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

Xi Lang boiled water at home, and Chen Zhi first carried the water back to the house to wash herself, changed into clean clothes, and then washed her hair with hot water in front of the house. After she finished washing her hair, Chen Peng and the other three came over. They didn't come empty-handed; they brought vegetables they had grown themselves.

Xi Lang had just finished cleaning the fish and fed the scales, gills, and internal organs to the chickens. The four hens ate happily, and Chen Zhi thought that perhaps soon she would be able to collect eggs every morning.

There were so many fish that they filled two large wooden basins.

"Xi Lang, what can we do?" Chen Peng asked.

"Wash the ginger, wash the vegetables." Xi Lang didn't even look up. He was slicing fish. He planned to make a boiled fish, a braised fish, a fish soup, and stir-fry two plates of vegetables.

While Xi Lang was frying the fish, Zhao Jinbao and Zhou Zhengping from the educated youth settlement arrived. As soon as they saw the fish in the wooden shed, they couldn't move away.

"There are so many fish, could you exchange a few for us?" Zhao Jinbao said with a fawning smile.

Zhou Zhengping swallowed hard and nodded, "Yes, give us a few. It's too hot to keep the fish."

Xi Lang: "What will you offer in exchange?"

Zhao Jinbao thought about it seriously for a moment, then asked in return, "What do you want?"

Xi Lang: "I need some books and newspapers, elementary and junior high school textbooks are fine, extracurricular books are also okay, and bring plenty of newspapers."

"Okay, no problem. We'll go back and get it right away."

Zhao Jinbao and Zhou Zhengping ran away.

The people at the educated youth settlement are cooking; it's Li Zhou'an and Yang Wenyu's turn to cook today.

"Zhou An, quickly bring out your newspaper and books. Anyone else with books, please contribute them too. Xi Lang agrees to exchange books and newspapers for fish," Zhao Jinbao shouted as soon as he entered the door.

Yang Wenyu: "Where did they get the fish?"

Zhao Jinbao: "Oh dear, I forgot to ask."

Zhu Yuan: "Any book is fine?"

Zhao Jinbao: "Elementary and junior high school textbooks are fine, as are any extracurricular books."

Zhao Yiqing: "I can't bear to part with my books. Life in the countryside is too boring, and those extracurricular books are my spiritual nourishment."

Yang Wenyu: "Then I'll contribute a book called 'Ruby'."

Li Zhou'an: "The newspapers are on my bedside table. I've read them all. You can take them all."

Zhao Jinbao: "I have a few comic books that I've almost worn out from reading them so many times. I'll trade them for fish."

Chen Peng and his three companions never expected that they could exchange books for fish.

"I used all my textbooks to wipe my butt," Chen Peng said with some regret.

Chen Ergou: "Me too."

Chen Xiaoshuai: "Who isn't?"

Chen Da: "My textbooks are still here, my mom kept them. Xi Lang, I'll go back and get them for you now."

Xi Lang picked out the big carp from the wooden basin. "Take this fish back and trade it with your mother."

Xi Lang had also heard about how difficult Chen Da's mother was.

"Oh, these are just some things I don't need. Consider them a gift to you," Chen Da refused.

"The fish was caught in the river, and it's nothing valuable. You should take it back; we can't possibly eat it all," Chen Zhi advised.

Chen Da then accepted the fish and took it home.

Chen Zhi looked at Xi Lang, "What do you need the book for?"

Xi Lang: "I'll teach you how to learn."

Chen Zhi: "..."

She didn't say she wanted to study.

She doesn't usually need it, does she?

Zhao Jinbao brought over a stack of newspapers with a few books on top, and exchanged them for seven or eight catties of fish.

"Xi Lang, where did you catch the fish? Can you invite us next time?" Zhao Jinbao asked shamelessly.

Before Xi Lang could speak, Chen Peng spoke first, "It was caught in the river, by Chen Zhi."

"Really?" Zhao Jinbao's eyes widened. "Chen Zhi is that amazing? Are there fish that big in the river?"

Chen Peng: "We saw it with our own eyes."

Zhao Jinbao wondered, "Could it be that there are suddenly more fish in the river? I'll take my fishing net and try it out tomorrow."

When the educated youth at the settlement saw the fish they had exchanged, they were all incredibly surprised. Hearing that the fish had been caught in the river, they were also tempted.

Yang Wenyu: "We'll go surfing the net after work tomorrow."

Zhu Yuan: "How do we eat these fish?"

Zhao Yiqing: "I think the boiled fish last time was pretty good."

Liang Xiaoqiu was the last to arrive. Chen Da had gone home before coming, so she was a few minutes later than him.

The vegetables were almost cooked; Xi Lang only needed to stir-fry the last vegetable before they were ready to eat.

Chen Zhi was serving rice to everyone; it was potato and mixed grain rice, and she filled each person's bowl to the brim. This made Chen Peng and the others feel a little embarrassed, and they secretly decided to eat only this one bowl and not eat any more.

In those days, no family had much food, and they were worried about emptying Chen Zhi's rice jar.

Liang Xiaoqiu was taken aback when she looked at the full bowl of rice in front of her. There was only one potato in all that rice, and no rice bran at all?

She had never eaten such a meal before.

Even during Chinese New Year at home, her portion was either mixed with rice bran, a lot of vegetables, or water, turning it into porridge.

"You don't need to give me so much." Liang Xiaoqiu was somewhat apprehensive.

"It's alright, there's still more than half a pot left. Go get more when you're done eating, don't be shy." Since she had invited people over for dinner, Chen Zhi certainly wouldn't be stingy with the food.

She originally intended to grow vegetables in the newly opened vegetable garden, but now she only wants to grow grains, some corn and potatoes. It's just her and Xi Lang at home; they can't eat that many vegetables, but they are short of grains.

