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

Huo Jiang found the military tent stuffy and hot, so during the day he ordered the curtains to be lifted to both sides and kept open.

At this moment, the summer night breeze blows, the bright moon hangs in the sky, and silver light covers the ground.

Mu Nanzhao stood with his hands behind his back, facing the night sky over the military camp, saying, "It's about protecting one person, but also about protecting everyone."

"It's related to her, but it's not just for her."

Huo Jiang frowned. "What you're saying sounds even harder to understand than a monk meditating?"

Mu Nanzhao turned into the tent and looked at Huo Jiang, "She wants to live a peaceful life and has her own future to make, so she hopes for a peaceful and prosperous world."

"And what is meant by a peaceful and prosperous era is simply a time of tranquility where people have something to rely on and can live and work in peace and contentment."

"So, whether I want to protect all the people or protect her, it's hard to say, isn't it?"

Huo Jiang fell into deep thought.

After a moment, he gasped in realization, "Hiss...it really is so."

"Boss Gu always refers to herself as a farmer; she is just one of the common people in the world."

"You did it right to do it for one person, but it's also perfectly reasonable to say that you did it for the people of the world."

Huo Jiang was still immersed in the Zen riddle.

Mu Nanzhao, however, coolly reminded him to return to reality, "The warhorses in the army have long been eating fresh fodder, and the grain you asked for has all been stored away."

"The work that they promised you has been completed, General, you should pay the payment as soon as possible so that we can continue to cooperate in the future."

Huo Jiang snorted heavily, annoyed, "Can you please stop talking about money all the time!"

"Boss Gu hasn't even started urging me yet, what's the rush for you!"

Mu Nanzhao scoffed, "Do you want to read the end of that military report again?"

Huo Jiang picked up the military newspaper and focused on the end, his expression gradually becoming awkward.

While reading, I was only focused on the key points and didn't savor the nuances of human relationships and social interactions.

The passage was full of praise for Gu Xixi, saying that she not only completed the work as smoothly as the moon, but also gave her the recipe for oats and how to maintain the fields afterwards.

The key point is that General Liu, who is usually not very talkative, specifically mentioned that he had already told Boss Gu that he would immediately report to the General in detail and request instructions.

General Liu also said that Boss Gu seemed very pleased to hear this.

Why is General Liu behaving so strangely? It's because his payment for this phase wasn't up to par. General Liu was in charge of land reclamation in the rear, so how could he possibly ask Boss Gu to continue working for him?

Why was Boss Gu so happy? Of course, it was because he knew his payment was almost in his hands.

Huo Jiang rubbed his forehead, looking exasperated. "Alright, I'll get the money now and send it out with the military newspaper tonight."

"Are you satisfied now?"

Mu Nanzhao sat down to the side and said leisurely, "You said it yourself, this is Mr. Gu's own business, what does it have to do with me?"

Huachidu Village.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan went into the city to sell grain again the next morning.

Or exchange all the copper coins for silver, and then use the copper coins you brought with you to buy things at the market.

Even knowing there's a possibility of being kidnapped, one shouldn't act recklessly, even with protection from others.

So I'll buy more things this time and try to minimize going out after returning to the village.

This time, Gu Xixi bought a lot of pastries from the bakery.

Pine nut and pepper salt flatbread, sugar-coated fried dough cakes, crispy milk curd dumplings, peanut brittle...

These are all high-sugar, high-oil, and low-moisture snacks that can be stored for nearly a month even in the height of summer.

He Jinglan asked in confusion, "Don't you love jujube paste cake? Why didn't you buy any?"

"Besides, aren't you buying too much? The whole family would have to eat it all."

Gu Xixi paid the money and had the waiter pack it up and deliver it to her car.

Faced with such a big customer, the staff were naturally happy to provide attentive service and readily agreed.

After leaving the pastry shop, Gu Xixi told He Jinglan the reason for doing so.

"Things have been unsettled lately; something could happen at any moment."

"When there's no time to cook, or when you don't feel like cooking, you need some readily available food reserves."

"Also, if Master Liu and the others can't hold them off, we'll have to save ourselves."

“I’ve already planned the route. Everyone grabs a few pieces of pastry, kicks them on their bodies, and runs into the mountains to save their lives.”

"If we were to get separated while hiding in the mountains, we would have no shortage of water on the back of the mountain. With the calories in these pastries, we could eat them sparingly and get through three to five days without any problem."

After Gu Xixi finished speaking, she turned around and found He Jinglan staring at her in astonishment.

He Jinglan clapped her hands a few times in admiration, "As expected of you, you even made plans for when we were trapped deep in the mountains and about to starve to death."

Gu Xixi said, "Don't rush to tease me."

"If it really comes to that, the rest of us, including my master, can find food on the spot."

"You are the only one who can eat pastries."

He Jinglan said optimistically, "It's summer now, and there are plenty of wild fruits in the mountains. I can pick them and eat them myself."

"I can also start a fire, and I can pick wild vegetables and mushrooms to roast and eat."

Gu Xixi sighed with a headache, "That's exactly what I'm afraid of!"

"Remember this: never eat any wild vegetables or fruits you've never eaten before. Even if you vaguely recognize them, but aren't sure they're exactly the same, you absolutely cannot eat them, not even touch them!"

"Especially wild mushrooms, absolutely no wild mushrooms are allowed to be eaten!"

He Jinglan noticed that Gu Xixi was so serious and rarely spoke so much in one go.

She understood. "Eating it could kill you?"

"You will die." Gu Xixi nodded grimly. "Given your chances, it's about 70 or 80 percent."

If you're unlucky enough to encounter something poisonous on your first try, then it's a sure thing.

The men had already loaded several large bags of pastries onto the car.

When He Jinglan got on the bus, she quietly sat down next to the pastries. These life-saving rations had to be protected.

After that, they stocked up on seasonings such as oil and salt, as well as daily necessities that were in short supply at home.

At noon, I had lunch with Madam Meng at a restaurant, and Madam Meng treated me.

On my way back in the afternoon, I passed by the East Street market and ran into Sister Zhou packing up her stall.

"Xi Xi! Miss He! You've come to the city too."

She noticed that half of the dashboard was already covered and laughed, "You bought so much stuff?"

"I think... Xixi seems to be in a pretty good mood today."

Gu Xixi didn't notice the strange worry in Zhou Dasao's smile and said, "Yes, there are many people in the family. Since we're going to the city, we might as well buy more."

She glanced at the stall; several bowls of pickled vegetables were empty, leaving only broth.

He then invited, "Sister-in-law, if you're done with your business after closing up shop, why don't you hitch a ride back with us?"

Sister-in-law Zhou was more than happy to see this, and kept thanking them while hurrying up and packing.

Other family members need to take turns patrolling, so they really can't leave.

When she arrived in the morning, she had her husband, Lao Zhou, move all their belongings to the side of the main road, then flag down a car and give the driver a few copper coins to get to the county town.

On the way back, having someone to chat with made the trip less boring.

Halfway there, Sister-in-law Zhou glanced at the back of Gu Xixi's head, hesitated for a moment, and then said:

"Xixi, if you're feeling sad, just tell me."

"Or... no one on the street knows us right now, so you can yell at whoever you want to yell at. Getting it off your chest might make you feel better."