Chapter 13

Chapter 13

This towel, why does it look familiar?

Liu Yumei thought back; wasn't this the towel that boy from the Li family had hanging on his shoulder today?

"What's this all about?"

Liu Yumei thought about taking the towel down, but her hand stopped just as she was about to touch it.

She turned her head to look towards the inner room. In the doorway stood the figure of a girl.

"A'Li, you've already gone to bed, why are you up again?"

The girl didn't speak.

"A'Li, did you put this towel here?"

The girl didn't answer.

"A'Li, this is the place for the memorial tablets, it's the most precious offering place. You can't just put things here. The towel should be put where it belongs. Grandma will help you collect it and wash it clean, okay?"

The girl's eyelashes started to tremble.

"Then just leave it, leave it. Putting it here is quite good, hehe, quite good."

The girl recovered her calm.

"A'Li, go to sleep. Grandma won't move it, Grandma promises. When you wake up tomorrow, you'll still see it here."

The girl turned and went in.

Liu Yumei sighed, then a smile immediately appeared on her face again. She just noticed that this time when A'Li was about to get angry, only her eyelids twitched slightly, and her body didn't follow with trembling. This was also a kind of progress.

These past few years, they had always been trying to avoid A'Li having an episode. This wasn't only because in that kind of violent state she would cause harm to herself and those around her, but more importantly because every time she had an episode, her condition would become more serious.

Currently, the most important thing was to treat A'Li's condition. Everything else was secondary.

Liu Yumei finally found her husband's memorial tablet behind the tablets of her two brothers.

"I've truly wronged you, having to put up with my two brothers for a while. Haven't you two fought?"

Back then, that old man shamelessly pursued her, and was often beaten up by her brothers. Even after she and he got married, he and her brothers would still shout and argue, almost fighting, every time they drank.

The difference was, before they were married, it was her brothers who found fault and beat him up, and after they were married, it was he who would intentionally provoke her brothers every time he drank, still shamelessly shouting:

"Come on, hit me! If you have the ability, just hit me to death! If you hit me to death, your sister will have to be a widow for me!"

Her brothers hated it so much their teeth itched, and they incessantly scolded her for being blind, for actually being cheated by him.

Actually, apart from being a bit petty and holding grudges, the old man was really very good to her.

She gently wiped her husband's memorial tablet with a handkerchief: "Old man, this is your granddaughter who wants you to make some space to put her things. You've just been wronged a little."

After saying that, Liu Yumei moved the memorial tablet a little, placing her husband's and her father's memorial tablets close together.

"Talk more with my dad; a son-in-law is also half a son."

Although that dirty towel was placed in the center a bit obstructively, Liu Yumei's tone was still filled with joy:

"All of you, don't be angry with A'Li. A'Li is like this now, isn't it all because of you all? Who told you all to die so straightforwardly and heroically back then, not even leaving a little incense fire protection for your descendants?

This boy from the Li family, his name is Li Zhuoyuan. His name sounds quite nice, and the person is also quite interesting, just very precocious.

I've seen many smart children, but someone like him, this is the first time in my life I've seen one.

The feeling this child gives me, except for that little bit of childishness not shed, is that he's just deliberately acting like a child.

What a pity, people like this often don't live long.

But it's not certain. He lives with Li Sanjiang now, and he's a blood relative of Li Sanjiang. Sharing fortune should be much simpler than for us.

However, none of this matters.

I only hope he can slowly cure A'Li's illness. Our A'Li has suffered too much hardship and too much crime; this originally shouldn't be what she deserves.

All of you, you were all shouting for a new world when you died in the river.

This world is too big, and my vision as a woman is shallow, I cannot encompass it. I can only look at my own granddaughter, only hoping she can be like other little girls, laugh happily, and speak openly.

If all of you have spirits in heaven..."

Saying this, Liu Yumei couldn't help but roll her eyes towards the memorial tablets, her tone turning to angry complaint:

"If you all had followed the old rules and left a little spirit down before you died, how would my granddaughter have become like this!"

...

After washing up, Li Zhuoyuan found another towel, carefully scrubbed it clean with soap, and hung it on the clothesline.

Passing by the door of Li Sanjiang's bedroom, he hesitated for a moment, but finally pushed the door open and entered.

