Chapter 326

After submitting his afternoon exam, Li Zhuiyuan went to Professor Zhai's project group, which was located in the old library.

After the new library was completed, a small part of the old library was repurposed, while most of it remained unused.

When Li Zhuiyuan arrived, several trucks were parked outside, and a group of senior students were moving goods. Large boxes were being moved from the trucks into the building. This wasn't even the most exhausting part; organizing and categorizing everything afterward would be the most demanding.

This implied that the project group was still in its preparation phase and couldn't start normal operations yet, though their progress would also depend on the efficiency of these older students.

A tall, slender girl wearing thick glasses, who had been pouring water for other students, noticed Li Zhuiyuan. She approached him and asked who his parents were, mistaking the young man for the child of a faculty member. Before Li Zhuiyuan could state his department and class after giving his name, the girl smiled and said, "Oh, it's you, junior!"

Professor Zhai must have mentioned him specifically, as Li Zhuiyuan was led by this senior student, named Sun Mei, to complete some simple registration procedures. The process was straightforward, like signing in. He received an ID card and a keychain with five keys. Li Zhuiyuan offered to stay and help move things, but Sun Mei declined, explaining that the items were too large and heavy. Li Zhuiyuan didn't insist.

As he was leaving, a senior student accidentally dropped a box, and some brochures and documents slid out. Li Zhuiyuan bent down to help pick them up and happened to pick up an engineering report. The construction site was in Yuxi, and a quick glance at the fine print on the cover revealed Ailao Mountain. After gathering the items, he stood up and walked some distance away, then stopped and looked back at the old library.

Li Zhuiyuan had a premonition that this place might become another "Xue Liangliang" in the future. He felt he could find clues to the "waves" here. Professor Zhai's identity was special. Although the Emperor's influence seemed to have left him, no one could be sure if the Emperor had completely lost his sway over Professor Zhai. Did this then mean that the Emperor could use this place to specifically influence him? While the previous "wave" to Fengdu was orchestrated by the Bodhisattva, with the Emperor merely leveraging the situation, this didn't mean the Emperor lacked the ability to intervene with the river's flow. Li Zhuiyuan didn't feel much aversion to this. If the Emperor was no longer content to simply share merits from home but instead sought to target individuals, it was understandable. The young man had been strategically contending with the Heavenly Dao for so long that he didn't mind introducing another player. Only by muddling the waters could he, as the "temporarily weaker party," fish in troubled waters and secure benefits. A short-term collaboration between the two parties, given their aligned short-term interests, wouldn't be a bad thing.

When Li Zhuiyuan returned to his dormitory, he noticed that every room on the floor was filled with resentment. The usual lively atmosphere was gone; many students were diligently studying and doing exercises. Normally, university final exams weren't scheduled so tightly. Even one exam in the morning and one in the afternoon was considered compact; it was common to have exams on alternate days or even with several days in between. Having two exams in the morning and two in the afternoon, like today, was exceptionally rare. Students who had already completed a full year of university felt "aged" compared to the vigorous young high school seniors. Furthermore, all previously highlighted study points had been invalidated; the exams featured completely new questions, rendering last-minute cramming useless. It was clear that Xue Liangliang was ruthless in his selection process. Having come from the student body himself, he naturally understood how to "cook his own kind."

In the dorm, Tan Wenbin was lying on his bed, talking on his mobile phone with Zhou Yunyun. Lin Shuyou sat at his desk, diligently preparing for the next day's exams. The efficiency of their studies during the "journey along the river" was remarkably high. In the intervals between life-or-death crises, studying had surprisingly become a source of inner peace and enjoyment. Their current differing performances also showed that Tan Wenbin had revised better and was more at ease with the exams, while Shuyou was also doing well, but still a bit unstable if aiming for high rankings and scholarships.

"Xiao Yuan Ge is back, I'll hang up first." After ending the call, Tan Wenbin sat up. "Xiao Yuan Ge, Brother Liang called. He wants to have dinner with us tonight at Old Sichuan."

"What time?"

"He's probably already there."

"Then let's go."

Lin Shuyou lowered his head.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "A-You, you should stay in the dorm and keep studying."

Lin Shuyou replied, "Okay!"

