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

Madam Meng looked at the wet nurse in surprise, but the wet nurse shook her head.

Qing'er usually plays in the backyard and rarely goes out, so I haven't seen her playing with this boy.

Shi Tou had been silent since entering the courtyard, but suddenly spoke up, "Qing'er didn't lie."

Gu Xixi suddenly remembered something and said, "The hole in the wall in the backyard?"

The stone nodded.

A few days ago, he accidentally discovered this hole in the wall and curiously peeked inside to see what was inside.

What I found was a little girl squatting there all alone, watching ants move their nest.

Shi Tou said in a muffled voice, "Qing'er asked me to play with her, and it just so happens that no one outside wants to play with me."

The wet nurse suddenly realized, "So that's why the young master always squats under the back wall, it turns out..."

Madam Meng said, "So you often come over and play with Qing'er through the hole in the wall?"

Stone nodded again.

“I recognize you.” Madam Meng looked at the stone.

"Your family name is Zhang, and you specialize in selling fruit tree seedlings."

Stone looked away. "Ha, you knew everything."

Gu Xixi was stunned.

She had never seen such a complex expression on a child's face.

It was a mixture of pain, mockery, and fear hidden beneath resentment.

At this moment, the maid brought out the iced drinks for the guests.

Madam Meng picked up a small bowl from the tray, held it up, and extended it towards the stone.

Stone flinched, squeezed his eyes shut, and shouted, "Go ahead and splash me, go ahead and curse me!"

"Anyway, I didn't do anything wrong!"

Madam Meng laughed, "Wouldn't it be a waste to throw away such a perfectly good perilla and peach drink?"

She handed the small bowl to the boy, saying, "You're all sweaty; drink this to quench your thirst."

Stone seemed startled by the coldness in his palm and suddenly looked up at Madam Meng.

"what?"

He glanced at Gu Xixi again, almost instinctively.

Gu Xixi sighed inwardly, wondering what this child had gone through.

She smiled and pulled him to a seat, saying, "If Madam Meng wants you to drink, then drink."

Shi Tou watched Gu Xixi nod and smile at him before hesitantly taking a sip from the bowl.

The perilla and peach drink is made with honey and crushed ice, making it extremely refreshing and delicious.

Stone's brow suddenly relaxed, his eyes sparkling, and he gulped down the food like a calf.

Gu Xixi and Madam Meng both laughed.

No matter how much he tries to act like an adult, he's still just a child.

Stone finished his drink in one gulp, wiped his mouth as if he hadn't had enough, and stood up. "Thank you for the treat."

"I was wrong this time, I'm sorry."

After saying this, he bowed deeply to the ground and said, "I won't bother you again. Goodbye."

Madam Meng called out to him, "Wait a minute."

The stone had no choice but to turn around.

Madam Meng smiled and said, "Will you be able to come and play with Qing'er again when you have time?"

“I’m usually too busy to spend time with her, and she doesn’t have any siblings her age, so she’s inevitably lonely.”

Stone asked incredulously, "You...you want me to play with Qing'er?"

"Yes," Madam Meng nodded, "but next time, come in through the front door, don't crawl through the hole in the wall again."

Before Shi Tou could even agree, Xiao Qing'er clapped her hands and exclaimed joyfully, "That's wonderful!"

"Qing'er wants to play with Brother Stone again!"

A slight smile finally appeared on Shi Tou's tense lips. "Okay! I'll come play with you another day. Be good and listen to your mother, okay?"

Gu Xixi was very interested in the Shi family's business. "Do you sell fruit tree seedlings?"

"I wonder what kind of fruit trees they have?"

Stone suddenly became alert. "Why are you asking this?"

He was like a little hedgehog with its fur standing on end, constantly on guard.

Gu Xixi smiled amicably, "Your family runs a business, are you not allowed to ask questions?"

"You're not allowed to ask!" Stone said fiercely. "I'm not selling! I'm not selling to anyone who asks!"

He said that and then ran out.

Just as Gu Xixi was wondering what was going on, Madam Meng sighed and started talking about the Shi family.

The Zhang family has been in the fruit tree business since the time of Shi Tou's great-grandfather.

Their family has its own nursery, and all the fruit seedlings are cultivated by themselves.

Among them, peach and pear trees were the most famous, and because the business was booming, the family was once very prosperous.

But in the year the stone was born, for some unknown reason, most of the fruit trees in the nursery died within a few days.

The losses were already heavy, and with the news spreading, fewer and fewer people went to his house to buy fruit seedlings.

Two years later, Stone's mother fell seriously ill, and several clinics in the city could not cure her.

To pay for his wife's medical treatment, Stone's father sold half of his nursery, spending all the family's money on it.

But in the end, they still couldn't save Stone's mother's life.

Gu Xixi sighed, "He's been through so much at such a young age, no wonder he's so strong-willed."

She then asked, "Does he and his father depend on each other for survival now?"

Madam Meng sighed and shook her head, "No wonder this child has such a hard life."

“At the beginning of the year, his father was helping a relative repair a house when a falling roof tile hit him on the head, and he died that night.”

"Some people say he has a tough fate and that anyone who gets close to him will be cursed. Not only do his relatives not dare to discipline him, but the adults around him also refuse to let their children play with him."

"A six-year-old child is home alone, I don't know how he manages to get by, sigh."

Gu Xixi was shocked; Shi Tou was actually an orphan.

No wonder he said he used to go to school, but he doesn't anymore.

No wonder he gets prickly whenever his family is involved.

No wonder he only dared to play with Qing'er secretly.

On the way here, he was even prepared to be beaten and scolded...

Gu Xixi got up and bid farewell to Madam Meng.

The two returned to where the donkey cart was parked. Gu Xixi wanted to take the driver's seat, but Mu Nanzhao beat her to it.

"Hurry up, we can still ask for directions at the steamed bun stall now."

Gu Xixi was taken aback, "A steamed bun stall?"

Mu Nanzhao still didn't give him a good look. "Didn't you want to go see the fruit trees at that child's house?"

"Oh, okay!" Gu Xixi quickly sat on the cart and held on steady. "Let's go."

The donkey cart swayed and rattled through the bustling city.

Gu Xixi stared at the back of Mu Nanzhao's head for a few moments before asking, "How did you know where I wanted to go?"

Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "Even Madam Meng could see that you felt sorry for that boy."

Gu Xixi refused to admit it, saying, "I just want fruit trees."

Mu Nanzhao paused, then sneered, "That's right. You never do anything for nothing; everything you do is rewarded. In this respect, we do have something in common."

The fire in Huachidu Village helped farmers improve their land.

The former and Gu Xixi themselves would both suffer losses, so they had no choice but to do it.

In return, Gu Xixi received a flatbed cart.

Gu Xixi neither agreed nor disagreed with Mu Nanzhao's words, saying, "Only by gaining something can one continue to do good deeds."

"If you only do good deeds without expecting anything in return, you'll burn yourself out. What will you be able to do then?"

The steamed bun stall was still there, and Gu Xixi bought a basket of mutton steamed buns and a basket of vegetarian eggplant steamed buns.

Ask the boss to divide the paper into three equal packages.