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

Aunt Zhang was surprised when Gu Xixi insisted on building the stable herself.

She glanced towards the backyard and whispered, "Didn't you say we don't support idlers in our family? If he's willing to work, then let him do it?"

Gu Xixi's eyes flickered. She couldn't very well say, "Letting that guy do the work would only reopen the wound and be a loss for him."

“Things are different now. He earns his tuition as a teacher, instead of just sitting at home doing nothing.”

"Besides, he missed several classes because of our trip."

"I told him to focus on preparing his lessons and not to do any heavy work for the next few days."

Aunt Zhang understood, "Okay, anyway, he chopped a lot of firewood before, so it's enough for now."

Not long after, Stone led Gouwa and a few friends running wildly into the yard.

"Sister Xixi! Is Sister Xixi back?!"

Gu Xixi was marking out the locations for the stables when she casually agreed, "Here it is!"

The horse was tied to a wooden post in the mule shed, and the children went crazy with excitement when they saw it.

"This is a horse! It's so tall! So big!"

"With legs that long, it's definitely faster than the village chief's donkey!"

"I've seen horses before! The door gods ride horses! Riding a horse is so majestic!"

Shi Tou ran up to Gu Xixi, excited and unable to hide his pride, "We heard it outside: Sister Xixi and Mr. Chen are back, and they even brought a horse with them!"

"Everyone wanted to see what a real horse looks like, so I brought them here."

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "Look around as you like, but don't touch it. Horses have tempers too."

"If you provoke it, be careful it might kick you."

Stone nodded, "Okay, I'll go tell them they can look but not touch!"

Shi Tou ran quickly over to tell his friends a few words, then ran back quickly to Xi Xi's side.

"What is Sister Xixi drawing?"

After drawing the last white line, Gu Xixi straightened up and said, "Build the stable right here."

Stone's eyes lit up, and he came up with a good idea.

There is still a lot of timber stored in the house when Gu Bapi was alive.

Gu Xixi and Aunt Zhang went to the backyard to move wood, and when they came out, they saw several little kids standing where the stable was being built.

Gouwa said, "Aunt Xixi, we want to make a place for the horse to live!"

The other children nodded in agreement, chattering excitedly.

"The horses will definitely love living in the house I built!"

"It prefers the ones I cover!"

"I love horses, but they can't live outside!"

Aunt Zhang was overwhelmed by the children's noise. "Alright, alright, come on over, everyone gets a share!"

Gu Xixi looked at Shi Tou and knew without asking that it must have been this kid who instigated it.

Stone stuck out his tongue and whispered, "Sister Xixi, just agree to their request. There's strength in numbers."

Children in the countryside, even those as young as six or seven, can do some kind of work.

Help carry a few small pieces of wood, lend a hand when adults are hammering nails, or run errands to deliver something.

Although they were all easy tasks, with the children's help, the progress was indeed much faster.

Finally, Gu Xixi stood on the ladder and covered the roof with a thick layer of dry grass.

The stable is now basically complete. The feeding troughs and water troughs inside can be replaced with other items, and more can be added later.

Gu Xixi jumped down the ladder and announced, "Thanks to everyone's concerted efforts, the stable is finished!"

The children clapped and cheered happily.

Aunt Zhang smiled broadly, "Don't go, everyone! Grandma will make you some sweet soup!"

The cheers grew louder.

Ever since Gu Xixi earned those two hundred taels of silver, the family's standard of living has improved significantly.

For example, the seasonings and other food items in the kitchen.

When she first transmigrated into the book, she had to be careful with her salt intake, and she could only eat sugar in her dreams.

Now Aunt Zhang opened the cupboard and found rock sugar, brown sugar, honey, granulated sugar, and various spices.

They were all purchased by Gu Xixi during a large-scale shopping trip to the county town.

Aunt Zhang picked out a few large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped them, added a handful of lotus seeds with the cores removed, and cooked them in a pot.

When adding rock sugar, Aunt Zhang first grabbed a small handful, but then, thinking that children love sweets, she added two large pieces without hesitation.

Before serving, sprinkle a pinch of dried wild goji berries picked from the back mountain as a garnish.

Several little ones sat around the kang (a heated brick bed), obediently waiting for Aunt Zhang to bring them sweet soup, one bowl for each of them.

Ordinary families in the village rarely have the opportunity to eat sweets.

The children were completely won over after their first bite.

So sweet! How can something be so delicious?!

The sweet potatoes are soft and mealy, the lotus seeds are fragrant and sweet, and a spoonful of the sweet and smooth soup while it's hot is simply the ultimate treat in this cold winter.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room were slurping and slurping as people ate.

Aunt Zhang said with a smile, "Eat slowly, be careful not to burn yourself."

Gu Xixi took three bowls of sweet soup to the backyard.

The old doctor's door was ajar, and Gu Xixi's hands were occupied by a tray, so she could only use her shoulder to hold the door open.

The door opened, revealing Mu Nanzhao with his clothes half-open.

Their eyes met, and each pair blinked before realizing what was happening.

One person quickly grabbed the hem of the shirt, while the other rushed in, turned around, and closed the door.

Gu Xixi awkwardly faced the door panel, "I didn't know you..."

"A cold wind blew in just now, I don't want you to catch a cold again."

"It's alright." Mu Nanzhao was also trying to remain calm. He quickly put on his clothes and cleared his throat.

"Are you having dinner so early?"

When Gu Xixi heard him ask that question, she knew that it was time to turn around.

She placed the tray on the table. "It's not dinner. The children helped us build the stable, and I made a sweet soup to treat them."

"Oh right, where is Master?"

Gu Xixi didn't even realize she was saying "our family," and her tone remained perfectly natural.

Mu Nanzhao glanced at her, then strolled over to the table and sat down, in a good mood.

"Old Jiang has gone to the storeroom to find medicinal herbs; he'll be back soon."

The place where Gu Xixi's father used to store herbs has now become the old doctor's medicine cabinet.

Mu Nanzhao took a sip of the sweet soup, his brows relaxed, and he said, "Delicious."

Gu Xixi ate her sweet soup, but her eyes kept glancing at Mu Nanzhao out of the corner of her eye.

You wouldn't know it when he's dressed, I didn't expect him to have such a good physique?

He had obvious muscles, and was not at all the kind of pale, slender, sickly-looking man with distinct bones that she had imagined.

As a civil official, he was also proficient in martial arts, such as riding and archery. Just how high were his standards for himself?

As Gu Xixi was lost in thought, Mu Nanzhao happened to look up at her.

Feeling guilty, Gu Xixi almost choked on her sweet soup. She covered it up by saying, "Um, was my master healing your injuries just now?"

Mu Nanzhao sipped his soup and nodded, "He said the military doctor did a good job of stitching it up."

Despite Mu Nanzhao's nonchalant demeanor, he had actually been severely scolded by the old doctor a short while earlier.

"I asked Xixi to bring that pill, but I didn't expect you guys would ever need it!"

"I finally managed to suppress the poison in your body, and what did you do to overexert yourself, lose too much blood, and cause the poison to flare up again? Do you know that your lifespan has been shortened by at least six months now!"

"If you're looking for death, don't come to me for treatment! Otherwise, I'll ruin my reputation in my old age!"