Chapter 52 I have no money, so you have no money
Somehow, Gu Tiezhu's resentful words towards Gu Xixi at home reached the ears of Qin Dasao.
Mrs. Qin went to Gu Xixi's house to inform her of the matter as soon as possible.
"He won't let me go?" Gu Xixi sneered.
It just so happened that she had no intention of letting Gu Tiezhu go.
Someone had previously pushed down rocks with the intention of crushing her to death. Coincidentally, Mu Nanzhao accidentally saw a clue in a remote place when he went up the mountain the day before yesterday.
The traces left on the mud by the rain may have been completely revealed after being hardened by two days of exposure to the sun.
The man's footprints were deep and shallow, obviously he was lame, and there were small holes poked by the crutch next to him.
Gu Tiezhu is the only person in the village who meets these characteristics.
At least it means that he went up the mountain alone when no one knew, and it was during the last rain.
However, this is not enough to constitute evidence, and Gu Qingye was present at the time.
So after Mu Nanzhao escaped from the predicament yesterday, he went up the mountain alone again in the afternoon.
He somehow managed to leave a complete trace of his footprints on a wooden board, and then went to search on the cliff where the rock fell that day.
This place is rarely visited by people, but we actually found the same footprints and crutch prints on the edge of the cliff.
Mu Nanzhao immediately covered it with fallen leaves to protect the evidence.
After that, we just need to find an opportunity to compare it with Gu Tiezhu's shoe prints to make solid evidence.
However, Gu Xixi did not intend to trouble Lao Qian to come forward this time, so she did not tell Mrs. Qin the truth for the time being.
"Thank you sister-in-law for telling me this."
Mrs. Qin was worried and warned, "He had bad intentions towards you before. Now that he has said such things, I am afraid he will not let it go. Be careful when you go out recently, and don't go to places with few people by yourself."
Gu Xixi sincerely appreciated Mrs. Qin's kindness and solemnly agreed, "Okay, I'll remember it all."
"Don't worry, sister-in-law. I will protect myself."
After seeing off Mrs. Qin, Gu Xixi went to the west room and knocked on Mu Nanzhao's table.
"Can you help me go to Mr. Gu's house this afternoon?"
Just after the hour of Chou in the afternoon, Gu Laosan and Liu took Gu Qingye out to the fields on time.
No matter how embarrassed you are, you still have to eat and farm.
Gu Tiezhu was the only one left at home.
After what happened last time, he locked himself in the room for even longer periods of time.
The yard was quiet, and a figure landed lightly on the ground.
People in the countryside don’t have that much spare money, and at most they can afford two pairs of cloth shoes to wear.
So the few pairs of shoes that had just been washed after the rain two days ago were placed on the windowsill outside the main room without drying yet.
Mu Nanzhao walked across the yard openly and picked up a pair of men's shoes from two pairs.
The sole of the shoe fits perfectly with the rubbing on the wooden board.
Originally, they should have kept some evidence rubbings at this time, but Gu Xixi said it was not necessary, she just wanted to confirm the facts.
Mu Nanzhao put his shoes back to their original place and walked away from the west wall of the courtyard.
When he arrived at the foot of the western mountain, Gu Xixi was building a fence.
She glanced at Mu Nanzhao, still working on her work, "Are you sure?"
Mu Nanzhao hummed and asked, "You didn't let Lao Qian get involved, and you didn't tell Aunt Zhang and others."
"Is it possible to do it yourself?"
Gu Xixi thrust a wooden stick into the ground and did not deny it. “People like him will never repent.”
"I'm very busy, and I don't have time to fight with him all day long."
Mu Nanzhao asked, "When will we start?"
Gu Xixi had already thought it through in her mind, and said, "Don't worry, didn't he say he wouldn't let me go?"
"He should make another move soon, and then we can defeat him once and for all."
Mu Nanzhao glanced at the pile of wooden strips on the ground, rolled up his sleeves silently and started working.
Gu Xixi turned her head to look at him, "Thank you."
Mu Nanzhao didn't look up, "Yeah."
When Gu Xixi built the fence, she only inserted the wood chips into the ground and did not use any nails to fix them.
Because what she did was not because the fence was very strong, it was just a symbolic demarcation of the boundary to tell others that they could not enter and step on it.
Such a simple task was completed in less than half an hour by two people working together.
Gu Xixi said, "Tomorrow when we go into the city, I want to go to the market to buy some oilcloth. And you are a teacher, so you should prepare in advance. Go to the bookstore and pick out some suitable books."
Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao use the four treasures of the study on a daily basis. They already have them at home and there is no need to buy them separately.
Mu Nanzhao nodded.
Gu Xixi added, "Can I not go to the Meng family's family dinner? I want to go to the Zhang family nursery and stay with Shitou for a while longer."
Mu Nanzhao thought about it and agreed, "Okay, since you have already accompanied me to clear the relationship with the Meng family, it doesn't matter if you don't go. I can find a reason to explain to Madam Meng tomorrow."
He could see that Gu Xixi was not interested in those power struggles and calculations. What she really liked was the land and the flowers, plants and trees.
She seemed to like the little stone from the Zhang family very much.
The next morning, Mu Nanzhao set off again in his donkey cart.
Because a lot of things needed to be purchased today, Gu Xixi had to borrow the donkey from Lao Qian's family again.
When borrowing the donkey, Lao Qian was not only very generous, but also praised Gu Xixi for having a good uncle.
It seems that his condition has improved under the old doctor's care.
It was still early for the lunch banquet, so Mu Nanzhao took a taxi directly to East Street to buy things.
First, I bought the oilcloth that Xixi needed, the soybean oil for the family, and the colored cotton thread that Aunt Zhang specifically requested.
The last stop is the study.
Mu Nanzhao was a scholar, so he was familiar with visiting study rooms. He quickly picked out three books.
When checking out at the counter, Gu Xixi's heart trembled when she heard the amount reported by the shopkeeper.
She only thought that ancient books would be expensive.
But I didn’t expect it to be so expensive!
Gu Xixi forced a smile at the shopkeeper, pulled Mu Nanzhao aside, and asked in a low voice:
“Do you want to buy all three books?”
Mu Nanzhao said, "I only chose the most basic and necessary books for enlightenment, which is already the minimum."
Gu Xixi naturally knew the importance of books in education.
She touched the cloth bag across her body with difficulty.
She sold most of the grain she had collected from Gu Laosan's family and earned some money.
But now I only have less than a hundred coins left.
If I buy the book today, only half of my household expenses will be left.
Gu Xixi looked at Mu Nanzhao and said with an apologetic smile, "Do you have any money on hand? I promised to buy the book for you. Just think of it as a loan from you. I will definitely return it in some time."
As long as she can hold on until the autumn harvest, she will have a large income immediately and will no longer have to worry about money like she does now.
Mu Nanzhao glanced at her and said, "No."
He spoke calmly and confidently.
Gu Xixi almost fell down, "No? Didn't you get a lot of pearls before?"
Mu Nanzhao said, "Getting those pearls doesn't mean I'm rich."
Gu Xixi was speechless: "..."
Mu Nanzhao added, "I asked you to pick a bead to pay off your debt, but you refused it just to save face."
Now that things have come to this, no matter how much Gu Xixi regrets her decision, she has no choice but to pay for the books.
When leaving the study, Gu Xixi had only one penny left.
Seeing her gloomy face, Mu Nanzhao felt like teasing her, "It's just right for you to go to Zhang's nursery for a free meal."
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