Li Zhuiyuan and Tan Wenbin left the campus and went to Old Sichuan. Xue Liangliang was indeed waiting in a small private room. When he saw them, he asked the boss to serve the dishes. The gathering was just a casual get-together, where they chatted about everyday life and work. It was clear that Xue Liangliang looked much more haggard. Perhaps for him, accompanying Engineer Luo to Fengdu last time had been a form of rest. After that 'rest,' Xue Liangliang, whose seniority had been recognized, was assigned even more work. If Engineer Luo had initially sought to pave the way for his growth, now he was relying on Xue Liangliang to alleviate his own workload, allowing him to truly take charge independently. The small gathering concluded with a toast of three cups of soy milk. Before driving off, Xue Liangliang left a package containing a long letter, a silk scarf, some jewelry, and local specialties sent by his parents from his hometown in Anhui. Tan Wenbin patted Xue Liangliang's shoulder, and Xue Liangliang reciprocated with two light punches to Tan Wenbin's chest. Everything was understood without words.

On their way back, just as they reached the school gate, they saw Lu Yi helping a male student out of the store. The TV on the store counter often played various videotapes, and students buying things would sometimes gather around to watch. Today, a martial arts film was playing, and this student became so engrossed that he unleashed an "Iron Sand Palm" strike on the counter. He didn't use much force, but he was incredibly unlucky; his strike landed precisely on a weak point. The counter glass shattered, cutting his arm and making it bleed profusely. The student was startled and repeatedly offered to pay for the damage. Lu Yi was even more alarmed. "There's no need for you to pay!" he exclaimed, quickly taking the student to the school infirmary.

"I'll go with him," Tan Wenbin offered, taking over. He gripped the student's shoulder with one hand and supported his arm with the other. With a slight exertion of force, the bleeding from the student's wound immediately slowed.

In the office next to the infirmary's duty room, Fan Shulin opened the bottom-most drawer, moved aside the newspapers, and pulled out a magazine with a risqué cover. The pages of the magazine were dog-eared, clearly indicating it had been "studied" numerous times. Such items were hard to find. Fan Shulin had daringly ventured to the areas under the overpass several times to buy sets of magazines, but the vendors were utterly unscrupulous. Only the covers looked decent; the content inside either had printing errors or offered nothing novel. He regretted that transactions felt like illicit dealings, and Fan Shulin didn't dare linger to browse and choose. After being fooled a few times, he gave up. Oh, how he cherished the set Tan Wenbin had given him back then. Although he knew the content by heart, sometimes he just needed something to "light a spark," to "prime the pump," and then his imagination could take over. The nights were long, and a single doctor on duty could only rely on such material for a "snack."

"If only he could send me a few more sets..." Fan Shulin had just finished sighing when he immediately shook his head. Remembering the "terrible" patients that person had brought him, Fan Shulin felt it was best to have less of such unconventional excitement in his life.

*Knock, knock, knock...*

The office door was knocked. Fan Shulin, with a whoosh, swiftly returned the magazine to the drawer. A nudge with his toe, and the drawer closed seamlessly. Then, the nightmare-like voice resounded: "Doctor Fan? Doctor Fan?"

Looking at that face, Fan Shulin showed a helpless expression, yet, somehow, a sense of longing arose in his heart after not seeing him for so long. They went into the adjacent operating room to treat the wound. Compared to the patients this person had brought before, this one's injury was too normal, which left Fan Shulin feeling a little disappointed.

Tan Wenbin: "Doctor Fan, did you get a promotion? You even have your own office now."

Fan Shulin: "Yes, my pay was increased."

Earlier in the year, an accident occurred at a nearby construction site, injuring many workers. The injured were brought to this nominal school infirmary, which also served as a small community hospital, despite its relatively low medical resources and standards. Facing such an emergency, everyone was in disarray. Fan Shulin stepped up, performing exceptionally, and was consequently promoted.

