Seeing Hou Mingzhu was scared, Ye Tiancheng realized how annoying that boss was just now, and a thought of protecting Hou Mingzhu arose in his heart, which is why his emotions were so agitated.
"Don't be afraid, once I've arranged everything, I'll deal with him."
With no one else to help, Ye Tiancheng quickly called Fatty. He could only ask for his help at this time.
"Brother Ye, I heard you went on your honeymoon. I wish you a smooth journey and a happy time."
"Alright, stop with the pleasantries. I need your help. I'll send you my location, you help me bring a car over, and bring some delicious food from your restaurant. I'm very hungry now."
"No problem, Brother. Just tell me the address."
"Oh, and bring a RV. RVs are more comfortable."
Ye Tiancheng had always been fond of that small pickup truck and had never suggested changing it or expressed any dissatisfaction with it.
"Brother Ye, are you sure?"
"Of course I'm sure. Make it as fast as possible, there are other things to do."
Ye Tiancheng always appeared calm and rarely seemed so anxious. Little Fatty realized that something had happened and Ye Tiancheng had also changed.
"Alright, I got it. I'll send it over right away."
Little Fatty dared not ask any more questions. After agreeing with Ye Tiancheng, he hurried to have his subordinates pick up the car, and then went to the restaurant himself to stir-fry a few dishes and pack them. All were placed in insulated lunch boxes, for fear of what might happen when they met Manager Luan.
Having money certainly made things easier. The entire process was completed in less than an hour.
Seeing Little Fatty drive the RV over, Ye Tiancheng could finally give Hou Mingzhu an explanation. Ye Tiancheng had been too embarrassed to speak to Hou Mingzhu earlier, feeling guilty for not arranging the itinerary properly.
Hou Mingzhu mumbled, expressing her deep regret for eating all her snacks on the way. She should have saved some for Ye Tiancheng, who must be very hungry now. She wasn't that hungry herself, having been eating all along. How could she have such a large stomach?
"Brother Ye, no wonder you're so nervous. So there's a beautiful lady by your side. Can I call Miss Hou Sister-in-law Ye now?"
"Alright, stop messing around. Thank you for your timely help this time. Remember to charge all expenses to the account. Don't bear them yourself."
Ye Tiancheng looked at the RV. Indeed, its configurations were quite high. It would be much more convenient for the upcoming journey with Hou Mingzhu with this RV.
"Brother Ye, why are you being so polite? When I got married, you directly gave me a villa. You weren't as wealthy as you are now back then, which shows your brotherhood. You've been so good to me, so I naturally can't let you down."
"Alright, stop being so fussy. Hurry back, I'm going to eat with Hou Mingzhu in the RV."
Little Fatty had a gossip-filled expression, his small eyes shining with curiosity.
"Brother Ye, you're truly a hidden master. I thought you didn't like Sister-in-law Ye, but it turns out you were just hiding your feelings. However, Sister-in-law Ye is really great. You two will definitely be happy together. I strongly bless you both. May you be of one heart and grow old together."
"If you keep talking like this, I might have to give you a red envelope. Alright, stop whispering in my ear and hurry up and leave."
Little Fatty walked backward, waving at Ye Tiancheng with a playful smile.
"Understood, Brother Ye. I won't stay here to be a third wheel. Don't worry."
After Little Fatty left, the people he brought also drove away the pickup truck, and all belongings were moved to the RV.
After entering the RV, Hou Mingzhu surveyed the layout and said to Ye Tiancheng with great satisfaction.
"Look, there's even a place to sleep here, and two tatami mats. It's wonderful! The quilts are so soft and fragrant. You can watch TV over there too."
This RV could be considered top-of-the-line. There was also a sofa, where one could sit and watch the scenery along the way.
"Let's eat first."
The RV wasn't equipped with everything, so they ate directly on the sofa. There was a table, so it was quite good for five or six people to eat together in an RV.
"Brother Ye, you've thought of everything. How did I not think of this? Traveling in an RV is the most comfortable. It doesn't matter if we go slower."
"I'm glad you like it, Mingzhu. Eat more. The raw ingredients for these dishes all came from my horticultural center. Eating these dishes not only fills your stomach but also purifies your blood vessels. It's truly amazing."
"Mmm, thank you. I'll eat more so I won't be hungry later."
Hou Mingzhu was truly not being polite. Especially after the wait just now, her stomach was a bit empty. She directly ate three bowls of rice, while Ye Tiancheng, a grown man, only ate two bowls.
After eating, Hou Mingzhu washed the bowls and chopsticks and put them back in the kitchen cabinets.
"Let me do it. You rest first."
Ye Tiancheng rushed to do the work the entire time, not giving Hou Mingzhu a chance to do anything.
Perhaps too much blood flowed to her stomach after eating, causing her brain to be slightly oxygen-deprived. Hou Mingzhu suddenly felt sleepy, so she arranged a small quilt for herself, curled up into a ball on the tatami mat, and began to sleep.
When Ye Tiancheng returned after cleaning up the dishes, he saw Hou Mingzhu asleep. Suddenly, Ye Tiancheng also felt sleepy. Perhaps seeing someone sleeping soundly made Ye Tiancheng want to rest and sleep as well, after all, he had been driving all the way.
