Chapter 44

Regarding this set of methods for controlling the dead, Li Zhuiyuan was still in the stage of groping and learning, so he was also a bit unable to figure out the current situation.

But one point could be determined first, and that was, A Li was definitely not a dead person.

So,

Am I the dead person?

Li Zhuiyuan really recalled his childhood seriously and confirmed that he only had the same mental illness as Li Lan, not yet to the point of being expelled from human citizenship and classified into the ranks of the dead.

Then, what exactly was going on with the current situation?

This is the disadvantage of reading and self-studying alone. Without a teacher to teach, without a complete set of teaching plans, there is no complete knowledge theory system architecture. Sometimes he can solve complex problems at a high level, but when encountering simple concepts, he can only scratch his head.

Moreover, under this premise, the better one's learning talent is, the more likely one is to go astray.

But,

Since he had already come.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at A Li wrapped in darkness in front and took a step forward.

As this step fell, he only felt everything around him rotating rapidly, a feeling many times more intense than motion sickness crazily stimulating his consciousness.

Fortunately, all this came fiercely and left quickly. After the surroundings "quieted down," Li Zhuiyuan found himself sitting on a small stool, with his feet stepping on the threshold in front.

Li Zhuiyuan was very familiar with this sitting posture. For a very long time, the girl had been sitting like this during the day.

"Sob sob sob......... sob sob sob........."

It was like crying, and also like the low moan of an animal, both far and near.

Right outside this door, a line away from the threshold, it was clearly a realistic perspective, yet it was filled with a kind of ink-wash eerie painting style.

A small dwarf, only a few inches tall, wearing yellow clothes, riding a small horse, driving a car with a yellow canopy, swept past the door, then turned a corner and galloped toward the depths of the dark clouds ahead.

A python traveled through the grass in front of the door. The python only had one head, but two snake bodies extended below it. When crawling, the snake bodies kept intertwining and weaving.

In the vegetable field ahead, several people dressed as farmers were working with hoes. They had water bottles tied to the left side of their waists and their own heads tied to the right side.

By the river in the distance, several women were squatting there washing clothes, holding mallets and beating constantly, but what they were beating was not dirty clothes, but crying infants one by one.

The environment outside the door was dynamic. When you turned your eyeballs, the things seen outside the door began to change.

In an instant, all kinds of ghosts and monsters appeared in his line of sight, some recorded in ancient books, and some unheard of.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his gaze. The sky was filled with dark clouds, and it seemed there was some huge figure looming inside.

He wanted to capture it with his gaze, but he could never see it clearly.

Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and looked behind him, where there was an offering table filled with spirit tablets.

At first glance, a sense of inexplicable security arose spontaneously.

But soon, it was a rich sense of loss.

Because these spirit tablets not only had no luster, but were also full of decay, with shocking cracks all over them.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that since they could appear here, they should have been able to play some role.

But in fact, their functions were missing. There was an oil lamp in front of each spirit tablet, but there was no bit of lamp oil in the oil cup, obviously impossible to light up spiritual light again.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan felt that the outside of the house became very quiet, and the light also dimmed.

He turned his head and looked at the doorway, finding a pitted and mottled wall completely sealing the main door.

Hum!

The next moment,

A crack tore open in the middle of the wall, and then it tore open violently, revealing a huge, slanted, long eye.

Li Zhuiyuan's heart and mind were shaken, and in his ears was a piercing roar.

The scene in front of him dissipated completely. He seemed to have woken up, but he couldn't see or hear.

On the second-floor balcony, the boy opened his eyes blankly, stood up from the rattan chair, and began to sway left and right, getting closer and closer to the edge of the balcony.

At this time, a small hand grabbed his hand and pulled him back.

Li Zhuiyuan stumbled and sat back on the rattan chair, then looked straight ahead with a wooden expression.

He didn't know how long it had passed before the boy regained some consciousness. Following that was a splitting headache. He held his head with both hands, lowering his head in great pain.

Gradually, he calmed down and turned his head to look at the girl beside him.

The girl was also looking at him, a bit of expectation revealed in her eyes, seemingly waiting for his evaluation.

He had just gone to the girl's "home," into her heart, and seen the horror enough to make one unforgettable for a lifetime.

