Chapter 22

Chapter 22

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

Breakfast had been moved up because of Xue Liangliang's shouting, and lunch was delayed because of Runsheng's arrival.

He estimated that everyone was probably hungry by now.

Li Zhuiyuan went into his room, chose some snacks, and placed them between himself and Ah Li. At the same time, he silently reminded himself that next time Uncle Qin bought him snacks, he must remember to tell him to buy pairs, otherwise it would be difficult to choose, because Ah Li liked to eat the same snacks as him.

Last night, when his Great-grandfather came back on the tractor, he brought a box of Jianlibao for him. Li Zhuiyuan also took two bottles and placed them in front of Ah Li after opening them.

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

Li Zhuiyuan immediately said, "Drink it, you're not allowed to keep it."

Ah Li lowered her head even more.

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

Anyway, this kind of thing had a long shelf life and was sealed. Li Zhuiyuan felt that since Grandma Liu had experienced the torment of stinky duck eggs, she should easily accept a can.

Ah Li immediately started drinking, imitating Li Zhuiyuan by taking a sip, then sticking out her tongue and licking her lips.

"Is this the first time you've drunk it?"

Ah Li looked at him. Her expression wasn't very rich, but Li Zhuiyuan could always understand.

"If you like drinking it, I still have a box there. You can drink one bottle each time and take one bottle away. When you finish, I'll ask Great-grandfather to buy me more."

Ah Li quickly took another sip. Although she didn't do anything else, in Li Zhuiyuan's mind, he seemed to already see a cute little girl holding a Jianlibao, her eyebrows and eyes curved, happily swinging her legs.

"Shall we play chess?"

When Ah Li heard this, she immediately took out the small chess box she always kept by her side.

They set up the chessboard and started playing. The two of them always played fast chess by default, but this time, in the mid-game, both sides were evenly matched, and they always competed until the endgame. Li Zhuiyuan only narrowly lost.

This was the most difficult time Ah Li had won since they started playing chess. The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan. She wasn't unhappy; instead, she was brighter.

Li Zhuiyuan, who lost the chess game, smiled. This time, he suddenly had an idea to apply a part of the "Fate Pattern Deduction Theory" algorithm to Go, and it 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 varied.

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

After he reminded her not to deliberately lose to him, she indeed no longer deliberately tried to lose, but she didn't mind playing more with him each time. What she cared about was the process, and winning, for her, was just an inevitable result.

But this time, Li Zhuiyuan found that Ah Li's chess style suddenly became steady, step by step, leaving him with almost no flaws or opportunities, making it meaningless no matter how flexible or varied he was in front of a mountain.

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

Yes, whether it was face reading or fortune-telling, it was just giving you another perspective of the world, and you were still your own.

Having one more perspective was a good thing, like having one more pair of eyes or one more pair of ears, but being too immersed in it and thinking that mastering it would allow you to do whatever you wanted, was like a small ant standing on an elephant's head looking far away and truly thinking it was that tall and big; that was too ridiculous.

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

Li Zhuiyuan smiled warmly and said, "I was just thinking about things in the book, not because I lost the chess game. How could I be unhappy losing to Ah Li?"

Just as he finished comforting the girl, Aunt Liu downstairs finally called them for dinner.

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

Li Zhuiyuan first portioned a small dish for Ah Li, then picked up his chopsticks and took two bites. He then heard a "gurgle" sound from behind, like muffled thunder in a dry field.

He turned his head to look and found that it was Runsheng's stomach rumbling. He was sitting in the corner.

There was a large incense stick personally made by Aunt Liu inserted in his rice bowl, already burning. He was just sitting there waiting for the incense to finish burning.

When a person was past the point of hunger, the feeling of hunger was often not that strong, but when delicious food was placed in front of them again, the silent hunger would return twofold.

This feeling of having to strongly endure while waiting, with food right in front of him, was indeed a torment for Runsheng.

