Yuan Chengmo took out his cellphone from his pocket and turned it off at an angle where Munni couldn’t see.
Finally, he reminded Munni, "By the way, turn off your phone."
Munni took a spoonful of porridge into her mouth and raised her eyebrows in confusion, asking, "Huh? Why?"
Yuan Chengmo didn’t explain, just lowered his head, picked up his chopsticks, and ate some side dish, "Don’t ask too much."
Though Munni didn’t understand, she didn’t continue to press for answers and obediently turned off her phone.
They quickly finished breakfast and simply packed their luggage. It was already eleven thirty when they went out.
River Village is two hours away from G City by car. After driving for an hour, Yuan Chengmo stopped at a small town an hour away from River Village, and they got off to catch a bus together to River Village.
The closer the bus got to River Village, the more remote the terrain became, and the road became bumpier.
Yuan Chengmo was always good at talking. While chatting with an aunt on the bus, he learned that most of the current residents of River Village are elderly people and left-behind children.
With the Spring Festival approaching, many villagers who work outside have returned to celebrate, making the village lively recently.
The hour-long journey was quite bumpy, and as soon as they arrived, both of them eagerly got off the bus.
In the small and simple bus station, there were several tricycle drivers. Yuan Chengmo, holding their suitcase with one hand, glanced at Munni beside him and said, "I guess there won’t be any hotels here, let’s ask the tricycle drivers if there’s a guesthouse available."
They quickly walked to a tricycle. The driver grinned at them and asked in not very standard Mandarin, "Where would you like to go?"
Yuan Chengmo returned a slight smile, "Hello sir, we’re looking for a guesthouse to stay. Do you know of any around here?"
"There aren’t any guesthouses here, but there’s a family inn."
"Could you please take us there?"
They both got on the tricycle, and the driver excitedly shouted, "Let’s go!" as he started the small engine, racing down the street.
The tricycle rode for about fifteen minutes before reaching the family inn the driver mentioned. Yuan Chengmo paid before getting off.
Munni turned around to look at the three-story building behind her. The first floor seemed to be a small convenience store. With the year-end approaching, there were couplets, firecrackers, fireworks, and other items displayed at the store’s entrance.
The driver parked at the entrance and got off with them. "I’ll take you inside. You’re not familiar with this place, and the woman in there is very shrewd. Don’t let her fool you."
As soon as the words fell, a sharp female voice came from inside, "You old mule, talking bad about people without moving farther away!"
The driver grinned, walked past the items at the entrance into the interior, said to the woman sitting behind the counter playing with her phone, "This young couple wants to rent a room."
Munni shook her head, amused, and corrected the driver, "Sir, you misunderstood. We’re not a couple, we’re renting two rooms."
The driver nodded and replied, "Alright then, two rooms." Then gently tapped the glass counter and asked, "How much is it?"
"One room is one hundred a day. Two rooms would be two hundred, a deposit of three hundred. How long are you staying?"
As soon as the landlady finished speaking, the driver jumped anxiously, "I told you this woman is crafty, always screwing outsiders."
The landlady gave the driver an annoyed look and glanced at Munni and Yuan Chengmo standing beside him. Her heavily made-up eyes gleamed with shrewdness, "Stay or leave, up to you."