But the boy didn't comfort or feel distressed, but instead pulled out an arc at the corner of his mouth, revealing a smile, and said in a dry voice:

"Really interesting."

The girl tilted her cheek slightly, and shallow dimples seemed to appear at the corners of her mouth.

She was very happy.

Children from ordinary families, when bringing classmates and partners to play at their homes, are always a bit constrained and uneasy.

Her home was scary, but no matter how scary it was, it was still her home.

At this time, sympathy, comfort, and encouragement were not what the "host" wanted; instead, they would aggravate the embarrassment.

Therefore, the best attitude for a guest was: relax, don't take it to heart.

A smile also appeared on Li Zhuiyuan's face. He reached out and gently scraped the girl's nose.

The girl looked at his hand seriously, and then slowly raised her own hand.

The boy leaned forward a bit, and the girl also scraped the boy's nose, very lightly and softly.

Picking up the black-covered book again, Li Zhuiyuan began to review the whole set of processes. He felt that he seemed to have succeeded in executing the method, although the result was a failure.

Moreover, he seemed to have found a training path. A Li was his sparring partner.

Although, he vaguely felt that the level of this sparring partner seemed to be beyond the standard.

But the greater the difficulty, the faster his progress would be. At worst, it was just a headache; he could bear it.

"A Li, shall we do it again?"

The girl nodded.

Then, the two lay down together and closed their eyes.

The same beginning, the same process, the same scene... and the same splitting headache.

Just as Li Zhuiyuan had recovered from the second time, Liu Yi's voice came from downstairs:

"Time for breakfast!"

This feeling was very much like playing a few games of chess while waiting for breakfast after waking up early.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he had found a new game between himself and the girl.

Breakfast was porridge, but there were many kinds of pickles, both traditional local ones from Nantong and those preferred by Grandma Liu's side.

Small dishes were placed on the small table, with a sense of ritual.

Of course, if you didn't consider Runsheng and Binbin.

Runsheng always ate like this—burning incense morning, noon, and night, using a basin to hold porridge, pouring all kinds of pickles into it, and after stirring, using a soup spoon to scoop it up, with porridge and vegetables even in every spoonful.

Tan Wenbin was completely integrated.

Li Sanjiang crossed his left leg, and he crossed his right leg. Both of them held the porridge bowl with one hand, slurping half a circle along the edge of the bowl, then picked up a few pickles with chopsticks and threw them into their mouths. When chewing the pickles, they used the end of the chopsticks to scratch an itch while looking into the distance.

After the meal, Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette.

Tan Wenbin took the initiative to pick up the matchbox and helped Li Sanjiang light it.

Then, while the match hadn't gone out, he also pulled a cigarette from Li Sanjiang's cigarette case and put it in his mouth, lit it, and then quickly threw the match away and shook his hand quickly.

Li Sanjiang glanced at him but didn't say anything.

He didn't understand the word "rebellious," but he had lived long and seen much, knowing that the child in front of him was in this stage.

Generally, children would experience this when growing up, always feeling that growing up to be an adult was such an extraordinary thing.

But when his gaze looked at Li Zhuiyuan, Li Sanjiang smiled again. His Little Yuan Hou would definitely not be so childish.

Li Zhuiyuan took the money exchanged from the gold ingot down and handed the bag to Li Sanjiang:

"Great-grandfather, Grandpa Ding and the others came over this morning. They said they had an urgent matter and had to rush back. Fearing to disturb your sleep, they didn't call you, so they asked me to pass the money to you."

"Is that so? Leaving so hurriedly?"

Li Sanjiang took the black plastic bag and glanced at it. The cigarette in his mouth was smoked significantly faster for a few puffs.

"Yo, it's really not a small amount."

"Great-grandfather, should it be enough?"

"It's definitely enough. Once the contracting contract money is given, all the remaining money will be used to plant peach trees. If there is more money, plant them denser; if there is less money, plant them sparser. Alright, I'm going to find the village head to sign the contract, and then go to the town to inquire about tree seedlings. Auntie Ting, I won't be back for lunch. Sigh, if it weren't for the house, I really wouldn't want to bother with this troublesome matter."

Li Sanjiang carried the bag and walked out. Just as he walked down the dam, he heard his voice:

"Little Cui Hou, are you here to play with Little Yuan Hou?"

"Yes."