After treating the wound, the student needed to stay for a while for observation. Fan Shulin invited Tan Wenbin into his office for tea. Fan Shulin started by recounting his recent series of failed blind dates and, speaking from experience, advised Tan Wenbin to cherish his university years and seize the opportunity to find a suitable partner while in college. Tan Wenbin agreed wholeheartedly, affirmed Fan Shulin's pertinent advice, and then mentioned that he already had a girlfriend, whose parents he had met long ago. He added that he would visit her family to enjoy meals when he went back to his hometown, and she often visited his family and even traveled with his mother. After hearing this, Fan Shulin felt as if an effervescent tablet had been added to the tea he had just drunk, and his nostrils fizzed with a sour feeling. He then voluntarily stood up, re-examined the injured student, and, after confirming everything was fine, politely dismissed Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin led the student back to school, while Fan Shulin stood on the balcony, watching their departing figures, unable to help but shake his head with a smile.

The exams on the second day were still tightly packed. The third day served as the wrap-up. Tan Wenbin fulfilled his promise, treating the entire class to a meal at Old Sichuan. No class funds were used, and there was no splitting the bill; everyone could order whatever food and drinks they wanted within reason. These recently turned adults preferred to prove themselves in grown-up ways, and most ended up getting drunk. What was supposed to be a final exam celebration turned into a scene reminiscent of a senior year graduation farewell. Many made plans to return early in the summer for a reunion, as makeup exams for failed courses were typically scheduled before the official start of the new semester.

The next morning, Li Zhuiyuan and the others prepared to go home by truck. Lu Yi woke up very early and brought drinks and snacks onto the truck for their journey, along with an extra large bag of red sausages. Li Zhuiyuan glanced at him. Lu Yi then spoke up, "Xiao Yuan Ge, my mom called yesterday. She said the offerings on the table were completely eaten, not a single bit left. The plates were cleaner than if a dog had licked them... cleaner than if they'd been washed. Neither black nor red water is seeping out anymore, so construction can resume very soon. My mom said she wants to thank the classmate who gave me the idea and would like to invite you all to visit our home when you have time."

Li Zhuiyuan: "When we have time."

"Alright!" Lu Yi stepped back a few paces, waving at them. "Be careful on the road, and have a good trip."

"Come, come, come, this is for you, this is for you, and this is for Sister Liu!"

Liu Jinxia had returned from her trip to Jiujiang, bringing back many local specialty gifts for her old friends. Wang Lian received mostly large and small bags of food, Hua Pozi received souvenirs, and Liu Yumei received the most expensive item: a local tea. Liu Yumei flicked the teapot with her fingertip, signaling Aunt Liu to pour out the freshly brewed tea inside and replace it with the tea Liu Jinxia had brought. Cui Cui also brought gifts for A-Li and was showing them to her one by one. A-Li stopped what she was doing and sat there, watching. After Cui Cui finished her presentation, A-Li lowered her head and resumed her handiwork.

"Hehe." Cui Cui knew A-Li's personality; for her to even take time to watch her demonstration was remarkable. Going out to wash her hands, Cui Cui planned to continue learning to draw with Sister A-Li. She wanted to draw Lushan Waterfall on her own.

Old Man Tian personally pushed a cart, delivering the refrigerator to Li Sanjiang's house. These items were originally intended for Liu Jinxia, but she refused them. Old Man Tian was staying at Big Beard's house, so the color TV was left there for Benben to watch. The refrigerator wasn't truly necessary, mainly because the kitchen was always cool, providing natural refrigeration. As for the sofa that had been delivered even earlier, Old Man Tian had given that to Li Sanjiang as well. Now, a whole row of them was arranged in the living room on the first floor, with a pile of paper figures sitting on them.

Hua Pozi nudged Liu Jinxia, and Wang Lian also glanced over, smiling to herself. Liu Jinxia glared at them exasperatedly and continued playing cards. After Old Man Tian had set things down and left, Hua Pozi teased, "Oh, a big shot now, not even acknowledging the poor man."

Wang Lian added, "She must have hurt his feelings; he didn't even come over to say hello."

If it were other villagers rumored to be involved in a romance, whether mutual or one-sided, it would be normal for them to approach each other. But the person in question was also playing cards. Old Man Tian wouldn't dare brazenly approach now, even if he had ten times the courage.

Liu Jinxia: "What are you two talking about? I've seen through it all. At our age, it's time to subtract things from life, have fewer entanglements. Only then, when we're old and lying in our coffins, can we have fewer worries and be more at peace. Isn't that right, Sister Liu?"

Liu Yumei took a sip of tea, swallowing with some difficulty. She glanced at Liu Jinxia and said, "Anyone who knew you went to Jiujiang would assume you went to a nunnery and became a monk."

