Even when he’s just eating, he’s so attractive to watch, more elegant than anyone else in the Zhang family combined. 

Indeed, the rest of the Zhang family thought Zhang Mengzhi ate too elegantly. 

Whenever the families gathered for meals, Grandma Zhang would put food in her third grandson’s bowl in advance, otherwise Zhang Mengzhi wouldn’t be able to get any food with his brothers around, as it would all be snatched up by his cousins. 

His non-competitive demeanor didn’t seem like that of a farmer’s son at all, often leading others to lament that Zhang Mengzhi shouldn’t have been born into their family of peasants. 

Initially, Zhang Mengzhi would explain that it was a habit he had developed in his past life, and even as a baby, he was slow and deliberate when feeding, making it difficult to change. 

Yes, Zhang Mengzhi was a transmigrator, having traveled from the future to the 1960s and 70s. 

Having grown accustomed to the convenience of modern life, Zhang Mengzhi nearly suffocated during his first few years after transmigrating. 

Life in the 1960s and 70s was incredibly boring. 

Moreover, the environment at the time wasn’t good, and Zhang Mengzhi was constantly afraid of saying the wrong thing and causing trouble for his family. He forced himself to change his talkative habit into one of few words. 

Of course, his quietness was relative, not complete silence. 

After all, he still had to speak up when he was hungry, so his reserved nature was only in comparison to his life before transmigrating. 

“Grandma, I’m finished eating.” 

After finishing a large bowl of noodles, Zhang Mengzhi was about 80% full. At eighteen years old, he was at the peak of his growth, so his appetite was quite large. 

“Then continue tidying up. Grandma will wash the dishes. Go to bed early tonight, because we have to get up early tomorrow to catch the bus to the city at the commune.” 

Grandma Zhang instructed her third grandson. 

“Okay, Grandma.” 

Zhang Mengzhi nodded and personally saw Grandma Zhang to the door, watching her enter the kitchen before turning back to the house to continue packing. 

Actually, he didn’t have much to pack, as he didn’t even need a blanket to sleep in the summer, just a light jacket was enough. 

He bundled up his blanket and clothes, leaving the remaining items to be packed in a bag to carry. 

“Third brother, look what we brought back for you!” 

Zhang Dawa and his brothers ran in, one of them holding several skewers of roasted cicada nymphs. 

“…” 

Looking at the skewers of cicadas being offered to him, Zhang Mengzhi swallowed hard. 

Don’t misunderstand, it wasn’t because he wanted to eat them, but because he was scared. 

He had been afraid of bugs since he was a child, especially soft, boneless ones. Seeing them would give him goosebumps all over. 

He knew that these cicadas that had just crawled out of the ground weren’t the same as worms, but Zhang Mengzhi still had a significant psychological barrier to eating them. 

“What’s wrong?” 

Zhang Mengzhi’s cousins asked him, puzzled. 

“Nothing, I just had dinner and I’m not hungry. You guys can eat them!” 

In the end, unable to overcome his psychological barrier, Zhang Mengzhi chose to refuse. 

“Okay, then we’ll eat them ourselves.” 

They had been holding back from eating, and now they couldn’t resist any longer. They took back the cicada skewers and devoured them in a few bites. 

Watching them eat the cicadas one after another, Zhang Mengzhi’s hair stood on end. 

“Delicious! Big brother, should we go catch more tomorrow and roast them?” 

The youngest, Zhang Wawa, who was a month younger than Zhang Mengzhi, asked, grabbing Zhang Erwa after finishing his share. 

“Maybe, but I don’t know if there will be any left.” 

Zhang Erwa was four years older than Zhang Mengzhi. At his age, he was considered an older youth in the countryside, as those his age were already married with children. Only he was still unmarried. 

It wasn’t that Zhang Laoer and his wife didn’t care about their eldest son, but his fiancée’s father had died in an accident two years ago when they were discussing the wedding date, and she was still in mourning. Therefore, Zhang Erwa hadn’t gotten married yet. 

This was an unavoidable circumstance, so Zhang Erwa’s unmarried status had nothing to do with him personally. It was simply that his fiancée was in mourning, and her family was traditional, requiring her to mourn her father for three years, during which no celebratory events could be held. 

“There definitely will be. You can never catch them all.” 

Zhang Wawa was a month younger than Zhang Mengzhi, and Zhang Siwa was only a few days younger. 

The three youngest cousins were born in consecutive years. Zhang Mengzhi’s sister was several years younger than them, indicating that Zhang Laosan’s childbearing years were much later than his two older brothers. 

They were almost thirty when they had this son. It wasn’t that they were practicing contraception, but Zhang Laosan had married late and hadn’t been able to conceive. So, Zhang Mengzhi’s birth was delayed. However, he had an older sister, although not biologically related, she had comforted Zhang’s parents’ longing for children before he was born. 

“Big brother, what do you say?” 

Zhang Erwa looked at the only married brother among them. 

“You guys can go. My wife is bringing the kids back tomorrow, and I want to spend time with them.” 

Zhang Dawa shook his head. He wouldn’t be joining them tomorrow. 

