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

Deep within the farm, the wooden shed where cooking takes place is brightly lit.

Gu Xixi threw two handfuls of mosquito-repellent herbs into the stove, glanced back, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

I was hoping that once this was over, I could finally go back and get a full night's sleep, but instead, we all ended up keeping watch together.

What terrible things have they done!

The water in the large pot began to boil. Gu Xixi put in a pinch of loose tea leaves, scooped up some hot water, shook the pot, and poured out the remaining water used to rinse the tea.

Because it is this year's spring tea, the boiling water was cooled slightly before being poured into the jar.

He Jinglan came over, picked up a stack of rough earthenware bowls, and rinsed them with water. She was in high spirits and didn't seem sleepy at all.

Gu Xixi glanced at her and said, "You haven't slept well for two days, aren't you tired?"

He Jinglan chuckled and replied, "Not sleepy at all! It's rare to encounter something so fun. If Mu Nanzhao were here too, it would be even more fun!"

Her words came from the bottom of her heart and came out spontaneously; she even laughed a few times after she finished speaking.

He Jinglan continued washing the dishes when she suddenly felt a chill in the air. She looked up and saw Gu Xixi quietly watching her.

Gu Xixi's cherry lips curved into a smile, incredibly gentle. "Is it fun?"

He Jinglan's face tightened, and she shook her head vigorously, "No, no, I meant to say, I meant to say... ridiculous!"

"That's ridiculous! Why are you sitting outside drinking tea in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?"

Gu Xixi casually opened a bag of pine nut candy and said seemingly nonchalantly, "You seem to be writing more letters to Meng Chengping lately?"

"From General Meng's letter, I can see that he is still deeply in love and unwilling to give up. But the elders of the He family want you to marry into a prestigious family. The list of potential partners has already been prepared, and they are just waiting for you to return, right?"

"I'll have countless laughs when I see General Meng again in the future."

"How do we play?"

He Jinglan was shocked and immediately begged for forgiveness, "I was wrong!"

Gu Xixi glanced sideways, "Do you still want to play now?"

He Jinglan replied obediently, "No!"

She forced a smile and said, "Actually, I just felt that both of them were interested in you, so I wanted to help you test them out."

"Aren't you curious about what they really think of you?"

Gu Xixi answered blankly, "I'm not curious."

She paused, sighed, and looked at He Jinglan. "An Qinghe has never seen anyone like me before, someone who is impulsive to some extent."

"He will gradually understand that even if he doesn't marry me, he can still work with me to build a business in the long term. In fact, the latter is a better choice."

"Whether he will still stick to his current ideas by then, I don't know."

"As for Lord Jiang, this is only the second time I have met him today."

"If I had to say what he felt for me, it would be at most a little appreciation."

He Jinglan asked, "What if Lord Jiang falls in love with you at first sight?"

Gu Xixi said, "But I don't believe in love at first sight."

He Jinglan paused for a moment, then said, "You're quite open about your feelings, and you're very clear-headed about them."

She suddenly realized something and laughed with a clear mind, "I understand. The reason you are so clear-headed is because you have no interest in them."

What about Mu Nanzhao? Why do you always avoid talking about him? He Jinglan wondered to herself.

Thinking in this reverse direction, Mu Nanzhao might have a much better chance than the two people in front of him.

The two women were whispering to each other by the stove, while An Qinghe and Jiang Mingyuan sat facing each other at the table, not idle either.

As their gazes met, it was as if sparks were crackling in the air.

An Qinghe: "I am half a year older than you. You are Xixi's older brother. I don't know if I should call you Brother Jiang or Younger Brother Jiang?"

Jiang Mingyuan smiled and said, "My courtesy name is Zichu. Mr. An, you can call me by my courtesy name as you would any other person."

An Qinghe: "People from Daye get married young, how come you're still not married at your age?"

Jiang Mingyuan said calmly, "A real man should establish his career before starting a family. Boss An is older than me, but he's not married yet."

An Qinghe: "I heard you're going to the capital to take the imperial examination. After you become an official, you might not be able to return to Qingtian County. Xixi has her own career and can't be led by the nose by a man."

Jiang Mingyuan: "It's good that Boss An, a stranger in this land, has such self-awareness. I admire Xixi, and I don't want her to give up her principles for someone in the future."

The two fell silent again, their eyes locked in a silent battle.

At this moment, a can of hot tea was gently placed on the table.

The two looked up at the same time. Gu Xixi put down a small dish of pine nut candy and said with a smile, "It's late at night, we must be hungry. It's a pity we don't have any other food, only this."

I came in a hurry and only brought a bag of candy.

I thought it would be convenient to carry it with me, and if I couldn't eat in a crisis, eating two pieces of candy a day would help me last a few more days.

Now that the crisis was over, Gu Xixi took out the bag of candy to serve as tea snacks to her guests.

Jiang Mingyuan said gently, "Thank you for your trouble."

Gu Xixi placed two more mosquito-repellent sachets on the table before sitting down.

He Jinglan used a wooden spoon to serve tea to everyone.

Jiang Mingyuan looked at the tea soup from the bowl, slightly surprised. "Is this freshly brewed loose tea? It has a unique fragrance."

Gu Xixi said with a smile, "This is this year's spring tea. We don't have suitable teaware, so please make do with this."

An Qinghe now had a chance to show off, "Xi Xi planted the tea trees herself, and I processed the tea leaves. Brother Zichu, you must drink more of these!"

Jiang Mingyuan glanced at him indifferently, then lowered his eyes to smell the fragrance. "The tea has a lingering aroma and a light fragrance. It is not only spring tea from this year, but it should also be tea picked before the Qingming Festival."

Gu Xixi nodded, "Indeed, I don't have many tea trees, and I only got two jars of pre-Qingming tea in total."

Jiang Mingyuan blew on the rim of the bowl, took a gentle sip, and his manners were elegant and unpretentious.

When he tasted tea, he carefully evaluated its aroma, flavor, and aftertaste, proving himself to be a true connoisseur of tea.

As a tea tree grower, Gu Xixi wanted to hear this kind of user feedback.

Moreover, the tea trade during the Daye Dynasty was ostensibly monopolized by the government, and most transactions required official documents.

Gu Xixi also wanted to hear more about industry matters from Jiang Mingyuan.

So it became her asking, and Jiang Mingyuan answering.

Seeing that Gu Xixi was interested in this, Jiang Mingyuan naturally shared everything he knew.

For example, there are still no registered tea merchants or tea farmers in Northwest China.

Furthermore, the tea trade in the Jiangnan region is thriving, and in recent years, some of the mountainous land that the government has reclaimed has been contracted out to local tea merchants.

Once the tea garden was established, the tea produced was naturally official tea, and there was no need to wait for the government to issue a separate tea permit.

The final profits were divided between the government and tea merchants according to the contract, and tea tax was waived.

And the selection time and standards for tribute tea of ​​the imperial court each year, etc.

An Qinghe was left out in the cold, but he wasn't angry.

He can listen with great interest to any topic related to doing business and making money.

He Jinglan secretly breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the atmosphere calm down.

Tonight, she stirred up a chaotic situation on a whim, and it wouldn't be good if it wasn't resolved.

Because they were so engrossed in their conversation, Gu Xixi didn't look up until Jiang Mingyuan got up to say goodbye and realized that it was already dawn.