Liu Jinxia's face flushed, and the other two burst out laughing.

After Old Man Tian returned home, he first went to his medicinal garden to pick herbs and then prepared them using the spring method. This medicine, if given to Run Sheng, Lin Shuyou, and the others, might not be potent enough, but for ordinary people, he had to deliberately let some of its potency evaporate to avoid over-dosing. Although he hadn't seen her up close, from a distance he noticed that Liu Jinxia seemed a bit fatigued. She must have experienced intense emotional fluctuations recently and needed some restorative care. After the pills were ready and packed into a bag, Old Man Tian walked to Liu Jinxia's house.

Although she hadn't been away for many days, upon returning, there was a lot of washing and tidying up to do, and Li Juxiang was busy doing it all by herself. Just as Cui Cui had said, her mother had no friends. She once had a friend named Lan Hou, but Lan Hou never returned to Nantong after getting into university. Thus, Li Juxiang had no one to share her travel experiences with.

Two men stood on the village road, observing Li Juxiang working in the yard. One was named Wang Sanchang, known in the village as Wang Sanhou, famous for being idle. But he was fortunate. He had three daughters and hadn't seriously raised them in their early years, leaving their mother to raise them alone. After the three daughters married, he gained three sons-in-law. With his wife tending to the land and his three sons-in-law providing some filial piety, he managed to live a decent life, even having some extra money for gambling. The man next to Wang Sanhou, in his early thirties, wore a thick gold chain around his neck, looking very impressive. His name was Cao Yang, and his family ran a successful aquatic products business, earning a considerable sum. Due to a recent crackdown, the town's chess and card rooms and old venues had been raided. To play cards safely, one had to come to the village. So, Wang Sanhou organized a game, and Cao Yang came to play. Upon arriving, Cao Yang intended to relieve himself by the rice paddy, but instead, he caught sight of Li Juxiang, who had recently returned home. The woman was young, curvaceous, and fair-skinned, and her gentle demeanor immediately captivated Cao Yang. Wang Sanhou, seeing this, introduced Cao Yang to her. He concluded by pointing out: "This one's not good. Her family is cursed. Any man who enters her house will soon end up on an altar as an offering."

Cao Yang laughed, "I'm not marrying her to be my wife. Is it wrong to just have some fun? Anyway, her family has no men, and I can just give her money or send her some things."

Wang Sanhou retorted, "She's not exactly short on money. If you really try to seduce her, her mother, old blind Liu, might just come out and throw manure at you."

Cao Yang rubbed his chin, clearly not taking the warning to heart, and a lecherous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Excuse me." Old Man Tian bumped his way between the two men.

Cao Yang: "Watch where you're going, old man!"

Old Man Tian turned back and gave Cao Yang a half-smile. For some reason, that look made Cao Yang feel uneasy, so he didn't continue his curses. Just then, everyone for the card game had arrived and called him over. So, with one last look at the pretty widow in the yard, he walked off with Wang Sanhou.

Old Man Tian had overheard what the two men said earlier. He had actually been hoping that fellow would act on his depraved thoughts, preferably with some real action. His young master had already called him about the Jin family's affairs. Since his young master had recognized Liu Jinxia as his god-grandmother, her family's matters were now the young master's matters, and the young master's matters were Old Man Tian's matters. Sometimes, if you wanted to do something, you needed something to do.

After handing the pills to Li Juxiang and instructing her on how to take them, Old Man Tian declined the offer of tea and left directly. However, he didn't return to Big Beard's house. Instead, he found a secluded haystack outside Wang Sanhou's house, lay down, and took out peanuts from his pocket to shell and eat. Images from various novels and folk tales kept surfacing in his mind, and Old Man Tian felt a subtle thrill. To his surprise, not long after the card game began, shouts erupted from inside. First, a group of people rushed out in a panic, and then Wang Sanhou emerged from the house, supporting Cao Yang, whose chest was bloody. It turned out that Cao Yang had gotten a hand with three tens (a "leopard"), which was beaten by the dealer's three jacks. Cao Yang immediately slammed the table and cursed, accusing the other side of cheating. It was a new game, and the players weren't familiar with each other. The person opposite Cao Yang quickly lost his temper after a few shouted insults and pulled out a switchblade, brutally stabbing Cao Yang in the chest.

