Chapter 268 Return to Peace
During this period, local government offices arrested many bandits who took the opportunity to cause chaos.
All the bandit leaders were executed in public, and the rest were whipped or caned in the streets. The purpose was to make an example of them.
This method really worked. Recently, I haven't heard of any village in the surrounding area being robbed, and there is even no news of chicken-and-dog thefts.
Huachidu Village disbanded the village patrol team and returned to its previous peaceful life.
Gu Xixi's home is also very peaceful.
Firstly, no killer has appeared since Mu Nanzhao left.
He Jinglan's secret guards searched the surrounding area and checked the official road near the village entrance, but found nothing unusual.
Maybe because they mobilized all their forces last time, the other side has no one available in the short term.
Secondly, the whole village knew that Chen Fang would come back sooner or later. When the news spread, both the villagers and people from other villages gave up the idea of proposing marriage.
After all, Mr. Chen is both talented and handsome, and there is a first-come, first-served principle. Anyone who knows what's good for you will know that it would be a waste of time to propose marriage again.
In the afternoon, Aunt Zhang went to chat with women from the same village and do needlework.
Shitou took Xiaohua to play with Gou Wa.
There were only two sisters, Gu Xixi and He Jinglan, in the main hall.
The shadows of trees sway gently on the window paper, and the sound of cicadas can be heard.
He Jinglan was leaning against the window reading a book.
She asked the secret guard to buy the new storybook from the city.
Unfortunately, this new story is not very interesting. It is just the usual old clichés about the talented scholar and the beautiful lady, the unfaithful man, and the separated soul.
He Jinglan couldn't help but yawn, "It feels like I haven't been this quiet for a long time."
"It's mainly about being calm. People who are calm (another yawn)... feel sleepy all the time."
Gu Xixi was fiddling with the seeds that had just been separated, soaking them in different germination-promoting potions.
She stared at the seedling box on the table and smiled, "Really? Usually the house is pretty quiet at this time."
He Jinglan said, "That's different. All the troubles in front of me are gone, and I feel relieved."
Gu Xixi pursed her lips and smiled, "That's true."
He Jinglan asked, "How is An Qinghe doing over there? He should be here soon."
Gu Xixi nodded, "He didn't ask the guys to bring letters again, which means the progress is going well."
"It will probably only take a day or two."
The corn planted by each household has sprouted, and it is time to use the first batch of fertilizers and pesticides.
He Jinglan was bored, so she crawled over to look at what Gu Xixi had placed on the table.
"Tomorrow is your Gu family's clan meeting, right?"
"I want to go with you to see how powerful you will be as the leader."
Gu Xixi laughed, "Miss He grew up in the capital, and she has seen many high-ranking officials and even the emperor's concubines. How can I, the head of a small family, be so impressive?"
He Jinglan acted like a spoiled child, "I don't care, I'm going! The village chief and Aunt Qian were both invited, and if you just bring me along, no one else will say anything."
Gu Xixi thought for a moment and said, "It's not a problem to take you there, but..."
She looked at He Jinglan and reminded him, "Tomorrow is not a holiday for the village school. Is it okay for you to go with me to the clan meeting?"
He Jinglan was stunned, rolled on the kang, and wailed dejectedly, "I forgot that I have an errand that I can't leave!"
"Why hasn't Master Liu come back yet?!"
Master Liu followed Mu Nanzhao and has not returned yet.
All classes in the village school fell on He Jinglan's shoulders.
Although He Jinglan likes teaching, she also likes being with children.
But her workload suddenly increased by half compared to before, which made this young lady experience the pain of working people for the first time.
When Gu Xixi heard Master Liu, she was distracted.
I wonder if Mu Nanzhao will arrive as scheduled and if he is safe.
He Jinglan had vented enough and sat up.
She found that the seeds on the table seemed to be the three kinds that Mu Nanzhao had just given her, and she couldn't help but wonder:
"Didn't you say these are good things to eat in the summer?"
"It's already midsummer, it's probably too late to plant now."
After living here for a long time and learning from the environment, He Jinglan also knows what the farming season is.
Gu Xixi kept working and said, "It's really too late to plant them outdoors. Even if they can bear fruit before the cold weather comes, they won't taste good."
"So I plan to build an experimental greenhouse in the farm."
Another unfamiliar word appeared, and He Jinglan read it again, "Experimental greenhouse?"
Gu Xixi thought for a moment and changed the wording, "It's a greenhouse."
He Jinglan suddenly realized, "I know this."
The royal family lived an exquisite and luxurious life. In winter, especially during the New Year holidays, they would enjoy flowers and eat fresh vegetables and fruits.
In addition to cellars and tributes sent by fast horses from the south, there is another way to obtain them, which is the greenhouse.
Build a shed and cover it with three layers of white gauze and a layer of transparent oil paper to keep it warm.
The outermost layer of oil paper should be evenly brushed with a layer of animal fat to make it both light translucent and waterproof.
Natural hot spring water is introduced to keep the shed warm in autumn and winter.
The construction of a greenhouse needs to be adapted to local conditions, is expensive, and requires someone to take care of it.
Such enjoyment was only enough for the royal family and a small number of nobles.
He Jinglan asked in confusion, "Are there any hot springs near the farm?"
Gu Xixi said, "At present, it seems that there is none, so you see I only took out these few seeds."
“Let’s build a small shed first and give it a try.”
"The shed is small, so when the temperature drops, put a few charcoal stoves in and turn them down to a low flame so they burn slowly."
"In one and a half months at most, these fruits will be edible."
He Jinglan was shocked. "You are really willing to spend a lot of money to burn charcoal to keep the fruits warm."
Gu Xixi smiled and said, "Now you know that firewood, rice, oil and salt are expensive."
Early the next morning, Lao Qian drove his donkey cart to pick up Gu Xixi.
Aunt Qian sat on the car board, smiled and reached out to pull Gu Xixi up.
"I heard that your Gu family has a buffet, and they specially invited a chef from the city."
"I didn't cook this morning, and your uncle complained that I was starving him."
Lao Qian took over the conversation, "Don't I know how petty you are?"
"I was planning to go there and eat more."
Aunt Qian didn't take it seriously, "So what? They invited us, so I'll eat openly."
"Don't you think so, Xixi?"
Gu Xixi chuckled, "Aunt is right."
"It was because of me last time that those people from the Gu family came to the village and caused a lot of trouble for Uncle Qian."
“This is their intention.”
The place where the banquet was held was not far south and was called Tianshui Village.
People in the northwest regard water sources as treasures, so this village was named after a sweet water well.
Many members of the local Gu family live in this village.
Although the Gu family has never produced any prominent figures, they still don’t even have an ancestral temple.
But the local Gu clan members still tried their best to work together.
If anything really happens, we can rely on each other.
The annual clan meeting after the summer harvest is an important gathering to strengthen ties.
Today's banquet was held in the threshing ground of Tianshui Village. From a distance, we could see that there were many tables and benches.
Many people were shuttling back and forth, busy.
Before Lao Qian's donkey cart came to a complete stop, people came up to him enthusiastically.
Among them was a handsome young man dressed like a scholar. His temperament was obviously different from everyone else. Gu Xixi couldn't help but take a few more glances at him when she got off the car.
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