Chapter 22

Reading and reading, Li Zhuiyuan felt hungry, but Liu Yi hadn't called for dinner yet. At this moment, she was still in the kitchen preparing dishes and busy.

Breakfast was moved forward because of Xue Liangliang's shout, and lunch was delayed because of Runsheng's arrival.

It is estimated that everyone is hungry by now.

Li Zhuiyuan went to the room and chose some snacks, placing them between himself and A Li, while silently noting that next time Qin Shu goes to buy snacks for himself, he must remind him to buy them in pairs, otherwise it's hard for him to pick, because A Li likes to eat the same snacks as him.

When taking the tractor back last night, Great-Grandpa brought him a case of Jianlibao. Li Zhuiyuan also took two bottles and placed them in front of A Li after opening them.

A Li held the Jianlibao with both hands, lowered her head, and looked at it carefully.

Li Zhuiyuan immediately said: "Drink it, you are not allowed to collect it."

A Li lowered her head even more.

"If you like it, I'll get you another unopened bottle in a while."

Anyway, this thing has a long shelf life and is sealed. Li Zhuiyuan felt that since Grandma Liu had experienced the torture of stinky duck eggs, it should be easy to accept a pop-top can.

A Li immediately picked up the drink, learned from Li Zhuiyuan and took a sip, then stuck out her tongue and licked her lips.

"Is this your first time drinking it?"

A Li looked over. Her expression wasn't very rich, but Li Zhuiyuan had always been able to understand.

"If you like drinking it, I have another case there. You can drink one bottle and take one bottle each time. When you finish drinking, I'll beg Great-Grandpa to buy more for me."

A Li quickly took another sip. Although there were no other actions, Li Zhuiyuan's mind seemed to have already visualized:

A cute little girl holding a Jianlibao, her eyebrows curved, and happily shaking her legs.

"Shall we play chess?"

Hearing this, A Li immediately took out the small chess box that had been by her side.

After setting up the chessboard, Li Zhuiyuan and A Li began to play. The two of them had always defaulted to playing blitz chess, but this time, in the middle game, the two sides were evenly matched, and they kept fighting until the end game, when Li Zhuiyuan finally lost narrowly.

This was the hardest time A Li had won since the two started playing chess. The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan. She wasn't unhappy; instead, she was even more radiant.

Li Zhuiyuan, who lost the chess game, showed a smile on his face. This time, he had a sudden inspiration to apply a part of the "Fate Deduction Theory" algorithm to Go, which had an unexpected effect.

The chessboard was still that chessboard, but in Li Zhuiyuan's eyes, it became vivid, which also made his chess moves more flexible and changeable.

However, after the second game of chess started, Li Zhuiyuan noticed that A Li's style had also changed.

After he had reminded her not to let him win, she indeed didn't try to lose to him on purpose, but she didn't mind playing more with him each time. What she cared about was the experience of the process, and winning was just an inevitable result for her.

But this time, Li Zhuiyuan found that A Li's chess style suddenly became stable, step by step, almost giving him no flaws or opportunities. No matter how flexible or changeable he was, it was meaningless in front of a mountain.

He lost, crushed by the girl's chess strength.

Yeah, whether it's physiognomy or fortune-telling, it's just giving you another angle to look at the world, and you, are still just you.

Having an extra angle is a good thing, equivalent to having an extra pair of eyes or an extra pair of ears, but being too obsessed with it, thinking that mastering it allows you to do whatever you want, is like a little ant standing on an elephant's head looking into the distance, really thinking it is that tall, which is too ridiculous.

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan silent, A Li reached out and pulled his sleeve gently.

Li Zhuiyuan showed a warm smile on his face: "I was just thinking about the things in the book, not because I lost the chess game. How could I not be happy losing to A Li?"

Just after comforting the girl, Liu Yi finally called for dinner downstairs.

It was still separate dining tables, but after Runsheng came, Li Sanjiang finally had a lonely companion.

Li Zhuiyuan divided a small plate for A Li first. Just after picking up his chopsticks and taking two bites, he heard the "gurgle gurgle" sound coming from behind him, like thunder on dry land.

Turning his head to look, he found it was Runsheng's stomach in the corner making the sound.

A large incense stick handmade by Liu Yi was inserted into his rice bowl, already lit and burning. He was sitting there right now, waiting for the incense to burn out.

