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

Chen Zhi thought the Chen family would not come until at least the next day, but as soon as she returned from the secretary's house, a large entourage of footsteps came towards her house.

Chen Zhi lit a kerosene lamp and stood in the courtyard, looking leisurely toward the direction of the fence gate.

Meanwhile, at the educated youth settlement, Zhou Zhengping, who was getting up in the middle of the night, heard a noise and went back to wake up the other people in the same room.

Finally, even several female educated youths were woken up and came out one by one after getting dressed.

Chen Zhi saw Chen Kai and Ding Fangfang walking at the front, Chen Gui, Chen Mu, and Chen's mother half a step behind, and Chen Ye further back. She didn't see Uncle Chen and Aunt Chen; they were probably at the hospital taking care of Chen Fu.

In addition, there were a group of Chen family relatives, including Chen Dexian's family.

Looking at their menacing appearance, one might mistake them for seeking revenge.

For example, the group of educated youth misunderstood. They saw Zhao Jinbao rush over first, blocking Chen Zhi's way, and before they could even see who it was, he angrily shouted, "Breaking into a private residence in the middle of the night is illegal!"

Chen Zhi looked at Zhao Jinbao in front of her, and felt a warm feeling in her chest.

"Young man, we are Chen Zhi's family, not trespassers." The speaker was Chen Dexian's father, whom Chen Zhi addressed as his second uncle.

Upon seeing that these people were indeed Chen Zhi's family members, Zhao Jinbao felt his cheeks burning.

He stepped aside, but showed no intention of leaving.

"You were really cool just now," Yang Wenyu whispered in Zhao Jinbao's ear.

Zhao Jinbao's cheeks burned even hotter. "I'm worried that Chen Zhi will blame me for meddling."

Yang Wenyu: "Not necessarily. I think these people have ill intentions."

Chen Zhi coldly observed these people, remaining silent and neither inviting them into the house.

"Did you know that Xiao Fu was injured?" Grandma Ding Fangfang asked, her eyes red and swollen.

Chen Zhi: "I don't know."

Upon hearing her nonchalant tone, Ding Fangfang became furious. "Why don't you care about your brother at all!"

Chen Zhi: "I didn't treat him like a younger brother."

Chen Kai was even angrier and rushed forward to slap Chen Zhi's face. Chen Zhi took a step back and sneered, "Old man, you'd better think carefully about why you came here. If you make me angry, then there's nothing to talk about."

Chen Kai froze, gritting his teeth, "Give me the money, Xiao Fu's medical expenses aren't enough."

Chen Zhi: "What does this have to do with me?"

Chen Kai: "We raised you. Your grandmother, your uncle's family, and I put in a lot of effort to raise you; otherwise, you would have died long ago. Now we're asking you for some money, what's the problem?"

It's the same old story again.

Chen Zhi nodded. "Then how much do you think it would cost to raise me?"

Without thinking, Chen Kai blurted out, "One thousand yuan."

"A thousand yuan?" Chen Zhi laughed, a loud, hearty laugh that brought tears to her eyes. "From childhood to adulthood, I've never had a full meal, never worn a new piece of clothing, never worn a new pair of shoes. I started working at home at three, and in the fields at four or five, I earned one work point a day. By six or seven, that number increased to two work points, and it kept rising until I was sixteen, when I had six work points. You're raising me for a thousand yuan? Don't you find that ridiculous?"

"At the end of last year, the Chen family, with more than ten members, only received 110 yuan in dividends. Are you implying that the Chen family spent all their money on me?"

The Chen family remained silent.

Chen Zhi then looked at Chen Dexian, "Uncle, you also have children. Does it cost you that much money to raise a child? The Chen family has so many children. If each child earned a thousand, the Chen family must have earned tens of thousands of yuan over the years. Uncle, can your family earn that much?"

Chen Dexian slowly shook his head. "No."

Chen Zhi nodded, "Uncle is the most honest one."

She looked at Chen Kai again, "Speak up again."

Chen Kai's face twisted in disbelief. "If not a thousand, then five hundred!"

Chen Zhi nodded, "Okay. But we'll have to deduct the dowry from last time, since that was the money the Chen family got for selling me."

Chen Kai disagreed, "I said five hundred, and that's it. Not a penny less."

Chen Zhi spread her hands, "You guys take them, I don't have that many."

Chen Mu: "You raised pigs!"

Snapped!

Chen Mu's face tilted to one side and swelled up at a visible speed.

"You'd better have the ability to covet what's mine," Chen Zhi mocked.

"You unfilial daughter, how dare you hit your brother! I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget!"

When Chen's mother rushed up, Chen Zhi gave her a gentle push, and she couldn't help but step back, bumping into the person behind her.

"You can't beat me," Chen Zhi said calmly.

The Chen family members were skeptical, but no one stepped forward.

Chen Zhi asked again, "Five hundred yuan to buy back your kindness in raising us—would you do it or not?"

The Chen family fell silent, looking at each other, unable to make up their minds.

At this moment, Chen Dexian stepped forward and said, "In our entire Sandong Village, there are only a few families who can come up with five hundred yuan at once. I estimate there are less than three families. Everyone knows how you treated Chen Zhi back then, and Chen Zhi herself knows it too. Now she has no affection for you at all. Forcing this relationship will only deepen the hatred between you."

In truth, Chen Zhi giving five hundred yuan was already more than enough. Most people would have already bought out the relationship by giving a hundred yuan as a betrothal gift.

