Chapter 125: Liu Hou Shrine, how many wives will I have (Please subscribe)

After hanging up the phone, the English teacher stood in place for a long time.

These few phone calls really brought her too many surprises. Li Heng actually had entanglements with Xiao Han; how did he dare?

How did he dare to provoke both Song Yu and Xiao Han at the same time?

If it were an ordinary person, whether it was Song Yu or Xiao Han, they wouldn't be able to reach them even after a lifetime of effort, yet he was thinking of having both?

But the next second, thinking of Li Heng's identity as a writer, the English teacher fell silent again.

This kid is truly no ordinary person; at such an age, he has written *To Live* and *The Master of Mischief*, and is now creating another book. Even Wang Runwen cannot help but admire the beauty of his prose; his genius is evident.

However, going to Shanghai is indeed not bad. It's close to "Harvest" magazine, and who knows, he might really get to know a backer like Old Man Ba. With Shuheng helping out, he should be able to live comfortably for his four years of university.

Having figured it out, the English teacher no longer worried about certain vain thoughts. She turned around, bought a few bottles of soda, and returned to the room.

"Here, it's cold."

As soon as she entered the room, the English teacher handed a bottle of cold soda to Li Heng.

Li Heng asked happily: "This stuff is precious. Where did you get it on such a hot day?"

The English teacher said: "The boss fished it out of the well. It's quite cool, drink it quickly."

"Eh, thank you, Teacher." Li Heng pried open the cap and drank more than half the bottle in one breath.

After he swallowed, the English teacher said: "Regarding Mai Sui's matter, there shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Some things are understood as soon as they are said. Li Heng used the soda as wine and clinked it with her: "For a teacher to reach your level, you've done all you could. I thank you on behalf of Mai Sui."

The English teacher stared into his eyes, very much wanting to suddenly mention Xiao Han to see what his reaction would be. But the words stopped at her lips, and she drank the soda with him in a carefree manner until it was finished.

"Next stop, where are you going?" she asked.

Li Heng pondered for a moment and said: "There are many places I want to go. For example, the Three Gorges, Dongting Lake, Lushan, Suzhou, and so on—there are plenty. But I have to go home first. I've been out for a while, I need to go back and take a look."

The English teacher felt a bit regretful hearing this. If nothing unexpected happened, this was the last stop she would accompany him on. From now on, if she wanted to read his works, she would only be able to read them in magazines.

"The sun isn't out now, the weather is nice. Accompany me for a walk," the English teacher said.

Li Heng had the same intention and asked: "Should we call Zhang Zhiyong and Li Ran?"

The English teacher turned and walked in front, "It's a pity you're still thinking about them; those two ran off and disappeared long ago."

Li Heng asked casually: "Where did they go?"

The English teacher replied: "Didn't ask. They left with their cameras; they're probably out looking for news material again."

Compared to later generations, the streets of Yongzhou in this era were very crude. The shops were old and monotonous, and both sides of the street were filled with small vendors. However, this still couldn't dampen the English teacher's enthusiasm. She walked along the street, buying things all the way, and tasted almost every kind of snack.

She finally concluded: "The rice tofu is delicious, the rice noodles are also not bad, but this orange candy is too sweet and cloying. You finish it."

Looking at the orange candy in her hand that she had taken a bite of, Li Heng's face instantly collapsed, "Teacher, you're being too inhumane. I'm not a trash can, how can I eat your leftovers? Besides, your saliva..."

(Note: The source text has a line break here, but the content continues.)

The English teacher used the tip of her right hand to adjust her glasses frame, pretending not to hear, and walked forward with a smile.

Being new to a new place, the two were in high spirits and didn't return to the hotel until it was almost dark.

Thinking it was late, she didn't expect that those two guys, Zhang Zhiyong and Li Ran, still hadn't returned.

On the second-floor balcony, Wang Runwen looked up at the sky and asked worriedly: "Nothing will happen to them, right?"

"Shouldn't be. Li Ran looks like an old hand at this. Let's wait a bit longer."

