Chapter 44

Chapter 44

Li Zhuoyuan is still in the exploration and learning phase for this set of methods for controlling dead inverted, so he’s a bit uncertain about the current situation.

But one thing he can confirm is that A Li is definitely not a dead inverted.

So,

Am I the dead inverted?

Li Zhuoyuan carefully thought back to his childhood, and confirmed that he only had the same mental illness as Li Lan, and hadn't reached the point of being expelled from the human registry and categorized as dead inverted.

Then, what exactly is going on in the current situation?

This is the drawback of self-learning from books. There's no teacher, no complete teaching plan, and no comprehensive theoretical framework of knowledge. Sometimes, complex problems at higher levels can be solved, but when simple concepts are encountered, one can only scratch their head in confusion.

Moreover, under this premise, those with better learning talent are often more likely to go astray.

But,

He was already here.

Li Zhuoyuan looked at A Li, who was wrapped in darkness in front of him, and took a step forward.

As he took this step, he felt everything around him flowing rapidly. A feeling infinitely stronger than motion sickness was intensely stimulating his consciousness.

Fortunately, all of this came and went quickly. When the surroundings quieted down, Li Zhuoyuan found himself sitting on a small stool, with his feet on the threshold in front.

This sitting posture was very familiar to Li Zhuoyuan. For a long time, the girl sat like this during the day.

"Woo woo woo woo... woo woo woo woo..."

It was a sound like both crying and the low cry of an animal, sometimes far, sometimes near.

Just outside this door, separated by a line at the threshold, was a scene with a distinctly realistic perspective, yet filled with a strange, inky style.

A dwarf only a few inches tall, wearing yellow clothes, rode a small horse, driving a yellow canopy carriage, sweeping past the door, then turning a corner and galloping away into the depths of the dark clouds in front.

A python crawled in the grass clump in front of the door. The python had only one head, but two snake bodies extended below it. As it crawled, the snake bodies continuously intertwined and shuttled.

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

By the river bank in the distance, several women were squatting there washing clothes, constantly beating with hammers in their hands. But what they beat down were not dirty clothes, but crying babies, one after another.

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

For a while, all sorts of ghosts appeared in his line of sight. Some were recorded in ancient books, while others were unheard of.

Li Zhuoyuan lifted his gaze. The sky was filled with dark clouds, and some huge figures seemed to vaguely appear within.

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

Li Zhuoyuan turned back and looked behind him. There was an altar table, full of spirit tablets.

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

But soon, it was replaced by dense disappointment.

Because these spirit tablets were not only without luster, but all showed decay, covered in shocking cracks.

Li Zhuoyuan felt that since they could appear here, they should originally be able to play some role.

But in fact, their function was missing. Each spirit tablet had an oil lamp in front, but the oil lamp within had not a drop of lamp oil, making it obviously impossible to rekindle spiritual light.

Suddenly, Li Zhuoyuan felt the outside become very quiet, and the light also dimmed down.

He turned back, looked towards the door, and discovered a pitted, mottled wall completely sealing the door.

Buzz!

The next moment,

A crack opened in the middle of the wall, then suddenly tore open, revealing a huge, slanted, long eye.

Li Zhuoyuan's mind was greatly shaken, and his ears were filled with an ear-piercing roar.

The scene in front of him dissipated. He seemed to wake up, but again couldn't see or hear.

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

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

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

He didn't know how long passed, but the boy only recovered some consciousness, followed by a splitting headache. He hugged his head with both hands and lowered 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, her eyes filled with anticipation, as if waiting for his evaluation.

He had just gone to the girl's 'home' and seen enough to make people unforgettable terror in her heart.

But the boy didn't offer comfort or feel sorry. Instead, he pulled his mouth into an arc to show a smile and said in a dry voice:

"Really interesting."

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

She was very happy.

Children from ordinary families, when bringing classmates to their home to play, would always feel some uneasiness and apprehension.

Her home was terrible, but no matter how terrible, it was her home.

At this time, sympathy, comfort, and encouragement were not what the 'host' wanted, and would instead intensify the embarrassment.

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

Li Zhuoyuan's face also showed a smile. He reached out and gently scraped the girl's nose.

