The appearance of people in our line of work naturally attracted the attention of the villagers. In no time, a farmer, who looked to be around forty years old, came out of the village at a brisk pace.
Before he even arrived, his laughter preceded him.
"Haha…"
"The magpies were chirping all morning, I knew distinguished guests were coming. Are you gentlemen here for an on-site inspection?" He said, casually wiping his hands on his clothes before coming over to shake our hands.
I was a little unaccustomed to his enthusiasm, but Zhang Dabiao laughed along with him and greeted him warmly after shaking his hand.
"Brother, how did you guess so accurately? You hit the nail on the head."
"Haha… That's because I, Wu Da Sang Men, have been out and about for a few years. My eyes are truly discerning, you could say they're fiery eyes…"
In just a few sentences, Zhang Dabiao had already become good friends with Wu Da Sang Men, and also learned that he was the village chief of Xiangyanggou Village. Most of the villagers were elderly people and children; the young people had all gone out to work. Because they rarely interacted with outsiders, the villagers, both old and young, were a bit reluctant to communicate with them.
"Brother, I'm glad I met someone I click with today. Let's go to my place now, I'll kill a chicken for you, and we can sit down and talk." He said, preparing to pull Zhang Dabiao away.
Fortunately, Zhang Dabiao remembered why he was there and politely refused, "Brother, there's no rush for food. It's not easy for us to bring so many people here for an inspection. We just came from the neighboring village and found it to be always gloomy, which felt quite unsettling…"
Before Zhang Dabiao could finish speaking, Wu Da Sang Men interrupted him, spitting on the ground.
"Brother, I'd say you shouldn't have gone there. Who are the people there? They're either tomb robbers or unscrupulous merchants dealing in items from the dead. Wouldn't you find it unlucky to go there?"
I subtly glanced at the convoy in the distance and secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Wu Da Sang Men. He truly dared to say anything. If Fang Huixin were to hear this, who knows what trouble it would cause.
Fearing that Wu Da Sang Men and Zhang Dabiao would talk endlessly, I seized the opportunity to interject.
"Village Chief Wu, wouldn't you take us around the village? We also want to take this opportunity to see the village's terrain and see if it's suitable for tourism."
"Haha… Alright, let's go."
On the way, Wu Da Sang Men explained the village's situation without us having to ask.
"Including myself, there are thirty-nine households in the village. Most of the remaining villagers are elderly and children. The younger ones have all gone to big cities to work, and they don't come back more than twice a year."
From the moment we entered the village, I had been carefully observing the activities of each household. Most of the doors were tightly shut, as if no one was home. A few households with open doors, upon seeing us, quickly closed them again.
"Village Chief Wu, why do they all seem so afraid of outsiders?"
Wu Da Sang Men sighed, "It's all because of money. Every family has its own difficulties. If they had money, who would want to live in a dilapidated house? People, when they are poor, can't even stand up straight. So, when they see outsiders, they basically close their courtyard doors, like an… an ostrich. If they don't see outsiders' strange looks, they think they are living well."
Faced with Wu Da Sang Men's self-deprecating words, I didn't know how to respond. They say even heroes are stumped by trivial matters, and Yang Xiong had to sell his sword at one point. It seems that no matter when, money is essential. Otherwise, the saying "money makes the world go round, no money, no progress" would truly be confirmed.
Following the small river upstream, the scenery was truly beautiful and bathed in sunlight. In Molu Village, I had hardly seen the sun for half a month. Suddenly being exposed to the sun made me break out in a sweat.
I stopped at an uphill spot. Wu Da Sang Men thought I was tired. "How is it? Did I lie to you? Our scenery here is excellent. If it develops, business will surely be booming." Sudian Novel Network.
I wasn't tired, but I was curious about the houses before me. Most of the houses in Xiangyanggou Village along the way were made of mud walls and thatched roofs. The only thing that gave a modern urban feel was the wooden double-opening glass windows.
However, this household was different. The courtyard walls were built with red bricks and cement, the roof was covered with red tiles, and the walls were tiled. In the sunlight, it was like a thousand-watt spotlight, completely out of place with the other houses in the village, like a phoenix entering a flock of pheasants.
"Village Chief Wu, whose house is this?"
Wu Da Sang Men glanced at the house I mentioned, clearly a little unwillingly saying, "It's the house of a lazy and good-for-nothing scoundrel in the village. He's idle all day, only stealing chickens and dogs, and knows nothing else."
Judging by Wu Da Sang Men's tone, he seemed to harbor great resentment towards this household.
"Don't stand here. Just a few more steps up and you'll be at my house. Let's go home and rest."
Just as Wu Da Sang Men finished speaking, a lazy voice came from within the courtyard.
"Third Uncle, as the village chief, you're slandering me in front of outsiders. Isn't that a bit too much?"
As the voice faded, a man who looked about twenty-seven or twenty-eight years old, wearing a loud floral shirt and flip-flops, opened the gate and casually surveyed me and Zhang Dabiao.
"Who is your third uncle? Don't claim kinship here, my Wu family doesn't have someone like you."
Then he said to me and Zhang Dabiao, "Distinguished guests, please come to my house first. We can talk about what you want to know."
I nodded without saying anything. The current situation was definitely not suitable for further questioning. If I continued to press, I feared that Wu Da Sang Men might get into a fight with his nephew.
As soon as he finished speaking, Wu Da Sang Men walked ahead, and I followed a few steps behind him.
"Old man, you're too concerned about appearances and suffer for it. Ptooey…" Then I heard the sound of the gate being slammed shut forcefully.
On the way to Wu Da Sang Men's house, I lost the mood to talk. Because as we passed his nephew's house, I clearly felt a faint yin energy emanating from it. Could Fang Yuan's body be hidden in his house?
Wu Da Sang Men's house, compared to other village households, was not much better. The only thing that looked a bit better was an old-fashioned "ant-head" motorcycle parked in the yard. The paint on the vehicle was mottled, and I didn't know if it could still be ridden.
Upon returning to his own house, Wu Da Sang Men's expression improved somewhat. Before even entering, he shouted in the yard.
"Wife, quickly pour some tea, then kill a chicken and cook. We have investors in our village!"
Then a woman, who looked about the same age as Wu Da Sang Men, came out of the house holding a tea tray. "Can't you lower your voice, your loud mouth? Aren't you afraid of scaring the guests away?"
The woman was not beautiful, possessing the typical petite figure and talkative nature of southern women. After placing the tea tray, she continued, "My husband saw the magpies chirping this morning and said there would be distinguished guests today, so he asked me to prepare tea at home. I didn't expect him to be right. Please sit here for a moment, I'll go kill a chicken and let you taste my boiled chicken."
Before I could refuse, she had already turned and gone to the backyard. Her swiftness made me wonder if she could win a world championship if she ran the hundred meters.
Facing his wife's scolding, Wu Da Sang Men laughed heartily. "Let's drink tea and chat. My wife's boiled chicken is incredibly delicious. If you invest, I'll definitely open a restaurant in the village…"
After chatting about other matters, I shifted the topic to Wu Da Sang Men's nephew.
"Village Chief Wu, I think I have a good understanding of Xiangyanggou. If we want to develop tourism, we need to at least change the villagers' sense of exclusion towards outsiders, don't we? I see your nephew as an open-minded person, not only keeping up with the times but also building a large tiled house. He truly is a young and promising man."
Wu Da Sang Men, who had been smiling all along, his expression changed drastically upon hearing me mention his nephew. "What do you know? Did he build that house through his own ability? If it weren't for digging up people's ancestral graves, with his lazy nature, dreaming of building a house would be a pipe dream."