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

"Um, yes." Runsheng made an effort to swallow a mouthful of saliva, then gestured with his hand, "You have to mix it with the incense ash before you can 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 mixing it with ash after it burns and eating it directly?"

"Ah?" Runsheng was startled, "I really haven't thought about this. Don't normal people all wait for the incense to finish burning?"

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

"Then... I'll try?"

Runsheng pulled the incense stick out of the rice bowl, bit into the unlit end, and as he chewed, there was no painful expression on his face. Instead, his eyebrows relaxed, and he seemed to find it particularly refreshing.

Immediately after, he impatiently picked up his chopsticks and shoveled several large mouthfuls of rice into his mouth. After swallowing, he looked at the incense stick in his hand with surprise and exclaimed, "Little Yuan, I really ate it, and I didn't feel nauseous or stomach upset!"

Aunt Liu made incense using an ancient method. Although it wasn't for eating, it wouldn't be a big deal if you actually ate it. Well, mainly with Runsheng's stomach, it's possible that even if there were small matters, the impact on him would be almost negligible.

Runsheng happily bit into a piece of incense and scooped up rice with great effort, eating with such excitement that it seemed as if he wasn't holding incense in his hand, but a large green onion that helped him eat rice.

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

"Sauce?" Runsheng thought for a moment, then nodded with effort, "Yes, yes."

Aunt Liu got up and went to the kitchen, brought Runsheng a bowl of salty sauce from the morning's porridge, and placed it on his small table.

Runsheng picked up the large incense stick, dipped it in the sauce, took another bite, and it was so delicious his eyebrows almost flew up.

"Little Yuan, you're amazing. This is much more delicious than waiting for the incense to burn before eating."

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

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips after a sip of white wine and looked at Runsheng's eating posture. He couldn't help but curse with a smile, "Son of a gun, I must find a way to get you some authentic Northeast big sauce later. That stuff is delicious with anything."

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

Li Sanjiang wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, sat with his legs spread, assuming the posture of a sitting mountain eagle: "Not only have I been there, in those years, I was conscripted and sent directly to the Northeast. Later, I, your Great-grandfather, had flexible legs and feet and ran all the way from the Northeast to Shanhaiguan."

Once this topic box was opened, it was difficult to close. Li Sanjiang took another sip of wine and continued, "After entering the pass, I wanted to walk back south along the railway, but I didn't walk far before I was conscripted again. I was given a set of clothes and pushed to the front line to fight. But this time I had experience. I took advantage of the superior being drunk, aimed at the empty space, and wrapped up a platoon of people to slip away at night. When I was almost in Xuzhou territory, with my hometown in sight, I got caught again. However, this time it was very fast. On the third day, my team was scattered. The original platoon leader still wanted us to reorganize, but I made an effort to stir things up below, and the whole platoon scattered again just as it was about to reorganize. After that, I became more focused and didn't dare to walk along the railway and main roads again. I walked where the roads were small and there were few people. Only then did I smoothly return home. After returning home, it was still not peaceful. I was caught again later, but I had experience in slipping away. If they caught me during the day, I could slip back at night. After this, I hid at home and secretly observed, not daring to go out wandering again, until it was peaceful."

Li Zhuiyuan sighed, "Great-grandfather, you are truly amazing."

He unexpectedly participated in all three major campaigns.

Although he stood on the opposite side, he still made contributions to the positive battlefield.

Li Sanjiang touched his stubbly chin and said modestly, "Not bad, not bad, hehe."

Runsheng had already finished half a basin of rice by this time and was just taking a short break. He interjected, "On the way here this morning, I met the people showing movies. They said they'll be showing one tonight in the town fair open space. The movie is called 'Crossing River Reconnaissance Record'. Little Yuan, are you going to watch it tonight?"

"Brother Runsheng, after we eat, we'll go to Shiganu Niu's house."

