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

Gu Xixi didn't encounter any suspicious people on her way back to the village.

But as she drove past the locust tree at the village entrance, she saw an unfamiliar man peering into the village.

Gu Xixi became alert, slowed down the car, and asked, "Are you here to visit relatives?"

The man turned around at the sound, and when they faced each other, Gu Xixi suddenly felt that he looked somewhat familiar.

She just couldn't remember where she had seen it before.

The man's eyes flickered as he sized up Gu Xixi, a warm smile spreading across his face. "It's not visiting relatives, it's searching for family."

"I heard that your village has several sons-in-law from other places, including one who was exiled from the capital?"

Gu Xixi's heart skipped a beat when she thought of where Mu Nanzhao had come from.

She said calmly, "They were all sent down by the county government to get married. It's not just in our village; there are people from all the surrounding villages."

“The government keeps records of these kinds of people. Since you’ve come from afar to find your relatives, it’s much more convenient and less troublesome to go directly to the county government for help than to just sit at the village entrance like this.”

While speaking, Gu Xixi kept observing the man's expression.

He smiled and said, "Oh, I was so anxious to find him that I forgot about this method."

He thanked him and was about to leave.

"Wait a minute." Gu Xixi called out to the man, giving him a friendly smile as he turned around.

"It's rare to meet you here. Tell me the name of the relative you're looking for so I can help you keep an eye out."

A barely perceptible glint of malice flashed in the man's eyes, then he smiled and said, "Our surname is Liu, we're just an ordinary family, and we're only named after our clan's birth order. Telling us won't help in finding us, so I won't trouble you, young lady."

Gu Xixi watched the man walk away, her smile vanishing completely.

She was certain that the man had just been lying.

Under the jurisdiction of Qingtian County, officials had fish-shaped tallies and imperial seals to prove their identity, and large merchants traveling to various places also had identity documents issued by the imperial court.

However, most ordinary people do not have documents proving their place of origin.

The same applies to all areas except Qingtian County.

Only the Great Cause was different when it came to the capital.

To safeguard the imperial city, the capital had a strict household registration system, and all local residents were registered.

This means they must have their own name from birth.

Even out-of-towners temporarily residing in the capital must hold an identity document issued by the local government office in their place of origin.

The man, who claimed to be searching for relatives, first inquired about people exiled from the capital, and then said that the person he was looking for had no name.

It is clear that this person not only lied, but was also unfamiliar with the situation in the capital.

Plus his accent.

Although not obvious, traces of this Northwest region are still visible.

When Gu Xixi got home, she told Mu Nanzhao about meeting the suspicious person.

Mu Nanzhao flipped through the book without much reaction. "Oh, it is indeed suspicious."

"Maybe he's part of the human trafficking gang that Madam Meng told you about."

Gu Xixi felt it wasn't that simple. "But I feel like I've seen him somewhere before, but I just can't remember where."

Mu Nanzhao finally raised his eyes. "Human traffickers lurk in the county town. It's normal that you only caught a fleeting glimpse and didn't remember them."

Mu Nanzhao has always been meticulous, even to the point of being suspicious, and yet he said this...

Gu Xixi frowned, and began to doubt herself, "Could it be that I'm overthinking things?"

Mu Nanzhao reminded him, "There are so many children in the village, you'd better tell Lao Qian to warn everyone to be more vigilant."

Gu Xixi stood up. "Yes, this is important. I'll go right away."

She left in a hurry.

Mu Nanzhao stared at the doorway, his gaze deep and thoughtful.

A month later, the village school began its holiday break.

Gu Xixi woke up early and found that it had started snowing sometime earlier. The world was covered in white, and snowflakes were still falling like cotton wool from above.

Little Flower was afraid of the cold, so she peeked her little nose out from under the curtain of the main room, then quickly withdrew it.

Aunt Zhang lifted the curtain and came out, smiling, "With this snow, next year's wheat harvest is practically guaranteed."

Gu Xixi looked up at the snow, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up.

"Yes, what a wonderful snow, and the timing is just right. It freezes pests and diseases to death and keeps the soil moist."

Not only the winter wheat benefited, but the fruit trees in Zhangjia Nursery also won't need any additional watering this winter.

Thinking of the nursery, Gu Xixi asked, "Where are the stones?"

Aunt Zhang said, "They went out to play a long time ago."

"He got up early and saw that it was snowing. He was so happy that he didn't even have time to eat. He grabbed two roasted sweet potatoes and ran off."

Gu Xixi was in a good mood and also felt playful. "Chen Fang! Come out and ride a lap with me!"

After a while, Mu Nanzhao walked out of the west room, wearing a black velvet gray squirrel cloak, exactly the same as the one that had been destroyed before.

"Let's go."

The horse borrowed from the Northwest Army was named Fengchi, and it was a chestnut-colored mare.

During this time, Mu Nanzhao taught Gu Xixi how to ride a horse as promised.

Gu Xixi initially thought that being in ancient times and riding a horse was equivalent to taking a driver's license test in modern times.

These are all basic skills that serve to make life more convenient.

But as she became more skilled, she gradually fell in love with the feeling of riding a horse at full gallop, feeling the wind rushing past.

Amidst the heavy snowfall, Gu Xixi had already ridden her horse around the open space outside the village twice.

She stopped in front of Mu Nanzhao, unable to stop laughing heartily, "It's still not enough."

"I wish I could make a long-distance raid someday."

Mu Nanzhao said, "Perhaps it really is."

Gu Xixi sensed that he seemed to be implying something, and as she was staring at him, she suddenly heard a child shouting.

"Someone come quickly!"

"Help!!!"

The sound came from the village, not far away.

Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao exchanged a glance, and Mu Nanzhao immediately leaped onto his horse.

The two rode together on one horse towards the village.

As soon as we arrived at the big locust tree, several children came running out.

Gu Xixi tugged on the reins, "Whoa!"

"What happened?"

A little boy, panting, said, "Dogwa, Brother Dogwa saw several people stuff Xiaotao and Doudou into such a big sack and carry them away!"

Xiao Tao and Dou Dou are both girls from the village and attend the village school.

Gu Xixi was shocked. A human trafficker?!

She hurriedly asked, "Where are Gouwa and Shitou? Have you seen Shitou?"

Another little child, only four years old, said in a childish voice, "I saw it!"

"Brother Gouwa and Brother Shitou have gone to chase after those bad guys."

Gu Xixi's mind went blank for a moment. She immediately turned her horse around and said urgently, "What are they chasing? Don't they know to call for their master first!"

"Now look what happened, we lost two and got two more as a bonus."

Before leaving, she emphasized, "None of you are allowed to run outside!"

"Go back and get help right away!"

The little ones looked at each other, still hesitating.

Until Mu Nanzhao gave him a cold look and asked, "Did you hear everything?"

The children seemed to be back in the village school classroom, and they all shuddered immediately.

"I heard."

Seeing them rushing back, Gu Xixi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly chased after them towards the edge of the village.

Mu Nanzhao sat behind Gu Xixi, constantly looking down to observe the marks left on the snow.

Wheel tracks, cow hoof prints, children's footprints...