After a while, the conflict between them naturally disappeared. Zheng Peng saw how gentle and vulnerable Qian'e could be, just as Qian'e also saw how thoughtful and gentle Zheng Peng could be. The two of them got together just like that.

They were only dating now. Zheng Peng was still thinking of a way for them to get married. It was not that Zheng Peng could not persuade his father, but that Qian'e did not want to get married to him. She had too many concerns weighing on her mind.

Zheng Peng had received a more open type of education from a young age and he was much more open-minded than most people. He did not mind what happened to Qian'e in the past at all. Zheng Peng had come to look for Qiao Mei regarding this matter.

Zheng Peng indicated that if Qian'e liked children, they could go to the orphanage to adopt a child who bore a resemblance to Qian'e. The two of them would then bring up this child together and then nurture the child into an artist. If Qian'e did not like children, then they would roam the world and travel to many different places.

"Aren't you going to hold on tighter? I think Deng Fan is quite good. Aren't you going to consider giving it a try?" Qiao Mei asked tentatively.

"We'll see. It's only been a few days. Do you want me to jump into another fire pit right after I get out of one? I have to make plans for myself first! I'm still eyeing your house. I won't get married until I earn enough money!" Xia He pouted and said stubbornly.

"Then what about I just sell it to you for 10 dollars?" Qiao Mei said.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo! Don't joke with me! You should add another three zeros behind this number!" Xia He said disdainfully.

Today was also the day when the gardener would report for work. If he did not show up soon, Qiao Mei would have forgotten about him. No one had not cleaned up the weeds in this courtyard for a few days and they had grown out again. With Qiao Mei's current condition, they definitely could not get rid of the weeds by spraying chemicals.

"It's going to be hard work for you. You need to clean up all the grass by yourself. There are also many withered branches and the like in the backyard, so you need to trim the branches properly. Didn't you say that the shape of the asparagus fern in my study is not nice enough? You can help me trim it too," Qiao Mei instructed.

Shen Gui noted everything down and did not say anything. He rolled up his sleeves to get to work without any complaints. By the end of the afternoon, Qiao Mei had a whole new level of respect for this young man.

"The people whom Sister Fan found are really quite good. They're all very capable people. Seeing that he's young, I expect him to be careless in his work. I don't expect him to be so patient and composed," Qiao Mei lamented.

It had been almost four hours since Shen Gui started working but he did not take any breaks and only took a few sips of water halfway through. The ground in the front yard was clean and there was not a single weed to be seen. The fruit trees and short bushes in the backyard were all beautifully trimmed. As it was currently winter, there were no new leaves and the branches were all withered. However, even if there were only withered branches left, it looked very unattractive if the branches were left to grow in a mess.

Qiao Mei had always allowed these flowers and plants to grow freely as they were like her good friends. Even though she knew that moderate pruning was good for the flowers and plants, she still could not bear to do it.

"Those fruit trees of yours should have been trimmed a long time ago. Fortunately, both the front and back courtyards belong to our family. Otherwise, we would have received complaints long ago. Also, the color of your grape rack has already faded. Ask this kid to change a new one for you," Xia He said.

"What do you know! This is called art! It's so beautiful! I want to keep this rack!" Qiao Mei said.

"It's already attracting ants! You still want to keep it! Our house is mainly made of wood. If this thing attracts ants, won't this house be a gone case in the future?" Xia He said as she pointed at the house beams.

Qiao Mei had forgotten about this matter. When spring came, she would hire someone to paint all her houses with a layer of varnish that could guard against pests like rats and ants.

After Shen Gui finished cleaning up all the dead branches and rotten leaves, the sky was starting to darken. Qiao Mei was not a harsh employer. There would definitely be a lot of work on the first day, but it would get easier later on.

"Brother Shen, you can stop work now. Come back tomorrow morning to clean up the rest. Anyway, you won't be able to see clearly once it's dark," Qiao Mei said as she stood at the door.

Shen Gui followed Qiao Mei's instructions and came back in after taking the trash out. According to their agreement, Qiao Mei would pay him his salary on a daily basis. However, it was really strange that there was no trace of joy on Shen Gui's face.