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

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

Picking up the black leather book again, Li Zhuoyuan began to review the entire process from before. 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 exceed the syllabus.

But the greater the difficulty, the faster his progress would be. At most, it was just a headache, and he could endure it.

"A Li, shall we do it again?"

The girl nodded.

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

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

When Li Zhuoyuan had just recovered from the second time, Aunt Liu's voice came from downstairs:

"Eat breakfast!"

This feeling was very similar to waiting for breakfast after playing several games of chess early in the morning.

Li Zhuoyuan felt that he had found a new game between him and the girl.

Breakfast was porridge, but there were many varieties of pickled vegetables, both traditional Nantong local ones and those preferred by Grandma Liu.

One by one, small dishes were placed on the small table, very ceremonial.

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

Runsheng always ate meals like this. He would light incense for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. He would use a basin to hold the porridge, pour all sorts of pickled vegetables inside, stir, and then scoop and eat with a spoon, with each scoop having a uniform mix of porridge and vegetables.

Tan Wenbin was completely integrated.

Li Sanjiang crossed his left leg, he crossed his right leg. Both of them, holding their porridge bowls with one hand, slurped half a circle along the edge of the bowl, then used chopsticks to pick up a few pickled vegetables and throw them into their mouths. While chewing the pickled vegetables, they used the end of the chopsticks to scratch an itch while gazing into the distance.

After the meal, Li Sanjiang lit a cigarette.

Tan Wenbin proactively took matches and helped Li Sanjiang light up.

Then, while the match hadn't extinguished, he also drew one from Li Sanjiang's cigarette box to hold in his own mouth. After lighting it, he quickly threw away the match and waved his hand.

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, and knew the child in front of him was in this stage.

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

But when he looked at Li Zhuoyuan, Li Sanjiang smiled again. His own little Yuanhou would definitely not be so childish.

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

"Great-grandfather, this morning, Ding big brother and the others came. They said it was urgent and they needed to hurry back. They were afraid of disturbing your sleep, so they didn't call you up. They just asked me to hand over the money to you."

"Is that so, leaving so urgently?"

Li Sanjiang took the black plastic bag and looked at it. The cigarette in his mouth subsequently smoked faster for several puffs.

"Yo, not a small amount indeed."

"Great-grandfather, should it be enough?"

"Enough is definitely enough. Once the contract money is given, all the remaining money will be used to plant peach trees. The more money left, the denser they will be planted, and the less money, the sparser they will be planted.

Alright, I'll go find the village head to sign the contract, then go to town to inquire about seedlings. Tinghou ah, I won't be back for lunch. Alas, if it weren't for the sake of face, 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 Cuihou ah, did you come to find little Yuanhou to play?"

"Um."

"Then go."

Soon, Cuicui walked to the dam. Her gaze swept over Li Zhuoyuan and A Li, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

"Yuanhou brother."

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

"Yuanhou brother, today is my birthday. My mom will buy me a birthday cake. Will you come to my house for lunch, okay?"

Cuicui's eyes were full of anticipation. She always fantasized about having little companions to accompany her for her birthday.

"Okay, I'll go."

"Then what about A Li sister?"

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

A Li looked at the boy and nodded.

Li Zhuoyuan was slightly stunned. He really didn't think A Li would agree.

In the distance, Liu Yumei, who was still slowly chewing her breakfast, also raised her head in surprise, her face showing joy.

"Then A Li will also go."

"Yay, that's great."

"However, Cuicui, you have to tell Aunt Xianghou that she needs to prepare a separate small table. A Li can't be too close to strangers."

"I understand. Last time I told my mom about A Li sister. I'll let mom prepare."

"Then I'll also go." Tan Wenbin raised his hand.

"Yuanhou brother, who is he?"

"Zhuangzhuang."

"What Zhuangzhuang? My name is Binbin!"

Li Zhuoyuan looked at him and said: "I thought you already admitted it."

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

"Then good, Zhuangzhuang brother... oh no, Binbin brother, you can also come."

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

Tan Wenbin shouted to Runsheng, who was still eating porridge with a large spoon in the corner: "Runsheng, are you going or not? There's cake to eat."

Runsheng looked at Li Zhuoyuan. Seeing Li Zhuoyuan nod, he replied: "Go!"

