Chapter 38

“Lao Sidou? Uh… is that a kind of snack?”

“No, it’s not.”

“What is it then?”

“It’s exactly what it means.”

“Literal meaning?”

“Someone dies, falls into the water, and then we fish them out.”

Tan Wenbin: “…”

In the past, Tan Wenbin would have dismissed it as the boy’s nonsense, but now, he felt it might very well be true.

“Xiaoyuan, is ‘fishing for drowned corpses’ fun?”

“It’s fun.”

“How fun is it?”

“More fun than studying.”

Two images appeared in Tan Wenbin’s mind: one of himself diligently working on exam papers in a classroom, and another of standing by a river, using a large net to retrieve dead bodies.

Although the latter was unsettling, it was indeed more entertaining than studying!

“Xiaoyuan, do you do this often?”

“Not that many people fall into the river and drown every day. And among those who drown, only a very small percentage become ‘drowned corpses’ in that specific sense.”

“Aren’t all drowned people called ‘drowned corpses’?”

“We usually specifically refer to those who can still move on their own after drowning.”

“They can move on their own after death?” Tan Wenbin’s expression grew complex. “Do they move with the current?”

“They move on their own, and they can even walk ashore.”

“This…” At this point, Tan Wenbin finally couldn’t help but start questioning. “Xiaoyuan, are you deliberately telling stories to scare me?”

“No.”

“But what you just said, I don’t believe it.”

“Hmm.”

“Unless you take me to see one of those moving ‘drowned corpses’ for myself.”

“No.”

“Why?” Tan Wenbin was confused. Shouldn’t the first reaction to being disbelieved be to try and prove it?

“Fishing for ‘drowned corpses’ is very dangerous.”

“It’s fine, I’m not afraid of danger.”

“Binbin, you don’t know anything. Taking you along would just be a burden, and it would put me in danger.”

“Uh…”

After a moment of speechlessness, Tan Wenbin immediately leaned forward and grabbed Li Zhuiyuan’s hand. “But the more you say that, the more I want to see one.”

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

“Please, Xiaoyuan! Brother, brother!”

“I can’t.”

“Xiaoyuan, if you just take me to truly see one of those ‘drowned corpses,’ I’ll do whatever you want me to do from now on!”

“Binbin.”

“You agree?”

“What can you help me with?”

Tan Wenbin fell silent.

Tan Yunlong’s voice called from the living room, “Binbin, bring Xiaoyuan out for dinner.”

Dinner was plentiful, mostly because there were many dishes, some of which were clearly just canned food emptied out to make up the numbers.

Zheng Fang apologized, “Xiaoyuan, next time you visit, we’ll eat out. Your Auntie here isn’t very good at cooking.”

“You’ve gone to a lot of trouble, Auntie. There’s already so much food, we won’t be able to finish it all.”

Tan Yunlong poured soda into Li Zhuiyuan’s glass and said, “It’s alright, Binbin can slowly finish the leftovers.”

The dinner atmosphere was warm and harmonious, typical of a family of three, plus Li Zhuiyuan as a guest.

As dinner was nearing its end and everyone’s attention shifted to conversation, Tan Yunlong’s pager beeped. He glanced at it, then immediately stood up.

Zheng Fang was already accustomed to this pace of life. She immediately fetched her husband’s jacket and said, “Xiaoyuan, why don’t you stay over tonight?”

Tan Yunlong, after putting on his jacket, shook his head. “We didn’t tell his family he’d be staying here when we came. They’ll worry if he doesn’t go back tonight. Come on, Xiaoyuan, come with Uncle.”

“Don’t you have something to do at the station?”

“It’s on the way. I’ll drop the child off.”

“Alright then. Be careful on the road. It’s windy tonight; don’t let the child catch a cold.”

Li Zhuiyuan left the table and walked over to Tan Yunlong. Zheng Fang took out a red envelope she had prepared earlier from her pocket and slipped it into his hand.

“Xiaoyuan, it’s your first time visiting. Use this to buy some candy.”

“Thank you, Auntie.”

Li Zhuiyuan took the red envelope and put it in his pocket. Knowing Tan Yunlong was in a hurry to leave, he didn’t decline.

As they went out and descended the stairs, Tan Yunlong said, “The people stationed at the hospital called. Someone came to visit those two, and they’ve been caught.”

“How many?”

