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

Chen Zhi left the supply and marketing cooperative, intending to go straight home.

The town was quite large, with houses lining both sides of the street, some mud houses and some brick houses, much better than the village, but nothing particularly special. Chen Zhi had heard that there were two-story buildings in the county, and she wanted to see those kinds of buildings.

"Sister-in-law?"

Shi Xin never expected to run into Chen Zhi in town.

"Brother Shi, what a coincidence!" Chen Zhi was also pleasantly surprised.

"What a coincidence. What business do you have in town?"

"I want to raise pigs, so I'm here to see if there are any piglets for sale in town."

"You want to raise pigs? Leave that to me. I'll send them over in a couple of days. By the way, how many do you plan to raise?"

"Both ends."

Chen Zhi was surprised that Shi Xin could even get his hands on piglets. No wonder he could run a black market; he had so many connections.

"Since we're already in town, why not take advantage of this opportunity and come visit your brother's house?" Shi Xin invited.

Chen Zhi instinctively wanted to refuse, but Shi Xin said again, "Your uncle and aunt and your sister-in-law are all at home. If they know that I met you on the street and didn't invite you in, they will definitely blame me."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhi couldn't bring herself to refuse.

Shi Xin's house is also a brick and tile house, with red bricks and blue tiles. It is very large and has more than a dozen rooms.

Chen Zhi thought to herself that even the landlords in their village didn't have houses this big, Shi Xin was really capable.

"This house is an old one. When you go to the county sometime, I'll invite you and Xi Lang to visit my new house," Shi Xin said cheerfully.

Chen Zhi stared in shock. Shi Xin not only had a house in the town, but also a house in the county?

"Mom and Dad, Meizhu, come out and see who I brought!" Shi Xin called out to his family.

Chen Zhi felt a little embarrassed. She took off her straw hat, straightened her hair, and adjusted her clothes. She had specially worn clothes without patches to come to town today, and she wondered if it would be impolite.

Oh dear, she forgot to buy the gift for the home delivery.

Chen Zhi's face immediately turned red. Her basket was empty, she had nothing in it. Was it too late to go out and buy something now?

"Oh my, whose daughter is this? She's so beautiful, with fair skin and delicate features, like a fairy made of water." The first to come out was a woman around sixty years old. The old woman's hair had turned quite white, and it was neatly combed back, revealing a kind face.

This was the first time Chen Zhi had ever seen such a clean and energetic old man.

"Who is it? How good-looking is it?"

Another woman came out; she looked quite young, probably not even forty. Chen Zhi guessed that this woman was Shi Xin's wife, the one named Meizhu.

Sister Shi was of average appearance, dressed neatly, with thick black eyebrows and bright black eyes, which made her look very heroic.

"Oh my, this isn't human, it's a fairy!" Sister Shi pinched Chen Zhi's cheek. "So smooth and tender, even better than tofu. Old Shi, where did you kidnap her from?"

"I bumped into her on the street. Haven't you all been curious about what Alang's wife looks like? Well, this is her," Shi Xin said with a smile.

Chen Zhi was a little nervous, blushing as she greeted them politely, "Hello, Auntie, hello, sister-in-law, my name is Chen Zhi."

"Oh, your name is Chen Zhi. From now on, I'll call you Zhizhi." Sister Shi came up and took Chen Zhi's hand. The smooth, boneless touch made her love it.

"The sun is so bright, quickly invite her into the living room." Uncle Shi stood at the entrance of the living room, his bright eyes scrutinizing Chen Zhi, and he nodded secretly.

Her eyes are clear and bright; she's a nice little girl.

But then again, a wife like Xi Lang's must be good.

The Shi family's living room was very large. As soon as Chen Zhi entered, her eyes were drawn to the sofa. She thought to herself, "Brother Shi's chairs are so big!"

When she sat on it, she was even more shocked; it was soft, like cotton, and would sink in.

"This is a leather sofa, secondhand, not new," Shi Xin explained, adding that he bought the sofa from the Revolutionary Committee.

Chen Zhi nodded in realization; it was a sofa, not a chair.

The four members of the Shi family were all talkative people. Chen Zhi was a little nervous at first, but she gradually relaxed.

"Sister-in-law, why don't you stay here for lunch and try my cooking?" Sister-in-law Shi stood up.

"I'll go help you, sister-in-law," Chen Zhi said, standing up as well.

"Sister-in-law, please sit down. You are a guest; how can I let you do the work? Lunch can be left to your sister-in-law and me."

"Yes, just sit still and chat with us two old folks. What's going on in the countryside right now? Are the crops ripe? Are they ready to be harvested?"

"That's about it. We can harvest corn and soybeans by the end of August, followed by peanuts. Rice will be a little later; it won't turn yellow until September."

......

An hour later, the aroma of food wafted from the kitchen.

Shi Xin came out of the kitchen, glancing at his watch as he walked outside. "It's so late, and those three rascals still aren't back. Are they playing around in the street again?"

"It's been hot lately, and a game called 'water fight' has become popular in town. Yesterday, they made water guns out of bamboo, and took them out after breakfast this morning. They're probably playing around near the school now," Aunt Shi said with a doting tone.