Li Zhuoyuan said to Cuicui: "Well, Cuicui, you also need to tell your mom to cook an extra pot of rice."

"Okay, I will. Then I'll go back first. You all come at lunchtime. Yuanhou brother, A Li sister, Runsheng brother, Zhuangzhuang brother, goodbye."

Cuicui bounced back, so happy she seemed to want to grow a pair of wings and fly up.

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

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

"No need, I have some here." Tan Wenbin patted his pocket.

For fear that he would be a burden in others' homes, his parents unusually gave him a large amount of pocket money.

"Then good, Runsheng brother, let's take the tricycle to town."

"Coming!"

Runsheng picked up the basin, swept the remaining porridge into his mouth, then went to the well to wash his face, and then went to ride the tricycle out.

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

A Li shook her head.

Li Zhuoyuan didn't persuade her anymore. There were many people in town, and it wasn't really suitable for A Li to go.

"Wait a minute." Liu Yumei called Li Zhuoyuan, reached up to her ear and took off a pair of earrings, and handed them over. "These are A Li's gifts from our family."

Li Zhuoyuan didn't reach out to take them, saying: "Grandma, they are too valuable."

"Not for you."

"But it's really not appropriate."

"Then you wait."

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

"Go help A Li also buy a gift."

"Um." Li Zhuoyuan didn't take all of it, only took out one. "Okay, grandma."

After the three boys sat on the tricycle and drove down the dam, Aunt Liu carried a bottle of hot water over, preparing to help Liu Yumei brew tea. Seeing the money on the tea table, she asked with a smile:

"How, he didn't want it?"

Liu Yumei shook her head somewhat helplessly: "This child, probably afraid our money stings his hand."

"Little Yuan is a careful child, just prone to overthinking."

Liu Yumei shook her head: "He doesn't even look at how hard that girl's life is. Even if the money stings her hand, she will still spend it."

"I know that girl. The village all knows her family's life is hard, but Little Yuan shouldn't believe these things."

"He doesn't believe it?" Liu Yumei picked up the teacup. "He even took a liking to a book made of Buddha skin paper. Do you think he can't see that girl's life is hard?"

"Maybe, this child always seems quiet, but he knows a lot."

"Now is a special period, we can't intervene. Wait until A Li's illness is completely cured, our body chains will loosen. I plan to take this boy as a registered disciple at that time."

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

Liu Yumei smiled and said as a matter of course: "Naturally it's 《Liu Clan Qi Observation Jue》."

"I'm afraid it won't be up to you to choose at that time."

"How so?"

"He and A Li are so close. When A Li's illness is better, whatever he wants to learn, A Li won't teach him?"

"Useless. Each family has its methods of transmission. These inheritances, even if written clearly in books, without a master to lead the way, at most one can only see some superficialities, it's impossible to truly learn."

Speaking of this, Liu Yumei suddenly had an idea to tease her granddaughter. Also because her granddaughter agreed to go to someone else's birthday, she was happy in her heart.

She walked into the house and took out a book. On it was written 《Liu Clan Qi Observation Jue》.

The girl sat on the stool, her feet on the threshold, but this time, she wasn't just staring straight. Her gaze would slowly move, looking around.

"A Li, do you think Grandma should show this book to Little Yuan later?"

Last time she knew the boy lacked money, her granddaughter took over all the gold bars and banknotes in the house.

This boy liked to read books. Seeing this book, wouldn't her granddaughter rush to give it to him?

But her granddaughter's reaction was something Liu Yumei couldn't quite understand. A Li actually ignored the book in her hand.

Did she not see it clearly?

Liu Yumei put the book closer to A Li.

"Pa!"

A Li slapped the book to the ground with one hand.

Liu Yumei bent down to pick up the book with a confused look, blew the dust off it. She wasn't particularly delighted, but rather a little nervous:

Ah, how come her granddaughter's elbow wasn't turning outwards again?

...

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

Tan Wenbin patted Runsheng's back and said: "Of course we're going to Shigang Town. Shennan Town only has a few stores."

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

"Okay!"

Tan Wenbin supported the edge of the tricycle with both hands, facing the wind, forked his fringe, and said: "Don't worry, I'm familiar with Shigang Town. I can definitely lead you all to pick out good gifts."

