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

That day, Chen Zhi and his group squatted in the bamboo forest until nightfall, getting covered in dust and looking quite disheveled.

The moon hangs high in the sky, its gentle light bathing the earth.

The shadows of the trees swayed, and the mountains and fields were filled with the sounds of insects and birds.

Chen Zhi led the way, carrying two sacks full of bamboo rats and a basket full of bamboo shoots. Behind her, Chen Peng, Chen Da, and the others had two fewer sacks, but their baskets were also full of bamboo rats.

These people searched the entire bamboo forest today, and only stopped when Chen Zhi could no longer find the bamboo rat burrows.

Therefore, they did not leave the mountain even after dark.

"This is the first time I've caught so many bamboo rats," Chen Da said excitedly.

Chen Ergou: "Who isn't?"

Chen Xiaoshuai: "This must weigh forty or fifty pounds."

Chen Xiaohong: "By the time the trading market opens, will the meat have gone bad?"

Chen Peng: "Go back and kill them, marinate them, and they'll keep for two or three days without any problem."

Chen Da: "Selling them all would bring in forty or fifty yuan, just thinking about it is exciting. What do you plan to buy with the money?"

Chen Ergou looked dejected. "The money from the sale has to be given to my mom, and she'll just say, 'We're saving this money for you to get married.'"

Chen Peng, Chen Da, and Chen Xiaoshuai nodded in agreement.

Chen Xiaohong rolled her eyes at them, "You two are getting on in years, it's time to get married. Make some money, build another house, and get married next year."

Chen Peng and the other three had nothing to say; they were all over 20 and it was time to consider it.

Chen Ergou: "My mom has already arranged for me to go on a blind date."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him. "Hiding so well! Which village are you from?"

Chen Ergou scratched his head. "I'm from Qingyuan Village, but they don't think much of me."

"Why?" Everyone couldn't help but ask in surprise.

Chen Ergou was about 1.75 meters tall, which wasn't short in their area. He was of average appearance, not particularly striking, but definitely not ugly either. Moreover, he was a hard worker, willing to endure hardship, earning ten work points a day. He had no bad habits and was a pretty good person.

"They didn't like me because I'm dark-skinned," Chen Ergou said, then admitted he felt embarrassed.

Everyone fell silent. He was a bit darker than average, but it wasn't that bad. Working in the countryside, exposed to wind, sun, and rain, wasn't it normal to be dark-skinned?

Of course, Chen Zhi is an exception.

Chen Ergou: "But the other person's cousin has a crush on me."

Everyone: "...So what do you think?"

Chen Ergou: "I think her cousin is prettier!"

When Chen Zhi returned home, the door to the old house was already on the verge of collapse. She didn't dare to delay, so she put down her things and started feeding the pigs.

She heard a noise, and Zhao Jinbao arrived. He didn't go inside, but stood outside the fence and asked her through the fence, "Why are you so late today?"

"I went to catch bamboo rats." Chen Zhi didn't hide it. Anyway, Zhao Jinbao would see it when she hung it up, unless she locked the door all the time. Now, both rooms and the kitchen in Chen Zhi's house are locked. When she's not home, she closes the doors and windows so that no one can see inside.

The moonlight was so bright that Zhao Jinbao immediately spotted the basket and two burlap sacks in the yard and was filled with envy. "A good harvest."

He didn't suggest buying any, because the wallets of these educated youth couldn't support them eating meat every day.

"It's alright, we searched the entire bamboo forest." The harvest was good, but we were really tired.

Zhao Jinbao: "We're going to dig lotus roots tomorrow, do you want to come?"

Chen Zhi: "No, I'm going into the mountains to cut pig feed."

Zhao Jinbao was a little disappointed that he hadn't been able to make the appointment again.

The next day, Chen Zhi didn't rush into the mountains. She finished her housework and watered the vegetable garden before going out.

Today, in addition to a sickle, she also carried a pickaxe in her basket.