Li Heng was actually worried too, but in this day and age, there were no mobile phones or pagers. Going out meant walking, and communication basically relied on shouting. Even if he was worried, it wouldn't be of much use.

It hadn't even been 24 hours, the police wouldn't even accept the report; they wouldn't handle it at all.

They waited and waited. In the meantime, Li Heng went to buy peanuts and pig head meat, and also bought a few bottles of beer. The two ate and waited, but as the night grew deeper, they still didn't see those two guys.

Wang Runwen used to drink home-brewed rice wine and Er Guo Tou, and sometimes drank a little white liquor, but she rarely touched beer. She looked down at the beer bottle and said:

"What's going on? The alcohol content isn't high. I can drink half a jin of white liquor and be fine, but I'm actually getting a bit flushed from this stuff."

Seeing her flushed face, Li Heng laughed, revealing his neat, white teeth, "I don't know about that either, it's very mysterious."

Wang Runwen glanced at him, "Move your dog eyes away, don't look over here."

Li Heng: "..."

He yawned, stood up, and turned to walk into the room, "Fine, fine, fine. If I can't look at your face while chatting, then what's the point of chatting? I'm going to wash up and sleep."

Sleeping was a lie, washing up was the truth. After finishing some washing, Li Heng returned to the balcony, "Teacher, you go wash up and rest, I'll wait for them."

Wang Runwen put down the beer bottle and returned to her room without a word.

But about 20 minutes later, she came over with her hair half-wet and half-dry, holding a dry hair towel. While rubbing the ends of her hair, she asked: "Did Li Ran's father really die from 'on-the-horse wind' (a stroke during intercourse)?"

Li Heng said: "Pretty much. Teacher, why are you asking about this?"

Wang Runwen said: "I read a few books on physiognomy when I was bored. Someone with Li Ran's facial features belongs to the type with strong carnal desires in those books. Don't let Zhang Zhiyong get led astray."

Li Heng was a little surprised, "I thought you didn't understand, but it turns out your heart is as clear as a mirror."

Wang Runwen didn't deny it: "Actually, Sun Aimin is quite pitiful. I can see that she really likes Li Ran, but Li Ran's desire to play is too strong."

Li Heng nodded and reached out his hand to her, "Since you can read faces, help me read mine too."

Wang Runwen mocked: "No need to look. You are born with peach blossoms on your face; you live for women and die for women."

Li Heng's eyelids twitched, and he said with dissatisfaction: "Look at what you're saying, making it sound like I'm the second coming of Li Ran's father, dying from 'on-the-horse wind'?"

Wang Runwen laughed heartily upon hearing this and really lowered her head to pretend to observe his palmistry. But as a result, after waiting for a while, she didn't make a sound.

Li Heng urged: "How is it?"

Wang Runwen said: "You will have many children and many blessings in the future."

Li Heng asked: "Anything else?"

Wang Runwen said: "What aspect do you want to see?"

Li Heng asked: "How about wealth?"

Wang Runwen said: "Your wealth lines are like a sparkling river winding around your wrist, as if it were a Venus belt leading to a rich treasure land. Your wealth accumulation will be fast and astonishing in the future."

Li Heng was happy to hear this: "Then what about the marriage line?"

Wang Runwen frowned, grabbed his palm, and checked it repeatedly, not making a sound for a while.

Li Heng was itching with curiosity and said directly: "Don't look so closely, just tell me how many wives I have."

Wang Runwen pushed his hand away, suddenly changed her face, and said coldly: "I'm not a professional. If you want to know, go find a fortune teller yourself."

Alright, Li Heng had learned once again that women are fickle.

He wasn't afraid of arguing and causing trouble, but he was afraid of the air suddenly becoming quiet. Looking towards the entrance downstairs, the two people in the awkward silence didn't speak again for a while.

After a while, Li Heng made small talk: "Teacher, how about..."

The English teacher interrupted coldly: "Shut your mouth, be quiet."

