The fatty and the little fox didn't have any objections. They had walked for so long without eating, and they were indeed hungry.
However, as it was quite late, even if they rushed back to the guesthouse, there wouldn't be much food left to order. Therefore, after Ye Tiancheng and the others returned to the guesthouse, they just had a quick meal to fill their stomachs, considering dinner done.
Fortunately, apart from being a bit old, the guesthouse was quite good in other aspects. The food was quite tasty, and even though they arrived late, what was left was not bad at all.
But it seemed the guesthouse didn't have many staff members. Most of the work was personally handled by the beautiful female owner at the front desk. When Ye Tiancheng and the others returned to the guesthouse and went to the dining hall, it was the beautiful female owner who led them there and explained the dining process.
It was a bit like a buffet. Each person paid around twenty yuan and could eat as much as they wanted in the dining hall, as long as they didn't waste food. They could also order freshly stir-fried dishes, but since Ye Tiancheng and the others returned late, the chef had already finished work. They could only make do with the buffet, but the taste was not bad, so their mouths and stomachs weren't wronged.
The dining hall also had a beverage cabinet where they could take drinks freely, but they were not allowed to take them away, only to drink them in the dining hall. Drinks taken outside would have to be paid for.
Since most of the matters were handled by the beautiful female owner, Ye Tiancheng and the others finally learned her name.
The beautiful female owner was named Mei Mei. Ye Tiancheng and the others thought about it and felt that the name was quite fitting and matched her appearance perfectly. In any case, it was not a surprising name, but rather exceptionally apt.
Regarding this owner, Mei Mei, Ye Tiancheng and the others, through the accounts of other guesthouse and hotel owners they had encountered along the way, and after chatting with Mei Mei for a while upon their return, had formed a general impression of her.
Mei Mei was a local, born and raised here. She was known as a beauty in the village. Not just in the village, but even by Ye Tiancheng and the others' standards, her appearance was quite dazzling even when compared to some celebrities.
However, she was like a gem hidden in the mountains, rarely seen. If such a girl had grown up in a big city, she might have been discovered by a talent scout walking down the street one day and become a household name, a big star.
Because Mei Mei was beautiful, she was like a blooming rose, vibrant and dazzling, and thus exceptionally popular here.
What was even more commendable was that Mei Mei did not rely on her beauty. She had a very good personality, was gentle, virtuous, and a devoted wife and mother. At the age of twenty, she married her childhood sweetheart, who was also from the village. Their marital bliss was envied by many.
However, a few years ago, just over a year after their marriage, Mei Mei's husband fell ill with a very difficult-to-treat condition. Not only could he not work and bring income to the family, but he also incurred significant medical expenses daily, forcing Mei Mei to support the entire family alone.
Fortunately, during those years, the resort had already developed. Mei Mei's home was well-located, and they hadn't sold their house. In fact, it was very large, with distinct local characteristics, so she started operating a guesthouse there.
From Ye Tiancheng's perspective, Mei Mei's family background was probably not bad. After all, in a mountain village, owning such a large house, a five-story building with a courtyard layout, was likely not an easy feat. If not from a prominent family, it would be difficult to have such assets.
In short, Mei Mei started running the guesthouse. Due to her family situation, Mei Mei lived a hard life, but she did not abandon her husband. The other villagers therefore took good care of Mei Mei, offering her assistance whenever possible. Many people in the village knew her.
After all, she was a great beauty, and even if this great beauty was already married, it didn't stop others from paying attention to her.
Combining all this information, Mei Mei turned out to be an unexpectedly renowned good woman in the village. The fatty felt ashamed of his previous speculations about Mei Mei and tried his best to patronize her business, racking his brains to spend money.
But Mei Mei was truly an honest woman. When the fatty and Ye Tiancheng tried to patronize her business, she thought of reciprocating and gave them many discounts.
After some back and forth, it was Ye Tiancheng who stopped the fatty. The fatty realized that his actions weren't of much use and that Mei Mei was a very proud woman who wanted to earn money with her own hands to support her family and was unwilling to accept too much benefit for nothing. If they gave her money directly, Mei Mei would not accept it.
Therefore, the fatty understood that it was best to consume normally, spend as much as needed, and patronize Mei Mei's business as much as possible.
Before returning to their rooms, the fatty picked out some snacks and drinks from Mei Mei's shelves at the front desk, saying he wanted to take them back to the room to eat.
Mei Mei had made many preparations to earn money. The shelves behind the front desk were stocked with various goods, equivalent to an outdoor snack shop, and the prices were not more expensive. They were all normal and reasonable, affordable items. Even if one didn't want to go out, buying some food at the hotel wouldn't cost an extra penny.
Before Ye Tiancheng, the fatty, and the little fox returned to their rooms, Mei Mei also gave them three discount coupons for the farmhouse restaurant.
Mei Mei recommended that if they were interested, they could go there to have a good time.
