Chapter 184: First meeting of childhood friends
An Qinghe pulled Aunt Zhang aside and said he wanted to borrow the stove in the afternoon so that everyone could drink the tea he made himself.
Aunt Zhang asked suspiciously, "Have you ever fried tea before? Don't waste these tea leaves and burn down our kitchen."
The main reason is that tea is not produced locally, and Aunt Zhang has never seen anyone roasting tea in her entire life.
If anything goes wrong with Anqinghe’s tea-making, Aunt Zhang won’t be able to help him out.
An Qinghe was now obsessed with tea leaves and tea trees. He pestered Aunt Zhang and said, "Don't worry, although I haven't fried tea myself, I have seen others frying tea in Shu."
"It's all about technique and timing, no problem!"
Seeing that Aunt Zhang was wavering, An Qinghe struck while the iron was hot, "Aunt, don't you want to try the tea grown by Xixi?"
"After all, this is the result of Xixi's hard work. She will definitely be very happy if the whole family can enjoy it together."
Aunt Zhang always puts Gu Xixi first in everything, so she was completely convinced.
"Okay, you stir-fry the tea, and I'll light the fire and help you adjust the temperature."
An Qinghe smiled and grabbed Aunt Zhang's hand, shaking it back and forth, "I knew you were the best, as good as my mother!"
Aunt Zhang said with a smile, "You kid! Why can't you change your bad habit of getting into trouble?"
When the two people were discussing tea, Gu Xixi didn't hear a word they said.
She looked at the kang and then out the window.
Well, there is neither red rain nor summer snow.
On the east and west sides of the kang table, Mu Nanzhao and He Jinglan sat opposite each other.
The two of them were having a friendly chat with polite smiles on their faces.
He Jinglan: "So you are the former teacher of the village school."
Mu Nanzhao: "Yes, but I am unable to take on this position for the time being, so I recommended an old friend of mine to the village chief."
He Jinglan: "Master Liu? I have seen him this morning."
The two of them smiled at each other, and the atmosphere seemed surprisingly harmonious.
Shitou and the old doctor sat on the inside of the table on the kang. Shitou waved at Gu Xixi, "Sister Xixi, come up quickly!"
Gu Xixi smiled and nodded, then calmly took off her shoes, got on the kang, and sat next to He Jinglan.
Her lips moved slightly, her voice as thin as a mosquito's, "What are you playing?"
He Jinglan smiled in an unfathomable way, tilted her head and whispered, "He is Chen Fang, your fiancé. This is the first time I've met him, so naturally I have to be more distant and polite when I speak to him."
Gu Xixi broke out in a cold sweat.
He Jinglan continued to face Mu Nanzhao, sitting upright with a perfectly polite smile.
"From today on, I will also teach at the village school,"
"I didn't know Master Liu was actually recommended by Mr. Chen. Mr. Chen won't blame me for taking Master Liu's job, right?"
Mu Nanzhao smiled amiably, "How could that be? It is a blessing for the village school to have two teachers."
He Jinglan praised, "I knew that Mr. Chen is a broad-minded person."
The two smiled at each other and nodded gently again.
Gu Xixi couldn't bear to see them being so pretentious, so she urged them, "The food is getting cold, start eating."
Aunt Zhang came over with two bowls of red bean soup, "Xixi, you go sit over there, I'll sit next to Jinglan so it's more convenient to serve the rice."
Gu Xixi looked at the direction where Aunt Zhang pointed her mouth, and it was right next to Mu Nanzhao.
She was about to turn it down and say she wanted to sit over by the stone, but she saw Mu Nanzhao looking up.
There was a hint of sarcasm in his eyes, as if to say, you don't even dare to sit down for just one seat?
Gu Xixi's temper was aroused.
She immediately picked up her bowl and moved over, squeezing Mu Nanzhao hard when she sat down.
Are you kidding me? As the head of the family, how could she be forced to not sit down casually by a guy who was bought for a penny?
While eating, He Jinglan would occasionally bring up the topic and say a few words to Mu Nanzhao.
Gu Xixi ate without looking around, but she didn't feel lonely. Shi Tou and An Qinghe kept chattering at her, and even eating couldn't stop them from talking.
Aunt Zhang noticed that Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao were ignoring each other, and she became secretly anxious.
Is Xiao Chen still upset because Xixi hit him?
Or did they have some unpleasantness when she went out to pick vegetables?
Aunt Zhang nudged He Jinglan under the table and gave her a wink.
He Jinglan already had her own plans. After receiving Aunt Zhang's hint, she smiled and asked, "When do you two plan to get married?"
Gu Xixi almost spit out a mouthful of red bean soup.
Aunt Zhang was surprised and greatly appreciated, "Well said! If Miss He hadn't said it, it would have been fine, but once she did, it was the key!"
Everyone at the table focused their attention on Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao.
He Jinglan explained seriously, "I just heard from Mr. Chen that he has lived here for a year."
"I was thinking that the two of you should be getting married soon. If I stay a little longer, I can still catch up and have a drink at the wedding."
Just when Aunt Zhang couldn't help but applaud, He Jing suddenly changed the subject.
"But... your marriage has been delayed for so long, is there something you can't explain?"
She looked at Mu Nanzhao, "Mr. Chen was once a scholar. Perhaps he had lofty ambitions and his heart was not in this small country courtyard?"
Knowing that He Jinglan was making trouble, Mu Nanzhao said indifferently, "Don't look at me. The decision is not in my hands."
Aunt Zhang felt a little guilty and didn't dare to look Mu Nanzhao in the eye.
Speaking of this, Xiao Chen really never said a word of "no".
From the beginning to the end, Xixi kept delaying and was unwilling to marry Xiaochen.
Look, he got beaten like that again today!
An Qinghe's eyes kept rolling around, looking at this and that.
At this moment, he finally found an opportunity to speak, "Xixi's life event, of course, must be chosen by herself."
"She must choose a man who shares her interests and can understand her."
"Otherwise, wouldn't it be a shame for such a good girl like Xixi!"
An Qinghe held his head high and his chest out, and he was just short of hanging a sign around his neck that said "I am the most suitable candidate."
Aunt Zhang said unhappily, "This is none of your business! Just eat and don't interfere!"
He Jinglan also felt that the time was right.
We can’t let An Qinghe say too much, otherwise no one will be able to save face today.
She glanced at Mu Nanzhao intentionally and said with a smile, "A woman is afraid of marrying the wrong man. It's normal for Xixi to want to wait a little longer and choose more."
"What if the person next to me is not suitable? Who knows where I will meet someone who is truly in tune with me in the future?"
An Qinghe said happily, "You are right. Maybe the destined marriage is far away, not around."
Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao looked at each other at the same time.
As if they were burned by fire, they all looked away.
In the afternoon, Mu Nanzhao blocked He Jinglan next to the granary in the backyard.
"What do you want to do?"
He Jinglan blinked in confusion, "You are Chen Fang now, I must pretend that I don't know you."
Mu Nanzhao said with a dark face, "You know that's not what I'm talking about."
He Jinglan pretended to be suddenly enlightened, "Are you talking about Xixi?"
"Xixi is my best friend. Of course, what I want to do is to wish her the best."
Mu Nanzhao sneered, "You said that the person who truly understands her is not that Hu man, right?"
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