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

Gu Xixi took the envelope, looked down at it, her expression inscrutable, seemingly lost in thought.

After a moment, she remembered something and asked Master Liu, "I wonder if Master Liu will be riding a horse or traveling by carriage on this trip?"

Master Liu said, "I have some books in my collection that I want to take with me from the county town."

"However, I don't have much other luggage. If you need anything from me, Mr. Gu, please feel free to give it to me."

Gu Xixi said happily, "That's great! Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."

Master Liu watched her run away, a look of satisfaction on his face.

Perhaps this time I won't have to see Mu Nanzhao's sour face when I go to the capital.

Mu Nanzhao originally intended to return to Huachidu Village by himself, but he was held up by an urgent matter before he could leave, which led to the letter that Master Liu brought.

Master Liu waited for a while and then saw Gu Xixi and Shitou come out.

The two of them were each holding a large, round bundle in their arms.

Stone was struggling to walk and was almost unable to hold on. "Quick, quick, Mr. Liu, please help me catch him!"

Before Master Liu could think, his arm sank sharply as he caught the bundle, realizing it was much heavier than he had expected. He hurriedly used both arms to support it.

What is so heavy?

Stone laughed and said, "Cold melon! A fruit from the Western Regions, it's delicious!"

Of course, Master Liu knew about the cold melon. When Mu Nanzhao, playing his cousin, displayed seeds at the local temple, he mentioned the cold melon.

He weighed the bundle in his hand and said, "Is just one this big?"

"Could this thing be related to the winter melon we eat in summer?"

Gu Xixi said, "Although we are not from the same family, we are related by a small amount of kinship."

"These things are easily damaged by bumps and knocks. The journey to the capital is long, so we wrapped them in cotton padding and tied them with bundles."

Master Liu nodded, "Alright, I will be careful on the way."

Stone didn't forget to tell him how to eat it, "Use a big knife, like this, and then like this..."

He gestured as he demonstrated how to cut a melon, something he had learned from watching Gu Xixi cut melons.

"Then we ate the red flesh of the melon. Oh, there were black seeds mixed in with the flesh. Sister Xixi said the seeds were edible, but the melon seeds didn't taste good if eaten directly, so it was better to spit them out as you ate them."

Master Liu seemed to understand something. "I do understand cutting and eating melons, just like cantaloupes and honeydew melons."

"I've never seen sunflower seeds mixed in with meat before; it's hard to imagine."

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "Eating is something humans can't do. You'll know what it's all about once you take a bite."

As she spoke, she handed over the melon she was holding.

"This is the first year I've grown winter melons, and these two are the sweetest variety, so they're presentable enough. Please take the larger one to He Jinglan for me. No need to leave any message; she'll know what I want to say when she receives it."

"This slightly smaller one, Master Liu, may take it back as a local specialty to share with family and friends during the holidays. It will be quite an interesting thing."

Master Liu listened with a smile and nodded, but by the end, his face froze and he could no longer smile.

He asked uncertainly, "One is for Miss He, and the other... is for me?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "Yes."

Master Liu confirmed again, "That's it... all gone?"

Gu Xixi knew exactly what he was thinking, and smiled, "Yes, that's all."

Stone frowned and said, "Mr. Liu, although there are only two, Sister Xixi only harvested about twenty melons in total."

"Besides the red-fleshed ones, there are also yellow-fleshed and white-fleshed ones. We've tried them all, and the red-fleshed ones are the sweetest and tastiest."

"There's only one red one left at home, we're saving it for New Year's Eve, and it's not even as big as these two!"

Mr. Liu sighed helplessly, "Ming Lei, I'm not greedy, I just..."

He glanced at Gu Xixi and had to stop talking. "Boss Gu gave me such precious fruits. Not to mention entertaining guests during festivals, it would be enough to make the host proud to start a poetry club."

"Thank you."

Gu Xixi smiled faintly, "It's quite heavy. Master Liu has to travel tomorrow morning, so you should go back early."

Master Liu left carrying two large, cold melons.

He was genuinely happy to receive the gift, but he was also genuinely worried.

When Boss Gu delivered melons, he didn't send one to that particular person, which shows that he arranged it that way on purpose.

Master Liu thought to himself that if he only wanted to avoid making things difficult for himself when he met Mu Nanzhao, he could ask Boss Gu for one more.

Let's not even talk about whether Boss Gu will refuse.

It is not the act of a gentleman to force someone to do something against their will.

Master Liu looked up at the sky and sighed under the moon.

Alright, let's take the melon back first, and then figure out what to do on the way.

On New Year's Eve, before dawn, Gu Xixi heard the sound of wind and snow outside. When she woke up after taking a nap, the world outside was already pure white.

Aunt Zhang and Shi Tou were shoveling snow. Several paths had been cleared through the snow in the yard, leading to several houses and the backyard.

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "You're all up so early, why didn't you wake me up to shovel snow?"

She said she was going to get a broom, but Aunt Zhang said, "It's already swept, so don't get involved."

A pile of pre-chopped dry wheat straw was placed under the eaves.

They carried the stones over and scattered them evenly on the swept path.

This is a method that Gu Xixi taught me before, used for anti-slip purposes.

With such heavy snowfall and no telling when it will stop, even if we shovel it, it will just keep accumulating. There's really no need to go to all that trouble.

But there was an old doctor at home, so he was used to going in and out by himself.

Normally it's not a problem, but on snowy days like this, I'm worried he might slip and fall because he can't see clearly.

After the wheat straw residue was scattered, Gu Xixi and Aunt Zhang were so cold that they wanted to go inside.

But Stone was full of energy. "Grandma Zhang, Sister Xixi, I'm going to find Brother Gouwa!"

Aunt Zhang frowned from the cold, "Who would want to go out and play with you in this freezing weather?"

Stone exclaimed excitedly, "There are so many people! Brother Gouwa, Heidan and the others have been preparing for a snowball fight for ages. With this much snow today, I'll go call them, and they'll all come out!"

As he spoke, he opened the courtyard gate and ran out, when he heard a sound, "Ee?"

Gu Xixi and Aunt Zhang walked to the door of the main room and turned around when they heard the sound.

Stone poked half his body in and exclaimed, "Brother An is here!"

Since they were all family, Stone ran off after saying that.

Gu Xixi and Aunt Zhang looked at each other, wondering why An Qinghe was here instead of going home for the New Year.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves approached.

Then appeared a person completely covered in a long black fur cloak, his head also completely covered by a hood, so his face could not be seen, and his body and head were covered in snow.

This man acted as if he were one of the guests, leading the horses into the yard as if he knew the place well.

"Xiao An," Aunt Zhang called out, "Is that you?"

The man in the black fur cloak looked up, revealing a pair of deep blue eyes.

Even in the freezing cold, the warm smile that shone from his eyes remained undiminished.

"Auntie! Xixi! It's me! I'm back!"

An Qinghe opened the stable next to Lai Fu's and put his horse inside.

He strode across the snow, removing his hood to reveal a handsome, sculpted Western face.