Chapter 131

Only after Li Sanjiang finished calling out did he notice that behind Runsheng, Zhuangzhuang, and Yin Meng, there was a strange face following them.

This kid looked quite fair and tender, with a shy and introverted appearance; at first glance, he looked like someone suitable for grinding grain.

"Hey, not bad, you even tricked a new mule back."

Lin Shu You was carrying a salted duck in his hand; he had specifically helped to carry it down when getting out of the car. Previously, he had only been preoccupied with the anxiety of whether Brother Little Yuan and the others would take him along, completely forgetting about the matter of buying gifts.

If he had known, he should have asked Binbin to stop the car when passing through Shinan Town earlier, so he could buy some milk or biscuits or something.

His hometown placed great importance on etiquette; if his grandfather and masters knew that he had just shown up empty-handed like this, they would have spit three layers of foam onto his face.

Li Sanjiang enthusiastically greeted everyone to return to the house. Li Zhuiyuan got down from Great-Grandfather, held Great-Grandfather's hand, and walked at the very front.

"Zhuangzhuang, did you drive back?"

"Right, I got my driver's license, and Mengmeng got hers too."

"Good, then when you graduate from university and want to buy a car, I'll chip in for you too."

"Hahaha, that's a must; even if you don't give it, I'll have to shamelessly ask you for it."

"Stinky brat, your family is well-off; at most, I'll chip in for a wheel for you."

"If I'm missing one wheel from you, my car won't be able to turn."

Li Sanjiang subconsciously assumed that the yellow pickup truck was borrowed or rented by the children.

In this day and age, a two-wheeled motorcycle was considered a rare item in the family, and anyone who could drive it around the village or town was considered quite fashionable.

As for four wheels, that went without saying; most families in the village wouldn't even dare to dream that they could park a small car at home in the future.

"Is this kid your classmate?"

"Right, classmate." Tan Wenbin poked Lin Shu You.

Lin Shu You said, "Grandpa Li, my name is Lin Shu You."

"This accent, from the south?"

"Hmm, I'm from Fujian."

"Fine, not bad, young man looks very upright, and his bone structure is quite solid."

Just as he stepped onto the dam, the expression on Li Zhuiyuan's face instantly turned grave.

Lin Shu You, who was behind him, stopped in his tracks the moment his foot touched the dam steps, and his vertical pupils opened.

Li Sanjiang said, "Eh, why does this young man look a bit cross-eyed?"

Runsheng rushed to Li Zhuiyuan's side, simultaneously taking the Yellow River Shovel out of his bag, swinging it hard, and the newly made large Yellow River Shovel unfolded instantly, held horizontally in front of him.

Yin Meng pulled out the new Demon-Driving Whip from her waist; the seven-colored whip implied it contained seven types of poison. Yin Meng braced the whip and stood on Li Zhuiyuan's diagonal side.

Tan Wenbin jumped several large steps, turned in mid-air, and stood behind Little Yuan, facing backward.

After Lin Shu You opened his vertical pupils, he placed his left hand flat, clenched his right fist, bent his legs, and prepared to perform spirit-dancing.

Li Sanjiang, on the contrary, was squeezed to the outside, feeling a bit confused for a moment: "What is this setup for?"

Li Zhuiyuan's expression returned to normal.

Where there are evil spirits, the Feng Shui certainly won't be good.

Li Zhuiyuan had started learning Feng Shui by reading books on the second floor of Great-Grandfather's house, so he was naturally very familiar with the Feng Shui layout of Great-Grandfather's house.

Now, there was clearly a problem with the Feng Shui here, but the impact of the problem wasn't significant. The difference was like a spacious and bright self-built farmhouse turning into a cold and gloomy old hospital ward.

People sensitive to this aspect could detect some anomalies, but to say how much impact it had on a person's body and fortune, that really wasn't the case.

Especially for his own Great-Grandfather, his fortune had long since transcended the influence of the ordinary environment, and he could even change the surrounding environment.

Moreover, this feeling was gradually fading and weakening, meaning that there should have been something dirty here, but that dirty thing was no longer here.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, signaling to cancel the alert, and simultaneously said to Li Sanjiang:

"Great-Grandfather, we plan to take a photo; Brother Binbin brought a camera back."

Ever since they had made rubbings of the stone tablet at Zhengmen Village last time, Tan Wenbin had been considering getting a camera.

A while ago, he was invited by those two upperclassmen, Lu Anan and Liu Tao from the Physiognomy Society, to participate in a multi-school physiognomy society exchange meeting. He had originally thought he could learn something and see the world, but it turned out to be full of bureaucracy.

