Following the instructions of the villagers, Chai Yan and the other two rode horses to a small farmyard in Giethoorn Village.
After Chai Yan dismounted, he saw that the environment of this farmhouse was very good. Not only was the yard clean and spacious, there was also a big tree in the center of the yard. Under the tree were a wooden table and several small stools. On the table was a
A clay pot and several clay bowls.
There was no one in the courtyard at this time. Chai Yan led Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun to the door of the courtyard while observing the environment.
As soon as they arrived near the fence, a woman came out of the house. Judging from her appearance, she was about forty years old, with obvious wrinkles at the corners of her eyes and mouth.
When the woman saw a stranger coming outside, her first reaction was that she was a little timid. She took a step back involuntarily, and at the same time she covered her heart with the palm of her right hand.
"You...who are you looking for?" the woman asked timidly.
A kind smile appeared on Chai Yan's face, and he said very politely: "Excuse me, is this Zhang Lao Niu's house?"
The woman paused for a moment, then nodded and said: "Ah, yes, Zhang Lao Niu is my father."
Chai Yan immediately said: "Madam, is this Zhang Yuan?"
The woman was a little surprised and asked quickly: "How do you know my name?"
Chai Yan said: "I am Chai Yan from the Wude Department in the capital. I came here to ask about Cai Baozhong."
When Zhang Yuan heard that he was asking about Cai Baozhong, his face suddenly darkened, and he replied unhappily: "Don't ask me about him, I don't know anything!"
After saying that, Zhang Yuan turned around angrily, walked quickly into the house, and left Chai Yan and the others outside the courtyard.
"Madam, don't be angry. I'm just going to ask a few simple questions and we'll leave after that." Chai Yan said loudly.
No one in the room responded.
Chai Yan tried calling a few more times, but the result was the same. Zhang Yuan stayed at home and ignored Chai Yan completely.
Guan Maochun was a little angry and said: "Sir, if she refuses to come out, then let's go in."
Chai Yan rolled his eyes at him, nodded and said, "Okay, go in!"
Guan Maochun could tell that this was an irony, so he stopped talking immediately.
Cheng Jiudao: "Sir, what should we do now?"
Chai Yan said softly: "Don't worry, we have already found the person anyway. Let's wait first. First, we will let her know that we have no ill intentions. Second, we will also give her some time to calm down."
"Yeah." Cheng Jiu nodded in agreement.
"Find a place to sit..."
After Chai Yan finished speaking, he turned around and looked around, then picked a small mound not far away and sat down.
Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun also sat down next to Chai Yan, and the three of them waited quietly.
Chai Yan didn't just sit around and do nothing. During this period of time, he made Shangguan Peining feel that there were three bloody smells in Zhang Yuan's home!
Chai Yan secretly thought, since the house smelled of blood, he had to find a way to get into the house and find out whose blood it was.
Chaiyan thought about it on the way here. Although the information given by Takeshi was very certain that several people in the file did not escape from the capital, Chaiyan himself felt that this could not be completely believed.
After all, there is no electronic monitoring system in this era. It is not impossible that someone slips through the net and slips out. After all, these are people from the Wude Division, so they should not be underestimated!
After just sitting for a while, Chai Yan's stomach began to growl loudly enough that both Cheng Jiu and Guan Maochun could hear it.
It's no wonder Chai Yan is hungry. They haven't eaten since they left the city, and their minds are on the road. It's already afternoon, so it would be strange if they aren't hungry.
"Sir, you haven't eaten anything since morning. I'm going to get you something to eat."
As he spoke, Cheng Jiu stood up and wiped the dust off his butt with both hands.
Guan Maochun suddenly felt hungry, and immediately reminded: "Fourth brother, get more."
Cheng Jiu said impatiently: "Okay, you don't need to tell me, I know!"
Chai Yan reminded: "Don't go too far. If you don't have any, forget it."
"Sir, you know." Cheng Jiu nodded and walked alone to a house in front of him.
During the time when Cheng Jiu walked away, Zhang Yuan came out twice, but he only went to the yard to get things and quickly returned to the house, ignoring Chai Yan who took the opportunity to talk to him.
