The daily life of a space tycoon raising children, doting on his husband, and farming.

Chapter 248 Zhou Gui
"The hoofprints are gone."

Stone looked at the two forks in the road and was puzzled. Which way should they go?

Not hearing Xiao Huan reply, Shi Tou turned around and looked, "Xiao Huan, your... sister?!"

The boy's eyes widened. Why was his sister behind them?
Shang Wan: "..."

The sound of horses' hooves was so loud, and they followed us all the way. Did these two think they were doing a pretty good job of tracking us?
"Sister, Shi Tou and I were just killing time, so we thought we'd go help out." Xiao Huan said, her words sounding almost guilty, with a fawning smile on her face.

Before Shang Wan could speak, the little baby sitting in front of her sighed and shook his head, saying, "Naughty."

Stone:"……"

Xiao Huan: "..."

Don't laugh at someone who's only slightly better than you, okay?

Shang Wan looked at the two of them: "Have you arranged everything?"

"It's all arranged," Xiao Huan replied immediately. "The new dishes are ready, and the chefs all know how to make them, so my absence for a few days won't make a difference."

Shi Tou followed up, saying, "I've already spoken with the teacher. I'll catch up on the lessons I've missed. I won't take the quiz this time; I'll go back and write essays until the teacher is satisfied."

God knows how much he hates writing, but... he's going all out!
After listening to their conversation, Shang Wan nodded, "Okay, let's go together."

Since they're already here, we can't just send them back.

Shi Tou immediately cheered, and Xiao Huan also smiled, and followed Shang Wan to Baoji County.

After riding horses for two days and one night, near dusk, the three adults and one child saw the city gate of Baoji County.

Shang Wan instructed, "Find an inn to wash up, and then go to the city to inquire about news."

"it is good."

"it is good."

Shi Tou and Xiao Huan responded in unison, and the three of them dismounted and led their horses into the city.

Yuan Yuan sat on the tall, chestnut-red horse, her big, round eyes wide open as she observed the passersby, her little face showing some excitement.

"Sister, there's a notice over here." Stone noticed the notice posted on the wall and led his horse over to take a look.

Shang Wan and Xiao Huan also led their horses over.

There were three notices: two were for rewards for catching thieves, and one was a warning to the people that bandits were lurking in the mountains and to be careful and not to leave the city unless necessary.

Shang Wan glanced at the notice a few more times and said, "Let's find an inn to stay in first."

"it is good."

There were three inns in the city, and Shang Wan chose the one that was the liveliest in the area to stay in.

"Sis, why do we live here?"

"It's easier to gather information when there are more people." Shang Wan asked the innkeeper to book three rooms.

The waiter led the three upstairs, and Stone said, "Bring some hot water up; we want to take a bath."

The waiter replied, "Please wait a moment, sir, I'll go get some hot water right away."

Xiao Huan called out to him, "What are your restaurant's signature dishes?"

The waiter naturally stopped and announced the names of the dishes.

After listening, Xiao Huan ordered one meat dish, one vegetable dish, one cold dish, and one soup, and also ordered a steamed egg custard separately for Yuan Yuan.

The waiter noted everything down and then turned to go downstairs.

"Check everything in the room," Shang Wan said before pushing the door open and entering the room.

Shi Tou and Xiao Huan exchanged a glance and then went to check their own rooms.

Two waiters brought hot water up, and after the three adults and one child finished washing up, the food was also brought over.

The food was delivered to Shang Wan's room, and Shi Tou and Xiao Huan came in one after the other and sat down at the table.

"Sister, there's nothing else in my room," Shi Tou said, picking up his bowl.

While feeding Yuanyuan egg custard, Xiaohuan said, "I don't have any in my room either."

Shang Wan nodded. "Let's eat first, then we'll split up and gather information later."

"it is good."

The chef at this inn wasn't very good at cooking; at least the steamed egg custard wasn't very good. Yuanyuan took one bite and then scrunched up her little face like a dumpling with eighteen pleats.