“Just one.”

“There should be more than that.”

The Water Monkeys tend to operate in groups. They’ve already had two people pretend to be out-of-town bosses contracting fishponds, so there must be more people behind the scenes.

“The main thing is, those two are injured and still unconscious, so we can’t question them. Now that we’ve caught someone, we can hope to get some information out of them.”

Tan Yunlong straddled his motorcycle. After Li Zhuiyuan got on, he handed him a helmet.

The previous conversation was more like an exchange between colleagues. Tan Yunlong didn’t find anything amiss, as the boy had originally provided the clues for this case.

Amidst the wild roar of the motorcycle, they arrived at the clinic.

Tan Yunlong showed no hesitation, taking Li Zhuiyuan directly into the inpatient building.

The Sihai father and son and the two contracting bosses were all on the first floor, but one pair was at the east end and the other at the west end.

There was a long bench area in the center of the first floor, which was quite crowded. Due to the shortage of hospital beds, many patients’ family members chose to stay there overnight.

The security office was the first room on the west side. Pushing the door open, they found three people inside: two plainclothes officers standing, and one handcuffed person sitting.

“Captain Tan.”

“Captain Tan.”

“Have you gotten anything out of him?”

“He’s not admitting anything. He claims he was just asked to deliver fruit baskets and milk to those two hospital beds.”

Tan Yunlong frowned. “How could there be a mistake?”

“This guy has a record for theft. When we approached him and asked for his cooperation, he immediately tried to run, and we caught him. He just confessed to two recent theft cases, but he absolutely denies knowing the two unconscious individuals.”

“Officers, I truly don’t know those two. Someone just gave me money to deliver something to the people in that room.”

Tan Yunlong turned to his colleague and said, “It seems we got the wrong person. He speaks Nantong dialect, and that gang is from out of town.”

Tomb-raiding gangs are generally family-based, with very few outsiders, let alone people from other provinces. Greed drives people, and those who profit from the dead fear not the dead themselves, but being double-crossed.

“Captain Tan, have we been discovered then?”

“Likely. Your work wasn’t careful enough. They might have observed you long ago and avoided capture. However, it could also be that they typically ‘test the waters’.”

Tan Yunlong suddenly realized something. When ‘testing the waters,’ you should at least be there to observe the splash.

He immediately pushed open the door, walked out of the security office, and entered the long bench area, which was crowded. His gaze quickly swept across the room.

“Uncle Tan.”

Li Zhuiyuan’s voice reached him, and only then did Tan Yunlong realize that the boy had already gone out on his own at some point.

He first looked at the boy, then followed the direction his finger subtly pointed. In the corridor on the east side leading to the hot water dispenser, someone was leaving. From their back, it was a woman.

Tan Yunlong immediately vaulted over the bench in front of him and quickly gave chase.

As if hearing the urgent footsteps behind her, the woman immediately broke into a run, and thus a chase began between the two.

When the police officers arrived from behind, they didn’t see Captain Tan and didn’t know which way he went. Li Zhuiyuan walked over and reminded them:

“Uncle Tan went that way, chasing a female suspect.”

Only then did the police officers run to provide backup.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t follow to join the excitement but returned to the security office. There was still a plainclothes officer watching the pickpocket inside.

Pouring himself a glass of water, Li Zhuiyuan sat down in a chair and waited patiently.

After hearing the pickpocket speak Nantong dialect earlier, he had come out. The central bench area was indeed crowded, but it wasn’t hard to find.

The two Water Monkey patients’ rooms were at the westernmost end. If you drew a line connecting the patient rooms and the security office and then projected that onto the bench area, the search area would narrow significantly, as only within that small zone could one observe both the patient rooms and the security office.

When Li Zhuiyuan went to observe, the woman happened to stand up. Li Zhuiyuan immediately noticed her because her hands were empty.

After about fifteen minutes, the security office door opened again. Tan Yunlong was helped inside, accompanied by a doctor.

Tan Yunlong’s shirt was unbuttoned, revealing a long, diagonal bruise on his left chest, likely from a kick.

Li Zhuiyuan tilted his head in the direction of the bruise, trying to imagine the posture used to deliver that kick. It felt a bit awkward.

While the doctor applied medicated oil, Tan Yunlong recounted to his colleagues, “I had chased her down and even caught her, but she suddenly threw me off. When I got up, she kicked me again.”

