Chapter 928 - 275: [New Quest] (6700)_3
The car stopped at the entrance of Yang Er Village, and Chen Yan got off.
He paid the fare by scanning the code on the driver’s phone, watching as the old lady also scanned her code, exchanging a few more words with the driver.
It turned out the old lady was just bringing the little girl back and needed to return to Taixi County.
The driver was a sharp one—as you don’t find many dull ones among those who drive for a living.
He asked a few more questions and learned that the old lady was heading back to the county and then to the long-distance bus station to catch a coach—to Fuyang Prefecture!
What a coincidence, the driver was also heading back to Fuyang Prefecture.
The driver was immediately delighted; he initially thought he’d have to drive back empty, but now he could make a bit by taking someone along.
So, he straightforwardly negotiated a price with the old lady.
The old lady seemed to be quite tight with her money. After the driver quoted two prices, she still shook her head.
Finally, the driver thought, going back empty would earn him nothing at all. If he could take the old lady along, even a few extra bucks would be something.
So he lowered the price.
Only then did the old lady nod.
"Wait here for me, I must take the child home first."
"Sure, no rush," the driver agreed easily. After all, the journey back to Fuyang Prefecture would take nearly two hours, and waiting a few more minutes was no big deal.
While all this was happening, Chen Yan had already walked off.
He strolled into Yang Er Village, taking a good look and roughly getting the picture.
Having grown up in villages himself, he was familiar with the conditions here. A single glance told him that the economic situation in the local countryside might not be very good.
The village houses mostly looked a bit run-down; there weren’t many shiny, pretty houses.
The villagers kept chickens, but not in large numbers.
The strays wandering around the village all looked scrawny, with not much meat on their bones.
The electric wires on the utility poles were all crooked and twisted.
Chen Yan wasn’t in a hurry to delve into the village but rather wandered around the outskirts of Yang Er Village for a good half-hour.
Finally, he returned to the village entrance, and both the old lady and the driver had left by then. Chen Yan walked into a small shop at the entrance of the village.
The shopkeeper sat behind the counter, playing with his phone, not looking up when he heard someone enter.
The shelves were somewhat empty, not much stock, with hardly any snacks. There were only two or three types of drinks: cola and pulpy orange juice, plus milk.
Other than that, there were a few daily necessities, which were barely complete.
Running a shop in the countryside, lacking young customers, mainly catering to the left-behind elderly, not many people would buy snacks.
Things like sunflower seeds, dried fruits, and potato chips—did you expect the left-behind elderly to purchase and eat those?
Chen Yan bought a can of cola and two packs of Jinwan cigarettes, prompting the shopkeeper to finally look up, his expression slightly better.
Chen Yan opened the can of cola on the spot, sipping as he chatted casually with the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper looked middle-aged, around forty or so—though he might be a bit younger in reality.
Chen Yan noticed the shopkeeper playing Honor of Kings on his phone, so he casually struck up a conversation. After a bit of getting acquainted, he asked a few more questions.
His excuse was the same as before—saying he was visiting a classmate’s home.
"Boss, I heard from my classmate that something weird happened in your village a while back?"
Chen Yan deliberately wore a look of curiosity and gossip.
The shopkeeper initially showed some displeasure at such questions, but when Chen Yan opened a pack of Jinwan, offering a cigarette to the shopkeeper, his expression softened a bit.
But the shopkeeper was also savvy and glanced at Chen Yan: "I don’t think you’re here to see a classmate; you’re here for that incident, right?"
Chen Yan chuckled.
The shopkeeper’s eye twinkled: "You... you’re not one of those short video creators, are you? A few days ago, after the incident happened, I saw a few people entering the village with phones, holding selfie sticks, filming everywhere, chattering away and asking around.
That’s your path too, isn’t it? A short video blogger? Here to dig into the matter for traffic?"
Chen Yan smiled, pretending to be found out: "Boss, you’re smart!"
The shopkeeper laughed smugly: "Of course! You’re here to see a classmate? What classmate? Young folks your age have all gone to work outside or attend college. There’re only kids left studying in the village—what classmate would you have here?"
Chen Yan candidly admitted he was a short video blogger and proactively bought a few more packs of cigarettes. After paying, he handed the cigarettes back to the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper immediately understood, a broader smile spreading on his face, and he even brought over a stool, inviting Chen Yan to sit down and smoke as he started talking.
·
Yang Er Village is not big, with less than a hundred households overall.
The major family name in this village isn’t Yang; it’s Li.
As for why that’s the case, it’s due to historical reasons. Chen Yan didn’t understand and wasn’t inclined to ask.
However, there really was a strange incident in the village a few days ago.
·
In the western corner of Yang Er Village, there is a Li family whose male head is called Li Guohua.
He’s about forty years old.
As a young man, he was wild and left the village early to explore the world outside.
He worked for a few years, saved some money, and then partnered with a friend to buy a second-hand truck, starting a long-distance trucking business.
The long-distance trucking industry is a mixed bag, full of all sorts of people.
Li Guohua, with his wild nature, ran routes for a few years. Though he made some money, he got involved with the wrong crowd and developed a gambling habit.