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

What if there's an emergency at Mu Nanzhao's place, and we don't deal with it soon enough, or our whole family gets dragged down with us?

With just a change of heart, Gu Xixi made her decision.

Look!

She quickly pried off the wax seal on the bamboo tube lid and took out a roll of letter paper.

Gu Xixi was full of expectations that the letter would contain some important information, but when she unfolded it, there were only a few words:

"The trees at the village entrance, ten on the left and thirteen on the right, are hollow in the middle."

Gu Xixi was disappointed and even more confused.

What does it mean?

Tree at the village entrance...

At the entrance of Huachidu Village, the most eye-catching thing is the big locust tree with a bronze bell hanging on it.

A gentleman's body is hollow, like bamboo? But bamboo doesn't grow here.

Thinking of this, Gu Xixi bent down and rubbed the cat's head, "Good little flower, go find Brother Stone and bring him back."

Xiao Hua is very good at understanding human speech.

It looked at Gu Xixi and meowed softly twice, then scurried away in a flash.

Given the current atmosphere at home, Gu Xixi specially sent Shitou to the Qin family this morning to practice calligraphy with Gouwa.

Xiaohua took him there early this morning, so she can naturally find him and bring him back now.

Gu Xixi stood outside the gate for a while and then saw a person and a cat walking back along the path.

Shi Tou looked down at Xiao Hua and asked as he walked, "Xiao Hua, did you call me back because something happened at home and you absolutely had to wait for me to come back to help?"

"Oh dear, all you can do is meow, you can't speak human language!"

Gu Xixi found it amusing and took a few steps forward to greet it, saying, "Knowing that Xiaohua can't speak, why are you still bullying it like this?"

Shi Tou stopped when he heard the noise, feeling a little embarrassed when Xi Xi caught him whispering to Xiao Hua.

"I was just teasing Xiaohua!"

He quickly became serious. "Xiao Hua called me. Did Sister Xi Xi ask me to do something?"

Gu Xixi nodded and said, "I'm going out for a bit, it shouldn't be too long."

"You know the situation at home. When I'm not here, you must make sure to lock the door securely and stay at home. Don't go anywhere else, and don't open the door for anyone except when I come back, understand?"

Without asking why, Shi Tou readily agreed, "Understood, Sister Xi Xi, don't worry, I've got it all covered!"

Gu Xixi touched the small cloth bag slung across her shoulder and patted Shi Tou's little shoulder encouragingly:

"I feel at ease leaving the family in your care."

After Gu Xixi left, Shi Tou immediately called Xiao Hua into the yard.

He closed both doors tightly and then pushed both bolts up with all his might.

Then he patted off non-existent dust from his hands, put his hands on his hips, and stood facing the gate, displaying an air of "I am the only one who can hold the pass."

"Hmph! I knew it, without me, this family would fall apart!"

"Xiaohua, we have to guard this door until Sister Xixi comes home, understand?!"

Little Flower seemed to understand, tilting its head back and meowing proudly, then pressing its sharp front paws onto the ground.

Gu Xixi walked all the way to the big locust tree at the entrance of the village.

Since the code taught by Mu Nanzhao could match the gyrfalcon that delivered the message, it means that this secret letter was most likely not a trap sent by the enemy to lure the enemy into a trap, or a feint.

Instead of pondering this in vain, it's better to go and investigate in person, as described in the letter.

Gu Xixi took ten steps to the left, then looked around and found there was no way to turn right.

But not far ahead, there was indeed a small path worn into the grass that turned right.

It's normal for the measured distance to have some error, considering that everyone's stride length is different.

So Gu Xixi took a few more steps forward, stepped onto the path in the grass, and continued to walk thirteen steps to the right.

She stopped and looked around. There were weeds growing everywhere, no trees, let alone bamboo.

Could it be a misunderstanding?

Are the numbers 10 and 13 not steps?

But surely it's not right to make her walk twenty-three miles to get something?

Almost at the same time, Aunt Zhang heard someone knocking on the door and ran out of the kitchen.

She saw the stone standing straight in the middle of the road, and felt both disgusted and amused. "Is it blocking the way like a screen? Go play somewhere else. Didn't you hear the knocking? And you didn't even answer the door, you child!"

Shi Tou ran two steps and spread his arms to block Aunt Zhang's way.

"Don't open it!" he said in a serious, quiet voice. "That's what Sister Xixi said."

"Don't open the door for anyone until she comes back!"

Old Qian's puzzled voice came from outside the door, "No one's home? Isn't my niece Xixi supposed to be recuperating at home? This shouldn't be happening."

Aunt Zhang composed herself after hearing what Shi Tou said.

She nodded to the stone and then pointed to the gate.

Old Qian had taken good care of their family, and this time he planted fruit trees with Gu Xixi.

We can't treat old money the way we pretend we're not at home.

The clever Stone immediately understood and called out, "Uncle Village Chief, my sister Xixi has just finished eating and fallen asleep. Is there anything urgent?"

Outside the door, Old Qian's brow relaxed, and he smiled, "My niece is able to eat something today? That's good."

“It’s nothing serious, just that the chicks and ducklings I bought came back, and I was thinking of telling her.”

Shi Tou readily agreed, "Okay, I'll talk to Sister Xi Xi when she wakes up."

Old Qian responded, sounding as if he had put something on the ground.

He said, "I also told her that her aunt had saved up some eggs, and I'm giving her a few to help her recover. I left them at the door, so please be careful when you come in and out."

The footsteps fade away.

Aunt Zhang peeked through the crack in the door before opening it and bringing in the straw basket from the floor.

She turned to the stone.

Shi Tou immediately shrugged, "I don't know where Sister Xi Xi went either."

"But she said she'd be back soon."

Aunt Zhang shook her head and sighed helplessly, "I really don't understand it anymore."

She carried the basket toward the kitchen, saying, "Never mind, never mind, I won't ask."

Amidst the overgrown weeds, Gu Xixi looked around, pondering for a long time, but still found no solution.

She was ready to give up.

This riddle should be left for Mu Nanzhao to solve when he wakes up.

Just as she was about to turn around, a gust of wind suddenly rose, causing Gu Xixi to squint and shield her eyes with her hand.

That's how the wind blows in the northwest in spring; it comes and goes as it pleases, sometimes gentle and sometimes wild.

The wind blew through the tall grass ahead, and a patch of dark blue flashed across Gu Xixi's vision.

She immediately parted the waist-high grass with both hands and waded forward.

A huge rock was hidden in the grass.

Gu Xixi circled the boulder, feeling around with both hands, and indeed found a hole close to the ground below.

She picked up a stalk of grass and poked it into the hole to make sure there were no living creatures before she dared to put her hand inside.

Gu Xixi rummaged around for a while and pulled out a small package.

Wrapped in waterproof tarpaulin, it was flat and dented, making it impossible to tell what was inside.

She hesitated for a moment, but still opened the package.

On top was an envelope, and underneath it was a stack of papers covered in red ink.

He initially thought this was a secret letter from the contact person to Mu Nanzhao.

Gu Xixi opened the package and immediately recognized Mu Nanzhao's handwriting.

The content was as simple as the riddle delivered by the gyrfalcon; it could be understood at a glance:

"In the past, I have been involved in many things with you. There is no point in saying more. I can only make amends in a little way."