After disguising themselves, the couple emerged from the space half an hour later.
Seeing their familiar attire, the two of them burst out laughing.
"A pregnant woman from the countryside."
"A rough country bumpkin."
The two walked hand in hand in the direction they had heard about. "They should be around here, but why can't we see them?"
"Could we have taken the wrong turn?"
"Impossible. Would someone like me get lost?"
Su Ying nodded. Indeed, his natural sense of direction as a soldier was incomparable to her terrible sense of direction.
"Let's go ask around the neighborhood."
"good."
"Wait." Su Ying stopped the man who was about to walk forward.
"What's wrong?" the man stopped and asked.
"It's not appropriate for us to go there like this."
Gu Sinian looked himself up and down, then at Su Ying's. Their outfits were flawless, practically perfect.
"It's fine. I don't see any problems."
Are you sure?
"Yes, I'm sure."
"But is it appropriate for country folk to visit city people empty-handed? They should bring some local specialties to be befitting their status."
"That makes sense."
The two went into the space again to discuss what local specialties they could get.
Gu Sinian stroked his chin thoughtfully; the things he had learned in the military were finally coming in handy.
“When people from the countryside visit relatives in the city, they usually bring some local specialties. Let’s just pick some common things from the countryside.”
"Okay. Then take some eggs, cured meat, and vegetables."
"good."
The two reached an agreement and came out of the space again. Gu Sinian had a basket on his back, which was filled with things that should be in the countryside. In order to avoid arousing suspicion, the items were not many, but all the items added up to a basket.
"Isn't that a bit too much?"
"No. I think it's just right. People in the countryside are naturally very simple and honest. It's normal for them to bring all their belongings to the city to give to wealthy relatives so that they can help them with some connections."
"All right."
Su Ying took Gu Sinian's arm. "Is the basket heavy?"
"It's not heavy. Just be careful when you walk later, that will be a big help to me."
"good."
The two walked along the edge, asking everyone they met about Li Xiong's family situation, but most people avoided them without fear.
After the people had gone, Su Ying began to complain, "It seems that Li Xiong is not very popular. These people clearly know Li Xiong, but they pretend not to."
"It's normal for the neighbors living nearby to have a lot of complaints about Li Xiong's unethical business."
"If we just go down like that, then no one will be able to give us directions, right?"
"What's so difficult about this? Watch me."
"ah?"
"Wait."
Su Ying stood obediently in place, looking at the basket on her back. Before long, she saw Gu Sinian leading an old lady over.
what the hell?
Why bring an old lady home? Just to chat when you have nothing better to do?
“This is my wife. We are relatives of the Li family. This time, we came to the city to visit relatives on my father’s orders. But we have been traveling for a long time, asking about the Li family along the way, and everyone is avoiding us.”
"What happened to the Li family? We asked everyone we met... but no one paid any attention to us. We asked all the way here but no one knew the specifics of the Li family's situation."
“My wife is heavily pregnant and can’t walk much. If we can’t find our way back, we can go back and explain. But my wife just twisted her ankle, and I have to support her. I really can’t carry this basket of things.”
"Auntie, do you need anything? I'll sell it to you..."
The old lady came along because she heard he had good stuff here.
His eyes lit up when he saw the large basket on the ground. "Can I see what good things are inside?"
"Sure. Take your time looking. I'll sell you whatever you like as long as the price is fair."
The old woman opened the top layer of her basket and saw dozens of eggs inside; her eyes shone like crystals.
There's also cured meat, and many other local specialties from the countryside; I want them all.
"I'll take everything in this basket, but I can only give you money, no vouchers."
Gu Sinian pretended to be in a difficult position, "This...this is not appropriate."
The elderly woman glanced around warily, and seeing that no one was around, she leaned closer to the couple and began to chatter away.
"How about this? I'll make a deal. I'll give you a ten-yuan note for the things in this basket, no coupons. I'm not the kind of person who takes advantage of others. In return, I'll exchange some information with you. You can ask me anything, and I'll tell you everything I know. But this matter ends here; no one else can know about it. Can you agree to that?"
"Okay. Deal."
The old woman smiled kindly, "I know what you want to ask. It's just that little bit of trouble with the Li family, isn't it? Ask whatever you want to know, this is your only chance."
Su Ying, who had been silent until now, spoke up first, "We want to know where the Li family's ancestral graves are? We came out this time to offer incense to my father-in-law's brother."
The elderly woman looked at Gu Sinian with surprise, "But... but didn't this comrade just say he wanted to know where the Li family's ancestral home is?"
Su Ying shook her head vigorously, "No, no. We don't want to know where the Li family's ancestral home is. We want to know where their ancestral graves are?"
"I see, then..."
The old lady pointed to the basket on the ground. Su Ying was very shrewd. "Just use one ten-yuan note as you said."
"Alright." The old lady clapped her hands and immediately rummaged through the very back of her pants, finally finding a few banknotes. She tore one off and gave it to Su Ying.
Gu Sinian quickly took it, thinking it best not to let his young wife handle something of unknown origin.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. We should be thanking you; I got a great deal today."
A gesture drew them closer, and the two men moved closer, their heads touching slightly.
"It's no use you looking for the ancestral home. The Li family is gone. For three generations, their ancestors were known for digging up other people's ancestral graves, which has given them a very bad reputation in our generation."
“The people here simply don’t want to be near the Li family, so the Li family couldn’t stay in our area and moved away a long time ago.”
"The ancestral graves are on the mountain not far ahead. Just keep walking along this road, then turn left, go to the end, turn right, and keep walking straight for about a kilometer until you see the Li family ancestral graves."
"However, this is something you and I should keep to ourselves. It's best not to let a fourth person know, otherwise I'll face rejection and won't be able to live in this generation, so..."
“We understand. After we leave, we'll keep our mouths shut and never let a fourth person know what you told us.”
The old woman smiled, her face full of wrinkles, "You guys are so smart and know what to do without me having to tell you."
The old woman picked up her basket and left, leaving the two of them looking at each other in bewilderment.
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