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

Chen Dafu nodded, "I'm sure! I went to check, and I found rat holes and rat droppings on all eight acres of land."

"The strange thing is that everyone else's family is fine, only ours is fine."

Gu Xixi pondered, "Did you catch any rats in the field the other day?"

Chen Dafu said, "It's strange because I've never seen it before."

"I've been farming for half my life, and what I hate most is rats. I kill them every time I see them. How could I wait for so many to suddenly appear in the ground?"

Gu Xixi pondered for a moment and said, "I know Uncle Chen is meticulous."

"I think these rats didn't come here on their own; it's more like someone deliberately put them there."

"What?!" Chen Dafu was stunned.

He shouted, "Who's so despicable as to let rats into someone else's field? Aren't they afraid of their ancestral graves being washed away and their sons being born without an anus?!"

Gu Xixi gestured for him to keep his voice down, "We don't know who did it yet. For now, it's just you and me who know, so don't tell anyone."

Chen Dafu obediently shut up. "Boss, are you going to take a look now?"

Gu Xixi nodded. "Let's go."

After walking around, I found that the rat holes were all located in the fields near the roadside.

If a rat infestation occurs, it will likely cause destruction everywhere without any discernible pattern.

This further confirmed Gu Xixi's guess.

Seeing the damaged millet, Chen Dafu gritted his teeth in distress. "I just told them to pour water into the rat hole to see if they could chase it out and catch it."

"It's such a waste of all this millet. If I knew who did it, I'd definitely make them pay..."

Gu Xixi comforted her, "Luckily you discovered it in time, so this loss is negligible."

Chen Dafu nodded, then said resentfully, "They must all be dealt with today."

The laborers temporarily put aside their farm work to deal with the rats.

Some even offered their own rations as bait, determined to end the battle completely before nightfall.

Gu Xixi told Mu Nanzhao about it when she got home.

Mu Nanzhao immediately went out and did not return until after lunchtime.

He took a sip of water and said, "As you expected, Gu Tiezhu went to Shitou Village yesterday morning."

"After he left, someone noticed that one of the bags containing the rats was missing, but no one paid any attention to it."

Gu Xixi sneered, "After all, who but him would bring such filthy things into their own village?"

"He's only thinking about getting revenge on me, doesn't he ever consider that doing so is harmful to others and himself?"

Mu Nanzhao said indifferently, "How could he possibly have thought of so much? Unless..."

His eyes flickered, meeting Gu Xixi's gaze.

At this moment, without needing to say a word, it was clear that they were thinking the same thing.

At sunset, Chen Dafu brought good news: "All twenty-five rats have been caught, and their holes have all been filled in."

"We were afraid that some might have slipped through the net, so we searched back and forth several times to make sure that not a single one was left."

Fortunately, Gu Tiezhu was feeling guilty and only took so many rats.

Eight able-bodied men worked together for a whole day to annihilate the scourge.

Chen Dafu put down a bag. "Boss, this is what you wanted."

He grinned, a hint of pride in his eyes, "I specifically picked the ten fattest and strongest ones."

Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Thank you for your help. We'll use them to test the medicine tonight."

The night passed.

The tranquility of Huachidu Village in the early morning was shattered by a woman's piercing scream.

Aunt Zhang went to the field to pick vegetables and brought back some slightly alarming yet delightful news.

"Gu Laosan's house is infested with rats! Just before dawn!"

First, while Gu Tiezhu was fast asleep, a fat rat fell from the roof beam and landed on his crotch.

Then the hen in the coop squawked and flapped its wings, flying and crashing about as it was bitten by the rat.

The Gu couple were awakened by their son's wild shouts and the rooster's crow. When they came out to check, they were so shocked by what they saw that they almost lost their minds.

Gu Tiezhu's crotch was gnawed by a rat, and he collapsed and fainted as soon as he ran out of the house.

In the henhouse, there were four hens. Three of them were badly bitten, and one died of fright.

Even more terrifying, the rats that had been causing trouble suddenly started bulging their eyes and spitting blood from their mouths and noses.

Liu screamed and collapsed to the ground, but did not lose consciousness as she had hoped.

They could only watch helplessly as the rats collapsed to the ground, convulsing and dying in a gruesome manner.

It is said that it was Gu Laosan who reacted first and stumbled to the granary.

When he saw that a third of the wheat had been eaten and ruined by rats, he fainted on the spot. He had to be carried out by several neighbors.

Aunt Zhang didn't notice that, apart from her, the other three family members didn't seem surprised at all.

Gu Xixi asked, "How is Gu Tiezhu?"

Aunt Zhang waved her hand, "Nothing much, just gone mad."

Gu Xixi was stunned. They've all gone mad, and nothing's happened yet?

Aunt Zhang couldn't help but laugh and said, "Speaking of this, it's truly gratifying."

When Lao Qian arrived at his house, Gu Tiezhu woke up and pointed at Lao Qian, saying it was a rat.

"He was crying and laughing, shouting, 'I won't release the rats again, please spare me!'"

"Old Qian saw that Gu Tiezhu was in a frenzy, so he pulled Gu Laosan and his wife aside with a stern face and said that their misfortune was entirely their own doing."

"Someone overheard that Gu Tiezhu stole a bag of rats from a neighboring village. Old Qian went to see the village chief of Shitou Village this morning. They were supposed to be talking about other things, but they just happened to talk about this."

Aunt Zhang shook her head and sighed, "Why does Gu Tiezhu always make things difficult for his own family?"

"He must have gone mad long ago. Sigh, no wonder Gu Laosan fainted from anger after learning the truth. Who could stand having a son like that..."

Mu Nanzhao suddenly said calmly, "The rats are all in his house, they didn't run outside?"

Aunt Zhang thought for a moment, "Hmm, I haven't heard anyone say they saw a dead rat on the road."

Mu Nanzhao nodded slightly, his expression relaxed.

It seems he chose a very suitable spot last night.

The old doctor asked, "Did they all die after the rats caused such a ruckus?"

"Yes," Aunt Zhang said, puzzled. "Why are you all suddenly so concerned about his family's affairs?"

Gu Xixi and the old doctor waved their hands in unison.

"No, no, I'm just curious."

Mu Nanzhao lowered his head and turned the pages of his book, exuding an air of integrity.

Last night, in order to get revenge, Gu Xixi consulted an old doctor and obtained a poison that could drive rats mad and kill them instantly after an incense stick has burned.

After all, she had finally caught it, and she didn't want the rat to run away and harm innocent people.

As it turns out, this medicine is indeed effective.

Gu Xixi wanted to ask the old doctor for some more, "Master..."

He was immediately rejected as soon as he opened his mouth. "No way. Do you know how many precious medicinal herbs I used to make this?"

"Moreover, it was originally a medicinal ingredient used to save lives."

"I made an exception last night and let you take the poisoned rat, but as your master, I can't just stand by and watch others bully you!"

Gu Xixi had no choice but to give up the idea. "Master treats me the best. I will definitely learn medicine making from you properly."

Gu Tiezhu went mad and could no longer harbor evil intentions.

Gu Laosan also fell ill.

Adding to the shameful thing his son had done, he was too ashamed to face anyone and even refused visits from his neighbors.

Only Liu wandered around the village, telling everyone he met that the rats were brought by Gu Xixi and Chen Fang.