Once a person is past the point of hunger, the feeling of hunger often isn't that heavy, but when delicious food is placed in front of them again, the dormant feeling of hunger will return twofold.

This feeling of being right in front of one's eyes but still having to endure and wait for timing is indeed a torture for Runsheng.

Li Zhuiyuan asked curiously: "Brother Runsheng, do you have to wait until the incense burns out before you can eat?"

"Yeah, right." Runsheng swallowed a mouthful of saliva hard, then made a stirring motion with his hand, "You have to mix it with incense ash to be able to eat it."

Li Zhuiyuan remembered this habit. Runsheng had told him before, but what he wanted to ask this time was: "Brother Runsheng, is there a big difference between burning it out and mixing it into ash to eat, and eating it directly?"

"Ah?" Runsheng was stunned for a moment. "I really haven't thought about this. Don't normal people wait for the incense to burn out?"

"But do normal people mix rice with incense ash?"

"Then... shall I try?"

Runsheng pulled out the incense from his rice bowl, bit the end that wasn't lit, and when chewing, he didn't show a painful expression on his face; instead, his eyebrows relaxed, as if he felt it was exceptionally refreshing.

Immediately after, he picked up his chopsticks and impatiently shoveled several large mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. After swallowing, he looked at the incense in his hand with a surprised face and exclaimed:

"Xiao Yuan, I really ate it, it's not nauseating or causing acid reflux!"

Liu Yi uses ancient methods to make incense. Although this thing isn't for eating, it's no big deal if it's really eaten. Well, mainly with Runsheng's stomach, even if there were small things, the impact on him would be approximate to zero.

Runsheng bit the incense very happily, then shoveled rice hard again, eating with great excitement. This posture, as if what he was holding wasn't incense, but a large green onion to go with rice.

Li Zhuiyuan asked: "Brother Runsheng, do you want some sauce?"

"Sauce?" Runsheng pondered for a moment, then nodded vigorously, "I want it, I want it."

Liu Yi stood up and went into the kitchen, got a bowl of salty sauce for breakfast porridge for Runsheng, and placed it on his small table.

Runsheng picked up the large incense, dipped it in the sauce, took another bite, and it was so delicious that his eyebrows wanted to fly up.

"Xiao Yuan, you are truly impressive. This is much more delicious than waiting for the incense to burn out before eating."

Runsheng seemed to have opened the door to a new world, eating with great gusto.

Li Sanjiang took a sip of white wine, looked at Runsheng eating in this posture, and couldn't help but laugh and scold:

"Damn it, I have to find a way to get you some authentic Northeast soybean paste later. That thing is delicious with everything."

Li Zhuiyuan took a sip of soup, looked at Li Sanjiang, and asked: "Great-Grandpa, have you been to the Northeast?"

Li Sanjiang wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, sat with his legs spread, and struck a pose like a mountain king:

"Of course I've been there. Back then, your Great-Grandpa, I was press-ganged and sent directly to the Northeast. Later, it was your Great-Grandpa, I, who had nimble legs and feet, and ran from the Northeast into the Shanhai Pass all the way."

This chatterbox, once opened, was a bit hard to close. Li Sanjiang took another sip of wine and continued:

"After entering the pass, I thought about walking back south along the railway, but before I had walked far, I was press-ganged again. I put on the clothes and was pushed to the front line to fight again.

But this time I had experience. Taking advantage of the officer being drunk, I aimed for a gap, and at night, I wrapped up a squad of people and ran away directly.

By the time I was almost at the Xuzhou boundary, seeing that my hometown was right in front of me, damn it, I was caught again.

But this time it was very fast. On the third day, the team I was in was scattered. Originally, the platoon leader wanted to reorganize us, but I was messing around underneath, and the whole platoon that had just been reorganized scattered again.

Next, I became more cautious. I didn't dare to walk along the railway and main roads anymore. Wherever the road was small and there were few people, I walked. Only then did I successfully return home.

After returning home, I wasn't at peace either. I was caught again later, but I had experience in slipping away. They caught me during the day, and I could slip back at night.

After this, I just hid secretly after returning home, not daring to go out and wander around blindly anymore, until I was safe."

Li Zhuiyuan sighed: "Great-Grandpa, you are truly impressive."

The three major campaigns, Great-Grandpa actually participated in all of them.

