"So, Brother Liangliang, does this mean the statue dug up from the riverworks and the coffin pried open at the fishery are both at least three hundred years old?"
"That's right. You can look at it that way. But the strange thing is, three hundred years is a long time, yet not so long that your local area wouldn't preserve even a trace of sacrificial customs regarding Lady Bai. Even the elderly haven't the slightest impression of her. Yet the local gazetteers record her in black and white, and we even unearthed her shrine. With both written records and physical ruins, it should be impossible for all folk memory to vanish. It's too strange."
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "Brother Liangliang, a retired professor once told me that whatever exists isn't necessarily reasonable, but whatever exists must have a reason."
"Xiao Yuan, you mean what doesn't exist must have a reason as well?"
"Mm. I think Lady Bai might not have been suitable for worship, nor fit to evolve into a folk custom. Her true character—or rather, the nature of the Bais and Baijia Town—might be very different from what we imagine. I just looked through the local gazetteer records you brought back. They indeed chronicle many of Lady Bai's deeds. They did a great deal during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and the stylistic tone is very similar to classic supernatural tales, but universally missing one thing... Stories of the strange usually end with descriptions like, 'The local folk were grateful for her grace, erecting a shrine and fashioning her image, where incense burned without end.' Yet the accounts of Lady Bai in these gazetteers are purely matter-of-fact records. If it were omitted once or twice, it might be an oversight, but none of the relevant entries mention any such gratitude. Meanwhile, the local area has plenty of other shrines—real-life heroes, Daoists and Buddhist monks from strange tales, even the Dragon Prince of the Eastern Sea—all recorded with that kind of ending. Even if the incense offering varies nowadays, you can at least find a temple. Therefore, I believe the severance between Lady Bai and local folk custom had an inevitable reason. Their deeds were framed as 'slaying demons and exorcising evil,' but their true purpose might never have been to 'protect the realm.'"
Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuiyuan in astonishment once again, having lost count of how many times today he had gazed at this primary school student with such disbelief.
"Brother Liangliang, do you still remember the appearance of the shrine unearthed at the riverworks?"
"I do. It was tiny and cramped. If not for the height of the statue, I'd suspect whoever built it modeled it after an ordinary roadside Earth God shrine."
"And the chains..."
"Right, the chains! That statue was bound in iron chains, with the other ends anchored to the shrine's four walls. Without smashing the chains, human strength alone could hardly have toppled it."
"Then it wasn't meant for sacrificial worship, but for suppression."
"Suppression?" An expression of sudden realization swept across Xue Liangliang's face. "Right! Exactly! Who would ever accept incense and offerings in an image like that!" Agitated, he paced back and forth. "The arrangement inside the coffin at the fishery and the text carved on the black wood also explicitly state suppression. Doesn't that align the logic behind Lady Bai's actions in both places? But with that kind of self-sacrificing righteousness, why wouldn't the common people feel grateful?"
"What if Baijia Town cared only about the process, not the outcome?"
"Xiao Yuan, you mean the Ladies of the Bai family only wanted to use themselves to suppress evil, while whether what they suppressed was truly evil, or where that evil came from in the first place, is open to interpretation? Ah... if the evil entity was something they released and cultivated themselves, only to suppress it with their own bodies, the people certainly wouldn't remember their kindness. They would avoid them like the plague. That makes complete sense!"
"Mm."
Li Zhuiyuan nodded. In the *Jianghu Zhiguai Lu*, records of unorthodox occultists and dead-flippers—trade slang for floating corpses—were quite extensive. Those fanatics seeking to cultivate corpses for ascension stopped at nothing. Among their circles, there was a widespread core belief: lakes were grounds for corpse-rearing; rivers were ladders to the heavens; and where rivers emptied into the sea, one could ascend through the Heavenly Gate. Nantong sat right at the mouth of the Yangtze River, and Chongming Island was the very gateway of the Yangtze. In the bizarre perspective of those people, wasn't that the exact equivalent of the Heavenly Gate? Unorthodox occultists from the upstream mountain cities either spent years cultivating their own corpses or stole another's coffin, waiting until the time was ripe to drift downriver straight into the sea, taking immense time and effort to plan. The Bai family, by contrast, had been far more direct—forcibly 'suppressing evil' right at the Heavenly Gate, hoisting themselves up by their own bootstraps to pursue ascension.
At the thought, Li Zhuiyuan could not help rubbing his temples. Those people had fantastic notions, yet they indeed possessed a self-contained worldview one could step into. And he had just stepped into it.
