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

Gu Xixi stopped pounding the medicine and turned to look at He Jinglan.

Just when He Jinglan thought she was going to deny it outright, Gu Xixi said frankly, "Of course I'm worried about his safety."

He Jinglan was overjoyed, "Happy..."

Then Gu Xixi said, "The current advantage lies with the Northwest Army. If they suffer a defeat due to malaria, leading to the loss of the entire Northwest, I will have no choice but to take my family and flee to escape famine..."

Perhaps imagining the worst possible scenario, she closed her eyes, shook her head, and sighed.

I can't go on, I really can't go on.

He Jinglan involuntarily looked up at the roof, and then imagined for a moment, "Hmm, if we lose the battle because of malaria and ultimately lose to the imperial court, you might have to flee to a famine, and that would be my turn..."

She suddenly slammed her hand on the table and stood up, shouting, "Execute the entire family!!"

He Jinglan realized the seriousness of the problem and paced back and forth with a serious expression, muttering to herself.

"That's right, you're absolutely right. It's better to be safe than sorry. Why not take preventative measures when you can always do them?"

"We should help them repel and eliminate mosquitoes! We must nip this risk in the bud!"

Gu Xixi opened her eyes. "Right?"

"Even though I was prepared to flee the famine, I never actually intended to do so."

"As an ordinary citizen of the Northwest, I naturally hope that the Northwest Army can advance with unstoppable momentum, win every battle, take the capital as soon as possible, and end this war."

He Jinglan nodded. After a while, she realized that she seemed to have been led astray. She frowned and turned to look at Gu Xixi.

"Xixi, what I just talked about wasn't the big picture, you know that, right? That's why you're deliberately bringing this up with me!"

Gu Xixi blinked innocently, "Hmm?"

He Jinglan sat down again, facing her directly. "I'm talking about one person, only that one person. Putting the bigger picture aside, have you ever worried about him?"

"Ah..." Gu Xixi tried to turn away, but He Jinglan pressed her shoulders with both hands and forced her back.

“Look me in the eye and tell the truth!”

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan looked at each other for a moment, then Gu Xixi said helplessly, "Yes."

“After hearing about Zhao the matchmaker’s past last night, I was indeed moved.”

"But I only thought about how short life is and how unpredictable things are, and I didn't want him to die so easily."

She gave a playful look, "It must be quite different from how you felt when you missed General Meng."

He Jinglan blushed, but did not deny it.

She let go of Gu Xixi, turned around and lay down on the table. "I've thought about a lot of things."

"I haven't seen him for a long time. I wonder if he's been injured recently, and what he's thinking."

"I'm afraid he'll do anything for military merit, and I'm also afraid he'll forget the promises he made..."

"I abandoned him, and I didn't give him a straight answer when I left. Now I'm the one who can't let go. It's contradictory and funny, isn't it?"

"If you want to laugh at me for being spineless, then laugh. You don't have to hold it in."

Gu Xixi chuckled and sighed, but not in a mocking way, "Why would I laugh at you?"

"Can't you understand the story of Zhao the Matchmaker and her brother?"

She paused for a moment and said, "I can't judge how others choose, but if I've found a man with whom I share my heart, I will definitely tell him everything I feel."

"They couldn't be honest with each other until death, isn't that a terrible injustice?"

He Jinglan straightened up, staring blankly at Gu Xixi. After a thousand thoughts, she suddenly understood.

"Xixi, I don't want to regret it someday."

"Swords have no eyes on the battlefield, but at least I hope he returns safely!"

Gu Xixi continued grinding the medicine, not even lifting her eyelids, and said, "When you went to the military camp to deliver medicine to him as a farewell, didn't you say that we would still be old friends?"

"Even if you haven't decided to marry him, it doesn't mean you have to never see each other again."

He Jinglan felt as if she had been struck by lightning, and suddenly perked up, "Then I'll write him a letter!"

Gu Xixi casually agreed, "Write!"

He Jinglan: "We can put it in your batch of medicine and send it over together."

Gu Xixi: "No problem."

While happy, He Jinglan didn't forget her business and picked up the scales again to continue preparing the medicine.

A dried trichosanthes fruit fell to the ground, and Xiao Hua, who was lying under the table, suddenly woke up.

It meowed and darted out, its two front paws pawing at the natural "little ball".

Gu Xixi bent down to pick it up, but seeing Xiaohua playing happily, she smiled and ignored it.

While preparing the medicine, a sachet was still missing.

Because she only considered the effectiveness, Gu Xixi didn't want to spend extra money on those pretty brocade pouches.

She asked Aunt Zhang to find the coarse cloth she had saved at home, and to pick out the dark, inconspicuous pieces. After cutting them, they could be sewn into cloth bags of various sizes, the larger ones for hanging curtains and the smaller ones for carrying around.

With so much needlework to do, it would take two days to finish; Aunt Zhang definitely couldn't do it all by herself.

Just then, Chen Dafu arrived in the afternoon and, on behalf of everyone, inquired about the landlord's plans for this season's farming.

Gu Xixi was already confident of her plan, so she finished speaking in just a few words.

We just need to wait two more days for the hired workers to finish preparing the fields before we can make specific allocations and start sowing.

Then, Gu Xixi asked with a smile, "I have a temporary job here. I'm looking for someone who can do needlework quickly and is also meticulous and responsible."

Having experienced so much, Chen Dafu had formed a rule in his mind:

Work for Boss Gu and you'll earn money!

Chen Dafu immediately laughed and said, "That's easy. My wife and my mother are both skilled at needlework. And my little daughter is twelve this year; she can sew a simple handkerchief or something."

Gu Xixi took out the coarse cloth and put it aside, along with two patterns, one large and one small.

"It's not complicated needlework, just sewing some simple cloth bags. The stitches don't need to be delicate and beautiful. As long as they are tough and durable, they won't leak or spill when filled with medicine."

"I'll provide the fabric and needles. The labor fee is one coin for every six small bags and one coin for every four large bags."

Chen Dafu readily agreed, "If it were that simple, not only could my wife make it, but I'd also make a few when I have some free time tonight."

Gu Xixi chuckled, "Uncle Chen really is good at everything."

Chen Dafu scratched his head sheepishly, "It's not that... I tasted the sweetness of making money after working for the boss, and then I realized that making money is really addictive."

“I never thought I was this greedy for money.”

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "A gentleman loves money, but he acquires it in a proper way. Liking money is not a sin."

"I heard that Uncle Chen's family is planning to renovate their house in the fall. Congratulations in advance!"

Chen Dafu chuckled, "I've already ordered a kiln full of bricks, and I plan to build two brick houses."

"So that my mother can live in a bright brick house for the rest of her life."

Gu Xixi asked Aunt Zhang to wrap up all the coarse cloth and give it to Chen Dafu.

"I'm in a hurry and need to get everything done within two days. Could you please hire a few more people?"

Chen Dafu, as expected of the leader of the workers, is very resourceful.

“That makes things easier. As for the people you hired, besides me, I’ll also ask the other brothers. If their wives are willing to do it, it’s more trustworthy to have our own people.”

"For the rest, we'll choose trusted relatives from each of our families, and then have my wife and a few of my brothers' wives keep an eye on them. The cloth bags that are made will be inspected by hand first."

"We'll collect them all one last time and check them again to make sure no one tries to take advantage of the situation!"