"It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." Li Sanjiang waved his hand, "That side is just a bit of a hassle, we should be back early and catch it."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Ah Li in front of him. He knew the girl couldn't stand the scene of so many people crowded together: "Let's not go, I'll read at home. Brother Runsheng and Great-grandfather, you can go watch."

At this moment, Liu Yumei suddenly spoke, "Ah Li must go, even if she sits far away. This movie, she must watch."

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

This was the first time he had seen Liu Yumei lose her composure like this.

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

Runsheng pushed the cart steadily, and there was basically not too much bumping, but the speed was still a bit slow.

"Runsheng Hou, wait a few days and you can learn to pedal a tricycle. That's fast."

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

"Do you think I, your great-grandfather, look like a tractor?"

Runsheng didn't speak.

Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette, looked at Li Zhuiyuan and asked, "Little Yuan Hou, do you think we should buy a TV for our home?"

"If Great-grandfather wants to watch, you can buy it."

"Great-grandfather is asking you."

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

In the basement, there were still so many boxes of books waiting for him to read. Where would he have time to watch TV?

"You good child."

Li Sanjiang still wanted to coax his great-grandson with a TV to make him happy, but he found that the boy didn't seem very interested. He gave him pocket money, but the boy never went to the small store except when he wanted to buy things for himself.

Runsheng, who was pushing the cart, said excitedly, "Buying a TV is good, it's good."

"Good my foot, push quickly, do you still want to watch the movie tonight?"

"Oh oh!"

When they reached the road in front of Niu Fu's house, Li Sanjiang got off in advance, tidied his clothes, then very seriously held up his peach wood sword and carefully wiped it with a cloth.

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

Coming to welcome them were Niu Fu's two sons and two daughters-in-law. As soon as Li Sanjiang came in, they served tea and snacks, showing great enthusiasm.

Li Sanjiang sat down first and chatted with them.

This kind of employer was actually the easiest to deal with because they would tell you everything like pouring beans themselves, and then you just had to follow their thinking.

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

After coming out of the main house, he came to the edge of the woodshed beside it, and only then did Li Zhuiyuan find Niu Fu.

In his original imagination, Niu Fu should be lying in bed unable to move, suffering from the cold shoulder...

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

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

The pile of dry grass beneath him was his bed. On the left were piled dry firewood, and on the right were towering piles of miscellaneous items.

There were two bowls beside him. One bowl contained clean water, and the other was very dirty, with who knows how many layers of dirt accumulated, and should have been used for rice.

As for the clothes on Niu Fu's body, his upper body was naked, without clothes, and his lower body wore a pair of shorts, dirty and almost scabbed onto his body, stinking.

Also, since his children weren't even willing to give him a bed to sleep on, there was no mention of cleaning his body and changing clothes.

Li Zhuiyuan covered his nose with his hand, leaning back slightly.

The last time he saw Niu Fu, he was hunched over but otherwise sturdy. After all, he was only fifty years old, which in the countryside still belonged to the category of 'strong labor'.

But now, Niu Fu was much thinner, and he kept muttering with his mouth open, not knowing whether he was speaking or it was some kind of uncontrolled reaction.

When Li Zhuiyuan came in, he slightly turned his head to look, then turned back, his gaze lifelessly looking at the roof.

After looking for a while, Li Zhuiyuan came out and took a deep breath of fresh air outside the woodshed.

"Meow."

A cat's meow came from the wall beside him. A disabled, 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 stiffened.

"Everyone acts as if the other doesn't exist, lacking interaction. You should make some noise tonight and push the intensification of the conflict."

"Meow..."

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

Li Sanjiang was performing rituals in the courtyard. The two sons who didn't even have time to wash their father's bowls were now kneeling in front of the altar with their wives, extremely devout.

After the ritual was finished, Li Sanjiang patted their shoulders one by one with the peach wood sword and comforted them, "Rest assured, you yourselves know what evil things your father did. Some debts, the old person tied them, so the old person will clear them. It won't involve you, just put your hearts at ease. If you feel the bad luck hasn't been completely removed, it's not that there's no way. That bit of remaining bad luck, just transfer it to other close relatives' homes. However, you must bite your lip and absolutely not say it out, otherwise you won't even have relatives."

