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

At this point, He Jinglan had given up all hope and was willing to reveal her past.

"I even had my brother get me a lot of calligraphy practice books, and I secretly practiced diligently without telling you. But every time—yes, every single time—as long as I bring out my best work to compare with yours, I find that you are still better than me!"

He Jinglan smiled broadly, but her voice was filled with gritted teeth.

Gu Xixi and Shi Tou nodded in sudden realization.

So that's how He Jinglan (Mr. He) developed his superb calligraphy skills!

"It's all in the past, don't take it to heart." Mu Nanzhao smiled at He Jinglan. "Compared to He Jinghui's handwriting, which is as stiff as a tortoise's crawl, your calligraphy is now flowing smoothly and has already begun to show its own unique style."

He Jinglan forced a weak smile, "Hehe!"

"I've never beaten you even once. I'll accept praise from anyone else, but I will never accept yours!"

Mu Nanzhao nodded. "Not bad, very principled."

Shi Tou clenched his fist and said, "From today onwards, I will work twice as hard to practice calligraphy, and one day I will surpass both of you!"

Gu Xixi was pleased. "Not bad, very principled."

"As the saying goes, the new waves of a great river push the old waves forward, while the old waves die on the shallows. Stone, I have high hopes for you!"

The two veterans were immediately displeased.

Mu Nanzhao: "Have you been able to recite all the texts taught by Master Liu recently? How well do you understand them? Have you learned how to write articles?"

He Jinglan: "That's right! Studying is important, but just practicing calligraphy isn't enough!"

Gu Xixi thought to herself, "Sure enough, all it takes is a shared crisis to turn enemies into friends."

Just as we were getting ready for dinner, Sister-in-law Zhou brought over two more bowls of pickled vegetables.

She said with a smile, "I was so happy to hear that Mr. Chen was coming back today, so I thought I'd send some pickled vegetables to celebrate."

"Both are freshly made. The wild garlic was pickled for six days, and we just opened the jar today to bring you Changxin."

"The ginger-flavored bracken fern is freshly mixed; it might be even more flavorful if eaten tomorrow morning."

Aunt Zhang took the two bowls, looked at them, and smiled, "The smell alone is enough to whet one's appetite."

"The bracken fern is freshly mixed. Looks like our pickled vegetable beauty is going to the city to make a fortune again tomorrow morning?"

Sister-in-law Zhou laughed, "I'm just making a living with a small business, how can I be considered rich?"

Everyone else in the village has to pay out of their own pockets to eat her pickled vegetables.

So when Sister-in-law Zhou went to Gu Xixi's house to deliver vegetables, she didn't want to be seen, so she came under the cover of night.

After exchanging a few jokes, she inquired about growing millet.

"Xixi, I'll definitely do whatever you say about my two acres of millet. We'll buy all the pesticides and fertilizers you need."

"But can you trust that workshop you mentioned?"

"After all, he's an outsider. Won't he cut corners on the quality of his work?"

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "I can guarantee that, absolutely not. I'm too lazy to make it myself, so I'll use the same ones as everyone else from now on."

Sister-in-law Zhou felt a little relieved, then asked, "The millet has already been planted in each household. Will the workshop be able to supply everyone with the goods in a couple of days?"

"Besides those from our village, there are so many relatives of the Gu family. If there aren't enough to go around, who should get it first, and who should get it later..."

Gu Xixi understood Zhou Dasao's purpose; she simply wanted to use her connections to get the pesticides and fertilizers first.

She said gently, "I understand, everyone is afraid of missing the farming season."

"You can rest assured that the first batch of goods will definitely be enough."

"As I mentioned today, the application of pesticides and fertilizers to millet should be done in stages and in multiple applications, and the amount used is actually not large."

Sister-in-law Zhou was a little embarrassed, "If that's the case, I'll be relieved."

He Jinglan tried to ease the atmosphere, saying, "Your sister-in-law is also acquainted with An Qinghe. Don't you trust him to handle things?"

Sister-in-law Zhou smiled, "Yes, yes, we're all family."

As the moon rose above the treetops, Mu Nanzhao walked out of the west room carrying a clean set of undergarments.

He has always been a clean person, and he never expected that a shower room would be built in the yard when he came back this time. As long as the large tub inside is filled with water in advance, he can take a shower at any time.

Summer makes it easy to sweat, and Mu Nanzhao had been traveling on horseback for several days, leaving him covered in dust and grime, and he was already at his breaking point.

The thought of taking a refreshing cold shower soon brought a hint of pleasure to Mu Nanzhao's usually icy face.

However, when he walked over, he saw two people blocking the entrance to the bathroom.

He Jinglan said, "The shower was Xixi's clever idea. If you want to use this bathroom, you have to give her something in return."

Mu Nanzhao frowned. "Aren't three boxes of rare Western Region seeds enough?"

Gu Xixi said, "Let's keep things separate. Didn't Chen Fang ask Chen Yuan to give me, Gu Xixi, the seeds? What does it have to do with you, Mu Nanzhao?"

Mu Nanzhao remained silent.

It was intentional; this woman was clearly settling scores later.

He Jinglan struggled to suppress her laughter, "Just for those seeds, Xixi acknowledged Chen Yuan in front of so many people, so we're already even."

Mu Nanzhao raised his eyelids. "Speak, what else do you want?"

He Jinglan said, "Disguise technique."

After a moment's thought, Mu Nanzhao readily agreed, "It would be good to get you two masks."

"But it won't be that easy in a short time. This mask of mine was given to me by a friend from southern Xinjiang many years ago. It is made of human skin and is extremely thin and fits the face closely."

"I tried other ones later, but they all had minor flaws and none of them were as realistic and fitting."

"Human skin?" Gu Xixi exclaimed, suddenly feeling a bit nauseous.

He Jinglan said, "I have heard of human skin masks and human skin drums. Unfortunately, I have never seen the real thing."

She reached out to Mu Nanzhao, "Take it out quickly, let us see it."

Mu Nanzhao took out an object from his sleeve pocket; it was thin, flexible, and semi-transparent.

Gu Xixi felt a chill run down her spine.

Although I know that in ancient times, in addition to human sacrifice, there were also practices such as making musical instruments from human bones and skin.

But as a soul from the modern world, she is still unable to accept human artifacts.

"No need to bother. I've thought about it and I don't think I'm suited to wearing a human skin mask."

"If absolutely necessary, I can apply makeup to cover it up."

Mu Nanzhao saw through it at a glance, "Are you scared?"

Gu Xixi didn't want to appear weak in front of him, so she said, "It's...it's alright."

In the darkness, Mu Nanzhao seemed to chuckle softly.

"Don't worry, there aren't that many suitable human skins. Usually, we just melt deer tendons, mix them with a special secret medicine, and after solidification, they are flexible but not hard."

"Made by professional mask makers according to individual face shapes, dried and stored. Soak in cold water for half an hour before use. Can be reused up to five times."

He Jinglan sighed, "Such a complicated thing can only be used five times, the cost is very high."

Mu Nanzhao said, "Human skin is even more rare and hard to come by. For your ordinary use, deer tendon is sufficient."

"After that, go find Master Liu, and he will make the arrangements for you."

Gu Xixi secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He Jinglan laughed and said, "That's great, Xixi. Actually, I don't really want to put someone else's skin on my face."

Gu Xixi said with a bitter face, "Don't say anymore."

Now that the deal was done, He Jinglan voluntarily stepped aside.

He turned to look at Gu Xixi again, but she was still standing there motionless.

"I have one more request, which will not harm your interests; all you need to do is give a simple yes."