Chapter 303: with translation of chapter title

Lao Langzhong was forced to give the cat a pulse reading, which turned out to be a joyful one, and only then did he fumble to take the money pouch from his waist, untie it and turn it upside down.

The only named entity here is Lao Langzhong; the cat is not named, and 'joy pulse' is just a term, not a named entity.

Only the clanging sound could be heard.

No entities.

Three pieces of broken silver and several dozen copper coins landed on the kang table.

No.

Lao Langzhong said, "This is the consultation fee I recently earned; take it for household use."

Entity: Lao Langzhong.

Aunt Zhang frowned, "Every time you save a bit of money you give it to me; the last amount you gave me hasn't been used up yet, so take it back for now."

Entity: Aunt Zhang.

Speaking of which, Lao Langzhong's earnings this year have been growing steadily.

Entity: Lao Langzhong.

Lao Langzhong chuckled, "We have four mouths to feed at home, and Shitou is at the age where he eats a lot; this little bit of money is nowhere near enough to be spent."

Entities: Lao Langzhong, Shitou.

Besides, aside from daily household expenses...

No.

He paused, then hesitantly said, "You can also use the rest to buy something for yourself."

No explicit name; "he" refers to Lao Langzhong but is not a named entity.

Aunt Zhang was stunned.

Entity: Aunt Zhang.

She felt somewhat uneasy, her face inexplicably flushed, and she snapped, "What would I buy? I'm not lacking in food or clothing."

No.

"Hurry up and take it back! If we run short on household expenses, I'll ask you again!"

No.

Lao Langzhong still refused to accept it, speaking solemnly, "I've always lived here, relying on you to manage my food and clothing; I've caused you extra hardship. If you refuse to accept this, it would truly make me feel ashamed."

Entity: Lao Langzhong.

He stood up and said, "Then I'll return to Stone Village right away, so as not to burden you."

Entities: Stone Village. Also "he" refers to Lao Langzhong but not needed.

Seeing him anxious, Aunt Zhang had no choice but to accept, saying, "Alright, alright, I'll take it, that should be fine."

Entity: Aunt Zhang.

"But you're a grown man who often goes out; you shouldn't be without any pocket money."

No.

She put a piece of broken silver and about ten copper coins into Lao Langzhong's money pouch, tightened the string, and handed it back to him.

Entity: Lao Langzhong.

"Keep this little bit on you."

No.

Lao Langzhong took it with a smile, saying, "All right, I'll listen to you."

Entity: Lao Langzhong.

Gu Xixi used her own fruit trees as an example, teaching everyone in person the standards, techniques, and timing for thinning blossoms.

Entity: Gu Xixi.

It took half a day, and all the fruit tree growers learned how to do it.

No.

She also wrote a letter to Madam Lin detailing the fruit orchards in the northwestern border region.

Entities: the northwestern region, Madam Lin. Also "she" refers to Gu Xixi but not needed.

I believe Madam Lin and the other military dependents will surely manage the fruit trees properly.

Entity: Madam Lin.

Two days later, all matters before Gu Xixi's trip to the capital were settled, and her luggage was packed.

Entities: Gu Xixi, the capital.

At noon, cooking smoke rose from the village; An Qinghe drove the carriage and stopped just in time outside Gu Xixi's gate.

Entities: An Qinghe, Gu Xixi.

After eating and drinking their fill at lunch, An Qinghe eagerly pulled Gu Xixi out to look at the carriage.

Entities: An Qinghe, Gu Xixi.

Shitou and Aunt Zhang also came along.

Entities: Shitou, Aunt Zhang.

A carriage pulled by two horses, with a medium-sized wooden cabin; although not particularly luxurious, it was spacious enough.

No.

Having seen the carriage sent by the He family to pick up He Jinglan, Aunt Zhang was not surprised by the carriage before her.

Entities: He family, He Jinglan, Aunt Zhang.

He kept praising An Qinghe for doing well, saying, "You're so thoughtful; I was originally worried whether Xixi could make it to the capital in a mule cart, and what if it rained? Now I feel much more relieved."

Entities: An Qinghe, Gu Xixi, the capital.

Aunt Zhang spoke while also patting the carriage frame here and there to check that it was sturdy and reliable.

Entity: Aunt Zhang.

Gu Xixi smiled at An Qinghe and said, "Thank you for going to the trouble of making these arrangements."

Entities: Gu Xixi, An Qinghe.

An Qinghe looked at her smile, his ears feeling hot, and said, "No need to thank me; I borrowed the carriage from the chamber of commerce, and they mainly cared not about me, but about your reputation as Boss Gu."

Entities: An Qinghe, Boss Gu.

"As soon as I heard it was for you, I didn't hesitate!"

No.

Gu Xixi laughed and said, "It seems I should find an opportunity to go to Yunling County and set up a few tables to thank everyone."

Entities: Gu Xixi, Cloud Ridge County.

