The security guard at Xiaojie's villa has a motorcycle. Last night, Ma Yunfei made an appointment with the security guard to borrow his motorcycle for a day.

Ma Yunfei rode his motorcycle and took Ye Ya out of the villa.

Ye Ya called out, "Brother Ma, I'm hungry. Let's stop at that restaurant up ahead and eat something first."

Ye Ya ordered a bowl of noodles and five large meat buns, which she wolfed down.

Ma Yunfei only ordered a bowl of noodles. For the past two days, he has felt a tightness in his chest, unable to eat or sleep properly.

Xia Tian has been held hostage for eight days. He has a vague feeling that although Wang Xiaobian will treat Xia Tian well, Xia Tian will encounter other dangers during the process of being moved around by Wang Xiaobian.

Especially in the summer, being placed in a remote place, who knows what might happen.

After Ye Ya finished eating, she asked, "Brother Ma, are you eating or embroidering? Why haven't you finished your bowl of noodles yet?"

Ma Yunfei pushed the bowl away and said, "I'm full."

Ye Ya slammed her hand on the table and commanded, "Brother Ma, you must finish this bowl of noodles, otherwise, I won't go with you, and I won't allow you to go either."

Ma Yunfei smiled wryly, thinking to himself: Only this feisty girl would persuade someone to eat like this.

He shook his head and forced down the bowl of noodles.

Ye Ya bought ten more steamed buns, put them in her backpack, and said, "Brother Ma, when we go to the countryside, there are no restaurants there. I don't want to go hungry."

Ma Yunfei drove his motorcycle, asking questions as he went, and finally arrived at Chenjiawan at nine o'clock in the morning.

Chenjiawan is nestled in a mountain valley, with more than twenty households living close together.

At the far east end of the village, there is a large tree as thick as a washbasin, and right next to the tree, there lives a family.

This family's house was quite special because it had a high courtyard wall and three large tiled houses.

Looking down into the valley, all the other houses were thatched huts.

It is clear that this family is the wealthiest in the village.

Ma Yunfei parked his motorcycle outside the village and hid it in the bushes.

"Hey girl, I'm going to the house at the far east end by myself. You wait here. If I don't come out in two hours, you should ride your motorcycle to the nearest police station to report me."

“Brother Ma, it’s too dangerous for you to go in alone. I’ll go with you.”

“Girl, I think we can’t resort to violence here. Look, these dozen or so households are all close together. If there’s any commotion, it will alert the other households. I reckon that everyone in this village is surnamed Chen, and we’re all relatives. If one family has a problem, the others will come to help. Even if you’re skilled in martial arts, you’re outnumbered.”

Wild Girl curled her lip and said dismissively, "Brother Ma, do you think my fists are for nothing? Besides, I'm carrying a gun. Let alone ten or eight, even if there are twenty or thirty men, I don't care."

"Girl, you have to listen to me. We can't be tough here; we have to outsmart them."

Ma Yunfei went alone to the house at the far east end.

The tall courtyard wall is about one and a half times the height of a person, and the gate also looks very sturdy.

Ma Yunfei knocked on the door with his fist and shouted, "Is anyone home?"

He called out three times, and an old woman in the courtyard asked, "Who is it?"

"It's me. I'm a businessman here to buy local specialties. I'm just passing by and would like to ask for a bowl of water."

The courtyard gate creaked open, and an elderly woman in her sixties said kindly, "Young man, come in quickly."

Ma Yunfei said thank you and walked into the courtyard.

The courtyard was spacious and very clean.

The old woman pointed to the side room and said, "The kitchen is over there, and there's water in the water vat. Young man, you must be from the city, you like to drink boiled water, but my family only has spring water, so we drink tap water whether it's winter or summer."

"Auntie, I'm a businesswoman. I travel from village to village all day long. I don't have many fuss oversights."

Ma Yunfei went into the kitchen, scooped a ladle of water from the water tank, and took two sips.

He drank water while looking around the kitchen.

Ma Yunfei was somewhat surprised because there was a cupboard in the kitchen, as well as some tableware used by city dwellers. It seemed that this family was quite important.

After finishing his water, Ma Yunfei walked out of the kitchen and asked the old lady, "Your family doesn't seem like a rural household. I see there's even a microwave in the kitchen."

In 1990, microwave ovens were still a rarity; even in cities, very few people owned one.

The old woman smiled and replied, "Young man, when I was young, I worked as a nanny in the city and earned some money. When I got older, I returned to my hometown. However, I brought some of my city habits back to the countryside with me."

"Auntie, no wonder. When I look at you, you look just like a city person."

"Young man, what kind of business do you run?"

“I’m in the business of selling local specialties. I buy local products and then sell them to other places. Auntie, our local specialties aren’t worth much here, but they’re worth a lot more if we transport them to other places.”

As Ma Yunfei struck up a conversation with the old woman, he discovered that she was a talkative person.

Ma Yunfei noticed two wolfhounds in the yard, looking quite menacing.

"Young man, doing business is hard work. I have a brother who also did business, but he developed a lot of health problems and had to quit because he got old."

"Auntie, your two wolfhounds look pretty fierce, but why didn't they bark when I came in?"

The old woman smiled and said, "My two wolfhounds are very intelligent. Just now, I opened the door and invited you in. They knew you were a guest, so they didn't bark. If you had climbed over the wall, they would have pounced on you."

"Ah! No wonder you chained the dogs, they're quite fierce."

“Young man, although I have chained these two dogs, the chains are quite long. Anyone who trespasses into my yard will be torn apart by these two wolfhounds.”

Ma Yunfei was taken aback. He discovered that the two iron chains were indeed very long, meaning that anyone who dared to enter the yard would become food for the dogs.

He was a little worried. Although Ye Ya was very skilled in martial arts, and yesterday at the dog farm, she had defeated seven or eight dogs, these two wolfhounds were no ordinary dogs. They were as big as calves. If Ye Ya were to break into the yard, she might have to admit defeat.

"Auntie, do you live here all by yourself?"

"Yes, I came to the city to work as a nanny when I was eighteen. I never got married in my life. Now that I'm old, I'm retiring and returning to my hometown."

It seems this old lady is a spinster; judging by her appearance, she must have been very beautiful when she was young.

Why not get married in your entire life?

Ma Yunfei found it strange, but it was not easy to pry into such private matters.