Although he was on the opposite side, he also made continuous contributions to the front-line battlefield.

Li Sanjiang touched his stubbly chin and said modestly: "It's alright, it's alright, hehe."

Runsheng had already finished half a basin of rice by now and was taking a short rest. He interjected:

"I ran into someone showing movies on the road when I came this morning. They said they were going to show it on the open ground by the town market tonight. The movie name is 'Scout Across the Yangtze River'.

Xiao Yuan, are you going to watch it?"

"Brother Runsheng, we have to go to the Niu family in Shigang after eating."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Li Sanjiang waved his hand. "Just fool around over there, we should be able to come back quite early, we'll make it."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at A Li in front of him. He knew that the girl couldn't accept the scene of so many people huddled together:

"Still not going. I'll read at home. Brother Runsheng, you and Great-Grandpa go watch."

At this moment, Liu Yumei suddenly said: "A Li is going. Even if she sits far away, she has to watch this movie."

Li Zhuiyuan noticed the slight tremor in Liu Yumei's tone. He turned his head to look and found that she was still eating normally, but the corners of her eyes seemed a bit red.

This was the first time he had seen Liu Yumei so out of character.

After the meal, Runsheng pushed out the cart at home. Li Sanjiang and Li Zhuiyuan sat on it.

Runsheng pushed the cart very steadily, basically feeling not too much bumping, but this speed was still a bit slow.

"Runsheng Hou, wait for the next few days, you learn to pedal a tricycle. That's fast."

"Grandpa, why don't you buy a tractor? I'll learn that one. That's even faster."

"Do you think your Great-Grandpa, I, look like a tractor?"

Runsheng didn't speak.

Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette, looked at Li Zhuiyuan, and asked: "Xiao Yuan Hou, do you think our family should buy a television?"

"Great-Grandpa, you can buy it if you want to watch."

"Great-Grandpa is asking you."

"Oh, I don't have much time to watch television."

In the basement, there were so many boxes of books waiting for him to read, where would he have time to watch television.

"You little kid."

Li Sanjiang still wanted to take the television to please his great-grandson, but found that he didn't seem to have much interest. He gave him pocket money, but he didn't even go to the small shop on weekdays except for what he bought himself.

Runsheng, who was pushing the cart, said excitedly: "Buying a television is good, good."

"Good your head, push faster. Do you still want to watch the movie tonight?"

"Oh oh!"

Arriving at the intersection in front of Niu Fu's house, Li Sanjiang got off the cart in advance, tidied up his clothes, and then very seriously raised his peach wood sword and wiped it carefully with a cloth.

After finishing these preparations, he walked into Niu Fu's house.

Welcoming them were Niu Fu's two sons and two daughters-in-law. As soon as Li Sanjiang entered, they were serving tea and snacks, very enthusiastic.

Li Sanjiang sat down first and started talking with them.

This kind of employer is actually the easiest to deal with, because they will tell you everything like pouring beans, and then you just follow the train of thought they want and act it out.

Li Zhuiyuan looked for Niu Fu in the house. He looked at several rooms but didn't find him, which made him suspect that Niu Fu didn't live here anymore.

After coming out of the main house and arriving by the side of the woodshed, Li Zhuiyuan finally found Niu Fu.

In his own original assumption, Niu Fu should be lying on the bed, unable to move, and suffering from cold neglect...

But he still thought too highly of the filial piety of Niu Fu's children.

Niu Fu, who was paralyzed on one side due to an accidental fall, didn't even have a bed and was directly placed in the woodshed.

That hay pile beneath him was his bed. On the left was stacked firewood, and on the right was a towering pile of sundries.

Beside him were two bowls. One bowl had water poured in it and was still relatively clean, while the other bowl was dirty and didn't know how many layers of dirt had accumulated. It should be for holding rice.

As for the clothes on Niu Fu, his upper body was bare, no clothes, and he wore a pair of shorts on his lower body, dirty, almost scabbed and stuck to his body, stinking.

It was also true; the children didn't even want to give him a bed to sleep on, let alone wash his body or change his clothes.

Li Zhuiyuan covered his nose with his hand and approached slightly.

When he saw Niu Fu last time, although the whole person was hunched, he was quite sturdy in other aspects. After all, he was only fifty years old. At this age in the countryside, he still belonged to the "strong labor" category.