If his wife and children weren’t away, he wouldn’t have gone with his younger brothers to catch cicada nymphs today. 

After all, he was a family man now and needed to be more responsible. 

“Alright!” 

Knowing that Zhang Dawa was focused on his own family, his younger brothers didn’t force him. Married men in the village were generally like this, so everyone was used to it. 

“Third brother, after you go back to the city, will you be able to come back for Erwa’s wedding?” 

Zhang Dawa looked at his cousin, who was focused on packing, and couldn’t help but ask. 

Third brother wasn’t able to come back when he got married, as he had to attend school at the time, and the atmosphere wasn’t good. He didn’t even have a big wedding banquet, just invited close family and friends for a meal. 

Now that the Red Guards were gone, and third brother was getting older, he should be able to come back to the village for his cousin’s wedding. 

“I’ll see when the time comes. I can’t say for sure now, since the school isn’t my home. I can’t just come and go as I please.” 

Zhang Mengzhi said uncertainly. His second brother was getting married in the second half of the year, two months after the fiancée’s mourning period ended, so they wouldn’t be criticized for getting married then. 

However, Zhang Mengzhi wasn’t sure if he could come back to attend. Besides, he had to go to school in the second half of the year. If the coursework was heavy, he wouldn’t be able to come back for the wedding. 

He couldn’t skip school for his cousin’s wedding, could he? If he used that as an excuse to ask for leave, he might get scolded by the teacher. 

“It’s okay. I’ll save some wedding candy for you and let you have it when you come back for the New Year.” 

Zhang Erwa wasn’t disappointed, as he knew that his third cousin was a college student and must be busy with classes. It was okay if he couldn’t come back. 

“Thank you, second brother. I’ll try my best to come back. Even if I can’t make it, I’ll have my mom or dad bring you a wedding gift.” 

Zhang Mengzhi had good social skills. Regardless of whether he could come or not, he would prepare a wedding gift. 

The thermos that Zhang Dawa’s family was using now was the wedding gift that Zhang Mengzhi had his parents give to them. 

This gift immediately gave the Zhang family a lot of face in the village. 

The gifts given by those who attended the wedding banquet were mostly a few cents, and not even two people gave a yuan, let alone a thermos, which couldn’t be bought for a few cents or a yuan. 

Besides money, you also needed an industrial coupon to buy it. Therefore, those who attended the wedding banquet that day showed envious expressions. 

Hearing this, Zhang Erwa immediately smiled happily. 

From what third brother said, he knew that his gift would definitely be no worse than what the eldest brother received. 

He needed a thermos too. He couldn’t keep going to his parents’ room to get hot water after he got married, could he? 

He himself was fine with it, but what about his wife? Sharing a thermos with her in-laws would make her uncomfortable, right? 

“Third brother, we want gifts too.” 

Seeing that the eldest and second brothers had received good gifts from Zhang Mengzhi, the fourth and fifth brothers also came over and grabbed his arms to fight for their own benefits. 

“Everyone gets one, everyone gets one.” 

Zhang Mengzhi was much better at being fair than his grandmother. He never showed any prejudice or bias towards these cousins. 

So, even though he came back from the city, everyone was willing to play with him. 

“Is Zhang Educated Youth home?” 

Just as the cousins were talking, someone suddenly entered the Zhang family’s courtyard and shouted from outside the house. 

“Yes, what’s the matter? Come in and talk!” Zhang Mengzhi responded from inside the house. 

“Zhang Educated Youth, all the educated youths in the educated youth compound are having a dinner party tonight. I’m here to invite you to join us.” 

The person who came to find Zhang Mengzhi was one of the male educated youths who had been sent to the countryside for the longest time. He had a good reputation in the village, so he thought that as soon as he came to invite Zhang Mengzhi, he would go with him. 

“Sorry, Educated Youth Liu, I’ve already eaten, and I’m originally from Zhangjia Village. I won’t be joining your educated youth dinner party.” 

Zhang Mengzhi refused without even thinking about it. 

He was already full. If he went to the educated youth compound to attend the so-called dinner party, he would have to contribute a portion of his food ration. Otherwise, why would they invite him? 

Besides, he wasn’t really familiar with the people in the educated youth compound. Although some of them had come on the same bus as him, unfortunately, he had been taken away by his grandparents, uncles, and great-uncles as soon as he arrived in Zhangjia Village, and they hadn’t even exchanged names. 

Now the educated youths were inviting him to a dinner party. Honestly, based on Zhang Mengzhi’s experience reading novels before he transmigrated, these people definitely had bad intentions. He just didn’t know what they wanted to do to him. 

“…” 

Educated Youth Liu was stunned by the rejection. 

Wait, he just rejected? How was this different from what they had said? Shouldn’t he have agreed immediately? Although they didn’t usually interact, he had said that all the educated youths were having a dinner party together. As a member of the educated youths, Zhang Mengzhi should at least give him and the other educated youths some face, right? 

The facts proved that their face wasn’t worth much to Zhang Mengzhi. He didn’t give them any at all!