The speeches of the organizers' leaders made him sleepy and tired, and he felt it was very dull and boring, but the lucky draw at the end of the conference had a camera as the first prize, and he was lucky enough to win it.

He was quite happy, feeling it hadn't been a wasted trip.

At this moment, seeing that Brother Little Yuan had already canceled the alert, he immediately took out the camera and held it up:

"Right, come, take a photo, everyone get into position, come, look at me, make a peace sign, yeah!"

"Click!"

The first photo was taken; Tan Wenbin wasn't in it, Yin Meng and Runsheng were guarding Little Yuan's sides, and there was a cross-eyed person standing on the edge.

For the second photo, Tan Wenbin let Li Sanjiang help press the shutter, and he ran to take his place.

Lin Shu You released his vertical pupils and couldn't find his position for a moment, but finally, under Tan Wenbin's gesture, he crouched at the very front.

After the two photos were taken, the people in the house also heard the movement and came out.

The first to walk out of the kitchen was Cui Guiying, wearing an apron. She was wiping her hands on the apron and called out happily:

"Ceng Sun, my grandson."

"Grandma."

Cui Guiying held Li Zhuiyuan in her arms and looked him over carefully.

"Ceng Sun and the others are back, right?" On the small path, Li Weihan's voice came; he was pushing a small cart with two jars of wine on it.

"Grandfather."

"Hey, Ceng Sun, hahaha!"

Li Sanjiang got angry as soon as he saw Li Weihan taking the wine jars down, and couldn't help but scold: "It's all that mountain cannon's fault, insisting on speaking foreign farts at this time!"

"Old thing, you're taking advantage of me being on the porcelain vat to talk about me!"

Shan Shan Daye walked out from behind the house while tying his pants.

Li Sanjiang said, "What's wrong, am I saying it wrong?"

Shan Shan Daye said, "It's that there are cracks in the two jars of wine in your house, and the killing intent of the wine has been released quite a bit; that's why I said the taste wasn't pure!"

Li Sanjiang said impatiently, "When you had no money to eat and were broken, only able to gnaw on sweet potatoes, I didn't see you being so particular."

Shan Shan Daye said, "You..."

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Great-Grandfather, is there anyone else at home?"

"Others? No, they're all here. Oh, we did hire a helper, her paper-crafting skills are excellent, and she's diligent. She's also the one who helps me read letters and write replies. Her surname is Xiao, called Ying."

"Then where is she?"

"She asked for leave last night, saying there was something at home. She went back this morning and will come back after dealing with the matter in a few days."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and didn't continue to ask; he could roughly guess who this Ying was.

As long as the one under the peach forest wasn't dead, even if there were resentful spirits flowing down, they would have to be scared into swimming upstream before entering this realm.

Who else could be an evil spirit capable of acting under that person's nose without causing any harm to Great-Grandfather?

Cui Guiying smiled and said, "Everyone sit, eat, eat."

A round table was set up on the dam, and a large group of people sat around it, eating and drinking, very lively.

Li Sanjiang and Shan Shan Daye were both drunk because they were happy, and they were cursing each other, then lay down in the two longevity coffins that were originally prepared for themselves, snoring loudly.

Li Weihan also drank quite a bit, leaning against the door panel, his face red, basking in the sun, half-asleep and half-awake.

Cui Guiying was scolding them while going to the kitchen to boil hangover soup for them.

After Li Zhuiyuan said goodbye to Grandma, he took Runsheng and the others to the bearded man's house.

This peach forest was now a beautiful scene in the village.

Li Zhuiyuan stood on the dam of the bearded man's house and looked out into the distance.

Lin Shu You imitated Little Yuan's appearance and leaned forward as well. The moment he fixed his eyes on it, his vertical pupils opened and closed at lightning speed!

"Hiss!"

Lin Shu You covered his eyes and squatted down in pain.

Tan Wenbin stepped forward, grabbed his shoulder, and helped him turn to a different orientation.

The peach forest was calm, and not even a breeze stirred.

"Brother Runsheng, set up the offering table."

"Alright."

There were ready-made tables and chairs in the house, and the offerings were very simple—biscuits and meat floss, somewhat sloppy and casual, but he imagined the other party wouldn't mind.

Two candles, one red and one white, were set up, the candle flames flickering.

Li Zhuiyuan pinched a piece of yellow paper with his fingertips, lit it, waved it three times, and tossed it into the fire basin.

Runsheng and Tan Wenbin surrounded the fire basin and began to burn paper.

This act had no special meaning; it was just to come and say hello.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that for the time being, he didn't have the qualifications to talk to the one under the peach forest.