Ye Tiancheng's room was on the fourth floor. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox stayed in room 403, while the fatty stayed alone in room 417. Ye Tiancheng and the little fox returned to room 403 together. The bedding in the room was new.
According to Mei Mei, the bedding in each room was changed for every guest. When a new customer checked into a room, the bedding was replaced with new ones, without any old ones, for hygiene and to ensure customers could stay with peace of mind.
Ye Tiancheng asked the little fox to go and wash up first, while he went to open the window to ventilate the room.
Because this guesthouse had a courtyard structure, the windows opened inwards, facing the common area of the entire guesthouse building, and the windows of every room could be seen at a glance.
The moonlight poured down like water, flowing into the entire central area of the guesthouse, which resembled a wooden barrel. Moreover, the guesthouse was full, at least according to Mei Mei. In any case, when Ye Tiancheng opened the window, he could see that most of the room windows in the guesthouse were lit up. Only a few were dark, which was normal and didn't necessarily mean no one was staying there.
Therefore, even looking out the window, where there were no other lighting facilities, the outside was still quite bright.
Ye Tiancheng looked up at the moon, which was almost full. The stars in the night sky twinkled, dotting the entire night sky.
He could feel that the conditions here were indeed very good, and the mountain environment was also excellent. In the big city, it was already difficult to see such a beautiful starry night sky. Looking at it, he could imagine the grandeur.
Since Ye Tiancheng had not yet washed up, he did not sit by the bed. Moreover, the night scenery was indeed beautiful, so he leaned by the window to watch the stars and the moon. It was rare to have such an opportunity. Occasionally, it felt quite interesting, and even just looking at the night sky was not boring.
Not long after, the little fox finished washing up and came out of the bathroom, letting Ye Tiancheng go in.
When the little fox came out, he saw Ye Tiancheng sitting by the window, tilting his head slightly, looking at something. He walked over and said to Ye Tiancheng, "Big Brother, I'm done washing. Are you going in now?"
"What are you looking at?"
Ye Tiancheng then slightly shifted his gaze, glanced at the little fox, and replied, "The night view is nice, so I'm sitting here watching. If we weren't here for business, this environment would be quite good for a vacation."
The little fox also walked to the window and looked up, then agreed with Ye Tiancheng's opinion, saying, "Indeed, we didn't notice these things when we came back earlier."
Ye Tiancheng said, "Our state of mind is different. We naturally didn't have that mood at the time. When we relax, we can see it."
"Because of all these troubles, we have been too tense. Even when busy with business, we should perhaps learn to relax appropriately. If our nerves are too taut for too long, we will get tired."
After speaking, Ye Tiancheng stood up and walked towards the bathroom, "Since you're done, it's my turn to wash."
The little fox nodded and took Ye Tiancheng's place, sitting by the window and looking out. He had nothing else to do at the moment, but it was a bit too early to sleep, and he couldn't sleep.
The little fox's posture was more relaxed than Ye Tiancheng's previous posture. Because the windowsill was clean and padded with fabric, the little fox leaned on the windowsill, looking at the scenery outside.
It was still quite quiet here. Although the guesthouse was full, the little fox didn't hear any voices. He wondered if it was because everyone was tacitly quiet at night, or for some other reason, or perhaps the guesthouse's soundproofing was unexpectedly good.
After all, judging by the exterior of the guesthouse, it was just a wooden house and rather old. In the little fox's impression, such houses were not particularly poorly soundproofed, but they were not particularly good either.
Suddenly, the little fox noticed two figures appearing in the open space in the center of the guesthouse. It was a man and a woman.
The woman was very familiar to the little fox; it was Mei Mei, the beautiful owner of the guesthouse. The other man, walking with Mei Mei, had his arm around Mei Mei's shoulder, leaning on her. Mei Mei was supporting the man as they walked slowly. After a while, they both disappeared from the little fox's sight.
The little fox blinked and, after thinking for a moment, realized that the man he hadn't seen before, who looked so close to Mei Mei, was probably Mei Mei's sick husband.
He had heard that Mei Mei's husband was very ill, undergoing treatment, and had lost his ability to work. Perhaps in daily life, many things were inconvenient for him, requiring Mei Mei to help him walk. This was a very normal thing.
The little fox didn't think much of it, only sighing that Mei Mei must have had a very good relationship with her husband to be so devoted.
In ordinary families, regardless of their relationship or status, be it parents, spouses, or children, if one of them falls seriously ill and cannot be cured, over time, conflicts are often unavoidable.
At first, some might not want to abandon their family members, but after a long time of caring for the sick, they might become annoyed. Or some might choose to abandon their seriously ill family members from the beginning. The sick, tormented by pain and the change in attitude of those around them, would also be extremely miserable, but helpless.
Reality was always more cruel.
A wife like Mei Mei, who stayed devoted to her seriously ill husband, worked hard to earn money to support the family and care for her husband, was indeed very rare and unusual.