These past few days, while hiking in the mountains, she found some yam and kudzu roots, which she plans to dig up and feed to the pigs.

There were fewer people in the mountains today, so Chen Zhi picked up the pace. Once no one noticed her, she swung her pickaxe and got to work.

Around noon, Chen Zhi returned carrying a basket on her back and several burlap sacks on her shoulder.

When Zhao Jinbao returned to the educated youth settlement for lunch, he happened to see Chen Zhi carrying five sacks on her shoulders, so tired that she was taller than a person. He froze on the spot, dumbfounded.

Chen Zhi smiled at Zhao Jinbao. Zhao Jinbao belatedly realized what was happening and quickly went to open the gate for Chen Zhi. After Chen Zhi went in, he followed her in.

He helped Chen Zhi take the sack down. He thought it wouldn't be heavy, but it turned out to be quite heavy, and he almost couldn't hold it.

"What's inside?"

See for yourself.

Chen Zhi put down her things, washed her hands, and went straight to feed the pigs. Only after the pigs stopped squealing did she sit down and take the contents of the sack out one by one.

It contains purple Chinese yam, white yam, kudzu root, and wild taro. Each one is very large, with the large ones weighing dozens of kilograms and the small ones weighing seven or eight kilograms.

"Do we still have these things in our mountains?" Zhao Jinbao had been here for several years and had never discovered them before.

Chen Zhi nodded, "Yes."

Zhao Jinbao: "That's probably because I don't recognize the parts of them that grow on the ground."

Chen Zhi wasn't surprised at all. Zhao Jinbao was from the city, so it was normal for him not to recognize these things. She picked up a piece of yam and handed it to Zhao Jinbao, saying, "Take this and try it when you get home."

Zhao Jinbao did not refuse, "I'll bring you some lotus roots in a bit."

"Okay." She'll stir-fry some lotus root today, and if it's good, she'll go dig some more tomorrow.

Two days later, the trading market opened again.

Having learned from the previous experience, everyone set off very early this time.

Chen Zhi carried only a basket and a bucket. Inside were two dried fish weighing thirty to forty pounds each, and ten bamboo rats, each of which had been cleaned and weighed three to four pounds. The bucket contained five mandarin fish weighing five to six pounds each, which Chen Zhi had caught in the mountains after dark yesterday.

Mandarin fish has almost no fishy smell and a sweet and fresh taste. It doesn't require complicated cooking methods; steaming is delicious.

Chen Zhi didn't know if there were any discerning customers in the market. If not, she would give all the mandarin fish to the Shi family.

Along the way, Chen Peng and the others took turns coming up to admire her fish, but Chen Zhi just smiled and didn't say anything. She didn't explain where the fish came from, and the others didn't ask.

Chen Xiaohong had probably been disciplined by her cousin, so she was very well-behaved today and didn't ask many questions. Her little mouth chattered non-stop from the village to the town, "My mom said I can keep ten yuan of the money from selling bamboo rats. I plan to buy a roll of fabric, two red hair ties, and a bottle of face cream."

Chen Xiaoshuai ruthlessly belittled her, saying, "Ten yuan probably can't buy this much stuff. The face cream is two yuan a box, and the fabric is even more expensive."

Chen Xiaohong was unconvinced. "Then I'll just buy half a roll of fabric, enough for me to make a set of clothes."

Chen Ergou was also intrigued when he heard about the fabric. "Little Hong, let's go see it together then."

When Chen Zhi and his group arrived at the trading market, it was just before dawn, and there weren't many people there yet.

The Shi family had already arrived and were organizing the goods. Not only was Sister-in-law Shi there, but Uncle and Aunt Shi were also present, along with the three children of the Shi family. Upon seeing Chen Zhi, Sister-in-law Shi beckoned her over, "Come on, I saved you a spot."

Chen Zhi had few things, so they didn't take up much space, and she finished tidying them up in no time.

Just as she was about to help Sister-in-law Shi tidy up her things, the first customer arrived.

