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

A week after returning from Qiweng Mountain, Shi Xin brought more than a dozen craftsmen to visit Xi Lang and Chen Zhi, and also delivered several bags of grain, including rice, flour, corn and beans.

In addition, there were two baskets of fruit and a large nylon bag of sugar and biscuits.

"Thanks to you all for what happened last time, little brother and sister-in-law. I won't say much in thanks. If you ever need anything in the future, just let me know. Don't be shy." Shi Xin said with emotion, trying to pat Xi Lang on the shoulder, but Xi Lang dodged it.

Xi Lang: "How long does it take to build a house?"

Shi Xin: "You should ask the foreman about that. Your house isn't big; a month should be enough. By the way, have you prepared the roof beams?"

Xi Lang: "...I forgot."

Shi Xin was not surprised by this answer at all. "I have some connections at the forest farm, so leave this to me."

Xi Lang: "Thanks."

Shi Xin waved his hand, "We're family, no need for formalities. Once the new house is built, just cook me a meal."

Xi Lang: "Okay."

Shi Xin dropped the person off and then drove away, saying he would come back to pick them up in the afternoon.

The irrigation ditch has been dug, and Xi Lang is not working today. Instead, he is following the foremen to learn how to build houses.

Chen Zhi had to continue working, fertilizing the crops, and carrying water to irrigate areas where the water couldn't reach. It was hard work; under the scorching sun, everyone's clothes were soaked and dried repeatedly, and sweat stung their eyes.

Chen Zhi didn't feel tired, but she didn't like the feeling of sweating. Her clothes were damp and sticky on her body, which made her uncomfortable.

She wasn't tired, but Liang Xiaoqiu was exhausted. She had only drunk a few grains of rice porridge in the morning, and now, after carrying two loads of water, her legs were trembling, her vision was blurring, and her ears were ringing.

Liang Xiaoqiu felt that she might not be able to finish today.

When Liang Xiaoqiu fainted, Chen Zhi was right next to her. The bucket full of water crashed to the ground with a bang, and the water gushed out. Liang Xiaoqiu was pinned down by the carrying pole, her face pale and bloodless, looking as if she was neither alive nor dead.

Chen Zhi rushed over, picked the person up, and ran towards a large tree in the distance. The area under the tree was shady, and everyone left the water they had brought there to drink when they were thirsty.

"Captain, Captain, Liang Xiaoqiu has fainted!"

Chen Zhi ran and shouted all the way to the tree. Several older villagers put down their carrying poles and gathered around her.

"Quickly give her some water," someone suggested.

"Is this heatstroke or low blood sugar?"

"Give her some water first, then some food. Did anyone bring any food?"

"Pinch her philtrum to wake her up."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, but Chen Zhi, lacking experience, simply watched as the elders busied themselves.

After all that work, Liang Xiaoqiu showed no signs of waking up.

"This is probably not a minor problem. Let's take him to the town's health center to have him checked."

"Where are the Liang family members? Have them come and take people to town."

Someone ran to call Liang Xiaoqiu's parents, but even the brigade leader Chen Renzheng came. Liang Xiaoqiu's parents did not come. The person who went to call Liang Xiaoqiu's parents returned with a dark face.

"Her mother said her daughter is very resilient and won't die so soon, so there's no need to worry about her."

"Listen to this, is this really something a mother would say?"

"No wonder this girl is so thin. She's almost twenty years old, but she weighs less than 80 pounds. She probably hasn't had a proper meal at home!"

Those present fell silent.

In Sandong Village, girls' lives are inherently cheap. Over the centuries, how many baby girls have been abandoned in the mountains?

The Liang couple had eight or nine daughters. They lost a few, and the remaining ones grew up and were married off one after another. They used the dowry money to support Liang Xiaowei, raising him to be fat and chubby. Now, I heard that they are going to build a new house, so why would they be willing to spend money to send their daughter to the health center?

The captain frowned. This was not a good situation. He stood up. "I'll go find Lao Liang."

Chen Zhi didn't know what the brigade leader said to the two couples, but she vaguely heard arguing. A little while later, the brigade leader also returned with a dark face.

"His parents said there was no point in treating her, and that she deserved to faint."

These parents are simply shameless; he has no way to deal with them.

Chen Zhi asked in confusion, "Didn't they plan to sell Liang Xiaoqiu for the bride price? Aren't they afraid that if something happens to Liang Xiaoqiu, they'll lose their bride price?"

The team leader gritted his teeth in anger, "They simply don't believe Liang Xiaoqiu would be in trouble. Liang Xiaoqiu's mother said it's just heatstroke, she'll just lie down for a bit, and when she wakes up she'll continue working. We can't lose today's work points!"

Chen Zhi remained silent; she had nothing to say.

The team leader scanned the crowd, his gaze returning to Chen Zhi. "Aren't you two good friends? Why don't you take her to the town's health center for a checkup?"

Chen Zhi: "...Just me alone?"

