Chapter 176: Am I that kind of person?

Gu Xixi eyed the opposite side suspiciously.

He Jinglan immediately withdrew the curve at the corner of her mouth, her expression proper, her tone heartbroken and indignant.

"Xixi, you and I are like sisters, we've shared life and death—am I the kind of person who waits just to see friends' jokes and feels happy when they suffer?"

Gu Xixi hesitated a moment, then said, "... You certainly aren't that kind of person."

"That's right!" He Jinglan said magnanimously, "I knew you wouldn't misunderstand me."

He Jinglan stared straight at Gu Xixi and earnestly reiterated, "No matter who it is or what happens, I will never trap you—do you trust me?"

Although Gu Xixi felt something was off, she still nodded and said, "Mm, I believe you."

He Jinglan smiled in relief.

What she just said was indeed true, every word.

In the future, it's true that He Jinglan will fan the flames and a big show will be staged, but it's not (entirely) just for the spectacle.

That guy Mu Nan Zhao—isn't he the best at keeping his composure? Isn't he the most able to stay calm?

He Jinglan wanted to see how long Mu Nan Zhao could hold out with such a strong rival as An Qinghe!

Since He Jinglan learned Mu Nan Zhao's true feelings and noticed that Gu Xixi also had good rapport with him, she has been wanting to help the two friends get together.

He Jinglan could never figure out why Mu Nan Zhao and Gu Xixi sometimes had a close atmosphere, sometimes distant—still not as distant as strangers.

Between them it seemed as if a screen stood—close in appearance, yet no one could breach it to touch each other's true selves.

He Jinglan felt the present was a rare good opportunity worth a try.

That evening, An Qinghe came out of the toilet and was drawn over by a chirp-chirp-chirp sound.

"Miss He?"

An Qinghe saw He Jinglan and immediately looked around in all directions.

He Jinglan laughed, "Don't look—Xixi didn't come with me."

An Qinghe cautiously stepped back two paces, "Miss He... do you need something from me?"

Though he is warm-hearted, he is also utterly faithful!

He Jinglan saw through his thoughts and scoffed, "Don't worry, I have no such intentions toward you."

"You like Xixi—even if Xixi doesn't feel the same, I could never steal my sister's sweetheart!"

An Qinghe relaxed, smiling sheepishly, "You... you figured it out?"

He Jinglan rolled her eyes, "I didn't look for you to talk about that."

She gestured for An Qinghe to come closer, then whispered a few sentences.

An Qinghe agreed without hesitation, "Nothing's happening in Cloud Ridge County lately—I was planning to head back later anyway."

After spring began, the Seedling Merchants Association started following Gu Xixi's method and began upgrading Pinpo Guoyuan.

An Qinghe personally supervised the several managers from planning to execution.

After the initial phase was finished, the second phase—flower thinning—was also declared complete five days ago.

So An Qinghe can have at least about ten days of leisure.

At this moment, An Qinghe decided to stay a bit longer.

Having achieved her goal, He Jinglan said solemnly, "I'm not trying to set you up with Xixi."

"You can handle only what you're capable of."

"All I can say is, if Xixi truly takes a liking to you, I won't object."

An Qinghe was already quite satisfied with that reply.

He beamed, "I understand—near the water gets the moon first, constant dripping wears away stone, even an iron pestle can be ground into a needle!"

He Jinglan waved her hand, preparing to go back to the front courtyard to sleep, then couldn't help frowning and asked, "Has anyone ever told you that your idioms or colloquialisms are used strangely?"

An Qinghe tilted his head in confusion, "Ah?"

With no other empty rooms at home, He Jinglan naturally stayed with Gu Xixi.

The next day, bright and early, He Jinglan opened her eyes to see Xixi already dressed and fresh.

She sat up, yawned, and said, "You've already washed up? You've been working hard these past days—why not sleep a bit longer?"

Gu Xixi turned over, smiling, "Nothing beats my own bed—I slept well last night and feel full of energy."

"You just arrived somewhere new—you surely haven't slept enough; sleep a bit more, I've had Zhang Shen leave you breakfast."

He Jinglan hesitated a moment, then flopped back onto the bed, "All right, I'm simply too tired."

"Where should I look for you when I wake up?"

She really wanted to see Gu Xixi's thirty-two mu of land with her own eyes.

Gu Xixi thought, "When you wake up, I'll probably be at Pinpo Guoyuan."

"Come find me; if you can't find me, just ask."

Gu Xixi's schedule for today is packed—first she'll go check her own wheat field.

Chen Dafu and the hired workers have been tending the wheat very well.

Looking out, the wheat seedlings are tall and sturdy, easy to distinguish from those in neighboring fields.

Gu Xixi picked a spot at random, crouched to examine the wheat roots and soil condition.

Chen Dafu followed closely, saying, "Last winter we applied manure; this spring, following the landlord's advice, we applied light fertilizer multiple times when thinning the seedlings, and the growth is indeed excellent."

"So far no yellow spots have appeared, and the leaves are very vigorous."

"These days we only need to weed every two days."

Gu Xixi nodded, brushed dust from her fingers, stood, and said, "The wheat seedlings are about to joint; starting tomorrow we can increase watering."

Chen Dafu took note seriously, "Yes."

He paused, then added, "When the landlord isn't around, there are some situations—though not major—I think I should report them to you."

Gu Xixi said, "Speak."

Chen Dafu pointed to the wheat field visible in the distance and said, "This is Gu Erye's."

Gu Xixi had some impression of this and asked, "What strange thing is he doing again?"

Chen Dafu said, "Lately he often comes to the eastern family's wheat field, naggingly asking why the wheat seedlings planted nearby are all like that, yet over here on the eastern family's side the seedlings grow sturdier and the leaves are bigger."

He also said, "If this continues, when we harvest wheat in summer, surely our yield will still be much larger than others'."

A few days ago, the wooden bucket that Xiao Zheng had just finished using to water the field went missing.

Later it was found in Gu Erye's field.

Gu Xixi wondered, "Why would he steal a bucket?"

Chen Dafu said, "After we discussed it among ourselves, we could only guess."

Do you think Gu Erye believes the fertilizer residue left in the bucket is the secret to the eastern family's grain farming?

He washed that bucket clean with water, surely pouring it all onto his own field.

Gu Xixi laughed, "From now on you don't need to watch him; if he comes, just let him go."

Chen Dafu was puzzled, "Why? Leaving him unchecked like that isn't that just letting him get away with it?"

Gu Xixi's expression was unfathomable, "Their so-called secret isn't just in the fertilizer and water. It's not something anyone can just take."

The same thing works for me, but may not work the same for others.

Chen Dafu startled, then felt relieved that he had never entertained the thought of stealing fertilizer.