But now, Niu Fu was too thin, his mouth was open and whispering continuously, and he didn't know if he was talking or if it was a reaction he couldn't control.

When Li Zhuiyuan came in, he turned his head slightly to look, then moved back again, his gaze looking at the roof without spirit.

After watching for a while, Li Zhuiyuan came out and breathed fresh air in big gulps outside the woodshed.

"Meow."

A cat's meow came. On the wall beside him, a disabled and ugly old black cat stepped out.

It looked at Li Zhuiyuan and even raised its paw to lick it.

"Don't you think it's too quiet?"

The black cat's action of licking its paw froze.

"Everyone treats the other as non-existent, lacking interaction. You make some noise at night to push the intensification of the conflict."

"Meow..."

This time, there was a tremor in the cat's meow.

Li Sanjiang performed the funeral rites in the courtyard. The two sons, who didn't even have time to wash the bowls for their own father, were all kneeling in front of the offering table with their wives, incomparably pious.

After the funeral rites were done, Li Sanjiang used the peach wood sword to pat them on the shoulders in turn and comforted them:

"Don't worry, you know what evil things your own father did. Some debts, the old man incurred, so the old man should clear them. It won't implicate you, so put your hearts in your stomachs.

If you feel that the bad luck hasn't gone away, it's not like there's no way. You can lead the remaining bad luck to other close relatives' houses. However, you must bite your tongue and never say it out, otherwise, you won't even be relatives anymore."

"Lead, lead, we'll lead, Grandpa, please help us lead!"

"Forget it, don't do it. It's too damaging to others and destroys my Dao practice."

Li Sanjiang began to put on airs. When another red envelope was sent up, he sighed,

"Alright, since that's the case, I'll help you lead away the bad luck, but you must keep your mouths shut about this matter and never leak it out."

"Grandpa, don't worry, we understand, we understand."

Li Sanjiang performed another funeral rite for them. After finishing, he said:

"Alright, the remaining bad luck has been led to the second and third families."

Under the thousand thanks of the Niu family's eldest son's group, Li Sanjiang took Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng and walked out.

Sitting on the cart to go to Niu Rui's house, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but ask curiously: "Great-Grandpa, I originally thought you would preach to them."

"Preach to them? Heh, your Great-Grandpa, my brain didn't get water in it. For people who even need to be preached to about supporting their parents, is there any need to preach?"

"It's better to ask for more money, so your Great-Grandpa can buy more pig head meat and wine.

It's just that I hope nothing else happens at the Niu family. If something happens again, I'm afraid it will be very difficult for me to round it off, and I'm really afraid of smashing my brand."

"Isn't that 'dead-turned' being solved by you?"

"Right, that's true too."

Li Zhuiyuan was clear that nothing else would happen. After the three children were tortured to the end, the Cat-Faced Old Lady would also dissipate on her own.

When they were almost at Niu Rui's house, they saw on the threshing floor that Niu Rui was squatting there, decocting medicine with a small stove, and beside him were his children's sarcasm, saying that these medicines were a waste of money besides being useless, and no matter how he was treated, he couldn't be cured.

Niu Rui had also killed people when he was young. Although he relied on his biological mother, Niu Old Lady, to wipe his butt, he was still a violent temper in his bones.

He actually couldn't hold back his anger, stood up, and slapped his daughter-in-law who was holding a child.

The son roared and came up to hit Niu Rui, and Niu Rui fought with his son again.

Although he had a strange illness, he was at the point where his condition had just been controlled, and he actually fought with his son on the ground for a time, fighting inextricably.

Niu Rui's wife saw this, screamed and came up to scratch Niu Rui's face, scolding him for not being a thing, spending the family's money on medicine in his old age, and daring to hit her precious son.

The child's crying, the fighting sound, and the scolding sound gathered together, as if a symphony was played on the threshing floor.

When Li Sanjiang arrived, they stopped, and then the flattering and pleasing smiles replaced the bruised faces of the whole family.

Niu Rui was personally saved by Li Sanjiang, and the Niu family had also heard the voice of Niu Old Lady, who had been dead for a long time, coming from the old house, so they were naturally very convinced of Li Sanjiang.

After respectfully inviting Li Sanjiang into the house, everyone began to cry and beg.