"Then go ahead."

Soon, Cui Cui walked onto the dam. Her gaze swept over Li Zhuiyuan and A Li, and a brilliant smile appeared on her face.

"Brother Yuan Hou."

When she ran over, Li Zhuiyuan held A Li's hand.

"Brother Yuan Hou, today is my birthday. My mom will buy me a birthday cake. Will you come to my house for dinner at noon?"

Cui Cui's eyes were full of expectation. She had always fantasized about having little friends to accompany her on her birthday.

"Alright. I will go."

"Then what about Sister A Li?"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at A Li and asked: "Do you want to go?"

A Li looked at the boy and nodded.

Li Zhuiyuan was stunned for a moment. He really didn't expect A Li to agree.

In the distance, Grandma Liu, who was still chewing slowly on breakfast, also looked up in surprise, a happy expression appearing on her face.

"Then A Li will go too."

"Yay, that's great."

"However, Cui Cui, you have to tell Auntie Xiang Hou to prepare a small table separately. A Li cannot be too close to strangers."

"I understand. I told my mom about Sister A Li last time. I will let my mom prepare it well."

"Then I will go too." Tan Wenbin raised his hand.

"Brother Yuan Hou, who is he?"

"Zhuangzhuang."

"What Zhuangzhuang, my name is Binbin!"

Li Zhuiyuan looked at him and said: "I thought you had already defaulted."

"I'm just too lazy to argue with your great-grandfather." Tan Wenbin rolled his eyes.

"That's good, Brother Zhuangzhuang... oh no, Brother Binbin, you come too."

Cui Cui naturally hoped that the more people who came to her birthday, the better.

Tan Wenbin called out to Runsheng, who was still eating porridge in the corner: "Runsheng, are you going? There's cake to eat."

Runsheng looked at Li Zhuiyuan, and seeing Li Zhuiyuan nod, he replied: "Going!"

Li Zhuiyuan said to Cui Cui: "That, Cui Cui, you also have to tell your mom to cook an extra pot of rice."

"Alright, I will."

"Then I'll go back first. You guys must come at noon. Brother Yuan Hou, Sister A Li, Brother Runsheng, Brother Zhuangzhuang, goodbye."

Cui Cui hopped and skipped back, so happy that she seemed to wish she could grow a pair of wings and fly.

Tan Wenbin walked over and said: "Brother Little Yuan, then shall we go to town to pick out gifts now?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded: "I'll go upstairs to get money."

"Don't bother, I have some here." Tan Wenbin patted his pocket.

To prevent him from causing a burden at someone's house, his parents gave him a large amount of pocket money for the first time.

"Alright then. Brother Runsheng, let's take the three-wheeler to town."

"Coming!"

Runsheng picked up the basin, swept all the remaining porridge into his mouth, then walked to the well to wash his face, and went to ride the three-wheeler out.

"A Li, are you going to town?" Li Zhuiyuan asked.

A Li shook her head.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't persuade her again. There were many people in town, and A Li was indeed not suitable to go.

"Wait a moment." Grandma Liu stopped Li Zhuiyuan, reached out and took off a pair of earrings from her ears, and handed them over. "This is a gift for our A Li."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't reach out to take them, saying: "Grandma, it's too precious."

"It's not for you."

"But it's really not appropriate."

"Then you wait."

Grandma Liu turned and walked into the house, took out a stack of money, and placed it on the tea table:

"Go and help A Li buy a gift too."

"Um." Li Zhuiyuan didn't take it all, just pulled out one note. "Alright, Grandma."

After the three boys drove the three-wheeler down the dam, Liu Yi walked over carrying a thermos, preparing to make tea for Grandma Liu, and asked with a smile when she saw the money on the tea table:

"Why, he didn't take it?"

Grandma Liu shook her head with a wry smile: "This kid, I guess he's afraid our money will sting his hands."

"Little Yuan is a careful child, so he tends to think too much."

Grandma Liu shook her head: "He doesn't look at how hard that girl's fate is. No matter how stinging the money is, she can spend it."

"I know that girl. The village says her family's fate is hard, but Little Yuan shouldn't believe these."

"He doesn't believe?" Grandma Liu picked up the teacup. "He took a fancy to the book made of Buddha Skin Paper. Do you think he can't tell that the girl's fate is hard?"

