As soon as he got home, Xiao's mother wanted him to rest before talking about anything else, but he had no interest in sleeping at home. "I'm not sleeping, I'm going to see my grandma and uncle."

He put it nicely that he was visiting his maternal grandmother and maternal uncle, but only he knew what he was really thinking.

Xiao's parents exchanged a glance but didn't expose him. "Wait a minute."

After a while, Xiao's mother brought out two bags. "Take these back to your grandmother. You can give this bag to whomever you want."

Facing his mother's teasing gaze, Xiao Yuheng pretended not to see it, took the things and strode out, then rode his old bicycle towards Xiaowang Village.

"A son is like a tree that cannot be kept at home once he grows up!"

As Mr. Xiao gathered his things to go to work, he heard this and replied, "Isn't this what you wanted to see?"

Xiao's mother nodded, "I want to, but seeing him go to find that young girl without even looking back, can't I, as his mother, feel a little jealous behind his back?"

Xiao's father sighed helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll just remind you of one thing: if our son really manages to win that girl's heart, you can't be jealous or envious. Be careful not to scare her away, or our son will come after you."

Xiao's mother: "...Am I that unreliable? Don't worry, with my son away, I'll only treat her better. You don't need to tell me anything."

She has already made up her mind. If the man marries into the family, she will accompany him to his military post; if he wants to stay at home, she will be his sister and they can go shopping and discover delicious food together.

Remembering her older brother and sister-in-law saying that Xiao Gu's cooking skills were top-notch, and that you'd want to eat the next meal after just one, she couldn't help but swallow her saliva, wondering if she would ever have the chance to try it.

Gu An'an, who was far away in Xiaowang Village, was unaware that she was about to meet an old acquaintance. She had arranged to go to the nearby mountains with Zhou Yue after work, so she went to the village committee to pick up her tools and start working.

Just as I arrived at the tool shed, I ran into Wang Weibing and his mother, who had come to collect their tools.

Although many days have passed since that incident, Wang Weibing can still feel the pain in his arm and instinctively wants to dodge.

Wang Weibing's mother was furious. She had finally found a girl she thought was good enough for her son, but she turned out to be too fierce. Not only was her son terrified, but she was also warned.

In her opinion, the village chief's wife is just meddling in other people's business. Her son is already married, so why can't other people try harder?

Could it be that she's afraid his family will surpass hers once they get together?

Definitely!

The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The guard's mother looked at Gu An'an with eyes full of determination. The more determined she was, the more she had to push her son to work hard and make her proud.

However, her anxiety was useless; she also had to consider her son. She could only nudge the guard with her elbow.

"Son, Gu Zhiqing is here! Say hello to him!"

Wang Weibing had tried his best to minimize his presence, fearing that Gu An'an would remember what happened last time and beat him up again. Seeing that Gu An'an was about to leave with the hoe, Wang Weibing felt relieved.

Just as he was starting to relax, his mother, that terrible teammate, spoke up, startling him so much that he immediately started winking at her.

Although he wanted to find someone beautiful and rich, he absolutely couldn't find someone who was abusive. He was a man, and if he was beaten by his wife every day, he would be laughed to death by the whole village. Where would he put his face then?

But his worries were nothing in his mother's eyes. No matter how fierce a woman is, she has to listen to her husband and be properly disciplined after marriage.

"Why are you making those faces? I told you to say hello."

After giving her good-for-nothing son a hard glare, the guard mother had no choice but to take matters into her own hands.

“Young Gu, this is my son. You’ve met him before.”

Gu An'an's gaze fell on Wang Weibing. "Looks like your arm is better now." Wang Weibing: ...A blatant threat. "No, it's not better yet."

Wang Weibing quickly grabbed a hoe, signed his name in a few strokes, and ran off.

After running a couple of steps, he remembered that his mother was still there. Fearing that something she might say would affect him, he had no choice but to stop and urge her on.

"Mom, come here, I have something to tell you."

Guard's mother: ...This wretched son, can't you wait until you get home to talk about things?

"What are you doing? Are you even capable? Gu Zhiqing is beautiful and rich. If you put in a little effort, you won't have to worry about the rest of your life. Why don't you understand?"

Wang Weibing was afraid that Gu An'an would hear his mother's lewd words, so he grabbed her and ran away. He only stopped when he was sure that Gu An'an couldn't possibly hear him.

"Mom, do you think I wasn't beaten badly enough last time?"

The guard's mother thought about how her son had acted last time, and then about how Gu An'an always came back from the commune with big bags and small packages. In the end, her love of money prevailed.

"A beating is a sign of affection, a scolding is a sign of love; without beatings and scoldings, there is no love. She is definitely testing you."

Wang Weibing: ...This kind of love is too heavy for him to bear.

"I don't care, I'm not marrying a fierce wife like that. With a bruised face every day, how can I hold my head up in front of my brothers?"

The guard's mother still didn't want to give up. "Son, women can change. When I first met your father, I also liked to hit people..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wang Weibing couldn't wait to expose him, saying, "You're still hitting people now, I haven't seen you change at all."

Guard's Mom: ...This brat.

No matter how she tried to persuade him, Wang Weibing had no intention of provoking Gu An'an, strictly adhering to the life principle that it was better to cherish life than to be greedy for money and lust.

Gu An'an didn't care whether he knew what was good for him or not. If he didn't, she would just beat him until he did.

Since Zhou Yue changed her job to cutting grass and feeding cattle, Gu An'an has been going to and from work alone. When she found her plot of land, Zhang Cuicui, who was working on the ridge next to her, had already started. When she saw Gu An'an coming over, she stood up and greeted her.

"Gu Zhiqing, my mother has picked some dandelions to make dumplings for tonight. She wants you to come over and have dumplings with her."

Gu An'an was naturally embarrassed to go. It goes without saying how precious food was these days. Even coarse grains were not enough to feed many people, let alone something as delicious as dumplings.

"No need, sister-in-law. I've arranged to go for a walk around the neighborhood after work with Zhou Zhiqing. I don't know when we'll be back, so we can just grab something to eat then."

Since she already had an appointment, Zhang Cuicui didn't say anything more. She thought about going back to tell her mother-in-law, and then buried herself in her work.

When she finished her task and was about to leave work, she realized that she had arrived more than half an hour earlier than usual.

This is not surprising, almost everyone who works with Gu An'an feels the same way. They always feel like they have inexhaustible energy, but when they stop, they find that their muscles are sore and in great pain.

Thinking of Gu An'an, who finished work half an hour earlier than her, Zhang Cuicui admired her immensely. No wonder her in-laws praised Gu Zhiqing so highly.

"An'an".

When Gu An'an finished acupuncture on Qiao Mei and went to find Zhou Yue, she was already waiting, followed by two tails: Zhao Hu and Chen Jianguo.

"When they heard that we were going up the mountain, they insisted on going with us."

Hearing Zhou Yue's slightly disdainful tone, Gu An'an's watchful gaze fell on Zhao Hu. Sure enough, she saw him glancing at Zhou Yue every now and then and then quickly looking away. She absolutely did not believe that there was nothing fishy about his behavior.

As for Chen Jianguo, who was grinning foolishly to the side, well, that guy is just a foodie; he probably only came for the food.

"Okay, let's go."

As Gu An'an climbed the mountain, Xiao Yuheng pedaled his bicycle like a whirlwind, finally arriving at Xiaowang Village...