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

Meng Chengping sensed the subtle atmosphere inside the room.

He glanced at Gu Xixi, then turned to Mu Nanzhao with a gossipy expression, "Hey, what bad thing did you do to offend him? He's treating you like dirt."

Mu Nanzhao sighed inwardly, glanced at Gu Xixi, and said, "I just woke up, what can I do?"

If there's anything to it, it's only because of what happened the night before last.

Gu Xixi must have been harboring resentment towards him since then, and only unleashed it all today.

Meng Chengping moved a small table over the kang (heated brick bed) for Mu Nanzhao, and put down some white porridge and side dishes. "You're just starting to feel better, so this is all you can eat."

He sat down happily and began to eat heartily, as if Mu Nanzhao's unfortunate appearance was a good source of sustenance.

Mu Nanzhao felt a tightness in his chest. He couldn't do anything to Gu Xixi, so he said to Meng Chengping in a bad mood:

"Stop eating. Didn't you have something to say?"

Meng Chengping took a sip of mutton soup and said, "Oh, we've found out who was chasing us in batches."

"The Northerners obtained information through some roundabout, unorthodox channels that someone wanted to meet the General and secretly provide provisions for the Northwest Army, but their goal was to kill this person."

"However, they were unclear about this person's information, which is why they launched a full-scale attack, intending to leave no one behind."

Gu Xixi asked, "Weren't those Beili people coming for us?"

Meng Chengping's expression became very complicated. After a moment, he said, "It's definitely coming for us."

"However, the Northwest is heavily defended, and the information obtained by the spies in the North through rumors is not accurate. They do not actually know the true purpose of our trip."

Gu Xixi put down her chopsticks. "So, I came here to explore and reclaim the land, but I'm being treated as a contact person for supplying provisions?"

Meng Chengping nodded sympathetically, "Yes, yes."

Gu Xixi no longer found the mutton delicious. "So, these people actually wanted to kill me?!"

Meng Chengping confirmed with difficulty, "According to them... that's how it is."

He quickly added, "But it's not really you. They got the mission wrong this time; they have no idea who they're supposed to kill, or whether it's a man or a woman."

Mu Nanzhao raised his eyes. "General Meng, are you here to tell us that we've been targeted by the Northern Li people and that we should pray for our own good fortune?"

Meng Chengping waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, how could that be?"

"Now that we've invited Mr. Gu here, we must ensure your safety."

He glanced at Mu Nanzhao, then cleared his throat with a lack of confidence, "The General has ordered that, in order to protect your affairs in the Northwest from being exposed, and at the same time to ensure Boss Gu's safety."

“Every North Korean who entered the country the day before yesterday must die; not a single one was allowed to return alive.”

Mu Nanzhao scooped up a spoonful of rice porridge and said calmly, "The General is much more particular about things than you are."

Meng Chengping secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Of course."

Mu Nanzhao has escaped danger, but Gu Xixi still has some unfinished work.

Meng Chengping and his men retrieved all the previously collected oat ears.

Gu Xixi needs to thresh the wheat ears, air-dry them, and then store them properly for seedling cultivation next year.

Meng Chengping called upon the families of several nimble soldiers to help, which greatly improved efficiency.

We can't stay away from Huachidu Village for too long.

After recuperating for three days, Mu Nanzhao decided to return home.

Meng Chengping personally led troops to escort the carriage.

The carriage swayed gently.

Mu Nanzhao looked across the way several times, but each time Gu Xixi looked elsewhere.

Mu Nanzhao felt bitter.

He has never been good at comforting women. How can he make her calm down as soon as possible?

For the past three days, Gu Xixi has been in a low mood, especially towards Mu Nanzhao. She has been diligent in giving him medicine, meals, and water, but she has been ignoring him.

Mu Nanzhao looked over again, carefully considering his words before speaking, "Do you have any ideas about those wastelands?"

Gu Xixi hummed in agreement through her nose.

After a while, she turned to look at him and asked, "Want to reconcile?"

Mu Nanzhao had never felt so uncomfortable before, and he gave a vague "hmm".

Gu Xixi said, "The condition for the exchange was that he would teach me how to ride a horse."

Mu Nanzhao was taken aback. That's it?

Gu Xixi's lips curled into a playful smile, "Can you teach me within a month?"

Looking at her, Mu Nanzhao felt the pent-up emotions of the past few days suddenly dissipate, and his heart became bright and cheerful.

"No problem, it's just riding a horse. With your intelligence, you'll learn in less than a month."

Laughter came from outside the carriage. "I remember that Mr. Gu's family only has mules. I'll leave the horse that pulls the carriage here. It's gentle and affectionate, so Mr. Gu can use it for now."

Gu Xixi asked, "After all, it's a warhorse. Can I keep it?"

Meng Chengping said, "Of course, with large areas of the border frozen over and the people of Beili already lacking food, large-scale wars are unlikely to occur at this time."

Seeing that Mu Nanzhao also nodded slightly, Gu Xixi stopped refusing.

In Huachidu Village, Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao, who had been away for several days, returned with a horse.

The villagers were naturally curious as they watched them being taken away by people dressed in armor.

Someone asked, "What's your relationship with that military officer? What good deed did he ask you to do?"

Gu Xixi had not yet spoken.

Mu Nanzhao, without changing his expression, said, "A reward."

"Xixi had previously come up with the idea of ​​using oleander to kill rats, and this idea was passed on to the military."

"They treated us to a banquet in recognition of our success in exterminating the rats, and even gave us this horse as a reward."

"Otherwise, how would we know those unapproachable people in the military?"

Everyone suddenly realized, "I knew it, we'd never heard of any relatives in the Gu family serving in the military."

Mu Nanzhao said, "Yes, we are all ordinary people. Receiving the reward is a bonus. We will not dare to casually try to establish connections with others in the future."

The villagers' goodwill towards Mu Nanzhao grew even stronger.

"As expected of Mr. Chen, if it were anyone else, having a meal with such distinguished people, they would have been boasting about it endlessly."

Gu Xixi was shocked. Not to mention how smoothly and effortlessly Mu Nanzhao could lie now, his down-to-earth way of chatting was truly impressive.

Everything at home is as usual.

Hearing the noise, Aunt Zhang came out of the house. "You're finally back! Are you tired? Are you hungry? I'll boil some water and cook some noodles for you!"

"No rush," Gu Xixi moved aside so that Aunt Zhang could see the horse Mu Nanzhao was leading.

"Let's settle it down first."

Aunt Zhang's eyes widened. "Wow! Good heavens!"

Mature horses are expensive, and this is the first horse in Huachidu Village.

Aunt Zhang mustered her courage and went forward to take a look.

Gu Xixi took the reins. "It has a very good temperament. Feel free to pet it."

As she spoke, she winked at Mu Nanzhao, signaling him to hurry to the backyard to find the old doctor.

Aunt Zhang stroked the horse's mane a few times, liking it more and more as she looked at it. "They say donkeys and horses shouldn't be in the same trough, so we should build it its own separate shed."

Gu Xixi glanced at Laifu and reminded him, "Auntie, the mule we raise isn't a donkey."

Aunt Zhang said, "They're all pretty much the same, it's the same principle!"

As she spoke, she turned her head to look for Mu Nanzhao, "Where's Xiao Chen? The one he built for Laifu last time, I think it's pretty good."

Gu Xixi hurriedly said, "Let me do it."