"It's also possible. This child always seems to know a lot without making a sound."

"Now is a special period, we can't intervene. Once A Li's illness is completely cured, the chains on us will loosen. I plan to take this kid as a registered disciple when the time comes."

"Then what do you plan to pass on to him, the Liu family's or the Qin family's?"

Grandma Liu smiled and said as a matter of course: "Naturally, it's the 'Liu Family Qi-Watching Technique'."

"I'm afraid it won't be up to you to choose by then."

"How?"

"He and A Li have such a good relationship. Once A Li's illness is cured, if he wants to learn something, won't A Li teach him?"

"Useless. Each family has its own method of teaching. Even if these inheritances are clearly laid out in books, without a master leading them through the door, at most they can only see a bit of the fur, and it's impossible to really learn them."

Speaking of this, Grandma Liu suddenly had the idea of teasing her granddaughter, also because she was happy that her granddaughter agreed to attend someone else's birthday.

She walked into the house and took out a book with "Liu Family Qi-Watching Technique" written on it.

The girl sat on the stool, her feet stepping on the threshold, but this time, she wasn't just looking straight ahead, her gaze moved slowly, looking around.

"A Li, do you think Grandma should give this book to Little Yuan to look at in the future?"

Last time, knowing that the kid was short of money, her granddaughter took all the gold bars and banknotes in the room and sent them over.

This kid likes reading books. If he sees this book, wouldn't her granddaughter want to rush to send it?

But her granddaughter's reaction made Grandma Liu a bit unable to understand. A Li actually ignored the book in her hand.

Didn't she see it clearly?

Grandma Liu brought the book closer to A Li.

"Pop!"

A Li slapped the book to the ground.

Grandma Liu bent down in confusion and picked up the book, blowing off the dust on it. She wasn't happy, but rather a bit nervous:

Hey, why is my granddaughter's elbow not turning outward again?

"Little Yuan, are we going to Shinan Town or Shigang Town?"

Tan Wenbin patted Runsheng's back and said: "Of course we are going to Shigang Town. How many shops are there in Shinan Town?"

"Brother Runsheng, then let's go to Shigang Town."

"Alright!"

Tan Wenbin supported the edge of the three-wheeler with both hands, facing the wind, and parted his bangs, saying: "Don't worry, I'm familiar with Shigang Town. I will definitely be able to take you guys to pick out good gifts."

Arriving in the Shigang Town region, they passed the gate of Shigang Middle School on the way. Shinan had a junior high school but no high school, so Yingzi, Pan Zi, and Lei Zi were also studying here.

Tan Wenbin pointed to the school gate and said: "Brother Little Yuan, look, this is your future alma mater."

This was the first time Li Zhuiyuan heard that "future" could be added before "alma mater."

On the first teaching building of the school, two banners were hung: "Today I am proud of my alma mater, tomorrow my alma mater will be proud of me."

"Brother Binbin, you are going to school again in two days, right?"

"Don't worry, can't go anymore. Everyone has collectively written a letter to the Education Bureau to report the summer make-up classes."

"You organized it?"

"Hehe." Tan Wenbin swayed his head according to the angle of the wind. "It was precisely me!"

Runsheng said: "Little Yuan, are you going to school here in the future?"

"Right, you just found out?" Tan Wenbin answered first.

Runsheng: "Then that's good. I will pick you up and drop you off at school every morning and evening."

Tan Wenbin: "There are dormitories in the school."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I don't live in the dormitory."

Great-grandfather's house was not very far from here, and it was convenient for Brother Runsheng to pick him up. There was delicious food and drink at home, a spacious big bed, and A Li.

"Then what about your morning and evening self-study? Our morning self-study starts at six, and evening self-study doesn't end until ten. Think about what time you have to get up and how late you can get home."

"Then I won't attend morning and evening self-study."

Tan Wenbin: "..."

Tan Wenbin suddenly felt that Brother Little Yuan's words made a lot of sense.

If he dared to say the same thing to Tan Yunlong, his dad would definitely undo his belt next.

"Brother Little Yuan, then you can just not come to school when you are in a bad mood or the weather is bad."

"Alright."

In Li Zhuiyuan's view, how could he delay salvaging the dead because of something like going to school?

"Damn it, I really envy you. Why can't I be like this!"