Old Man Tian sighed, knowing he had waited in vain. He wondered if the Liu Jinxia family was simply too resilient, directly "counteracting" Cao Yang in advance, or if, after their trip to Jiujiang, the Liu Jinxia family had also benefited from the merits of the river's flow, thanks to Jin Xingshan. Typically, in the aftermath of a "wave," with Heaven's gaze upon you, the karma of "punishing evil and promoting good" would be delivered very promptly. Old Man Tian patted the peanut shells off his clothes, stood up, and somewhat dispiritedly hummed a tune as he walked home. Halfway there, he spotted a large truck in the distance. He recognized it. If there were no surprises, that truck was carrying the last of "Jiujiang Zhao." What a pity that his young master hadn't returned to Nantong with Young Master Li this time. And he himself was temporarily forbidden from leaving Nantong.

To avoid disturbing his great-grandfather, Li Zhuiyuan first parked the large truck in the empty lot next to Big Beard's house. Li Zhuiyuan had already completed the construction blueprints and handed them over to Tan Wenbin. It was a rather large project that would need to be carried out late at night when everything was quiet. When Tan Wenbin received the blueprints, he quipped:

"Grandma Liu's family is back, but the 'Outside Team' hasn't returned to Nantong yet. Are they afraid we'll conscript their labor?"

Run Sheng added, "And we're still using his materials."

After getting out of the truck, Li Zhuiyuan didn't rush home but headed towards the peach grove.

As he passed the yard, Benben, who had been happily watching the large color TV in his crib, saw the approaching young man and immediately sat down, lowering his head. If there had been a homework book in his crib, he might have even put on a direct performance of doing homework with his head down. Li Zhuiyuan entered the peach grove. He found Su Luo playing the guqin and Qing An sitting casually with his chest bared, drinking wine. Li Zhuiyuan recounted to Qing An the behavior of the Wei Zhengdao phantom, which he had created when the black flood dragon shed its skin.

Qing An tipped his head back, took a swig of wine, and said: "Normal. All phantoms are projections of your intent. Whatever he is like in your mind, that's precisely how he will manifest. In your heart, he's just an unruly, unconventional fellow who refuses to be controlled. Heh, how fitting. Kid, you've suffered greatly from that guy, haha..."

Li Zhuiyuan stood quietly beside him. After Qing An finished laughing, he gently shook the wine jar in his hand. "That's it? Just enough for a gulp of wine."

Li Zhuiyuan: "I need to build a platform, and I'm short on wood. I need to cut some from here, not much."

Qing An: "Indeed, the buyer is never as sharp as the seller. You, young man, are clearly setting prices with me."

Li Zhuiyuan: "That's how I get the motivation to find expensive things to sell to you."

Qing An: "The northwest corner of the outer perimeter. Your people can cut a few trees there."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Thank you."

Qing An: "The Flood Dragon Spirit is in your hands. Did you give that flood dragon skin to the Zhao family kid?"

"Yes."

"What about Jiujiang Zhao?"

"Eliminated."

"Who eliminated them?"

"I did, but he led the way. Also, he personally delisted Jiujiang Zhao."

Su Luo's guqin music became a little disordered. Qing An glanced at him, continued to shake the wine jar in front of him, and said: "The first time I beat that kid, I knew he was no ordinary person." Then, Qing An looked at Li Zhuiyuan, pointing the wine jar at the young man: "Kid, do you ever feel like you're raising a dragon to cause trouble?"

Li Zhuiyuan calmly replied: "What kind of person can raise a dragon?"

Qing An fell silent, closing his eyes.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Did he also say something similar?"

Qing An didn't answer, merely tilted his head back again, downing half the jar of wine in one go, and said: "Cut as many trees as you need."

"Thank you."

"No thanks needed, kid. You're quite the businessman."

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the peach grove and told Tan Wenbin that they could come here to cut wood that night.

When the four returned home, Li Sanjiang, along with Uncle Qin and Xiong Shan, had gone to deliver goods and had not yet returned. A-Li sensed their arrival and was already standing on the second-floor balcony, waiting for the young man. Cui Cui stood behind A-Li, looking at her sister A-Li's back, and then at Brother Yuan Hou walking up to the front of the yard. She really wanted to paint this scene, but unfortunately, due to her current painting skills, she couldn't.