However, the other party was indeed giving him face, looking after Great-Grandfather's house.

Although this kind of looking after was an unbearable burden for ordinary people, his Great-Grandfather clearly didn't fall into that category.

The paper was burned, and Runsheng used tongs to lift the fire basin and pour the ashes onto the dam below.

The simple ceremony should have been declared over at this point.

But just at this moment, there was still no wind, yet the ashes swirled up, and after scattering outward, they suddenly drifted toward the location where everyone was.

Everyone's attention was on these eerie ashes, watching them fly past their sides.

The two candles that had already been extinguished lit up again on their own.

An emotion gradually permeated the hearts of everyone present—there was reminiscence, melancholy, sighing, and exclamation.

It was thinking of old friends while seeing newcomers, and it was also searching for the self from the past, as well as those people around oneself.

He was the one who survived, living until now, yet he was also the one left behind by time, locked away until today.

Very soon, the ashes fell to the ground, and the candles went out again.

Except for Li Zhuiyuan, everyone else's mood was affected, falling into a low state.

While the others were standing in place in a daze, Li Zhuiyuan picked up a broom and swept up the ashes on the ground.

One by one, they recovered, either bewildered or as if just waking up, and joined in the cleaning and tidying.

After everything was taken care of, the group left the bearded man's house.

Tan Wenbin wanted to go to Shigang Town to see his grandparents and maternal grandparents.

Lin Shu You wanted to follow Tan Wenbin.

There were few shops in Shinan Town, but Shigang Town was lively and crowded, so he planned to go buy some gifts.

Runsheng wanted to go back to Xiting Town to clean up the house and replenish the rice, flour, grain, and oil.

At the dinner table, he asked his grandfather when he had come to Grandpa Li's house, and Shan Shan Daye said he was worried they would come back early today and miss the first meeting, so he had come last night.

Runsheng then understood that the house should have run out of food again, and his grandfather had come a day early to "beg for food."

Yin Meng had nothing to do and planned to accompany Runsheng back to help clean up.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't go to either side; he wanted to stay at home.

With this peach forest here, there wouldn't be any danger in the village, and everyone could indeed boldly act separately at this time.

Just like that, Tan Wenbin drove the little pickup truck and carried Lin Shu You away, and Runsheng rode the family's tricycle and carried Yin Meng away.

After Li Zhuiyuan watched them leave, he originally planned to turn back and take advantage of the good afternoon sun to go sit on the terrace on the second floor of Great-Grandfather's house.

Behind him, however, a pleasant voice came at this moment:

"Brother Little Yuan!"

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and saw Cui Cui, who looked excited.

Girls generally develop earlier than boys, and Cui Cui had also grown taller, and her chin had begun to sharpen; she inherited the facial features of Auntie Xiang, and in a few more years, she would be graceful and elegant.

"Cui Cui."

"Brother Little Yuan, you're back. Where is Sister Ah Li?"

"She didn't come back."

"Hehe." After the simple greeting, Cui Cui started to laugh.

She was happy from the bottom of her heart. Over the past year or so, she had often come here to find Brother Little Yuan and Sister Ah Li to play, because only they wouldn't look down on her.

Li Zhuiyuan went to Jin Ling for university, and Ah Li also left, so Cui Cui had no friends again.

However, she didn't feel lonely or sad because of this, because she had once possessed them.

Every time she saw other children in groups of three or five, as soon as she thought that she had also been with Brother Little Yuan and Sister Ah Li, she could lift her little chin again and walk past proudly.

"Brother Little Yuan, let's go play at my house; my mom and grandma are both at home."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "Alright."

He had lived in the village for a long time, but there weren't many worth visiting when he returned to the village.

His grandparents were now working as helpers at Great-Grandfather's house and had already eaten together at noon; there was no need to specifically visit those uncles, and if he went, Great-Grandfather would be unhappy.

Liu Jinxia and Li Juxiang had helped him break evil spirits and had provided him with real help, so he had to go.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan agree, Cui Cui tentatively reached out her hand.

Li Zhuiyuan took the initiative to reach out and hold her hand.

The little girl was immediately so happy that she seemed to be unable to wait to turn into a butterfly.

She still remembered when Li Zhuiyuan first came here, walking by the stream with her and even treating her to chocolate.

Later, her mother bought her many types of chocolate, but even if the brand and wrapping paper were exactly the same, she could never taste the sweetness of the original one.

Li Zhuiyuan knew she was very happy.

He had been sensible since he was very young and had also learned to observe people's expressions since he was very young. Through imitation and observation, reasoning and analysis, he could make most people around him feel satisfied and happy with his "identity"—of course, except for Li Lan.