Runsheng: "You don't have this brain."

"Shut up, focus on riding your bike." Tan Wenbin began to ponder, "Brother Little Yuan, are there any study secrets to teach me?" Runsheng: "Is this the first time your dad mentioned studying since you've been living at Grandpa's for several days?"

"Oh, shut up!"

"Brother Binbin, regarding studying, I don't know how I can help you."

"For example, your study method?"

"Studying... still needs a method?"

Tan Wenbin spread his hands, his expression twisted, and he asked in a weird tone with a raised pitch:

"Studying... doesn't need a method?"

"Salvaging the dead needs a method."

"Ah..." Tan Wenbin intended to accept reality. "Then can you help me explain the questions?"

"I can write the process for you, that will be faster. Then, I can also compile some questions for you to do."

Tan Wenbin silently took out a cigarette, didn't light it, just smelled it in front of his nose, and nodded: "Thank you, Brother Little Yuan, I will work hard to get into the same university as you."

Runsheng: "Then I will ride the three-wheeler to send you guys to university."

"Forget about university first, you rode past it. The department store is behind, turn over quickly."

The car stopped in front of the department store. Runsheng picked up the chain and locked it.

Subsequently, the three walked into the building, and there were many people inside.

Under Tan Wenbin's leadership, all three soon bought gifts.

Li Zhuiyuan bought a music box, he helped A Li buy a glass ornament, and also bought a silk scarf for A Li.

After buying, Tan Wenbin took the two to a small alley nearby, where there were several small stalls selling fried skewers.

"Boss, chicken skewers come..."

Before he had time to order, Tan Wenbin spotted a thin classmate surrounded by four men in the depths of the alley.

"Don't think you can be arrogant just because you have Tan Wenbin covering you. I tell you, you think too much."

"Others are afraid of Tan Wenbin, but I am not. Even if his dad comes, I won't take it to heart!"

With beating and kicking, the thin classmate soon squatted in the corner, covering his head with both hands.

Tan Wenbin looked at Li Zhuiyuan: "Brother Little Yuan..."

"Your classmate?"

"Um, my deskmate. He is a very good person, just a bit soft-tempered and easily bullied. Among these four guys, two are from other classes, and two are from other schools. They often ask him for money."

"Oh."

"Brother Little Yuan, Runsheng, you guys pretend not to know me."

After speaking, Tan Wenbin rushed forward quickly, ignoring that there were four people on the opposite side, and gave one of them a flying kick: "Fuck your mother!"

This kick had quite a family style.

It made Li Zhuiyuan suspect whether Uncle Tan was beating Binbin or teaching martial arts on weekdays?

After kicking one over, the other three immediately came up to do it. Tan Wenbin immediately fell into a group fight.

Mainly because he ran too fast and hit too fast, so fast that Li Zhuiyuan didn't even have time to say anything.

"Brother Runsheng, help Binbin fight."

"Alright!"

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and said to the fried skewer boss: "Boss, twenty chicken skewers, three servings of fried tofu, all with sweet and spicy sauce."

Runsheng, who received Li Zhuiyuan's instructions, walked forward step by step, pinching his fists and twisting his neck, making a burst of crisp bone sounds.

In his mind, flashes of black-gang movies appeared.

But precisely because he was considering the plot, he walked slowly, causing Binbin to be punched a few more times.

However, the situation changed immediately after he joined.

He saw him reach out and grab one, lift him up, and then slap his face back and forth. Blood and teeth began to fly.

He still had a sense of proportion; he couldn't kill anyone, so he regretfully let go, and the person collapsed softly to the ground.

This scene, which was so fierce, stunned the other three. For a moment, they didn't know whether to go up or not.

Runsheng took the initiative to dispel their doubts, rushed forward with a dive, raised his arms horizontally, like a bull, and threw the two of them over.

Then he kicked each of them once, left and right. The two were really kicked flying, each hitting the wall and rolling down.

The last one saw this and immediately turned around to run, but his speed was too slow. Runsheng caught up with him in one acceleration, grabbed his neck, lifted him up in the air, drew a circle, and smashed him to the ground.

"My turn!"

Tan Wenbin shouted and rushed up to punch and kick this guy.

Seeing that the heat was about right, he ran to the previous three and added damage.