This matter was easily resolved. Ye Tiancheng called Fatty again and asked a very reliable friend to drive, so Ye Tiancheng could also rest. Perhaps he would have reached his destination by the time he woke up.
Thinking this way, it felt quite good. No matter what, as long as they reached the destination, it was fine.
With someone driving, Ye Tiancheng could also sleep. In fact, Hou Mingzhu's tatami mat was not far from Ye Tiancheng. When Ye Tiancheng slept, he could hear Hou Mingzhu's breathing. He no longer felt any aversion towards Hou Mingzhu; instead, he felt like she was a little sister next door.
After experiencing so much, coupled with Hou Mingzhu's current cognitive issues, Ye Tiancheng felt a sense of responsibility to take care of her. The feeling of wanting to reject her was gone.
Thus, Ye Tiancheng and Hou Mingzhu slept through the journey, and by late afternoon, they finally arrived at Hou Mingzhu's ancestral home.
The Hou family didn't seem to attach much importance to their ancestors. The old house looked like it had never been renovated, appearing dilapidated. If it rained heavily, the house would probably collapse.
"Your house has never been renovated."
"This place has been abandoned. Perhaps in a few years, it will be occupied by developers. However, this place is quite large, and developers will definitely pay a lot of money then, so everyone unanimously felt there was no need to renovate it. It's about to become a thing of the past, so why bother with a futile effort?"
Hou Mingzhu sounded somewhat normal when she said this. However, after speaking, she hopped into the old house through the main door. At that moment, Ye Tiancheng suddenly realized that it seemed to be just a temporary moment of normalcy, and this girl was still as erratic as ever.
The two of them had brought quite a few personal belongings and needed to settle in. However, the house seemed to have been uninhabited for a long time, and no one had been sent to clean it. There was dust and cobwebs everywhere. They needed to clean it up before they could move in.
Hou Mingzhu couldn't do much. If she didn't cause trouble, it would be good enough. So, all the work had to be done by Ye Tiancheng. When he finished, he looked outside. The last ray of sunset was about to be swallowed by darkness.
Night had completely fallen. The hot weather of the day was gone. A cool breeze blew from outside through the broken window paper, creating a slightly eerie atmosphere.
"Brother Ye, you're amazing. You've cleaned this place so well."
"Not amazing at all. Little Fatty is much better than me. It's just that there's no one else, so I had to do it. If there were people, they probably wouldn't think much of my cleaning skills."
Being with Hou Mingzhu, Ye Tiancheng now had to steel himself to do the work, as Hou Mingzhu was definitely not to be relied upon.
"Then what will we eat?"
Hou Mingzhu had eaten quite a bit at noon, but she had slept through the afternoon and digested everything in her stomach. Her stomach was empty again, and she started thinking about what to eat.
"We brought instant noodles. Let's just eat instant noodles. It's late now, and we shouldn't go exploring. We'll deal with everything tomorrow during the day."
There were also a few low houses next to the Hou family's residence, but they had probably been uninhabited for decades. This place was completely abandoned. The Hou family ancestors must have lived here before and were relatively wealthy. Such a large area of houses, one family's size was comparable to more than ten families combined.
"Okay, then let's eat instant noodles. Instant noodles are also delicious."
The advantage of Hou Mingzhu becoming like someone with intellectual disabilities was that she was not picky about food. She could eat anything and enjoyed everything.
This saved Ye Tiancheng a lot of trouble. If it were the picky young lady from before, she probably wouldn't have stayed in such a dilapidated place for a night with Ye Tiancheng. She would have preferred to sleep in the RV rather than get out.
After tidying everything up, Ye Tiancheng didn't even need to cook. These instant noodles came with self-heating packs. He poured water onto the heating pack and placed it at the bottom of the noodle block. Soon, heat was emitted.
In less than ten minutes, the room was filled with a rich aroma.
"Brother Ye, it smells so good! It would be great if we could add an egg to it."
This actually reminded Ye Tiancheng. Ye Tiancheng had indeed brought eggs and took one out to put into the noodles.
"Let's follow your suggestion and add an egg."
"Add two more, Brother Ye needs to eat too."
To be honest, Ye Tiancheng didn't have much appetite. Ever since arriving at the Hou family's old residence, Ye Tiancheng had been thinking about going to the Hou family's ancestral hall. If the problem could be resolved quickly, he wouldn't have to continue dealing with Hou Mingzhu.
"It's fine, you eat. I'm not very hungry."
Perhaps he had eaten too much at noon, and now he was really not hungry. Ye Tiancheng's stomach was bulging, and he felt like it hadn't fully digested yet.
He casually ate a couple of bites, and then Ye Tiancheng wanted Hou Mingzhu to go to sleep quickly so she wouldn't disturb him. Ye Tiancheng wanted to sneak to the Hou family's ancestral hall to take a look and scout the path.
"Mingzhu, you've finished your food. Don't you get sleepy after eating? Why don't you go to sleep?"
"I'm not sleepy. I'm not sleepy at all. I don't want to sleep."
Hou Mingzhu was not sleepy, which was completely unexpected by Ye Tiancheng. He had thought that once he coaxed her to sleep, Ye Tiancheng could act alone. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.
"Not sleepy?"
"There are stars outside. How about we go for a walk? Isn't it a bit too early to sleep? Even the elderly are still dancing in the square and haven't slept yet. We are young people."