After asking Chen Weiguo about Chen Qiumin's family, Xu Lang proposed to visit Chen Qiumin's house in the village, and Chen Weiguo did not hesitate at all and offered that he could lead the way.

When leaving Chen Wei's country, Xu Lang saw a few pieces of bacon hanging on the wall outside. At first, Xu Lang just glanced at it casually and felt that it didn't look like pork. However, what kind of meat was Xu Lang?

Lang is not sure either.

Seeing Xu Lang stop, Chen Weiguo also stopped and followed Xu Lang's gaze. Those originally cloudy eyes emitted streaks of light, but they only passed by in a flash. He said with a smile.

: "This is wild boar meat obtained last year. If Officer Xu likes it, he can take it with him when he leaves."

Hearing what Chen Weiguo said, Xu Lang turned around, shook his head, and said, "No, let's go."

After saying that, Xu Lang left Chen Wei's country and walked towards the door. After walking far away, Xu Lang subconsciously turned his head and glanced at the few pieces of gold that were floating in the wind and illuminated by the scorching sun.

Xu Lang always felt a little weird about the shiny bacon.

When Xu Lang withdrew his gaze, he caught a glimpse of Chen Weiguo looking at him very warily from the corner of his eye, as if he was worried that he was really thinking about those pieces of bacon. This made Xu Lang feel funny, although wild boar meat was very

It is rare and it is difficult to eat authentic food in the city, but as long as you spend a little money, you can still eat it, and Xu Lang is not the kind of person who cares about his appetite.

Xu Lang secretly shook his head and stopped thinking about this.

Under the leadership of Chen Weiguo, a group of people came to the innermost part of the village, a house that seemed to have been unoccupied for a long time. The house was not big, just a house made of blue bricks and gray tiles. Standing in front of the house, you could see

Some tiles on the house have been cracked, and several bird's nests can still be seen under the eaves. As for the door of the house, it is covered with weeds that are half a person's height. At first glance, it seems that no one has cleaned it for a long time.

Approaching the door, Xu Lang found that there was a large lock hanging on the two wooden doors. The large golden lock had been exposed to the wind and sun, and the paint on the surface had peeled off and was stained with rust. It looked like no one had opened it for a long time.

Passed.

"Can it be opened?" Xu Lang asked.

Chen Weiguo and Chen Bo looked at each other, shook their heads, and said, "The key is with Goudan. We don't have the key, so naturally we can't open it."

"That's it."

Xu Lang looked at the door lock, thought for a moment, nodded, then turned his head and asked casually: "When he left, didn't he ask anyone to help take care of the house?"

Chen Weiguo shook his head and said: "No, he left before dawn. He left in a hurry and left without saying hello to us."

"oh."

Xu Lang didn't ask any more questions, but walked around the house and found no suspicious traces, nor did he see any traces of anyone coming back.

After returning to the door, Xu Lang asked to visit the homes of some of his peers who played well with Chen Qiumin, and Chen Weiguo agreed.

It is already past five o'clock in the afternoon, the sun has set in the west, the hot temperature has gradually become cooler, and smoke is rising from every house, and those who have been working in the fields all day are also arriving one after another.

Xu Lang was carrying farm tools home. When he met Xu Lang and the others, they would stop and exchange a few words with Chen Weiguo. However, their eyes were mostly on Xu Lang and Luo Jiayan.

Doubt, curiosity, vigilance, and more, there was some nervousness that Xu Lang didn't understand. In short, these people had complicated expressions in their eyes when they saw Xu Lang, which made Xu Lang and Luo Jiayan feel very strange.

Under the leadership of Chen Weiguo, Xu Lang and the others met the parents of several people, including Chen Zhen. When Xu Lang asked them about news about Chen Zhen and several others, what they said was no different from what Chen Weiguo said. However, his impression of Chen Qiumin was

That is to say, he can eat, he eats a lot, he is very fat, but other than that, there is nothing else.

In Chen Yuzhen's family, there is only an old woman in her sixties at home. She is Chen Yuzhen's grandmother. Chen Yuzhen's parents work abroad all year round, and they only come back during the Chinese New Year. At other times, they are outside, and every time they come back

The stay was not long. As for Chen Yuzhen, she had not come back since she went out with Chen Qiumin and the others.

When Chen Yuzhen was mentioned, the gray-haired old man couldn't help wiping away tears. Her tone revealed that she missed her granddaughter very much. After Xu Lang and the others asked a few questions, the old man didn't know. Obviously, she didn't know about her granddaughter either.

Where did Chen Yuzhen and Chen Qiumin go and what they did after they left Chenjiahe.

Just when Xu Lang and the others were about to leave, the old man stopped Xu Lang and the others. She first went to the bedroom alone, and came out after a long time. She was holding a book wrapped in a brand new towel. Xu Lang

After taking it, I discovered that it was a photo album, and there were not many photos in the photo album. Most of them were photos of a man in his forties and a woman. The man had dark skin and the woman was average-looking. The two had relatively similar movements.

Intimate, they should be a couple, and in the later photos, Xu Lang saw photos of several teenagers.

Under the guidance of the old lady, Xu Lang knew that these five children were Chen Zhen and others. From the photos, a very fat boy stood out. Without asking, Xu Lang knew that this boy must be

It was Chen Qiumin. Among the five people, there was only one girl. The girl's skin was slightly dark. She was not very good-looking, but she was not ugly either. She could only be said to be very ordinary. She stood among the five people and smiled happily.

, four boys surrounded her, it felt like stars were holding the moon.

The old lady said that this photo was taken a few months before Chen Qiumin and others left Chenjiahe.

