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

Gu Xixi said calmly, "That matter has nothing to do with the debt that my third uncle and aunt owe me. You don't need to bring it up."

Who would believe that her cousin was completely unaware of her parents' intentions?

Gu Qingye was stunned. She stared at Gu Xixi with tears in her eyes, as if she had made up her mind.

Suddenly, she grabbed Mu Nanzhao's sleeves with both hands and cried, "Brother Chen, please beg Sister Xixi to spare my parents. They are old and can't take it!"

Gu Qingye looked up at Mu Nanzhao with her small face upturned, her long eyelashes drooping and her eyes pleading, tears streaming down her cheeks like pear blossoms in the rain.

Those watching felt sorry for him.

Some people advised, "Can't this huge conflict be resolved peacefully? It's unacceptable to resort to violence against an elder."

"Yes, look how pitiful Qingye is crying. She's your dear cousin, she definitely didn't mean to hurt her."

"Qingye is young, so as her older sister, I should forgive her!"

Gu Xixi looked up at the sky in silence.

Throughout history, has it always been the case that whoever can act better or write better essays is right?

She wouldn't tolerate those who acted as peacemakers without knowing the full story!

Just as Gu Xixi was about to retort, she suddenly heard the sound of cloth tearing.

The surroundings fell silent.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Mu Nanzhao flicked his sleeve, which was now mostly bare, and his thin lips moved slightly, "Dirty."

Gu Xixi was stunned. Then she saw Gu Qingye standing there holding a piece of her sleeve, and she was so incredulous that she forgot to cry.

Mu Nanzhao looked up at the onlookers again, his expression showing some impatience.

Do you know who owns these plots of land?

The villagers, under his gaze, felt inexplicably tense.

After a moment, people began to nod in agreement.

Mu Nanzhao said coldly, "Since you know, then shut up and stop interfering."

Gu Xixi was afraid that if he continued talking, he would offend the whole village, so she stepped in to smooth things over.

"My third uncle has agreed to rent the land to me today."

"I'm sorry to have troubled you all to stay here with me. Now you can all leave."

Gu Qingye was still staring blankly at Mu Nanzhao, as if she had lost her soul.

Why?

She pleaded with him so humbly, why was he completely unmoved?

In terms of looks, intelligence, and even popularity in the village, how could Gu Xixi compare to her from childhood to adulthood?

He wouldn't even glance at her!

Liu rushed over and roughly pulled her daughter up, saying, "Come back with me right now, don't embarrass yourself here!"

Gu Laosan chose to use grain as rent, so Xixi asked Chen Dafu to go home with them to get it.

Aunt Zhang wanted the young couple to develop their relationship, so she said, "I'll take everyone back to the fields to plow first."

"Xiao Chen isn't fully recovered yet, Xixi, you walk slowly with him."

Without waiting for Xixi's response, Aunt Zhang quickly led the hired workers away.

Thus, Gu Xixi never imagined that she would be alone with Mu Nanzhao under such circumstances.

Rather than making small talk, she preferred to look at the flowers, the grass, and the scenery.

Mu Nanzhao suddenly spoke up, "If it were me, the field would be completely barren today."

Xi Xi looked up at him and asked, "You've never managed your own finances or household accounts before, have you?"

Mu Nanzhao scoffed, "Gold and silver are common things, easily obtained."

Xi Xi sighed, "If things were still like this, would you have condescended to stay in my house?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a sharp gaze fall upon him.

Xi Xi secretly cried out in alarm; she had accidentally blurted out the truth.

But then Mu Nanzhao said, "You do have some self-awareness."

Xi Xi breathed a sigh of relief and laughed, "I told you I wasn't lying to you. I'm short of money and food, and I still owe money for killing that cow."

"Why not take advantage of the opportunity to get some money out of Gu Laosan's pocket?"

“Besides,” she paused, then looked down and kicked away a small pebble at her feet.

“It will take at least two or three days to harvest his wheat, and then we will have to deal with the straw and rebuild the fields. It’s time-consuming and labor-intensive and not worth it.”

Mu Nanzhao glanced sideways, "So you already knew what you wanted from the start."

"Is this still about threatening to collect debts?"

Xi Xi smiled slyly and made a shushing gesture, "Shh, keep your voice down."

When she thought of Gu Qingye, her mood became less cheerful.

According to the plan, Gu Xixi should bring Mu Nanzhao and Gu Qingye together until the lovers finally get married.

But what's going on now?

Xi Xi was very worried and stole a glance at Mu Nanzhao, but was caught red-handed.

"If you have something to say, just say it."

Xi Xi chuckled dryly, "Gu Qingye has never offended you, why do you treat her like that?"

Mu Nanzhao turned his head to look at him, his brows furrowing slightly. "Don't you hate her?"

Xixi had no choice but to say, "My relationship with Gu Qingye is between her and me."

"Given our friendship, you wouldn't hold a grudge against her because of me, would you?"

Mu Nanzhao turned back, looking straight ahead, and said, "Oh."

"Oh?" Xixi asked, puzzled. "What does 'oh' mean?"

To avoid arousing Mu Nanzhao's suspicion, Gu Xixi decided to stop for the time being.

Since they're the official couple, there will be plenty of opportunities for them to spark a romance.

As for Gu Qingye's actual character and whether he is a good match for her.

Gu Xixi didn't care. She wasn't anyone to Mu Nanzhao; she just needed to protect her money and her life.

"That Gu Tiezhu seems to be exchanging glances with you all the time?"

Gu Xixi was lost in her own thoughts when she was startled by Mu Nanzhao's words.

"What nonsense are you talking about? Who was exchanging glances with him!"

Mu Nanzhao: "...Oh."

Gu Xixi gritted her teeth, "It's me again!"

She simply asked directly, "Why has your attitude changed today?"

"Why did you insist on coming out with me? Why did you speak up for me just now?"

What do you want now?

Mu Nanzhao surprisingly did not avoid answering, "Didn't you tell me the reason yourself?"

"I'm stuck here and can't leave anytime soon."

"If you squander the family fortune, it will be of no benefit to me."

Gu Xixi forced herself to roll her eyes.

They actually made it sound so natural to freeload at other people's homes.

Mu Nanzhao saw through her thoughts, "It was not my wish for you to buy me for one penny back then."

Gu Xixi: "..."

Okay, I'll take care of the man I bought myself.

It's not like she can't afford to raise Gu Xixi!

Gu Xixi worked hard and selected seeds and mixed them with pesticides on her own. In one afternoon, she had all the millet seeds ready.

As the sun set, Aunt Zhang returned home and shared some good news.

"The people Xixi finds using this method are really effective!"

"The weeds were all cleared in one day, and the ground was leveled."

"It will only take half a day at most, and the seeds can be planted tomorrow afternoon."

Gu Xixi dug out all the wild yams buried in the sand pile, saying, "Just what I expected."

"The millet and yams will be planted together tomorrow,"

"Yams are most susceptible to waterlogging."

“Use intercropping to plant a row of yams on the high ground between each millet field.”

Aunt Zhang nodded repeatedly and carefully wrote it down.

He looked around again and asked, "Where's Xiao Chen?"

Gu Xixi said indifferently, "I don't know, I haven't seen him since I came back."

Aunt Zhang searched again, and sure enough, the person was gone again.

"This man is always running around outside; he's become too wild. Shouldn't you do something about him?"