Infinity: Our Zhongzhou team is really amazing!

Chapter 448 The Republic of China! A Door-to-Door Visit (13)

As dawn broke, Zhuang Boshi pretended to have just gotten up.

He yawned, opened the door, and came out to see that his father was already fertilizing the vegetable garden.

"Father and Mother, you're up so early."

“I’m used to it. I’ve gotten used to it over the years,” Mr. Sun said without turning his head.

Sun's mother had already prepared a sumptuous breakfast.

Zhuang Boshi took one look and exclaimed, "Wow, this is so lavish!"

There were seven dishes last night, and I even made five more this morning.

Fresh chicken soup, steamed fish, braised pork knuckle, porridge, and steamed buns.

The aroma is tangy.

This is a last meal before someone's execution.

"Mother, why are you being so wasteful?" Zhuang Boshi asked curiously.

"What are you saying?" Sun's mother rolled her eyes and scolded.

"Our Peach Blossom Village has always lived like this for so many years. Isn't it the same outside?"

“Even the landlords outside don’t eat like this.”

Zhuang Boshi sat at the table as if nothing had happened and started eating.

"Our village is still the best. Only criminals who have committed serious crimes and are sent to eat their last meal outside are entitled to such good food."

"It must be tough being out there."

"With today's success, who knows if there will be a tomorrow?"

Upon hearing this, Sun's mother's face stiffened slightly, but Sun's father immediately smoothed things over as if nothing had happened: "What nonsense are you talking about? Eat up."

Zhuang Boshi nodded repeatedly.

Breakfast was much more normal, without any strange medications added.

Sun's mother said, "Today, let's first visit the elders in the village."

"It was too late yesterday, so it wasn't a formal visit. I need to let everyone know that my Sanlang is really back."

"I understand, I understand," Zhuang Boshi muttered.

What's there to acknowledge? You just want to show off your empress's fiancé to the villagers, don't you?

It's like a fisherman who catches a ten-pound carp, circles the village three times, gets lost, and can't find his way home.

Sun's mother continued, "Finally, let's go to the village chief's house for a meal and meet his daughter, Er Ya."

"So fast?" Zhuang Boshi raised an eyebrow.

Wasn't the plan to send him to the Empress's boudoir today?

Why should he go on blind dates? Is he going to cheat on his wife?

The people in this village are so strange.

"Didn't you say yesterday that you were going to see him?" Sun's mother raised an eyebrow and pretended to be blaming him.

"Are you trying to fool us?"

"No, no, I wouldn't dare." Zhuang Boshi quickly turned to the side and started eating his rice.

"Get married and start a career as soon as possible, so that when your father and I die, we can hold our heads high when we meet the ancestors of the Sun family."

At this moment, Mr. and Mrs. Sun were talking back and forth, much like a strict father and a kind mother in a traditional family.

You'd never guess how happily they were selling their son last night.

Zhuang Boshi echoed, "I was hoping to stay by your side and take good care of you both."

"What are you saying?" Mr. Sun laughed heartily, clearly enjoying Zhuang Boshi's compliment.

“You’re already twenty, it’s natural for you to settle down and start a family.”

“I’ve seen that mountain to the north. It’s facing the water and backed by the mountain, with ten miles of peach blossoms. It’s very beautiful. Many young men are planning to choose a site there to build a house.”

"After you get married, I'll choose a piece of land for you over there."

"Alright, thank you," Zhuang Boshi replied with a grin.

Choosing a site to build a house?

It's about choosing a site to build a tomb, isn't it?

How could he remember that place? It was that newly grown withered peach grove.

“After you go to the village chief’s house, you need to go to the temple of the goddess and offer incense and prayers to her,” Sun’s mother said casually.

"Be obedient."

"Ok."

Zhuang Boshi had already used his divine eyes to look through the entire village, but he found neither the so-called "Empress" nor any trace of the ghost cabinet.

It is either hidden in a deeper realm of ghosts, or it is some kind of idealistic existence.

After hurriedly eating a few mouthfuls of rice, Zhuang Boshi followed his adoptive parents to visit various households in the village.

Everyone was very enthusiastic.

No matter how you look at it, this place is truly a paradise, and the villagers are all in excellent health, free from illness and disaster.

Zhuang Boshi saw at least ten centenarians, which is unimaginable outside.

These centenarians, leaning on canes, can still go up and down slopes and down stairs, and can eat three steamed buns in one meal.

Moreover, some of the villagers look very young.

The woman, who was in her forties, looked like she was in her twenties.

Clearly, the people here are no longer people in the purest sense.

They are corrupted by the supernatural, and can be considered a kind of pseudo-humans who depend on the supernatural for survival.

This is understandable, after all, living in the ghost realm for countless generations, it has long been altered by the supernatural.

While they could not be considered ghost slaves, they certainly could not be considered people in the true sense either.

Therefore, after death they can be buried under a withered peach tree and become a ghost.

After a hundred years of nurturing, it transformed into a vengeful ghost.

This is the only way to turn a human into a ghost.

Bosch also saw many strange things.

A clock that appears to have been made by one of London’s top watchmakers.

A luxurious grand piano covered in a thick layer of dust.

A typical Russian-style matryoshka doll set.

There was also a rusty tractor used for plowing, but it wouldn't start without diesel.

There were also several rifles and a World War I 98G rifle.

Not to mention some external magazines and newspapers.

These items, piled up in a corner like neglected toys, were clearly not something that could have been made in a small mountain village workshop.

too weird.

Does someone regularly go out of the village to buy things?

But these things are clearly beyond the reach of the people in the small mountain village. And although every household dresses simply and doesn't wear gold or silver, they all have some gold, silver, jade, and jewelry at home.

