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

Gu Tiezhu's resentful words about Gu Xixi at home somehow reached Qin Dasao's ears.

Qin's sister-in-law went to Gu Xixi's house immediately to inform her of the matter.

"He won't let me go?" Gu Xixi sneered.

That's perfect, she had no intention of letting Gu Tiezhu off the hook either.

The incident where someone pushed rocks down the mountain in an attempt to kill her was coincidentally discovered by Mu Nanzhao in a secluded spot when he went up the mountain the day before yesterday.

The marks that may have been left on the mud during the rain, after being exposed to the sun for two days and hardened, were now completely visible.

The man's footprints were uneven, clearly indicating he was limping, and there was also a small hole made by his cane next to him.

Only Gu Tiezhu in the entire village fits the description.

This at least indicates that he went up the mountain alone without anyone knowing, and that it happened during the last rain.

However, this is not enough to constitute evidence, especially since Gu Qingye was present at the time.

So after Mu Nanzhao escaped yesterday, he went up the mountain alone again in the afternoon.

He somehow managed to transfer the footprints completely onto a wooden board, and then went to search the cliff where the rocks had fallen that day.

Few people go to this place, but we actually found the same footprints and cane prints on the cliff edge.

Mu Nanzhao immediately covered the evidence with fallen leaves to protect it.

After that, all that is needed is to find an opportunity to compare Gu Tiezhu's shoe prints, and that will become irrefutable evidence.

However, Gu Xixi did not intend to trouble Lao Qian this time, so she did not tell Qin Dasao the truth for the time being.

"Thank you so much for telling me this, sister-in-law."

Sister-in-law Qin was worried and warned, "He had ulterior motives towards you before, and now that he has said such things, I'm afraid he won't let it go. Be careful when you go out recently, and never go to places where there are few people by yourself."

Gu Xixi was sincerely grateful for Sister-in-law Qin's kindness and solemnly agreed, "Okay, I've remembered it."

"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I will definitely protect myself."

After seeing off Sister-in-law Qin, Gu Xixi went to the west room and knocked on Mu Nanzhao's table.

"Could you go to Gu Laosan's house for me this afternoon?"

Just after 1-3 AM, Gu Laosan and Liu Shi took Gu Qingye out to work in the fields on time.

Even if you're too ashamed to face anyone, you still have to eat and farm.

Gu Tiezhu was left alone at home.

After what happened last time, he locked himself in his room for even longer periods.

The courtyard was quiet when a figure landed lightly.

People in the countryside don't have much spare money; at most, they can afford two pairs of cloth shoes to alternate wearing.

So the shoes that were washed after the rain a couple of days ago are still not dry and are placed on the windowsill outside the main room.

Mu Nanzhao walked openly across the courtyard and picked out a pair of men's shoes from the two pairs.

The imprint on the sole of the shoe matches perfectly with the imprint on the wooden board.

At this point, they should have taken another rubbing as evidence, but Gu Xixi said it wasn't necessary; she only needed to confirm the facts.

Mu Nanzhao put the shoes back where they were and walked away from the west side of the courtyard wall.

When he arrived at the foot of the western hill, Gu Xixi was building a fence.

She glanced at Mu Nanzhao, her hands still busy with their work, and asked, "Are you sure?"

Mu Nanzhao hummed in agreement and asked, "You didn't let Lao Qian get involved, nor did you tell Aunt Zhang and the others."

"Does this mean I have to do it myself?"

Gu Xixi stuck a wooden stick in the ground, without denying it, "A person like him will never know how to repent."

“I’m very busy, I don’t have time to fight with him all day long.”

Mu Nanzhao asked, "When will we make our move?"

Gu Xixi had already made up her mind and said, "No rush, didn't he say he wouldn't let me go?"

"He should strike again soon, and then turn the tables on him and solve the problem once and for all."

Mu Nanzhao glanced at the pile of wooden strips on the ground, silently rolled up his sleeves, and started working as well.

Gu Xixi turned to look at him, "Thank you."

Mu Nanzhao didn't look up. "Mm."

When Gu Xixi built the fence, she simply inserted wooden pieces into the ground without using nails or anything similar to secure them.

Because her action wasn't to make the fence particularly sturdy, but merely to symbolically demarcate the area and tell others that they couldn't enter and trample on it.

Such a simple task can be completed in half an hour by two people working together.

Gu Xixi said, "Tomorrow we're going to the city. I want to go to the market to buy some oilcloth. Also, since you're going to be a teacher, you should prepare in advance and go to the bookstore to pick out some suitable books."

Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao use the Four Treasures of the Study on a daily basis, and since they already have these at home, there is no need to buy them separately.

Mu Nanzhao nodded.

Gu Xixi then said, "Can I skip the Meng family's banquet? I want to go to the Zhang family's nursery and spend more time with Shi Tou."

Mu Nanzhao thought for a moment and agreed, "Alright, since you've already helped me establish this relationship with the Meng family, it's fine if we don't go. I'll find an excuse to explain to Madam Meng tomorrow."

He could tell that Gu Xixi wasn't interested in those power struggles and schemes; what she truly loved was the land, and the flowers, plants, and trees.

She seemed to like the little stone from the Zhang family quite a bit.

The next morning, Mu Nanzhao set off again in a donkey cart.

Because she needed to buy a lot of things today, Gu Xixi had to borrow Lao Qian's little donkey again.

When borrowing the donkey, Lao Qian was not only very generous, but also praised Gu Xixi for having such a good uncle.

It seems that his illness has indeed improved under the old doctor's care.

With plenty of time before the lunch banquet, Mu Nanzhao went directly to Dongda Street to buy things.

First, I bought the oilcloth that Xixi needed, the soybean oil for the family, and the colored cotton thread that Aunt Zhang specifically requested.

The last stop was the study.

Mu Nanzhao was a scholar, so browsing through bookstores was a piece of cake for him. He quickly picked out three books.

When Gu Xixi heard the amount the shopkeeper announced while she was paying at the counter, her heart trembled.

She only thought that ancient books would be very expensive.

I never expected it to be so expensive!

Gu Xixi forced a smile at the shopkeeper, pulled Mu Nanzhao aside, and whispered:

Should we buy all three books?

Mu Nanzhao said, "I only selected the most basic and essential books for beginners, which is already the minimum."

Gu Xixi naturally knew the importance of books in education.

She touched the cloth bag slung across her body with a troubled expression.

She sold most of the grain she had previously collected from Gu Laosan's family, which earned her some money.

However, he only has less than a hundred coins left after spending all that money.

If we buy books today, we'll only have half of our household expenses left.

Gu Xixi looked at Mu Nanzhao and said with a forced smile, "Do you have any money? I promised to buy the books, so consider it a loan from me. I will definitely pay you back in a while."

If she can hold out until the autumn harvest, she will immediately have a large sum of money and will no longer have to worry about money like she does now.

Mu Nanzhao glanced at her sideways. "No."

He spoke casually and confidently.

Gu Xixi almost fainted. "No? Didn't you get a lot of pearls before?"

Mu Nanzhao said, "Getting those pearls doesn't mean I'm rich."

Gu Xixi was speechless: "..."

Mu Nanzhao added insult to injury, "I told you to pick a bead to pay off the debt, but who told you to be so concerned about saving face?"

Now that things have come to this, Gu Xixi could only regret her actions and pay for the book.

When Gu Xixi left the study, she had only one coin left.

Seeing her gloomy face, Mu Nanzhao felt like teasing her, "Perfect timing, you can go to Zhang's Nursery for a free meal."