Guan Maochun was very angry that Chai Yan was treated like this, but Chai Yan himself didn't care, just as if nothing happened.
Guan Maochun couldn't help but be curious, and asked while sitting: "Sir, why aren't you angry when she treats you like this?"
Chai Yan said understandingly: "You have to forgive her. It's not easy for her. She has such a painful past. If it were her, I wouldn't want to see myself."
Guan Maochun said: "Sir, we can't keep waiting like this. It's already getting late. If we delay any longer, we won't be able to make it back to the city in time."
Chai Yan didn't care about this and said calmly: "What a big deal. If you're late, just stay overnight outside the city. It's not like there aren't any inns."
After hearing what Chai Yan said, Guan Maochun said nothing and continued to support his chin with both hands and waited.
After a while, Cheng Jiu finally came back. He was carrying a basket in his hand, which contained three bowls of rice and two plates of vegetables. They were all still steaming, obviously they had just been cooked.
"Hey, where did you get these?" Chai Yan asked curiously.
Cheng Jiu handed the rice and chopsticks to Chai Yan and said, "The family next door bought it. I gave it a little bit of money, and the whole family was laughing."
Chai Yan caught the rice, took a piece of vegetables and put it in his mouth. He nodded immediately and said: "Well, the craftsmanship is good..."
Afterwards, the three people sat beside the mound and chatted while eating.
This scene happened to be seen by Zhang Yuan who came out. She was surprised and puzzled. Why were these people from Wude Division so different from those she had seen before?
However, Zhang Yuan did not stay in the yard for too long. After a brief surprise, he took his things and went into the house.
After Zhang Yuan entered, Guan Maochun whispered: "I saw no fourth brother. He was like this just now. He came out and went in again several times. He just didn't want to talk to us."
Cheng Jiu looked at Chai Yan and asked, "Sir, what do you think?"
Chai Yan said: "Since Zhang Yuan ignores us, let's wait until Zhang Lao Niu comes back. I don't believe her father will ignore us either."
From just now to now, Chai Yan has not seen anyone else except Zhang Yuan, so he guessed that Zhang Yuan's father and her daughter Niuniu should have gone out.
Guan Maochun paused for a moment, and then suddenly asked abruptly: "What if her father is like this?"
Chai Yan turned his face and stared at Guan Maochun, saying seriously: "Then I will send you to go out and burn his house down. If they can't get out, ignore me!"
Guan Maochun believed it for a moment and looked at Chai Yan in surprise. It wasn't until the next shot that he realized it was Chai Yan's joke.
"Hahahaha, look at you like that, hahaha..."
Cheng Jiu was amused by Guan Maochun's stupidity, and Chai Yan also laughed.
Just when the three of them were laughing from ear to ear, an old man and a little girl came from a distance.
The old man is about sixty years old and has a strong body. He carries a hoe on his shoulder and his walking does not look difficult at all. The girl next to him is only twelve or three years old. She bounces around when walking, giving people a lively feeling.
It's very cute. She is holding a small bamboo basket in her hand. It's not clear what's inside.
The little girl spotted Chai Yan and the others, immediately raised her finger and said to the old man, "Grandpa, look, someone is eating in front of our house."
The old man took a closer look and saw that it was true. He immediately looked at Chai Yan and the others with doubts.
When the old man and the little girl approached, Chai Yan had already put down his bowls and chopsticks, dusted himself off and came to greet them.
Chai Yan said politely: "Old man, you are the owner of this family, Zhang Lao Niu, right?"
The old man nodded and asked: "Ah, I am Zhang Lao Niu, you are..."
Just as Chai Yan was about to introduce himself, Zhang Yuan walked out of the room and said loudly: "Dad, please ignore them!"
"But......"
Zhang Lao Niu was about to speak, but was interrupted by Zhang Yuan: "No, dad, please come into the house... Niuniu, stop looking, you come into the house too!"
While talking, Zhang Yuan walked out of the yard, urged Zhang Lao Niu and his daughter into the yard without any explanation, then rudely closed the fence gate of the yard, leaving Chai Yan outside again.