"Xiao Yuan, that explains why your sister's grandparents met such a gruesome end. Even though the fishery owner hasn't been found, he's probably met with foul play as well. Logically, it shouldn't have happened. If Lady Bai were on the side of justice and that porcelain bottle sealed an evil spirit, why would the spirit be in such a hurry to murder the benefactors who released it, and so ruthlessly, leaving no room for mercy? The one who flew into a humiliated rage and began slaughtering people was Lady Bai herself—the one who appeared righteous at first glance!"
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang with equal surprise. One had to realize Xue Liangliang had never read the *Jianghu Zhiguai Lu*, yet purely through ordinary clues, he had deduced something so profound.
"Then Zhao Hequan..." Xue Liangliang was still worried about his classmate. "Hasn't he been targeted by the Lady Bai from the riverworks, with all her vengeance focused on him?"
If it were merely an offense, apologizing and speaking humble words might suffice. But if you ruined someone's grand design, you invited relentless retribution until death!
Xue Liangliang asked in confusion, "Then why did Lady Bai spare you and me? No, this had nothing to do with you in the first place—why did she let me go?"
"Perhaps she could only choose one person."
The scene in the dream that night had been very clear. The woman could only take one person away. To that end, she had hesitated between him and Zhao Hequan many times, seemingly sensing something peculiar about him, which had left her deeply torn.
"Huh?"
"The books say so."
"Oh, so there is such a rule. Then isn't Zhao Hequan doomed?"
"It feels that way."
"Then we..." Xue Liangliang waved his hand at Li Zhuiyuan. "Let's hurry and set up the offering table, and sever our connection with her completely!"
The realization that the entity had not generously pardoned him out of kindness, but simply lacked the hands to deal with him for the moment, filled Xue Liangliang with urgency.
"All right." Li Zhuiyuan felt Xue Liangliang made good sense. He pointed to his cabinet. "Brother Liangliang, the snacks are in there, and there are wooden stools outside. Gather them up and set two tables. Make sure the numbers are even... Put four portions on each table. I'll go downstairs to fetch the incense, candles, and paper money."
With their tasks divided, Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and brought back the candles and paper money. By the time he returned, Xue Liangliang had already arranged two small offering tables in the bedroom.
The two immediately began their sacrificial offering.
***
In the east room, Qin Liang, who had been sleeping, suddenly opened her eyes.
Beside her, Liu Yumei, who had been resting with her eyes closed while gently waving a cattail leaf fan, woke up as well. She laid the fan gently over her granddaughter's face, shielding her vision, and murmured softly, "Be good, it's nothing. They're just severing the last bit of karma. Get some rest. You still have to go play with Xiao Yuan tomorrow morning."
Qin Liang slowly closed her eyes.
Liu Yumei looked toward the screen window, through which she could see the night sky. After a long silence, she muttered to herself in a tone laced with mockery, "What era is it, and they're still dreaming that kind of sweet dream?"
Just as she closed her eyes intending to go back to sleep, the next moment, Liu Yumei and Qin Liang opened their eyes at the same time.
This time, Qin Liang's eyes were deep and dark. Uncharacteristically for when she was not looking at Li Zhuiyuan, her pupils focused clearly.
Liu Yumei's expression turned slightly heavier than before. Still, she kept waving the fan back and forth above Qin Liang, as if severing an invisible thread.
Qin Liang looked at her grandmother.
Liu Yumei said, "Be good, this one isn't looking for Xiao Yuan. Go to sleep. You can't stay up tonight, or you won't have any energy. You wouldn't want to see Xiao Yuan with dark circles under your eyes, would you?"
Qin Liang closed her eyes once more.
Liu Yumei felt a touch of melancholy. She had gradually grown accustomed to using Li Zhuiyuan's name to communicate with her granddaughter—it was bittersweet, yet remarkably effective.
Getting out of bed, Liu Yumei drew back the screen and shut the outer window, cutting off the outside world completely.
"Out of sight, out of mind. Time to sleep."
***
When the offering was finished, Xue Liangliang took charge of sweeping up the burned paper ashes; he was always meticulous in his work.
Upon his return, he saw Li Zhuiyuan looking at him. "Brother Liangliang, look at your arm."
Hearing this, Xue Liangliang immediately rolled up his sleeve. Finding that not a single trace remained, he asked excitedly, "Not a mark left! Xiao Yuan, what about you?"
"Mine is gone too."
"Phew..." Xue Liangliang let out a long breath. "Then does that mean we succeeded?"
"Mm, it should. It's just that classmate of yours..."
