Chapter 136

Chapter 136: That’s Really Great Then

As soon as Du Jun Yan got out of the car, he saw his precious sister whispering with that wild man. His face instantly darkened. He coughed loudly a few times and shouted: “An An, come back!”

Du An Rao did not think much of it. She quickly left Xi Jing Yue and ran back: “Brother, what’s wrong? Did you catch a cold?”

Seeing his sister leave the wild man without hesitation and come straight back to him, Du Jun Yan’s face finally eased a little. “Nothing. My throat just felt dry all of a sudden. I’ll be fine after a drink of water.”

Xi Jing Yue was already used to the strange hostility he got from the Du brothers. He still kept a flawless, polite smile on his face and said gently: “This hot spring is a volcanic hot spring. There’s a volcano crater not far away, so the climate is drier here than in City S. It’s normal that you’re not used to it right after you arrive.”

“So that’s why it’s called a magma hot spring.”

“Yeah. Now that you’ve mentioned it, I’m curious too. I really want to see what’s different between a volcanic hot spring in a small mountain village and a regular hot spring.”

What Du De Sheng was really doing was secretly urging everyone to hurry up and get to the main event.

Following the voice, Xi Jing Yue turned and saw an elder with white hair but sharp, fierce eyes. He guessed this must be the big-shot relative Du An Rao had mentioned and also the main character of this big scoop.

He nodded politely to the old man, then looked back at Du An Rao. “The village with the hot spring is still some distance from here. If we go now, we should arrive around dinnertime.”

“Then we should get going. I heard that place is really remote. If we get there too late, we probably won’t even be able to find dinner.”

“Okay. I’ll drive in front and lead the way. You can follow me in your car.”

“Then I’ll ride in your car, Mr. Xi.”

“No!” Before Du An Rao even finished, and before Du De Sheng could speak, Du Jun Yan cut in first: “What does it look like for you to sit alone in the same car with him, a man and a woman together?”

Du An Rao paused, turned, and gave her brother a strange look.

[Why does Brother’s wording sound so weird? When you take a taxi, two people also sit in one car. How is that suddenly a problem just because it’s a man and a woman?]

Du Jun Yan’s expression stiffened. Xi Jing Yue almost could not hold back his laughter.

Even Du De Sheng, standing not far away, had a thoughtful expression as he looked Xi Jing Yue up and down, finally understanding why Du Jun Yan was so on edge, like he was facing a great enemy.

“Ahem, what I mean is, Granduncle is here. How can you just run off to someone else’s car? That would be rude.”

“Oh.” Du An Rao understood and looked troubled.

[Brother does have a point. I was just thinking Mr. Xi seems to know this area pretty well. On the road, I could talk with him more and pin down Miss Qin’s location as soon as possible. Looks like there’s no chance now.]

Miss Qin? Xi Jing Yue narrowed his eyes. So they had come here to look for someone. But who was this Miss Qin? Why did they travel all this way just to find her?

Du De Sheng’s eyes flashed and he suddenly cut in: “It’s fine, it’s fine. Since An An wants to sit in Mr. Xi’s car, we can just all move over too. You don’t mind, do you, Mr. Xi?”

“Of course not. A car is meant for people to sit in.”

“Then it’s settled.”

With Du De Sheng making the decision, even though Du Jun Yan was unhappy, he did not dare object. He could only follow the old man unwillingly into the backseat.

Besides him, Du De Sheng’s head bodyguard also got into Xi Jing Yue’s car. To make it easier to talk with Xi Jing Yue, Du An Rao took the front passenger seat.

As soon as the car started, she went into information-gathering mode: “From what you said, Mr. Xi, it sounds like you know this area pretty well?”

“It’s alright. My grandparents’ hometown is about ten kilometers from the village we’re going to. When I was little, I went back there with them for ancestral rites and stayed for a while.”

“Really?” Du An Rao’s eyes lit up. “Then do you know much about that village? Are the people there easy to get along with?”

“I wouldn’t say I know it well. This place is pretty remote. Villages like that have something in common. Most of the young people who can work have already gone out to earn money. The ones left behind are mostly old and weak.”

“That village is about the same, or even worse. The whole village is inside the mountain, and there’s only one road in. Transportation is very inconvenient, so the economy is poor. Most of the young people have gone out. Only some empty-nest elders and left-behind children are still there.”

Du An Rao frowned. “But doesn’t it have a hot spring? If they turned it into a tourist site, wouldn’t that help the local economy?”

“It’s still the same problem. Transportation. If you want to build a tourist site, besides having something special to attract people, traffic is the most important thing. The road into the village is too small. It can barely fit one car in and out. If two cars meet going opposite directions, they can’t even pass each other. A place like that will be completely blocked if there are just a few more visitors. Who would want to come a second time?”

“What if they widen the road?”

“The road goes along the mountain. To widen it, you’d have to blow up part of the mountain. The cost would be too high. Who knows how many years it would take to earn the money back. Investors aren’t idiots.”

Du An Rao rolled her eyes thoughtfully. “So there are basically no young, strong adults in the mountain now?”

“There are, but not many.”

“Then with the economy that bad, the living conditions there probably aren’t very good either, right?”

“You could say that. Most young people who work outside and make money will bring their elders and children out to live with them instead of returning. So now, the people left inside are mainly elders who can’t bear to leave their hometown and children from poorer families.”

[That’s really… great.]

Everyone else in the car: “???”

[The person guarding Miss Qin is a young man. If it’s like Mr. Xi says, he must stand out in that village. If we ask around a little, we should be able to find him.]

Du De Sheng’s eyes darkened. In his heart, he was already planning how they would look for someone once they arrived.

[And the place where Miss Qin is imprisoned is an old, two-story house. But judging from what Mr. Xi said, the economic situation there is terrible. Anyone who can live in a two-story house is probably one of the richest families in the village. That narrows down the search range even more.]

Listening to Du An Rao’s analysis, Du De Sheng and the others all grew more excited. They had not even entered the village yet, but they were already eager to rush in and rescue her.

Just as Xi Jing Yue had expected, by the time they drove into the village, the sky had just turned dark.

In a village where everyone knew everyone else, a sudden group of strangers with such a strong presence made all the villagers tense up. Their gazes were full of wariness.

Luckily, Du An Rao and the others had already prepared a story beforehand. After someone in the village ran to inform the village chief and he rushed over, he learned that these people had all come after hearing about their newly developed magma hot spring and wanted to experience it.

The villagers’ guard and suspicion vanished at once and turned into warm hospitality.