Back to 1984: I built a chicken farm on a barren mountain.

After finishing his meal, Chen Wenfeng prepared to leave. He said to Manager Li:

"Manager Li, please apologize to General Manager Wu for me. I can't wait for him to return today; I have to rush back to take care of some important matters. Oh, and there's another thing I need your help with." Chen Wenfeng pulled Manager Li aside and lowered his voice, saying:

"There's a woman in the county town's social circle named Qin Xiaofen. She's very good at seducing other men. She caused quite a stir before, but now the town can't tolerate her anymore, so she's run off to Chenjiazhuang. Can you help me find out about her background and who she's offended?"

Manager Li listened attentively and said:

"If it's a gangster circle, I can take care of it for you. But in the wives' circle of a small town, I'm not at a high enough level. When Mr. Wu comes back, I'll talk to him and ask him to help."

"Alright."

Chen Wenfeng had Niu Er hitch up the cart, and the three of them got on to leave. Manager Li chased after them, packed two roast chickens and two pine nut sausages, and handed them to Chen Wenfeng, saying:

"Mr. Chen, you only packed up the leftovers to take home before, so this time it's on me! Remember to support the restaurant's local produce section!"

Chen Wenfeng accepted it without ceremony, turned and handed it to Zhou Zhiming. He then bowed to Manager Li and said:

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. See you next time!"

"Goodbye!"

......

The old ox walked slowly on the way there, but it ran exceptionally fast on the return trip. By the time it reached Chenjiazhuang, the oxcart was so fast it seemed to take off.

Chen Wenfeng, sitting in the passenger seat of the oxcart, kicked the ox's rump and said:

"This old guy also wants to go home!"

Niu Er, holding up his whip, laughed:

"Brother Feng, cattle, horses, and mules are all the same. When I was a kid, I learned to drive carts. Every time I went out, the cart was empty and went slowly, but when I came home, it was full of goods and went fast. Even the animals know that home is better!"

Zhou Zhiming was unfamiliar with catching trains, but he listened with great interest.

Because they walked quickly on the way back, the three of them arrived back at Chenjiazhuang around 5 p.m.

Chen Wenfeng told Niu Er and Zhou Zhiming to drive the oxcart back to their home first, and to bring a roast chicken and a pine nut sausage to his mother, Wang Guizhi. He also told them to take a pine nut sausage back to Jiming Mountain so that Lao Suntou, Niu Da, and Hou Laizi could have a taste that evening.

He took another roast chicken and headed straight for Zheng Dali's house.

Zheng Dali usually sets up his meat stall on the street or at the market in the morning and closes up around noon. If someone wants to buy meat in the afternoon or evening, they need to go to his house to find him.

Chen Wenfeng carried the roast chicken into Zheng Dali's house. In the yard, Xiaodouzi was digging out ant holes. When he saw Chen Wenfeng come in, he ran over to call him.

Zheng Dali and his wife were not home. Zheng Xuejiao was doing laundry. When Chen Wenfeng came in, she had just finished hanging up the entire clothesline. When she saw Chen Wenfeng, for some reason, her face turned red, and the redness extended all the way to the roots of her ears.

Chen Wenfeng spoke first, saying:

"Why are you washing so many clothes at this hour?"

Zheng Xuejiao lowered her head and answered:

"It was cloudy the day before, but the weather is nice today, so I washed a lot more. Anyway, it's not raining, so I won't put them away tonight."

Little Bean interjected:

"Brother Wenfeng, what are you carrying? Is it covered in leaves?"

Chen Wenfeng knew that Xiaodouzi, like his younger sister Xiaofang, was a little glutton, and said:

"This is roast chicken, brought for you and your sister. The leaves are lotus leaves. Would you like some?"

After listening to Chen Wenfeng's words, Xiaodouzi rested his chin on his hand, thought for a moment, and then said:

"Is the lotus leaf the same leaf as the lotus flower?"

"Yes, Little Bean is very smart."

"Can I eat that fragrant roast chicken now?"

"sure."

After hearing Chen Wenfeng's words, Xiaodouzi reached for the roast chicken, but Zheng Xuejiao slapped her hand and scolded:

"Look at your hands, they're covered in mud. Go wash them, and you're not allowed to eat until they're clean."

Little Bean didn't dare to say a word after his sister spoke, so he obediently went to wash his hands. But even as he washed his hands, he still turned around and stared intently at the roast chicken in Chen Wenfeng's hand.

Seeing how amusing Xiaodouzi looked, Chen Wenfeng handed the roast chicken to Zheng Xuejiao and said:

"Here you go, I'll break off a chicken leg for Xiaodouzi after he washes his hands."

Zheng Xuejiao hesitated for a moment, but finally took the roast chicken and said:

"This roast chicken must be expensive. I'll have my dad pay for it when he gets back."

"No need, is that too formal?"

The two were silent for a moment. Chen Wenfeng said:

"How's business, Uncle Zheng, these past few days?"

"That's great. This morning, Han Laosi and his female secretary bought ten catties of meat. My dad even said when he came back that Han Laosi has changed his ways."

"Hmm, didn't Han Laosi and the others say anything else?"

"Anything else? I don't know. I haven't heard of it."

Seeing Zheng Xuejiao's puzzled expression, Chen Wenfeng figured that Zheng Dali probably hadn't told her about Han Laosi and the others wanting to arrange a marriage for her.

Although the old-fashioned concept of valuing sons over daughters is prevalent these days, according to Chen Wenfeng, Zheng Dali's two children are treated equally.

Moreover, economically speaking, Zheng Dali's family is not poor, so they wouldn't marry their daughter to someone whose background they don't know just for a little money.

"Brother Feng, is something the matter?"

Zheng Xuejiao noticed that Chen Wenfeng's expression was serious, completely lacking his usual humorous and relaxed demeanor.

"It's nothing, I just came by to take a look around and chat for a bit."

Chen Wenfeng didn't want to scare Zheng Xuejiao, so he made up an excuse.

Little Bean had already washed his hands, and he went out to play while eating his chicken leg.

Chen Wenfeng and Zheng Xuejiao sat on the steps, chatting casually, the setting sun casting long shadows of them.

When Chen Wenfeng talked about some interesting stories about raising chickens, Zheng Xuejiao couldn't help but giggle.

Chen Wenfeng suddenly felt that time had slowed down at this moment. Since his rebirth, he had been thinking about making money or outwitting others. It was rare to have such a leisurely and peaceful moment. Was this warm feeling coming from Zheng Xuejiao? He wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that this moment was very comfortable.

Dragonflies occasionally flew into the yard and hovered in front of them, their transparent wings reflecting a unique brilliance in the setting sun.

"Brother Feng, is Brother Feng here?" Hou Laizi rushed over in a panic. Seeing that Chen Wenfeng and Zheng Xuejiao were both there, he hesitated for a moment before saying:

"Brother Feng, I got off work early today and ran into Zhiming and Niu Er on my way back to Jiming Mountain. They said you might be here, um, buying meat!"

Seeing Hou Laizi stammering, Chen Wenfeng knew he had something to say, so he took over the conversation and said:

"Uncle Zheng isn't home. I chatted with an old classmate for a while. We'll talk when we get back." After saying goodbye to Zheng Xuejiao, Chen Wenfeng hurriedly left with Hou Laizi.

As Zheng Xuejiao watched Chen Wenfeng's departing figure, a strange and inexplicable feeling arose within her.