Li Heng tilted his head and looked at her for a while, then suddenly said: "Teacher, you're not allowed to call me that either. How about you quit your job and follow..."

The English teacher interrupted again, spitting out one word with clear articulation: "Get lost!"

Just as the two were competing invisibly, two figures suddenly darted out from the street corner in the distance. The two were running wildly while looking back at the rear from time to time.

Wang Runwen had sharp eyes and stood up with a 'whoosh': "It's Zhang Zhiyong and the others. Could they be being chased by someone?"

Li Heng didn't answer her question; he had already stood up and run downstairs.

The two black shadows came from far to near, whistling like a gust of wind. When they saw Li Heng clearly, Zhang Zhiyong jumped and screamed:

"My mother! Scared the old man to death! There were two groups of people fighting over there, one person's hand was broken. When they saw us hiding and taking pictures, they even chased us."

Li Ran was also scared out of her wits and dragged the two into the hotel regardless of anything else.

Li Heng was a bit worried. He watched at the front desk with the boss and the waiter for a while, and only went up to the second floor when he saw no one chasing them.

He asked: "What's going on? Why are you only back now? It's almost 11 o'clock."

Li Ran complained: "Hey, don't mention it. We got lost and were almost blocked by a group of hooligans and couldn't come back."

Following that, she said excitedly: "This place is so chaotic, there's so much news material."

Li Heng raised an eyebrow and said to Li Ran: "Taking pictures of people fighting at this hour, I think you think your life is too comfortable."

Li Ran didn't care, "You don't understand. In our line of work, you have to be bold. Otherwise, how can we dig out the darkness hidden in the corners of society? How can we earn our pay?"

Hearing this, Li Heng's mind stirred, and he asked: "Do you dare to photograph anyone?"

Li Ran held her head high: "Of course."

Li Heng said: "Later, I'll take you to photograph someone. If you have the ability to get his scandal published, I'll treat you to a meal."

Li Ran became interested: "Photograph who?"

Li Heng said: "The 'Thumb' (a nickname) of the First Middle School."

Li Ran asked: "Do you have a grudge against him?"

Li Heng said: "The other party framed my dad and got him fired. I want to vent some anger for his old man."

Li Ran heard this: "Oh, I've heard my mom talk about this. She said your dad was framed for being improper with a female colleague in the office and then fired. Do you have evidence against the other party?"

Li Heng said 'um': "There's a lot of evidence against the other party, almost every teacher in that school knows it, but there's nothing to be done about them."

"Whoa! I like this challenge. Watch me, later I'll get him a big surprise." Li Ran patted her full chest, which trembled, making Zhang Zhiyong's eyes sparkle.

Li Heng kicked Zhang Zhiyong and said with hatred for his lack of ambition: "You lecher, stop looking, go back to the room and sleep."

Li Ran laughed 'giggle', then said to Zhang Zhiyong: "Really, stop looking. Although we are brothers who hit it off at first sight, I won't make it cheap for you, haha, be careful you won't be able to sleep tonight."

Zhang Zhiyong was annoyed and threw out a very depressed sentence: "You used the old man to scare away Sun Aimin, and now you're attacking me, not a real man (or 'not a husbandly act')," then he left, the door slamming with a 'bang bang'.

Seeing Zhang Zhiyong leave in anger, Li Ran said to Li Heng without any psychological pressure: "Don't look at me like that, it's just that I'm suddenly a bit tired of Sun Aimin. There's no feeling in bed, so I don't want to be a wooden person anymore."

Listen, listen, is this human language?

The underlying meaning is that Sun Aimin can no longer satisfy her desires, so she kicked him.

Li Heng asked: "Was what you just said sincere?"

Li Ran asked back: "Do you think I would fall to the point of being slept with by Zhang Zhiyong?"

Li Heng turned around: "Fine, rest early."

Opening the door to the corridor, he found the English teacher waiting there with a concerned look, and immediately said: "Teacher, you go back to sleep, it's fine now."

