The others had left to carry out their missions. Hua Yuezhu maintained her posture beside Zhang Xiaohou.
Hua Yuezhu was the captain of the guards. She was only responsible for Zhang Xiaohou's safety. She was not involved in anything else.
"I'm thinking of going to the villages to learn more about the situation, but I'm afraid many of the villagers will be scared if we're dressed like this. It's better if we wear casual clothes," Zhang Xiaohou said to Hua Yuezhu.
"Scared? Why would the villagers be scared of us? Are they doing something shady? "Hua Yuezhu asked.
"Not all of them. Most of the people have a kind of reverence and caution for the police and the military. If we talk to them with our identities, we will only ask a question and they will answer a question. The answers we get are often not what we want. If we are in plainclothes, they will treat us as passersby and say things more casually. Of course, we have to distinguish what's real and what's fake, "Zhang Xiaohou said.
Back in the Qinling Mountains, Zhang Xiaohou was in charge of many incidents related to villages and towns. It was inconvenient for the Magic Association to handle them, so he could only leave them to the country and the soldiers.
As such, Zhang Xiaohou had some experience in dealing with the locals. It was not very effective to follow the official procedures.
…
After changing into casual clothes, the two pretended to be artsy young men who were enjoying the world on a bike.
The village had electricity, but everyone went to bed early. It was only a little past eight, yet not many people were walking around in the village.
Zhang Xiaohou was wearing a fur coat that could block the wind and the sun. The inside of the coat was also very warm. It was quite cold at night by the sea, especially in April and May. It was impossible to resist the cold without a coat.
Hua Yuezhu had changed into jeans and a one-shoulder shirt, with a tight-fitting hoodie on the outside.
Zhang Xiaohou had not known Hua Yuezhu for a long time. In the past, Hua Yuezhu was always wearing a military uniform. It was not the uniform of a secretary, but rather loose nylon pants.
However, Hua Yuezhu's temperament immediately changed after changing into the outfit. She no longer had the valiance and sharpness of a soldier, but more of the gentleness of a city beauty.
"What happened?" Bodyguard Captain Hua Yuezhu looked confused. She didn't understand why General Zhang was looking at her in such a different way.
"It's just that this is the first time I've seen you wearing anything other than your military uniform. I feel that you fit the image of an artistic youth quite well," Zhang Xiaohou said truthfully.
Hua Yuezhu thought that Zhang Xiaohou would praise her for her good looks, but when she heard that, her face fell.
…
There shouldn't be any tourists here, not even a place to stay.
They had no choice but to find a house with a small courtyard built with stones and walk in.
This house was very old. It was made of wood and looked like it had been there for many years. The wood had turned black.
"Doll, did you come to the wrong door?"
There was an old man in the courtyard, smoking a cigarette and drinking tea.
At that moment, the dog in the courtyard barked loudly. The old man scolded the dog before his gaze landed on Zhang Xiaohou and Hua Yuezhu.
Zhang Xiaohou revealed a silly smile as he scratched his head and said to the old man, "Uncle, my classmate and I were on a long journey. We thought this place was very beautiful, so we crossed the wet land and entered the island. Who knew that the sea would rise and flood the road. We can't return."
"Oh, I was wondering why the two of you looked so unfamiliar. Did you not have a place to spend the night?" asked the old man.
"Yes, yes. We didn't find a hotel either," Zhang Xiaohou hurriedly said.
"It's normal. We rarely have outsiders here. If you don't mind, you can stay here. I'll get my son to tidy up the room upstairs … Well, can we sleep on the wooden floor? Make a warm mattress," said the old man as he flicked away the ash.
"Sure, sure. Thank you, Uncle."
"Thank you, Uncle."
"It's nothing. Come over and have some tea. I see that you are tired. Have a seat … Hey, little comrade, your wife is very beautiful. You are blessed," said the old man.
Hua Yuezhu was very happy to hear the praise. She deliberately glared at Zhang Xiaohou, feeling that Zhang Xiaohou should have said something similar before.
"Uncle, on our way here, we discovered many factories and some pits. What are they for?" Zhang Xiaohou took the opportunity to ask as though it was a normal conversation.
"Drying salt. What else can it be for? We have many villages. Apart from those who grow sugar cane, most of us are salt farmers. We take care of our land and dry the salt. Once the salt is dried, the factory will come and collect it. The price will be set based on the quality of the salt. "The old man poured a few cups of tea.
"Where do we get the salt to eat?" Hua Yuezhu asked.
The old man immediately laughed out loud and said, "You are still students. Don't you know the difference between edible salt and industrial salt? What we have is sea salt. It needs to be processed in a very complicated way before it can be eaten. The sea salt we dry is for other purposes. "
"Other purposes?" Zhang Xiaohou felt that he had asked the right question.
The old man didn't continue. It was obvious that he wouldn't easily tell outsiders.
Hua Yuezhu was a little anxious and wanted to ask further, but Zhang Xiaohou immediately stopped her with his eyes.
If she continued asking, the old man would definitely be suspicious. Since he didn't say anything, there must be a reason for it.
However, this made Zhang Xiaohou question the factories here.
Although salt had a wide range of uses, there was no transportation to speak of here. So the sea salt produced by the farmers was for their own use?
…
"Dad, the room is ready," said a dark-skinned man in his late twenties.
"Go and rest. Tomorrow, you can walk around and take a look. That road probably won't appear for the next few days," said the old man.
"Okay."
Zhang Xiaohou led Hua Yuezhu to the second floor of the house. As for the old man's son, his eyes were fixed on Hua Yuezhu the entire time, as though he had never seen such a beautiful girl before.
In the end, the old man hit him on the head with his pipe and reprimanded him, "What are you looking at? That's someone else's wife. If you have the ability, marry one too. You said that you don't like the third girl at the village entrance, then go to a big city. What can you do in a big city? You don't know anything other than drying salt!"
"Father, I just want to stay here to show my filial piety to you. If I go to the big city and you are all alone, I will give up a good life to accompany you," the uncle's son said. "You are right. You are right.
The father and son spoke very loudly and could still be heard from the second floor. Hua Yuezhu heard the father and son bickering in the yard and burst out laughing.
"They are really interesting."
"This old man should know a lot of things," said Zhang Xiaohou.
"How can you tell? I think he's just an ordinary old man."
"He's a Magician."
"Ah?" Hua Yuezhu was confused.
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