The little one's palate has long been spoiled by the various ingredients grown in the spiritual field and her Aunt Xiao Huan's excellent cooking skills.

Shang Wan didn't force her, and took out a milk bottle from her spatial storage and handed it to her. Yuan Yuan reached out and hugged it, gulping down her milk.

Xiao Huan looked at the steamed egg custard and said, "When I come back later, I'll borrow the inn's kitchen to make some late-night snacks."

Shang Wan sighed helplessly, "Just keep indulging her."

"Aren't you and your brother-in-law the same?" Xiao Huan smiled. Who wouldn't spoil their little darling?

The baby continued drinking milk without realizing it.

After finishing their meal and resting for a while, the group went out to inquire about news.

As night deepened, Xiao Huan and Shi Tou returned and waited in Shang Wan's room.

"Why isn't my sister back yet?" Xiao Huan looked out the window worriedly; curfew was about to begin.

Just as Shi Tou was about to suggest going to look for it, he heard a knock on the closed door.

"Who?"

"Yuanyuan."

Her soft, sweet voice is very distinctive.

Xiao Huan hurried to open the door, only to find that besides Shang Wan and Yuan Yuan, there was another man outside.

The man was around thirty years old, with a pale and haggard face, and dark circles under his eyes.

Xiao Huan knows this person.

This man was the leader of the caravan's guards; his surname was Zhou, and his given name was Zhou Gua.

Zhou Gua nodded to Xiao Huan and called out, "Miss Xiao Huan."

Xiao Huan stepped aside and waited for the three of them to enter the house before asking, "How did you end up like this?"

Zhou Gua looked at Shang Wan, who said, "Sit down and let's talk."

Xiao Huan said, "I made a midnight snack, it's keeping warm on the stove, let's eat and talk."

She went downstairs to get her midnight snack.

Shi Tou glanced at Zhou Gua and asked Shang Wan curiously, "Sister, where did you find him?"

"We met on the way," Shang Wan said, squeezing her round, chubby hand.

Actually, it was Yuanyuan who discovered it, or more accurately, it was a calico cat that discovered it.

Xiao Huan brought over a late-night snack, and the four adults and one child ate and talked.

Zhou Gua had a poor appetite and only ate a few bites before putting down his chopsticks and taking the initiative to talk about the caravan's experiences.

"We encountered bandits."

The three adults and one child all looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Zhou Gua felt inexplicably nervous, licked his lips and said, "The bandit leader is a woman with good martial arts skills, and Boss Qin seems to know her."

After the bandits surrounded us, the woman told Boss Qin to go aside and talk to them. Because we were far away, I couldn't hear what they said, but the two of them kept turning back to look in our direction.

"and then?"

"Then the two of them suddenly started arguing, and the bandits attacked us. They had some kind of muscle relaxant, and since we weren't on guard, we all fell for it. The bandits robbed the caravan of all its people and goods."

Shang Wan stared at him: "How did you escape?"

"I...I..." Zhou Gua lowered his eyelids and pursed his lips several times before saying, "I hid in the chaos, and those bandits didn't find me."

"Besides you, did anyone else from the caravan escape?"

“No.” Zhou Gua shook his head. “I was just watching from the side. Everyone else was tied up, not one was missing.”

"No casualties?"

Zhou Gua truthfully replied, "More than twenty people were injured, but no one died."

Shang Wan asked, "Where is Qin Zhang?"

“Boss Qin was slashed in the back by that woman,” Zhou Gua said. “It shouldn’t be fatal.”

Shang Wan put down the soup bowl, wiped the soup stains from the corners of her lips with a handkerchief, and then asked, "Why didn't you send a message back?"

Zhou Gua nervously clenched his hands. "I...I ran away halfway through. I was afraid of being punished by my employer, so I didn't dare to send a message back."

Shang Wan's gaze turned cold, and her voice followed suit, "So you're just going to ignore it and leave once you've recovered from your injuries?"