On the bed, Li Sanjiang was clipping a cigarette and lifting his leg, humming a little tune, brewing sleep.

"Grandpa, there's one thing I've been thinking about, and I still need to tell you again."

"Oh? What is it? Tell me."

"Last night, Niu Fu's mother came to our home, borrowed the tables, chairs, bowls, and paper figures from the first floor, and held a longevity banquet for herself. It was very lively, and I was also pulled along to participate."

Li Sanjiang's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he subconsciously leaned up his body: "Continue."

"When the longevity banquet was almost over, a zombie appeared and fought with Niu Fu's mother. Niu Fu's mother couldn't win, and at the last moment, she sent me away."

"Sent you away? Sent you where?"

"I woke up."

"Oh." Li Sanjiang nodded, thinking to himself that being chased by a group of zombies in a dream, he understood. The boy must have had the same zombie dream as himself. He comforted him, saying, "Xiao Yuán Hóu, just treat it as a dream, don't worry, it doesn't matter tonight."

There was no fortune transfer ceremony tonight, so he could also sleep well.

"But, Grandpa..."

"It doesn't matter, don't take it to heart. Grandpa understands."

Li Zhuoyuan nodded. Indeed, Grandpa understood.

"Grandpa, there's still one thing. Did you notice the problem with Grandma Liu and them living here for you?"

"Of course I noticed a long time ago, hehe."

Li Zhuoyuan nodded again. Indeed, Grandpa knew.

Li Sanjiang's heart burst into a dark laugh: This family is helping me farm, making paper figures for me, helping me set the tables, chairs, and bowls, and even providing cooking and cleaning... yet they only want that little wage.

Hey, isn't this a brain problem?

In this day and age, long-term workers who do a lot for little and have a brain problem are hard to find. I have to cherish them.

"Is there anything else? Xiao Yuán Hóu, if not, go back to sleep. Grandpa is also sleepy."

"The last thing is, actually, every time, I'm the one who tutors Ying Zi sister's homework. Ying Zi sister's comprehension ability is relatively average, and she learns slower."

Li Zhuoyuan discovered that after he finished speaking, Li Sanjiang's lips were pursed, and the sides of his face bulged more and more, as if he was trying very hard to suppress something.

After ten seconds of silence, finally:

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Li Sanjiang laughed until his wound ached, incessantly sucking in cool air, but still couldn't help but laugh and scold:

"You little slick, just say it if you don't want to study, you still find this lame excuse. Do you take Grandpa as a fool?

Okay, okay, no more nonsense, hurry back to sleep. Ying Hóu will definitely come tomorrow. If you are greedy for play again, you won't be able to avoid studying!"

"Grandpa, good night."

Li Zhuoyuan didn't argue. Even if it was Grandpa, he wasn't omniscient. It was normal that there were some individual matters he didn't understand.

He went back to his bedroom, lay on the bed, covered himself with the quilt, closed his eyes, and slept.

He slept very soundly; there were no dreams.

When the sky was dimly bright, Li Zhuoyuan woke up, sat on the edge of the bed for a while, felt around a bit, and discovered that his sleep quality was far worse than when he was dreaming.

He got out of bed, picked up the basin, and prepared to wash up. Just as he opened the door, he saw a girl standing in the doorway; it was Qin Li.

She had her hair styled today, with a wooden pin in it. She wore a white top and a black skirt below, looking exquisite and dignified.

A good-looking person also needs to wear good-looking clothes to complement each other.

Li Zhuoyuan knew that Qin Li's clothes every day weren't something that could be bought in stores. One reason was that the current popular foreign styles were trending, and traditional retro styles were originally considered rustic and not presentable. Another reason was that Qin Li's clothes, from design to workmanship, were all very fine, and probably could only be ordered from that kind of small clothing workshop with inheritance. The price was not cheap.

However, looking at Grandma Liu's style of casually giving a jade ring worth a three-room apartment in Beijing as a meeting gift, her family definitely didn't lack money.

There was dew on the tips of the girl's hair. Li Zhuoyuan couldn't help but reach out and touch her hair a bit, feeling a bit of moisture.

"Have you been waiting here for a long time?"

The girl didn't speak, just looked at Li Zhuoyuan.

"Next time when I get up, I'll go to the east room and call you to look at books together. That way, you won't have to stand here and wait, okay?"

