Chapter 131: with translation of chapter title

Gu Xixi had already agreed with An Qinghe in the afternoon; after dinner she would meet with several farming households that grow pinpo fruit trees.

An Qinghe asked Shitou whether he wanted to go along.

Shitou glanced at Gu Xixi from the corner of his eye, pouted timidly, and said, "I'm not going!"

He knew Gu Xixi's habit: when adults discuss important matters, children must not cause trouble.

Planting fruit trees is a big deal; since Gu Xixi is taking that blue-eyed foreigner along, it must be very important.

Shitou had no choice but to bury his head in his meal.

An Qinghe sped up like a whirlwind sweeping away the remaining clouds, patted his full belly, and left with Gu Xixi.

Zhang Shen went to the Houyuan to fetch the bowls and chopsticks that Lao Langzhong had used.

Inside the room remained two people and one cat.

Shitou wiped the table angrily with a rag, and after a while he could no longer hold back, saying, "Mr., your performance today—I look down on you!"

Mu Nan Zhao was not angry, and said leisurely, "Why?"

Shitou threw down the rag, jumped up and stood on the kang, saying, "Can't you see? That blue-eyed foreigner has feelings for Gu Xixi!"

Mu Nan Zhao chuckled, with a hint of mockery, "How old are you? What do you know?"

Shitou curled his lip, scornful, "You don't need to have eaten pork to see pigs run! My father and mother, and even Dogwa's parents—when they're together, it's obvious they have feelings."

"That guy looks at Gu Xixi just like my father used to look at my mother!"

Mu Nan Zhao was speechless, thinking, "Kids these days are really hard to raise."

He lifted his gaze to Shitou and asked, "What about Gu Xixi—do you see her looking at An Qinghe the way your mother looks at your father?"

Shitou was taken aback, slowly sat down, shook his head, and said, "Um… not really."

"What do you mean not really?" Mu Nan Zhao frowned, "That's pure nonsense!"

Shitou suddenly lifted his head, his grin stretching both corners of his mouth nearly to his ears.

Mu Nan Zhao sensed something ominous, his face darkened as he prepared to rise and leave.

But he heard Shitou chuckling and clapping his hands, "Jealousy! You're jealous right now, aren't you?!"

Mu Nan Zhao's face was as cold as frost, yet he couldn't stop the strange red flush at his ears.

"What does a little brat know? Shut up!"

Shitou was overjoyed—he had actually discovered a big secret! So that's how it is!

Mr. Chen had been putting on airs before; he clearly cared a lot for Gu Xixi!

But Gu Xixi's attitude toward Mr. Chen seemed to be……

Shitou suddenly felt some sympathy for Mu Nan Zhao.

He said seriously, "Although I don't think highly of you either, compared to that An Qinghe, I'd rather Gu Xixi not be with him."

Mu Nan Zhao asked, "Why?"

Shitou sighed, "As the saying goes, marry a chicken, follow the chicken; marry a dog, follow the dog. He's a Western Regions person—if Gu Xixi marries him, she might have to go back with him to the Western Regions. Then it would be hard for me to see her even once."

Mu Nan Zhao imagined Gu Xixi marrying and fleeing to the Western Regions, and a feeling of irritation rose in his chest.

"It won't happen."

"Why not?" Shitou said, "Look at his behavior—he's so likable. Grandma Zhang started off wary of him, but just now he's practically one of the family!"

He paused, "But he just tried to curry favor with me, and I didn't take the bait—that's why I'm not so easily bought."

Mu Nan Zhao raised an eyebrow, "You mean Gu Xixi is easily bought?"

"Hmph!" Shitou crossed his arms over his chest, resembling a little adult.

"It's not Gu Xixi's problem; it's yours!"

Mu Nan Zhao frowned, "You keep spouting one theory after another—just say what you mean!"

Shitou took a deep breath, shook his head and swayed, "Mr., you've lived in this house for almost a year, and Grandma Zhang has been urging Gu Xixi to give you a title—I've heard it, and Gu Xixi has never given a clear answer."

Mu Nan Zhao said irritably, "You don't understand what's between me and her."

Gu Xixi from the beginning had promised to be wary of Mu Nan Zhao's ulterior motives.

And Mu Nan Zhao himself had been quite satisfied with that at first.

Who knew what would happen afterward……

Shitou continued his analysis, "The problem is, An Qinghe and Gu Xixi have only known each other for a few days."

"Look how happily Gu Xixi laughs when she talks with him!"

"Besides, An Qinghe grows fruit trees, and his family is said to be big landowners; Gu Xixi loves farming herself, so they have plenty to talk about—if she ever takes a liking to him, it wouldn't be surprising."

Mu Nan Zhao's originally steadfast feeling began to waver.

Gu Xixi sought medicinal herbs for him, not hesitating to risk danger alone.

When she found the firefly bone flower, she was overjoyed.

Aren't these signs enough to count as affection?

Looking back, she never seemed to rely on him the way other women do, nor did she show the longing of 'one day apart feels like three autumns.'

So……

Shitou finally concluded, "If you don't win Gu Xixi's favor soon, she'll end up marrying off to the Western Regions!"

Mu Nan Zhao felt as if his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer.

Shitou kept muttering, "It's a shame I'm too young to have Gu Xixi wait for me ten or more years; otherwise, when I grow up, what place would you, Mr., even have?"

Mu Nan Zhao didn't hear the rest of Shitou's words.

He suddenly sprang to his feet and darted out the door like a gust of wind.

He ran into Zhang Shen coming out of the Houyuan, who shouted loudly, "Where are you going?!"

Mu Nan Zhao replied, "Going to fetch her," and he was already gone.

At this moment, Mu Nan Zhao walked through the quiet little village at night.

He was filled with an emotion he had never experienced before.

Passionate, impulsive, even bordering on madness.

Mu Nan Zhao could not wait to see Gu Xixi; he had to let her know his feelings.

Village Chief Lao Qian's home.

Several families had already heard quite a bit of knowledge about planting pinpo fruit trees, and they were increasingly optimistic about the future.

Seeing that An Qinghe had said more or less everything.

Gu Xixi said lightly, "Since Boss An and everyone are here, we can now talk about why I'm confident we'll have fruit in two to three years."

Grafting.

Select a suitable rootstock and graft it with the pinpo fruit tree sapling.

There are many benefits: the trees are dwarfed, fruiting time is shorter, there are more fruit-bearing branches, fruit quality is more stable, and so on.

Everyone listened, stunned.

Grafting? How can you cut a tree and attach it to another tree?

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "The principle is somewhat complex; sorry, I can't explain it in detail."

Qin Dasao raised her hand and said, "I believe in Xixi."

Others also chimed in, "No need for explanations; when the time comes, whatever Xixi says to do, we'll do!"

Putting it bluntly, the contracts have all been signed; we can only stick to this single path and move forward!

An Qinghe kept sitting there dazed, as if his soul had left his body.

Lao Qian waved his hand in front of An Qinghe's eyes, "Boss An, are you asleep?"

An Qinghe's eyes moved slightly, as if waking from a dream.

He turned his head to look at Gu Xixi, then suddenly sprang up and lunged at her.

An Qinghe grabbed Gu Xixi's shoulders with both hands and shook her, "Xixi, you're a genius! A deity's favor, a messenger sent before me!"

Gu Xixi felt dizzy from his shaking, "Let go! Speak properly!"

The villagers could not allow an outsider to "bully" Gu Xixi; immediately two people stepped forward, one on each side, and pulled An Qinghe away.

An Qinghe didn't struggle either, "No wonder you had me secretly gather so many kinds of wood!"