When they reached the boundary of Shigang Town, they passed the gate of Shigang Middle School. Shennan had a junior high but no high school, so Yingzi, Panszi, and Leizi also studied here.

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

This was the first time Li Zhuoyuan had heard that 'future' could be added before alma mater.

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

"Binbin brother, you have to go back to school in two days, right?"

"Don't worry, I can't go. Everyone has already collectively written letters to the education bureau to report summer supplementary classes."

"You organized it?"

"Hehe." Tan Wenbin tilted his head to catch the wind. "Exactly by me!"

Runsheng said: "Little Yuan, are you coming here to study later?"

"Yes, you just found out?" Tan Wenbin quickly answered.

Runsheng: "Then good, later I'll ride my bike to pick you up for school every morning and evening."

Tan Wenbin: "The school has dormitories."

Li Zhuoyuan: "I don't live in dormitories."

His great-grandfather's home wasn't very far from here, and it was also convenient to have Runsheng brother pick him up. Home had good food and drink, a spacious big bed, and A Li.

"Then what about early self-study and late self-study? Our early self-study starts at six o'clock, and late self-study only ends at ten o'clock. How early do you think you'll have to get up and how late do you'll have to go home?"

"Then I just won't attend early and late self-study."

Tan Wenbin: "..."

Tan Wenbin suddenly felt that Little Yuan brother's words were very reasonable.

If he dared to say the same words to Tan Yunlong, his dad would definitely take off his belt next.

"Little Yuan brother, then you just won't come to school when you're not in a good mood or the weather is bad."

"Okay."

In Li Zhuoyuan's view, how could he delay fishing for dead inverted because of studying?

"Really should die ah, really envy you ah, why can't I be like this!"

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

"Shut up, concentrate on riding your bike." Tan Wenbin began to think, "Little Yuan brother, do you have any study secrets to teach me?" Runsheng: "Your dad knows you stayed over for several days, and you only mention studying for the first time?"

"Ah, you shut up!"

"Binbin brother, I don't know how to help you with studying."

"For example, your study method?"

"Study... still needs a method?"

Tan Wenbin spread his hands, his expression twisted, and asked strangely with a raised voice:

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

"Fishing for dead inverted needs a method."

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

"I can write the process for you, which is faster. Then, I can also make some questions for you to do."

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

Runsheng: "Then I'll ride the tricycle to send you all to university."

"First, don't talk about university. Just ride past, the department store building is in the back, turn quickly."

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

Subsequently, the three of them walked into the building. There were many people inside.

Under Tan Wenbin's guidance, the three of them quickly bought their gifts.

Li Zhuoyuan bought a music box. He helped A Li buy a glass ornament. In addition, he also bought a silk scarf for A Li.

After buying, Tan Wenbin led the two to a nearby small alley. Inside were several stalls selling fried skewers.

"Boss, chicken skewers coming..."

Before he even came to order food, Tan Wenbin saw a skinny classmate surrounded by four males in the depths of the alley.

"Don't think you can be arrogant just because Tan Wenbin is covering you. I'm telling you, you're thinking too much."

"Others fear Tan Wenbin, I may not fear. Even if his dad comes, I won't take him seriously!"

With punching and kicking, that skinny classmate quickly squatted in the corner by the wall, covering his head with both hands.

Tan Wenbin looked at Li Zhuoyuan: "Little Yuan brother..."

"Your classmate?"

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

"Oh."

"Little Yuan brother, Runsheng, you all pretend not to know me."

After saying that, Tan Wenbin quickly rushed forward, regardless of the other side having four people, and gave one of them a flying kick: "Fuck you!"

This kick had quite the family tradition style.

It made Li Zhuoyuan can't help but suspect, was Uncle Tan usually beating Binbin or teaching him martial arts?

After kicking down one, the other three immediately came to blows. Tan Wenbin instantly fell into a group fight.

Mainly, he ran too fast, hit too fast, so fast that Li Zhuoyuan hadn't even had a chance to say anything.

"Runsheng brother, help Binbin fight."

"Okay!"

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

Runsheng, who had received Li Zhuoyuan's instruction, walked forward step by step, clenching his fists and twisting his neck, emitting a series of joint pops.

