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

Sister-in-law Qin walked with Gu Xixi in a warm and friendly manner, telling her about her experiences in the county town.

“At first, I told my husband that I should go to the city to sell vegetables while he stayed home to water the vegetable garden and weed, so that we could do both at the same time. He was still worried about me going.”

"I wouldn't listen, so I came back and slammed the money I had from selling vegetables right in front of him!"

"I'll show him clearly that we women can handle things just as well!"

Gu Xixi smiled, pursing her lips. "That's right."

The old doctor chimed in, "So who manages the money in your family now?"

Sister-in-law Qin twisted her waist and rolled her eyes, "Of course it's me!"

"He knelt before my parents and begged me to marry him, and he promised that I would manage the household after we got married. He dares to go back on his word!"

Gu Xixi smiled; she quite liked Qin Dasao's feisty and straightforward personality.

Sister-in-law Qin sighed again, "Those few acres of land of mine were burned to such an extent that it was uncertain whether we could even plant winter wheat."

"Now that we've listened to you and cleared the land, we have an extra source of income from selling vegetables. What's that saying again..."

Sister-in-law Qin frowned and took a deep breath, the words on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't remember how to say them.

The old doctor helped out from the side, "turning misfortune into blessing."

"Yes!" Sister-in-law Qin exclaimed happily, "That's exactly what I meant."

"I'm illiterate and not very good at speaking."

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "Everyone knows that Sister-in-law Qin has a silver tongue, so don't be modest."

Sister-in-law Qin was overjoyed, looking at Gu Xixi with a pleasing expression.

“I only have brothers in my family, no sisters. Let’s visit each other more often in the future.”

“Okay,” Gu Xixi nodded in agreement.

She hadn't made any friends since she arrived, and since they had extended an olive branch first, she should reciprocate.

"If you encounter any problems in the fields, sister-in-law, you can ask me anytime."

Sister-in-law Qin was somewhat moved, "If it weren't for your help this time, I really don't know what I would have done."

Gu Xixi said, "This matter was largely thanks to the village chief's proactive handling of the aftermath."

Sister-in-law Qin chimed in, "Yes, yes, I don't care what others think, you and Lao Qian are our family's lucky stars!"

Gu Xixi thought for a moment and reminded them again, "I told you before that although water spinach can be harvested quickly, it consumes a lot of water and fertilizer. By planting it in the existing proportions with our local pumpkins, chives, and radishes, we can improve the soil."

"It's best not to expand planting any further."

Sister-in-law Qin hesitated for a moment, "To be honest, my husband told me last night that he wanted to transplant more. I didn't agree to it, and he said I was making money but not earning it."

"Now that you've mentioned it again, I'm at ease. I'll listen to you and not think about anything else."

Gu Xixi's expression turned serious.

Agricultural research has always involved going deep into the fields and relying on the cooperation of farmers.

Communication and cooperation between people are the most prone to problems.

How could she wear a book and almost forget that!

"Sister-in-law, could you do me a favor?"

Sister-in-law Qin readily agreed.

Gu Xixi said, "The fields of the several families that grow water spinach are all connected. I would appreciate it if you could keep an eye on them tomorrow and see what the situation is like for each of them."

Sister-in-law Qin was a smart woman and understood immediately. "Okay, I'll go check tomorrow morning. If anyone has planted too much water spinach, I can try to persuade them."

"I can't persuade you anymore, you can try again."

She tried to reassure Xixi, "Don't worry too much. If things really don't go well, we still have Lao Qian!"

Gu Xixi nodded, "Then I'll have to trouble you, sister-in-law."

Under the big locust tree at the village entrance, several boys were fighting each other, swinging branches at each other.

As they laughed and chased each other, a child's branch nearly hit the old doctor.

Sister-in-law Qin raised her hand to block them, laughing and scolding, "A bunch of little monkeys, all they know is how to play, they don't even watch where they're going!"

The little boy stopped in fright, and the other children also stopped chasing and looked over.

The old doctor, good-natured as ever, chuckled and said, "It's alright, they're just being mischievous."

Gu Xixi noticed that the little boy's clothes were dirty, but his sleeves looked shiny, probably from wiping his nose repeatedly.

He stood there pitifully, looking both guilty and frightened, but he didn't know he should say "I'm sorry" at that moment.

Even after walking a long way, Gu Xixi still felt a pang of sadness.

Sister-in-law Qin glanced at Xixi and said, "During the day, the adults are busy working, and the older children can go and help. These little kids are left unsupervised and are like wild children."

Gu Xixi asked, "I don't think I've ever seen any children from our village go to school?"

Sister-in-law Qin gave a helpless, bitter smile. "Where would we find a school in the village?"

I learned from Sister-in-law Qin's words that Huachidu Village did not have its own village school, and children had to cross several villages to go to school.

Which adults have the time to send their children to school?

Therefore, very few people in Huachidu Village are literate, and thus they cannot select private school teachers from within the village, creating a vicious cycle.

Gu Xixi recalled that in the book, Gu Xixi's father, Gu Bapi, was once the most educated person in the village.

He was sent to another village to study for a few years because his family was well-off when he was young and he was an only child.

Gu Bapi personally taught his daughter to read, thus preventing Xixi from becoming illiterate.

Sister-in-law Qin continued, "Old Qian has thought about setting up our own village school, but no one in the village can be a teacher, and teachers from outside are unwilling to come."

She suddenly stared at Gu Xixi, "Xixi, you can read, and you're so capable now. Wouldn't it be perfect to have you as a teacher?"

"I can't," Gu Xixi refused in a muffled voice.

"I don't know how to interact with children."

Teaching and learning are two different things. Just because someone can learn something doesn't mean they can teach it to others.

She didn't choose to stay at the university to teach back then because she was aware of this.

Moreover, she hadn't studied ancient textbooks.

After parting ways with Sister-in-law Qin, Gu Xixi and the old doctor were stopped at the intersection in front of their house.

It had been a long time since I'd seen him, and Grandpa Gu's hair had turned even whiter.

He stood upright in the middle of the road, leaning on his cane, exuding an aura of invincibility.

Gu Xixi knew the visitor meant no good, but greeted him with a smile, "Grandpa's here, why don't you go home?"

Grandpa Gu slammed his cane heavily on the ground. "You still know I'm your great-grandfather, and you still know your surname is Gu!"

Gu Xixi asked, puzzled, "What's the reason for this?"

Grandpa Gu sneered, "You know perfectly well!"

"We're all surnamed Gu, yet you're helping those outsiders grow and sell vegetables."

"You're holding back your bad intentions because of what happened before, and you're deliberately cutting off my family's livelihood, aren't you?"

Gu Xixi looked up at the sky speechlessly, sighed, and then said, "Grandpa, there are so many vegetable vendors in the city, can you tell each one of them that they are not allowed to sell?"

Grandpa Gu insisted, "Anyway, I'm the only one allowed to sell vegetables in Huachidu Village!"

At this point, Gu Xixi lost patience with him.

"Alright then, you can go find those vegetable growers yourself and repeat what you just said to them."

"Please take your time. I have other things to do, so I won't see you off."