The light in the girl's eyes dimmed a bit.

"Then I'll try to get up earlier from now on. If you come and I'm still not up, just come in and wait and sit on the chair. This door isn't locked anyway."

The brightness in the girl's eyes recovered again.

Li Zhuoyuan walked to the clothesline and took down the towel he had washed last night. He had hung it up in the evening, so it wasn't completely dry, but it could be used.

He walked to the stool from yesterday, wiped it clean, then placed the towel on the wooden stool: "You sit first, I'll go wash up."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuoyuan went to wash up.

Sitting on the stool, Qin Li's gaze fell on the still very clean towel. She reached out to grab it, but after thinking for a moment, she withdrew her hand.

After brushing his teeth and wiping his face, just as he put down the washcloth, he saw Grandma Liu standing in front of him, scaring Li Zhuoyuan a bit.

"Xiao Yuan, hehe, I'm really sorry, I've added trouble for you."

This was the first time Li Zhuoyuan had seen Grandma Liu enter the main house, let alone go up to the second floor. He thought about how long Qin Li had gotten up and waited for him here, and Grandma Liu had been accompanying her for that long.

"Grandma, I like playing with A'Li."

"Then you all play well. If anything happens, just call Grandma, okay?" Grandma Liu smiled and went downstairs.

Li Zhuoyuan put the basin back in the room. It was still too early, the sun hadn't risen yet, and he didn't want to read.

He looked around the room for a bit, then picked up a small wooden box and walked out.

"A'Li, shall I teach you how to play chess?"

Qin Li didn't speak, just stared at the small wooden box.

Li Zhuoyuan opened the small wooden box. This was something Uncle Qin had bought along with the snacks and study supplies that Grandpa had asked him to buy for himself.

It was a Go set. The chessboard was a piece of translucent oil paper printed, and the chess pieces were plastic discs the size of ladybugs. Altogether, it was very small and simple.

But the advantage was its low cost and cheap price. Stationery stores in Shannan Town definitely wouldn't stock that kind of standard Go set; who would buy it?

"I'll explain the rules of Go to you first..."

Before Li Zhuoyuan could finish speaking, A'Li picked up a black piece with her hand and placed it on the chessboard.

Li Zhuoyuan also stopped speaking and placed a white piece.

After laying down piece after piece, Li Zhuoyuan confirmed that the girl knew how to play Go.

He couldn't help but smile and invested himself in this game.

The two of them were playing fast chess, neither of them thinking much.

Gradually, Li Zhuoyuan started to feel overwhelmed, and finally...

"I lost."

Li Zhuoyuan didn't go easy; he truly lost.

Although he hadn't formally learned chess, his brain had good calculation power, and Go was very dependent on this aspect. So, while he couldn't compare with national players, purely at the level of folk enthusiasts, his chess skills were not bad.

But the girl was clearly more powerful. She must have formally learned it. Her play was not only fast but also very methodical.

Li Zhuoyuan didn't feel any frustration about this. He knew he learned things quickly, but it was impossible to skip the "learning" process.

In many fields, having a good brain wasn't enough; a lot of accumulation and precipitation were needed, and even more, a platform to build upon.

"A'Li is really amazing. Shall we play again?"

The girl's fingertip held a chess piece and drew a circle. She lifted her head and looked at Li Zhuoyuan, her meaning very obvious: she still wanted to play.

Li Zhuoyuan tidied up the chessboard. Seeing that the morning wind seemed to be picking up, he found four cement blocks from the west side corner of the balcony and pressed down on the chess paper.

The second game began.

The speed of placing pieces was still very fast. The more Li Zhuoyuan played, the more the corners of his mouth couldn't help but lightly curve up.

He felt that the girl was letting him win.

He didn't feel ashamed; instead, he was very happy. Then, he started deliberately making bad moves.

This time, the girl's speed of placing pieces started to slow down, and her eyebrows gradually furrowed.

Li Zhuoyuan couldn't bear to continue teasing her and still won.

The girl lifted her head and looked at Li Zhuoyuan.

There was a faint hint of a pout at the corner of her mouth, very subtle. She should be angry.

But her eyelashes didn't twitch, and her body didn't tremble either.

"Okay, okay, it's my fault, I'm wrong." He lifted his head and saw that the sky was already bright, and from below came Aunt Liu's voice shouting for breakfast.

