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

At the square kang table, Gu Xixi sat opposite He Jinglan, with Shi Tou to her left and An Qinghe to her right.

An Qinghe stared at Gu Xixi, while Shi Tou glared at An Qinghe as if he were a thief.

The two of them haven't changed their posture since they sat down.

Unable to bear their stares any longer, Gu Xixi had no choice but to tell them to leave, "Shitou, go play with Gouwa. An Qinghe, you can take some snacks and tea and go back to your room to eat."

The two, who had been silent until now, spoke in unison:

An Qinghe: "I can't bear to leave your side."

Stone: "I won't leave unless he leaves!"

How embarrassing! Gu Xixi sighed, unable to bear looking at He Jinglan's expression.

Three days ago, An Qinghe visited Huachidu Village once again.

This time, Aunt Zhang arranged accommodation for him, right next to the old doctor's room in the backyard. A small wooden bed was set up in the small compartment that originally contained medicinal herbs.

At this moment, An Qinghe looked at Gu Xixi, his unique blue eyes deep and captivating.

"Xi Xi, with the war between Daye and Beili this time, the defenses of Yunling County have become much stricter."

"When I heard the news, I was very worried about you, so I changed the way I originally asked the caravan to bring you the things, and I decided to go myself."

"As soon as I arrived, Aunt Zhang told me that you had already gone to the border."

His eyes glistened with tears. "Xixi, do you know how scared I was?"

"Every day I watch the sunrise and sunset waiting for you, but you never come back."

"I became more and more worried and more and more afraid."

Just then, Aunt Zhang came in to get something and overheard them. She said, "Xiao An is such a good boy. He told me last night that you were way overdue for your return. If you didn't come back today, he would head all the way to the border to find you."

"Thank goodness you came back today, we can finally relax."

Gu Xixi looked at An Qinghe, feeling somewhat moved.

As a friend and business partner whom he had only known for a short time, An Qinghe was indeed quite kind and righteous.

"I'm sorry, it's really not easy to send messages out from there. I've made you worry."

Aunt Zhang waved her hand and said, "You silly child, what are you saying about harming people?"

"As long as your aunt can see you come back and stay with you for a long time, that's enough for her."

After Aunt Zhang left, Gu Xixi thanked An Qinghe again.

An Qinghe said, "Xixi, there's no need for thanks between us. It's only right that I worry about you."

"Besides, I came here specifically for you."

Gu Xixi seemed to remember something and asked, "You were with Aunt Qian and Sister-in-law Qin today."

"Could it be that you've been helping out in everyone's orchard these past two days?"

An Qinghe laughed sheepishly, "You still found out."

He quickly explained, "But don't worry, I only did what I knew how to do. There were a few minor issues with the Bodhi tree that they didn't know how to handle, and I helped them resolve those."

"As for the other things, I didn't dare to mess with that intercropping or relay cropping you did."

Gu Xixi solemnly cupped her hands and bowed to An Qinghe to express her gratitude.

"I was delayed in returning, breaking my promise to everyone. I am very grateful for An's help."

At this point, she felt somewhat guilty and ashamed.

No wonder everyone says everything is fine in the orchard; it seems that not only were there no problems, but that all the problems have been resolved.

An Qinghe saw through Gu Xixi's thoughts and tried to comfort her, "These are just minor issues. Even if you leave them for now, they won't cause any problems. You can deal with them when you get back."

"It was me, I was just bored, nosy, and loved to join in the fun."

Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Thank you for comforting me."

"But I did make a mistake this time. I thought it would be okay to come back three or four days later."

"The result not only worried my family, but also caused problems with the fruit trees."

An Qinghe was afraid of upsetting her, and was at a loss for what to do. "Xixi, don't think like that."

"Well, there's a saying..."

"Humans aren't plants or trees; how can they be without fault?"

Gu Xixi was taken aback and couldn't help but correct her, "You meant to say, 'To err is human,' right?"

“Yes, yes, yes.” An Qinghe nodded repeatedly.

"Don't blame yourself. I know you want to achieve great things. Since we're going to work together in the future, it's only right that I do things for you."

"Besides, compared to what you've done, what I've done is just a tiny, insignificant favor."

When he spoke with emotion, his eyes became sincere, like a pool of clear blue water, gentle yet passionate.

Gu Xixi was initially looking at An Qinghe, but then she suddenly felt uncomfortable and quickly looked away. She then noticed He Jinglan resting her chin on her hand, smiling meaningfully.

Gu Xixi was extremely embarrassed, but she couldn't show it.

Just as I was about to find some excuse to change the subject, Aunt Zhang lifted the curtain, leaned in, and said:

"It's time to cook. Xiao An, you start the fire. Shi Tou, check if there's any sand in the rice."

He Jinglan obediently stood up, "Auntie, I'll help too."

Aunt Zhang smiled and said, "Please sit down! You are a guest, and you two just got back today, so please rest well. You and Xixi can chat here."

Only two girls remained inside the house.

He Jinglan glanced at Gu Xixi sideways, her expression once again showing amusement.

"It would be only right for us to work together in the future... Oh..."

Gu Xixi frowned and put down the teacup she had just picked up. "Say what you want to say."

He Jinglan asked with a smile, "Who is this Mr. An? Could you tell me a little more about him?"

Since it was a private conversation, Gu Xixi spoke candidly about how she met An Qinghe and the possibility of future cooperation.

He Jinglan suddenly realized, "So he fell in love with you at first sight?"

Gu Xixi felt a series of invisible black lines hanging down the back of her head.

"Don't overthink it, that's just how people in their country are—warm and outgoing in their way of socializing."

He Jinglan seemed not to have listened to the explanation, and sighed to the sky, "It's over, it's over. Looking at his appearance, although he is not the same type as Mu Nanzhao, he is definitely not inferior to him."

"And he has many advantages too."

He Jinglan counted them off one by one on her fingers, "She's good-looking, and her eyes are especially beautiful."

"If he can be honest about what he's thinking, it means he won't hide anything from you."

"Enthusiasm and pleasant speech make people happy, which is much better than those cold and indifferent people."

"And then there's bravery. Even knowing there's fighting on the border, he still came to find you, and even went to the border to search for you."

Gu Xixi slumped weakly onto the table.

“Jinglan, I told you… Anqing and I aren’t what you think.”

He Jinglan smiled, indicating that she had heard.

Then he said, "I've decided to stay a few more days. I'll pay Aunt Zhang's room and board fees tonight."

We must find an opportunity to persuade Boss An to stay a little longer.

Thinking of this, He Jinglan couldn't help but chuckle to herself.

Seeing her expression, Gu Xixi suddenly sat up straight. "What you're thinking right now isn't that you're waiting for Mu Nanzhao to come back so there'll be a good show to watch... right?"