"Transfer, transfer, we'll transfer, Great-grandfather, please help us transfer it!"

"Forget it, let's not do it. It's too damaging to people and will ruin my Taoism."

Li Sanjiang started to play hard to get. When another red envelope was sent up, he sighed and said, "Alright, since that's the case, I'll help you transfer the bad luck, but this matter, you must keep your mouths shut tight, absolutely don't leak it out."

"Great-grandfather, please rest assured, we understand, we understand."

Li Sanjiang performed another segment of the ritual for them. After finishing, he said, "Alright, that bit of remaining bad luck has been transferred to the homes of the second and third olds."

Under the effusive gratitude of Niu the eldest's family, Li Sanjiang led Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng out.

When they were on the cart going to Niu Rui's house, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "Great-grandfather, I originally thought you would preach to them."

"Preach to them? Hehe, your Great-grandfather's brain isn't full of water. If you have to preach to people even to support your parents, is there still a need to preach? Instead, it's better to ask for more money, so I, your Great-grandfather, can buy more pig head meat and wine. I just hope that nothing happens again in the Niu family. If something happens again, it might be hard for me, your Great-grandfather, to smooth things over. I'm really afraid of smashing my signboard."

"Didn't you solve that dead thing?"

"Right, also."

Li Zhuiyuan knew that nothing would happen again. After the three children were all tormented 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 Niu Rui squatting on the dam frying medicine with a small stove. Beside him were his children's sarcastic voices, saying that his medicine was useless except for spending money, and no matter how he treated it, it wouldn't get better.

