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

Gu Xixi coughed incessantly after being choked.

Aunt Zhang skillfully patted Gu Xixi's back to soothe her, and said with a puzzled look, "It seems that the Regent's surname is... Mu? I heard that his appearance is also unparalleled."

"Tell me, even if a man is good-looking, how good-looking can he be? Like Xiao Chen?"

Gu Xixi coughed even more violently as she lay on the table.

Since her future son-in-law had been mentioned, Aunt Zhang turned to Gu Xixi and said, "Hey, I remember Xiao Chen said last time that his original surname was also Mu, the same Mu as the Regent Prince, right?"

Aunt Zhang is not very literate, so she only remembers those that sound the same.

Gu Xixi was speechless and choked with emotion.

She stopped coughing, raised her head and forced a smile, "It's best for us common folk not to ask about the Regent's surname."

Aunt Zhang nodded, picked up the shoe sole again, and muttered to herself while frowning, "What's Xiao Mu's name again? Mu something, three characters? That name is too hard to remember, I can't remember it. It's better to call him Chen Fang."

"Hey, tell me, why isn't he back yet? Even if he hasn't finished dealing with things back home, he can't come back without even writing you a letter!"

"This is really worrying!"

"Will he be able to come back in time before the New Year? I made two new quilts last month, and I've only just started making shoes. The shoes the groom wears at the wedding should ideally be made by the bride's family."

"I measured the soles of his shoes before, and I wanted him to choose a shoe style himself, but I waited and waited and he never showed up!"

……

Gu Xixi silently buried her head in her noodles.

Ever since Mu Nanzhao returned last time and proposed to Gu Xixi in front of the whole family, revealing his real name and promising to come back again.

Aunt Zhang felt reassured.

She was always satisfied with her future son-in-law. Since he hadn't run away, she no longer worried about Xixi's marriage and instead started preparing for the wedding.

Gu Xixi had told her several times that there was no need to rush.

Aunt Zhang just smiled and said that preparing for the wedding was very complicated, and it was impossible to gather all the big and small items at once. She had originally planned to do it slowly.

So that one day Xixi might suddenly want to get married, but the family hasn't prepared anything.

Gu Xixi had no choice but to let her go.

Hearing Aunt Zhang talking about preparing shoes for Mu Nanzhao, Gu Xixi felt a mix of emotions.

What to say?

Tell Aunt Zhang that Chen Fang, who later became Xiao Mu, is not coming back.

Let's just say that Mu Nanzhao is the high and mighty regent. The two families are not a good match, they are worlds apart. From now on, let's pretend we've never met this person.

Aunt Zhang was still busy sewing shoe soles, which were for her son-in-law to wear on his wedding day. She was extremely careful and meticulous as she sewed, and a smile played on her lips as she looked forward to the day.

Seeing Aunt Zhang like this, Gu Xixi couldn't bring herself to say what she wanted to say.

At this moment, the curtain was lifted, and Shi Tou helped the old doctor in.

The two had shaken off the snow from their clothes under the eaves, but they still carried a chill with them as they came in.

Upon seeing Gu Xixi, Shi Tou exclaimed with delight, "Sister Xixi, you're back!!"

Gu Xixi perked up and smiled, "Yes, I bought tangerines and your favorite crispy fried dough sticks. Quickly wash your hands and come eat."

As she spoke, she got off the kang (a heated brick bed) and took the medicine box off the old doctor's shoulder.

"Did Master's house call go smoothly?"

The old doctor smiled and nodded, "Old Mrs. Zhou has been suffering from insomnia and nightmares recently, and hasn't had a good night's sleep for a long time, which is why she suddenly experienced heart palpitations and heart pain."

"The cause is deficiency of both spleen and kidney. If you take the medicine early, it is not a serious illness."

After sitting down on the kang (heated brick bed) and eating by the stone, he told Gu Xixi what had happened in the village during her absence these past few days.

"Old Gu and his eldest son went on a long trip. Everyone said they were going to visit their youngest son."

Gu Xixi took a sip of tea. "Looking at Gu Youqing?"

She was somewhat surprised, "Once you're at the exile camp, will family members still be allowed to visit?"

The old doctor said, "I have heard of such things. The imperial law does not prohibit family visits."

"However, most people were exiled far from home, and their families could not reach them even if they wanted to."

Gu Xixi nodded, "We are quite close by."

Gu Youqing poisoned Gu Xixi's family and was sentenced to exile for his sins. His place of exile was in the Northwest.

After winter sets in, farmers have more free time, so it's normal for them to visit each other.

After pondering for a moment, Gu Xixi asked the old doctor, "What happens if the family of an exiled prisoner pays money to bribe the person in charge?"

The old doctor covered the teacup with both hands and said, "It might be useful elsewhere."

"But this is the Northwest. Everyone knows that the General's rule is strict, especially at this juncture when the army has just returned after receiving the Emperor's rewards. Anyone who dares to bribe officials might end up being arrested instead."

Gu Xixi smiled with satisfaction.

Shi Tou laughed and said, "Don't worry, Sister Xi Xi. I heard that all the prisoners exiled to the Northwest were sent to the border mines, locked up and forced to dig and haul ore every day. They were doing hard labor."

"That scoundrel inside is definitely not having an easy time!"

Gu Xixi smiled, broke off a slice of orange and stuffed it into Shi Tou's mouth, "Alright, eat more and talk less."

"It seems like there's nothing you don't know all day long. I'm afraid that when you go to school, you'll use all that intelligence to be a busybody!"

Stone chewed on an orange and mumbled, "That's impossible. I'm very good. Every time Mr. Liu tests me, Gouwa is usually first and I'm second!"

He grabbed the remaining half of the orange, stuffed it all into his mouth, and shuddered with his eyes closed.

"The orange juice is so icy! It's so delicious!"

Gu Xixi said, "Since you put it that way, and I haven't tested your studies in a long time, let's do it tonight."

Stone remained unfazed, chest puffed out and head held high, "No problem! Feel free to check me out, give me any test!"

Since it was still early before evening, Shi Tou continued chatting, "Just now I went to the Zhou family with the doctor, and his family was praising you."

"They kept saying that the whole family would have no worries about food and drink this winter, and even wanted us to stay for dinner."

Aunt Zhang looked up and laughed, "This is nothing new."

“After the harvest of millet in autumn, everyone who talks about Xixi has a smile on their face and praises her.”

Aunt Zhang spoke of these things with considerable pride.

Thinking back to the two years after Gu Bapi's death, the villagers openly and secretly mocked and looked down on Gu Xixi.

But now everything has turned out differently.

During the autumn harvest, it turned out that Gu Xixi's promise of a yield of 500 jin was too conservative.

Everyone achieved a yield of 600 jin per mu, and a few even approached 700 jin per mu.

Each household originally had wheat stored up from the summer harvest, plus an extra-large harvest of millet in one season.

In this way, all the debts were collected before He Jinglan returned to Beijing.

He Jinglan checked the accounts with the people who had bought on credit in person, burned the contracts to settle the debts, and every transaction was completed on time.

When it came time to plant winter wheat, Gu Xixi only needed to teach everyone how to do it. Everyone could go to Anqinghe to buy fertilizer and pesticides. Everyone could afford a few coins, and there was no longer any need to sign contracts or buy on credit.

As for the new planting methods, they are easy to learn but difficult to master, and once you understand one method, you can apply it to everything.

With a little guidance from Gu Xixi, everyone knew what to do.

In the capital, at the Regent's Palace, snow fell heavily, and He Jinglan reached out and plucked a red plum blossom.