"Hmm... I should ask Grandma to buy me a camera."

Li Zhuiyuan went to the second floor, intending to follow his usual custom of sitting with A-Li on the rattan chair and recounting the experiences of the previous "wave." However, the girl took his hand and led him inside, presenting him with two newly completed wood carvings. They were carvings of the Two Generals, Zeng and Sun. When the young man had left, he had already begun preparing for the creation of the talismans and had pre-ordered the mules and horses to carry them. Because General Zeng had two forms in one body, the Two Generals, Zeng and Sun, required three sets of talismans. This meant that the Zeng and Sun Generals, originally placed alongside the valiant White Crane Boy, now seemed out of place. This was mainly because Lin Shuyou had carved them, and whether it was due to A-You's limited skill or intentional, they were rather ugly. A-Li's newly carved Zeng and Sun Generals were exquisite and full of spiritual charm.

However, Li Zhuiyuan still reminded her: "They're carved too perfectly."

The White Crane Boy, who had arrived earliest, deserved preferential treatment. A-Li nodded, picked up her carving knife, and made a cut on each of the Zeng and Sun Generals. A sense of wear and tear appeared.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Perfect."

Cui Cui, standing nearby, didn't understand why Sister A-Li would make such a cut on such beautifully carved deities. She instinctively looked down at her own bare wrist.

"Xiao Cui Hou, Xiao Cui Hou, come home with Grandma!" The card game downstairs had ended, and Liu Jinxia called Cui Cui home.

"Coming, Grandma!" Cui Cui ran out.

A-Li looked at Cui Cui's retreating back, then at her own table. Li Zhuiyuan noticed a delicate bracelet on A-Li's table, amidst a pile of materials. This bracelet was quite distinctive and stood out there, because even the scraps on the table were precious, yet this bracelet alone was carved from ordinary wood. Perhaps it was even made from firewood from the kitchen. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the bracelet.

Cui Cui, who had just run out, ran back to the doorway and said, "Oh, right, Brother Yuan Hou, I brought you a gift too! It's under your desk, hehe, I forgot to show it to you earlier."

"Cui Cui, this is a new bracelet from A-Li for you."

Cui Cui froze for a moment, then beamed with joy. Protecting the bracelet in her hand, she hopped up and down several times.

"Thank you, Sister A-Li!" Cui Cui came in, stepped forward, and gave A-Li a hug, but didn't dare to hug too tightly. Downstairs, Liu Jinxia was still calling, so Cui Cui had no choice but to go down.

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the girl in front of him, and the girl looked back at him. The young man smiled, and two dimples appeared at the corners of the girl's mouth.

Downstairs, Lin Shuyou was wiping three coffins with a rag. Tan Wenbin was unboxing the refrigerator.

"Brother Bin, didn't you say you were going on a date with Zhou Yunyun after the exams?"

"It's all for you."

"For me?"

"The array platform in the field behind the house needs to be finished early, and then Xiao Yuan Ge can take you back to Fujian to integrate the Guan Jiang Shou."

"Brother Bin, you're really good."

"Nonsense, brothers are like limbs, women are like clothes." Tan Wenbin turned back and looked seriously at Lin Shuyou. "Who told you you're my brother?"

"Yeah, brother!"

Just then, Aunt Liu, returning with a bottle of vinegar, called out to Tan Wenbin: "Zhuangzhuang, is your mobile phone dead? Yunyun said she couldn't reach you, so she called Aunt Zhang's place. I was just there buying vinegar. Yunyun said she's safely home and will come to find you tomorrow morning."

"Got it, thank you, Aunt Liu."

Lin Shuyou looked at Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin: "Our big truck can't fit that many people, it'd be too crowded. Yunyun took my dad's car; she and my mom also came back to Nantong today. My dad got another work injury, so he's on holiday."

Lin Shuyou: "Clothes..."

Tan Wenbin: "Look at those with missing arms and legs; they still have to wear clothes when they go out, right?"

Lin Shuyou: "Hmm."

Tan Wenbin pressed the refrigerator switch. The refrigerator hummed once and then stopped, and the overhead light went out with it.