After Li Sanjiang comforted them, he performed the funeral rites again.

After the first set was done, Li Sanjiang said the same words about leading away bad luck. Niu Rui's son immediately sent another red envelope, and Li Sanjiang performed another funeral rite.

But before leaving, Niu Rui secretly stuffed another red envelope, praying for Li Sanjiang to drive away evil and cure his illness.

Li Sanjiang also accepted it, saying that he would help him set up a long-lasting candle after going back, but also instructed him that no matter what, he had to take medicine on time and couldn't stop.

This can also be considered the professional ethics of people in the side door. I accept your money and pray for you, playing a psychological comfort role, but you still have to take medicine and continue to see a doctor for your illness.

However, this instruction undoubtedly intensified the conflict between Niu Rui and his family members.

Because Li Zhuiyuan was clear that Niu Rui's illness could not be cured. This would be a bottomless pit that kept bringing you hope and then bringing deeper despair. Niu Fu was completely unable to take care of himself after being paralyzed, so his status plummeted all at once, while Niu Rui was still in the struggle stage.

Although Niu Rui wasn't too miserable yet, as long as the current conflicts continued to accumulate, in the near future, it would definitely explode into more brilliant fireworks.

Look at the hateful eyes his family members had already raised towards him; the ending would not be disappointing.

Therefore, this time when the black cat passed by him, Li Zhuiyuan just nodded very calmly.

When arriving at Niu Lian's house, Li Sanjiang was invited in by her family as usual.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't see Niu Lian in the main house, went to the woodshed to look, and didn't find her either.

Finally, beside the pigsty, he saw Niu Lian, who was tied there with iron chains. On the other side was the family's restroom.

It was equivalent to her family members coming here to use the restroom every time, sitting on the dragon chair, and being able to talk to her.

It was quite considerate of the elderly, fearing she would be lonely.

Her rice basin was right next to the pig trough. Beside the basin was the spoon for feeding the pigs. It looked like when feeding the pigs, they would also feed her by the way.

As long as the pigs had a bite to eat, they wouldn't forget her half a bite.

She was awake now, and not numb. Seeing outsiders coming, she covered her face with both hands; this was to hide her ugliness.

Her grandson and granddaughter, Li Zhuiyuan saw them both. One had a bandage on his head and one had a bandage on his arm. They should have both been hurt when Niu Lian had an episode.

The two children, while spitting at her, were throwing stones at her, not the kind of playful throwing, but throwing them directly at her body.

The children's parents also saw it, but didn't stop it; instead, their eyes were full of hatred.

The black cat walked out from the eaves above the pigsty.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't speak, walked further away, and then, Niu Lian's prayer came from beside the pigsty, saying that her illness was already cured, begging her children to let her go, she was already cured.

Greeting her were the curses from her children, and the fierce kicks when her son got angry.

Niu Lian was kicked and curled up in the corner, howling, like a dog.

Obviously, they had believed it before, and had also been "cheated".

The black cat jumped down step by step from above along the high and low objects, and finally walked to Li Zhuiyuan's feet, rubbing its cat face against Li Zhuiyuan's trouser leg.

Li Zhuiyuan bent down and touched its head.

The black cat enjoyed it very much, its body almost leaned over, exposing its belly.

Great-Grandpa began to perform the funeral rites. As usual, he collected an extra red envelope to help lead the bad luck to those two families.

When returning from Niu Lian's house, Runsheng, who was pushing the cart, supported the cart steadily with one arm and began to count with his fingers with the other hand:

"The first family, the second family, the third family, all asked Grandpa to pass the bad luck to other families. Isn't that the same as not passing the bad luck?"

Li Zhuiyuan corrected: "Brother Runsheng, it's different."

"Where is it different?"

"Because Great-Grandpa collected three extra portions of money."

"Right, Xiao Yuan, you are right!"

Returning home, it was just the dusk dinner time. After eating, Li Sanjiang waved his hand while yawning: "I won't go watch the movie. I'll take a shower and go to sleep. I'm exhausted."

The funeral rites were performed densely today. Even if a young man jumped six dances in an afternoon, he wouldn't be able to stand it, but Great-Grandpa still gritted his teeth and persisted. This physical fitness is really nothing to say.

Qin Shu waited with many stools, and Liu Yi couldn't care about cleaning up the bowls and chopsticks as usual. She put down the housework for the time being and waited together.