“Captain Tan, is she that skilled?”

“It’s not that she’s incredibly skilled. I’m not trying to save face; getting injured without catching the person is already a loss of face.

It’s just that when I was close to her, whether she was throwing me or kicking me, I had actually prepared to counter and apprehend her.

But her force was very strange; I didn’t anticipate it at all, and I was suddenly thrown back.”

After listening, Li Zhuiyuan understood inwardly, because the opponent was using techniques meant for dealing with ‘drowned corpses’.

Such moves might not be effective against living people, but Tan Yunlong had held back, intending to subdue her, and was caught off guard by an unfamiliar technique.

Not long after, several more police officers returned, looking dejected. Clearly, they hadn’t kept up, and the person had escaped.

“Send more people to guard this place. Didn’t the doctor say those two are waking up soon? We might be able to get clues from them then.”

After giving the instructions, Tan Yunlong put on his jacket and led Li Zhuiyuan out by the hand.

“Uncle Tan, can you still drive?”

Li Zhuiyuan saw Tan Yunlong continuously holding his chest and couldn’t help but ask worriedly.

“It’s not a big problem. Get on.”

This time, Tan Yunlong drove the motorcycle very slowly.

“Xiaoyuan, next time you go out, you need to tell me in advance.”

“Okay.”

“I find you quite suited to be a police officer. Have you ever thought about applying to a police academy?”

“No.”

“What university do you want to apply to then?”

“Haihe University.”

Hearing that answer, Tan Yunlong’s mouth twitched, as he seemed to guess the reason the boy wanted to apply to that university.

After dropping him off at home, Tan Yunlong handed Li Zhuiyuan a slip of paper. “Xiaoyuan, if anything comes up, just page me.”

“Okay, Uncle Tan.”

Watching the motorcycle drive away, Li Zhuiyuan shifted his gaze towards Old Man Beard’s house.

Someone who specifically practices techniques against ‘drowned corpses’ is no longer a simple Water Monkey.

However, if they can be trapped by a bait-hole, then even if this group of Water Monkeys is complex, their complexity is very limited.

So, just to be safe, should I make some preparations in advance?

The book talks about various methods to eliminate ‘drowned corpses’, but it doesn’t teach you how to help them. However, it also lists many taboos when dealing with ‘drowned corpses’…

So, I can just take these taboos and use them in reverse.

This way, even if a tough opponent appears among the Water Monkeys, I can still cover for Little Oriole.

Clenching his fist, he gently tapped his forehead. Li Zhuiyuan suddenly realized:

What kind of deviant thinking is this?

But he quickly rationalized it to himself. He had been exposed to archaeology since childhood, seen many national treasures destroyed by tomb raiders, and witnessed the profound distress of many veteran archaeologists.

Of two evils, choose the lesser. He wasn’t helping ‘drowned corpses’ to do evil; he was clearly protecting national property.

Turning around, he entered the house. The television was off, and Runsheng wasn’t watching TV, but he could faintly hear a “ding-dong” sound coming from the back wall, meaning Runsheng was still working late into the night.

Not wanting to disturb him, Li Zhuiyuan went upstairs and saw his great-grandpa still lying on the rattan chair on the balcony.

“Great-grandpa, why aren’t you asleep yet?”

“Waiting for you.” Li Sanjiang shifted his body and yawned. “What did Officer Tan say?”

“He agreed.”

“He really agreed?”

“Yes, in a month, before school starts, he will personally take me to complete the enrollment procedures. Don’t worry, Great-grandpa.”

“That’s good, that’s good. You’re going to Shigang, right?”

“Yes.”

“What grade?”

“Sixth grade.”

Li Sanjiang extended a finger, calculated the ages and grades of Yingzi, Panzi, and the others, and asked, “Are you going to elementary sixth grade now? Isn’t that too fast?”

“It’s fine, Great-grandpa. I’m young. Even if I can’t keep up, I can always repeat the grade and learn for another year.”

“That’s true.” Li Sanjiang nodded. “That’s a good deal.”

“Great-grandpa, you should go to sleep soon. It’s late.”

“Yes, it’s time to sleep. I need to get up early tomorrow; we’ll have guests.”

“Who is it?”

“An old comrade of mine, from the war.”

“Your comrade…”

“Also from my hometown, from the same village previously.”

“A Taiwanese businessman?”

