Xiao Tiedan brought almost all the children. Chen Shuning confirmed several times that the adults in his family knew they were there to exchange items, and that Xiao Tiedan had given his assurances before making the deal with them.

Despite his young age, Tie Dan is very reliable, so Chen Shuning felt at ease making a deal with the group of children after receiving his guarantee.

Only two or three children asked for money; the rest asked for all sorts of things, from eggs to cookies, but most of them asked for candy.

After giving away three boxes of cookies, four pounds of peach shortbread, five pounds of fruit candy, and even the two boxes of Beijing-style pastries that Chen's mother had brought her but which she had forgotten in a corner of her room, Chen Shuning received a considerable amount of mountain produce.

Just as Chen Shuning was happily tidying up and organizing his things.

A timid little girl stood at the door, struggling to carry a cloth bag that looked heavier than she was.

Chen Shuning assumed the little girl was walking slowly because her things were too heavy, and didn't think much of it.

He asked with a smile, "Little girl, are you here to exchange something too? What would you like to exchange?"

When Chen Shuning first met this little girl, the five or six-year-old girl was fair-skinned and clean. Although her clothes were old, they were not patched like those of the other children in the village, and they were washed very clean.

However, the little girl was not as mischievous as the other children; she was quiet and well-behaved, which made her very likable.

Perhaps it was Chen Shuning's kind smile, but after he asked the question, the little girl seemed less nervous. However, she still said in a small voice, "Brother Tiedan said you can trade these chestnuts for cookies. Can I trade them for some cookies with you?"

Compared to dried fruits like hazelnuts and pine nuts, chestnuts are the easiest to find; you can find them in large quantities. That's why Chen Shuning mostly exchanged chestnuts today.

So Chen Shuning had no intention of collecting chestnuts anymore, but seeing the little girl's expectant eyes inexplicably revealing a hint of sadness, Chen Shuning softened his heart.

I thought they were just some old-fashioned cookies from a space supermarket.

So he told the little girl to wait a moment, and went back into the house to get a bag of biscuits wrapped in oil paper.

After thinking for a moment, he took a few more pieces of candy and gave them to the little girl.

The little girl, after receiving the oil paper package and candy, bowed earnestly to Chen Shuning to express her gratitude before turning to leave.

Seeing that the little girl didn't seem as happy as other children when they got something delicious, Chen Shuning was a little puzzled. Just as he was about to call out to the little girl and ask her something, he heard He Chaoyang, who was helping to cook chestnuts in the kitchen, calling him.

So he put aside his curiosity and turned to go into the kitchen.

Chen Shuning plans to make all the chestnuts into sugar-roasted chestnuts and then send them home.

Back in the kitchen, He Chaoyang and I were busy until after noon before we had lunch.

Just as the two of them picked up their bowls, they heard a commotion starting in the cowshed across from the educated youth compound.

Chen Shuning, who always loved watching the excitement, put down her chopsticks and was about to run outside.

He Chaoyang, quick as a flash, grabbed Chen Shuning's hand and said with a helpless expression, "Why do you always like to join in the fun? Your foot injury has just healed a little, can't you be a little more careful? Watching the fun won't make a difference, let's finish our meal first."

"Things have just gotten chaotic over there, so don't touch it. Wait until the captain gets here before you go check; you won't miss out on the excitement."

Chen Shuning felt a little embarrassed by He Chaoyang's words and sat back down awkwardly, but still stubbornly argued, "Who's in a hurry? I was just startled. Eat, eat, hurry up and eat, it'll get cold soon, it's really cold today."

Seeing that the person had sat back down, but whose eyes kept glancing outwards, He Chaoyang shook his head helplessly.

After the noise outside subsided for a moment, He Chaoyang said with a helpless expression, "Let's go now. Judging from the sound, the captain should be here."

As he spoke, He Chaoyang put down his chopsticks and reached out to help Chen Shuning as they walked out.

The educated youth compound was quiet at this moment, as everyone had gone up the mountain, so the two of them didn't lock the door.

When they arrived at the cowshed, they saw that a lot of people had already gathered there, including several educated youths carrying bamboo baskets.

Seeing this, Chen Shuning quickly went over and tugged at Fang Qing's sleeve, whom he was relatively familiar with, and asked in a low voice, "Sister Fang Qing, what's wrong?"

"I've only been here a short while, so I don't know the specifics. I heard that Zhao Qianjin and Widow Zhang, who were imprisoned here, tried to escape but were caught or something."

Fang Qing had just come down from the mountain and came over to see what was going on when she saw a crowd gathered there. She had heard about it from the villagers nearby.

The female educated youth living in the old house have been only responsible for collecting mountain produce these past few days, while the male educated youth have been collecting firewood. The produce will be divided equally among everyone later.

This way, the men are strong enough to gather more firewood, while the women, being more meticulous, gather more mountain produce – a win-win situation.

And the farce here was indeed as Fang Qing said. It turned out that a few days after the incident, Zhao Qianjin and Widow Zhang were locked in the cowshed.

Since an old professor who was sent down to the countryside died in the cowshed last year, the cowshed in Qingshan Brigade has been empty and uninhabited.

So apart from Old Li and Old Yang, who drive the carts, who come to feed the cattle every day, no one else comes here.

After the two were imprisoned, only the brigade leader's wife would bring them food once a day in the morning.

Today, the brigade leader went to town for a meeting. After finishing her work early in the morning and seeing him off, the brigade leader's wife was about to bring him food when her eldest daughter-in-law's family came to announce the good news that her eldest daughter-in-law's sister-in-law had given birth to a big, healthy boy.

This eldest daughter-in-law's sister-in-law had a difficult time conceiving this child. The couple had lost three or four children before they were fully formed. In addition, the eldest daughter-in-law's family only had her brother as the only male heir, so the whole family attached great importance to this child.

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