Chapter 567: Zhu Guan and Zhu He!

The flight lasted over three hours.

Chen Xiao and Old Gui landed in the capital city of Zhu Nianying’s hometown province.

After arriving, Chen Xiao and Old Gui took a green train for five or six hours to reach West Origin City, where Zhu Nianying’s hometown is located.

Once they reached West Origin, Old Gui rented an off-road vehicle.

Another four hours of driving, and they finally reached Zhu Guan Town, where Zhu Nianying’s home is located.

This journey was a bit bumpy for Chen Xiao, who had been reborn from a future world.

But in this era, traveling from underdeveloped regions was always like this.

Zhu Nianying’s family was relatively fortunate.

At least the city had a train station, and there were direct buses from the city to the county and from the county to the town.

So, despite feeling that a lot of time was wasted on the road, Chen Xiao found it not too exhausting overall.

Moreover, Chen Xiao knew that with the advancement of time,

within a few years, a transportation tool called high-speed rail would gradually spread across the country.

By then, the travel time to many places would be significantly shortened.

No longer would it take as long as several days and nights on a green train when going to another province.

Chen Xiao still remembered encountering a passenger in poor mental condition on a green train in his past life.

After traveling for a day and two nights, just as they were about to disembark, the person went crazy at the last moment.

As Chen Xiao reminisced about the experiences of his past life, Old Gui’s vehicle finally stopped in front of a muddy dirt road.

Old Gui frowned, looked at the road ahead, and softly said,

"President Chen, the road ahead might be tough to drive on, be prepared for a bumpy ride."

Chen Xiao nodded silently, and the car continued to wobble forward.

But as he looked at the ominously dark sky, Chen Xiao noticed a hint of irritability and frustration in Old Gui’s eyes.

Thinking of this, Chen Xiao started a conversation:

"Old Gui, I haven’t asked where you’re from yet?"

"Me? I’m from Haojiang!"

Hearing this, Chen Xiao felt a little incredulous.

"You’re actually from Haojiang! How come you don’t have any accent, and your Mandarin is so good!"

Chen Xiao was quite amazed, and Old Gui chuckled:

"I met President Guo in Haojiang. Can you guess what job I did before in Haojiang?"

Chen Xiao’s eyes sharpened, and he smiled, "Your family doesn’t run a casino, do they?"

Old Gui hurriedly shook his head, "If my ancestors had those skills, I wouldn’t have followed President Guo to Dongzhou, and I might never have even met President Guo."

Chen Xiao nodded, and Old Gui continued:

"In today’s terms, I was just a junket operator. When President Guo went to Haojiang to play, I was the one who hosted him."

"I made quite a bit from President Guo back then, but you know the industry, we can take any client to gamble, but we can never bet ourselves. Once you bet, years of savings go down the drain."

"So, did you lose all your money back then?" Chen Xiao asked.

Old Gui nodded with a bitter smile, "That’s right, and I owed some money at another casino. They threatened to cut off my hands since I couldn’t repay it, but President Guo saved me and cleared my debts."

"Since then, I’ve been following him closely."

Chen Xiao didn’t like gamblers.

Besides, he often felt that it was hard for gamblers to change their ways.

"So, did you never touch gambling again?" Chen Xiao asked.

A flicker of fear appeared in Old Gui’s eyes as he replied,

"I did gamble again. After moving to Dongzhou, I met a woman—someone I once dearly loved, but she had a flaw: she loved to gamble! At first, I advised and tried to stop her, but when it didn’t work, I had no choice but to refrain from giving her money."

"But later on, she owed a huge debt outside. Seeing her plead in fear on her knees before me, I imagined I could become another President Guo."

"So, I returned to gambling, thinking I could win back the money she owed."

Chen Xiao frowned, "And then?"

"I actually won."

"How did Guo Qing handle it?"

"The winnings paid off the debt, but right before me, they cut off her hand."

"Since then, I never saw her again. I’ve heard she remarried and also heard she was sold after gambling again. As for what happened in the end, I have no idea."

Old Gui’s words were filled with sighs.

The bumpy road seemed to pass more quickly with their chat.

Soon, Old Gui stopped the car again, saying, "President Chen, we’ve reached Zhu He Village."

Chen Xiao lifted his eyes slightly, not in a rush to get out, but instead asked,

"Do you know a woman named Xiao He? Xiao as in ’despondent’ and He as in ’lotus flower’."

"Never heard of her, why?" Old Gui was a bit curious.

Chen Xiao shook his head.

Upon hearing that Old Gui was from Haojiang,

Chen Xiao was not just surprised at how his accent had completely changed.

But there was also some hope that Old Gui, having worked as a junket operator, might have heard of Xiao He.

Xiao He was the person Qi Wei had sent three million to.

She also hailed from Haojiang.

And Xiao He evidently had an inseparable relationship with the Sacred Heart Church.

Now, anyone connected with the Sacred Heart Church piqued Chen Xiao’s interest in understanding them better.

However, since Old Gui hadn’t heard of her, there wasn’t much Chen Xiao could do.

After opening the car door, Chen Xiao took a look at the rather shabby village and heard Old Gui sigh:

"It’s hard to imagine how, many years ago, that girl named Zhu Nianying managed to leave this tiny village for Shencheng City."

"Back then, for her, if she didn’t leave, her life would have been over. But now, no one knows if her decision was the best at the time. After all, there’s a saying that ’it’s better to live miserably than to die comfortably.’

As Chen Xiao spoke, he walked toward Zhu He Village.

Visitors from outside always arouse immediate curiosity among the villagers.

But in every village, there are those who are taciturn, those who are wary of strangers, and those who are naturally enthusiastic or bold.

Shortly after the two walked in, a scruffy-haired middle-aged man in his thirties or forties came forward with a cigarette between his fingers.

"Hey, where are you two from? What brings you to our village?"

The man spoke in a dialect.

Chen Xiao and Old Gui exchanged a glance, and the latter asked, "Can you speak Mandarin?"

Old Gui knew how to handle the situation.

In the middle of asking, he took out a pack of good cigarettes costing over forty bucks from his pocket and handed it to the man.

Seeing this, the man’s eyes lit up, "Yes, yes, I can! I went out before and learned Mandarin!"

The man indeed could, but it was a mix of foreign and local accents, allowing him to understand only partially.

Old Gui nodded, "Do you know where Zhu Nianbing’s house is?"

"Ah Bing? Who are you to him?"

"We’re from out of town, here to ask him about his sister."

"Oh, Ah Ying’s matters, right? It’s been so many years, and how come someone else is asking about her again!"

The man seemed to know quite a bit about the village matters.

But the village was only this small, and every household must be quite familiar with one another.

Old Gui didn’t state outright, just found a reason with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the man extended his finger, "Two hundred."