This was a habit, not something brought from his mother's womb, but in terms of time, it wasn't much different.

Even if he deliberately didn't perform now, this inertia was still retained.

For example, he wanted to see Binbin be the class monitor, wanted to see Binbin and Zhou Yunyun together.

For example, when Runsheng revealed his longing for Shan Shan Daye, he said he would go home at the end of the month.

For example, he also knew that if he went back, Great-Grandfather would be very happy to see him.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he was a dull person.

For some happiness and some emotions, he was still a raw beginner, so he hoped that there could be more examples around him, so that he could observe, understand, and imitate.

Not just formal, but the kind that comes from the heart.

When he was with Ah Li, there was no problem, but as Ah Li's balcony window, he had to be earlier and bolder than Ah Li in walking out, so that he could hold her and continue to walk outward.

However, when passing by Auntie Zhang's store and facing Auntie Zhang's enthusiastic greeting, the "smile" of Li Zhuiyuan's polite response involuntarily retracted when his gaze noticed the telephone.

Cui Cui pulled him and continued to walk forward. Before they even arrived home, Cui Cui shouted from far away: "Mom, Mom, Brother Little Yuan is here, Brother Little Yuan is here!"

Li Juxiang was washing clothes; hearing this shout, she was so happy she stopped washing and went into the house to get snacks.

The weather was already a bit cool, and it wasn't suitable to drink lemon acid, so she opened two bottles of milk drinks.

Li Zhuiyuan took them, took a sip through the straw, and besides the full taste of saccharin, there was a little bit of milk taste left.

Li Zhuiyuan took it, drank a sip through the straw, and besides the full taste of saccharin, there was a little bit of milky taste left.

He still didn't like drinking sweet things; usually, he either begged for tea at Liu Yumei's place or drank boiled water in the dormitory.

Li Zhuiyuan only drank beverages as a quick supplement after physical exertion.

However, when Auntie Xiang asked again, "Is it delicious? Do you want to change to another flavor?" he still lowered his head and took two more consecutive sips:

"It's delicious."

Liu Jinxia wasn't playing cards this afternoon; she had taken a job and was holding a brush, trying to write a seal couplet while facing a book.

This was a relatively traditional folk custom; these seal couplets could be hung in temples, at funerals, or placed on top of sacrificial offerings to be burned together.

Since Liu Jinxia could take on this job now, it proved that her status had improved compared to the past.

That was true; in their line of work, status often followed age—the older, the more popular, and the more outsiders believed.

It was just that Liu Jinxia couldn't bring herself to write for a long time, not daring to write on the white cloth, but practicing repeatedly on yellow paper.

Her handwriting was barely passable, and she had also practiced it with effort.

Half a year ago, she had secretly gone to the city and had a cataract surgery, and her vision was much better than before, but in front of outsiders, she was still used to pretending to be "blind."

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the table.

Liu Blind laughed. "Little Yuan, you're here."

"Yeah, Grandma Liu." Li Zhuiyuan didn't stand on ceremony and said directly, "Grandma Liu, I'll come help you write."

"You know how to write?" The tone carried some surprise; she was inclined to believe it, after all, this child had been admitted to university at such a young age.

"I know how."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the brush and started writing directly on the white cloth.

At first, Liu Jinxia was still a bit worried, but after seeing the characters written by the boy, her heart completely settled back into her stomach.

It was just that the seal couplet written by the boy didn't seem to have been flipped through in the book she had on hand, but it didn't matter; the characters were written beautifully, grandly, and solemnly, and the host would be satisfied.

Li Zhuiyuan finished writing all the seal couplets on the table, put down the brush, and rubbed his wrist.

Liu Jinxia happily spread them out to dry and said, "Stay for dinner."

"No, I have friends and classmates; I have to go back to Great-Grandfather's house for dinner tonight."

"Oh, I see. Is school on holiday? How many days are you staying at home?"

"Three days."

"Hmm." Liu Jinxia looked at her granddaughter Cui Cui. "Study hard, and strive to go to university in Jin Ling with your Brother Little Yuan in the future."

Cui Cui stuck out her tongue; when she went to university, Brother Little Yuan would have long since graduated.

"Brother Little Yuan, go play in my room."

Just like the first time he came to Cui Cui's house, Li Zhuiyuan was taken to the second floor by Cui Cui, and he still took off his shoes at the stairs.

The layout of Cui Cui's room hadn't changed, but there were many more dolls, and she had also collected many picture albums, posters, and storybooks, which she took out like showing off treasures to share with Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan's attention stayed more on the furniture in the room.

