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

Once the shouting subsided, Huo Jiang walked over and glanced at him, saying, "You only crippled his two hands and gave him a quick death. I didn't expect you to be so merciful."

Mu Nanzhao tossed the longsword to the soldier beside him, his long, slender fingers untouched by a drop of blood.

"Because someone told me to only take what I need and not to waste energy on unnecessary things."

"Whatever evil this person has done, then he should pay the corresponding price."

Huo Jiang waved his hand, ordering his men to remove the corpse, and said with a smile, "The person you're talking about, is it Boss Gu? She seems to be acting like her."

"Don't worry, this man's head will be displayed outside Qingtian County, and his remaining accomplices will be severely punished. In addition, notices will be posted in various prefectures and counties, detailing the circumstances of this incident caused by the bandits' attempt to rob Huachidu Village."

"In this way, anyone who wants to touch Boss Gu's village will have to think twice."

Mu Nanzhao had no intention of accepting this favor, and said indifferently, "It should have been done a long time ago."

"The war hasn't even started yet, and our own backyard is already in chaos. Where is the dignity of the dignified King of the Northwest?"

Huo Jiang gritted his teeth, "Hey Huo, I really helped you out this time, would it kill you to say a nice word?"

"Help me?" Mu Nanzhao looked at Huo Jiang as if he had heard something incredibly funny.

"You invited Gu Xixi with great eagerness to be in charge of the granaries for your Northwest Army. If something goes wrong with her, your Northwest Army will suffer the greatest loss."

"But they rely entirely on themselves to protect themselves today, and the entire village captured the bandits themselves, which actually saved you a lot of trouble."

"As for what happened next, it was just a case of locking the barn door after the horse has bolted. If I were you, I wouldn't even dare to mention it to anyone."

After saying that, he gave Huo Jiang a mocking look and walked away.

Huo Jiang was furious, but he had no way to refute her.

He paced back and forth a few steps, panting heavily, and could only vent his anger by yelling at the sky, "Violent tongue! Bastard! Annoying!!"

Huachidu Village.

The villagers fought off the bandits with their own skills, achieving an initial victory. Everyone was in high spirits, which swept away the previous gloomy and tense atmosphere in the village.

At dinner time, Gu Xixi's family received many delicious treats.

Auntie Youqian steamed water chestnut and egg buns, Sister-in-law Qin fried sugar pancakes, and Sister-in-law Zhou made fresh pickled vegetables.

There were also red date steamed buns, cooled red bean soup, hand-pulled noodles, and pepper leaf pancakes given by other villagers...

Everyone said it was to calm Gu Xixi's nerves, and Aunt Zhang couldn't refuse any of them.

Some individuals, having previously publicly questioned Gu Xixi and spoken ill of her, were somewhat hesitant and uneasy upon entering. Before Aunt Zhang could even speak, they would place the food on the windowsill and turn to run away.

The main room was filled with kang tables and square tables.

Aunt Zhang sighed helplessly, "How can we possibly eat so much of this all at once?"

An Qinghe looked at each dish with a big smile, his proud expression making it seem as if the food was a gift to him.

"We can eat now, we can eat now, there are many of us in the family."

"It's perfectly normal that everyone likes Xixi, such a good person."

He Jinglan chuckled. "Likeable? Normal? You came here before me, you don't know what people in the village used to say about her?"

An Qinghe seemed not to hear, still smiling broadly, "Hey, what's this? I've never eaten this before. And this, and this... thanks to Xixi, I can try them all today!"

He Jinglan looked at Gu Xixi speechlessly, "You're saying his symptoms are what they call 'love is blind'..."

Gu Xixi decisively stuffed a red date bun into He Jinglan's mouth.

"You've had a long day. Didn't you just say you were hungry? Eat more."

It must be said that He Jinglan also put in a lot of effort today.

After quelling the banditry in the morning, Gu Xixi knocked on her front door and saw He Jinglan standing guard in the courtyard.

She took out all the kitchen knives, wood-chopping knives, fire tongs, axes, and other household items and laid them out on the floor.

The reason is that having more weapons would be more convenient if bad guys broke in.

At that moment, Gu Xixi closed her eyes and sighed, "I said..."

"Aren't all the people protecting you here? You just need to make sure the rest of the family doesn't go out and wander around."

He Jinglan argued logically, "That won't do. What if a lot of people come and try to force their way in at the same time? My guards will be overwhelmed and unable to defend themselves. There will always be a chance for me to take action."

"Besides, I promised you that none of Madam Meng, Aunt Zhang, or Shi Tou Qing'er can be harmed."

The He family's bodyguards, hidden outside the courtyard wall, were speechless with emotion.

It's heartbreaking and disheartening that our master is so blatantly questioning our professionalism!

Back to the dinner table.

A furry little paw stretched out from under the kang table, trying to hook a plate of small river shrimp on the side.

Qing'er was the first to notice. She glanced at the adults, secretly took a small river shrimp, hid it in her palm, and put it under the table.

Shi Tou watched all this, but remained silent and continued to eat diligently.

Madam Meng noticed, "Qing'er, why are you putting your hands under the table if you're not eating?"

Several adults bent down to look curiously.

Just then, I saw Xiaohua lying there chewing away, crunching away, her eyes half-closed, completely enjoying herself.

The river shrimp grow in mountain spring water; they are clean and sweet, but don't have much meat.

Simply bake it slowly over low heat with oil until it's crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. Once it's done, mix it with salt and seasoning powder, and it becomes a dish similar to a snack.

He Jinglan laughed and said, "We've been so busy eating that no one's been keeping an eye on Xiaohua, and she's getting hungry too. Qing'er is so kind; she's standing up for Xiaohua."

As they were talking, Little Flower, having tasted the sweetness of success, crawled out from under the table, observing the situation and tentatively extending her paws little by little onto the dining table.

Aunt Zhang was both amused and annoyed. She gently patted the tabby cat and said, "You naughty thing, no one's going to discipline you, and you're getting bolder and bolder, daring to grab food directly from the plate!"

Despite her scolding, Aunt Zhang still picked up a shrimp, carefully shaking off the seasoning before feeding it to Xiaohua.

Gu Xixi had previously said that cats shouldn't eat too much salt, as it would make their fur less attractive and was also bad for their health.

Over the next two days, each household in Huachidu Village finished harvesting their wheat.

Although Gu Xixi's family had the most land and the largest wheat yield, she had several hired workers harvesting at the same time.

On the last day of the school's wheat harvest holiday, Chen Dafu and others had already spread out the wheat ears and left them to dry in the scorching sun for most of the day.

With the new wheat about to be stored, Gu Xixi was organizing the granary at home, and the whole family, except for the old doctor, pitched in.

It wasn't until the sun was setting and it wasn't so hot outside that Gu Xixi prepared to go out.

There is a drying yard in the village.

The large courtyard inside the Earth God Temple is one example. Not far from the Earth God Temple, a large flat open space was also cleared out in the early years.

If a family's grain cannot be dried in their yard or in front of their door, they can bring it to these two places.

When Gu Xixi arrived, Chen Dafu and the others were still holding shovels, vigorously lifting the wheat ears.

Mule Laifu pulled the family's cart, responsible for transporting wheat over in trips.

A number of villagers gathered at the edge of the field, some of whom were also there to dry their wheat.

When everyone saw Gu Xixi again, their eyes had changed from disdain, disbelief, and jealousy to simple envy.