That evening, after An Moxue finished her transaction with Er Gouzi, she casually asked, "Er Gouzi, tell me, in Anping County, where does news spread the fastest?"

Without hesitation, Er Gouzi replied, "Big sister, is that even a question? It must be an inn!"

"A roadside inn?" An Moxue seemed not to understand and asked this question in return.

"That's right! Sister, think about it! Who are the people at the inn? — A bunch of cart drivers, mostly old folks from various villages. They know everyone and everything, there's nothing they don't know. The rest are long-distance drivers, going out of the county or even the province. They have the most inside information, and sometimes the truth is hidden in those rumors. If you observe carefully, you'll find that these old folks are all quite shrewd, very clever. Don't be fooled by their seemingly honest appearance, they might actually be quite cunning! That's why they say old people are shrewd and horses are slippery!"

An Moxue thought about it and realized that it made sense. She had originally planned to go back and check the town herself, but after hearing what Er Gouzi said, she decided to go back and ask Uncle Ma first!

"Okay, thanks, brother!" An Moxue patted Er Gouzi's shoulder generously.

"I hope you don't mind me being nosy, and that you'll look out for me in the future when I have business opportunities. I would be very grateful."

Yes, it will.

In the darkness, the two groups separated. Er Gouzi and his group entered the county town. The henchman in the car asked Er Gouzi, "Brother Gouzi, who is this woman? In the past two years, she has bought a whole truckload of paper money for ancestral worship. She's rich!"

Er Gouzi earnestly advised, "Brother, let me give you a piece of advice today. In our line of work, sometimes you can't ask where someone came from. Sometimes knowing too much isn't a good thing. So, you have to be careful when dealing with people. Look at this lady, she's a smooth operator. This time, I just mentioned my difficulty in finding these two boxes of books, and after the transaction, she didn't even take the remaining pig money; she just left it with me as a prepayment for the books. See? Isn't that great? She even gave me a pheasant and a rabbit as a bonus. If she hadn't given them to me, we wouldn't have been able to say anything, but she did. Anyone would want to help her out, right?"

"Yes, this lady is really straightforward in handling matters!"

"So, as long as we know that this person is worth trading with and won't stab us in the back, that's more important than anything else. With that in mind, do you still need to know what kind of person she is?"

"I don't want to think about it anymore, safety is the most important thing."

"Don't ask where they come from or where they're going. Just get along well with them when they come, and that's enough."

"Brother Gouzi, I didn't expect you to say something so reasonable, hehe! I admire you."

"You'll gradually understand once you've experienced many different paths."

......

The next morning, An Moxue got up early, practiced her boxing, and went to find Old Ma.

Old Ma saw her arrive so early and asked, "So early? What brings you here?"

“Uncle Ma, do you know about that family in our town who had their son return after being missing for many years around the beginning of winter? Even though he came back, his wife still says he's not her man, and they still sleep in separate rooms. There are even rumors that his wife has a mental illness and is talking nonsense.” An Moxue finished speaking and looked at Old Ma expectantly.

Old Ma glanced at her and said, "I know, her surname is Hu."

An Moxue looked like she was looking for gossip and said, "I always feel like there's something fishy about this."

Old Ma glanced at her again: "How did you know?"

“I heard about it from the county yesterday, but I only got the gist of it. Can you tell me the details?” An Moxue blinked her big eyes at Old Ma.

"This is the second son of the Hu family. Back then, before the founding of the People's Republic of China, he was supposedly thinking of going out to make his way in the world. One day, he went out and never came back. His family thought he was dead all these years. The next news came around the beginning of winter this year. He suddenly came back, but his wife said he wasn't Hu Fuyou. But his parents, brothers, and sisters all said he was Hu Fuyou. Later, his wife insisted that this Hu Fuyou was not the original Hu Fuyou. She wouldn't let him live in her house and wouldn't let her son call him 'Dad.' Later, her in-laws said that his wife was mentally unstable."

"Does this Hu Fuyou look like the young Hu Fuyou?" An Moxue became even more curious upon hearing this.

“His old neighbors all say he looks like him. But after all, it’s been more than 20 years. He was a handsome young man when he disappeared, and he returned as a middle-aged man. There must have been some changes.”

"That means it's just a resemblance. No one can be sure that he is the original Hu Fuyou, nor can they deny that he is not the original Hu Fuyou."

"Yes. Who can be sure unless they are close relatives?"

"His wife insists that he is not the original Hu Fuyou. Uncle Ma, has anyone ever said that he and his wife had a good relationship before he disappeared?"

"Everyone said it was a good thing. The two had been married for several years and had a son."

"Did he bring money with him when he came back, and did his family benefit from it?"

"It is said that he gained some prestige outside and earned some hard-earned money."

"Then why didn't you come back for so many years, but came back this year?"

"He said he had an accident before, which damaged his brain and caused him to lose his memory. This year he had another accident, which damaged his brain again, and he remembered it and came back."

"It's truly an omnipotent amnesiac and memory," An Moxue exclaimed.

"What's up? You came so early just to ask about this?" Old Ma asked, looking at her.

“Yes, I felt there was something wrong with this person as soon as I heard about him yesterday, so I had to come and ask you for advice!” An Moxue looked at her with a sly smile.

Old Ma was pleased; the child was becoming more and more perceptive. He said, "Alright, you've heard the story. Go do whatever you need to do now!"

"No, Uncle Ma, you still haven't said whether there's anything wrong with this person?" An Moxue wouldn't give up until she got a definite answer.

"Don't mess around. If you ruin the plan, they'll hold you accountable." Old Ma glared at her, not explaining clearly, afraid that her curiosity would lead her to investigate something and alert the enemy.

"Aunt Ma, Uncle Ma is glaring at me!" An Moxue shouted towards the kitchen, then stuck her tongue out at Old Ma before darting out of the house.

At the same time, Aunt Ma's voice rang out: "Eat your meal before you go back. I've finished cooking. I'll help you teach this old man a lesson in a bit."

"Auntie, no thanks! Uncle Ma is a bit fierce," An Moxue said in a teasy tone.

"It's alright, I'll cook, I'll decide. If it doesn't work out, we'll just eat together, and he can keep an eye on things." It's no big deal; women from the North can make decisions about this.

"Auntie, you're so much better than Uncle Ma. I haven't even done anything yet, and he's already glaring at me."

Old Ma said from inside the house, "What did I say that you still complained about me? Let me tell you, behave yourself, stay at home and have a peaceful New Year. There are only a few days left until the New Year."