Runsheng just watched Tan Wenbin go "A-da, A-duo!"

Because Runsheng knew that if he made another move, it would be easy to lose control.

"Hu..."

Tan Wenbin finally finished fighting, and those four people were all lying on the ground wailing.

"Damn, refreshing, too refreshing!"

Tan Wenbin raised his arms. Although he didn't see the dead, he felt it was worth it to have such a hearty beating.

After Tan Wenbin comforted the classmate, he and Runsheng ran back. At this time, Li Zhuiyuan was already sitting at the simple wooden table by the stall, eating skewers.

He wasn't worried at all. After all, Brother Runsheng could confront ordinary dead people physically.

Tan Wenbin sat down and said excitedly: "Little Yuan, really, Runsheng is very suitable for mixing in the underworld. He can definitely fight for a big territory and be a black boss!"

Li Zhuiyuan put down the skewer, pulled out the paper from the cylinder on the table, and wiped his mouth: "Then be caught in jail by your dad."

"Uh..." Tan Wenbin was choked and could only lower his head to eat skewers.

Runsheng lit a cigarette and said: "Little Yuan said it before, there is no future in mixing in the underworld."

"That, Zheng Haiyang wanted to come over to thank you just now, and said he wanted to treat us to skewers, but I pushed it away. His parents are sailors, and he usually lives with his grandparents."

They still had to go eat at noon, so this meal was just to cushion their hunger.

Of course, in this era, eating fried skewers as a meal was a very luxurious thing. Most children could only buy one or two to satisfy their cravings.

Returning home, Li Zhuiyuan saw Grandma Liu sitting there with a heavy heart.

What happened again?

When Li Zhuiyuan walked over, A Li stood up and took the initiative to greet him.

Seeing this, Grandma Liu breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that like last time, her granddaughter wouldn't pay attention to the boy, and the illness would return.

Now it seemed she was overthinking.

She felt she was really difficult, actually worrying about her granddaughter not moving things to the man.

"A Li, this is the gift I bought for you." Li Zhuiyuan handed the glass ornament to A Li. "This is the silk scarf I bought for you."

The silk scarf wasn't expensive; it was a traditional style that was relatively popular in TV movies on the mainland at the time. Li Zhuiyuan felt it matched A Li's temperament very well. As for how to match it, he didn't need to worry about it anyway.

After Liu Yi applied medicine for Tan Wenbin, everyone set off for Cui Cui's house. Li Zhuiyuan held A Li's hand and walked behind, while Runsheng and Tan Wenbin walked in front.

From far away, they saw Cui Cui standing on the dam looking forward expectantly.

"Brother Yuan Hou, you guys are here."

"Cui Cui, this is my gift, this is A Li's."

"This is ours."

"Thank you, thank you everyone."

Lunch was simply a replica of Li Sanjiang's house. Li Zhuiyuan and A Li sat at one table, Runsheng sat at one table alone, and the only one who could sit at the main table was Tan Wenbin.

Li Juxiang happily divided the dishes here and there.

Liu Jinxia picked up a glass of wine and drank it. She was quite happy that her granddaughter's birthday was lively, but she was used to being sharp-tongued and muttered:

"It really is a radish meeting."

After the meal, they had to stay for a while. Everyone was on the dam, and Cui Cui took out a rubber band and propped it up with two long benches.

The original intention was to invite A Li to jump, but A Li shook her head and refused.

Finally, Tan Wenbin and Cui Cui jumped together. He jumped really well. In this period, entertainment methods were relatively few, and jumping rubber bands was not exclusive to girls; boys also played.

While playing, a man led a little boy onto the dam. This was business coming.

Liu Jinxia and Li Juxiang invited the people into the inner room.

Not long after, the boy came out and stood on the side watching Tan Wenbin and Cui Cui.

"Do you want to play together?"

The boy nodded shyly.

Originally, Li Zhuiyuan had no feeling, and A Li didn't look at the boy specifically, proving that the boy was very clean.

But as soon as this shy expression of the boy appeared, Li Zhuiyuan lowered his eyelids.

He was good at observing and acting, so he saw it—the performance traces in the boy's expression changes were very heavy.

Sure enough, after jumping rubber bands together, the boy began to take the initiative to chat with Cui Cui, and during the chat, he pried out many situations about Liu Jinxia's family.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he was pretending to be a child.

