A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Meng Chengping, with his neck stiff, was muttering to himself, seemingly to no one in particular.

"With foreign enemies still at large, how can I think of a home? Impossible! The eldest daughter of the He family isn't after me. A person should know their place. I absolutely cannot..."

Mu Nanzhao gave Gu Xixi a wink.

The two looked at Meng Chengping with amusement.

Gu Xixi rarely watches gossip, so she was quite interested.

I never imagined that General Meng was such a pure-hearted person.

Just a few teasing words were enough to make him so shy.

However, judging from General Meng's strong reaction, who knows if Mu Nanzhao has seen through his true nature?

The courtyard gate was wide open, and He Jinglan was standing in the sun watching people sweep the floor.

Hearing the noise outside, she turned around and ran over excitedly, "Xixi! Azhao!"

Mu Nanzhao glanced at Gu Xixi subconsciously and sighed to He Jinglan, "I've said it so many times since we were little, I'm a few months older than He Jinghui, you should call me elder brother."

He Jinglan replied without hesitation, "That won't do. I don't have the habit of going around claiming brothers."

Even Gu Xixi and Meng Chengping couldn't help but laugh.

Mu Nanzhao asked with a stern face, "Why did you come here?"

He Jinglan smiled and said, "I was bored staying in the capital, so I planned to go out for a stroll."

“Just before the New Year, Xixi wrote to me saying that she would be working near the military camp in the spring, so I thought I would come over early to wait for you. I didn’t expect you to arrive so quickly.”

"This is ridiculous," Mu Nanzhao said unhappily. "What is He Jinghui doing? He didn't even stop you."

He Jinglan spread her hands, "He tried to stop me, but you know it was no use."

She then hugged Gu Xixi's arm and laughed, "Xixi, you have no idea how much I've missed you!"

The group entered the house chatting and laughing.

Meng Chengping hired two local women in advance to be responsible for boiling water, cooking, cleaning, and so on in the courtyard.

After moving in, Gu Xixi didn't need to worry about anything else and devoted herself to the Northwest Army's land reclamation work that very day.

As for Mu Nanzhao, she kept him in the courtyard with reasons such as "it's a good time for friends to catch up" and "everyone has their own expertise, there's nothing you can do there, so why bother going out in the cold wind?"

After several days of sunny weather and the midday sun, the permafrost in the vast wastelands of Northwest China has begun to thaw.

The first day was to demarcate the land.

Once the areas are clearly defined, Gu Xixi only needs to teach them how to reclaim and cultivate the land, and after she leaves, they can do it on their own.

The next day, Gu Xixi personally inspected the land and marked out the areas that needed special improvement.

She had previously tested the soil composition; the specially marked areas were unsuitable for growing crops, but after improvement, they were suitable for growing alfalfa.

Of the remaining land, only a small portion can be used to grow wheat, while the other large portion can be used to grow oats.

However, winter comes early and is extremely cold in the northwest, so winter wheat cannot be grown like in Huachidu Village.

Meng Chengping frowned and said, "You mean spring wheat? I've never seen it before?"

Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Although spring wheat is sown in early spring, it is more cold-resistant than winter wheat."

“This kind of wheat exists in some countries in the Western Regions.”

She glanced at Meng Chengping and said knowingly, "Don't worry, I have a way to get it."

"However, you'll have to negotiate the price with them yourselves."

The boss of Geshu in Yunling County comes from a family of large landowners who grew spring wheat.

Meng Chengping grinned and said, "That's easy. I'll hide my identity and go in plain clothes, pretending to be a merchant from the north that you introduced."

"The North?" Gu Xixi nodded with a smile. "That's a good excuse."

Meng Chengping said, "Oats are coarse after all. They're okay for feeding horses, but wheat is better for people."

Gu Xixi said, "Actually, oats can also be made into delicious pasta dishes, but the preparation process involves several more steps than with wheat."

Cooked flour made from oats was later called oat noodles in some places.

It's chewy and springy, and provides a long-lasting feeling of fullness, making it a great source of carbohydrates.

Meng Chengping looked at Gu Xixi with sparkling eyes, appearing like a sycophant seeking her guidance.

Gu Xixi chuckled, "Don't rush, I'll write down how to cook it for you when the oats are harvested."

Starting from the second day, Gu Xixi would go out before dawn.

This was the time she proposed to Meng Chengping.

Before coming, she had considered that Mu Nanzhao's health might not be able to handle it, so she set a four-day return date and insisted that it could not be delayed.

Excluding her return date, she had three days to complete the land reclamation arrangements.

For two consecutive days, Mu Nanzhao didn't see Gu Xixi until dark.

Gu Xixi was probably too tired after a busy day, so she hurriedly ate a few bites of food and said she was going back to her room to sleep.

Therefore, Mu Nanzhao and He Jinglan hardly had a chance to say more than a few words to her.

That night, Gu Xixi went to sleep again. He Jinglan sighed, "The job of a general is really not easy. Look how tired Xixi is. I saw her eyelids drooping while eating just now."

Mu Nanzhao's face remained expressionless as he flicked his sleeve. "Hmm, then let's go to sleep."

He Jinglan called out from behind him, "You're sleeping too? So early?!"

Mu Nanzhao did not answer.

The next day, Gu Xixi once again tiptoed out in the dark, only to be blocked by someone.

Gu Xixi was startled, patted her chest to calm herself, and whispered, "Did I wake you up?"

"It's so cold, hurry up and go inside! Standing here in the dark, who are you trying to scare to death!"

As she spoke, she reached out to push him, but couldn't budge him. She looked up in confusion.

Mu Nanzhao looked down at her. "Gu Xixi, you promised to bring me here, but now you've left me in the yard. Don't you think that's going too far?"

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "We didn't come here for sightseeing. Do you think I'd take you out to starve?"

"Besides, I'm not abandoning you."

“Jinglan will stay home with you, so you'll have each other’s company and won’t be bored.”

What Gu Xixi didn't say was that He Jinglan was in love with Mu Nanzhao, and given Mu Nanzhao's current condition, He Jinglan could trust him to take care of him without any worries.

Mu Nanzhao looked Gu Xixi up and down, raising his eyebrows slightly. "You seem to trust Jinglan quite a bit."

Gu Xixi felt inexplicably guilty under his gaze. "Of course, Jinglan is your childhood sweetheart."

Mu Nanzhao's eyes were as dark as ink. He suddenly flicked his sleeve and strode toward the door.

As dawn broke, Meng Chengping stood on the edge of the field, watching his soldiers bury fertilizer.

The recipe was given by Gu Xixi. I prepared it last night, buried it deep in the soil, and watered it to let it sit for a month. This will both increase fertility and neutralize alkalinity.

When the weather is suitable, it will be just the right time to sow.

but……

Meng Chengping couldn't help but steal a glance at the person beside him.

Why did Mu Nanzhao come along today?

Come on, come on, but you just stand there with a straight face and don't say a word.

Meng Chengping silently pulled his cloak tighter and gazed into the distance.

On such a cold day, he figured there wasn't much scenery to see around him.

Looking at Gu Xixi again, she was exceptionally serious when instructing the soldiers, displaying a heroic and valiant demeanor like a female general. However, she would occasionally glance at Mu Nanzhao in between glances, seemingly lost in thought, as if she were preoccupied.

Meng Chengping was filled with doubt. What was wrong with these two?