Chapter 60

Mu Nan Zhao raised his eyes, "Are you being too kind-hearted?"

"Originally we could have destroyed all his family's stored grain, but you left them enough to survive the winter."

Gu Xixi said, "Gu Tiezhu has gone completely mad; he can't come out to cause trouble anymore."

"For me, that's enough; there's no need to exterminate his whole family."

"Besides," she said with a sly smile, "if anyone in the village were to starve, Village Chief Lao Qian would have a hard time of it."

"What if he gets serious, investigates left and right, and traces it back to me? How would we face each other then?"

Mu Nan Zhao nodded, agreeing with this reason, then asked, "What does Gu Qingye's life or death have to do with you this time?"

"Not continuing to target her is already showing mercy."

Gu Xixi let out a long sigh, "You're not a woman, so you probably can't understand the suffering women endure in this world."

"Do you know that once this marriage is arranged, it will ruin the lifelong prospects of two women?"

"I don't like Gu Qingye; maybe she deserves punishment for her wrongdoings, but what has that man's sister done wrong to be forced to marry Gu Tiezhu?"

Mu Nan Zhao said, "Gu Qingye's parents have already consented to the marriage; what can you do?"

Gu Xixi smiled, "Do what we can, then leave it to fate."

Mu Nan Zhao gazed at her smile, and couldn't help but be dazed.

After a moment, he turned his gaze away and said, "No matter how Gu Qingye behaves in the future, I will never marry her."

Gu Xixi felt a sudden bitterness in her heart.

Why does matchmaking get harder the more she tries?

But she is now physically and mentally exhausted, and has no time to consider any romantic entanglements.

Today, more dead rats were caught in the village, and two large bonfires burn all day.

This means the rat infestation has officially begun to ravage Flower Pool Ford Village, with no sign of abating.

"As the saying goes, extreme prosperity leads to decline; if the rat plague hasn't yet peaked, given our current defenses, can we still hold it back—and for how long?"

"I hope the new rat poison we envisioned will succeed soon..."

Outside, seven or eight people are still making honey bait.

After Gu Xixi took stock, she confirmed that the amount needed from tonight until tomorrow noon is ready.

"Everyone has worked a day; go rest. We'll continue tomorrow."

The women set down their work and bade farewell to the host family.

Only Qin Dasao stayed until the end.

Gu Xixi saw her expression and knew what she wanted to ask, so she relayed Mu Nan Zhao's last words.

Qin Dasao clapped happily, "I knew I hadn't misjudged Mr. Chen."

"After all, they say a teacher's virtue comes first, and Mr. Chen is the best teacher!"

"My dog Gouwa follows him; I'm at ease!"

As Mu Nan Zhao passed by, he overheard and thought, "That woman just pointed at him and scolded, but she wasn't saying that."

Since Gouwa was mentioned, Gu Xixi leaned close to Qin Dasao's ear and said a few words.

Qin Dasao nodded repeatedly as she listened.

After Gu Xixi finished, Qin Dasao smiled and assured, "Don't worry; when I go back I'll tell that little brat a thing or two—he may not be the best student, but he still has some cleverness."

Gu Xixi saw Qin Dasao out the door.

The old herbalist who had been sitting in the corner grinding medicine suddenly stood up, shouting excitedly, "Xixi! Xixi! Come quick, I've got results—I made it!"

Gu Xixi returned in a few strides, "That fast?"

Lao Langzhong's old face lit up, proud: "Of course! With master and apprentice working together, what can't we accomplish?"

Yesterday, Gu Xixi discovered a castor bean plant at the base of her own outer wall.

She thought the seeds are toxic, but when fried they become fragrant and oily, so people often mistakenly eat them—perhaps they'd be good bait for poisonous rats.

So she pulled it up and brought it to Lao Langzhong.

As a result, today Lao Langzhong ground the fried castor beans into powder and mixed them with oleander juice.

After repeated trials, he found that this mixture itself had poor toxicity, but adding a few drops of heated aged vinegar unexpectedly produced a toxicity far greater than double—more than one plus one.

Lao Langzhong, excited about his new discovery, kept spinning and saying, "Medicines that save lives need careful dosage; too little and they're ineffective, too much and they might harm a life."

"But rat poison is different—the more toxic, the better; after all, once they eat it, we don't expect them to wake up."

Gu Xixi smiled, pursing her lips, "Yes, Master, I've learned."

"I'll tell Uncle Qian tomorrow morning and first test the effect."

Lao Langzhong added, "You want me to prepare a prescription for treating rat plague? That's easy."

"Our school already has a ready-made ancient formula; we just need to adjust it slightly according to the patient's symptoms."

Gu Xixi thought, then said, "I also want to ask you for a prescription."

For dinner, Zhang Shen made dry millet rice, a large plate of stir-fried leeks with cured meat, a plate of scrambled eggs with scallions, and a pot of pumpkin soup.

As she set down her chopsticks, she said, "You've all been overworked lately; you need to eat better."

"We can't let the rats not be wiped out while we collapse from exhaustion first."

Zhang Shen turned to Lao Langzhong, "Especially you, old bones—just touching the medicine grinder keeps you immobile for half a day; if it's life‑threatening, don't mess with it tonight, just go to sleep early!"

Although Zhang Shen spoke harshly, Lao Langzhong grinned nonstop.

For many years he had lived alone, and now he naturally enjoys the feeling of being cared for.

The next morning, Mu Nan Zhao walked into Tudimiao; the people were still those he had seen yesterday.

But they were quietly moving things, and their greetings had become shy and soft.

Mr. Chen.

Good morning, Mr. Chen.

Mu Nan Zhao nodded slightly, "Morning."

After Lao Qian had scolded them yesterday morning, they had restrained themselves quite a bit, but they hadn't turned out like this.

Could something else have happened after school let out?

Mu Nan Zhao walked to the schoolhouse door, and surprisingly, no one was making a fuss or playing; all the children were sitting in their places.

Dogboy stood up and shouted loudly, "Rise, pay respects to the teacher!"

The little ones stood up one after another, performed the disciple salute to Mu Nan Zhao, and said, "Teacher, are you well today?"

Although their voices were scattered and uneven, their bowing motions were not very proper either.

Mu Nan Zhao could tell they had been studying hard, and the sternness on his face relaxed a little.

"Everyone sit down, let's begin class."

Gu Xixi went to tend her tea trees in her spare time, and on her way back she met Lao Qian, who came rushing over.

Beside Lao Qian stood an unfamiliar face, sporting a full beard and a square visage, looking about forty years old.

Lao Qian introduced, "This is the village chief of Shitou Village, surnamed Zhao."

"Is your distant great-uncle actually from their village?"

Gu Xixi once had Lao Langzhong treat Mu Nan Zhao, never expecting there would be a sequel.

So she claimed outwardly that he was her distant great-uncle.

Now that the lie has been exposed, Gu Xixi can only keep up the fabrication: "Oh, because we are distant relatives, we lost contact years ago; only by chance did I meet him and realize he is the distant great-uncle my mother spoke of."

She observed Village Chief Zhao's expression and asked, "You're looking for my great-uncle; is there something?"