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

Chen Zhi and his group moved to another hilltop and found several more chestnut trees.

Chen Zhi and Chen Xiaohong were still under the tree, while Chen Peng and the other three climbed the tree.

After picking these trees, they had filled three sacks with chestnuts.

"I just saw some wild grapes over there. Do you want to pick some?" Chen Zhi asked.

"Where are the wild grapes?" Everyone else was very interested.

"Over there." Chen Zhi led the way, and before the others could react, she took out her slingshot and shot a stone. There was a whooshing sound as the stone flew through the air, and the next second there was a soft thud as a rabbit fell to the ground in the distance.

"Saw pheasants again?" Chen Da asked.

Chen Ergou: "Did you hit it?"

"You hit it." Chen Zhi walked over and picked up the rabbit. It was a gray and white mixed-color rabbit with shiny and smooth fur, weighing about eight or nine pounds.

"Wow--"

Chen Peng and the others were extremely envious.

"Sister Zhizhi, let me touch you," Chen Xiaohong said.

Chen Zhi gave the rabbit to Chen Xiaohong and continued forward, but after only a few steps, she stopped again and aimed her slingshot at the front.

Chen Peng and the others remained silent, stopping and holding their breath.

Chen Zhi had her sights set on prey two hundred meters away, but she wasn't sure she was sure of success. If they continued forward, they'd definitely scare away the two timid pheasants.

The two pheasants were pecking at grapes, looking quite content, completely unaware of the impending danger.

Chen Zhi used five-tenths of her strength to hit one, then aimed at another, with only a second in between.

Both of them have fallen!

Chen Zhi breathed a sigh of relief.

Chen Peng and his group saw nothing. "Where is the prey?"

"Front."

They walked a little further before they finally saw the pheasants by the grapevines.

"That must have been over a hundred or two hundred meters, and you still managed to hit it! Amazing!"

Chen Zhi said modestly, "I've practiced a lot, and I've become more skilled."

Chen Ergou shook his head, "I couldn't master this technique even if I practiced for a hundred years."

Chen Da also said, "I can't learn it either."

Even Chen Xiaoshuai shook his head; he couldn't do it either.

Chen Peng, on the other hand, was eager to try it out and planned to go back and give it a shot.

Chen Xiaohong: "Sister Zhizhi, you have a natural talent."

Chen Ergou: "Wow, Xiao Hong can use idioms now, not bad, not bad."

Chen Xiaohong kicked him in anger, yelling, "Get out!"

Chen Xiaohong disliked studying and dropped out after finishing second grade, for which she was often ridiculed by her older brothers.

Chen Da: "These wild grapes are quite big. Let's pick some and make some wine when we get back."

Chen Zhi had never drunk wine, nor did she know how to brew it. Wild grapes, even when ripe, had a rather strong sour taste, which she didn't particularly like.

Chen Peng: "We can make wine from it and sell it at the market. Chen Zhi, won't you pick some?"

Chen Zhi: "I don't know how to brew wine."

Chen Da: "This isn't a big problem. My mom knows how; she can teach you."

Chen Zhi then said, "Okay."

Finally, everyone picked a full basket of grapes, while the chestnuts could only be put in sacks and carried on their shoulders or by hand.

"I'm hungry, let's get something to eat first," Chen Da suggested.

No one else objected, and they took out the things they had brought.

Some of them brought cooked sweet potatoes, taro, or potatoes, while others brought mixed grain and vegetable rice balls.

Chen Xiaohong: "Sister Zhizhi, what did you bring?"

"I brought egg pancakes." Chen Zhi opened the aluminum lunchbox, which contained eleven egg pancakes. She picked one up with her chopsticks and handed it to Chen Xiaohong, "Try one."

Chen Xiaohong hesitated, "This is too expensive."

Eggs and flour? Her family can't afford that.

"It's okay, just one, it's not much." Chen Zhi pushed it forward again.

Chen Xiaohong then accepted it and said, "Thank you."

Chen Zhi also gave each of the others an egg pancake, and received sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes and a rice ball from them.

The group chatted and ate, enjoying themselves immensely.

Next, they found several chestnut trees. Along the way, Chen Zhi shot down four wild birds. She didn't know what kind of birds they were, but they were all very big.

In addition, Chen Zhi also found two mouse holes under the chestnut tree. The soil at the entrance of the mouse holes was fresh, indicating that there were mice inside.

Without saying a word, Chen Peng and his group gathered some weeds, lit them, and smoked out the rats. In the end, they actually managed to smoke out five rats, three of them larger and two of them slightly smaller.

General Chen tied the five rats together, grinned foolishly, and said, "Sister Zhizhi, on the way back, use your sharp eyes to see if there are any more rat holes."

Chen Zhi agreed, "Okay."

Each of the five people received a sack of chestnuts, as well as a basket of wild grapes. Chen Zhi had half a sack of prey more than the others.

Seeing that it was getting late, they started to turn back.

On the way back, Chen Zhi discovered several more rat holes, and they caught seven more rats. The smaller rats weighed half a pound, while the larger ones weighed a pound, making them quite plump.

When they left the mountain, Chen Peng and his companions were still somewhat reluctant to leave.

"Let's divide the rats and go home," Chen Ergou said, licking his lips. His stomach was rumbling, and he couldn't wait to eat meat.

"Don't share with me, I have other prey," Chen Zhi said.