However, Li Zhuiyuan didn't feel that the boy was a patient like him. This kind of illness of his and Li Lan's was still very rare. Even the psychologists in the capital hadn't seen it. The only one who might count as the third one now was Wei Zhengdao.

Li Zhuiyuan began to seriously observe the boy's physiognomy. The database of "Detailed Explanation of Yin-Yang Physiognomy" in his brain, even if it didn't tell fortunes, could make a matching comparison.

Sure enough, there was a problem. Although the boy looked like he was about ten years old, traces of "annual rings" could be seen in the details of his eyebrows, skin, cochlea, teeth, etc.

He wasn't a child at all; he was a dwarf!

A person with adult thinking pretending to be a child and chatting with another little girl—this made people feel uncomfortable and wrong no matter how you looked at it.

"Cui Cui."

"Coming, Brother Yuan Hou."

Cui Cui came over immediately.

"Don't play with him."

"Alright, Brother Yuan Hou." Cui Cui didn't ask why, just nodded.

"Pfft... hehehe." Beside, Tan Wenbin laughed. This was the first time he saw Li Zhuiyuan say something that fit the age group a child should say.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't pay attention to him, but looked at the boy. Just at this moment, the boy was also looking at himself.

The boy was showing a sense of grievance of being isolated and excluded. He was deliberately letting Cui Cui see it, so that the soft-hearted girl would return to his side.

Cui Cui saw it, and Cui Cui was indeed soft-hearted, but Cui Cui had no intention of paying attention to him at all.

She lacked friends, but she cherished friends more. Brother Yuan Hou didn't want her to play with anyone, so she absolutely wouldn't play with anyone.

Li Zhuiyuan captured a trace of resentment in the boy's eyes.

Heh, this person, really disgusting.

At the same time, Li Zhuiyuan also began to doubt in his heart, was he also so disgusting?

But he was different from him. His physiological age was this age, and acting was to not lose himself. And no matter what, he was just maintaining the appearance he should have at this age.

But the other party's actual age, Li Zhuiyuan estimated, was probably over fifty.

A fifty-year-old man disguising himself as a child to take the initiative to contact a little girl—what was the motive?

"

The boy squatted on the ground and began to cry.

But as he cried, no one paid him any mind; the people on the main terrace were all listening to Li Zhuiyuan.

The boy stopped crying, stood up, and took the initiative to walk toward Li Zhuiyuan.

"Brother Runsheng."

"Hey!"

Runsheng came over in time, reached out to lift the boy up, placed him further away, and then pointed a finger at him, giving him a silent warning.

The boy dared not cry or make a scene anymore; he just stood where he was, head bowed.

After a while, that man came out; the two of them indeed looked very much alike, and in the eyes of outsiders, they were father and son.

Only, the identities of this father and son needed to be swapped.

Liu Jinxia and Li Juxiang also came out and saw this pair of father and son off the terrace.

"Brother Binbin," Li Zhuiyuan said, pointing in the direction the father and son had left, "follow them for a stretch and observe, but don't get discovered."

"Understood."

Although he didn't understand why, Tan Wenbin still followed them; he was the type of person who easily found a sense of atmospheric immersion for himself.

"Drink some soda," Li Juxiang said, bringing over a crate of soda and placing it on the terrace.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, "Auntie Xiang Hou, what was the reason they came just now?"

"That man's wife passed away a year ago, and he's preparing to hold a small memorial service for her; he asked me and Granny Cuicui to go to his home to conduct it."

A small memorial service means only performing the rites without holding a banquet; usually, it's just the family burning some things.

"How strange, you've been invited, yet there's no banquet."

"Perhaps it's because he doesn't have good relations with people in the village and can't pull one together; that man has a somewhat strange temper."

"What happened?"

"Granny Cuicui asked some specific questions, and he couldn't answer them. After being asked a few more times, he even acted aggrieved, as if he were about to be asked to tears. A grown man acting like that, tsk tsk."

"Auntie Xiang Hou, can you not go to his house to perform the rites?"

"How can that be? The money has already been accepted."

Tan Wenbin ran back. He frowned and said to Li Zhuiyuan, "Xiaoyuan, guess what I just saw? They hadn't walked far when, on the side of the road, the father actually handed the son a cigarette and lit it for him."