The team leader said, "Everyone is busy right now, so you carry her there. I have two yuan on me; take it for her medical treatment. Deduct those two yuan from her year-end bonus."

Liang Xiaoqiu weighs less than 80 pounds, but 70 pounds is not a small weight. If it were any other woman, it would be impossible for her to carry Liang Xiaoqiu to town.

Chen Zhi sighed, thinking that the brigade leader was really stingy, not even arranging an oxcart for them. The reason given was that the oxcart was needed to transport water to irrigate the crops and was unavailable.

When you ask him whether crops or people are more important, he answers that it is the former.

What else could Chen Zhi say? She could only resign herself to her fate and set off with Liang Xiaoqiu on her back.

The sun was blazing, its heat burning the skin. Chen Zhi initially controlled her pace, but once they reached a secluded spot, she immediately sped up, walking faster than the village lads could run. What was even more remarkable was her steady gait; she barely jolted Liang Xiaoqiu behind her.

It takes others two hours to walk from the village to the town, but she only takes ten minutes. The extra time was lost because she slowed down when she encountered people; otherwise, she could have gone even faster.

On a hot day, there weren't many people at the health center. When they saw Chen Zhi carrying someone on her back, the doctors and nurses all gathered around.

"What happened?"

"He fainted while working, and we don't know what happened."

Liang Xiaoqiu was pushed away, and Chen Zhi went to the counter to pay. She handed over both yuan, saying, "Our brigade leader only gave me this much."

"Two yuan might not be enough. Have your parents bring some more."

"She is not my parents' daughter."

"So what's your relationship with her?"

"She and I are friends. The other people in the village couldn't leave, so I carried her to the hospital. It takes two hours to walk from our village to here."

"It's so hot, carrying someone for two hours... Never mind, just sit down and wait. There's water at the tap, go drink if you're thirsty."

"Thanks."

Chen Zhi walked to the tap, washed her face, drank some water, and then sat back down on the long wooden bench in the hospital.

She brought Liang Xiaoqiu to the hospital now, and she doesn't know if she'll get any work points for today.

She figured it was probably over, since she hadn't even worked half a day yet.

What a pity.

The summer heat was perfect for a nap, and Chen Zhi leaned against the wall, dozing off. Before long, she fell asleep.

In her sleep, Chen Zhi smelled the aroma of food. She groggily opened her eyes and saw the handsome face in front of her. Still thinking she was dreaming, she said in a coquettish tone, "Xi Lang, I'm so hungry."

"That's why I brought you some food." Xi Lang patted her head. "Go wash your hands and come eat."

Chen Zhi blinked. "Wow, it's a real person!"

Xi Lang's lips twitched. "There are fake ones too."

Chen Zhi grinned foolishly, "You're normal now?"

Xi Lang, with his gentle features, is completely different from what he looked like a few days ago.

Xi Lang paused, then nodded. "I think so."

Xi Lang brought two meals, one for Chen Zhi and one for Liang Xiaoqiu. The meal for Chen Zhi was cold-cooked rabbit, which filled the entire lunchbox and was extremely spicy. Chen Zhi couldn't help but swallow her saliva just from smelling it.

Liang Xiaoqiu was given stir-fried pork with tofu skin, fried fish pieces, and a serving of stir-fried vegetables with lard.

The staple food is mixed grain rice.

Xi Lang brought Chen Zhi an extra pot of herbal tea.

"Have you eaten?" Chen Zhi asked.

Xi Lang hummed in agreement. Actually, no, but he had left some food for himself to eat when he got back.

"I've already notified Chen Xiaoshuai. He'll come to pick up Liang Xiaoqiu. When he arrives, hand Liang Xiaoqiu over to him."

"Okay. By the way, did you bring any money? I'm worried we won't have enough for medical expenses." It would be fine if Chen Xiaoshuai brought money, but it would be awkward if he didn't. So Chen Zhi planned to ask Xi Lang for some money first, just in case.

Xi Lang took out ten ten-yuan bills and gave them to Chen Zhi, saying, "Here, take these flowers. Ask me for more if you run out."

Xi Lang waited until Chen Zhi finished eating before leaving. As soon as he left, the nurse came over.

"Liang Xiaoqiu is in room 201. You can go see her now."

The nurse smelled the aroma of meat in the air and felt hungry again, even though she had just eaten lunch. "Your food is pretty good. You can even afford to eat meat."

"We eat it occasionally. We're country folk, catching a rabbit or a mouse is considered lucky," Chen Zhi said.

"That's true." The nurse nodded in agreement. "We don't have much prey here; they were almost all killed off ten years ago. Was that man your boyfriend?"

"He's my husband, we're married."

"Wow, your husband is so tall and handsome. What does he do for a living? His skin is so fair, he must be a factory worker."

"Those who go to work in the fields."

"I couldn't tell. But your skin is so fair. You weren't able to tell when it was bright red from the sun, but now it's not red anymore, and it's fair and clean, which is quite rare around here. How do you take care of yourself?"

"We country folk don't have the money to take care of ourselves. I don't even know what face cream looks like."