Xu Lang asked Luo Jiayan to take out her mobile phone and take a photo, while the old man held Luo Jiayan's hand.

, said: "You are all from big cities. If you meet my granddaughter, remember to ask her to come back to see grandma in time. Grandma misses her very much."

Luo Jiayan was a little helpless, but she still nodded and agreed.

When leaving Grandma Chen Yuzhen's house, Xu Lang noticed that although the old man was here alone, the house was very clean and the clothes were simple, but Xu Lang found that these clothes could not be bought in the county.

It should have been brought back from the city by his son and daughter-in-law. Although the old man looked old and his eyesight was not very good, overall, he was still in good health. But when he entered the room, Xu Lang smelled something

There is a faint musty smell and a rancid smell.

Xu Lang didn't think much about it. After all, as people get older, this smell will appear on their bodies, and the old man lives here alone, so it is normal to have a musty smell.

When Xu Lang and the others walked out of Chen Yuzhen's house, it was already dark, and it was not yet seven o'clock. If they were in S City, they could still see the sunset at this time, but here they could no longer see the shadow of the sun.

Now, I can only see a moon hanging in the sky.

Chen Weiguo tried his best to invite Xu Lang and the others to have dinner at his home, but Xu Lang refused. After all, they had to rush back to Hengtong County.

After repeated invitations and attempts to retain him failed, Chen Weiguo had no choice but to send Xu Lang and the others to the river bank. After watching Xu Lang and the others walk across the river, Chen Weiguo turned back.

When Xu Lang and the others left Chenjiahe, they accidentally turned back and found that the villagers who were supposed to be eating at home were all standing at the door, staring at Xu Lang and the others, as if they were driving Xu Lang and the others away.

This made Xu Lang feel a little confused, and Chen Weiguo was obviously relieved when he sent Xu Lang and the others to the river bank. This made Xu Lang even more confused, but Xu Lang didn't think much about it.

, followed Chen Bo on the highway and drove towards Hengtong County.

————

On the way back, Chen Bo was obviously more relaxed and talked more. He chatted with Xu Lang about the history of Chenjiahe.

Although Chenjiahe is a small village, most of the people living here are named Chen, and the name Chenjiahe is also named after the river. In the past, the river was very wide and there were many fish. Everyone relied on it

This river can cultivate fields and grow food on its banks. Although it cannot make money, it can solve the problem of food and clothing.

However, with the development of the times, many young people have gone out to work, and many fields that were originally cultivated have slowly become deserted. As for the big river, due to various reasons, it has become smaller and smaller, until now it is almost

As Lang and the others saw today, in the summer, there was only a small stream left in the river.

During Chen Bo's generation, some people with foreign surnames came to the village. However, although they settled here, within a few years, these people left one after another. Chenjiahe was still the same Chenjiahe as before, mainly

Mainly with the surname Chen.

Because it was dark, the road here had many turns and was difficult to navigate, so Xu Lang drove very slowly. When he heard Chen Bo talking about this, he casually asked: "How old are you this year?"

"Oh, I'm twenty-three."

"So, you and Chen Qiumin are about the same age. Are you also from Chenjiahe?" Xu Lang asked while driving.

"Yes, but my home is not on that side of the river, but on this side of the river."

Hearing what Chen Bo said, Xu Lang's heart moved. He turned his head to glance at Chen Bo, then turned to look at the road ahead illuminated by the car lights, and asked: "By the way, when we went to Chenjiahe today, what happened?

I only saw the people on the village chief's side, and I saw there were many houses on the other side of the river, but they seemed uninhabited."

"Oh, you said this, there were indeed many people living on the other side of the river before. However, later on, the people who lived there all went out to work. Most of them settled in the county or other places and rarely came back.

, I only come back occasionally to pay homage to my ancestors."

"Did the old man follow him out?"

"Yes, the old people on the other side of the river have basically been brought to live in the city by their children. Some old people who are older and unwilling to go out have also passed away one after another in recent years. There are basically no people on this side of the river.

Lived."

"Then why are there so many people at the village chief's side?"

"They are not willing to go out. I don't know why. Maybe they are old and unwilling to go out. After all, although the city is good, it is still not as comfortable as the countryside."

Hearing what Chen Bo said, Xu Lang nodded. Indeed, if people who have lived in rural areas all their lives, if one day they go to live in the city, they will not be used to and adapt to many things. When they are in the countryside, they will still have some leisure time.

You can visit each other, but when you go to the city, you don’t know your neighbors. Moreover, people in the city are more wary and will not easily interact with strangers too closely. Therefore, many elderly people, even if their children have bought a house in the city,

, they are not willing to live there and would rather stay in the countryside.

"Since you are about the same age as Chen Qiumin, you should also know Chen Qiumin very well, right?" Xu Lang asked casually.

"Well..."

Chen Bo scratched his head in embarrassment, not knowing what to say.

Seeing this scene, Xu Lang turned his head and looked at Chen Bo, and asked doubtfully: "What's wrong? Don't you know Chen Qiumin?"

"Oh, that's not true. I knew Chen Qiumin, but that was when I was very young."

"What's the meaning?"

"It's like this. I went to primary school in the village, but I only went to the third grade. Then, my parents took me to Hengtong County to study. From then on, I rarely came back.

, because we haven’t seen each other for a long time, we naturally become unfamiliar with each other. Every time we come back, we can’t talk to each other and our relationship is just average.”

"What kind of person was Chen Qiumin when he was a child?" Xu Lang asked.

"Well, how should I put it? When Chen Qiumin was young, she was indeed very fat, very courageous, and very strange."

When Chen Bo talked about this, he frowned.
To be continued...