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

Chen Zhi didn't think a fish was worth that much, but if Xi Lang wanted to give it to her, she wouldn't refuse.

These days, who complains about having too much food!

"I didn't bring the candy with me. When is a good time for me to get it for you?" Xi Lang said.

Chen Zhi shook her head, "I'll store it with you first, just like the multigrain cakes. I'll take a little bit every day."

Four people lived in one room in the house, so she had nowhere to hide her things.

Xi Lang nodded, "Okay."

"Are you interested in these clams?" Chen Zhi had originally planned to cook them herself, but she was soaked to the bone and freezing. If Xi Lang was willing, he could cook them, and she would give him half. If Xi Lang wasn't willing, she would take the clams home.

"We can cook some river fish porridge," Xi Lang said.

Chen Zhi's eyes lit up. "Okay, I'll come find you in a bit."

Xi Lang did not refuse.

After handing the carp and clams to Xi Lang, Chen Zhi's bag felt much lighter. She jogged home; there was no warm water in the pot on the stove, but she didn't mind. She grabbed a bucket of cold water, rinsed herself quickly, and hurriedly put on her clothes. While her grandmother wasn't looking, she sneaked out of the house.

There weren't many people in the village at noon, and Chen Zhi, being fast, arrived at Xi Lang's small house in just a few minutes.

Xi Lang was cooking porridge. He glanced at Chen Zhi, then went back to his own business.

Chen Zhi didn't say anything, but sat down on a clean, flat rock nearby. The rock was warm from the sun and not cold. She watched Xi Lang work without offering to help.

Xi Lang cooked the porridge while simultaneously cleaning and gutting the fish, his movements clean and efficient. Seeing Xi Lang slice a few pieces of fish and add them to the porridge, Chen Zhi raised an eyebrow; it seemed the river fish porridge would be quite substantial.

The fish slices cooked quickly, so Xi Lang added more fish slices and some salt, then went back inside to get two bowls and two pairs of chopsticks. He first served a bowl to Chen Zhi, and then served himself.

The porridge was made with rice, white and thick, with the rice cooked until soft and tender. It also contained river clams and fish slices, making it very tempting.

Chen Zhi had never eaten such thick porridge before, especially a full bowl of it.

Xi Lang gave her the treatment she couldn't get at home.

Chen Zhi thought Xi Lang was honest and righteous, and planned that if she got anything good in the future, she would choose Xi Lang as her first buyer.

Chen Zhi carried the porridge back to the stone slab, and Xi Lang sat next to the small stove, three meters away from her.

The clay pot wasn't big, just enough for each of them to have two large bowls of porridge.

After finishing the porridge, Xi Lang went back to his room and brought out four multigrain pancakes on a plate. He kept two for himself and gave the other two to Chen Zhi. Chen Zhi was already seven-tenths full, but after eating the two pancakes, she was completely full.

She let out a satisfied burp, but felt a little worried because her appetite had increased.

"Today's candy—"

"Let's postpone eating it for now."

Chen Zhi interrupted Xi Lang, "You can't eat anymore. You ate too well today. How are you going to get through the rest of the year?"

After saying goodbye to Xi Lang, Chen Zhi felt warm all over on her way back, and fine beads of sweat appeared on her back.

She assumed it was just sweat from drinking porridge and didn't suspect anything else.

Chen Zhi was in a good mood and planned to go to the river again tomorrow to catch fish to sell to Xi Lang and continue to stock up on her food.

However, her good mood came to an abrupt end the moment she stepped into her home.

The moment Chen Zhi stepped through the door, the familiar broom flew towards her again. This time, she was more experienced and dodged it to the side.

"You dare to hide!"

Grandpa looked like he was about to kill someone. He grabbed a carrying pole from the wall and strode towards Chen Zhi.

What's wrong now?

Completely bewildered, Chen Zhi asked, "What did I do wrong this time?"

"You dare ask that?!"

