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

As night fell, the deadline set by Gu Xixi arrived.

There are only six families in total, including Lao Qian and Sister-in-law Qin.

But there was no gloom or despair in Gu Xixi's home.

"Make way!" Aunt Zhang placed a large pot of stew on the kang table.

The freshly cooked stew was steaming hot, containing cabbage, red and white radishes, dried green beans, dried wild mushrooms, braised pork slices, and fried meatballs, all stewed together.

While this kind of large-pot cooking may lack refinement, it is still delicious.

It's especially good to eat when it's cold. It has soup, vegetables, and meat, and a big bowl of it doesn't get cold easily.

Aunt Zhang rubbed her hands together and smiled, "Xixi said the stew she ate in the army camp was especially delicious, so this is my first time trying to make it. What do you think of it?"

Ever since Aunt Zhang heard Gu Xixi's confident tone, she completely relaxed.

Anyway, she doesn't care what the villagers do; she just needs to take care of the logistics for Xixi.

The staple food is millet rice, which is absolutely delicious whether eaten with side dishes or soaked in soup.

Gu Xixi praised, "Auntie's cooking skills are much better than those of the cooks in the army camp."

She looked at Mu Nanzhao, "Don't you think so?"

Mu Nanzhao nodded, "It's very delicious, it doesn't seem like it's the first time I've made it."

Stone slurped as the meatballs burned his face, "Mmm, delicious! So fragrant!"

Aunt Zhang beamed with joy at the praise and asked the old doctor, "Old Jiang, would you like a sip of liquor?"

The old doctor put down his chopsticks and struggled for a moment.

"...I'd better not drink it."

"I'll eat more vegetables and rice, so as not to let your cooking go to waste."

With delicious dishes and meat laid out on the table, the old doctor, as was his usual habit, would surely have a couple of drinks.

However, the preparation of the antidote has been slow recently, and he doesn't want to let drinking alcohol make him mentally exhausted.

Those who were waiting to see the family make a fool of themselves probably never imagined that this family would be enjoying their meal and chatting happily tonight.

For the next three days, Gu Xixi stayed indoors.

However, intelligence from all sides in the village continued to flow into her ears.

Shi Tou sat cross-legged on the kang (a heated brick bed), cleared his throat with a serious expression, and said, "That's what they all say."

"Gu Xixi ordered a lot of Bodhi tree saplings. When the time comes, no one will listen to her and won't plant the trees. Let's see what she does then!"

"Well, when Gu Xixi is out of options, won't she have to beg us for help?"

"Make her hand over the secret recipe for growing millet!"

When the stone spoke these words, its expression and tone changed at any moment, making it incredibly lifelike.

After relaying the message, he spread his hands and said, "There are some unpleasant and useless things I won't say, so as not to offend Sister Xixi's ears."

“Hmm,” Gu Xixi smiled, “They want to get back at me, but they can only wait for me to suffer the consequences.”

She sighed, "I really like the way they look at me but can't do anything about it."

Mu Nanzhao was preparing his lesson nearby when he heard this. He coughed lightly and looked up at Gu Xixi.

Gu Xixi gave her a matter-of-fact look and said, "What's wrong? I'm just telling the truth."

Mu Nanzhao continued to look down at the book, saying, "It's nothing."

"I just regret not hearing this a few years earlier."

Gu Xixi asked curiously, "Why?"

Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "It can make a few more stubborn old men faint."

Gu Xixi burst out laughing.

She knew that Mu Nanzhao was once a notorious troublemaker in the imperial court. He would casually engage in verbal battles, but often infuriated others.

The record is that during one morning court session, three officials had to be carried out by physicians.

Stone knew nothing of this, and was only filled with confusion as he listened, “The teacher taught us to respect the elderly and honor the virtuous.”

"Isn't what you're doing a bit inappropriate?"

Mu Nanzhao raised his eyes, "Then let me teach you one more thing today: respect the elderly, but only if the elderly person is worthy of respect."

The stone asked, "What if it's not worthy of respect?"

Mu Nanzhao turned another page of the book. "Then don't spoil them."

Stone suddenly realized something and burst out laughing excitedly.

"Sister Xixi, I also found out that the ones who are leading the charge against us this time are Uncle Gu and Second Uncle Gu!"

Gu Xixi wasn't surprised. "Okay, I understand."

Stone had already slipped off the kang (a heated brick bed), said "Let's go out and play," and ran off.

Gu Xixi looked at the doorway and shook her head with amusement, "They just do whatever comes to mind."

She took out her ledger and began to calculate the accounts, unaware of Mu Nanzhao's meaningful gaze.

In the following days, Grandpa Gu and Second Grandpa Gu encountered strange things one after another.

When Master Gu was drinking tea, he found an earthworm soaking in the cup.

Grandpa Gu was defecating in his own vegetable garden when a stone was thrown at him, splashing him with excrement.

A male goat belonging to someone in the village suddenly became temperamental and chased after Uncle Gu for two miles.

Grandpa Gu was playing with Gu Xixi's crickets at the village entrance when he touched something. When he got home, his hand felt like it had been stung by a bee—red, swollen, painful, and itchy…

Aunt Zhang brought these things up as a joke, and Gu Xixi immediately looked at the stone.

Shi Tou's eyes darted around, looking at the sky and the ground, but he dared not meet Gu Xixi's gaze.

He knew in his heart that Sister Xixi didn't want him to do these things.

But he also wanted to vent his anger for Sister Xixi!

Give those two old guys a little trouble, so they won't have nothing better to do than incite the villagers to isolate Sister Xixi.

Gu Xixi looked at the stone, but before she could speak, the sound of a horse neighing came from outside the door.

Mu Nanzhao seized the opportunity to help Shi Tou, "You came on horseback, are you a guest of the master?"

Gu Xixi had no choice but to open the door and go see.

Outside the gate, a tall, strong chestnut horse looked majestic.

A young man sat on the horse's back.

With a high nose, deep-set eyes, sharply defined eyebrows, and a sculpted face, he was as handsome as a sculpture.

Looking at his appearance and Western Region-style clothing, Gu Xixi hesitated and asked, "Are you... from the Yunling Nursery Stock Company?"

"But today is not yet the date we agreed on for delivery."

Aunt Zhang and Shi Tou also came out to see what was going on.

It was the first time they had ever seen someone who looked like that, and they stared at him with great curiosity.

The man dismounted gracefully, every movement he made was so elegant.

He walked up to Gu Xixi and suddenly broke into a big smile, "Beautiful rose, we've finally met again!"

Gu Xixi frowned. Wait a minute, that voice, that tone.

She looked closely and finally recognized a familiar feeling in the man's distinctive blue eyes.

"Anqing and?!?"

An Qinghe grinned and nodded vigorously, "It's me, it's me!"

"It's only been a short time since we last met, I thought you'd forgotten me."

He clutched his chest with one hand, dramatically expressing his heartache.

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "Sorry, you shaved your beard off, I didn't recognize you at first."

"There's a place to tie up horses in the yard, please come in."

An Qinghe led the horse into the courtyard, saying, "When I first joined the Chamber of Commerce, I was afraid that not having a beard would make me look too young and make people look down on me."

"You taught me that ambition knows no age!"

Gu Xixi chuckled. This person was misusing idioms again. "Indeed, those who can achieve great things are not limited by age or gender."

An Qinghe nodded and said, "Not only that, I've also heard that the aesthetic of the Daye people is that young men don't grow long beards; they look handsome, and young women prefer that."