Niu Rui had killed people when he was young. Although he relied on his mother, Niu the old lady, to clean up after him, he still had a violent temper in his bones. He couldn't hold back and stood up, slapping his son's wife, who was holding a child. His son angrily roared and hit Niu Rui, and Niu Rui fought with his son again. Although he had a strange illness, he was at the juncture where his illness was just being controlled, and he actually wrestled on the ground with his son for a while, fighting indistinguishably. Niu Rui's wife screamed and scratched Niu Rui's face, angrily rebuking him for being useless, spending the family's money on buying medicine and still daring to lay hands on their precious son. The child's cries, the wrestling sounds, and the scolding voices converged, like a symphony playing on the dam. When Li Sanjiang and his party arrived, they stopped, and then the whole family, with bruised faces, all put on flattering smiles. Niu Rui was personally saved by Li Sanjiang, and the Niu family had also heard the voice of Niu the old lady, who had already passed away, transmitted from the old house, so they believed in Li Sanjiang very much. After respectfully inviting Li Sanjiang into the house, everyone started crying and pleading. After Li Sanjiang comforted them, he performed another ritual. After the first set was completed, Li Sanjiang again spoke the same words about transferring bad luck, and Niu Rui's son immediately sent up another red envelope, and Li Sanjiang performed another ritual. But before leaving, Niu Rui himself secretly stuffed another red envelope, begging Li Sanjiang to drive away evil and cure his disease. Li Sanjiang also accepted it, saying that he would set up an ever-burning candle for him after returning, but also instructed him that no matter what, he must take his medicine on time and not stop. This can also be said to be the professional ethics of side-door people: I receive your money and pray for your blessings, which plays a psychological comforting role, but you must continue to take medicine and continue to see a doctor for your illness. However, this instruction will undoubtedly continue to intensify the conflict between Niu Rui and his family. Because Li Zhuiyuan is clear, Niu Rui's illness cannot be cured. This will be a bottomless pit that continuously brings you hope and then deeper despair. Niu Fu was completely unable to take care of himself after being paralyzed, so his status declined at once, while Niu Rui was still in the struggling stage. Although Niu Rui is not too miserable at this moment, as long as the current contradictions continue to accumulate, not long from now, it will definitely explode with more brilliant fireworks. Look at the hateful eyes his family already have for him; the ending will not disappoint. Therefore, this time when the black cat passed by him, Li Zhuiyuan just calmly nodded slightly. When they arrived at Niu Lian's house, Li Sanjiang was as usual invited in by her family. Li Zhuiyuan did not see Niu Lian in the main house, nor in the woodshed after looking around. Finally, he saw Niu Lian tied there with an iron chain beside the pigsty. On the other side was the family's toilet. It was as if her family could chat with her every time they came here to use the toilet and sat on the dragon chair. They were quite considerate of the old person, afraid she would be lonely alone. Her rice bowl was right next to the pig trough, and beside the bowl was the spoon used to scoop feed for the pigs. It looked like they would also conveniently feed her when they fed the pigs. As long as the pigs had a mouthful to eat, they wouldn't forget her half-mouthful. She was awake now and not numb. Seeing that there was an outsider, she covered her face with both hands to cover her ugliness. Li Zhuiyuan saw both her grandson and granddaughter. One had a bandage on their head and the other had a bandage on their arm; they should have been injured when Niu Lian was ill. The two children spat at her while throwing stones at her, not in a playful way, but deliberately throwing at her body. The children's parents also saw it but did not stop them. Instead, their eyes were full of hatred. The black cat walked out from the edge of the pigsty roof. Li Zhuiyuan did not speak and walked away. Then, beside the pigsty, Niu Lian's pleading voice came again, saying that her illness was already cured and begging her children to let her go, saying that she was already well. What greeted her was scolding from the children and several violent kicks from her son. Niu Lian was kicked and curled up in the corner, howling like a dog. Obviously, they had believed before and were "deceived". The black cat jumped down step by step along the high and low objects from above, and finally walked to Li Zhuiyuan's feet, rubbing Li Zhuiyuan's pant leg with its cat face. Li Zhuiyuan bent down and stroked its head. The black cat enjoyed it very much and almost leaned its body over, exposing its belly. Great-grandfather started to perform the ritual, as usual, receiving another red envelope and helping to transfer the bad luck to those two homes. As they left Niu Lian's house and headed back home, Runsheng, who was pushing the cart, steadily supported the cart with one arm and started counting with the other hand: "The eldest's house, the second's house, the third's house, they all asked Great-grandfather to pass the