Liu Yumei changed into a cheongsam, wore jewelry, and put on rouge.

For an old lady of her age, makeup is often not for looking good, but to express respect.

The movie was shown on the open ground by the town market. Before it started, people came to occupy seats early.

Qin Shu and Runsheng squeezed in, put down the stools, and forcibly supported an empty space.

With their physique, the people around them dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak, and could only lower their heads and move their stools away.

However, Qin Shu took out many candies from his pocket and distributed them to the children, and took out cigarettes and distributed them to the adults. The people around them accepted them happily and were no longer dissatisfied.

Liu Yumei and Liu Yi sat between the two. Although she was old, she still had a graceful posture. Looking at her back, she seemed out of place with the surroundings.

As for Li Zhuiyuan, he and Qin Li sat in a quiet corner far away. They were a bit far from the screen and a bit biased. The viewing effect was not good, but it was quiet and no one bothered them. In itself, this kind of crowded place was not very suitable for Qin Li.

A few small vendors pushing carts set up stalls in the back, selling cheap small snacks and small toys. At weddings and funerals, you could also see the figures of these vendors. Wherever there were people, they would go there.

Some children were buying things, and more could only watch with envy on the side, giving some opinions to the children who had money to buy things.

Li Zhuiyuan touched his pocket. When he lived at Li Weihan's house, Cui Guiying would regularly give him pocket money separately, but every time the money reached his hands, he would be surrounded by his brothers and sisters to buy snacks and distribute them to everyone.

On the second day after being sent to Great-Grandpa's house to "become a monk", Li Weihan and Cui Guiying came to send him clothes and stuffed him with some money again. This time, they stuffed him with extra money.

Plus Li Sanjiang would also give him pocket money, and Li Zhuiyuan didn't have much consumption demand on weekdays, so these money were all saved.

At least in the children's circle, he belonged to the very wealthy one.

"A Li, you sit here and wait for me."

Immediately, Li Zhuiyuan walked to a vendor and bought two bubble-blowing toys.

After returning, he had one, and Qin Li had one.

When the movie was shown, the two of them kept blowing bubbles in the back.

A Li played very happily, and one pot bottomed out quickly. Considering that the girl had a habit of liking to collect, Li Zhuiyuan bought three more for her.

At the same time, he scanned among the three stalls and finally bought a pair of hand ropes.

Actually, there were quite a few small accessories on the stalls, like butterfly hair clips, colored hair hoops, etc., but Li Zhuiyuan considered the outfits that A Li designed and dressed up by Grandma Liu every day, and felt that wearing these would have a bad effect.

Most importantly, he knew that if he gave them, she would definitely wear them. Finally, he decided not to deprive Liu Yumei of the joy of changing her granddaughter's clothes every morning.

A Li looked at the red hand rope worn on her wrist. She should like it very much, because she stopped the action of blowing bubbles.

However, she soon looked at Li Zhuiyuan's wrist.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, revealing his blue hand rope. Only then was she satisfied and continued to blow bubbles.

The movie screening ended, and Liu Yumei and the others came out.

Runsheng watched very excitedly, kept talking about the lines in the movie, and regretted that there was no war now, otherwise he could also go be a scout across the Yangtze River.

Li Zhuiyuan agreed with him with a smile, feeling in his heart that Runsheng was really quite suitable, and his professional ability could barely be considered a match.

Qin Shu and Liu Yi were very silent. This feeling was like just having attended a relative's funeral.

Liu Yumei held a handkerchief, wiping tears while walking.

Li Zhuiyuan asked politely, but seeing that Liu Yumei was unwilling to say, he gave up.

When the group walked back quickly from the town market, they saw Auntie Zhang from the small shop running from the opposite village road:

"There's a phone call, there's a phone call, looking for Xiao Yuan Hou, you!"

The on-site seminar on the boat on the river lasted much longer than expected. Local comrades would definitely seize every opportunity to push this project forward. Luo Tingrui also exerted his professional field expertise and began to explain some key and difficult points of the project to the surrounding leaders.

Actually, most of the comrades on the boat didn't understand water conservancy and engineering, but this didn't prevent them from listening with great interest.

Because the construction of this bridge considers not only professionalism, but also needs to combine shipping needs, urban planning, highway construction, and even military and other factors.