"I'll go and bring them back," Shi Xin said irritably.

"Your brother Shi has three children, a daughter and two sons. The eldest is fourteen, and the youngest is seven. They're at that mischievous age." Aunt Shi looked at Chen Zhi's tender little face. "You look quite young. How old are you?"

"I'll be eighteen in six months." Then I can go get my marriage certificate with Xi Lang.

"She's not even eighteen yet." Aunt Shi was surprised. "Then how old is your husband, Xi Lang?"

He's twenty.

"Only twenty?"

Uncle Shi and Aunt Shi were both surprised. They had heard a lot about Xi Lang's prowess from their son and thought he must be over thirty years old, but he was only twenty.

"That's truly a case of a young talent emerging!"

When the food was served, Shi Xin had not yet returned.

"The town is so small, you can walk back and forth in ten minutes. It shouldn't have taken so long." Sister Shi took off her apron. "I'll go look for them."

Before she even reached the door, Shi Xin rushed in, panicking, "The children went into the mountains and have been gone for over two hours. Come with me to look for them!"

The Shi family panicked when they heard this.

Chen Zhi, however, was confused. "It's just going to the mountains, can't we go?"

"Sister-in-law, could you also help your brother look for it?"

Shi Xin drove back. Chen Zhi and Shi's wife stood in the truck bed, while Shi Xin, Uncle Shi, and Aunt Shi sat in the front of the truck.

Before the car had even left the town, several more people got on; they were also looking for their child.

"I saw them playing around in the street this morning, how did they end up in the mountains?"

"I heard from Lao Liu that a group of kids thought it was too hot and wanted to go swimming."

"Then why didn't you go to the riverbank, but instead went into the mountains?"

"There's a reservoir in the mountains. These kids are really brave; I guess they want to go check it out."

"Reservoir? Which reservoir?" An older man's face turned pale.

"We only have one reservoir here, right? Besides that, which one is it?"

"Six years ago, a family in our town was driven to ruin by the Red Guards, and they eventually jumped into a reservoir and died. Did you know about this?"

The people on the bus shook their heads.

"Eight people, all dead, not one left."

"How come we haven't heard about this?"

"It was suppressed; only a very few people know about it."

-

The people on the bus looked even more grim.

The car drove for about twenty minutes before stopping at the foot of a mountain.

Shi Xin opened the car door and ran into the mountains without saying goodbye.

The others also jumped out of the car and chased after Shi Xin.

Chen Zhi helped Sister Shi out of the car. Sister Shi pushed her, "Don't worry about me. You're fast. Go and help me find people. I have three children: Yingying, Jiahao, and Jiafeng."

Chen Zhi nodded, "I've got it. I'll be going now, sister-in-law, please take care of yourself."

Shouts echoed through the mountains.

Chen Zhi also called out the names of Shi Xin's three children over and over again.

She walked quickly and soon caught up with the panting Shi Xin.

"Follow this river, cross that mountain and you'll reach the reservoir. Sister-in-law, you walk fast, go check if the children are there for me." Shi Xin's eyes were red as he gripped Chen Zhi's hand as if grasping at a last straw.

"Okay, I'll go right away."

Chen Zhi patted Shi Xin's hand, then turned and ran.

Everyone was panting heavily, and Chen Zhi's frantic sprint drew attention, but they couldn't care less and gritted their teeth as they chased after her.

On the way, they found a water gun made of bamboo, which made them even more certain that the children had gone to the reservoir.

"Nothing's happened at the reservoir in the last few years, they'll be fine," a man murmured.

"It's broad daylight, and the kids can swim, they're probably having a great time," another said.

"That's right, that's right."

Everyone was afraid, but they spoke optimistically, their steps quickened, and sweat poured down their bodies faster and faster.

When they finally crossed the mountain and arrived at the reservoir, they saw about a dozen children lying on the bank.

Several adults' legs buckled, and they couldn't stand up, tumbling down the slope.

Chen Zhi helped Shi Xin, who was stumbling and crawling, to his feet and comforted him, "The children are alright, they're still breathing, they've just passed out."

Upon hearing this, Shi Xinyan immediately breathed a sigh of relief, "It's good that you're alright, it's good that you're alright."

Chen Zhi: "Brother Shi, are your nephews and nieces all here?"

"They're all here, they're all here." Shi Xin pointed to this, then to that, "This one, this one, and this one, these three are it."

Shi Xin went to check on the three children and saw that they were breathing normally and sleeping just like usual. Only then did he feel relieved.

But the fear and palpitations lingered. His hands trembled as he forced an awkward smile. "Sister-in-law, please don't laugh at your older brother."

Chen Zhi shook her head. "Of course not."

She was just envious, envious that the children had such loving families.

"By the way, were the children lying here when your sister-in-law arrived?"

"No. When I arrived, they were walking hand in hand into the water, which was already up to their chests. Brother Shi, you can check their clothes; they're still dripping wet."

Shi Xin touched the children's clothes and found they were still dripping wet.

Suddenly someone shouted, "My child isn't here!"

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at the person.

The next second, a clear laugh came from the water.

"Hahaha, it's fun, it's so fun, everyone, come down~"