bad luck to other houses. Isn't that the same as not passing the bad luck?" Li Zhuiyuan corrected him, "Brother Runsheng, it's not the same." "Where is it different?" "Because Great-grandfather received three extra shares of money." "Right, Little Yuan, you're right!" When they got home, it was just dusk and dinner time. After eating, Li Sanjiang yawned and waved his hand, "I'm not going to watch the movie. I'll wash up and go to sleep. I'm exhausted." He performed a dense ritual today. Even a young person jumping six dances in a row in an afternoon wouldn't be able to stand it. Perhaps Great-grandfather persevered by gritting his teeth. His physical quality was indeed nothing to say. Uncle Qin brought many stools to wait. Aunt Liu also didn't have time to tidy the bowls and chopsticks as usual. She temporarily put aside the housework and waited together. Liu Yumei changed into a cheongsam, still wearing jewelry and putting on rouge. An old lady of her age dressed up not for good looks, but to show respect. The movie was screened in the open space next to the town fair. It hadn't started yet, but people had already come early to occupy positions. Uncle Qin and Runsheng, two people squeezed in, placed the stools, and forcibly created a gap. With their build, the people next to them dared to be angry but didn't dare to speak and only lowered their heads and moved their stools away. However, Uncle Qin took out many candies from his pocket and gave them to the children, and also took out cigarettes to share with the adults. The people around accepted them with a smile and no longer had any dissatisfaction. Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu sat in the middle of the two people. Although she was old, she still had a graceful posture and looked back, seeming out of place with the surroundings. As for Li Zhuiyuan, he and Qin Li sat in a corner far away where there were no people. They were far from the screen and relatively off to the side, so the viewing effect was not good, but the advantage was that it was quiet and nobody bothered them. This kind of crowded place was inherently not very suitable for Qin Li. Several small vendors with carts set up stalls in the back, selling cheap snacks and small toys. They could also be seen at weddings and funerals. They would go wherever there was popularity. Some children were buying things, but more were just looking on enviously, giving opinions to the children who had money to buy things. Li Zhuiyuan touched his pocket. When he lived at Li Weihan's house before, Cui Guiying would regularly give him some pocket money, but each time the money came to his hand, it would be snatched away by his brothers and sisters to Aunt Zhang's small store to buy snacks for everyone. The day after he was sent to Great-grandfather's house to "enter the religion," Li Weihan and Cui Guiying came to bring him clothes and stuffed some more money, a particularly large amount this time. Coupled with the pocket money Li Sanjiang would also give him, and Li Zhuiyuan's usual lack of consumption needs, all this money was saved. At least in the children's circle, he was considered very rich. "Ah Li, you wait here." Immediately, Li Zhuiyuan walked to a stall and bought two bubble blowing toys. After returning, he took one, and Qin Li took one. When the movie was screened, the two of them kept blowing bubbles in the back. Ah Li was very happy playing, and one bottle was quickly running out. Considering that the girl had the habit of collecting things, Li Zhuiyuan bought her three more. At the same time, he scanned the three stalls and finally bought a pair of hand ropes. Actually, there were quite a few small ornaments on the stalls, like bow hair clips, colorful hairbands, etc., but Li Zhuiyuan considered that Ah Li was personally designed and dressed up by Grandma Liu every day, and felt that wearing these things would have a bad effect. The most important thing was that he knew that if he gave her something, she would definitely wear it, so he finally decided not to deprive Liu Yumei of the happiness of dressing up her granddaughter every morning. Ah Li looked at the red hand rope on her wrist. She must have liked it very much, because she stopped blowing bubbles. However, she soon looked at Li Zhuiyuan's wrist again. Li Zhuiyuan raised his hand, showing his blue hand rope, and only then was she satisfied and continued to blow bubbles. When the movie finished, Liu Yumei and the others came out. Runsheng was very excited watching and kept repeating the lines from the movie, also regretting that there were no wars to fight now, otherwise he could also be a Crossing River Reconnaissance Soldier. Li Zhuiyuan smiled and humored him, but felt in his heart that Runsheng was quite suitable, and his professional ability was barely related. Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu were very silent. This feeling was like attending a relative's funeral. Liu Yumei was holding a handkerchief and wiping away tears as she walked. Li Zhuiyuan politely greeted her, and seeing that Liu Yumei was unwilling to say anything, he gave up. When a row of people quickly walked back from the town fair, they saw Aunt Zhang from the small store running towards them on the road from the opposite village: "There's a phone call, there's a phone call, it's for you, Little Yuan Hou!"