At first, he discovered a thin horizontal crack on the mirror of the dressing table.

Next, there were such cracks on the wardrobe, the chair, and the edge of the bed.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it was perfectly normal for furniture to crack after being used for a long time.

But Li Zhuiyuan could see that this was the influence of the girl's own fate on the surrounding environment.

People are a component of the environment and naturally can cause specific changes to the environment. Cui Cui's fate had become hard again.

From Liu Jinxia, to Li Juxiang, to Cui Cui, three generations, becoming increasingly extreme.

Although Li Zhuiyuan was good at physiognomy and numerology, he was not superstitious about this, but even according to the probability method, Cui Cui's current problem was already very serious.

After she grew up, unless it was those special groups of people, ordinary people would find it very difficult to bear if they had an intimate relationship with her.

In this world, there really existed a very small number of people: men who married wives, one would run away or die after another; women who married, before they even entered the door, the fiancé would either go crazy or die of illness.

Looking at the young male stars in the posters Cui Cui unfolded, Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Cui Cui, do you like them?"

The little girl answered with a smile, "They look good, and they look as good as Brother Little Yuan."

Li Zhuiyuan silently pondered in his heart that perhaps he could ask Ah Li to make a longevity lock or bracelet to help suppress Cui Cui's fate.

It was just that this material was hard to find; jade wasn't suitable, as it would break if worn for a long time, so it had to be metal, and ordinary metal wouldn't work—it had to be special gold.

It was just that he was currently walking the river, and helping others change their fate without authorization might trigger certain karma.

In a glance/p>

Fortunately, Cui Cui was still young, and waiting a bit longer wouldn't be a problem.

From the perspective of ordinary people, puppy love is generally a loss for girls, but here for Cui Cui, it might be the boy attending his own funeral.

After the visit to Cui Cui's house ended, Li Zhuiyuan returned to Great-Grandfather's house.

Great-Grandfather and Shan Shan Daye were still snoring in their respective coffins, occasionally saying a few sleep-talking words, which were also arguing in their dreams.

He remembered Great-Grandfather saying that after he passed away in the future, he would be buried with Mountain Cannon.

Now it seemed that if the two old men were really buried together, the graveyard would never have peace at night.

Li Zhuiyuan appreciated the paper figures prepared in advance in the living room; Ying's craftsmanship was indeed excellent, and every paper figure was crafted vividly, and, presented a kind of terrifying orderliness.

It was the kind of feeling where, if you shone a flashlight at them at night, a row of paper figures would give you the feeling that they were about to turn their heads collectively.

Since she made them with her own hands, it was normal to have such an effect.

Li Zhuiyuan went up the stairs and came to the terrace, where his and Ah Li's rattan chairs were still placed in their original positions.

It was impossible to keep them there to be exposed to the wind and sun, and looking at the traces on the ground, Great-Grandfather must have specially moved them out of the house and placed them here this morning.

His past was also someone else's memory.

Many afternoons, Great-Grandfather would lie on his long chair in the distance, waving a cattail fan while smoking, looking with a smile at the two rattan chairs placed together in front, as well as the boy and girl sitting together.

Li Zhuiyuan sat down in the rattan chair, his gaze habitually looking downward; the door to the east room was closed.

Li Weihan and Cui Guiying had to go home to live every night. Ying would stay here, but she slept in the west room, which was the room that used to belong to Liu Yi and Qin Shu.

And the door to the east room, where Ah Li and Grandma Liu used to live, still had a lock hanging on it.

Time seemed to be rewound here, rewinding through another winter, autumn, summer, and spring, returning to that day when he sat here, holding "Jianghu Strange Records" in his hands, and in the gaps of turning pages, took a look at the girl sitting downstairs with her feet on the threshold:

A page of Jianghu, a glimpse of a stunning sight.

Memories are not the exclusive property of the elderly, but depend on whether you have had enough beauty.

Just at this moment, Li Zhuiyuan sensed a gust of Yin wind overflowing from the room behind him, blowing his hair.

The boy pressed his right thumb onto the red button on his wrist and quickly pinched a seal with his left hand.

A sharp aura radiated from the boy's body.

This was an instinct, an aura accumulated from stepping over all the way through resentful spirits and evil spirits, and stepping over layer upon layer of river waves. Especially now, when Runsheng and the others were not by his side, the boy's sensitivity would be infinitely magnified.

But very soon, his thumb relaxed, and the seal was released.

Li Zhuiyuan suppressed this instinct of his.

But in the end, it still scared that gust of wind.

