I traveled through time and space and encountered a famine, and I became a hermit.

After riding for about half an hour, the group arrived at Dalizhuang, a village under the jurisdiction of Weng County.

That is the village that the Gu family saw through the telescope.

I saw hardworking farmers already working in the fields by the roadside.

The tea stall at the entrance of the village is not open yet.

In some houses in the village, smoke was rising from the roofs. A farmer was shouting in the yard as he was packing up his farm tools, and a woman was carrying a basket of vegetable stems out of the house to dry outside the door.

An old man was sitting on a stone bench at the door of his house smoking a pipe.

There were also children carrying home the firewood they had collected from outside.

Dalizhuang is adjacent to the official road, with countless pedestrians passing by every day, so County Magistrate Duan and his entourage did not arouse the curiosity of the villagers.

Magistrate Duan ordered the group to dismount and hand the horses to the followers, and he brought his son to the village and walked up to the old man who was smoking.

Magistrate Duan stepped forward, bowed and said with a smile: "Hello, old man. I want to ask you something. Is it convenient for you?"

Seeing that the young man was not only well-dressed but also polite, the old man stood up and said, "If you have anything to say, please feel free to speak up."

County Magistrate Duan said with a smile, "Excuse me, old man, do you know if a family named Gu has moved into this village recently?"

The old man thought for a moment and shook his head, "Everyone in the nearby villages has the surname Li. Our village is further down the road to Xiaoli Village. Xiaoli Village and ours originally had the same ancestor. Later we split up. But recently, I haven't heard of any outsiders moving in."

After thanking him, Magistrate Duan continued walking forward with his son. When they arrived at Xiaoli Village, they met a middle-aged woman and asked the same question. The woman also said she had never seen him.

In this way, County Magistrate Duan asked all the way until almost noon, but he didn't get any useful information.

Duan Shuhuan also began to get anxious, "Dad, we've been walking for the whole morning, why aren't there any new families moving in nearby?"

The follower also wondered, "Master, the Gu family only pushed a cart when they entered the city. They were a whole family, young and old, and they left the city gate in the afternoon. Logically, they shouldn't have walked that far. Did we miss each other in the middle?"

County Magistrate Duan was also full of doubts. He lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Suddenly, he thought of the figure pushing the cart level with the carriage when he said goodbye.

So he said, "We are here to search for them, without any destination. Maybe our prediction is wrong. It's already noon, let's take a rest at a tea stand on the official road and ask around to see if anyone has seen them."

He followed and said, "Yes, sir. There is a small village a mile ahead with a tea stand. There is also a tea stand in the first village we came to. Which one do you want to go to, sir?"

"Then let's go another mile forward."

"It's an adult."

The group set out again.

Arriving at the tea stall, I saw a thatched shed with ventilation on all sides, two mud stoves, and a large pot of boiling water on the stove. The owners were a couple in their thirties. They kept everything clean and tidy.

There were a few tables of customers sitting scattered around the tea stall.

After ordering tea and paying the bill, everyone found a table to sit down and took out the dry food they brought with them.

I also made it according to the recipe given by the Gu family, the egg pancake was wrapped in oil paper. Although it was cold, it was still soft and delicious.

The guests were settled, and the tea stall owner and his wife had some free time. They saw the dry food for County Magistrate Duan and others.

The proprietress came close to the boss, pulled his sleeve, and whispered, "Boss, look at the dry food for the guests at that table. It's rare. I've never seen anything like this before."

The boss waved away the boss's wife's hand and whispered, "You greedy woman, why are you looking at other people's dry food for no reason?"

The proprietress was waved away, and she pinched the boss in return, glared at him and said, "I've finished my work, can't I take a look? Humph!" Then she ignored the boss.

Just as the boss was about to say a few words, he was stopped by Magistrate Duan's followers: "Boss, please add another pot of tea."

"Okay, here comes the guest."

The boss brought the tea over, and Magistrate Gu asked in a low voice, "Boss, I want to ask you something. Is it convenient?"

"Sir, please feel free to ask. It's not inconvenient."

"Boss, does anyone know if there is a new family named Gu who has moved into this area?"

"I don't think so. At least not in our village. I haven't heard of any new people moving in nearby."

"Does the boss open the stall every day?"

"Yes, we set up the stall every day. We don't have any land at home, so we can only rely on this stall to make a living."

"Then I wonder if the boss has any impression of seeing a family passing by here about a month ago. There were about sixteen of them, eight adults and eight children, five boys and three girls. The oldest child was fourteen or fifteen years old, and the youngest was about three years old. They were pushing a cart and heading towards the county town."

The boss thought for a moment and answered with certainty, "No."

"It should have been a month ago. Why are you so sure, boss?" Magistrate Duan asked puzzledly.

"Sir, to be honest, our small business relies on having more people to make money. The world is not peaceful nowadays. Women and children are even rarer. Not to mention a month ago, I haven't seen such a family traveling together in half a year." said the tea stall owner.

"Dad, it seems they are not from around here." Duan Shuhuan said dejectedly.

"Let's ask along the way when we go back," Magistrate Duan comforted his son.

"Okay, Dad. It's okay actually. When they come to find me, I'll just ask them." Duan Shuhuan replied with energy.

"Okay, we have to go back anyway, so it's not a big deal to ask on the way."

"Okay, thank you Dad." Duan Shuhuan said happily.

So County Magistrate Duan then took his son to inspect the surrounding villages while inquiring about the Gu family.

The result is naturally nothing.

This also aroused the curiosity of County Magistrate Duan, so he arranged for someone to follow him and secretly investigate when he returned home that night.

After checking, I found that apart from the soldiers guarding the city gates, the only people who remembered them were the shop owners who were frequently visited in the city.

Of course, I also learned about the Gu family’s crazy shopping behavior, the extra recipients, and how they made bows and arrows and carving knives, and gave the inn braised food recipes.

After hearing the news, County Magistrate Duan became even more confused.

I personally saw them off at the city gate. Most of the boxes on their car were gifts I gave, and there were some others, but they were completely unable to reach the purchase volume that the people below could find out.

Moreover, there was no trace of the person who received the goods. Even the innkeeper Xu did not know that the Gu family had bought so many things.

The more he investigated, the more doubts County Magistrate Duan had, as if the Gu family had suddenly appeared in Weng County.

He brought out so many novel foods and recipes, not only giving his own recipes but also leaving the store with the recipes for stewed dishes. This was definitely not an ordinary thing.

County Magistrate Duan carefully recalled his interactions with the Gu family. Apart from the novelties, he found that this family was no different from ordinary landlords and gentry in appearance, except that they were a little more cautious. The only information revealed was - Da Guzhuang.

But where on earth had he heard of this place before? County Magistrate Duan couldn't remember for a moment.

"Liu Ding, go and call the lawyer to the study in the front hall. Tell him that I have something to discuss with him." County Magistrate Duan instructed his followers.

"Yes, sir." He followed the order and went to call the master.