Li Zhuoyuan put away the chessboard and took Qin Li downstairs for breakfast.

Very tacitly, the original single-person exclusive breakfast became a small table with two stools.

Li Zhuoyuan, as usual, divided the pickled vegetables for the girl into a small dish. After the girl started eating, he then, according to his habit, broke the duck egg shell a bit, peeled open the top, and used chopsticks to dig and eat.

Suddenly, he noticed the girl beside him wasn't eating. Li Zhuoyuan looked over and found that she was just looking at the duck egg in his hand.

"Shall I open one for you? But this way, it might not be convenient to control the portion."

Qin Li continued to stare.

Li Zhuoyuan could only knock a duck egg for her too, carefully peel open a bit of the shell, and hand it to her.

Qin Li took it with both hands, held it in her arms, lowered her head, and seriously looked at the broken duck egg.

At this moment, Li Sanjiang swayed downstairs.

He looked at Xiao Yuán Hóu and the girl's double table for a bit, then looked at Grandma Liu, Qin Li, and Liu Ting's family table, and silently walked towards his own single old man's small table.

Just as he was about to start, he saw figures appearing on the small road in front of the dam.

A dark-skinned boy, about fourteen or fifteen years old, was pushing a single-wheeled cart with an old man sitting on it.

The boy only wore a patched blue shorts, his upper body was bare, and his feet were in obviously ill-fitting plastic liberation shoes.

The old man was bald, his body obviously shrunk due to age, wearing a pair of plastic slippers, and holding a water pipe in his hand.

Li Sanjiang saw them, helplessly put down his chopsticks, and said: "Here they come, beggars."

After the pair of grandpa and grandson came up the dam, Li Sanjiang enthusiastically went forward to greet them: "Oh, I knew you would come today, but I didn't expect you to come so early."

The old man took a puff of smoke and said: "I specially rushed here in the dark so I could save a breakfast at your place."

"Ting Hóu, is there still porridge in the pot?"

The old man snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "If I still drink that thin stuff at your place, I haven't come in vain. We want to eat dry."

"Okay, okay, okay, Ting Hóu, go cook."

"Good."

Aunt Liu went to the kitchen to cook.

"Xiao Yuán Hóu, come here." Li Sanjiang called Li Zhuoyuan over and introduced him to the old man: "This is your Uncle Shan."

"You fart, why does the old man have to be a generation lower than you!"

"Then okay, just call him Grandpa Shan."

"Grandpa Shan, hello."

"Ah, good, a quite handsome fine boy, fine skin and tender flesh, really obedient."

Li Sanjiang smiled and touched Li Zhuoyuan's head, saying: "Xiao Yuán Hóu."

"Grandpa?"

The old man heard it, his face immediately turned red, and he said angrily: "Good for you, Li Sanjiang, in the end, you still deliberately took advantage of the old man!"

"Heh, I'm too lazy to take advantage of you. Aren't you about the same age as the boy's Grandpa Han Hóu?"

Li Zhuoyuan was a little surprised. That meant this old man was much younger than Grandpa, but looking at him, his own Grandpa seemed younger.

From a distance, Liu Yumei, who was just drinking porridge, put down her bowl and lightly covered her nose with a handkerchief.

There was a stock of corpse stink on the old man's body, which was really appetite-suppressing. Looking at his appearance, he also looked like a corpse salvager should. In contrast, Li Sanjiang... was well-fed and well-kept, truly an exception among exceptions.

To put it plainly, who would be willing to choose to do the work of salvaging corpses if they had a proper origin and proper business? This inherently determined the economic status of corpse salvagers in the village. Coupled with the various taboos of salvaging corpses... it was rare to have peace in old age.

Liu Yumei didn't plan to continue eating. Seeing her granddaughter also leaving the table, it was possible that Xiao Yuan was called over to meet people, but her granddaughter didn't go back to the second floor to wait and accompany him to read, but instead directly walked back to the east room.

Hmm?

Liu Yumei walked back to the east room curiously. Just as she was about to step over the threshold to enter, she saw her granddaughter coming out again.

"Still going to find Xiao Yuan?"

The girl didn't speak, passed through the dam, went up to the second floor, and sat in the northeast corner, waiting for Li Zhuoyuan to finish his work and come to read.