The village was unexpectedly large; it was impossible to visit all the households in just half a day.

The village has at least a thousand households.

Including the population, there are at least five or six thousand people.

This would be considered a large town even by outside standards.

Moreover, its production system is very complete.

Some were involved in animal husbandry, others ran clinics, and still others operated small restaurants.

There were also carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, tile setters, woodcutters, and fishermen.

Everyone greeted Zhuang Boshi with great enthusiasm, as if they were very familiar with the original owner of the body.

But thinking about it, it's not surprising. After all, the original owner was a super idol selected from all the eligible boys in the village in the last decade, after rigorous selection and testing. He was the empress's fiancé.

The most prominent person in the whole village, who has been in the spotlight since childhood, how could they not be familiar with him?
Moreover, Taoyuan Village truly has an ancient charm.

Too polite.

Every time we went into a restaurant, we would slip Zhuang Boshi something, either food or snacks, or some novelties.

After visiting more than a dozen households, Zhuang Boshi's back was already full of things.

"Alright, alright, stop carrying it, give it to me quickly." Father Sun took the heavy load, weighing several dozen kilograms, and easily carried it on his back with one hand before heading home.

That's quite a bit of strength.

"What are you looking at? Trying to run away again!" Sun's mother said irritably, then handed Zhuang Boshi two tubes of face cream.

"Silly boy, how can you come empty-handed on your first visit?"

"People will laugh at our Sun family for not knowing manners!"

"Luckily, your mother prepared a gift for you."

"Oh, Mother, you're so thoughtful," Zhuang Boshi said with a grateful expression.

"This face cream is a rare item outside, Mother, where did you get it?" Zhuang Boshi asked, glancing at the brand.

Good heavens, California Fragrance Company.

It's an imported product!

It was produced in 1905.

I don't know if it's expired.

“Sister An at the west end of the village has some good stuff. Don’t ask any more questions, just go!” Mother Sun gently tapped him on the head.

"Okay, okay!" Zhuang Boshi hurriedly walked forward.

Although he was all smiles on the surface.

But he remembered it.

This is the eighth time he's been hit on the head.
-
The village chief's house is in a very strange location, right at the entrance of the village.

Facing south, with a layout resembling a palace, and a semi-dried-up stream running in front of the building.

It is backed by a rocky mountain that has been cut off halfway up the mountain.

It looks weird no matter how you look at it.

That dark, imposing gate faced the entire village, as if it were monitoring something.

Village chief Zhao Jian was already waiting for the mother and daughter at the door.

"Oh, village chief, we can't accept your presence waiting for us at the door," Sun's mother quickly went up to her and began to greet her politely.

"Haha, you're too kind."

Zhao Jian laughed and then turned his gaze to Zhuang Boshi.

The more she looked, the more satisfied she became, as if she were really appraising her son-in-law.

The same applies to looking at sacrificial offerings.

"Come on, the food is ready. Er Yatou cooked it herself today." Zhao Jian led the two inside.

"Oh my, I knew the village chief's daughter was different from everyone else." Sun's mother's polite words flowed on and on.

"Well-educated and reasonable, she is also capable in both formal and informal settings."

"You are so lucky."

"She wouldn't have cooked if she hadn't known Sanlang was coming," Zhao Jian said with a wry smile, shaking his head.

The village chief's house was not much different from that of ordinary villagers, except that there was an altar in the main hall.

Above, a woman dressed in gorgeous clothes sat on a lotus platform.

A yellow incense stick was stuck in the incense burner, emitting an eerie aura.

The strangest thing was her face; her eye sockets were empty, but a frozen smile lingered at the corners of her mouth.

It looked as if half a human face had been sealed onto the wood with adipocere.

Zhang Dong thought to himself, "The feng shui here is so strange."

"What's wrong?"

Zhang Dong clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "The Eagle Beak Rock behind the house was originally a noble appearance of 'Black Tortoise bowing its head,' but half of the mountain ridge was cut off by human hands, forming a broken neck evil, which is very tragic."

"The stream in front of the door should have been a 'jade belt around the waist,' but due to the dry season, it has turned red and formed a 'reverse bow' pattern."

"And look at that single incense stick. Three sticks are offered to ancestors, and five sticks are offered to the true gods."

"But this incense is for offering sacrifices to ghosts."

"That woman's image is not a Bodhisattva at all, but a 'Heavenly Demon' that is being worshipped."

"The incense ash did not fall, but instead piled up on the edge of the stove, forming a mound."

"Great fortune may conceal great misfortune; this is like using a living person to nurture a malevolent spirit."

“The feng shui of other houses in the village is normal, but this place is particularly strange.”

"Uncle Zhuang, be careful, there's a big problem here."

Zhuang Boshi chuckled and said, "It would be abnormal if there were no problems."

Just as Zhuang Boshi and Zhang Dong were talking, a table full of dishes had been served.

While it may not be the most visually appealing, fragrant, or delicious dish, it's still quite presentable.

A girl was already sitting opposite Zhuang Boshi.

The girl kept her head down and didn't say a word, seemingly very nervous.

"Why are you so shy, girl?" Village Chief Zhao Jian said helplessly.

"Didn't you two get along really well when you were little?"

Sun's mother was right. The girl was about fifteen or sixteen years old and had already grown into a very beautiful young woman, standing out from the crowd in this small village.

A perfectly normal girl.

Zhuang Boshi became interested. He could tell from her body language that Er Yatou was genuinely nervous, but not the kind of nervousness one experiences on a blind date; she was afraid.

Among so many people, Er Yatou was the only one in the village who felt afraid of his identity as "Sun Sanlang".

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(End of this chapter)