With their connection severed, the Lady Bai of the statue could concentrate all her attention on retaliating against him.
Yet Xue Liangliang did not dwell on grief. Instead, he touched his forehead and shoulders in sequence. "May the Lord protect him."
Li Zhuiyuan's lips tightened, suppressing a smile.
He could tell that earlier, when Xue Liangliang said he wanted to help his classmate, he had been sincere. But that didn't prevent him from letting go of his savior complex once he realized the terrifying gravity of the situation.
Xue Liangliang reached out and gently tapped Li Zhuiyuan's nose. "You've got to look on the bright side of things. If you want a happy life, you have to learn to reject emotional friction."
With that, Xue Liangliang turned and asked, "The shower is in the back, right? I'll go wash up first."
Watching his departing figure, Li Zhuiyuan fell into quiet contemplation.
Xue Liangliang's words had struck a chord within him.
Perhaps it was precisely because he had spent so much effort trying to perform the role of himself that he was becoming less and less like who he truly was.
***
The walls of Li Sanjiang's bedroom were covered with pictures of deities.
He had bought them all in one go at a temple fair two years ago, then tossed them into a cabinet to gather dust. Today, they had finally been put to use.
Among them was a portrait of an elderly man with a benevolent face and transcendent bearing, whom Li Sanjiang had placed in the prime center position. He assumed it was Laozi. In truth... it was Confucius.
After a day of hard labor, he was genuinely exhausted. Once the arrangements were finished, he went to bed early.
Then, he dreamed.
Curiously, ever since he had performed the fortune-transferring ritual with Xiao Yuanhou, his dreams had become remarkably frequent. Only this time, the dream did not take place on the roof of the town clinic, but on an open road.
Turning to look right, he saw a familiar gate. Beside the gate hung the plaque he had kissed many times during the day.
Footsteps sounded behind him.
Li Sanjiang turned around and saw a diminutive figure slowly stepping out from the shadows, radiating intense malice.
Without hesitation, Li Sanjiang dashed straight into the police station.
The young girl stood outside the police station, her expression venomous, her mouth opening and closing rapidly.
In the dream on the first night, he had heard her threats with crystal clarity—she wanted him dead. When he dozed on the tractor, her voice had grown muffled. And now, he could only watch her little mouth snap open and shut; though he couldn't hear a sound, she was surely cursing up a foul storm.
"Heh heh."
Li Sanjiang chuckled, then casually lay down.
When dealing with someone reasonable, he wouldn't mind swallowing his pride, begging, offering sweet words, or even kneeling to kowtow. But spirits were born of mortals; some could be reasoned with, while others simply could not. When encountering the latter, paying them any extra heed was a waste of breath.
At least in dreams, Li Sanjiang had seen the world. After all, he was the drill leader who had led a troupe of hopping zombies through morning calisthenics in the Forbidden City.
Thus, Li Sanjiang simply lay flat, folding his hands over his navel.
He was tired; it was time to sleep.
In the real world outside, Xue Liangliang walked out of the shower room, toweling his hair dry. He looked curiously toward the willow tree diagonally across from the house.
The willow branches were swaying constantly, as if stirred by the wind, yet strangely enough, he could not feel the slightest breeze where he stood.
"Odd. How come the wind won't blow in here?"
He didn't give it much thought. Today's encounters had been too bizarre for him to care about wind directions.
Returning to the bedroom, he saw Li Zhuiyuan sitting at the desk with the desk lamp on, reading a book.
Leaning closer, he saw the characters were densely packed and ridiculously tiny. He couldn't help warning, "Reading such small print at night will ruin your eyes."
"It won't, Brother Liangliang. I'm used to it. I can grasp the meaning just by scanning over it."
"That amazing?" Xue Liangliang didn't think Li Zhuiyuan was lying, and climbed into bed first.
The beauty of old-fashioned wooden beds was that they were plenty spacious.
"Xiao Yuan, do you want to sleep on the outside or against the wall?"
"Either is fine with me."
"Then I'll sleep on the outside. Kids feel safer against the wall."
"Mm."
"When do you plan to sleep?"
"I'll read a little longer, then shower and go to bed."
"I think keeping these as hobbies is fine, but you still need to focus on your studies."
"Mm, I know."
Under normal circumstances, Xue Liangliang would have urged him several times over, but tonight, he couldn't bring himself to do so. Thinking carefully, he had genuinely relied on the useless books Li Zhuiyuan read to bail them out today.