Although she was happy about her granddaughter's changes and improvements, after the initial surprise wore off yesterday, Liu Yumei's heart also gradually started to feel a bit sour.

Clearly, she was the one who had worked hard to raise this little girl, but now, in her eyes, there was only that Xiao Yuan.

Fortunately, the two of them were still young, so there was no need to worry about that aspect.

But on second thought, if it was like this in childhood, would it be okay when they grew up a bit more?

Fortunately, this Xiao Yuan had to go back to Beijing after the summer vacation.

But, if her own granddaughter's illness hadn't been cured by then and he had to go, what should she do?

She walked into the east room, planning to light a few sticks of incense for herself to drive away the smell and calm her messy mind a bit. Her gaze naturally swept over the memorial table.

Then, she immediately turned her head back to look again.

"This..."

Only to see that where her father was originally placed, the memorial tablet was missing, and it had become...

A peeled salted duck egg.

...

The old man's surname was Lu, his name was Lu Shan, and he was from Xiting Town, also a corpse salvager in the village.

The boy's name was Lu Runsheng. He was picked up by Lu Shan by the river. Although he was an adopted son, the age difference was too great after all, so he just let the boy call him Grandpa.

"Xiao Yuán Hóu, your Grandpa and your Grandpa Shan, that's a life-saving friendship."

Lu Shan laughed coldly: "Heh, yes, every time it's me who risks my life, and you pass the money."

"Hey, isn't this because I trust your skill? Besides, that little work doesn't count for anything for you; basically, I don't need to make a move."

"You old man, the older you are, the thicker your skin."

Some work was more complex, and ordinary corpse salvagers couldn't handle it, so they would call friends to do it together. Lu Shan was Li Sanjiang's usual partner.

The two of them had a very good relationship. When there was dangerous work, Li Sanjiang would think of him first.

Just like this time, Niu family's nether longevity.

Li Zhuoyuan also felt that Grandpa Shan had a great deal of dissatisfaction towards his Grandpa, but this was also normal. Looking at Grandpa Shan and his grandson's clothes, you knew their lives were relatively tough, and his own Grandpa... it was likely that even the village head's daily meals weren't as good as his.

They were all in the same line of work, but their lives were a world apart. Their hearts would definitely be unbalanced.

Aunt Liu served the dishes. Time was tight, so she only fried two dishes: one was sausage fried with garlic sprouts, and the other was eggplant stewed with salted meat. The portions were large, with more meat than vegetables.

The freshly steamed rice was put in an aluminum basin, emitting heat.

Runsheng started to unconsciously swallow saliva when he saw the meat.

What surprised Li Zhuoyuan a bit was that Aunt Liu also conveniently brought a handful of incense when she served the dishes.

"Sister, bring me another rice basin."

"Okay, I forgot."

Obviously, it wasn't the first time the grandpa and grandson had come to Grandpa's home, and Aunt Liu had entertained them before.

Aunt Liu brought another large bowl basin. Grandpa Shan scooped rice into it, then scooped dishes on top.

Afterward, he lit the incense and inserted it respectively into the rice on the table and into the dishes.

After doing this, he started to eat the piled-up rice in front of him in large mouthfuls.

Li Sanjiang took out white wine, poured a cup for Grandpa Shan, and he also just took a gulp while eating. Then he glanced at the table, signaling Li Sanjiang to continue pouring.

And Runsheng always sat there, looking at the still burning incense, not touching his chopsticks.

But he was clearly very hungry and very eager.

Aunt Liu served the soup, tomato and egg drop soup, with quite a bit of vinegar added.

Grandpa Shan picked up the soup bowl and directly poured it into his basin, then continued to dig in.

Li Sanjiang took out his cigarette box, pulled out two, flicked one to him, and lit one for himself, scolding: "Damn it, didn't you eat yesterday before rushing here?"

Grandpa Shan continued to swallow "gulp gulp", finally picking up the basin and pouring all the soup into his mouth. Only then did he satisfiedly wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, put it down, pick up the cigarette, tap it on the table, and say:

"When I received your message, I hadn't eaten, and I've been hungry for almost three days."

"I say you just starve yourself to death and wrap yourself in a mat to be buried. The boy has to suffer with you; it's truly a sin."