"Really?" The nurse looked at Chen Zhi with a questioning gaze and scanned her up and down. She noticed that Chen Zhi's clothes were dirty and patched, and her shoes were straw sandals. They looked exquisite, but only people who couldn't afford shoes would wear straw sandals. It was clear that Chen Zhi was really poor and probably wasn't lying to her.

"Absolutely true." She had never seen it before, but she had heard Chen Xiufang boast about her newly bought face cream, saying that it smelled nice and that it would prevent her skin from drying out in winter when applied to her face and hands.

Every winter, Chen Zhi's hands and face would develop cracks that were itchy and painful, and she dreamed of owning a box of face cream.

Liang Xiaoqiu was already awake, but she was very weak. When she saw Chen Zhi come in, tears streamed down her face.

Chen Zhi didn't know how to comfort her, so she said, "Let's eat first."

She took the food out of the basket and placed it on the bedside table.

"Oh, there's fish and meat, this food is pretty good, how come the person is so malnourished?" the doctor asked.

Chen Zhi remained silent; it wasn't that she was hungry.

"Doctor, she and I are not related," Liang Xiaoqiu said.

The doctor's gaze darted back and forth between Chen Zhi and Liang Xiaoqiu. The former was taller, fairer, more delicate, and prettier, while the latter was shorter, dark-skinned, and thin as a skeleton. She had distinctive features, but not the traditional kind of beauty.

"You two do not look alike," the doctor said. "Go back and tell your family whether they will feed you properly or not. If this continues, your body will be completely ruined."

Liang Xiaoqiu smiled bitterly, "What's the point of saying it?"

The doctor was at a loss and finally sighed, "Eat more if you don't want to die."

After the doctor left, Liang Xiaoqiu sat up, one hand receiving an IV drip, the other holding chopsticks to eat. She was truly starving; her hand trembled as she held the chopsticks.

She first picked up a few pieces of pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat, and only after eating them did she feel a little better.

"Thank you, Chen Zhi." Liang Xiaoqiu said sincerely. If Chen Zhi hadn't brought her to the hospital, she might really have died.

Neither of the two families cares whether she lives or dies.

Her mother simply didn't believe she was going to die.

Liang Xiaoqiu felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of her family. She had to escape that home as soon as possible. She wouldn't wait for Chen Xiaoshuai to build a house; she would marry him even without one. She would rather live in a thatched hut than stay in the Liang family any longer.

Chen Zhi didn't say "you're welcome," but sincerely suggested, "You should be able to make your own plans, Xiao Qiu."

"You're right, Chen Zhi, I should make my own plans." Liang Xiaoqiu seemed to have made a decision, and her gaze became firm.

Chen Xiaoshuai arrived in the afternoon, and he burst into the ward covered in sweat, startling Chen Zhi and Liang Xiaoqiu.

"Xiao Qiu, are you alright?" Chen Xiaoshuai asked, panting.

"The doctor said I'm severely malnourished." Liang Xiaoqiu gritted her teeth, her narrow eyes filled with tears.

Chen Zhi quietly left the room and returned to the long wooden bench in the corridor. She didn't listen to what Chen Xiaoshuai and Liang Xiaoqiu were saying; when Chen Xiaoshuai came out, his eyes were also red.

"Chen Zhi, thank you so much for today. I'm deeply grateful. If you ever need anything from me, Chen Xiaoshuai, just let me know." Chen Xiaoshuai said earnestly.

Chen Zhi shook her head, "Xiao Qiu is also my friend, you don't need to be so polite."

As expected, Chen Xiaoshuai didn't bring any money. Chen Zhi paid the difference of one yuan and seventy cents and received the medicine and two ounces of brown sugar.

Two ounces of brown sugar is a nutritional supplement and doesn't require a ration coupon.

Chen Zhi gave Liang Xiaoqiu the medicine and brown sugar, saying, "Remember to take it on time."

"Just give me the medicine, no need for the brown sugar, it won't go into my stomach anyway." Liang Xiaoqiu returned the sugar to Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi then gave the brown sugar to Chen Xiaoshuai, saying, "Make her some brown sugar water."

Chen Xiaoshuai accepted the call. "Okay. Thanks, I'll pay you back."

The three of them didn't wander around the town; they went straight back to the village.

Chen Zhi carried a basket containing lunchboxes and bowls. Chen Xiaoshuai carried Liang Xiaoqiu on his back; both of them blushed and looked uncomfortable.

Chen Zhi was happy for the two of them. When the villagers saw Chen Xiaoshuai carrying Liang Xiaoqiu into the village, it would confirm their relationship, and Liang's family would have no choice but to acknowledge it.

Chen Zhi thought that Liang Xiaoqiu's older sisters had married men who were either old or had health problems. Liang Xiaoqiu's marriage to Chen Xiaoshuai was definitely better than her sisters' marriage.

However, to Chen Zhi's surprise, the Liang family was so shameless that they brought people to snatch her before she even entered the village.