Softening his tone, he said, "Xiao Yuan, thinking about it, it's pretty interesting. Before the day before yesterday, I never imagined such things actually existed in the world. But somehow, I wasn't all that scared—not that I wasn't afraid, but I wasn't frantic."
"Fear comes from the unknown. Brother Liangliang, you even dug up Lady Bai's ancestral home. What's left to fear?"
"True enough. Still, do you think I should read some books on this subject too? Do you have any recommendations?"
Li Zhuiyuan hesitated. "These books belong to my great-grandpa. I don't have the authority to lend them to you. You'd have to ask him first."
"Forget it, then. Your great-grandpa works in this trade, so these books must be his treasures. He definitely wouldn't lend them easily to an outsider."
On that point, Xue Liangliang was mistaken.
For so many years, Li Sanjiang had merely left those boxes of books to gather dust in the cellar.
"Xiao Yuan, what's your village's phone number? Let's exchange contact info."
Li Zhuiyuan recited the number for the village committee, along with the number for the village convenience store. Usually, villagers wanting to make a call went to those two places, and outside calls came through there as well. The caller would state whom they were looking for, hang up, give the staff time to fetch the person, and call back fifteen minutes later.
Li Zhuiyuan had memorized the numbers in hopes his mother might call him, but as expected, she hadn't disappointed his expectations—she hadn't called once.
"Let me write it down." Xue Liangliang got out of bed, walked over to the desk, jotted down the numbers with pen and paper, and let out a sigh.
Though Li Zhuiyuan kept his head down in his book, he was still able to split his attention. "Brother Liangliang, were you about to say that one day in the future, every household will have a telephone installed?"
"That day will come. Do you believe it?"
"I believe it, though pagers seem to be the trend right now."
A few years back, beepers had entered the country and rapidly spread. Young people in the cities took great pride in wearing one clipped to their belts.
"I'm actually planning to get one myself. How about I get two and give you one, Xiao Yuan?"
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "I have no use for one."
"Oh, right!" Xue Liangliang slapped his forehead. "I promised to buy you snacks and toys, and it slipped my mind entirely. Once I'm back at university, I'll mail them to you."
"Thank you, Brother Liangliang."
"Then I'll turn in first." Xue Liangliang climbed back into bed and soon drifted off to sleep.
After finishing the volume in his hands, Li Zhuiyuan took a shower in the back. Passing his great-grandpa's bedroom, he could clearly hear loud snoring through the wooden door.
It seemed Great-Grandpa was sleeping soundly.
Returning to his bedroom, he placed a fresh toothbrush in the washbasin, climbed onto the inner side of the bed, lay down, and went to sleep.
***
The next morning, Xue Liangliang woke up very early.
He had a distinct trait: while his sleep quality was high, his required sleep duration was short. He needed only half the sleep of others to feel far more refreshed.
Opening his eyes, he glanced at the still-sleeping Li Zhuiyuan. He couldn't help thinking how fun it would be if this kid actually got into Haihe University in the future and became his fellow alumnus.
Tiptoeing out of bed, he noticed the new toothbrush in the washbasin. He picked up the basin, prepared to wash up, and pulled the door open.
"Holy mother!"
Xue Liangliang was startled so badly that the basin slipped from his grip, clattering to the floor. The cup, towel, and toothbrush scattered everywhere.
Anyone opening a door first thing in the morning only to find a little girl standing silently on the threshold would have been terrified out of their wits.
Awakened by the racket, Li Zhuiyuan hurried out of bed, rubbing his eyes as he ran over. He took Qin Liang's hand in his and urged, "Brother Liangliang, hurry and wash up."
"Oh, right!"
Xue Liangliang quickly scooped up his things and hurried out. What he did not know was that if Li Zhuiyuan had gotten out of bed a moment later, Xue Liangliang might have ended up bruised and battered.
When Li Zhuiyuan took A-Li's hand, her body had already been trembling—a sign she was on the verge of lashing out.
Normally, Li Zhuiyuan could sleep in. Even if A-Li arrived before he woke, she would sit quietly inside and wait for him. But Xue Liangliang's presence had disrupted that routine. Furthermore, that single shout had moved breakfast up for the entire household.
After washing up, while they were eating breakfast, Aunt Zhang from the village convenience store shouted across the wheat field, "Uncle Sanjiang, telephone!"
"Coming!"
Li Sanjiang scooped some pickled vegetables into his bowl, then walked out, shoveling porridge into his mouth with his chopsticks.
Reaching the shop, he waited the span of a cigarette before the phone rang again. He picked it up; it was Ying Zi's aunt Chen Xiaoling.