Grandpa Shan lit a cigarette, and said indifferently: "I picked him up, he has to suffer with me, this is how it should be. I also told Runsheng Hóu that when I die, he should just come and find you. He'll do things for you, and you'll provide him with food."

"Don't talk nonsense. I'm older than you; I'll definitely go before you."

Grandpa Shan exhaled a smoke ring, wrapped his tongue around his teeth in a circle, and spat a mouthful under the table, saying: "Forget it, you will last a thousand years. I may not be confident in living longer than you. Comparing lifespans with you makes me feel taboo."

Finally, the incense on the rice and dishes burned out, and quite a bit of incense ash fell on the dishes and rice.

But Runsheng didn't mind at all. He carried the aluminum basin with the rice to himself and started eating.

Li Zhuoyuan was a bit puzzled, but didn't have the nerve to ask.

Grandpa Shan, sitting opposite, saw this and smiled, saying: "Runsheng Hóu ate dirty meat in his childhood, so now he has to vomit if he eats clean food from living people. Usually, even if he drinks a bowl of corn porridge, he has to first insert a stick of incense."

Saying this, Grandpa Shan suddenly leaned forward strangely towards Li Zhuoyuan, and asked jokingly:

"Xiao Yuán Hóu, you might know what dirty meat is?"

Li Zhuoyuan: "Dead person's meat?"

Grandpa Shan's face froze. He really didn't expect this refined boy to ask back with a calm face. He originally wanted to tease the child and not tell him the answer, but now he was the one being teased by the refined boy and didn't know what to say.

Li Sanjiang said disapprovingly: "What nonsense are you talking to the refined boy, old man?"

Grandpa Shan then pointed at Li Zhuoyuan: "Sanjiang, your great-grandson is quite something. He's good material for our line of work."

"You're talking nonsense. My great-grandson has to go back to Beijing to take the college entrance exam later. How is it possible for him to go down our broken path?"

"Li Sanjiang, the old man looks down on you the most, acting like you despise our line of work while still salvaging corpses for money. Heaven is truly blind; why doesn't it let a dead body swallow you!"

"Heh, not convinced? Just bear with it."

"Grandpa, I'm going to read."

"Go, go."

Li Zhuoyuan left the table and went to the second floor. The morning sun was very good this time, shining on Qin Li's hair and skirt, like an exquisite sculpture.

He took out a book, sat down, and said apologetically: "We had guests, so I had to keep you company for a while. I made you wait a long time."

Qin Li didn't speak.

Li Zhuoyuan opened the book and began to enjoy the beautiful reading time today.

When he finished reading this volume and was about to change books, Qin Li suddenly stood up and looked behind her.

Li Zhuoyuan also looked over and discovered Runsheng standing there, looking a bit shy.

He was very uneasy because he was only wearing shorts. Logically, this attire was very normal in the village. In the summer, on the village fields and dams, there were bare-chested boys and men everywhere.

But this attire, in front of the young man and young woman, just seemed too contrasting.

Li Zhuoyuan's clothes and shoes were sent from Beijing. Although he didn't pay attention to what he ate or wore, he still wasn't used to being bare-chested. As for Qin Li, there was even less to say.

Although Runsheng was older than them, when facing them, he felt both inferior and wanted to come and play together.

Li Zhuoyuan held Qin Li's hand: "Runsheng brother is a guest at home, it doesn't matter."

Qin Li listened to his words and didn't look at him anymore.

Li Zhuoyuan was not surprised that Qin Li would take the initiative to look at Runsheng. The girl seemed to have the ability to see dirty things. Runsheng's earlier eating manner... it would be strange if there wasn't anything strange about his body.

"Runsheng brother, we're reading. Come and sit with us."

"Ah, is this okay?" He wanted to go and sit, but just smiled and scratched his head.

Li Zhuoyuan took the initiative to walk over and hold his wrist.

His body was so cool.

It was clearly a hot summer, and he had just eaten so much food. Logically, he should be sweating and hot, but he was very dry, cool, and smooth.

Runsheng followed Li Zhuoyuan and came over, sitting on the small stool.

Qin Li's eyelashes started to twitch, and her body gradually trembled.

Li Zhuoyuan could only hold her hand again to see if he could calm her down. If not, he could only let Runsheng sit a bit farther away.

