Chapter 415: Appearance and Reality

Before Gu Xixi transmigrated into the book, she had indeed heard stories of ancient celebrity-chasers.

For instance, a certain scholar admired a great Confucian, and for that he traveled throughout the world, treading every place the great Confucian had visited.

He himself did not write a travelogue; his disciples compiled it into a book, which was passed down to later generations.

Again, for example, someone madly infatuated with a poet of far-reaching fame not only collected all sorts of strange tales about the poet and learned the poet's habits and preferences.

He also personally copied the poet's manuscripts, repeatedly recited them, then burned them to ashes, mixed the paper ash with honey water and drank it.

Believing that doing so might allow him to acquire a bit of poetic talent.

At this very moment, looking again at Song Mr., who was immersed in his inner world and whose demeanor was utterly different from his usual stern and proper self.

Only then did Gu Xixi deeply feel that the ancients truly do not deceive me.

Although the ways of celebrity-chasers have changed with the times.

But the inner fervor is absolutely passed down in an unbroken line.

Mrs. Song smiled as she poured tea for Gu Xixi, saying, "Try my sesame rice cake; it goes very well with tea."

"These fennel beans, I first boiled them in spiced water, let them soak to absorb the flavor, then slowly dried them over low heat."

……

Mrs. Song kept feeding Gu Xixi nonstop, as if her husband, still in his frenzy, did not exist.

Gu Xixi sensibly went along with Mrs. Song's wishes, averting her gaze from Mr. Song's direction, focusing on eating and drinking, and only chatting with Mrs. Song.

Finally, she waited until Mr. Song calmed his emotions on his own.

He ran back, sat down, still somewhat excited, and said, "Tonight I will write a letter to Official Mu."

"I just don't know... whether doing this might cause him too much trouble?"

Mrs. Song glanced sideways, saying, "Why don't you say it's causing trouble for Miss Xi?"

"For the sake of your selfish wish, Miss Xi has to come to our house to hear your demands, and even go out of her way to pull strings and ask others to mail a letter for you—wouldn't that be too rude?"

Gu Xixi could see that Mrs. Song had been suppressing her anger since just then.

But because this outsider (Gu Xixi) was present, she had to give Mr. Song at least some face.

Looking again at Mr. Song, who had just been scolded awake, his dazed appearance was even somewhat pitiable.

Gu Xixi had no choice but to smile and say, "It's fine, just delivering a letter; I also have to bring along other things, so it's not troublesome at all, not the slightest bit troublesome."

It's the old couple's affair; as a junior, she shouldn't meddle too much.

Wanting to say a few more words of advice, she really didn't know what else to say, so she merely lifted her tea cup to hide her embarrassment.

Gu Xixi secretly thought, the strength of their relationship—who is stronger, who is weaker—might be nothing like what outsiders see.

Mr. Song is stern and inflexible, saying what he means and meaning what he says.

Mrs. Song is gentle and quiet, compliant with her husband.

Sometimes, judging only by appearances, it is indeed hard to imagine the other side of reality.

Under his wife's oppressive gaze, Mr. Song adjusted his emotions and finally returned to a calm demeanor.

He bowed and said, "I'm sorry, I was just overly emotional."

"Please forgive me, Boss Gu."

Gu Xixi dared not accept his bow; feeling bitter, she hastily returned the salute, saying, "Not at all, not at all."

"You are too kind, sir."

Mr. Song then asked, "To fulfill my long-held wish, am I putting Boss Gu to too much trouble?"

Gu Xixi shook her head, "No, no, not at all troublesome."

Mr. Song probably also felt embarrassed, and he solemnly changed the subject.

"I know Official Mu is young and capable, surely busy with many affairs; as long as he reads my letter, I will be content."

"Please tell him he absolutely need not reply; that would be too much trouble."

Gu Xixi smiled and agreed.

But in her heart she couldn't help feeling moved; no matter the year or month, fans' adoration for their idols is boundless.