"How much are the preserved fish in your basket?" The other party immediately took a liking to Chen Zhi's preserved fish.

"I'm sorry, those two fish aren't for sale; they're gifts," Chen Zhi said.

The man was somewhat disappointed, and pointed to the bucket again, asking, "Where are the mandarin fish in that bucket?"

"Chen Zhi, you brought mandarin fish!" Sister Shi exclaimed with delight, rushing to the bucket and hugging it tightly. "These aren't for sale either, keep them all for me."

The man got angry. "There has to be a first-come, first-served order. There are five mandarin fish in the bucket, I want one."

Chen Zhi looked at Sister-in-law Shi with a troubled expression.

Sister-in-law Shi looked pained and said, "Fine, then I'll give you one."

Watching the man leave, Sister-in-law Shi was still somewhat unwilling. "Next time you bring something, I have to take a look at it first."

Chen Zhi: "Aren't you exaggerating a bit?"

Sister-in-law Shi shook her head, her face serious. "Mandarin fish are quite rare, especially live ones. Besides, the mandarin fish in your bucket is so big. I've been in town for years and I've never seen one like it. I've already planned it out: we'll eat two tonight, and give the remaining three as gifts. If someone takes one, we'll only have one left to eat."

Chen Zhi comforted her, "It's okay, dried fish is delicious too, no worse than mandarin fish."

Sister-in-law Shi thought about it and agreed, "The fish you give me all taste pretty good. But next time you have fish, let me see it first."

"Aunt Zhizhi, what kind of meat is this?" Shi Yingying asked, pointing at the bamboo rats.

Chen Zhi: "These are bamboo rats, caught in the bamboo forests of the mountains."

Sister-in-law Shi: "I want one too."

Chen Zhi said helplessly, "You don't need to take such good care of my business."

Sister-in-law Shi shook her head. "Why would I need to patronize your business? Your goods sell very well; everyone's scrambling to buy them. Last time I told your brother Shi you were coming to buy rats, he said I didn't know their value and didn't buy any. This morning, when I left, he repeatedly told me to buy them if I saw any. We're not just eating them ourselves; he's also giving them to his friends. It's the end of the year, and he has a ton of gifts to give. Your things are just what your brother Shi needs right now."

Chen Zhi thought Sister-in-law Shi was exaggerating.

Sister-in-law Shi stopped explaining and put Chen Zhi's things away. "I'll have your brother Shi bring you rice bran tomorrow night."

Money doesn't count as money; that's too formal.

Chen Zhi: "You can't send too many."

Sister-in-law Shi nodded repeatedly, "I know what I'm doing, I won't give you too much."

Chen Zhi twitched the corners of her mouth; how could she not believe it?

At this moment, Aunt Shi instructed Shi Yingying, "The meat buns I made this morning, quickly take them out and let your Aunt Zhizhi have a taste."

As a result, Shi Yingying didn't move, so Shi Jiahao picked up the aluminum lunchbox and handed it to Chen Zhi with a grin, saying, "Aunt Zhizhi, please eat. My grandma's cooking is excellent."

"Thank you." Chen Zhi took the lunchbox, opened it, and found that the meat buns inside were not big, about seven or eight in total. Each one had a thin skin and thick meat, was still warm, and smelled delicious.

"Have you all eaten?" Chen Zhi asked.

Shi Jiahao, Shi Jiafeng, and Shi Yingying said in unison, "We've all eaten. These are specially saved for you, Aunt Zhizhi."

Chen Zhi then felt relieved and began to eat.

Shi Jiahao: "Aunt Zhizhi, you are so beautiful."

Shi Jiafeng: "Yes, yes, you're beautiful, much prettier than my sister. My friends even say my sister is the most beautiful woman in town. If they saw you, they'd know the difference between a fish eye and a pearl."

Chen Zhi was speechless. Did this child have a grudge against her? Why was he so eager to make an enemy of her?