At this moment, Chen Zhi took out two pieces of paper from her pocket. They had the signatures of three people: herself, Chen Renzheng, and Chen Jun, as well as the brigade's official seal.

"If you agree, then come and sign this letter severing ties."

The moment the words "severance of kinship" were uttered, everyone present was stunned again.

Mrs. Chen laughed in exasperation, "You've certainly prepared thoroughly. You've been planning this for a long time, haven't you?"

Chen Zhi readily admitted, "Yes. When I learned that Chen Fu was injured, I went to the brigade leader and the secretary overnight to beg for this. If you hadn't come, I wouldn't have taken out this letter of severance, but you insisted on coming. Not only did you try to steal my pig, but you also demanded a thousand yuan. You don't treat me like family at all. If we don't sever ties, are you just going to keep me alive to continue sucking blood from me?"

Chen's mother gritted her teeth, "What's wrong with you helping out at home now that your situation is better?"

"I'm not willing." Chen Zhi chuckled. "Which of you here didn't beat me half to death before? I'd rather you all be worse off than me. Alright, enough nonsense. If you want Chen Fu to live, you'd better make a decision quickly, or I'm closing the door and sending you out."

Chen Kai was unwilling to give up, "Give me five hundred yuan now!"

Chen Zhi glanced at him sideways. "Four hundred, take it or leave it."

"You're being greedy, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. Country kids do chores from a young age. Raising a child doesn't require that much money, especially since Chen Zhi is so capable," Zhao Jinbao said, defending Chen Zhi.

Yang Wenyu added, "Exactly. How much savings do you have? You ask Chen Zhi for five hundred right off the bat. Why don't you force her to die? No wonder she doesn't consider you family."

Zhou Zhengping was also furious. "Don't even mention five hundred yuan. We grown men have been living in the countryside for so many years, and we don't even have a hundred yuan on us. You've all lived for so many years, have you saved a lot of money? If not, what gives you the right to ask Chen Zhi, a girl, for money?"

Chen Mu: "That's our family matter, what's it to you!"

"Ha!" Zhao Jinbao sneered, "Can't I stand by and watch? A grown man, his younger brother is seriously injured, and he can't even take responsibility, yet he tries to force his younger sister. You're shameless."

Enraged, Chen Mu was about to rush up and fight Zhao Jinbao.

Zhao Jinbao rolled up his sleeves. "If you want to fight, come on! I'm not afraid of you!"

"That's enough." Ding Fangfang spoke up, her sharp eyes staring directly at Chen Zhi. "Four hundred it is. Without your family's backing, you can just wait to be bullied."

"You're overthinking it. You're the ones who have been bullying me all along. Since you've all agreed, let's sign." She didn't want to waste any more words arguing with them.

Chen Kai, Ding Fangfang, and Chen Xiaomei all signed the paper, making two copies: one for Chen Zhi to keep and the other for Chen Xiaomei, their mother.

Chen Zhi readily paid the money, and as she watched the Chen family leave, the shackles on her body seemed to disappear.

"This letter severing ties might not be useful," Zhao Jinbao reminded Chen Zhi.

Chen Zhi shook her head. She knew perfectly well that "it might not be useful elsewhere, but it should be somewhat useful in Sandong Village."

Zhao Jinbao nodded, "That's true."

Looking at Chen Zhi's tired face, Zhao Jinbao felt a pang in his heart; it was the first time he had ever seen the word "tired" on her face.

Zhao Jinbao couldn't help but comfort her, "A family like that is gone, so don't be sad."

Chen Zhi smiled, a genuine smile. "I'm not sad. I've always dreamed of leaving that family. Last year, I broke my leg. The town clinic said they couldn't treat me and wouldn't send me to the county hospital because I was likely to get an infection that would worsen my condition and eventually kill me. But the Chen family wouldn't listen; they insisted on keeping me at the clinic. At that time, I thought about dying, of being clean and never having anything to do with that family again. Now that it's finally broken, I'm finally free."

"Thank you all for speaking up for me tonight."

Chen Zhi bowed deeply to Zhao Jinbao and the others.

In the dead of night, Chen Zhi returned to bed and fell asleep almost immediately.

Zhao Jinbao, who was staying at the educated youth settlement, tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

"Are you still thinking about Chen Zhi?" Yang Wenyu asked.

Zhao Jinbao nodded. "She's very pitiful."

Yang Wenyu agreed, "It's pitiful. But she's also lucky. She met Xi Lang and escaped the quagmire. Now that she's no longer related to the Chen family, her life will only get better."

Zhou Zhengping: "Thinking back to how I used to look down on Chen Zhi and mock her, I feel like I'm not a human being at all."

Zhao Jinbao and Yang Wenyu couldn't help but feel guilty, "We really are not human, we can't compare to Chen Zhi, a girl."

The next day, Chen Zhi woke up late.

The three pigs in the house were squealing incessantly and banging on the pigpen door, as if they wanted to tear the pigpen down.

Chen Zhi fed them first, and then slowly went about her other business.

With a major concern resolved, she became listless and lacked the energy to do anything.

The village is distributing grain today. We'll do it once now, and then again at the end of the year after the sweet potato and potato harvest.

After having breakfast, Chen Zhi took a sack and a bamboo basket and went to wait in the open space outside the brigade warehouse.

She arrived rather late; a long queue had already formed.