Chapter 42: His agreement seemed too easy

Gu Qingye merely saw her brother's hair was wet and asked casually.

Gu Tiezhu, however, felt as if he had suffered a great offense; he shoved the crutch leaning against the kang head hard, knocking it over, and shouted loudly, "I'm a cripple—wherever I go, people laugh at me!"

"How can I go out?! Where else can I go!!!"

Gu Qingye was startled, "Brother, I didn't mean it that way."

Gu Tiezhu, however, seemed not to hear, still immersed in his own world.

He beat his legs as if gone mad, muttering resentfully while striking, "It's not only me who took her land—why am I the only one with a broken leg!"

"It's all that woman's fault! She harmed me; she's a venomous woman, she deserves to die!!"

Gu Qingye wanted to comfort him, but she was afraid and dared not step forward.

Since Gu Tiezhu's leg broke, his emotions have been like this—intense and changeable; sometimes frenzied, sometimes gloomy, ignoring everyone.

Only after Gu Tiezhu finally vented did he calm down.

He lifted his head to look at Gu Qingye, returning to his normal appearance, "Were those children all rescued?"

Gu Qingye secretly breathed a sigh of relief, nodding with a smile, "Mm!"

"I dug alongside them from start to finish; Uncle Qian and the others saw it."

Today's digging to rescue people was a major event that mobilized the whole village.

Any household that didn't contribute manpower would later be gossiped about.

Gu Lao San and Lady Liu didn't want to go, so they sent their daughter as a representative, instructing her to stand where the crowd was thick so that the village chief and other prominent villagers would see her.

Gu Tiezhu said, "Now I'm useless; the family's burden falls on you."

"You, a girl, enduring this hardship—it's all because of me dragging you down."

Gu Qingye seldom heard her brother speak such caring words.

She froze for a moment, quickly hid her surprise, and tried to show a natural, moved expression.

"Brother… don't say that,"

"We're a family; whatever I do is what I should."

Gu Tiezhu nodded.

The two smiled at each other, presenting a picture of deep sibling affection.

Gu Xixi walked into the west room holding a bowl. "Master said you can only eat this right now."

After Mu Nan Zhao woke up, his complexion looked much better.

He had been staring blankly out the window; when Gu Xixi approached, he lazily turned his eyes to glance at the porridge in the bowl.

"Who wants to eat this bland stuff? I'm not about to die."

Gu Xixi sat on the stool beside the bed, "You really speak without any restraint."

She deliberately stirred the rice porridge with a spoon, letting the aroma rise with the steam.

"The shepherd's purse is chopped, stir-fried with a little sesame oil, then egg flakes and salt added; Aunt Zhang went to all this trouble to cook it, yet someone doesn't appreciate it—what a waste."

Mu Nan Zhao suddenly snatched the porridge bowl, scooped a full spoonful, and shoved it into his mouth.

He didn't say whether it was good or not.

But Gu Xixi saw his expression relax, and he ate spoonful after spoonful, so he must be somewhat satisfied.

She let out a long, faint sigh, "Do you know why those five children were in the abandoned cave?"

"Play." Mu Nan Zhao answered with a single word, continuing to eat calmly.

Gu Xixi felt helpless; he seemed uninterested in hearing a story, yet she had to keep going.

"The children of Huachi Du Cun, when young, had no adult supervision and could only run around the village like herding sheep; by seven or eight, when they could help a little, they were given a small hoe and sent to work in the fields with the adults—how pitiful."

She glanced at Mu Nan Zhao, seeing no change in his expression, and steeled herself to steer the conversation to the main point.

"It's simply because the village lacks a school that they have to be like this."

"The adults are busy scratching a living from the soil, with no time to watch the kids; how would the little ones know what danger is?"

"Qin Dasao even said today that if there were a village school, today's incident wouldn't have happened."

Mu Nan Zhao had already finished a bowl of porridge.

He calmly looked at Gu Xixi, "So what exactly do you want to tell me?"

After a moment of eye contact, Gu Xixi blinked, "The entire village of Huachi Du has long hoped for a teacher across generations."

"Whoever takes on this duty will gain immeasurable merit and also earn everyone's respect and affection."

Mu Nan Zhao gave a soft hum, "Then you don't need to worry."

"With such good conditions, there should be plenty of talented youths volunteering themselves."

Gu Xixi was choked up enough to be angry, while Mu Nan Zhao calmly extended the empty bowl toward her.

"Not full yet—have another bowl."

Gu Xixi snatched the bowl away, "Do you think I'm your mansion's maid?"

"I can see you're already full, and stuffed to boot; you know exactly what I want to say, yet you insist on watching me go round and round. If you're unwilling to speak plainly, why toy with people?"

She turned and walked away; behind her came Mu Nan Zhao's faint sigh, "Ah..."

"You won't even give a bowl of porridge, yet you pretend the teacher will starve, all while lying about respect and affection."

Gu Xixi's steps halted instantly, not daring to be sure, "Are you really willing? You agreed so easily?"

She first shook her head at herself, "Something's off!"

Mu Nan Zhao raised his brows slightly, "I didn't ask you to kneel morning and evening to show sincerity; aren't you willing?"

Gu Xixi raised her hand to press Mu Nan Zhao's forehead, furrowing her brows as she felt for a moment.

"Indeed, there's no fever."

Mu Nan Zhao lifted his eyes to her, the corner of his mouth curling into a wicked smile, "You also think that being a village schoolteacher in this tiny backwater isn't something I'd do, right?"

Gu Xixi looked at him and nodded.

Although letting him be a schoolteacher was her idea, it was also what she hoped for.

But that it could be so easily achieved still felt unreal to her.

Mu Nan Zhao said, "Originally, Chen Fang came from a scholarly family."

He failed the provincial exams twice, then after committing a crime ended up here; being a village schoolteacher makes sense.

"Abandon the Way and use power." A sly smile rose in his eyes, "Only by truly blending into one's surroundings can one achieve the perfect disguise."

Gu Xixi showed a relieved smile, "Deal, I'll go talk to Lao Qian tomorrow."

Mu Nan Zhao was quite surprised by her reaction, "Aren't you afraid I have impure motives and ill intentions?"

Gu Xixi said seriously, "In my view, someone who can be open about their motives is more usable, cooperative, and trustworthy than those who initially insist they want nothing."

She quickly went to add half a bowl of porridge and came back.

"You shouldn't eat too much right now; this is already an extra portion."

Mu Nan Zhao shook his head and sighed, "What's good about a man being controlled by his wife after marriage? I don't understand why foolish men in this world rush to be like moths flying into flames."

"You can rest assured about that." Gu Xixi brought this up, her expression always solemn as if making a vow, "No matter whether you become a moth in this life or not, I guarantee I will never be the fire you want to fly into."

Mu Nan Zhao stirred the rice porridge, his gaze dimming a little.

"Today's falling rock was no accident."

Gu Xixi startled; Lao Qian had said when it rained that the soil above was somewhat loose.

So she didn't think elsewhere.