With a "bang!", the Yin wind quickly retracted, closing all the doors and windows in front.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, raised and spread his hands; he was expressing his apology.

But after pushing open the door, except for the back window still being open, the room looked very cold and empty.

After standing in the room for a while, hearing a sound coming from the dam, Li Zhuiyuan walked out.

Runsheng rode the tricycle and carried Yin Meng back.

The old rule: this time Runsheng only replenished the goods and didn't leave any money, and the goods couldn't be replenished too fully, otherwise it would be convenient for Shan Shan Daye to take them to sell for gambling money.

That is to say, Shan Shan Daye wouldn't borrow external debts; if he had no money, he wouldn't gamble and would just gnaw on sweet potatoes at home.

Otherwise, running into such an elder would really be quite annoying.

Yin Meng thought of a way: just send money to Grandpa Li's house in the future, and tell Shan Shan Daye to go to Grandpa Li's house for meals when he runs out of food.

This way, Shan Shan Daye would solve the problem of not being able to let go of his pride, and Li Sanjiang could control Shan Shan Daye, achieving the goal of providing food but not money.

It just so happened that Li Sanjiang and Shan Shan Daye also woke up at this time. Both old men were drunk and hazy. After Runsheng said this, Li Sanjiang agreed directly.

Afterward, Shan Shan Daye pulled Runsheng to the wall and asked, "You're accompanying Little Yuan to university, so how can you still make money?"

"Little Yuan gives me pocket money."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then you won't go hungry?"

"I work in the cafeteria."

"No salary?"

"No, but they provide meals."

Shan Shan Daye nodded. "That's indeed not easy to ask for a salary."

"Hmm."

"Then Little Yuan's money is also given by that guy Old Li. If you give it to him again, and I go to eat, wouldn't that be shamelessly going to eat at his house?"

"Grandpa Li doesn't know the truth; I'll just tell Grandpa Li that we opened a store at school and made money."

"That's true."

Li Zhuiyuan, standing on the second floor, clearly heard the conversation between the two below. Clearly, Runsheng's excuse must have been taught by someone on the way.

Li Sanjiang cleared his throat, walked to the edge of the dam, spat into the field, then picked up a cigarette, and scolded Shan Shan Daye:

"Look at your behavior. Runsheng is not young anymore and is almost at the age to talk about a wife. Which girl would dare to live in that broken house of yours that is about to collapse and leaks wind everywhere?"

"Look at how I'm saving money for a house and dowry for Little Yuan. Look at you; you don't have the look of an elder at all!"

Shan Shan Daye rarely lowered his head and didn't refute.

"Runsheng has a big appetite and has the habit of eating well, but he also has great strength and is a good hand at work. Without you, this burden, he really wouldn't have to worry about marrying a wife."

Saying this, Li Sanjiang even walked behind Runsheng and punched him twice.

"Huff... huff..."

The cigarette ash in his mouth was blown into his eyes.

Li Sanjiang wiped his eyes while feeling puzzled:

"Strange, where did this wind come from?"

Shan Shan Daye couldn't hold it anymore and shouted, "Then I'll go jump into the river now, and you can fish me out tonight, okay?"

"Fart! When you were alive, you didn't consider the child well, and after you die, you still want to make the child feel guilty for a lifetime!"

Shan Shan Daye was so angry that he sat down on a bench by the wall. His eyes, which had just faded from red, turned red again, but this time it wasn't because of the alcohol.

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips and took a beautiful puff of his cigarette: he finally won the argument; comfortable.

However, he didn't dare to continue stimulating Mountain Cannon, worried that Mountain Cannon might really blow himself up.

"Grandpa Li!"

Lin Shu You came back carrying a large pile of gifts, followed by Tan Wenbin, who was carrying eight cartons of cigarettes in his left hand and five bottles of wine in his right.

Li Sanjiang was dissatisfied with Lin Shu You: "Why did you buy all these specifically? Is your family very rich?"

Lin Shu You said, "Not very rich."

"If you're not rich, why are you so extravagant..."

"There's a temple at home."

"A temple?"

"And temple property, land, mountains, and incense."

"Then it should indeed be extravagant."

Li Sanjiang looked at Tan Wenbin again, pointing at the cigarettes and wine he was carrying: "Zhuangzhuang, what kind of madness are you pulling again?"

Tan Wenbin smiled. "They were all taken from my grandparents' houses on both sides; others gave them, and they asked me to send them to you, just as visiting a relative."

"Then I have to ponder what to give as a return gift."

"Just pick some vegetables, and I'll send them over; they all eat lightly."

"Nonsense, your grandparents on both sides live in Shigang, not in Hong Kong!"

