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

When the news spread that the free trade market was going to open, the village suddenly became lively. Late at night, everyone gathered in the threshing ground with their own bowls, talking about what they were going to sell and what they were going to buy.

After finishing her meal, Chen Zhi took a palm-leaf fan she had woven herself and followed several other educated youths out the door.

"Zhizhi, we're going to the mountains to pick chestnuts tomorrow, do you want to come?" Chen Dayi greeted Chen Zhi immediately upon seeing her.

Chen Zhi hesitated for a moment. She had just been persuaded by Zhao Jinbao to go hunting and fishing. However, picking chestnuts and hunting were not mutually exclusive, so Chen Zhi thought about it and agreed.

"Then it's settled. We'll leave first thing tomorrow morning. You should get up early tomorrow so we can come to your house to wake you up." Chen Da was very happy.

"Chen Zhi, I thought you were going to come with us." Zhao Jinbao said, somewhat disappointed.

Chen Zhi blinked. "But you didn't invite me."

Zhao Jinbao: "..."

"Zhizhi, come here to your aunt." Cai Hongmei beckoned to Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi walked over. "Did you need something, Auntie?"

"Do you raise four hens?" Cai Hongmei asked in a low voice. Nowadays, the villagers raise more poultry than allowed, and everyone knows it, but it's not something that can be said openly.

Chen Zhi nodded, "Mm."

"Then don't rush to sell the chickens and eggs. Your aunt and brother's wife are about to give birth. If you want to sell, sell to your aunt," Cai Hongmei whispered.

Chen Zhi hadn't originally planned to sell chickens or eggs, but if Cai Hongmei wanted one, she could sell it to her. The weather was perfect now, and she planned to hatch a brood of chicks; once they hatched, it wouldn't be suitable to raise so many hens.

"My hen is a bit big, are you sure you want it?" Chen Zhi asked.

"How big can it be? Auntie wants it." Cai Hongmei thought Chen Zhi was making a fuss. She was a worldly person. Even the biggest hen weighed only six or seven pounds. She was giving it to her younger brother and sister-in-law for postpartum care. She was being generous and letting her younger brother and sister-in-law eat well.

"I estimate it weighs about eleven or twelve jin," Chen Zhi said.

Cai Hongmei: "...Well, never mind then."

She doesn't have that much money.

Chen Zhi: "You can buy my eggs. My eggs are also bigger than other people's, and I will sell them to you at the market price."

Cai Hongmei: "Okay, then leave me twenty eggs."

On the other side, Yang Wenyu nudged Zhao Jinbao with his shoulder, "Stop looking, or someone will notice."

Zhao Jinbao looked away. "Is it that obvious?"

Yang Wenyu countered, "What do you think?"

Zhao Jinbao sighed, "I only intended to be friends, but I couldn't control my feelings. Wenyu, do you think I'm being too shameless? After all, one shouldn't covet a friend's wife."

"It's not shameless. It's normal for men to like someone like Chen Zhi. Not just you, many people in our village like her, and even men from the next village secretly come to see her. If it weren't for the strict regulations on relationships between men and women now, there would have been a lot of men chasing after her while Xi Lang was away." Yang Wenyu couldn't understand how a girl who was unremarkable before could grow into such an extraordinary beauty in less than a year.

Zhao Jinbao sighed again. "So, do you think I have any hope?"

Yang Wenyu: "If Xi Lang doesn't come back, that's probably true. Until then, watch your eyes. If Chen Zhi notices, she definitely won't let you fetch water from her house anymore."

"Chen Zhi, your second cousin's wedding is in half a month, on the 10th of next month. Remember to come home early to help out, and don't forget to give a gift," Chen Ye said arrogantly to Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi replied calmly, "I understand."

Chen Ye was not satisfied with her appearance and said, "My two siblings and I were raised by our uncle, so you can't be stingy with your gift."

It's the same old story again.

Chen Zhi was getting annoyed. "How much are you planning to give?"

Chen Ye immediately exploded, "How am I the same as you? I'm not married yet, so I don't need to give a gift."

Chen Zhi gave an "oh" and didn't intend to say anything more.

Chen Ye: "Anyway, Mom said that the gift you give can't be less than ten yuan."

"Ten dollars is too much!" Cai Hongmei exclaimed in shock. "Everyone usually gives a few cents, or a dollar or two if they're feeling generous. I've never seen anyone give ten dollars."

The aunties next to her nodded in agreement, "That's right, ten yuan is too much."

"Auntie, Chen Zhi's situation is different. She was raised by my uncle's family, so she should be given more." Chen Ye said confidently.

"Isn't the hundred yuan dowry that Xi Lang gave enough?" Cai Hongmei frowned. They, as outsiders, had all seen the hardships Chen Zhi had endured in the Chen family over the years.

Moreover, Chen Zhi started working when she was four or five years old, never wore a new piece of clothing, and never had a good day.

Last time it was a hundred yuan dowry and so many things, this time it's ten yuan, what about next time?

Chen Ye: "Of course not enough."

"Chen Ye, how much dowry did you give your family when you got married? And how much will you give as a wedding gift when Chen Xiaofu gets married?" Cai Hongmei asked with a smile.

Chen Ye choked, her face turning red with anger, and said defiantly, "I'm not like Chen Zhi. She killed my dad, so she should pay more."

After saying that, Chen Ye turned and left.

Cai Hongmei patted Chen Zhi on the shoulder, "Don't listen to her. You were so young back then, your father's death had nothing to do with you."

Chen Zhi felt a warmth in her heart; it was the first time someone had said that her father's death had nothing to do with her.

