The Gu family's ancestral home is located in a rural area under Jiangling City, about 200 kilometers away from Jiangcheng.
The family patriarch, Gu Baotian, built the family fortune from scratch. After successfully handing over the business to Gu Guofeng, he retired and returned alone to live in the countryside.
Though the family tried to persuade him otherwise, they couldn’t change his mind, so they let him be. However, during holidays and special occasions like Qingming Festival for ancestral worship, the entire Gu family would gather at the old home without fail.
"Got it," Jiang Mo said as she organized the items to bring back to Jiangling in the storage room.
When Gu Ye returned from an out-of-town advertising shoot, Jiang Mo informed him, "Madam asked us to go to the countryside first to tidy up the house and courtyard so the whole family will have a place to stay later."
"Couldn’t we just hire a housekeeper for that?" Gu Ye didn’t understand why they had to do it themselves.
Jiang Mo looked at him. "I am the housekeeper."
Gu Ye: "…"
"Fine. Pack everything up, and we’ll leave tomorrow morning."
Before setting off, Jiang Mo made a quick trip to Liu Guochuan’s place to deliver fish feed she had bought, asking Pan Weidong to pick it up.
"Xiao Mo, are you sure you don’t want to work as a housekeeper for us? It’s much easier than serving that big family at the Gu household," Liu Guochuan tried to persuade her.
Jiang Mo smiled. "Thank you for your kindness, Grandpa Liu, but I’m doing fine where I am. If I ever change my mind, I’ll let you know."
Liu Guochuan nodded. "Fair enough."
The next morning after breakfast, Gu Ye finally gave up his flashy sports car and drove an SUV instead.
The trunk and back seat were packed full.
Since it wasn’t a holiday, the highway wasn’t crowded. The 200-kilometer journey took about three hours.
Jiang Mo had prepared snacks and water for the trip, but she ended up eating most of them herself.
"I don’t get why my grandfather insists on living in the countryside when he could stay in the city," Gu Ye remarked. "Everything’s so inconvenient out there."
"The countryside has fresh air and peace. Growing your own organic vegetables and fruits is nice," Jiang Mo said between bites of chips. "Besides, rural areas are much better now than before. It’s not as inconvenient as you think."
As a child, Jiang Mo and her younger brother had loved spending summer and winter breaks in the countryside.
She remembered the peach tree in the old courtyard, the grapevines covering the walls, heavy with fruit. The grape trellis formed a natural shade over the yard.
Her grandfather would chill watermelons in the well every day.
The vegetable garden had tomatoes and cucumbers—she and her brother would pick and eat them straight after playing.
It had been pure bliss.
But after her grandfather passed away a few years ago, the old house had fallen into neglect.
Gu Ye scoffed. "A place without food delivery counts as convenient?"
Jiang Mo couldn’t argue with that.
Chatting and snacking made time fly, and before they knew it, they arrived at Taohua Town.
The name of the town was quite charming.
From there, it was another twenty-minute drive to the countryside.
"Can we stop in town for a bit?" Jiang Mo fidgeted slightly, looking uneasy.
Gu Ye glanced at her. "What’s wrong?"
She smiled sheepishly. "Nature calls."
Not too familiar with Taohua Town, she figured a supermarket would have a restroom. After parking, she hurried inside.
Ten minutes later, she emerged feeling much better—only to be greeted by a small puppy yipping at her.
It looked like a native Chinese rural dog, barely two months old.
"Hey there, where did you come from?" Jiang Mo crouched down to play with the pup.
She glanced around but saw no one nearby. Where had this little dog come from?
The puppy tentatively approached, then suddenly flopped onto its back at her feet, belly up.
Too adorable.
Jiang Mo scooped it up, planning to ask nearby shopkeepers if it belonged to anyone.
But before she could take a few steps, a voice shouted, "Dog thief! Stop right there!"
She froze as an elderly man rushed toward her—or rather, toward the puppy in her arms.
"Fugui! Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for you!" The old man was overjoyed.
Jiang Mo handed the dog over. "Grandpa, is this your dog?"
"Of course! Where were you taking him?"
Good thing he’d caught her in time. Young people these days had no manners, just grabbing other people’s pets like that.
"I just found him here and thought he was lost. I was going to ask around," Jiang Mo explained. "I’m glad he’s back with his owner! He’s so cute—could I take a picture of him?"
The old man held the puppy proudly. "Of course he’s cute! He’s the only pup from my old dog—a purebred Chinese rural dog, the one and only. Go ahead and take a picture."
"How old is he?"
"Just one month."
"One month and already this big?" Jiang Mo was stunned. This pup was clearly well-fed—being an only child had its perks.
Gu Ye messaged her on WeChat asking how much longer she’d be. After snapping a few photos, Jiang Mo hurried to meet him.
As they walked out of the supermarket, she noticed the old man riding away on a green three-wheeled electric scooter, the puppy sitting in the sidecar.
Even in a small town, that was pretty stylish—and the scooter didn’t look cheap either.
She turned away and went to find Gu Ye.
They set off again for the countryside.
Jiangling City had a decent economy and was a historical and cultural hub. The rural areas were also well-developed.
The roads were wide and smooth, and the houses were three-story villas with courtyards—though they lacked aesthetic design.
The Gu ancestral home stood at the eastern edge of the village, occupying a sizable plot. Its architecture stood out starkly from the rest of the village.
The courtyard gate was shut tight—no one was home.
Gu Ye pulled out his phone. "I’ll call Grandpa and see where he is."
The phone rang, but no one answered.
A large yellow dog sleeping in the corner of the yard perked up at the noise. It trotted to the gate, peeked through the gap at the two of them, then lazily returned to its nap.
"Guess we’ll have to wait. No idea where Grandpa wandered off to."
Jiang Mo thought for a moment. "Maybe I can ask around the village."
Gu Ye said, "I’ll go with you."
"No, I’ll go alone," she stopped him. "You’re a celebrity. What if someone recognizes you and causes a scene?"