Hearing this, the English teacher nodded at Li Ran behind him and turned back to her room.

Staying in Yongzhou, living only an arrow's flight from Liu Hou Shrine. Insomniac in the middle of the night, dazed, listening to the sound of wind and rain, wild grass knee-high seemed to grow by the bedside. Liu Zongyuan crossed a thousand years and stood alone, his green shirt dark, his expression lonely and sad. Early the next morning, Li Heng walked towards the shrine.

Liu Zongyuan was demoted and had traveled a long road to get here. He stayed in Yongzhou for 10 years, living a lonely and desolate life. Relatives and friends ignored him, and local officials monitored him constantly. The disaster made him very disheveled, once unkempt and soul-lost.

However, the disaster also gave him a sense of tranquility, giving him enough time to meet with nature and talk to himself. Thus, he entered his best writing state. Chinese cultural history gained the "Eight Records of Yongzhou" and other pieces, and Chinese literature once again condensed a peak construction.

When visiting Liu Hou Shrine, the English teacher saw a rare seriousness on his face and asked curiously: "What did you think of?"

Li Heng looked at the pavilion and spoke leisurely: "How many misfortunes of the political careers and fates of literati and politicians have been left in the southern wilderness. But it also witnessed the brilliant stars they left in literary history, and witnessed the precious national spirit and national personality under suppression."

"Therefore, it kept Chinese literature from 'losing its character'."

"The capital is too noisy. The scholars of Kyushu who faced the wall for ten years have all yearned for this kind of noise. As a result, their full belly of learning was crushed by wheels and horse hooves, and crisp shouts filled their sparse chests. Only here did their literary brilliance extract itself from court reports and memorials, re-condensing into the soul, and becoming square and round. They suddenly became sober, naturally forming tension, full of vitality, confronting the palace, arguing with historians, and leaving a pulse of different sounds for the vast land of the Emperor. Generations of literati have thus added a layer of arrogance and three points of self-confidence. Only then did Chinese civilization not completely darken. The imperial court never imagined that it was the imperial decree of exile to the southern wilderness that enlightened the spirit of the nation."

Hearing this, the English teacher looked at him several times more, and then followed him to understand the spiritual power brought by Liu Hou Shrine.

Unfortunately, she considered herself not to have this talent. Mostly, she felt a sigh, and then her head was empty. Her gaze condensed on his back again, and a ray of light rose in her eyes, faintly looking forward to what kind of wonderful chapters he would write tonight.

The roads in this era were not easy to walk, all dirt roads. Going to and from Liu Hou Shrine took the group a whole day. As soon as they entered the hotel, Li Heng started writing as usual.

The English teacher was never absent and stayed by his side on time.

Before he picked up his pen, Wang Runwen said as if possessed: "This might be the last time Teacher watches you write."

Li Heng was stunned and turned his head: "Isn't it only early August? There's still some time before school starts. If Teacher is willing, we can start from the Three Gorges, head southeast, and go all the way to Shanghai."

Wang Runwen was a bit moved, but under his gaze, she still shook her head slowly.

She didn't speak, nor did she explain why.

Facing each other, after ten seconds, Li Heng moved his gaze away, tacitly not inviting her again, nor did he say anything more about this topic.

Sitting by the window, after closing his eyes to brew some emotions, when he opened his eyes again, his thoughts flowed like a spring, and the pen in his hand began to dance on the new notebook.

The English teacher leaned forward slightly, keeping a proper distance, staring intently at the tip of the pen.

Later, she suddenly remembered something, then controlled her strength and left the room silently, finding Li Ran, who was writing news next door, "Li Ran, are you busy?"

Li Ran said: "It's okay, do you have something to find me for?"

The English teacher sought the other party's opinion: "Can you help me take a photo?"

Li Ran guessed: "A group photo with Li Heng?"

The English teacher nodded, "The way he writes has a lot of artistic conception. Help me take a group photo, and then..."

Pondering for two seconds, Wang Runwen continued: "Isn't he too young..."