The most important thing is the speed of social development. In the past, they hadn't learned similar lessons. The bold and radical advance planning at the beginning was found to be too conservative not long after it was built.

Finally, when the sky was about to darken, the seminar ended.

The boat began to sail to the shore, and everyone took out cigarettes and distributed them to each other.

Xue Liangliang didn't smoke, so he stood alone by the ship's side. After learning that the place under his feet might be where Baijia Town was, his mind had been restless.

Suddenly, he heard movement under the river surface.

He looked down, and under the water surface, a human figure seemed to emerge.

At this moment, a hand patted him on the shoulder, and Xue Liangliang was startled.

Looking back, it was Luo Tingrui.

"What's wrong, Liangliang? I've been watching you being absent-minded."

"Director, I'm fine."

"Why, don't you like attending such meetings?"

"No, Director, I might not have rested well. I know the importance of such meetings."

"Yeah, since you plan to devote yourself to this line of work in the future, you have to learn to adapt. We professionals easily develop the mentality of looking down on administrators, but without efficient and stable organizational degree, many things cannot be implemented. Sometimes, the more professional you are in some aspects, the more amateurish you appear in other aspects."

"I understand, Director." Xue Liangliang knew that Luo Tingrui was giving him pointers.

"Let's go, we're going ashore. Sleep well on the way back, don't delay tomorrow's class."

"Alright, Director."

Returning to the shore and getting on the bus, Xue Liangliang sat in the back row. Not long after the car started, he fell asleep in a daze.

Sleeping and sleeping, Xue Liangliang suddenly found his lower body a bit cold. He opened his eyes, and then the whole person was stunned. He was sitting on the car seat, but he didn't know where the water in the car came from, and the water level had already reached his waist.

He looked forward. The small light in the car was on, and he could see the people sitting in front, and could even hear the small conversation between them.

"The car is flooded, driver, master, the car is flooded!"

Xue Liangliang shouted, but no one paid attention to him. Everyone seemed not to have noticed.

"Master, stop the car, the car is flooded, master! Director, Director!"

Still no one responded to him.

Gradually, the water level reached his chest. Xue Liangliang began to pull the car window, but it was pitch black outside, and the car window couldn't be pulled at all.

Just at this moment, a figure seemed to pass through the pitch black in front of his eyes, so fast that Xue Liangliang mistakenly thought he was dazzled.

But soon, the figure appeared again, and her face was stuck to the car window.

Borrowing the small light in the car, it reflected that dim face, which was indistinguishable as male or female for a moment.

"Crack..."

However, at this moment, the car window was suddenly opened, and it was pulled to the maximum at once.

The next moment, the water in the car seemed to have finally found its only vent and all rushed towards his side.

Xue Liangliang felt that his whole person was squeezed out by the water flow. He was washed out of the car window, fell into a pitch black, and his body also continued to drift uncontrollably.

"Splash..."

He didn't know how long he had been drifting. It was as if he had been slapped out by the river, his lower body felt a sharp pain, and he woke up.

He lowered his head and found that he was lying on the riverbank, with jagged stones below, and his palms, arms, chest, and thighs were all rubbed with bloodstains.

There were no big wounds, but this kind of large-area abrasion was really tormenting.

Enduring the pain, Xue Liangliang stood up with difficulty, his gaze scanning the surroundings. The moonlight above his head was covered by a layer of gray fog, causing the environment below to be filled with haziness.

But he could roughly distinguish that this was the riverside, and it was not far from the location where he got on the boat to attend the seminar earlier.

But didn't he leave Nantong by car long ago? How did he return here again?

Xue Liangliang felt bewildered. Suddenly, he saw a woman appearing in front of him.

The woman was wearing a blue skirt, had a ponytail, was holding a porcelain bottle in her left hand, and holding a black umbrella in her right hand.

Why did she have to hold an umbrella?

When Xue Liangliang had this thought, he discovered that the sky was actually raining, and it was a heavy rain. Large raindrops hit his body, causing pain.

Was this rain... raining all along? 【22-27

"Hey, who are you!"

Xue Liang shouted at the woman.

The woman seemed not to hear his words, continuing straight ahead with her umbrella, walking toward the riverbank.

After she got closer, Xue Liang saw the woman's face clearly; her makeup and features carried a hint of a worldly, weary air, yet she was very young.