Tan Wenbin: "Hiss, it looks like I'll have to find time to replace all the wiring at Old Man Li's house. A-You, bear with me and do a temporary repair. You're good with electricity anyway."

"Oh, okay."

Lin Shuyou picked up his tools, went to the outer wall, climbed up, and began repairing the circuit.

Li Sanjiang returned, with many items on his tricycle. Following his usual custom, Li Sanjiang would give red envelopes to his family during festivals and holidays, and also have clothes custom-made for them. Uncle Qin, Aunt Liu, and the others always received them. There was no other way. The main reason was that they requested such low wages and worked so diligently that when he tried to proactively offer them a raise, they firmly refused. So, he could only find other ways to supplement their income. Uncle Qin, Aunt Liu, Xiong Shan, and Lihua had all had cloth cut and taken to a tailor for custom-made clothes. Since they mostly worked and didn't go out much, comfortable and breathable clothes were fine for them. The children's clothes couldn't be made by a tailor; those would be too old-fashioned. Young people needed to wear brighter clothes. Xiao Yuan Hou had called ahead, so Li Sanjiang knew the children's return date long ago. After delivering goods today, he went to Shigang Town and picked out two sets of summer clothes for each child, along with shoes. He didn't bother looking at roadside stalls, not because of quality, but because he thought they were too cheap. Li Sanjiang specifically went to shops in the department store, reporting each child's height, weight, and shoe size one by one. He remembered the specifics of his own "mules" in detail.

"Xiao Yuan Hou, these are yours."

"Thank you, Great-Grandfather."

"And these are for that girl, A-Li."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at the newly folded set of clothes. The patterns and styles were the same, but one set was black and the other was pink. Great-Grandfather really knew how to pick them. When Li Sanjiang said this, he deliberately looked up at Liu Yumei, who was sitting there drinking tea after the card game had ended. This worldly old woman was so lazy. In this day and age, which woman didn't know how to sew shoe soles? To provide cloth shoes for Uncle Qin and Xiong Shan, Li Sanjiang had to buy them in town. He was probably the only person in Siyuan Village... who needed to go to town to buy cloth shoes. Liu Yumei continued to drink her tea, ignoring him.

"Zhuangzhuang, these are yours."

"Thank you, Grandpa Li."

"Youhou, these are yours."

"Thank you, Grandpa Li."

"Oh, Youhou, did you get a perm? Why is your hair standing up?"

"No, I just fixed the electricity."

"Oh, that's good. Learning another skill is always beneficial."

"Yeah, I think so too."

"Run Sheng Hou, these are yours."

"Thank you, Grandpa Li."

"And this is..." Li Sanjiang sighed, "This is for that girl Mengmeng. You have her address, right? Will you mail it to her?"

"Yes."

Li Sanjiang looked with some helplessness at the coffins in the hall. "She's a good girl, nimble and able to endure hardship. Sigh, she really should have been one to live a good life."

Aunt Liu: "Dinner's ready!"

After dinner, Li Sanjiang was in good spirits and sat in the yard watching TV with Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou. Li Zhuiyuan and A-Li sat on the balcony, playing chess under the starry sky and recounting stories from the previous "wave." In fact, everyone was waiting for late night, for Great-Grandfather to fall asleep. That's when they could begin construction. However, there was no rush. The tranquility of such a summer night was indeed quite enjoyable.

Li Sanjiang flicked his cigarette butt to the ground, stepped on it, and then asked in confusion: "Hmm, where did Run Sheng Hou go?"

Tan Wenbin: "I don't know." He truly didn't know. Tan Wenbin was still planning to lead Run Sheng and Lin Shuyou to the peach grove to cut wood later.

Lin Shuyou: "Did he go back to Xiting?"

Li Sanjiang: "Why would he go back to Xiting in the middle of the night? And the tricycle is at home, so he wouldn't walk, would he?"

Upstairs, Li Zhuiyuan knew where Brother Run Sheng had gone. He watched Run Sheng carry items down the yard and head towards the distant riverbank. At that moment, a flickering light appeared there; he must be burning paper offerings.