In his mind, one black underworld movie after another flashed.

But also because he was considering the plot and walking slowly, Binbin was hit several more times.

However, the situation changed immediately after he joined.

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

He ultimately still had some sense in his heart and couldn't take a life, so he reluctantly loosened his hand, and that person just collapsed softly to the ground.

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

Runsheng proactively dispelled their doubts. He lunged forward, his arms horizontal, like a bull, heavily flipping the two to the ground.

Then, one left and one right, he kicked a foot each. The two were really kicked flying up, each smashing against the wall and rolling down.

The last one saw the situation and immediately turned to run, but his speed was too slow. Runsheng accelerated and caught up, grabbed his neck in a reverse throw, lifted him in the air and drew a circle before smashing him to the ground.

"I'm coming!"

Tan Wenbin shouted and rushed up to that guy, giving him a flurry of punches and kicks.

Seeing that the beating was enough, he ran to the previous three there and supplemented the damage.

Runsheng just watched Tan Wenbin one after another "A da, A duo!"

Because Runsheng was clear that if he made a move again, it would be easy to not hold back.

"Huff..."

Tan Wenbin finally finished beating. Those four people were all lying on the ground, wailing.

"Damn, refreshing, too refreshing!"

Tan Wenbin raised both arms. Although he hadn't seen the dead inverted, with this bout of enjoyable beating, he felt it was worth it.

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

He wasn't worried at all. After all, Runsheng brother was an existence that could physically fight ordinary dead inverted.

Tan Wenbin sat down and said excitedly: "Little Yuan, really, Runsheng is very suitable to be in the underworld. He can definitely conquer a large territory and be an underworld boss!"

Li Zhuoyuan put down the skewer, took out the paper from the table cylinder, and wiped his mouth: "Then be caught by your dad and put in prison."

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

Runsheng said while lighting a cigarette: "Little Yuan said, there's no future in being in the underworld later."

"That, just now Zheng Haiyang wanted to come over to thank you. He also said to invite us to eat skewers, but I turned him down. His parents are sailors, and he usually lives with his grandpa and grandma."

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

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

Back home, Li Zhuoyuan saw Liu Yumei sitting there worried.

What happened this time?

When Li Zhuoyuan walked over, A Li stood up and proactively came forward to welcome him.

Liu Yumei saw the situation and only then breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that like last time, her granddaughter would ignore the boy and her illness would return.

Now it seemed, she was overthinking.

She felt herself really difficult. She was actually worrying about her granddaughter not being outwardly expressive towards the man.

"A Li, these are the gifts I helped you buy." Li Zhuoyuan handed the glass ornament to A Li. "This is the silk scarf I bought for you."

The silk scarf wasn't expensive. It was the relatively popular traditional style in current mainland TV dramas and movies. Li Zhuoyuan felt it matched A Li's temperament very well. As for how it matched, anyway, he didn't need to worry about it.

After letting Aunt Liu apply medicine to Tan Wenbin, everyone set off for Cuicui's home. Li Zhuoyuan held A Li's hand and walked at the back, while Runsheng and Tan Wenbin walked at the front.

From a distance, they saw Cuicui standing on the dam, looking forward.

"Yuanhou brother, you've all come."

"Cuicui, this is my gift, and this is A Li's."

"These are ours."

"Thank you, thank you everyone."

Lunch was simply the home version of Li Sanjiang's home. Li Zhuoyuan and A Li sat at one table, Runsheng sat at another by himself. The only one who could sit at the main table was Tan Wenbin.

Li Juxiang very happily distributed the dishes here and there.

Liu Jinxia raised a cup of wine to drink. She was quite happy that her granddaughter's birthday was lively, but she was just used to being a bit sharp-tongued and muttered: "Really a gathering of radishes."

After the meal, they needed to stay for a while. Everyone was on the dam. Cuicui took out a rubber band and used two long benches to support it.

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

Finally, Tan Wenbin and Cuicui jumped together. He jumped quite well. In this period, there were relatively few ways for everyone to entertain themselves, and jumping rubber bands wasn't exclusively for girls. Boys also played.

While playing, a man leading a small boy walked up the dam. This was someone who had come for business.