The main thing was that after Xue Liang left Siyuan Village, he had gone to the hospital first and then to the riverbank, having had no chance to look at the police bulletin board; otherwise, he would have seen the woman's photo appearing there, as the police had already issued a warrant for her.

At this moment, seeing the woman blindly walking into the river water, Xue Liang reached out and grabbed the arm holding the umbrella:

"What are you doing? Don't think about doing something foolish; you can't go any further!"

The woman ignored him and continued walking forward.

"Splash..."

Xue Liang only felt an incredible force coming from the woman, which actually dragged him over directly.

Immediately after, he discovered that his hand seemed to be stuck to the woman's arm, unable to break free no matter what, and he was carried by her into the river.

This posture was truly very uncomfortable; not only could he not maintain his balance, but it also kept his lower body experiencing friction against the pebbles.

When the woman stepped into the river, Xue Liang was finally able to balance his body using the buoyancy of the water, but what followed was an intense sensation of choking on water and suffocation; this was even more terrifying.

He struggled with all his might, but it was to no avail.

The woman continued moving; she walked on the riverbed, where everything was pitch black. Xue Liang floated up, one hand still stuck to the woman's arm, but his whole person had come to be above the woman.

He wanted to shout, but every time he opened his mouth, water rushed in first, completely preventing him from making a sound.

He had no choice but to use his other hand to grab the woman's hair. After winding the hair around his hand, he began to exert force.

The woman's form didn't change in the slightest; she continued moving forward on the riverbed. The force Xue Liang had originally exerted upward turned into a downward clinging, which caused his entire body to press against the woman's back.

The hair began to grow longer, growing unbelievably long, and it was extremely tough; even if only a few strands were hanging there, Xue Liang couldn't tear them apart, and instead, the more he attempted to break free, the tighter he was bound.

In the end, he had almost turned into a posture where he was hugging the woman from behind while she was carrying him forward.

The desperate sensation of suffocation still persisted. Xue Liang could no longer calculate how long he hadn't breathed. He was very uncomfortable and in great pain, but for some reason, he still remained conscious.

This was by no means lucky, because it allowed you to taste the torment more clearly and intuitively.

Now, he was already praying that he could drown quickly, so he could be released sooner.

I don't know how much time passed, but ahead, light actually appeared.

How could there be light under the Yangtze River?

And under the illumination of the light, the shadows of houses were vaguely visible.

On the riverbed, not only was there light, but there really was a village.

Suddenly, Xue Liang only felt that all the hair that had originally bound him drifted away, and even the hand that had been stuck could be let go.

His whole body didn't float upward, but landed on the ground.

The woman continued moving forward, following the guidance of the light, constantly walking toward that vaguely visible village.

Xue Liang discovered with immense terror that it wasn't just the woman who had dragged him down here; in the darkness of the riverbed within his line of sight, there seemed to be many other figures, all women with long hair, wearing clothing of different styles and even different eras.

Every one of them had a deathly, heavy expression, walking without emotion, all heading in one direction.

The water flow around him seemed to have developed a fixed direction. Xue Liang, sitting paralyzed on the ground, only felt his body being uncontrollably pulled toward that direction.

He instinctively wanted to grab onto anything beneath him that could be grasped for stability, but he failed every time; grabbing a stone caused the stone to be overturned, and grabbing mud caused him to stir up a patch of slurry that was quickly diluted and dissipated.

No matter how much he resisted or how unwilling he was at this moment, he couldn't change the reality that he was being forcibly dragged away.

Finally,

He was closer to that light. When viewed from afar, it was just a glimmer, but after seeing it up close, he discovered it was a collection of red and white lantern light sources gathered together.

And the silhouette of the village became more three-dimensional and clearer. Row upon row of houses were arranged neatly, and at the entrance of every household, there was a niche with an eternal lamp lit above it, emitting a ghostly green glow.

Directly in front of him appeared a memorial archway; it was very towering and also very ancient, stained with a large amount of moss.

Two rows of hanging lanterns were hung on both sides, from top to bottom, from large to small.

The left side had red lanterns, representing celebration; the right side had white lanterns, foreshadowing deathly silence.

Xue Liang looked at the center of the archway, where there were three characters.

Reading from right to left,

"Bai Family Town."

(End of chapter)