“Not exactly. He was rather unlucky. We were both conscripted back then. I managed to escape, but he couldn’t. He ended up retreating all the way to Yunnan and Guizhou, and then to Myanmar, in a muddle.

They say he lived quite well at first, and then our side sent troops and crushed them.

After that, he ended up wandering in Southeast Asia. I heard he made a small fortune. Now that he’s old, he wants to come back to his hometown to invest.”

“Great-grandpa, did he call you?”

“Yes.”

“What about the village chief?”

“What’s that got to do with the village chief?”

“If an overseas Chinese person comes back to invest, the town mayor usually accompanies them.”

An “I see” expression immediately appeared on Li Sanjiang’s face, and he even smiled:

“Heh heh, so this old rascal is coming home to put on airs and pretend to be rich?”

“Great-grandpa, I was just guessing.”

“Alright, alright, time to sleep, time to sleep. You should also wash up and go to bed early.” Li Sanjiang said, chuckling, as he fanned himself with a cattail leaf fan and walked towards his room. “After the summer holiday, our Xiaoyuan will be in sixth grade. That’s great.”

Li Zhuiyuan went to take a shower. After returning to his room, he sat down at his desk and began writing in his experience notebook.

When he used to go to school, he didn’t have the habit of taking notes or compiling error collections because even handing in a blank test paper didn’t matter. Now, it was different; one wrong step could lead to death.

He quite liked this feeling. After all, exams should come with some psychological pressure.

As for the fact that he was entering the sixth grade of middle school, not elementary school, Li Zhuiyuan figured his great-grandpa would find out after school started.

His age and the gifted program were indeed difficult to explain to outsiders. However, the high school side should be aware, which would reduce a lot of trouble with transferring and skipping grades.

Opening several stacks of books in front of him, and relying on his memory, Li Zhuiyuan flipped to the specific volume and page, then selectively extracted ten “taboos” for dealing with “drowned corpses.”

He certainly wouldn’t use all ten; at most, he’d pick two. Therefore, he needed to continue deliberating and selecting based on practicality and controllability.

After finishing this, he went to bed.

Waking up, he felt much more energetic than the previous times. It seemed the issue of over-exertion had improved, but he still needed to pay attention to eating more foods that replenish blood and qi. He’d have to talk to Aunt Liu about this.

The chair by the door was empty because the girl was sitting at the desk, carving wooden floral scrolls with a small carving knife.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little confused. All the materials in his room had been moved to the workshop by Runsheng, and all future tools would be made there. So where did A-Li get her raw materials from?

Upon closer inspection, he found they were still the same dark, heavy, sandalwood-scented material as last time.

“A-Li, did you chop up the ancestral tablets again?”

A-Li shook her head.

She didn’t chop them; her grandma did.

Liu Yumei was delighted to chop them, fearing that chopping them too late would cause her granddaughter’s condition to relapse.

Li Zhuiyuan went to get three more Jianlibao drinks. These were the last three, so he’d have to ask Aunt Liu to get more supplies.

He opened two bottles, one for each of them.

The girl first liked to drink it because she had never encountered carbonated drinks before. But actually, she didn’t like sweet things in the morning, though she enjoyed clinking bottles with the boy.

Also, she wanted to fill up her “first sip” collection box soon.

After breakfast, Li Zhuiyuan returned to the second-floor balcony to read, while A-Li sat beside him, doing her carving.

Occasionally, a few unused wooden scrolls would be blown by the wind and drift down, glinting in the sunlight—the contented smiles of the ancestors.

The guests arrived earlier than expected. A black car drove down the distant village road. An old man in a black suit stepped out, leaning on a cane with his right hand, and being supported by a young blonde woman with his left.

The two walked along the path and arrived at the platform.

“Oh, is that you, Old Lin?”

“Haha, it’s me, Old Sanjiang!”

The two old men shook hands excitedly.

Immediately, they sat down, and Aunt Liu brought over tea.

Li Zhuiyuan said something to A-Li and then went downstairs as well.

“Is she your granddaughter?” Li Sanjiang asked.

“No, she’s my secretary, Ms. Jin.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Li Sanjiang immediately turned and beckoned. “Come, Old Lin, this is my great-grandson, Xiaoyuan. Xiaoyuan, come, meet your Grandpa Ding.”

“Hello, Grandpa Ding.”