Fortunately, after holding hands, she quieted down, so he could only keep holding her hand.

Runsheng saw this and seemed a bit awkward, as if preparing to stand up. He could see that this girl, who was beautiful beyond words, was rejecting him.

"Runsheng brother, don't mind. A'Li is born afraid of strangers and is not targeting you. In this house, only Grandma Liu and I can approach her. She's fine now; you can continue to sit.

By the way, Runsheng brother, do you and Grandpa Shan often go to salvage dead bodies together?"

Indeed, as soon as he mentioned salvaging dead bodies, Runsheng immediately became much more natural and confident. He said: "Yes, now basically all the offering tables on the shore are set up by my Grandpa, and I'm responsible for salvaging.

Let me tell you, just three months ago, I salvaged a dead body. It was a dead infant. That guy was very evil, really. You might not not believe it."

"Did you encounter a whirlpool?"

Runsheng was stunned for a moment: "What's a whirlpool?"

"Just a section of the river that leaks easily and is prone to trapping or forming whirlpools."

Runsheng excitedly slapped his thigh and asked loudly: "How did you know?"

Immediately, he seemed enlightened and smiled: "Did your Grandpa tell you?"

"I saw it in a book."

"Book?" Runsheng looked at the book placed on the wooden stool in front, reached out and opened a page: "These words, they make my head hurt. Is it written in this book?"

"Um, yes, this set of books has many volumes."

"Jianghu Strange Records" specifically recorded infant dead bodies because since ancient times, many places have had the bad habit of drowning infants, so infant dead bodies are endless.

This kind of dead body has a characteristic: they generally carry a very strong purposeful malice.

Other dead bodies, if you don't just happen to bump into them, or quickly slip back after seeing them, most of the time they don't matter. But infant dead bodies will deliberately circle in specific waters and actively seek out people.

The most commonly used method is to lead people to dangerous places in the river domain and use the terrain to kill people.

Even ordinary small rivers have dangerous places. If you mess up, even old fishermen will lose their lives. And they will also use some special means, for example, when you are swimming, they will use water grass to tie your feet, letting you drown from exhaustion.

Many of these infant dead bodies were not born or died just after birth, and they have strong unwillingness and anger. But their own power is weak, unlike other types of dead bodies that have many special means, they can only use terrain means to take revenge on living people.

Runsheng said in surprise: "Our line of work can actually be written into a book?"

Li Zhuoyuan nodded: "Why not?"

Runsheng: "Who is so idle that they would write about our corpse salvaging business?"

Li Zhuoyuan didn't know how to answer. He didn't know who the author of the book was, but he had a faint guess. At the end of every article, the dead body was 'destroyed for the righteous path'. Shouldn't the author's name have 'righteous path' in it?

Runsheng said again: "What's even stranger is that the book is written for people to read. There are actually people who will read corpse salvaging stories."

Li Zhuoyuan: "......"

Currently, it seemed that "Jianghu Strange Records" was full of useful information.

"Runsheng brother, tell me specifically about that time."

"Oh, right, that day I just encountered a vortex. My boat flipped over, and I myself was trapped in the mud. Luckily, I held my breath and desperately clawed my way up. Only then did I manage to endure it. Otherwise, I would have been buried alive in the river."

"That's really dangerous." Li Zhuoyuan added another sentence, "Runsheng brother, you are truly powerful."

Fortunately, Xiao Huang Ying at that time just wanted him to lead the way. If he had encountered an infant dead body, calculating the days, he should be over the seventh day by now.

"Hehe, it's okay. The main thing is that I and Grandpa thought we'd finish the work and have a good meal at the main house that day, so we specially didn't eat lunch before going. If I had food in my belly, I wouldn't have been so disgraced by that dead body."

"Then this time, you still have to eat your fill before going."

"Of course, I like your Grandpa's home. Every time I come to your Grandpa's home, I can eat my fill and eat well!"

"Was that infant dead body salvaged in the end?"

"Definitely salvaged. It was very cunning. Seeing that it couldn't kill me, it wanted to drill into the water grass to hide. I just followed the water grass at the bottom of the water and pulled it out.

Seeing that it couldn't hide there, it wanted to drill under the riverbed. I dug it out like digging taro. Don't say, that appearance, soaked white, tender, and swollen, really looked like a boiled and peeled taro.