... The on-site seminar on the Jiang surface boat took much longer than expected. The local comrades would definitely seize every opportunity to promote this project with all their might. Luo Tingrui also played to his professional strengths and started lecturing the leaders around him on some key points and difficulties of the project. Actually, most of the comrades on the boat didn't understand water conservancy and engineering, but this did not prevent them from listening with relish. Because the construction of this large bridge required considering not only professional aspects but also combining factors such as shipping demand, urban planning, highway construction, and even military matters. Most importantly, it was the speed of social development. Having not learned similar lessons before, what was originally thought to be a bold and progressive advance plan would be found to be too conservative not long after it was built. Finally, when the sky was almost dark, the seminar finally ended. The boat started to move towards the shore, and everyone took out cigarettes and shared them. Xue Liangliang did not smoke and stood by the boat rail alone. After knowing that the land beneath his feet might be the location of Bai Family Town, his mind was always a little uneasy. Suddenly, he heard movements from beneath the Jiang surface. He lowered his head to look down. Beneath the water surface, a human figure seemed to float out. At this moment, a hand patted his shoulder, and Xue Liangliang jumped in surprise. Turning his head to look, it was Luo Tingrui. "What's wrong, Liangliang, you seemed distracted just now." "Director, I'm fine." "What's wrong, don't you like attending this kind of meeting?" "No, director, I might not have rested well. I know the importance of this meeting." "Um, since you plan to dedicate yourself to this line of work later, you must learn to adapt. Those of us who are professionals can easily develop the idea of looking down on administration, but without efficient and stable organization, many things cannot be implemented. Sometimes, the more professional you are in certain aspects, the more amateur you appear in other aspects." "I understand, director." Xue Liangliang knew that Luo Tingrui was reminding him. "Let's go, let's go ashore. You can have a good sleep on the way back and don't delay tomorrow's class." "Okay, director." Back on shore, sitting on the large bus, Xue Liangliang sat in the back row. Not long after the car started, he fell into a hazy sleep. While sleeping, Xue Liangliang suddenly felt a little cool in his lower body. He opened his eyes and was immediately stunned. He was sitting in the car seat, but he didn't know which part of the car had taken on water, and the water level had already flooded up to his waist. He looked towards the front. The small light in the car was on, and he could see the people sitting in front and even hear their low voices chatting. "The car is taking on water, driver, master, the car is taking on water!" Xue Liangliang shouted, but no one paid attention. Everyone seemed not to have noticed. "Master, stop the car, the car is taking on water, master! Director, director!" Still no one responded to him. Gradually, the water surface flooded up to his chest. Xue Liangliang started to pull the car window, but it was completely dark outside, and the car window simply couldn't be pulled open. Just at this moment, a figure seemed to flash through the blackness in front of his eyes, so fast that Xue Liangliang mistook it for his eyes playing tricks. But soon, the figure appeared again, and this time, its face was pressed against the car window. Borrowing the dim light inside the car, the face reflected was dim, and he couldn't distinguish whether it was male or female for a moment. "Crack..." However, just at this moment, the car window was suddenly opened, and it was pulled to the widest. The next moment, the water inside the car, as if it had finally found the only vent, all surged towards his side. Xue Liangyuan felt as if his whole body was being squeezed out by the water flow. He was rushed out of the car window and fell into the darkness, his body uncontrollably continuing to drift. "Hua la la..." He didn't know how long he had drifted. It felt like he had been slapped out by a Jiang wave. There was a sharp pain in his lower body, and he woke up. He lowered his head and found that he was lying on the edge of the Jiang shore. Beneath him were jagged stones, and his palms, arms, chest, thighs, and other areas were all scraped with blood marks. There were no major wounds, but this kind of large-area scratch was really hard to bear. Enduring the pain, Xue Liangliang struggled to stand up, his gaze sweeping around. The moonlight above his head was covered by a layer of gray fog, making the surrounding environment hazy. But he could roughly distinguish that this was the Jiang edge, not far from where they had gone to the boat for the seminar earlier. But hadn't he already left Nantong in the car? How did he get back here? Xue Liangliang felt blank. Suddenly, he saw a woman appear in front of him. The woman wore a blue skirt, tied a ponytail, held a porcelain bottle in her left hand, and supported a black umbrella in her right hand. Why was she holding an umbrella? When Xue Liangliang had this thought, he only then discovered that it was raining outside, and it was heavy rain. The large raindrops hit his body painfully. Had this rain been falling all this