“A very clever child.”

“Of course he is, he’s a child of my Li family, after all. This child lives with me now.” Li Sanjiang continued to stroke Li Zhuiyuan’s head, showing no intention of having the child leave.

The implication was very clear.

Ding Dalin smiled awkwardly, felt his suit pocket, and said sheepishly, “Look at me, I’ve been away for so long, I’ve forgotten these customs.”

The young woman beside him took out some money and handed it to Ding Dalin, who then passed it to Li Zhuiyuan:

“Here, Grandpa will buy you some candy.”

“Thank you, Grandpa.”

Li Zhuiyuan took the money; it was quite a thick wad.

However, he also noticed Ding Dalin’s previous remark. Overseas Chinese communities usually pay more attention to these old customs, so how could he say he forgot them, unless he hadn’t been living in normal society?

Furthermore, Ding Dalin’s suit wasn’t a foreign brand. Although the label was in English, one glance revealed it to be a southern Chinese product. While quite expensive, it certainly wasn’t something he’d brought back when returning to the country.

As for the female secretary’s blonde hair, it looked recently dyed, with a rather crude technique. There were even dye stains on her collar and shoulders.

Looking at the woman’s figure again, she seemed somewhat familiar.

“Great-grandpa, I’ll go help Aunt Liu bring the sunflower seeds.” Li Zhuiyuan used this as an excuse to walk around, coming up behind the woman, and saw her back.

Confirmed. It was the woman who escaped from the hospital last night.

The woman also turned her head at this moment, glancing at Li Zhuiyuan from the corner of her eye.

Hmm? Did you recognize me too?

When he came out of the security office, the woman had stood up and walked away with her back to him. However, when he first entered the inpatient building with Tan Yunlong, the woman must have seen him.

In that case, Ding Dalin’s identity was also about to be revealed.

They were the Water Monkeys!

Li Zhuiyuan brought the sunflower seeds over and placed them down. Then he made another excuse to go to the toilet and went to the back of the house.

Opening the workshop door, Runsheng was still diligently working, huffing and puffing.

“Runsheng, stop for a moment. We have two guests outside. Go stand by Great-grandpa.”

“Okay!”

Runsheng picked up the black and white towel hanging nearby and wiped his sweat.

Then he put on his short-sleeved shirt and went out.

He didn’t directly tell Runsheng the identity of the two people, fearing that Runsheng wouldn’t be able to act naturally and wouldn’t be able to keep them calm.

Li Zhuiyuan, on the other hand, went around the back of the house, intending to cut through the fields to Aunt Zhang’s convenience store to call Tan Yunlong.

But as he walked, Li Zhuiyuan suddenly noticed something amiss. At the field path intersection ahead, someone was squatting and smoking.

The person was on tiptoes, body angled, smoking while observing the surroundings.

This meant the Water Monkeys were out in full force, with someone on lookout here.

He couldn’t leave. Li Zhuiyuan could only silently return through the rice paddies.

Self-built houses in the countryside are usually spaced far apart. Great-grandpa’s house specifically had no neighbors in front or back. If there was someone at this access point, there must be people at the other points too.

It was safer to return home, after all, Runsheng was there.

He also prayed that Aunt Liu was another hidden “Uncle Qin,” but Li Zhuiyuan strongly suspected that Aunt Liu’s specialties were cooking and medicine.

As for Grandma Liu, she was too old to rely on.

Li Zhuiyuan returned. On the platform, Li Sanjiang was patting Runsheng’s arm and saying to Ding Dalin:

“This is also my grandson, Runsheng. Say hello to your Grandpa Dalin. Be sweet; your Grandpa Dalin just gave Xiaoyuan a very thick red envelope.”

“Heh heh, Grandpa Dalin.”

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t step forward. Instead, he went into the kitchen. Aunt Liu was cooking. With guests, they would certainly stay for lunch.

“Aunt Liu.”

“What is it, Xiaoyuan?”

“Do you have any poison?”

“What kind of medicine?”

“There are two ‘dirty people’ outside.”

Liu Ting’s heart skipped a beat. This child actually wanted to directly poison people.

She immediately composed her expression and said:

“Don’t worry, Xiaoyuan. Since the ‘dirty people’ are wearing clean clothes, they aren’t here to do dirty deeds.”

That sounded very logical, but the problem was, Ms. Jin had recognized him.