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

Not long after, that boy came out and stood at the side, watching Tan Wenbin and Cuicui.

"Do you want to play together?"

The boy shyly nodded.

Originally, Li Zhuoyuan had no feeling, and A Li didn't specially look at the boy, which proved that the boy was very clean.

But once the boy showed this shy expression, Li Zhuoyuan lowered his eyelids.

He himself was good at observing and good at acting, so he saw that the boy's expression change had very heavy traces of performance.

Sure enough, after jumping rubber bands together, the boy began to actively chat with Cuicui. In the process of chatting, he elicited many situations of Liu Jinxia's home.

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

However, Li Zhuoyuan didn't feel that the boy was the same as himself, a sick friend. His own and Li Lan's illness was still very rare. The psychologist in Beijing hadn't seen it. The only possible third person now was Wei Zhengdao.

Li Zhuoyuan began to seriously observe the boy's face. His mind's 《Yin Yang Physiognomy Essentials》 database, even if not for fortune-telling, could do a matching comparison.

Sure enough, there was a problem. Although the boy looked like a ten-year-old, his eyebrows, eyes, skin, ear helix, teeth, and other details showed traces of 'annual rings'.

He was fundamentally not some boy. He was a dwarf!

An adult with adult thinking, pretending to be a child, and chatting and setting traps with another little girl, this felt uncomfortable and wrong in every way.

"Cuicui."

"Coming, Yuanhou brother."

Cuicui immediately came over.

"Don't play with him."

"Okay, Yuanhou brother." Cuicui didn't ask why, just nodded.

"Puchi... hehehe." Beside them, Tan Wenbin laughed out loud. This was the first time he had seen Li Zhuoyuan say something that conformed to what children of this age should say.

Li Zhuoyuan didn't pay attention to him, but looked at that boy. Just at this time, that boy was also looking at him.

The boy was expressing a kind of grievance at being isolated and excluded. He was deliberately letting Cuicui see, so that the soft-hearted girl would return to his side.

Cuicui saw it. Cuicui was indeed soft-hearted, but Cuicui had not the slightest thought of paying attention to him again.

She lacked friends, but she cherished her friends more. Yuanhou brother didn't want her to play with someone, then she absolutely wouldn't play with them.

Li Zhuoyuan captured a wisp of resentment flowing out from the bottom of the boy's eyes.

Heh, this person was really disgusting.

At the same time, Li Zhuoyuan also began to suspect in his heart, was he also this disgusting?

But he was different from him. His physiological age was this age. His performance was for not losing himself. Moreover, no matter what, he was only maintaining the appearance he should have at this age.

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

A fifty-year-old man, disguised as a child, came to actively contact a little girl. What was his motivation?

"Woo woo woo... woo woo woo..."

The boy squatted on the ground and cried.

But he cried and cried, yet no one paid attention to him. Mainly, everyone on the dam listened to Li Zhuoyuan.

The boy stopped crying. He stood up and actively walked towards Li Zhuoyuan.

"Runsheng brother."

"Hey!"

Runsheng came over in time, reached out and lifted the boy up, put him at a distance, then stretched out his finger and pointed at him, giving him a silent warning.

The boy didn't dare to cry anymore. He just lowered his head and stood in place.

After a while, that man came out. The two were indeed very similar. In the eyes of outsiders, they were just father and son.

Just, the identities of this father and son needed to be switched.

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

"Binbin brother." Li Zhuoyuan pointed to the direction that pair of father and son was leaving. "Follow them for a while to observe, don't be discovered."

"Understood."

Although he didn't understand why, Tan Wenbin still followed up. This person was very easy to get into the mood and feel the atmosphere.

"Drink soda." Li Juxiang carried a box of soda and placed it on the dam.

Li Zhuoyuan asked: "Aunt Xianghou, what was the matter they came for just now?"

"That man's wife passed away a year ago. He's preparing to hold a small memorial for her and invited me and Cuicui's grandma to go to his home to perform a ceremony."

A small memorial meant that they only performed the ceremony and didn't hold a banquet. Usually, their own family just burned some things.

"So strange, he's already invited you all, but he's not holding a banquet."

"Maybe he has bad relations with the villagers and can't hold one. That man has a bit of a strange temper."

"How so?"