"Oh," Li Zhuiyuan didn't feel particularly surprised, "did you hear what they said?"

"It wasn't easy to get close on the road. They came by tractor, and the tractor is parked at the crossroads ahead; they've already left now."

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the house and pushed open the door to the inner room. Liu Jinxia was sitting behind the table, holding a pen and calculating something.

"Little Yuan Hou, what's the matter?"

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the table and glanced at the Eight Characters written on the paper in front of Liu Jinxia. He picked up another pen and wrote the result on top.

Liu Jinxia scanned it and asked suspiciously, "What are you scribbling?"

Clearly, Liu Jinxia didn't know the correct answer. She had always just been calculating according to her own set of methods; whether it was correct or not was secondary—the main thing was that she had put in the effort and done her best.

"Grandma Liu, were that pair just now father and son?"

"What else could they be if not father and son? Their features are carved from the same mold. It's a pity for that child, his mother left early."

"Grandma Liu, that man is the son, and that boy is the father. He is at least fifty years old; he is a dwarf."

"A dwarf?"

"That is, the kind of person who doesn't grow tall."

"Oh... really?"

"Just now, Brother Binbin followed them out and overheard them talking. The man called that child 'father,' and the child called the man 'good son.'

I didn't believe it at first either, but Brother Binbin said he could swear to heaven that they really spoke like that."

"This..."

"So, the father-son relationship is reversed. Then what exactly is this memorial service being held for the woman?"

"That's right."

"Grandma Liu, to be safe, you'd better not go with Auntie Xiang Hou; return the money to them."

Liu Jinxia nodded slowly with a solemn expression:

"Okay."

This agreement was so unexpected that it caught Li Zhuiyuan off guard; he wasn't used to it.

Perhaps it was because he had been with his great-grandfather for so long that he had become accustomed to him not listening to anything anyone said.

"You're really not going? You're not just fooling a child here, are you?"

Liu Jinxia opened the drawer, took out the money she had just received, and slapped it on the table, saying indignantly:

"Everything the family relationship told me was wrong. Doesn't this clearly show that there's a problem with their sincerity in holding the rites? How could I still take Xiang Hou to his house? Who knows what might happen.

Only a fool would go!"

Li Zhuiyuan suddenly felt very comfortable.

"Little Yuan Hou, thank you for coming to tell Grandma these things."

"Grandma Liu, won't you ask Brother Binbin again, or find someone to inquire in their village?"

"No need. The most important thing in our line of work is to seek smoothness and good fortune. Even if what you just said is false, since you, a little child, came to tell me right after I took the job, even if it were false... I wouldn't dare go.

I only have this one rotten life, and I'm counting on living a few more years to save up a bit more for your Auntie Xiang Hou and Cuicui later. I'm not like that thing your great-grandfather is; I wouldn't dare act recklessly."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded; he deeply agreed.

Saying goodbye to Cuicui and walking home, Li Zhuiyuan was in a very good mood, swinging the girl's hand unconsciously.

Soon, the girl responded, and she also began to exert force, swinging their hands together.

Tan Wenbin looked back and suggested, "Brother Xiaoyuan, it's still early. I saw there are fishing rods in the house; why don't we go fishing now?"

"Not going."

"Oh, then Runsheng and I will go."

Runsheng: "I'm not going either."

"I've discovered that whatever Brother Xiaoyuan says, you say the same. Why are you like a little follower?"

"I didn't call him brother."

Tan Wenbin: "..."

Returning home, he saw Li Sanjiang sitting on the terrace. He stood up and said to Runsheng, "Runsheng, the convenience store just called. Let's go, there's work to do. We're going to Xiting Town to fish out a 'dead-downer'."

"Hey, okay. Hmm? Didn't my grandfather go to fish it out?"

Runsheng's family lived in Xiting Town; fishing out a normal dead-downer was usually something his grandfather would just do in passing.

"Speaking of this, I get angry. I only found out from the phone call that your grandfather went to play cards last week and, on his way home, fell into a manure pit while stopping to use the neighbor's toilet. It was the neighbor who heard the commotion and fished him out.

Although he's fine, he broke a leg.

That old cannon was too embarrassed to say anything and actually kept it from us the whole time!"

(End of chapter)