Grandpa brought his carrying pole down on Chen Zhi's face, his fierce expression suggesting he intended to kill her. That blow would have either killed Chen Zhi or seriously injured her!

Chen Zhi hurriedly stepped back, tripped on the threshold, and narrowly avoided a fall.

However, before she could catch her breath, her grandfather picked up the carrying pole again. Without even checking her burning palms, she turned around and scrambled away.

At this moment, Chen Zhi was shocked, frightened, and filled with endless sorrow. She could feel that her own grandfather really wanted to kill her.

Why?

As Chen Zhi fled, tears streamed down her face.

"Zhizhi——"

Chen's mother and her group also returned.

Upon hearing this cry, Chen Zhi almost instinctively ran towards her mother, crying, "Mom, save me!"

She rushed to her mother, and her tears fell even harder.

"Grab her!"

Grandpa rushed up.

"Mom, save me!"

Chen Zhi called out even more urgently.

But her mother didn't move. She just held onto Chen Zhi like that. Chen Zhi stared blankly at her own mother, her heart growing colder and colder.

The next second, a cracking sound came from Chen Zhi's calf, where the thick carrying pole was attached.

Chen Zhi trembled with pain, but then she heard her mother say in her ear, "Zhizhi, you're being naughty."

"Zhizhi, if you do something wrong, you have to accept the punishment."

Chen Zhi was in so much pain that she couldn't stand up. At that moment, her mother slapped her, and with a loud crack, Chen Zhi fell to the ground.

The wind was cold, her legs ached, and her face hurt, but Chen Zhi felt her heart ached even more, so much so that she wanted to die.

Life is so meaningless.

Chen Zhi lay back on the ground, thinking that they should just beat her to death, since she didn't want to live anymore anyway.

"Hey, why are you lying on the ground in this freezing weather?"

People passing by greeted him.

When Chen Zhi shouted for help, many people nearby heard it, and a large number of people gathered around.

Chen Zhi tried to force a bitter smile, but she found that she didn't even have the strength to smile. Her legs hurt too much. She bit her lip desperately until it bled, but the pain persisted.

"What's wrong with this child?"

An elderly woman looked at Chen Zhi with a pained expression, seeing her crying silently with blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. She couldn't understand what had happened to make a child so upset.

"She stole money from the house!"

Grandpa Chen was so angry that his chest heaved violently, his hands still tightly gripping the carrying pole. At that moment, he wished he could beat his granddaughter to death.

"Even if she stole the money, you can't beat her up like this." Captain Chen Zheng arrived, frowning. "Is Ni'er's leg broken?"

The left leg was twisted at an odd angle, instantly attracting the attention of everyone present.

Everyone looked at each other in dismay. What a deep-seated hatred and resentment it must have been for the grandfather to break his own granddaughter's leg!

All eyes fell on Chen's mother. Her daughter was in such a state, yet the mother remained unmoved and indifferent. Was this really her mother?

"This child stole the fifty yuan that the family had saved to build a house. That was money the family had saved up over two years by living frugally. We planned to build a house and make some furniture this winter so that A-Gui could get married next year. But this child stole the money. How could her grandfather not be angry!" Grandma Chen said with a pained expression, tears streaming down her face.

Hearing that the money he had spent on building the house and making furniture had been stolen, Chen Gui, standing nearby, glared at Chen Zhi with fury in his eyes.

Those who witnessed the incident became furious upon learning the "truth."

"He stole fifty yuan! That's no small amount; he definitely deserves a beating!"

"If it were me, I wouldn't be satisfied even if I broke her legs, let alone killed her!"

"Chen Zhi, your father passed away a long time ago. If it weren't for your uncle's family, it's uncertain whether you and your mother would have survived all these years. You can't repay kindness with enmity. How could you steal the money from building the house? Quickly return it to your grandfather."

"Yes, hurry up and return the money."

"......"

Everyone was urging Chen Zhi to pay back the money.