It just lacked a bowl of soy sauce poured over it and a little minced garlic."

Li Zhuoyuan noticed that when he said this, Runsheng licked his lips a bit.

As for other aspects, Li Zhuoyuan was unwilling to think more. He could only think that at that time, he was really hungry.

"Runsheng Hóu, Runsheng Hóu!" Downstairs came Grandpa Shan's shouting voice, "Come down and make the bed for Grandpa. Grandpa will sleep for a while before lunch."

"Coming, Grandpa."

Runsheng stood up and ran downstairs.

Qin Li then took the initiative to open the book on the wooden stool.

Li Zhuoyuan understood her meaning. She wanted to read with him, and she didn't want to be disturbed.

"Runsheng brother is a guest. Tomorrow, Grandpa and them still have to rely on Runsheng brother."

Thinking about the nether longevity combination at Niu's home tomorrow, one injured, one old and unable to walk, one blind... only Runsheng could be relied on.

Qin Li lifted her head and looked at Li Zhuoyuan, her eyes slightly dark.

She seemed to be expressing grievance.

Li Zhuoyuan pinched her hand a bit: "Okay, okay, we'll continue reading."

However, after Runsheng went down to make the bed, he didn't come up again.

At lunchtime, Li Zhuoyuan took Qin Li downstairs and saw the grandpa and grandson sleeping on the first floor, using the round table as a bed. They also got up to eat lunch.

The breakfast quantity was indeed just breakfast, and lunch, after careful preparation by Aunt Liu, was considered a small feast.

The grandpa and grandson ate until their bellies were round, then lay down on the round table bed for their noon nap. They slept until dinner time. After dinner, they went directly to sleep a proper sleep, snoring loudly.

It couldn't help but make people suspect that they had a special method to accumulate energy in advance for tomorrow.

Li Zhuoyuan could again, like yesterday, read almost all day. Today's efficiency was higher, and he read up to volume twenty-four.

Because he had the previous foundation and accumulation, for the later dead bodies, he only needed to remember their names and characteristics.

Li Zhuoyuan felt that in another whole day, "Jianghu Strange Records" could be finished. He was very much looking forward to the next set.

What was slightly strange was that Ying Zi sister still didn't come today. Li Sanjiang still muttered a sentence, but there was something to do tomorrow, so he could only wait until after the matter tomorrow to go and talk to Han Hóu.

This night, there were no dreams again.

In the morning, Li Zhuoyuan specially woke up a bit earlier than yesterday. He lay on the bed and felt around a bit. Hmm, he was starting to miss the feeling of being refreshed after waking up from a dream.

He sat up from the bed, and his mind was shocked. He immediately discovered that Qin Li was sitting on the chair in his bedroom.

The girl seemed to notice that she had scared him. She stood up and lowered her head.

He could feel that her emotions were irritable and uneasy.

Li Zhuoyuan got out of bed, walked to her, and held her hand: "This is really good, to be able to see you as soon as I open my eyes."

The girl lifted her head, her eyes bright.

She was wearing a white cheongsam today, with a flower pin in her hair, looking very elegant and noble. Her body also emitted a stock of orchid fragrance.

Li Zhuoyuan washed up first, then played three games of chess with her again. He happily lost all three games.

At breakfast time, Aunt Liu pointed to the two stools next to them: "Xiao Yuan, you and A'Li eat over here."

Li Zhuoyuan saw that there was still a table next to them, filled with wine and meat early in the morning. To take care of Runsheng, they had even thoughtfully inserted incense beforehand.

At this time, the incense was burning;

It looked like a table of sacrifice meal.

Liu Jin Xia was carried over by Li Ju Xiang on a tricycle. Seeing Li Sanjiang, who was covered in wound bandages, Liu Jin Xia almost cried out in fear, pointing at him and scolding:

"Li Sanjiang, you old beast, you're not human! You're not human!"

Liu Jin Xia cried and made a fuss for a long time, but in the end, she was unwilling to leave her job undone. Instead, she first persuaded her own daughter to go back.

Li Zhuoyuan and Qin Li first sat in their positions and finished their breakfast.

After a while, Li Sanjiang greeted Grandpa Shan, Runsheng, and Liu Jin Xia to eat:

"Come, come, come, everyone's here, let's make an offering!"