Zhou's mother met her gaze and unconsciously frowned.

"What's going on with that girl from the Qin family? She's not targeting you, is she?"

Zhou Yue pouted, "Who knows about her? We haven't seen each other for a long time. I don't know what's wrong with her these past few days, she keeps staring at me."

Not wanting her mother to worry, Zhou Yue added, "But Mom, you don't need to worry. I won't act alone, so it will be difficult for her to do anything sneaky."

Zhou's mother, however, was not as optimistic. Besides, there's only a thousand days of thievery, not a thousand days of guarding against thieves.

She wanted to do something, but she didn't really know much about this place, so she discussed it with Gu An'an. As for why she didn't discuss it with her daughter, she felt that her daughter was cute enough, but definitely not as smart as Gu An'an.

"Aunt Zhou, I'd better go see her."

It wasn't that she was meddling; it was just that Qin Xue had been keeping an eye on her lately, and she didn't like having her life constantly being spied on.

"Gu Zhiqing, what brings you here?"

When Gu An'an arrived, Li Yumei was busy preparing firewood for the winter. There were fewer people in the educated youth compound now, but they couldn't save on firewood for the winter, so they were working a bit harder.

Is Qin Xue there?

Hearing that they were looking for Qin Xue, Lin Qingqing was somewhat disappointed, but she still went inside to call for them.

"What does she want from me?!"

Upon hearing Gu An'an's name, Qin Xue instinctively felt afraid.

"How should I know? You better come out now."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Qin Xue thought about it again and again, and finally went out of the house.

Gu An'an saw her and walked out, and Qin Xue had no choice but to follow.

What do you want from me?

Qin Xue looked at Gu An'an with curiosity, wanting to know why such a variable had occurred.

Why have you been watching us so closely these past few days?

Qin Xue's pupils contracted sharply. She hadn't expected the other party to be so perceptive. Would she discover the secret about her?

"I...I didn't."

She instinctively wanted to deny it.

"No? Do you think we're fools?"

Seeing Qin Xue's flustered appearance, Gu An'an raised an eyebrow, thinking, "She really doesn't learn her lesson."

Why do we have to repeat the same mistake even though there are precedents to follow?

Gu An'an didn't understand this kind of thought process. Anyway, if it were her, she would definitely find a better path for herself.

"No matter why you're staring at us, I advise you to think it through, otherwise I have many ways to get rid of you."

Qin Xue believed this, so even though she dreamed of this person dying, she still held back.

After warning the other party, Gu An'an wanted to leave. If the person made any further moves, Gu An'an wouldn't mind just getting rid of him.

"Who...who are you? Why are you here?"

Qin Xue was still somewhat unwilling. She could have been as happy as she dreamed, but everything had turned out this way.

Gu An'an frowned, turned around and stared at Qin Xue again. What she said seemed normal, but upon closer inspection, there was something fishy about it.

Judging from her expression, it wasn't a simple inquiry, but rather as if she were looking at another person, or perhaps another world.

This made her think of a possibility: Could it be that Qin Xue was reborn like the protagonist in a novel?

Tsk! That's so unfair.

Why should such a scourge be able to encounter such good fortune?

"Why do you think I came here? Is it possible that I came specifically to deal with this troublemaker?"

Qin Xue's face turned extremely ugly after hearing her meaningful words, "You shouldn't have come here."

In short, Gu An'an was certain that Qin Xue probably had memories of her past life and had discovered this sudden variable.

"So what? I still came, didn't I? If you want to do anything, feel free to come at me. I'm always ready to oblige."

Gu An'an's smile was very beautiful. Not to mention now, even at the beginning, Gu An'an was not afraid of someone like Qin Xue.

"If I were you, I would choose the option that is most beneficial to me, rather than fantasizing about things that I cannot have or things that I cannot accomplish."

Although she wasn't afraid of anyone or anything, it was better to save herself some trouble, and it all depended on whether Qin Xue would listen.

Zhou Ma brought a lot of things, and the courtyard smelled wonderful for the next few days.

Gu An'an ate heartily and kept herself busy.

"An'an, you're here? I was just about to go find you."

As soon as Gu An'an arrived at the village committee, she saw Xiao's father and the village chief talking together.

"Uncle Xiao, is there something you need from me?"

"Nothing much, just bringing you money."

Mr. Xiao took a thick envelope from his briefcase and handed it over, saying, "Here, this is your bonus from the factory."

Although she had received many bonuses before, this was the first time she had seen such a thick stack of bills. "Uncle Xiao, this..."

Mr. Xiao waved his hand, "Don't worry, although the bonus is a lot, it was discussed in a big meeting and everyone agreed to give so much, so you can take it without worry."

It wasn't that he was seeking personal gain for his family, but An'an's abilities were undeniable. Even Secretary Liu had reminded him not to forget about the bonus, since other factories had generously given out such high bonuses.

Since it wouldn't cause any trouble for the other party, Gu An'an accepted it.

Seeing that she had accepted the money, Xiao's father brought up other matters, "An'an, the factory has been working overtime lately and has finally finished the first batch of goods, which will be shipped out in a couple of days, but I have a new problem."

Gu An'an adopted a listening posture, "What's the problem?"

She guessed it couldn't be a technical issue, since there had never been any problems before.

"Recently, we've had a lot of shipments and a lot of fabric scraps. In the past, when the quantity was small, we could just deal with them casually. But now that we have so many fabric scraps, I'm wondering if we should make use of them?"

Each scrap of fabric is a different size, and making use of them is no small matter.

When Gu An'an heard this, she suddenly thought of hair clips and hair ties, which are small products with big business potential.

These days, accessories are scarce. Big cities do have hair ties, but the styles are outdated and monotonous. Even if you have money, you might not be able to buy the style you like.

If they could put some effort into their headdresses, wouldn't they be able to make some money? Especially now that Xiaowang Village is about to enter the winter season, there aren't as many things to scavenge on the mountain anymore.

In previous years, it was fine for everyone to stay indoors during the winter. But now, some people can still work even in winter, while others can only stay at home. Over time, people will definitely feel a bit unbalanced.

If the village could set up a headdress workshop, and everyone could make headdresses and earn money while warming themselves by the fire, wouldn't everyone be overjoyed?

"Uncle Wang, are there any people in our village who can still do handicrafts without working in factories? Like hair accessories and hair ties."

"Yes, definitely. Although a lot of people were there that day for embroidery, the skill requirements are high, and most people can't meet them."

Gu An'an looked at Xiao's father, "Uncle Xiao, I do have some ideas about those scraps of fabric from the factory. The most effective way is to use them to make hair ties and hair accessories. I'll talk to the Haishi Supply and Marketing Cooperative about it, and sales shouldn't be a problem, but..."