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

Anqing pulled Aunt Zhang aside and said he wanted to borrow the stove in the afternoon so that everyone could drink the tea he had personally brewed.

Aunt Zhang asked suspiciously, "Have you ever roasted tea before? Don't waste these tea leaves and burn down our kitchen."

The main reason is that tea is not produced locally, and Aunt Zhang has never seen anyone else fry tea in her old age.

If anything goes wrong with Anqing and the tea-frying, Aunt Zhang won't be able to help him out.

An Qinghe was completely focused on the tea leaves and tea trees at the moment, and kept pestering Aunt Zhang, saying, "Don't worry, although I have never fried tea myself, I have seen others fry tea in Sichuan."

"It's mainly about technique and heat control, no problem!"

Seeing that Aunt Zhang was wavering, An Qinghe pressed his advantage, "Auntie, wouldn't you like to try the tea that Xixi grows?"

"This is the result of Xixi's hard work. She will definitely be very happy to enjoy it with the whole family."

Aunt Zhang always put Gu Xixi first, and at this point she was completely convinced.

"Alright, you stir-fry the tea, and I'll tend the fire and help you adjust the heat."

Anqing grabbed Aunt Zhang's hand with a beaming smile and shook it back and forth, "I knew you were the best, just like my mother!"

Aunt Zhang chuckled, "You silly child! Why can't you get rid of your habit of hitting people without thinking!"

While the two were discussing tea, Gu Xixi didn't hear a single word they said.

She looked at the kang (a heated brick bed), then at the window.

Well, there was neither red rain nor summer snow.

On the east and west sides of the kang table, Mu Nanzhao and He Jinglan sat facing each other.

The two men, with polite smiles on their faces, were having a friendly chat.

He Jinglan: "So you were the schoolteacher in the village before."

Mu Nanzhao: "Yes, but I am not able to take on this position for the time being, so I recommended an old friend of mine to the village chief."

He Jinglan: "Master Liu? I already saw him this morning."

The two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere seemed unusually harmonious.

Shi Tou and the old doctor sat on the inside of the kang table. Shi Tou waved to Gu Xixi, "Sister Xixi, come up quickly!"

Gu Xixi smiled and nodded, then calmly took off her shoes, climbed onto the kang (a heated brick bed), and sat down next to He Jinglan.

Her lips moved slightly, her voice barely audible, "What are you playing?"

He Jinglan gave a mysterious smile, tilted her head and whispered, "He is Chen Fang, your fiancé. This is the first time I've met him, so I'll naturally be more distant and polite in my conversation."

Gu Xixi broke out in a cold sweat.

He Jinglan continued to face Mu Nanzhao, sitting upright and showing a perfectly polite smile.

“From this day forward, I will also teach at the village school,”

"I didn't know that Master Liu was recommended by Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen won't blame me for taking Master Liu's job, will he?"

Mu Nanzhao smiled amicably, "How could that be? It's a blessing for the village school to have two teachers."

He Jinglan praised, "I knew Mr. Chen was a magnanimous person."

The two smiled and nodded at each other again.

Gu Xixi couldn't bear to watch their pretentious behavior any longer and urged, "The food's getting cold, let's start eating."

Aunt Zhang brought over two bowls of red bean soup. "Xixi, go sit over there. I'll sit over here with Jinglan so it's easier to serve rice."

Gu Xixi looked in the direction Aunt Zhang was pointing, which was right next to Mu Nanzhao.

She was about to decline, saying she wanted to sit by the rock, when she met Mu Nanzhao's raised eyebrow.

His eyes held a mocking smile, as if to say, "You're not even afraid to sit down for a seat?"

Gu Xixi's temper was provoked.

She immediately picked up her rice bowl and moved over, giving Mu Nanzhao a hard squeeze as she sat down.

Are you kidding me? As the head of the household, would she really be forced to sit down by someone bought for a penny?

During the meal, He Jinglan would occasionally start a conversation and exchange a few words with Mu Nanzhao.

Gu Xixi ate without looking to the side, but she wasn't lonely. Shi Tou and An Qing chattered away at her, and even eating couldn't shut them up.

Aunt Zhang noticed that Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao were ignoring each other, and she was secretly anxious.

Xiao Chen is still angry because Xi Xi hit him?

Or did the two of them have some kind of disagreement when she went out to pick vegetables?

Aunt Zhang nudged He Jinglan under the table and then gave her a wink.

He Jinglan already had her own plans. Receiving Aunt Zhang's hint, she smiled and asked, "When do you two plan to get married?"

Gu Xixi almost spat out her red bean soup.

Aunt Zhang was both surprised and greatly impressed. "Well said! Miss He's words, once spoken, are the key points!"

All eyes at the table were on Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao.

He Jinglan explained in a serious tone, "I just heard Mr. Chen say that he has lived here for a year."

"I thought that you two must be getting married soon, so I'll stay a little longer and make it in time to have a drink at the wedding."

Just as Aunt Zhang was about to applaud and cheer, He Jing suddenly changed the subject.

"However... your marriage has been delayed for so long, is there perhaps some unspeakable reason?"

She looked at Mu Nanzhao and said, "Mr. Chen was once a scholar. Perhaps he had lofty ambitions, but his heart was not in this rural courtyard?"

Knowing that He Jinglan was stirring up trouble, Mu Nanzhao said indifferently, "Don't look at me, the decision is not in my hands."

Aunt Zhang felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look Mu Nanzhao in the eye.

Speaking of this matter, Xiao Chen really didn't say a single "no".

From beginning to end, Xixi kept delaying and refused to marry Xiao Chen.

And look what happened today! He got beaten up like that again!

Anqing's eyes kept darting around, looking at this and that.

At this moment, he finally found a chance to speak, "Xixi's life-long marriage is, of course, her own choice."

"She must choose a man who shares her interests and understands her."

"Otherwise, wouldn't we be letting down such a wonderful woman as Xixi!"

An Qinghe stood tall and proud, practically as if he were wearing a sign around his neck that said, "I am the most suitable candidate."

Aunt Zhang said unhappily, "This is none of your business! You eat, don't interfere!"

He Jinglan also felt that the timing was about right.

We can't let Anqing say too much, otherwise none of us will be able to save face today.

She glanced at Mu Nanzhao and smiled, "A woman fears marrying the wrong man. It's normal for Xixi to want to wait and choose more."

"What if the person next to you isn't right, but you might meet your true soulmate somewhere in the future?"

An Qinghe said happily, "That's right, perhaps our destined marriage is far away, not right beside us."

Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao looked at each other simultaneously.

As if burned by fire, they each looked away.

In the afternoon, Mu Nanzhao cornered He Jinglan next to the granary in the backyard.

"What on earth do you want to do?"

He Jinglan blinked in bewilderment, "You're Chen Fang now, of course I have to pretend I don't know you."

Mu Nanzhao said with a dark face, "You know that's not what I meant."

He Jinglan pretended to suddenly realize, "You mean Xixi?"

"Xixi is my best friend, so of course I want her to be happy."

Mu Nanzhao sneered, "You mean the person who truly understands her is that barbarian?"