Chen Zhi turned to look at her silent mother, sister and brother, then at her tense uncle and aunt, and her angry cousins.

Even prisoners have the opportunity to defend themselves, but she hadn't even said anything before her leg was broken.

"I didn't steal the money."

Chen Zhi found it utterly absurd, "I don't even know where the money in my house is kept."

"The money was in my and your grandfather's room. Your grandfather had chosen the wood and planned to take the money to buy it this afternoon. Everyone else in the family went to work, but you came home and the money disappeared. Who else could it be but you?" Grandma Chen glared at Chen Zhi angrily. "Even at a time like this, you're still lying. It shows how black-hearted you are, unable to bear seeing your cousin doing well."

If it's missing, then she must have stolen it?

On what grounds do you say that!

Chen Zhi's gaze darkened. "I have never been to your room."

She had gone before, but she found that her grandmother didn't like her going, so she stopped going.

At this moment, Chen Gui spoke up, "Don't listen to her excuses, just search her and you'll know."

The others nodded in agreement, approving of the approach.

The eldest sister-in-law said, "One person will search her body, and the other will go back and search her room."

"Then you go search her room, and your mother search her body," the uncle said.

The eldest sister-in-law nodded and turned to go home.

Aunt walked towards Chen Zhi. At this moment, Chen Zhi couldn't help but feel relieved. Luckily, she hadn't brought candy back today, otherwise she would have been caught red-handed.

While Chen Zhi was being searched, her mother, Chen Ye, and Chen Mu stood there, their faces grim and silent. Chen Ye and Chen Mu looked at Chen Zhi with eyes full of reproach and embarrassment.

They probably felt that having a sister like her was a shameful thing.

Chen Zhi looked at her mother again. Her mother's beautiful face, though marked by the passage of time, remained expressionless.

Her heart began to ache again, and her legs ached so badly that her teeth chattered.

The sun gradually set, and the temperature dropped rapidly. The floor was cold, but not as cold as Chen Zhi's heart.

She thought that if she didn't die today, she would get far away from these people.

They never treated her like family, and she didn't want them anymore.

From then on, Chen Zhi was an orphan.

"She doesn't have any on her," her aunt said.

"If it's not on her, then it's in her room." Chen Gui said with a dark face, and headed home.

"Why are so many people gathered here?"

A loud voice came from behind the crowd.

Everyone turned around and saw that the person who came was Chen Dexian, who was holding Chen Fu in his hand. He was holding Chen Fu's arm, and Chen Fu looked guilty.

"Xiao Fu, where did you go? Why are you with Uncle Dexian?" Chen Da asked.

Chen Fu lowered his head, not daring to speak.

"This kid got the money from who-knows-where and bought a bunch of candy at the commune."

Chen Dexian released Chen Fu and put down the basket on his back, which was filled with colorful fruit candies.

"Only these hard candies don't require coupons. He can't buy anything else besides these. When I saw him buying candy, I asked him where the money came from. He looked away and tried to run away, but I caught him quickly and found forty-seven yuan on him. Go back and check if any money is missing from your home."

After he said that, no one in the room spoke.

Chen Dexian sensed something was off and felt uneasy. "Could it be that I've been meddling, and this money was given to him by you?"

Chen Dexian and his uncle were cousins. Seeing Chen Fu buying so much candy, he was worried and asked a question. If it were anyone else, he wouldn't have bothered.

"Uncle Kai, Aunt Ding, why aren't you saying anything?"

Chen Zhi's grandfather was named Chen Kai, and her grandmother was named Ding Fangfang.

At this moment, Chen Kai and Ding Fangfang's faces were as red as persimmons, and the people who were over fifty years old looked somewhat helpless.

"hehe--"

Chen Zhi sneered, "Uncle Dexian, look at me, look at my legs. They suspected I stole the money, and without listening to my explanation, they broke my legs. If you hadn't brought Chen Fu back, I might have not only broken my legs, but they might have beaten me to death."