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

Aunt Zhang, Shi Tou, and the old doctor were overjoyed to see the two return ahead of schedule.

In the early summer nights, a mountain breeze occasionally blows outside, making it much cooler than inside.

Aunt Zhang then set up the dining table in the yard.

There are two plates of pickled vegetables on the table, made with purslane and goji berry sprouts respectively.

The former is sweet, sour, and crisp, while the latter, when crushed and mixed with various spices, is fragrant yet refreshing.

He Jinglan tasted it and praised it highly, saying, "Auntie's cooking skills are getting better and better; this side dish is even tastier than meat!"

Aunt Zhang laughed and said, "I didn't make it. Mrs. Zhou brought it over this afternoon."

"Her business is booming now. I heard that when I pass by her pickled vegetable stall on my way to the city, there are always long lines of people buying from her."

"Recently, I've been hearing people in the village calling her the 'Pickled Vegetable Beauty' a lot."

Gu Xixi smiled as well, "When business is doing well, you're naturally motivated to think about how to do it even better."

"These two side dishes are quite good. They are made from wild vegetables grown in the mountains behind our village. This saves money, and wild vegetables are a rare treat for city dwellers."

As she spoke, she glanced at He Jinglan and said sarcastically, "Just look at our lady's reaction and you'll know."

He Jinglan raised her head and said, "Fine, it's just that I, a city person, am ignorant. You're used to eating mountain vegetables, but I consider them a treasure."

Everyone laughed.

After they had almost finished eating, Aunt Zhang glanced at the west room and sighed, "Is Xiao Chen really not coming back?"

"I'm not coming back," Gu Xixi said without looking up as she drank her cold mung bean porridge.

“Starting tomorrow, if anyone asks, Auntie, you don’t need to hide it anymore. Just say that the person ran away.”

The other four were all taken aback.

He Jinglan coughed, choked by the fumes.

Aunt Zhang asked again incredulously, "Just tell me? The person ran away?"

Gu Xixi straightened up and looked at everyone. "Yes, that's what we'll say."

"Since it's already a fact, rather than letting others speculate and spread rumors, it's better to be honest and have some peace and quiet."

Hearing this, the group had no choice but to believe it.

Stone looked somewhat saddened. "Mr. Chen is gone just like that? He said he would teach us to study well. How could he go back on his word?"

Although Aunt Zhang was also a little sad, she still forced herself to cheer up and comforted Shi Tou with a smile, "Silly child, didn't your Mr. Chen find Teacher Liu to teach you? You still need to study hard in the future."

The old doctor, however, remained solemn and silent.

Although Mu Nanzhao did not reveal his true identity to the old doctor before leaving.

But when the old doctor agreed to make that batch of medicine for Mu Nanzhao, he already had some suspicions.

This person's identity is not simple, and what they are about to do is even more complicated.

While Aunt Zhang and Shi Tou took the dishes to the kitchen to wash, Gu Xixi asked the old doctor:

"What does Master want to say to me?"

The old doctor said solemnly, "That kid ran away without saying goodbye; he really wronged you."

“You should not want him and cut ties with him in front of the villagers. This is the right thing to do. Your master supports you.”

Gu Xixi smiled, "Then what other concerns do you have?"

The old doctor pondered, "But he is still an exiled criminal after all. If news of his elopement reaches the authorities, he will definitely be wanted, and if he is caught again, he will be severely punished."

"He will never have the chance to regain his freedom in this lifetime."

"The consequences... Xixi, you'd better think it through."

The old doctor's idea was very kind.

Xiao Chen is not a bad person, nor has he committed any unforgivable crime.

We've lived together for so long and gone through thick and thin together, so perhaps there's no need to push him to the brink.

He Jinglan finally stopped coughing, and she patted her chest, saying, "Old Jiang is indeed kind-hearted."

"But that person is doing very well now, so please don't worry about him."

Gu Xixi said, "So that's what Master was worried about."

She paused for a moment, then said, "I can only assure you that once word gets out that he ran away from his marriage, no one in the Qingtian County government will bother to arrest him."

"As for the future... even if he ends up in jail again, it won't be because he ran away from my wedding."

The old doctor was initially puzzled, but after frowning and pondering for a while, he seemed to understand something and nodded slightly.

Ultimately, it's up to you to make the decision regarding your relationship with him.

In the old doctor's view, his apprentice was of upright character and there was no need for him to worry about him in this regard.

Since my disciple has already said so, I will do as she wishes.

The next morning, the whole family pitched in to load the threshed wheat onto the truck.

There are twenty large bags in total, each weighing fifty jin (25 kg).

Aunt Zhang said, "Otherwise, I'll go too, and I can lend a hand when we're moving things."

Gu Xixi said, "No need. The shop assistants at the grain store will help unload the goods. If you go with them, not only will it be tiring, but Laifu will also have to carry an extra person's load."

Aunt Zhang felt sorry for the animals working so hard, and after glancing at Laifu, she gave up.

"Then I'll wait at home. You guys go and come back quickly."

Gu Xixi said yesterday that she would go in and out with He Jinglan, so He Jinglan naturally got on the carriage early.

The time it took to enter the county town was about the same as usual.

Gu Xixi took the carriage directly to Liao's Grain Store, where she had previously sold millet.

Manager Liao was deeply impressed by Gu Xixi. When he saw her enter, he quickly stood up from behind the counter.

"Oh dear, Mr. Gu is here. It's still a long time before the millet harvest. Why are you here so early?"

Gu Xixi glanced around the lobby and found that the price of grain had not fluctuated significantly compared to before the war.

So he simply asked, "The wheat is freshly threshed this season, and it's been dried thoroughly. Shall we buy it?"

Manager Liao's eyes gleamed, "I want it!"

Gu Xixi said, "The goods are right outside, let's inspect them first."

Manager Liao personally opened a small hole in the sack, reached inside, and grabbed a handful of wheat grains.

He spread the wheat grains on his hand, examined them against the sunlight, and then brought them close to his nose to smell them.

Finally, he rubbed his hands together a few times, and a secret look of joy appeared in his eyes.

"No matter how good this wheat is... its price can't compare to that of millet."

"Mr. Gu, what do you think..."

Gu Xixi said, "The current market price for wheat is six copper coins per pound, so let's calculate it based on that."

Manager Liao was taken aback. It was that simple?

He could see it clearly; this wheat was definitely top-quality, with large, plump grains, low moisture content, and a reasonable specific gravity, so it would definitely yield a high flour production rate.

How could someone as shrewd as Boss Gu not take the opportunity to raise prices?

Seeing that Manager Liao was still in a daze, He Jinglan deliberately teased, "If you don't want to accept it, then we'll go to another store."

Manager Liao immediately snapped out of his daze, "No, no, I'll take it all, as many as you have!"

He grinned shamelessly, "I wonder if Boss Gu still has any stock at home?"

Gu Xixi said, "Let's sell these first, and talk about the rest later."

"But I don't want copper coins, I want silver."

Unlike millet, wheat has a higher yield.

Therefore, Gu Xixi did not expect to make money by raising the price of wheat per kilogram; winning by volume would be enough for her to earn.

I felt a great weight lifted off my shoulders when I left Liao's place.

The city remains bustling, except for the increased number of city guards patrolling.

He Jinglan said, "With stable market prices and no panic buying or hoarding of grain, someone must be secretly stabilizing prices."