Before she finished, Li Ran took over: "Are you trying to keep a piece of evidence, in case of future need, to block the mouths of doubters?"

Wang Runwen smiled and said: "Not necessarily, his talent can withstand others' doubts."

Li Ran rolled up her sleeves, turned back to pick up the camera, and took full responsibility: "You should have said so earlier. I can record video here. I can record the writing process. If anyone dares to bare their fangs in the future, this will be the most powerful evidence."

Hearing that she could record video, Wang Runwen was a bit surprised, "This thing is very expensive, right?"

"Expensive! Damn expensive! Imported goods. All my family fortune and half of my mom's savings were dumped into it." Li Ran, who was usually careless, felt a terrible pain when talking about the camera. She had weighed it for a long time before making up her mind to buy it.

The two women walked into Li Heng's room on tiptoe. Seeing him immersed in the world of creation, they didn't dare to disturb him. After looking at each other, one sat by Li Heng's side as usual.

The other quietly turned on the camera and filmed the two. Of course, the focus was more on Li Heng's pen tip, recording the words he wrote.

During this time, Li Heng noticed Li Ran's actions. The latter was so scared she stopped in place and asked in a low voice: "Did I disturb you?"

Li Heng shook his head with a smile, didn't speak, buried his head, and continued writing according to his previous train of thought.

After three o'clock in the morning, he finished writing.

The English teacher and Li Ran breathed a sigh of relief.

Before parting, the English teacher said: "Can you help me copy a copy? Money is not a problem."

Li Ran giggled at her twice and said: "We are sisters who have been together for so long, mentioning money is so vulgar, haha. Copying is not a big deal, but it will take some time to give it to you."

"Okay, waiting for your news."

On August 5th, the group left Yongzhou, took the train all the way east, and finally arrived in Shaoshi after more than ten hours.

As soon as they got off the train, Wang Runwen said to the group: "It's not early, go to my house to spend the night."

Li Ran refused, "No need, my mom also arrived in Shaoshi yesterday. I'll go find her. The things for copying are all with her. I'll give you the backup tomorrow."

Li Jianguo originally worked at the Shaoshi Education Bureau. In order to get close to him, Zhao Jing specially moved over from Changsha and settled her residence in Shaoshi.

Even though more than 20 years had passed, Zhao Jing's home was still there, and friends cleaned it for her regularly, so they could live in it directly after moving in.

Li Ran left.

Zhang Zhiyong looked at Li Heng, then at the English teacher, tucked his tail, and said: "That cheap person in my family is now running a gold-digging and sand-dredging company by the Zijiang River with my uncle-in-law. I'll go take a look. Grandpa Heng, we brothers will reunite tomorrow."

After speaking, without waiting for Li Heng to ask him to stay, he ran away 'whoosh'.

Wang Runwen was a bit confused hearing this, "Who is that cheap person in his family?"

Li Heng answered with a smile: "His father."

Wang Runwen was even more confused, "Why call him a cheap person?"

Li Heng picked two of his father's glorious deeds and told them.

Wang Runwen said meaningfully after listening: "How come I feel like you and this cheap person are the same kind of people."

Li Heng protested, "Teacher, don't say you aren't scolding me."

Wang Runwen laughed 'hehe' and walked away in the wind, rarely this happy.

The two returned to the old house in the city, but just after changing shoes and entering the door, the two, who were just lively, fell into silence after looking at each other for a long time.

Next, Li Heng found clothes to change into, started taking a shower, started washing clothes, and started organizing the writing manuscripts from the journey.

Wang Runwen didn't stop either. She took some small change, went to the nearby vegetable market to buy vegetables, and then dived into the kitchen to get busy.

Her cooking skills were average, but she was very attentive. For example, the shredded potatoes were all cut into equal parts, cut to the same size, neat and tidy, looking like the real thing.

PS: Please subscribe! Please vote for monthly tickets!

Many comments from the last chapter are gone. Big bosses, what heaven-defying things did you do?

(End of chapter)