time? "Hey, who are you!" Xue Liangliang shouted at the woman. The woman seemed not to hear his words, and she walked straight towards the Jiang edge holding the umbrella. When she got closer, Xue Liangliang saw the woman's face clearly. Her makeup and eyebrows had some dust, but she was very young. The main thing was that Xue Liangliang had gone to the hospital and then to the Jiang edge after leaving Siyuan Village, so he didn't have the opportunity to look at the police notice board. Otherwise, he would have seen the woman's photo there at this time, and the police had already issued a wanted notice for her. This time, seeing the woman still walking into the Jiang water single-mindedly, Xue Liangliang reached out and grabbed the arm she was holding the umbrella with: "What are you doing? Don't think about it, you can't go any further!" The woman continued to walk forward for no reason. "Pu tong..." Xue Liangliang only felt an incredible force coming from the woman's body, and she actually flipped him over. Immediately after, he found that his hand seemed to be stuck to the woman's arm, and he couldn't struggle at all. She pulled him into the Jiang. This posture was really uncomfortable. Not only could he not maintain balance, but his lower body was always rubbing against the stones. When the woman stepped into the middle of the Jiang, Xue Liangliang finally used the buoyancy of the water to balance his body, but then came the strong feeling of choking on water and suffocation, which was even more terrifying. He struggled with all his might, but it was no use. The woman continued to move forward. She walked at the bottom of the Jiang, and it was dark all around. Xue Liangliang floated up, one hand still stuck to the woman's arm, but his whole body had come above the woman. He wanted to shout, but every time he opened his mouth, water rushed in first, completely stopping his voice. He involuntarily used his other hand to grab the woman's hair. After the hair wound around his hand, he started to exert force. The woman's figure didn't change at all and continued to move forward at the bottom of the Jiang. Xue Liangliang originally applied force upwards, but it turned into downwards, which made his whole body stick to the woman's back. The hair started to grow, growing inconceivably, and they were extremely tough. Even if only a few strands were hanging there, Xue Liangliang couldn't tear them off. Instead, the more he tried to escape, the tighter he was bound. In the end, he almost became a posture of hugging the woman from the back while the woman walked forward with her back to him. The suffocating feeling of despair continued. Xue Liangliang could no longer calculate how long he hadn't breathed. He was very uncomfortable and very painful, but he didn't know why, his consciousness remained clear. This was definitely not good luck, because it allowed him to taste the torment more clearly and intuitively. Now, he was already begging to drown quickly so he could be free sooner. He didn't know how long had passed. Light appeared in front of him. How could there be light at the bottom of the Jiang? Moreover, under the reflection of the light, he could vaguely see the shadow of houses. At the bottom of the Jiang, not only was there light, but there was also a real village or town. Suddenly, Xue Liangliang felt that all the hair that had bound him scattered open, and even the hand that had been stuck could be loosened. His whole body didn't float upwards, but fell onto the ground. The woman continued to move forward, guided by the light, walking towards the vaguely visible village or town. Xue Liangliang was extremely horrified to discover that it was not only the woman who had brought him down in front of him, but in the darkness at the bottom of the Jiang within his line of sight, there seemed to be many figures, all with long hair and dressed in different styles and even clothes from different eras. They all had deadpan faces, walked emotionlessly, and all moved forward in one direction. Beside the water flow, there seemed to be a fixed flow direction. Xue Liangliang, sitting on the ground, only felt his body uncontrollably being pulled in that direction. He instinctively wanted to grab onto anything fixed under his body that he could grab, but all attempts failed. When he grabbed a stone, the stone was flipped over. When he grabbed mud, he brought up a muddy slurry that quickly diluted and dissipated. No matter how he resisted or was unwilling at this moment, he could not change the reality that he was being forcibly pulled away. Finally, as the light got closer, what looked like just a light from afar, turned out to be a path of red and white lanterns unified together after getting closer. And the figure of that village or town also became more three-dimensional and clearer. House after house was neatly arranged, and each household's door had a niche with an ever-burning lamp above it, emitting a faint green light. In front of him appeared an archway, very majestic and very ancient, with a lot of moss attached to it. Two rows of hanging lanterns hung on both sides, from top to bottom, from large to small. On the left were red lanterns, representing joy; on the right were white lanterns, foretelling death and silence. Xue Liangliang looked at the center of the archway. There were three words above it. Reading from right to left, "Bai Family Town." ()