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

Seeing that the important matter was settled, Meng Chengping breathed a sigh of relief. "Good! I will go back and report to the General today. I will come to pick up Boss Gu in three days."

He got off the kang (heated brick bed), put on his boots, and then remembered to ask, "The second bank note is the first deposit paid in the name of the Northwest Army. If Boss Gu wants anything else, please let me know first."

Gu Xixi got off the ground and stood opposite Meng Chengping, saying, "This is enough for me, I don't want any other remuneration."

Meng Chengping was stunned, thinking he had misheard.

When he arrived, he was worried that Gu Xixi would look down on one hundred taels of silver and be unwilling to take the risk of developing such a large undertaking as military supplies and land reclamation.

To my surprise, she not only readily agreed but also refused any further payment.

Mu Nanzhao held a teacup and looked at Gu Xixi with a quiet gaze, his expression not particularly surprised.

Gu Xixi first bowed to Meng Chengping, "As an ordinary citizen of the Northwest, in terms of public interest, I should thank the Northwest Army for protecting the peace of this region."

"I don't know many things, but I'm quite good at farming."

"Personally speaking, only when there is no war in the Northwest and no foreign enemies can enter my homeland can I farm here in peace and have a full granary. Therefore, I am willing to do my part for the Northwest Army."

"Please convey to the General that since I have accepted this task, I will do my utmost and will not hold back."

She spoke with utmost seriousness, and naturally did not see the undisguised admiration in the eyes of the person still sitting on the kang drinking tea.

Meng Chengping stared blankly at Gu Xixi, only to see his eyes suddenly redden and then he burst into tears.

Gu Xixi was startled by the sudden crying.

"Oh, General Meng, you..."

"Gu Xixi! I've made you my friend for life!" Meng Chengping cried as he spoke. "You're such a good person, you're absolutely right!"

"With a good person like you living in the Northwest, it's all worth it for us to go to the battlefield and shed blood!"

"Waaaaah... Who says a woman's virtue lies in her lack of talent? Who says only women and petty men are difficult to deal with? I'll bring you out here from now on, and I'll scold them!"

……

Gu Xixi's ears hurt from the noise, but she was afraid that interrupting Meng Chengping's emotional outpouring would make him cry even harder, so she could only smile apologetically and nod.

When Meng Chengping got excited, he treated Gu Xixi as one of his comrades in the army and rushed over to hug her.

Mu Nanzhao, however, reached out at just the right moment and pushed Meng Chengping away.

Caught off guard, Meng Chengping staggered back three steps after being pushed. Once he regained his footing, he looked blankly at Mu Nanzhao, still unaware of what he had done to offend him.

Mu Nanzhao smiled and said, "General Meng, men and women should not touch each other."

Meng Chengping felt a chill and thought to himself, "No wonder they're a couple. Their smiles are supposed to be tender and affectionate, but the way they put them on makes them look so creepy."

However, he dared not say these words aloud and swallowed them down.

It started to snow lightly in the afternoon, and the sky looked as dark as lead, so the snow would probably fall harder in the evening.

Gu Xixi was worried about the tea trees planted at the foot of the back mountain, so she went to check on them.

Mu Nanzhao calmly followed, saying, "Since we have nothing else to do, we might as well take a walk and enjoy the snow."

Gu Xixi muttered, "The snow hasn't even settled yet, what's there to see?"

Even so, she didn't mind him following her.

On snowy days, everyone stays indoors, and you can't see a soul on the streets. It's so quiet you can hear the snowflakes falling on your clothes.

Gu Xixi said, "Now that I have money, I want to buy more land and hire more people next year."

Mu Nanzhao responded softly, "Mm."

Gu Xixi: "I want to buy saplings and plant fruit trees."

Mu Nanzhao: "I know."

Gu Xixi: "I know several kinds of grass that are suitable for horses to eat. As long as the conditions are right, the grass seeds will grow very quickly after being sown, so there will be no fear of warhorses not having enough grass to eat."

She glanced triumphantly at Mu Nanzhao, "Now you don't know, do you?"

The two had reached an open area near the back of the mountain.

Mu Nanzhao was silent for a moment, then said, "The Northwest Army is taking a risk. The army is clearing land and cultivating fields to supplement military supplies. Although this does not violate the laws of the court, the general must be keeping this a secret from the court."

"If you get involved, aren't you afraid of being implicated if the truth comes out someday?"

Gu Xixi deliberately mimicked Mu Nanzhao's tone, "Yes. I know."

Mu Nanzhao chuckled, "When did you become so childish?"

Gu Xixi looked up at the sky and reached out to catch the falling snowflakes. "You said it yourself, it's just in case. Compared to this, what I, as a landlady, fear more is war, famine, and displacement."

"I still want to make a fortune with my own skills."

Mu Nanzhao turned to look at her and saw a tiny snowflake land on her dark eyelashes and quickly melt away.

For some reason, a certain constraint in his heart was like that melting snowflake.

His mood suddenly relaxed a lot, and he said naturally, "You just need to do what you're good at."

"The rest, I'll take care of them."

Gu Xixi looked at Mu Nanzhao in surprise. Seeing him walking forward calmly, she realized he wasn't teasing her.

A strange feeling suddenly rose in her heart, and she couldn't help but joke, "Then you'd better work harder."

"We're acquaintances after all. Once you become the most powerful minister again, I'll have another powerful backer."

Mu Nanzhao glanced at her smiling face and said only one word, "Okay."

On the west side of the back mountain, every tea tree is in good condition and can safely overwinter.

Gu Xixi lifted a crack in the tarpaulin near the ground to allow the tea trees to breathe and absorb some of the moisture from the snowy day.

After that, no special care will be needed for a short period of time.

As I walked home, the snow began to fall harder.

Gu Xixi ran into the yard, rubbing her hands from the cold, "It's freezing! Let's go inside!"

Mu Nanzhao called out to her in a low voice, "Wait."

When Gu Xixi turned around, Mu Nanzhao suddenly leaned close to her ear, and the two of them became very close in an instant.

She immediately sensed the cool aura emanating from Mu Nanzhao.

I wondered if it was because of poisoning, his body temperature seemed a little cooler than normal.

While Gu Xixi was lost in thought, she heard Mu Nanzhao say, "I need to leave for a day or two."

"Home, school, whatever excuse you want."

After Mu Nanzhao finished speaking, he turned around and strode towards the west room.

Gu Xixi realized what was happening, "Hey, you're not going to class!"

Mu Nanzhao didn't turn around, but simply raised his arm. "The first snow is precious, let the children play for two days."

As night deepened, Gu Xixi felt the hot water bottle under her feet getting a little cold, so she tidied up the experimental equipment on the table and prepared to go to sleep.

Apart from the heated kang (a traditional Chinese bed-stove) in the main room, the other bedrooms all had wooden beds.

Therefore, charcoal braziers are needed for heating at night, and hot water bottles are also indispensable.

Before going to bed, Aunt Zhang specially made two hot water bottles for Gu Xixi, placed them on the bed while they were still piping hot, and covered her with a thick quilt.

After Gu Xixi finished her work, she crawled into bed, feeling warm all over.

She comfortably rolled over, holding the hot water bottle, and watched as Xiaohua slept peacefully beside the charcoal brazier.

Cats are afraid of the cold and always like to stay in warm places.

Gu Xixi suddenly thought of Mu Nanzhao. He was so cold-sensitive, would he have a hot water bottle?