After returning home from the threshing ground, Chen Zhi first chopped up the sweet potato vines, and then chopped up some sweet potatoes. The sweet potato vines, sweet potatoes, and rice bran were cooked together to make pig feed for tomorrow.

Chen Zhi cooked the pig feed before going back to sleep.

The next morning, she got up and made about ten egg pancakes. She ate three herself and put the rest in a lunchbox to take to the mountains to eat.

Then she started feeding the pigs. The three pigs now needed three buckets of pig feed, an amount that most people couldn't afford to raise. Fortunately, Chen Zhi's family had plenty of vegetables and rice bran, so she still had to go up the mountain to cut pig feed from time to time.

Knowing she wouldn't be back for lunch, Chen Zhi dumped another basket of sweet potatoes into the pigsty, saying, "If you're hungry, eat some sweet potatoes."

"Chen Zhi, who are you talking to?" Chen Da asked her.

"Nobody's here." Chen Zhi closed the pigsty door. "Shall we leave now? I need to grab some things."

"Bring an extra sack, otherwise I'm worried your basket won't be big enough," Chen Da reminded her.

Chen Zhi thought for a moment, then stuffed two burlap sacks into the bamboo basket. If there were no chestnuts, she would cut pig feed; she couldn't let the trip into the mountains be in vain.

Chen Zhi hadn't seen Chen Xiaoshuai for a while. She heard that he had been locked up at home for a month and was only released during the autumn harvest.

At this moment, Chen Xiaoshuai's cheeks were sunken, and he was much thinner than before. His eyes had lost their former luster, making him look like a weary old man, a sight that tugged at the heartstrings.

Upon seeing Chen Zhi, he said, "I still owe you money."

Chen Zhi asked, puzzled, "When did you start owing me money?"

"You paid Xiaoqiu's medical bills at the town's health center, and I told you I would pay you back for Xiaoqiu."

"Debts are settled upon death, so you don't need to repay this money."

"No, I want to pay it back," Chen Xiaoshuai insisted. "It's a must."

"If he wants to pay it back, let him. What, you think you have too much money?" Chen Peng nudged Chen Xiaoshuai. "Let's go, or someone will pick all the chestnuts."

Chen Peng and Chen Xiaoshuai walked in front, Chen Zhi and Chen Xiaohong were in the middle, and Chen Da and Chen Ergou were behind them.

Chen Xiaohong is Chen Xiaoshuai's cousin. She is fifteen years old this year. Her family is worried about Chen Xiaoshuai going out, so they specifically asked Chen Xiaohong to go with him.

Chen Xiaohong has short, ear-length hair, wheat-colored skin, and a boyish personality. She often goes to the mountains and has good physical strength.

She wasn't familiar with Chen Zhi and hadn't spoken to her along the way. It wasn't until Chen Zhi killed a pheasant with a slingshot that the little girl couldn't help but exclaim, "Amazing!"

The pheasant wasn't big, weighing about three pounds. But even this small pheasant made others envious.

"A great start means we're in luck today!" Chen said with a big smile.

The others were also in a good mood and immediately quickened their pace.

There are many wild chestnut trees in the mountains. Wild chestnuts are small, and the chestnut trees are very tall, making them difficult to harvest.

"You two girls can pick the chestnuts under the tree, and the four of us will climb up and pick the chestnuts. We'll split the chestnuts equally later," Chen Peng said.

No one else had any objections.

Chestnuts have a spiky shell on the outside, and you have to break off the outer shell to get the chestnut inside.

Chen Zhi and Chen Xiaohong were cracking chestnuts under the tree.

Chen Xiaohong was usually efficient at her work and stood out among her peers. She secretly decided to compete with Chen Zhi and worked two minutes faster than usual.

Chen Zhi had just made a name for herself hunting, so she couldn't lose to her this time.

But when Chen Xiaohong looked up after a while, she was shocked to find that Chen Zhi had more than twice as many chestnuts as she did.

How could this happen?

Chen Xiaohong observed Chen Zhi and found that Chen Zhi was just as fast as her. Sometimes it took Chen Xiaohong several tries to get a chestnut, but Chen Zhi was different; she could hit it on the first try, saving a lot of time.

Chen Zhi is amazing!

No wonder his brothers were willing to bring Chen Zhi along.

Just as Chen Zhi and Chen Xiaohong were cracking chestnuts, Chen Xiufang arrived with a group of her girlfriends.

"Someone picked it up," Chen Xiufang said with a sullen face.

Chen Xiaohong glanced at Chen Xiufang, then lowered her head to continue with her own tasks.

"You guys are too domineering, you picked up all the chestnuts on the ground!" Chen Xiufang complained.

Upon hearing this, Chen Xiaohong immediately became unhappy. "Whoever finds something in the mountains keeps it. What does it have to do with being domineering? If you had come earlier, you could have picked them all up."

Chen Xiufang is not a reasonable person. "You took everything without considering the people behind you. That's domineering and selfish. The property on the mountain belongs to the collective, not just a few of you."

Chen Xiaohong laughed in exasperation, and was about to say something when she saw Chen Peng and the other three come down from the tree.

Chen Peng smiled enigmatically, "We haven't picked them all yet. There are still some on the tree. If you want some, go pick them yourself."

Chen Ergou: "Yes, go pick them yourselves. Zhizhi, Xiaohong, have you finished peeling them? Once you're done, we'll move to another spot to make room for them."

Chen Xiaohong stood up. "We're done peeling. We can leave now."

Chen Zhi also got up and carried her own basket on her back.

They left, leaving Chen Xiufang with a flushed face.