"Big brother, I’m not trying to leave home." Gu Nian said helplessly, "Let me put it this way, there’s someone from my past who really misses me. He thinks I’m dead and is very sad about it. I want to tell him I’m still alive, but I’m not sure if he’ll insist on taking me away once he knows."
"Since you don’t want to leave, why bother telling him? He’s already been sad for you once, and if he knows you’re alive but unwilling to leave with him, won’t he be hurt again?" Dahu retorted.
Gu Nian seemed to have figured it out all of a sudden.
Yes, she wanted to find Gu Bei just to make sure he’s doing well, right?
Since she’s not planning to leave with him, is there any need to reunite?
"Big brother, I understand now. Wait for me here, I’ll be back soon." Gu Nian said, turning around to run toward Nan Jin Yu’s direction.
Gu Nian happened to meet Wuxin at the door, who was about to head out. She quickly composed her breathless self and asked him, "Brother Wuxin, did you deliver my letter?"
Wuxin stopped, and in a flat tone said, "It’s been delivered. Does Miss Gu have any other matters?"
"It’s been sent out?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ 𝚗𝚘𝚟𝚎𝚕·𝚏𝚒𝚛𝚎·𝚗𝚎𝚝
Gu Nian hadn’t expected Wuxin to be so quick.
She was thinking, if it hadn’t been sent out yet, she’d take the letter back. As long as she knew Gu Bei was safe in the future, there might be no need for reunion.
"It’s nothing then, since it’s been delivered, forget it. Brother Wuxin, you go on with your work, I’ll be off now too."
Gu Nian left lightly, unaware that Wuxin wasn’t busy but on his way to receive a punishment.
Back home, Gu Nian didn’t rest either. The fruit saplings in the space had grown rather large, bearing abundant fruit.
She had to first pick all the fruit off, then dig up all the trees before heading out with Cuihua.
Given Cuihua’s lack of cunning and the prior arrangement of her going to Phoenix Fairy Town, Gu Nian first found an old, deserted house in a secluded place, sent Cuihua away, and planted the prepared fruit saplings around the old house, then waited for Cuihua to return to work.
However, this increased the workload considerably.
Gu Nian, being small, couldn’t help much and could only watch as Cuihua single-handedly loaded the trees onto the ox cart.
Fortunately, Cuihua was strong, otherwise Gu Nian would truly scratch her head in worry.
On the way back, Cuihua asked Gu Nian in confusion, "Niannian, last time the fruit trees were sent directly to our home, why place them so far away this time?"
Gu Nian guiltily lied, "Aren’t we running low on money? Sending them home requires extra labor, which costs more. If we come and get them ourselves, we can save on delivery costs."
"Oh, so that’s why!" She thought it made sense, as people who build houses in the village usually have to provide meals for helpers, so they couldn’t possibly run such a long distance for free.
Seeing how easily deceived Cuihua was, Gu Nian felt a bit ashamed.
"Cuihua, I can’t manage it either, you’re indeed overworked alone. I remember there’s an old man next door who drives a mule cart, his cart is bigger than ours. When we get back, let’s ask him to help us transport the saplings, it shouldn’t take too many trips to finish the job!"
"Better not," said Cuihua, thumping her sturdy little chest. "Didn’t you say we’re short on money? I’m strong, I can handle it myself. Our cart is small, so we’ll just make more trips. It’s just a matter of effort."