Although some raw materials in his workshop were toxic, people could clearly taste them if consumed.

“Then, Aunt Liu, will you also go back to look after a sick elder, just like Uncle Qin?”

Aunt Liu paused, then nodded.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuiyuan’s face. Then he was relieved.

Although eating would become a problem without Aunt Liu, it was better than never needing to eat again.

Li Zhuiyuan walked out of the kitchen and stood beside Runsheng. He wanted to hear the purpose of Ding Dalin’s visit today.

Noticing Runsheng poking him with his hand, Li Zhuiyuan turned his head and saw Runsheng handing him the red envelope money he had just received.

“Runsheng, keep it for yourself. You don’t need to give it to me.”

“For equipment materials.”

“Keep it for safekeeping.”

“Okay.”

At that moment, Li Zhuiyuan saw Ms. Jin turn towards him, take out some chocolate wrapped in tin foil from her pocket, walk over, and offer it to him.

“Little brother, here’s some for you to eat.”

“Thank you, big sister.”

Li Zhuiyuan reached out and took it. It felt a bit sticky, the chocolate inside must have already melted.

“Why aren’t you eating it, little brother?”

“I don’t want to eat it now. I want to slowly savor it when I go to bed tonight.”

“Heh heh, it’s alright. I have plenty more. I’ll bring you some next time I have the chance.”

As she spoke, Ms. Jin reached out and stroked Li Zhuiyuan’s face.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed the raised skin on the woman’s fingertips and the thick calluses on the inside of her palm.

The boy showed a shy smile and took half a step back.

Then, Li Zhuiyuan reached out and pulled Runsheng closer. Runsheng bent down, allowing the boy to lean in and whisper into his ear:

“Runsheng, it’s a good thing you left me at the town market yesterday. That’s how I got taken to the police station. The uncles and aunties at the police station gave me lots of snacks, and finally, one uncle even rode me home on his motorcycle, heh heh.”

Runsheng was completely confused,

But he instinctively replied:

“Mm, yes.”

Ms. Jin covered her mouth and chuckled, a hint of amusement and relief in her eyes.

Hmm, she thought she was very clever, and she confirmed that the boy hadn’t recognized her, after all, she had worn a mask last night.

Li Zhuiyuan stood by, waiting to hear Ding Dalin’s purpose, but the two old men began reminiscing about their wartime camaraderie.

The main thing was that these two old men were conscripted after the Japanese surrender; there truly weren’t any grand, heroic stories to tell.

His own great-grandpa fought his way from the Northeast into the Central Plains, taking Tianjin and Beijing, and breaking through Huaihai.

Ding Dalin, on the other hand, had headed west and eventually established himself in Southeast Asia. However, he was good at exaggerating his own importance, claiming to be a veteran of the Chinese Expeditionary Force.

It was clear that his great-grandpa was very enthusiastic about chatting. After all, his peers in the village were either dead or no longer spoke clearly, so it was rare to meet another sharp-minded old-timer.

But Ding Dalin was clearly losing interest. Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the other man tried to change the subject several times, only to be pulled back by his great-grandpa, who was engrossed in conversation.

Finally, seeing that lunchtime was almost upon them, Ding Dalin had no choice but to reveal his true intentions:

“I heard that someone died at Old Man Beard’s house recently, two people?”

Li Sanjiang immediately frowned and asked, “Why are you asking about that?”

Seeing Li Sanjiang’s reaction, Ding Dalin turned his face and briefly exchanged glances with Ms. Jin, then continued to ask:

“Old Sanjiang, tell me, how did those two die?”

The death of Old Man Beard and his son was a taboo subject for Li Sanjiang. He immediately waved his hand dismissively, somewhat annoyed, and said perfunctorily:

“They say the father and son drank alcohol one night, bragged about who was a better swimmer, went to the fishpond to compete, and drowned.”

“Really? I heard that their bodies were recovered by you, Old Sanjiang?”

“Ah, yes, that’s right. What about it?”

“I also heard that when those two bodies were pulled out, they were very swollen. Is that true?”

“Well, bodies swell after being in water.”

“But it was only one night. How could they swell so much? It’s not like soaking dried wood ear mushrooms.”

“That… I don’t know.”

“Then think more specifically.”

“It’s almost lunchtime. Why dwell on those things? Don’t bring it up again; let’s not spoil our appetite at dinner.”

