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

Near the land temple in Huachidu Village, there is a small courtyard with two rooms.

Many years ago, a family in the village had only one daughter who married far away to another province. The courtyard was left vacant for a long time and no one took care of it. Many things inside rotted and became a nest for rats.

After taking office as village chief, Lao Qian couldn't stand it anymore and sent people to inquire about the whereabouts of the homeowner.

After much trouble, they finally found her, but the woman had already passed away. Her children had settled down in the countryside and naturally could not move to Huachidu Village to live.

So the other party relayed the message that everything was up to the village to handle, since they didn't want it anymore anyway.

Old Qian then led his men inside and cleaned everything up inside and out. As for the two acres of land that remained, they were distributed to the rightful owners according to the village's old customs.

When Master Liu came to teach at the village school, Old Qian cleaned up this courtyard for him to live in.

Now that a new teacher was coming, Gu Xixi, having received the news, went to see Lao Qian in advance.

This time, however, the situation is slightly different.

The gentleman and his wife were going to live in the village for an extended period, and they were both elderly people.

Therefore, their accommodations should not only be clean, but also arranged to be as comfortable, convenient, and elegant as possible.

According to Gu Xixi's plan, the roof needs to be renovated, all doors and windows need to be replaced, and screen doors and windows need to be installed.

Besides the existing water tank and cabinets, the stove in the kitchen is too dilapidated and needs to be rebuilt.

The ground in the yard should be level, and the walls of the yard and the interior and exterior walls of the house should be painted.

Gu Xixi also plans to personally designate a small garden in the yard and transplant some flowers and plants.

When Lao Qian listened to the whole thing, his face was already contorted with bitterness.

"So many requests, all made by that gentleman?"

“No,” Gu Xixi said with a smile, “These are all my thoughts.”

"Uncle Qian, don't worry about the expenses. I'll cover all the labor and materials."

There's no other way; in order to retain talent, the hardware facilities must be in place.

Old Qian nodded, but he was even more puzzled.

He still asked frankly, "My dear niece, you always have your reasons for doing things, and Uncle Qian will definitely support you."

"only……"

"When Mr. Liu was here, he never mentioned that he was uncomfortable staying here. Why do you have to go to so much trouble to treat this new gentleman specially?"

Gu Xixi said, "Because they are special people, they should naturally be treated specially."

She whispered something, and Old Qian's eyes widened in shock. "Really?"

"The person you're talking about is really..."

“Uncle Qian,” Gu Xixi interrupted him, gesturing for him to be quiet, “Master Liu intervened and managed to persuade this person, but whether we can keep him here is still uncertain.”

"So don't tell anyone about this yet, lest the children be disappointed."

Old Qian was so happy that he couldn't sit still and started pacing around.

"Great! You don't have to worry about repairing the house anymore. Leave it to me, and I guarantee it'll be all set up within seven days!"

"Also, we'll use our own villagers for labor to save on wages. I'll find two people to cook for everyone. You just need to contribute a token amount for the meals, and I'll figure out the rest of the ingredients."

Gu Xixi pondered, "Will Uncle Qian be in any trouble with this arrangement?"

"Difficult?" Old Qian's face lit up. "My dear niece! You're doing your uncle a favor! If I don't put in more effort, I'll be a useless piece of trash!"

The village school is good, and the future of Huachidu Village is good.

The village school became famous, and Huachidu Village became famous.

Old Qian was already imagining himself one day holding up a plaque that read "Village Chief of the Number One Village in Northwest China" and receiving congratulations from everyone.

That same day, Lao Qian summoned his newly promoted right-hand man, Zhou Haode.

The two personally measured, drew up blueprints, and mobilized the villagers.

Hiring a teacher for the village school was a matter for the whole village, and most people had no objections to it.

Everyone who could work signed up.

However, people inevitably gossiped about it behind the scenes.

What kind of teacher could have such a grand entourage?

Today marks the completion of the courtyard's renovation, and Old Qian asked Aunt Qian to call Gu Xixi over so they could inspect the site together.

When it was almost lunchtime, Gu Xixi still hadn't returned home, so Aunt Zhang asked Shitou to go and check on her.

Stone ran all the way to the courtyard, only to find it very quiet inside.

Unlike the previous few days, there was a constant flow of people coming and going, and the sounds could be heard from afar.

He peeked inside and tentatively called out, "Sister Xixi? Are you there?"

"I'm here." It was Gu Xixi's voice. "Why are you here?"

Shi Tou stepped inside with confidence and looked to the left of the yard, where Gu Xixi was squatting and digging in the dirt.

"Grandma asked me to come and see why you haven't finished yet. It's almost time to eat."

As he spoke, he walked over and squatted down next to Gu Xixi. "Sister Xixi, what are you doing?"

"Plant flowers," Gu Xixi said. "I plan to go into the mountains tomorrow morning and dig up a few orchids to plant here."

"Mix the base fertilizer now, and transplant them directly when we come back tomorrow."

Stone looked around and found a small shovel. "Let's work together, it'll be faster."

The morning's inspection not only met Gu Xixi's expectations, but also yielded many extra items.

The windows in the main room were enlarged, allowing for better lighting, and a desk was placed under the window for writing.

A row of wooden shelves was built against the wall on the side of the desk, which can be used as bookshelves.

The bedroom has a newly painted large bed with a cabinet next to it.

Although these items were all refurbished old things, it required the hard work and contributions of the entire village.

Moved by her actions, Gu Xixi sped up her own progress.

Everyone else left, but she stayed behind to prepare for planting flowers.

Before leaving, they locked the main gate, and Gu Xixi kept the key for the time being.

On the way back, Gu Xixi said, "When we get back, I'll find a wooden board and ask you to write three words on it."

Without hesitation, Shi Tou asked, "Which three words?"

Gu Xixi thought for a moment, "Let's call it... Pinlanju."

“The character for ‘tasting’ is ‘tasting’, the character for ‘orchid’ is ...dwelling’.”

Shi Tou persisted in practicing calligraphy, and now he recognizes many characters.

He shook his head and asked, "Is it the one who would rather go without meat than live without bamboo, 'living'?"

Gu Xixi nodded.

Shi Tou laughed, "Then Sister Xi Xi must have a place where she can't live without orchids. I guess she wants to hang them outside your residence, sir?"

Gu Xixi poked his forehead with her finger and chuckled, "You're so clever."

"So here's a chance for you to personally write the house number for your future husband. Isn't that prestigious?"

Stone rubbed his hands together eagerly, "Then why don't we just make a big plaque with gold lettering?"

"Just like Qing'er's family's treasure pavilion!"

"No way," Gu Xixi refused decisively, "It doesn't match."

"The courtyard is hidden in the village and is already simple enough. Hanging up a custom-made plaque will only make it look bad at first, and people will inevitably be disappointed when they see the inside. It's better to take a shortcut."

“Adopting a simple and unadorned style, a wooden plaque that has been polished to a finer finish, with three words written to highlight the theme, would be enough to evoke the refined elegance of a recluse.”

Stone said thoughtfully, "The same courtyard can be simple or rustic."

He turned to Gu Xixi and said, "Sister Xixi, I have a feeling that you're trying to lie to me."