and straddling her.

This is Liang Xiaowei, Liang Xiaoqiu's younger brother.

Chen Zhi was stunned by this scene. She was hesitating whether to go forward to help when she saw Liang Xiaowei's chubby hand reach into Liang Xiaoqiu's mouth, rummage around, and pull out two White Rabbit milk candies that hadn't completely melted yet, then put them directly into his own mouth.

Chen Zhi: "..."

Should she be thankful that the Chen family doesn't have someone like Liang Xiaowei?

Liang Xiaowei straightened up, licked his sticky hands, and then kicked Liang Xiaoqiu on the ground. "Where did you get this candy?"

"Why did you hit me?!"

Chen Xiaoshuai, who had run over from a distance, shoved Liang Xiaowei aside. He glared at Liang Xiaowei angrily, "She's your sister! How could you hit her!"

"She dared to secretly eat candy, so what if I hit her?" Liang Xiaowei didn't think he was wrong at all. His parents said that everything in the house belonged to him, and the candy Liang Xiaoqiu got was also his. Liang Xiaoqiu stole it, so she should be beaten to death!

"The candy in her hand was given to her by me, not to you." Chen Zhi looked at Liang Xiaowei with disgust. In Sandong Village, Liang Xiaowei was the only one who could grow so much flesh, which showed that he didn't lack food. It was disgusting that someone who didn't lack food would still try to eat from other people's mouths.

"You gave the candy to Liang Xiaoqiu, so the candy belongs to Liang Xiaoqiu. All of Liang Xiaoqiu's things are mine. What's wrong with me taking my things?" Liang Xiaowei said confidently, then shook his head and walked away.

Chen Zhi gritted her teeth in anger as she looked at the burly figure. This Liang Xiaowei was really being unreasonable.

Liang Xiaoqiu cried, sitting on the ground silently shedding tears, unsure whether she was crying over the two White Rabbit candies or for the embarrassment she had caused today.

"Don't cry."

Chen Xiaoshuai was terrified. He took out six candies from his pocket and stuffed them all into Liang Xiaoqiu's hand. "Here, have them. I'll stay here and guard this place. If Liang Xiaowei dares to try and take them, I'll beat him up."

These six candies were the wedding candies Chen Xiaoshuai had received. He hadn't eaten a single one, intending to save them for Liang Xiaoqiu. Little did he know that he had been wandering around Liang Xiaoqiu's house for several days without running into her.

Liang Xiaoqiu looked at the candy in her hand, then at Chen Xiaoshuai. The June sun was strong, and Chen Xiaoshuai liked to run around outside all day, so he was now tanned dark. She used to think that men like Li Zhou'an were handsome, with good faces and good skin, but now she thought Chen Xiaoshuai was just as good. His eyes were dark and bright, and when he looked straight at people, he seemed particularly sincere.

Liang Xiaoqiu took a piece of candy, unwrapped it, put it in her mouth, and then gave the remaining five pieces back to Chen Xiaoshuai.

"No need to give it to me, you can eat it all. I'm a grown man, I don't eat candy," Chen Xiaoshuai said. If he hadn't swallowed his saliva when he said that, it would have been more believable.

"It's not for you, it's for you to keep for me." Liang Xiaoqiu lowered her head, her ears slowly turning red.

Chen Xiaoshuai asked, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

"Give me one a day." Liang Xiaoqiu's voice was even lower.

Chen Xiaoshuai was taken aback for a moment, then laughed, "Okay, I'll send you one every day."

Chen Zhi, who was standing to the side, felt that this scene was familiar. It seemed that she and Xi Lang had done something similar back then.

and so--

Chen Zhi's eyes widened. She couldn't believe it! Chen Xiaoshuai liked Liang Xiaoqiu, and Liang Xiaoqiu actually felt the same way.

These two are going to start dating!

The foundation was completed today.

Xi Lang finished work early and stewed a pot of wolf meat, steamed a pot of mixed grain rice, and also prepared a lot of cold dishes and stir-fried vegetables.

"The foundation has just been completed, and it needs to be allowed to rest for a few days before construction can continue. What are your plans for the future?" Shi Xin asked Xi Lang.

Xi Lang: "Make a toilet."

"A flush toilet?" Shi Xin thought for a moment. "I can't get a flush toilet right now, how about a squat toilet?"

Xi Lang's requirements weren't that high. "A squatting spot is fine, it needs to be clean, and preferably not smelly."

Shi Xin: "Then we'll have to hire professionals to do the work, and they'll have to lay the tiles. You know what tiles are, right? Those tiles in the old houses, the ones with surfaces smoother than mirrors."

Xi Lang certainly knew about tiles, but he didn't see them in the villa; he saw them in his own home.

"Then let's use tiles," he said.

Shi Xin was somewhat embarrassed. "I can find someone to get you the tiles, but I can't help you with that kind of work."

Xi Lang frowned. "Is it that difficult?"

"But Uncle Guo should have connections, why don't I ask him?" Shi Xin thought to himself, his younger brother didn't plan to associate with Guo Yijun's family or curry favor with the powerful, but now, for the sake of a toilet, would he change his mind?

The answer is yes.

Xi Lang said, "Then ask. If it's too much trouble, then forget it."

He can just put up a few more talismans to get rid of the smell.

Shi Xin slapped his thigh and said, "Okay, I'll ask for you when I get back."

That evening, Chen Zhi returned to her room and found several boxes and two baskets inside.

One basket contained fruit—apples, bananas, and oranges—while another held cookies, candy, and two rolls of cloth. Several boxes held pastries, beautifully packaged and clearly expensive.

"Where did these things come from?" Chen Zhi asked.

"It was a gift from Brother Shi and Sister-in-law Shi. They invited us to visit their home when we have time."

Both rolls of fabric were fine cotton, one a plain blue, the other a light pink printed with small flowers. Xi Lang picked up the pink roll. "Shall I make you two shirts, and two sets of pajamas?"

Chen Zhi hadn't seen Xi Lang pick up a needle and thread, and was really curious about how he made clothes, so she nodded repeatedly, "Okay."