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

Gu Xixi glared at Mu Nanzhao and stormed off, saying, "It's none of your business! One penny!"

As Mu Nanzhao watched the woman's retreating figure, his face slowly darkened.

One penny? Is that the new nickname she gave him?

Gu Xixi walked alone to Zhang's Nursery, originally intending to buy some treats for Shi Tou, but now she only had one coin left. What could she possibly buy?

Gu Xixi looked towards the street vendors.

A peddler carrying a load of goods passed by, loudly hawking his wares: "Needles and thread, rattles, spatulas, salt jars, stinky bean sauce, buy them and the little girl will smile from ear to ear, buy a straw hat and you won't get wet in the rain!"

"Crystal crispy rock candy, peanut brittle, rice candy, and freshly made pine nut candy—if it's not sweet, you don't have to pay!"

Gu Xixi, who had already walked past, stopped and went back to call out to the peddler.

"I want to buy candy, but I only have one coin."

Gu Xixi knocked on the door of Zhang Family Nursery for a long time before it was opened.

Stone opened the door a crack and peered out warily. "Who's there?"

Gu Xixi was shocked to see that Shi Tou's face was covered in bruises and his right eye was swollen, making it difficult for him to see people.

"Stone, what's wrong with you?"

Shi Tou recognized Gu Xixi and happily opened the door. "Sister Xixi, it's you! You just knocked without saying anything, I thought it was..."

He abruptly stopped talking and said with a smile, "Sister Xixi, please come in and sit down."

Shi Tou led Gu Xixi inside, chirping excitedly like a little bird, "Brother Chen is amazing! It really rained the next day, saving me a lot of trouble."

"This rain has soaked through the soil, so I won't need to water the plants for at least half a month."

Gu Xixi suddenly stopped, reached out and pressed on Shi Tou's shoulders, turning him to face her.

What happened to your face? Who hit you?

Gu Xixi looked serious.

Shi Tou was originally smiling as he looked at Gu Xixi.

After a moment, he looked away and whispered to cover up his mistake, "No one else, it was just my own carelessness..."

Gu Xixi interrupted him, "Do you think I can believe what you're saying?"

"How could you get so many injuries on your face because you weren't careful?"

Shi Tou was silent for a while, then said, "Sister Xi Xi, just leave it alone."

"Anyway, I usually try to avoid them, so I just had bad luck this time."

Gu Xixi stared at the stone, speechless for a long time.

She recalled what Madam Meng had said: for Shi Tou, being disliked or even bullied was probably a common occurrence.

In the very center of the nursery was the Zhang family's house, with a stone table and benches placed in the open air in front of it.

Gu Xixi pulled Shi Tou to sit down at the table.

She examined Shi Tou's injuries; his body and back were covered in bruises of all sizes.

His face was the most severely injured; in addition to the visible bruises and swelling, his mouth was also broken by his teeth, with blood scabs covering the soft flesh.

The only saving grace was that, although Shi Tou's right eye was swollen, it was at least not seriously injured.

Gu Xixi took out a small bottle of wound medicine from her handbag. As she applied the medicine to Shi Tou, she said:

"This is the first time I've prepared wound medicine myself after learning from my master."

"Perfect, you can be the first to try it out and see how it works."

Shi Tou had been staring blankly at Gu Xixi since he sat down, but he laughed again after hearing this.

"Okay, from now on, I'll be the first to try any other medicines you prescribe."

Gu Xixi looked up at him with a smile, "Nonsense, medication is about treating the symptoms, how can I let you try everything?"

After applying the medicine, Gu Xixi took a small paper packet out of her bag and handed it to Shi Tou.

"Eating something sweet might make your heart feel less bitter."

The stone unfolded its paper package, revealing a crystal-clear interior, like shattered ice.

"Rock candy?!" He grinned in surprise.

Gu Xixi said, "I spent all the money I brought with me today. The last penny I had was only enough to buy a piece of rock candy."

The rock candy was about the size of an apricot, and the peddler helped to break it into smaller pieces so it would be easier to eat.

Shi Tou pinched a piece of rock candy, popped it into his mouth, and smiled happily with his eyes narrowed. "So sweet, so sweet!"

He held the paper in both hands and pushed it in front of Gu Xixi, saying, "Sister Xixi, you should eat too!"

Knowing she couldn't refuse, Gu Xixi picked up the smallest piece of candy crumb and said, "Mmm, sweet!"

Two people, one big and one small, sat under the shade of a tree, sharing the taste of the same piece of candy.

No one spoke, but everyone wore a relaxed and contented smile.

After some time, Shi Tou spoke up, "Sister Xi Xi, I hit them this time too, because they insulted my father."

The boy looked up at the sky and exclaimed, "My dad isn't a useless, short-lived wretch!"

Gu Xixi suppressed a sore nose and laughed, "Is it because you fought back this time that they beat you up even more?"

Stone grinned and nodded proudly.

"I kicked them several times, their butts must hurt a lot."

Gu Xixi suddenly thought of a question, "When did you two fight?"

“This morning,” Stone replied matter-of-factly.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a series of loud bangs and shouts of abuse erupted at the door, "You wretched child, born of someone but no one to discipline him!"

"Look what they've done to my eldest child!"

"My son's bottom is so swollen he's lying on the bed crying. He even went to see a doctor and got some medicine. We have to pay for his medical expenses!"

"That's right, the orphan surnamed Zhang has no parents and can't pay the debt, so let's use his family's trees as collateral!"

Judging from the voices, there were more than just one or two people.

Gu Xixi and Shi Tou looked at each other in bewilderment.

Shi Tou's face turned deathly pale instantly, and he gripped Gu Xixi's sleeve tightly with his little hands. "Don't go open the door."

"Let's pretend we're not home, and they'll go back once they've finished yelling at us."

Seeing Shi Tou's frightened expression, Gu Xixi sighed inwardly; after all, he was still just a six-year-old child.

She smiled easily and said, "They started it first, you didn't do anything wrong."

“Now that I’m here, you don’t need to hide from them,”

Shi Tou propped his head up and looked at Gu Xixi. She smiled and nodded at him, and his anxious heart gradually calmed down.

Gu Xixi took Shi Tou's little hand and stood up. "I'll go with you. Don't be afraid."

The people outside couldn't get the door open by knocking, so they started kicking it.

Gu Xixi suddenly pulled on the door from inside. The man who kicked the door was caught off guard and almost fell.

"You little brat, you motherfucker..."

Before he could finish cursing, he looked up and saw Gu Xixi, a completely unfamiliar face he had never seen before.

"Who are you? Aren't there any adults in this house?"

Gu Xixi said calmly, "I am Zhang Minglei's friend."

"You guys are kicking and cursing at a child's doorstep. Such rudeness and lack of discipline make you wonder if any of you have adults at home?"

There were three men and two women outside the door; they were all residents from the neighborhood.

They didn't know Gu Xixi, and at first they didn't dare to act rashly.

But upon hearing Gu Xixi's mocking words, a tall woman angrily stepped forward.

"You're not his parent, what right do you have to stand here and talk to us?"

"Hand that kid over right now."

"How badly did he kick my son's butt? I want to ask him, if he's brought death to his own parents, why does he even go out? Is he deliberately trying to bring bad luck to others?!"