"Really?" An Qinghe exclaimed delightedly, "But since we're in my territory, let me host, or we could take turns hosting."

Entity: An Qinghe.

The two smiled at each other, while Shitou frowned from the side.

Entity: Shitou.

Although he also likes Brother An quite a bit, he still prefers Mr. Mu more.

Entities: Brother An, Mr. Mu.

Moreover, Aunt Zhang also didn't want Older Sister Xixi to marry a barbarian.

Entities: Aunt Zhang, Older Sister Xixi.

Also 'Hu people' is a generic ethnic group, not included.

After all this time, why hasn't Mr. Mu come yet?

Entity: Mr. Mu.

If Older Sister Xixi leaves and he comes back again, should we persuade him to follow her to the capital?

Entities: Older Sister Xixi, Mr. Mu, the capital.

"This is so difficult!"

No.

Shitou looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh, feeling that he had truly worn himself out worrying for this family.

Entity: Shitou.

The next morning at dawn, An Qinghe was waiting by the carriage.

Entity: An Qinghe.

The luggage had already been loaded onto the carriage beforehand, and Aunt Zhang, Lao Langzhong, and Shitou all got up early just to see the two off.

Entities: Aunt Zhang, Lao Langzhong, Shitou.

Lao Langzhong didn't say much, just gave Gu Xixi many common medicines for injuries, colds and fevers, calming the spirit, and detoxifying.

Entities: Lao Langzhong, Gu Xixi.

Aunt Zhang chattered on, giving advice about food, clothing, lodging, and travel.

Entity: Aunt Zhang.

Gu Xixi agreed to each of them.

Entity: Gu Xixi.

As she was about to board the carriage, she glanced at the perpetually silent Shitou, bent down in front of him, and whispered, "You two are getting up there in age; while I'm away, please help look after the household."

Entity: Shitou.

Shitou kept his head down and murmured his assent, "Mm."

Entity: Shitou.

Gu Xixi also said, "Mr. Song is a fine teacher; study hard under him, and strive to someday take the imperial examinations together with Gouwa from our village, and go all the way."

Entities: Gu Xixi, Mr. Song, Gouwa.

Shitou hummed in agreement, then after a moment said, "Gouwa's brother has told me these things before; Mr. Song is capable, and the rest depends on how capable we ourselves are."

Entities: Shitou, Brother Gouwa, Mr. Song.

Having said that, he lifted his head and glared, "Hurry up and go; you've gone on and on with all this nagging, and it's not like you're not coming back!"

Entity: "he" refers to Shitou. No new named entities.

Gu Xixi straightened up and said, "All right, do you dislike me? Then I'm off."

Entity: Gu Xixi.

She clearly saw that this little brat Shitou had reddened eye sockets, afraid that if she said a few more words she wouldn't be able to hold back tears.

Entity: Shitou.

An Qinghe gave a tug on the reins, and the carriage gradually faded into the morning light.

Entity: An Qinghe.

An Qinghe's skill at driving the carriage was quite good; in just seven days he had left the northwestern region, skirted the mountains, and headed east.

Entities: An Qinghe, Northwest.

Following his pre-planned route, although it took a bit more time, he could always reach a relay station or town before sunset each day, staying in guest rooms at night and thus avoiding the hardship of sleeping out in the wind.

No named entities.

After a few more days, he finally arrived at the largest city spanning east and west, Phoenix City.

Entities: Phoenix City.

Although Gu Xixi was visiting this place for the first time, she was already quite familiar with it.

Because the storytellers in teahouses everywhere were telling the tale of the Regent Prince's clever capture of Phoenix City, even the major theater troupes, for this reason, had created new plays; as one walked through the streets, one often heard ordinary folk discussing it, making it hard not to know about it along the way.

An Qinghe drove and found an inn.

When the two got out of the car and entered the shop, the storyteller in the lobby was just telling the tale of the clever capture of Phoenix City.

An Qinghe laughed and said, "This Regent Prince really is an extraordinary person; I've heard he's very young, and I truly want to see what he looks like."

"When we reach the capital, we might also get a chance to see him on the street!"

Gu Xixi remained silent for a moment, "... Perhaps."

She thought to herself, "You not only know what he looks like, but you've also shared a meal with him at the same table."

The two each opened an ordinary guest room, then returned to their rooms to rest.

An Qinghe has been staying in the room next to Gu Xixi's recently, so that if she had any sudden situation, she could call out and he would hear it.

In the evening, An Qinghe knocked on the door and invited Gu Xixi to go downstairs together for a meal.

The two had just turned a corner in the hallway when they met an acquaintance coming down from the third floor face to face.

Their eyes met, and the person exclaimed happily, "Sister Xixi, what are you doing here?"

Gu Xixi also smiled and greeted, "Brother Zi Chu."

"I'm going to the capital, passing through Phoenix City."

Jiang Mingyuan suddenly realized, "Now I understand the purpose of your trip."

"It's just right that we're going the same way; how about we travel together from now on?"