Even if they lived in town, they could see the fields as soon as they opened the window.

"Oh my, we're family, why divide it so clearly? If we really calculate, I haven't given Brother Little Yuan tutoring fees yet; that's provincial top-scorer tutoring, how much should I give!"

"That's being a study companion; by rights, I should give you wages."

Tan Wenbin: "..."

Dinner was still very rich, mainly because Runsheng and Tan Wenbin were there, plus a martial artist Lin Shu You who also had a big appetite, so there wasn't much left from lunch.

While chatting in the afternoon, Cui Guiying casually asked Yin Meng how her cooking was, and Yin Meng answered: It's okay.

In the past, although Cui Guiying and Yin Meng had met and known each other, they hadn't had long-term contact or communication, so at dinner, Cui Guiying originally wanted to call Yin Meng over to help in the kitchen.

Yin Meng stood there awkwardly and didn't move.

Tan Wenbin and Runsheng were so scared that they hurriedly waved their hands, and the two of them didn't hesitate to go into the kitchen together to help cook.

Cui Guiying was surprised; didn't that girl say her cooking was okay?

Tan Wenbin, who was helping to cut vegetables, had to nod forcefully: "Her hand is injured and can't touch water; her cooking is indeed okay!"

After dinner, Cui Guiying and Li Weihan went home first.

Runsheng moved the television out to the dam and sat with Tan Wenbin, making paper crafts while watching TV.

Lin Shu You wanted to integrate, so he also started learning to make paper crafts. He was quite talented and got the hang of it quickly.

Yin Meng went to the field in the back alone to practice martial arts.

It wasn't just Li Zhuiyuan who wanted to reminisce.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished showering, when passing by the terrace on the second floor, he saw that only Runsheng and Lin Shu You were sitting in front of the television downstairs, and Tan Wenbin was squatting on the edge of the dam, smoking.

The frequency of Binbin's quitting smoking was terrifyingly high.

If he wasn't mistaken, besides visiting his grandparents on both sides this afternoon, Tan Wenbin must have also gone to sweep Zheng Haiyang's grave.

The wine he brought back was an odd number.

Life is always good at playing jokes on people; such a person who is good at socializing is now afraid to truly open his heart to others, afraid that others will become Zheng Haiyang, and also afraid that he will become someone else's Zheng Haiyang.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't go downstairs to comfort Binbin, because Binbin only needed to digest it alone and didn't need extra comfort.

Moreover, even if he really needed it, he wouldn't need him.

Auntie Zhang's figure appeared across the rice field, and he saw her make a gesture of pinching her throat, and immediately, the plain mountain song started:

"Brother Bin, your mother Zhou Yun is calling you~~~"

"Pfft..."

Tan Wenbin, who was feeling depressed, was directly amused.

He roughly guessed that it wasn't Auntie Zhang who had passed on the wrong message, but that it should have been his mother, Zheng Fang, who did it on purpose.

He reckoned that Zhou Yunyun, on the other end of the phone, was blushing and lowering her face in front of his mother again.

Zhou Yunyun had missed too many lessons because of hospitalization, so she didn't go home this time, but since school was on holiday, according to his mother's habit, she should have called Zhou Yunyun to her house for the festival.

Tan Wenbin stood up and called to Lin Shu You: "Ah You, accompany me to answer the phone."

"Oh, alright."

Tan Wenbin took Lin Shu You to answer the phone.

"Little Yuan." Li Sanjiang's voice came.

"Great-Grandfather."

Li Sanjiang smiled and sat in his rattan chair.

"Great-Grandfather, it's cold; sitting here blowing in the wind is easy to catch a cold."

"Don't worry, although your Great-Grandfather is old, it's really not easy to get a headache or fever."

He had lived his whole life, even when he was in the Nationalist Army in the past, he had never been scratched by a shell fragment after coming down from the battlefield several times.

The only time his health was bad and he had heavy bleeding was when Li Zhuiyuan first came here; that period not only involved dreaming of running with zombies at night but also being covered in wounds when he woke up.

However, Li Sanjiang never thought that had anything to do with Little Yuan; even if it really did, it had nothing to do with it.

"Ceng Sun, how is university?"

"Good, everything is good."

"Is the money enough to spend?"

"Enough, most students don't have as much money as I do, and don't dress as well or eat as well as I do."

"Hehe." Li Sanjiang nodded with satisfaction. "That's right, we're not a rich family, but it doesn't matter; we are willing to spend money."

Li Zhuiyuan laughed along with him.

"Come, let Great-Grandfather take a good look at you again."