Xi Lang was a good cook and generous with his oil and ingredients, so everyone at the table ate without looking up. At first, Liang Xiaoqiu was hesitant to pick up any food, but gradually, she noticed that everyone was grabbing for the food and no one was paying attention to her, so she became bolder.

Liang Xiaoqiu's favorite dish was braised fish, followed by boiled fish, and lastly, a light fish soup. Every dish was delicious; she had never eaten anything so good before.

She'll cook like this after she gets married. If she can't cook like this every day, she'll eat it once or twice a year.

She was increasingly eager to get married.

I hope that day comes soon.

After finishing all the dishes and rice, Chen Peng and the others washed the dishes, cleaned the table, and even swept the floor before leaving.

Chen Xiaoshuai escorted Liang Xiaoqiu home, while Chen Peng, Chen Ergou, and Chen Da went home separately.

Liang Xiaoqiu felt stuffed for the first time. Touching her stomach, she tentatively asked Chen Xiaoshuai, "How do you think Xi Lang and Chen Zhi are doing?"

"Great, their food is the best in the whole village." Chen Xiaoshuai said with envy in his voice.

Liang Xiaoqiu shook her head. "I'm not referring to their food. I'm saying, do you think it's okay for the two of them to live alone?"

Chen Xiaoshuai paused, his expression turning conflicted. "I don't know. They're the only two people living alone in the whole village. Most families are large, with a dozen or even twenty people; it's very lively."

In the darkness, a hint of disappointment flashed across Liang Xiaoqiu's face. Yes, everyone lived in multi-generational households; that was the norm. But she couldn't help envying Chen Zhi. Just the two of them, husband and wife, with no conflicts or petty schemes, working together for their little family—how wonderful!

Liang Xiaoqiu's silence made Chen Xiaoshuai a little flustered. He hurriedly said, "Xiaoqiu, my family hasn't separated yet. Even if it has, it will be after my grandparents pass away, and my dad and uncles will live separately. It won't be my generation's turn. Besides, separating the family requires building a house, and we don't have that much money. I'm working hard to earn work points now so I can get a bigger share at the end of the year and have my mom build me a house. Once the house is built, I'll go to your house to propose marriage."

Liang Xiaoqiu thought for a moment and agreed, "Okay."

Except for Chen Zhi, everyone in the village is like this, so she can't use that to demand anything of Chen Xiaoshuai.

However, if you want to build a house, it probably won't be possible without saving money for several years.

Liang Xiaoqiu couldn't help but feel disappointed again; she still had to stay in that home for so long.

The next morning, Xi Lang told Chen Zhi that he was going to dig a canal.

Chen Zhi blurted out, "Won't it be too tiring?"

After she finished speaking, she paused for a moment. Would Xi Lang be afraid of getting tired?

Xi Lang: "I thought you had witnessed my strength."

There was a hint of disappointment and accusation in his tone.

Chen Zhi couldn't help but feel guilty. "It was just a slip of the tongue. Of course I know you're very capable."

Xi Lang looked doubtful, but didn't say whether he believed it or not.

The two parted ways under the banyan tree; Chen Zhi walked towards the field, while Xi Lang headed towards the foot of the mountain.

Chen Zhi hadn't gone far when she heard many young people in the village greeting Xi Lang warmly, calling him "Brother Lang" with no hint of reluctance, their enthusiasm was palpable.

"Everyone admires Xi Lang now," Liang Xiaoqiu said, adding that Chen Xiaoshuai also said Xi Lang was very impressive.

Chen Zhi: "Just because Xi Lang beat up the people of Sihe Village yesterday?"

"Of course. Powerful people are respected wherever they go," Liang Xiaoqiu said matter-of-factly.

Chen Zhi was happy for Xi Lang. From now on, no one should laugh at Xi Lang for only earning seven work points a day, right?

After finishing work in the evening, Chen Zhi went to the river to collect snails, and Liang Xiaoqiu went too.

"Yesterday you gave me a few fish to take home, and when they saw them, they surprisingly didn't give me a hard time. It's a shame they got such good fish; they don't deserve to eat your fish," Liang Xiaoqiu said indignantly.

Chen Zhi understood Liang Xiaoqiu's feelings; she had felt the same way before.

"Chen Zhi, someone saw you catching a lot of fish in the river yesterday. Is that true?" Chen Ye blocked Chen Zhi's way.

Chen Zhi looked up, glancing sideways at her, "What's it to you?"

"Mom said you should catch a few fish and bring them home," Chen Ye said in a commanding tone.

Chen Zhi scoffed, "Why should I? I'm already married."

Chen Ye: "So what if you got married? You still have the surname Chen. The Chen family raised you, so what if they eat a few fish from you?"

Chen Zhi shrugged, "There's no fish today."

"You haven't caught any yet, how do you know you haven't caught any? If you can't catch any tonight, come back tomorrow morning. Tomorrow, your second cousin's fiancée is coming over, and we'll be waiting for your fish to cook."

After saying that, Chen Ye didn't give Chen Zhi a chance to refute and strode away.

"They've gone too far!" Liang Xiaoqiu said angrily.

Chen Zhi didn't care. "I won't let them catch fish. Tonight I'll only look for snails and clams."

Chen Zhi kept her word. She didn't catch the fish she found in the water, but focused on finding snails. In half an hour, her bucket was full of snails.

Liang Xiaoqiu got fewer snails, but still half a bucketful.

"I noticed there are more river snails in the river than usual today. Have we found their nest?"

"Perhaps."

The two rubbed themselves together, and seeing that it was getting late, they went ashore together to prepare to go home.

But just as they reached the shore, Chen Ye arrived, bringing Chen Mu with him.