Chen Peng disagreed, "You hunted those animals yourself, and everyone smoked away these rats together. Besides, you discovered the rat holes, so you deserve a lot of credit."

The others nodded in agreement, "That makes sense."

Chen Zhi shook her head. "We'll divide it next time, not this time. I have plenty of prey, enough to eat for a while."

Seeing that she insisted, the others did not force her to continue.

But he grew increasingly satisfied with Chen Zhi as a teammate; not only was she capable, but she was also very generous.

The remaining four people each received three mice and happily went home.

As darkness fell, Chen Zhi could hear the squeals of his pigs from a great distance.

Zhao Jinbao was drawing water from the well when he saw her return, and he hurriedly came up to help her take her things.

"It's quite a large portion; it seems you had a good haul today," he said with a smile.

Chen Zhi hummed in agreement, "That's good."

It's nice to go hiking in the mountains with friends.

"I'm going to feed the pigs now." If I don't feed them soon, they'll break down the door and run away.

Zhao Jinbao: "Are you going into the mountains again tomorrow?"

Chen Zhi: "It's in."

"Then come with us," Zhao Jinbao invited.

Chen Zhi shook her head, "Chen Peng and Chen Da said we'll be together again tomorrow."

Zhao Jinbao: "...Okay."

"Hey, wait a minute, did you water the vegetables for me?" Chen Zhi noticed that the ground in the vegetable garden was wet.

"I saw you weren't back yet, and I was worried you'd be too late, so I helped you get wet," Zhao Jinbao said. He just wanted her to relax, even though she didn't look tired at all.

Without much thought, Chen Zhi took a pheasant out of the bag. "I hunted a lot of game today. Take this one back for you to try."

"No need to be so polite. Pouring water on the vegetables is just a quick thing to do, it doesn't take much effort at all—"

"It was just something I did on the spur of the moment. I still have several more in my bag, you can see for yourself. I'm going to feed the pigs now. Remember to take the pheasants with you when you leave, I really don't need any more."

Zhao Jinbao: "..."

Chen Zhi: "If you're not going to take it, don't bother helping me next time."

Zhao Jinbao: "...Okay."

The bag contained four pheasants, four large birds, and a fat rabbit.

Zhao Jinbao swallowed shamefully; he wanted to eat meat.

How amazing is Chen Zhi? She managed to get so much delicious food in just one trip into the mountains.

Zhao Jinbao carried water and took a pheasant back with him.

"Where did this come from?" Yang Wenyu immediately noticed the pheasant in his hand.

Zhao Jinbao: "I was helping Chen Zhi water the vegetables, and she gave them to me."

Yang Wenyu took the pheasant from his hand. "It's quite heavy, weighing three or four pounds. It's just right for stewing the chestnuts we found today."

Zhou Zhengping stroked his chin. "She gives you a pheasant for every time she waters the vegetables. I'll go help her water the vegetables tomorrow too."

"Dream on!" Zhao Jinbao spat at him. "Don't be so shameless."

"But she just gave you a pheasant today," Zhou Zhengping said, puzzled.

Zhao Jinbao: "That's because she happened to be pregnant. Besides, this kind of thing should only happen once. How can you keep taking advantage of a girl like that?"

Zhou Zhengping: "I'm sorry, but I'm willing to lose all my shame for a bite to eat."

Zhao Jinbao: "......."

Chen Zhi's dinner was also chestnut stewed chicken. She cooked a pheasant, and after cleaning the rest of the game, she salted it, planning to smoke it after two days and save it for later.

After dinner, Chen Zhi still had to cook pig feed, wash the wild grapes she had brought back, and put them in a winnowing basket to dry.

When she finished her work, she would take a shower and wash the clothes she had changed out of.

By the time she lay down on the bed, it was already late, and Chen Zhi fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.

I didn't think of Xi Lang tonight.

The next day, Chen Zhi and his group went deeper into the mountains. Chen Zhi had an additional task: to find the rat hole.

That day, they each received a bag of chestnuts, but each person was also given twelve large, fat rats. Chen Zhi also received five extra pheasants and three rabbits.

By the time they descended the mountain, it was completely dark.

When Chen Zhi returned home, she found that someone had watered her vegetable garden again.

Chen Zhi searched around but couldn't find Zhao Jinbao.

She fed the pigs first, and then carried the two large, fat rats toward the educated youth settlement.

The people at the educated youth settlement were eating. On the table were a basket of steamed chestnuts, a plate of stir-fried chili peppers, and two plates of stir-fried vegetables.

Seeing the large, fat rat in her hand, the eyes of several male educated youths lit up, while the female educated youths were slightly disappointed.

"Do you eat the rats in the mountains?" Chen Zhi asked.

"Eat, eat, eat!" the male educated youth said in unison.

"Chen Zhi, you're too kind," Zhao Jinbao said with a hint of helplessness.

"We caught quite a few mountain rats today, and they're all really fat, so we thought we'd share them with you." The two rats in her hands weighed more than three pounds together, no lighter than a pheasant.

Zhao Jinbao took it, sighed, and said, "You're being so polite, I won't dare to help you water the vegetables tomorrow."

"It's alright, I won't go into the mountains tomorrow, I'll water it myself. I'm so grateful to you these past two days, it's saved me a lot of trouble." Her vegetable garden is quite large, and it will take a lot of time to water it all.

Zhao Jinbao slapped his forehead. "I forgot, tomorrow is the day the free trade market opens. Let's go to town together tomorrow."

Chen Zhi agreed, "Sure."