"Cuicui's grandma asked some specific things, and he couldn't answer. After asking several times, he still pulled a face as if he was about to cry. A big man is actually like this, tsk tsk."

"Aunt Xianghou, then can you not go to his home to do the matter?"

"How can we do that? The money has already been received."

Tan Wenbin ran back. He frowned and said to Li Zhuoyuan: "Little Yuan, guess what I just saw. They walked out not far, on the roadside, the dad actually gave the son a cigarette and lit it for him."

"Oh." Li Zhuoyuan wasn't very surprised. "Did you hear them say anything?"

"It wasn't easy to approach on the road. They came by tractor. The tractor stopped at the crossroads ahead. They've already left now."

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

"Little Yuanhou, what's the matter?"

Li Zhuoyuan walked to the edge of the table, looked 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 glanced at it and said doubtfully: "What nonsense are you writing?"

Obviously, Liu Jinxia didn't recognize the correct answer. She had always calculated according to her own set of algorithms. Whether it was correct or not was secondary; the main thing was to put in effort and get the job done.

"Grandma Liu, was that pair just father and son?"

"What else could they be if not father and son? Their eyebrows are simply carved from the same mold. It's just a pity for that child, his mom passed away early."

"Grandma Liu, that man is the son, and that boy is the dad. He's already at least fifty years old. He's a dwarf."

"Dwarf?"

"Just the kind of person who doesn't grow tall."

"Oh... really?"

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

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

"This..."

"So, even the father-son relationship is reversed. What kind of thing is holding a memorial for the woman?"

"Yes."

"Grandma Liu, for safety, you and Aunt Xianghou should still not go. Return the money to them."

Liu Jinxia slowly nodded with a serious expression: "Good."

This promise made Li Zhuoyuan feel a little caught off guard and very unaccustomed.

Probably because he had been with his own great-grandfather for a long time, he was also somewhat used to his great-grandfather not listening to anything he said.

"Are you really not going? Not just fooling around?"

Liu Jinxia opened the drawer, took out the money she had just received inside, slapped it on the table, and said indignantly: "The family relationship is all wrong, this is clearly not a sincere ceremony and there's a problem. How can I still bring Xianghou to his home? Who knows what kind of thing we'll encounter.

Only a fool would go!"

Li Zhuoyuan suddenly felt very comfortable.

"Little Yuanhou, thank you for coming to tell Grandma this."

"Grandma Liu, aren't you going to ask Binbin brother again, or find someone to inquire again in their village?"

"No need. The most important thing in our line is to seek smooth and auspiciousness. Even if what you just said is false, but you, this careful child, came to tell me just after I took the job, even if it's false... I still dare not go.

I only have this rotten life, and I still hope to live a few more years to save some for your Aunt Xianghou and Cuicui. I'm not like your great-grandfather, that thing, I don't dare to mess around."

Li Zhuoyuan nodded. He strongly agreed.

Saying goodbye to Cuicui, when they walked home, Li Zhuoyuan was in a very good mood. He unconsciously swung the girl's hand lightly.

Soon, the girl also responded. She also began to add force, swinging their hands together.

Tan Wenbin turned back and looked, suggesting: "Little Yuan brother, it's still early now. I see there's a fishing rod at home. Or shall we go fishing now?"

"Not going."

"Oh, then Runsheng and I will go fishing."

Runsheng: "I'm not going either."

"I've noticed, whatever Little Yuan brother says, you say the same thing. How can you be such a follower?"

"I didn't call him brother."

Tan Wenbin: "..."

Back home, they saw Li Sanjiang sitting on the dam. He stood up and said to Runsheng: "Runsheng, the small shop just called. Let's go, there's a job. We're going to Xiting Town to fish for dead inverted."

"Hey, okay. Um? Didn't my grandpa go fishing?"

Runsheng's home was in Xiting Town, and his grandpa would usually conveniently fish off any normal dead inverted.

"Speaking of this, I get angry. I just found out from the phone that your grandpa went home after playing cards last week night and fell into the cesspit when he went to the neighbor's toilet on the way. It was the neighbor who heard the sound and fished him out.

Although the person is fine, he fell and broke a leg.

That mountain man was embarrassed to say and actually kept it hidden from us!"

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