“It’s no big deal.”

“How can it be no big deal? How long has it been since you returned home? Let’s have a good drink this afternoon and you can try our hometown dishes again.”

“Actually, Old Sanjiang, there’s a reason I’m asking you this. I’m old, and I’m thinking about returning to my roots, so I plan to buy a house in the village.

Old Man Beard’s house is for sale, isn’t it? I think the price is quite reasonable.”

“That’s not easy to arrange. Although you used to be from this village, your household registration isn’t here anymore. The residential land belongs to the village collective; only villagers can buy and sell it.”

“That’s simple. I’ll give you the money, you buy it, and I’ll live there.”

“How can that work?”

“There’s nothing wrong with it. How much longer do I have to live anyway? Money is just an external thing; I’ve long since come to terms with that. When I die, the house can be left to your great-grandson.”

Li Sanjiang deliberately turned his head to look at Li Zhuiyuan standing by. To be honest, he was tempted.

Ever since Xiaoyuan’s Beijing hukou was removed, he had always felt guilty. So, why not acquire more properties for Xiaoyuan? Even if village houses weren’t worth much, it was still a piece of land, wasn’t it?

“If you trust me, I can help you with that, but you’d better buy a different house.”

“What’s wrong?” Ding Dalin’s tone became excited as he pressed, “Is there something wrong with Old Man Beard’s house?”

“Hmm, it’s a bit unclean.”

Li Sanjiang had personally seen Little Oriole walk into the fishpond. The last time he retrieved a body, he didn’t dare go too deep, fearing a pair of hands might reach out from below and drag him down.

If the house were passed down to Xiaoyuan later, wouldn’t Xiaoyuan then be neighbors with that ‘drowned corpse’ from front to back?

“Unclean? Can you be more specific? Is there something wrong with the house itself or somewhere else, Old Sanjiang? Don’t blame me for asking too much; after all, I’m buying a house for retirement, so I must be careful.

I’ve been in Southeast Asia for a long time. People there are actually more superstitious and particular about taboos than we are here.”

“People have died in that pond. Just think, if you live there, every day you walk onto the platform, you’ll be facing that pond. How unsettling would that be?”

“That’s not a problem, unless that pond truly has a big issue. Give me a clear answer. If you say it does, I won’t buy it; I’ll choose another house.”

“It does!”

“Alright, then I’ll choose another one!”

“Fine.”

“Then I’ll inquire with the village chief, in your name, to see if anyone else in our village intends to sell their house.”

“No problem.”

“Alright, I’m leaving.”

“Hey, stay for lunch!” Li Sanjiang’s retention was definitely sincere. After all, the man had given the younger generation two sums of money; it was only right to invite him for a meal.

“No, I can’t. I have a lunch appointment; I’m eating with the town mayor.”

“Alright then, I won’t keep you. Come again another day.”

“Certainly, certainly.”

Ms. Jin helped Ding Dalin down the platform. After getting into the car, Ding Dalin’s expression turned grim:

“It seems I was right. The pond in front of Old Man Beard’s house is indeed the main burial spot.”

“Boss, that boy named Xiaoyuan…”

“What about the boy?”

“Nothing, he’s just quite good-looking.”

Since she had already figured out why the boy was with the police last night, Ms. Jin saw no need to bring it up again.

“Heh, why are you paying attention to someone else’s child? You’re old enough to be his mother.

Alright, back to business.

Next step is to buy Old Man Beard’s house, then have our people disguise themselves as an opera troupe, set up a stage, and perform to celebrate the new house, and then excavate at night.

They even used a bait-hole, so the person buried in this main burial spot must be someone of extraordinary status. There must be good things inside the tomb.

Once this job is done,

I can truly retire.”

Li Zhuiyuan stood on the platform, holding a coin, watching the car drive away in the distance.

This group of Water Monkeys actually found the location of the main burial spot. Ding Dalin and his people were indeed targeting the pond at Old Man Beard’s house.

So, should he call the police now, or help Little Oriole?

Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, looking at the coin in his hand, and whispered, “Leave it to fate. Heads, call the police. Tails, help Little Oriole.”

“Clink!”

The coin was tossed, landed with a wobble, and finally settled.

It was heads.

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, picked up the coin, blew on it,

And said, “So be it. I’ll help Little Oriole first, then call the police.”