Leaving Taste Orchid Lodge, Gu Xixi found her hands stuffed with many homemade snacks from Mrs. Song.

Mrs. Song saw her out, continually expressing her apologies.

"Originally it was he who asked for help; we should have gone to visit him in person."

"Knowing you are very busy, we still had you make a special trip."

Gu Xixi laughed, saying, "No problem, I like coming to Taste Orchid Lodge."

"Chatting with you and Mr. Song has been immensely beneficial."

"I even drank Mr. Song's precious fine tea and ate your delicious food—I've come out ahead."

"I only hope we can keep coming and going often; Madam, please don't dislike me for being noisy."

Mrs. Song's heart blossomed with joy upon hearing this; looking at Gu Xixi, she really liked her.

She repeatedly said, "As long as you're willing to come, you don't need to give advance notice from now on; just come whenever."

The next day, Gu Xixi rose early to tidy the vegetable plot in the courtyard, preparing to plant some more chives.

Lv Jing also didn't let herself be idle, squatting beside her to sharpen the tools used for pruning.

Growing tea trees also inevitably requires diligent pruning.

She had done this work many times since childhood at home, and she is extremely skilled at it.

Lv Jing ground for a while, then checked against the light, and said while doing so, "Those tea trees in the field—just tell me how you want them cut later, and I'll take care of the rest."

"Although I've never pruned grapevines before, I can learn; I'm sure once I grasp the knack, everything will be interconnected."

Gu Xixi lifted her mud‑covered hands, turned her head, and asked, "Your parents never let you go out to do rough field work, did they?"

Lv Jing replied matter‑of‑factly, "You always say, 'Even if you've never eaten pork, you've seen pigs run.'"

I am the daughter of the Cha Yuan family, born and raised in Cha Yuan, hearing and seeing every day; even if I were dull, I should have learned it.

She put down the small saw, bent over to pick up a pole pruner, and began to continue polishing it.

However, compared to my parents' skilled hands, I definitely won't be that fast when I do it.

Gu Xixi laughed and sighed, "We were just about to set up Cha Yuan, and here comes a young lady from the Cha Yuan family."

Speaking of which, I've come out ahead.

Lv Jing gave a sideways glance and said, "So you'd better cherish me properly—I'm useful!"

She raised the pole pruner, gesturing in the air, "How did you come up with these weirdly shaped tools?"

They resemble scissors, but not quite—various lengths and sizes, big and small. And this narrow little saw—all are styles I've never seen before.

They feel like they'd be much more useful than the ones we used to have.

Gu Xixi said, "You're not trying to make me work hard by putting in all that effort, are you?"

Once you try it yourself, you'll know whether it's good or not.

Lv Jing suddenly had a brainwave, "Hey, why don't you consider opening another workshop just for making farm tools?"

With something this useful, shouldn't it sell like crazy?

At that moment, Lao Langzhong lifted his medicine box, about to go out on a house call.

He said to Zhang Shen, who had come out with him, "You can rest easy about the household expenses this month."

Among the eight households signed up today, two are well-off, so we can collect quite a bit more in consultation fees.

Zhang Shen chuckled and said, "You often help those who can't afford treatment; for ordinary families you only charge the cost of the medicine."

Even if the wealthy households give generous consultation fees, how much extra could we really make from a single visit?

Lao Langzhong walked on, saying seriously, "That's not the same."

Anyway, I never pick and choose patients when I see them; any extra fee I get is just added to the total.

Gu Xixi realized she seemed to have turned everyone around her into money‑making maniacs.

She hesitated a moment with Lv Jing, then said, "It can be considered, but we still need to save up enough capital first—blind expansion must be avoided."

In the afternoon, Zhang Shen returned from outside holding a handkerchief she had half‑finished making for Gu Xixi.

She amusedly brought up a strange matter, "Even the Regent Prince once came to Xi Bei, using an alias called Chen Fang."