Li Sanjiang signaled Li Zhuiyuan to come closer, reached out, grabbed his great-grandson's arm, squeezed it, and then patted it with his palm.

"Our Little Yuan has really grown up, hehe, he has the feeling of a big shot."

"I'm a child, so I'm definitely growing every day."

"It's not just height that's growing." Li Sanjiang pointed to his own eyes. "Your Great-Grandfather's eyes are a ruler, you believe it?"

"I believe it."

"Tsk, look, my great-grandson has the air of someone who is going to do big things. When he really grows up, he will definitely be extraordinary. Alright, go back to sleep; you traveled today, so you must be tired."

"Great-Grandfather, you also go back to the room to rest early, don't blow in the wind anymore."

"Understood, understood."

Li Zhuiyuan returned to his room, folded the quilt, covered himself with it, and lay down slowly.

Not long after he closed his eyes, gusts of Yin wind blew in the room where the doors and windows were tightly closed.

Li Zhuiyuan endured it this time without moving, and didn't rush to open his eyes.

After waiting for a good while, he could smell the damp breath, and there was even the sound of water droplets dripping beside him, before the boy slowly opened his eyes.

Right above him, sticking to the bed board.

A black tight-fitting cheongsam, a pair of bright red high heels, and long, damp hair hanging down.

The scene he saw after falling into the water on the boat that day seemed to be the beginning of a brand-new life.

And at this moment, she appeared in front of him again.

Little Huang Ying's upper body slowly lowered.

Her hair tips gradually touched Li Zhuiyuan's chest, neck, chin, and side of his face.

Accompanied by the constant dripping, her hair also gradually spread out.

This long hair was like a piece of black cloth, wrapping both of their heads inside, and the two faced each other in this black cloth.

She really wasn't beautiful; her makeup was too heavy.

However, she really looked good, whether alive or dead.

"Although it might provoke it, I can still help you find liberation."

Little Huang Ying was under the control of the one under the peach forest, but it was hard to say to what extent she was controlled, but so far... the fact that Little Huang Ying could continue to exist without dissipating after taking revenge was indeed influenced by "it."

Little Huang Ying shook her head.

She refused the help from the boy.

Li Zhuiyuan understood; all of this was Little Huang Ying's own choice. It didn't really make things difficult for her.

Perhaps, in Little Huang Ying's view, living as a human without any attachment was not as good as continuing to exist like this.

Perhaps, it was also because of its existence that it helped Little Huang Ying offset the pain of becoming a resentful spirit. When it was suppressed and dissipated, Little Huang Ying would also dissolve.

Little Huang Ying's forehead lowered further, and finally, it pressed against Li Zhuiyuan's forehead.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and began to walk in the underworld.

"Little Huang Ying! Little Huang Ying!"

"Look, Little Huang Ying!"

Li Zhuiyuan discovered that he had arrived in a dream; this was the funeral of the bearded man's mother.

Little Huang Ying picked up the microphone and was preparing to sing.

Beside him were the excited Shitou, Hu Zi, Pan Zi, and Lei Zi; the children and adults were all applauding enthusiastically.

Little Huang Ying displayed her posture to the fullest and began her performance:

"Even if there are thousands of songs in the future, drifting to the distance on my road; even if there are thousands of evening stars in the future, brighter than tonight's moon."

The singing voice was still the same taste from his memory; although only a little over a year had passed, it had already been branded with the yellowing mark of time.

Just at this moment, behind Li Zhuiyuan, a man's voice came:

"You are walking the river..."

It was it,

the one under the peach forest; he had found him through Little Huang Ying.

"Yes, I am walking the river."

"Did you learn the black-covered book I gave you..."

"I learned it."

"Kill someone for me while walking the river..."

"Kill whom?"

"Wei Zhengdao."

———

The monthly ticket task is completed, and I need to add a chapter.

Primarily, my daily update of ten thousand words means I have no stockpile and am coding it on the spot, so the coding time basically takes the whole day, making it very difficult to temporarily produce an extra chapter. However, everyone can rest assured that I will try my best to write more tomorrow and integrate the added chapter into the word count of the next chapter!

It's the last day of the month, and monthly tickets will be cleared. If you have tickets in your hands, please vote for the Dragon!

(End of this chapter)

Mainly, my daily update of ten thousand words has no saved manuscripts and is all coded on the spot; the coding time basically requires the whole day, so it's very difficult to temporarily produce a chapter, but everyone can rest assured, I will try to write more tomorrow and integrate the additional updates into the word count of the next chapter!

It's the last day of the month, monthly tickets will be cleared, those who have monthly tickets, please vote for the dragon!

(End of chapter)