By the river. Run Sheng first set up the simple small altar table he usually kept in his hiking backpack. He twisted open the various lids, revealing all the offerings and drinks. Though small, it was fully equipped. After lighting the candles, everything was ready. Next, Run Sheng used his "Yellow River shovel" to dig a shallow pit, then lit the yellow paper and placed it inside to burn. He picked up a dry twig and poked the burning paper, ensuring it burned more completely. Afterward, Run Sheng took out ghost money, tore open the packaging, and put it into the pit. In the night, the ghost money looked like real banknotes. Run Sheng put in a lot at once, because Yin Meng loved money quite a bit. It was worth noting that in rural areas at that time, only a minority bothered to specifically buy ghost money to burn. Run Sheng had used the stock from Old Man Li's house and would have to report it to Aunt Liu tomorrow morning to deduct it from his wages.

As he was burning, Run Sheng suddenly scratched his head. This was one of the rare moments in his day when he actually used his brain. A question suddenly occurred to him: Did Yin Meng even need paper money down there? But regardless, he had already burned it. Run Sheng thought it should still be useful. Didn't they say it was easier to deal with the King of Hell than with the little imps?

After a while, the yellow paper and ghost money had all been added, and as the fire was at its strongest, Run Sheng unsealed the new clothes. He hesitated for a moment, then finally placed them into the bonfire. These were the clothes Old Man Li had bought for Mengmeng, and Old Man Li had asked him to mail them to her. The only way Run Sheng could think of to "mail" them was this. After all, for thousands of years, this had been the consistent custom across various regions: to send things to deceased relatives underground, one burned them. Clothes were difficult to burn; he had to constantly poke them with a branch, and when they did burn, there was a lot of smoke. Run Sheng spent a good deal of effort to ensure that these new clothes were all reduced to ash. The originally shallow pit was now filled high with ashes.

As Run Sheng had set up the altar table, the Gu worm flew out from his collar. It first circled around Run Sheng a few times, then flew around the altar table, briefly pausing over each dish and even taking a bath in the liquor. Once the paper offerings started burning, the Gu worm flew around the bonfire again, occasionally diving into the flames. At first, Run Sheng worried it had gotten drunk and wanted to commit suicide by fire. But his worries were unfounded; this Gu worm had evolved to the point where it was no longer afraid of ordinary fire. It seemed to deliberately show off how formidable it was to Run Sheng, constantly darting in and flying out. When Run Sheng started burning the clothes, it stayed cooped up inside for a long time. Only when Run Sheng poked at the clothes did it wobble out again.

The burning was done; the "delivery" was complete. Run Sheng sat down. Facing the ashes, he looked at the river surface. He didn't know how to miss someone. According to what was shown on TV, one should recall every little detail of life spent with them. Run Sheng had learned this, and this was what he did. During his daily moments of "using his brain," he would sit alone by his bed, recalling a past memory. Once he felt he had recalled enough, Run Sheng would forget about "having a brain" and simply lie down and fall asleep.

During those few days in Jinling, Zheng Jiayi, Tan Wenbin's counselor's wife and Yin Meng's former best friend in Jinling, excitedly came to find Yin Meng, only to discover she wasn't there. Run Sheng said Yin Meng had gone back to her hometown. Zheng Jiayi looked at Run Sheng and asked, "Did you two break up?" Run Sheng nodded and said yes. Zheng Jiayi sighed, "How could she bear to?" They had gone shopping and bought clothes together. Zheng Jiayi used to frequently tease Yin Meng about her serious dedication when buying clothes for Run Sheng. They hadn't even formalized their relationship, yet their natural familiarity was like that of an old married couple. Yin Meng would often laugh and retort, "Of course! Besides Grandpa, no one else has ever been so unconditionally good to me since I was little."

The evening breeze blew across the lake, reaching the shore, making the candle flame flicker. Run Sheng was wondering, had the package truly been delivered down there? If it hadn't, burning it was all for naught... and quite a waste of money. Run Sheng, always frugal in his daily life, had rarely been so extravagant. "I should have asked Xiao Yuan first."

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...*

The wind swirled the ashes into the air, and they eventually fell to the ground. Just then, Run Sheng picked up his "Yellow River shovel," preparing to clean up. The shovel stopped just as he lifted it. Because the ashes on the ground had formed a crooked, unsightly line of characters. Run Sheng smiled. She had received it. Because the message read:

"Are you burning money because you have too much?"