She said the fishery boss had been found, dead in the home of a town widow. The widow was apparently full of devotion and had been preparing to hold a funeral for him. In the end, the goods were nowhere to be found, and it was said the singing girl had visited as well—the three of them had often kept company. That singer wasn't a local; when police checked her workplace, they were told she had stopped showing up last week without notice, and her registered identity was fake.
Currently, it was suspected the missing jewelry and the porcelain bottle were in her possession, but tracking her down now would be very difficult. On the other hand, Zhou Hai's suspicions were about to be cleared, and he would be released at noon.
Chen Xiaoling anxiously asked what she and her husband should do, because she had suffered another nightmare last night.
Li Sanjiang patiently comforted her, instructing her to take Zhou Hai to burn incense beneath the Langshan Zhiyun Pagoda once he was released.
Chen Xiaoling asked uneasily if that would be enough.
Li Sanjiang suggested they burn incense across the other four peaks as well—Junshan, Huangnishan, Ma'anshan, and Jianshan.
Truth be told, Li Sanjiang had no confidence in whether it would work. His main goal was to wash his hands of the affair. Yesterday, his ties with Lady Bai had been severed; an antagonistic severance was still a severance. He had no reason to wade into muddy waters for Zhou Hai and his wife anymore. They weren't paying him, they weren't close relatives, and that entity was vicious—why borrow trouble? Besides, they had brought this upon themselves through greed and foolishness. He had already fulfilled his obligations.
Thinking she would be burning incense across five mountains, Chen Xiaoling felt reassured. She thanked Li Sanjiang profusely over the receiver before hanging up just as the counter neared sixty seconds.
Aunt Zhang remarked with a smile, "Uncle Sanjiang, you're really busy these days! When I went to the Shigang wholesale depot for stock, I heard people talking about your deeds."
"It's not all good fortune. Just scraping by. Here, give me a pack of Daqianmen."
"Coming right up."
This was an unspoken village courtesy. You couldn't make someone run an errand for nothing; after taking a call, you always bought something, even if only a couple of candies for the children.
Tucking the cigarettes into his pocket, he walked home. As he neared the turnoff, he saw Xue Liangliang walking out.
"Uncle, I'm heading back to campus."
"What, leaving already?"
"Yes, I only took one day of leave."
"Take care on the road, then."
"Will do, Uncle. I'll come visit you again later."
"Heh heh."
Li Sanjiang gave a dry chuckle and waved. The boy had slept a night, eaten breakfast, and was already slipping away without tutoring his great-grandson. These college students were crafty as foxes.
Just as he was about to head inside, he noticed someone riding a bicycle toward him from the distance. The rider looked familiar. After a moment's thought, he recalled that this seemed to be one of the Niu family—Niu Fu's younger son.
The man dismounted quickly, pushing the bicycle at a jog until he stood before Li Sanjiang, gasping anxiously, "Uncle Sanjiang, please, come check on my father again! Something terrible has happened to him!"
Li Sanjiang's brows knitted. "Sigh, it happened after all. But that's none of my doing. That's the will of heaven and fate."
What a joke. He wasn't a department store salesman peddling televisions; how could he provide after-sales service?
"No, Uncle, really! Not just my father—my second uncle and my aunt are afflicted too! Everyone is terrified. They sent me to beg you to look at them again."
"Can't do it, absolutely can't! Making an exception once already took a heavy toll on me. If I keep making exceptions, how am I supposed to live my life? My longevity coffin hasn't even been lacquered yet!"
"Uncle, please, we're begging you. The family can only count on you now!" As he pleaded, he fished a red envelope from his pocket and pressed it into Li Sanjiang's hand.
Li Sanjiang's resolve softened at the thickness of the envelope.
"Well... I can only go take a look. If something truly goes wrong, I'm afraid there isn't much more I can do. All I can manage is to pray for blessings, offer some protection, and cleanse the feng shui for you younger folks."
"That's wonderful! That's more than enough! Really, we're deeply grateful!"
In truth, the younger generation didn't care all that much about the three elders; they were terrified that after the three fell in succession, the next turn would be theirs.
"Head on back first. I need to pack and get ready here. I'll come over this afternoon."
"Yes, yes, Uncle! We'll wait for you at home!"
Once the rider pedaled out of sight, Li Sanjiang walked along the narrow path through the paddy fields, peeling open the red envelope. Confirming that every bill inside was a Great Unity ten-yuan note, a smile crept onto his face.
Ah, it felt marvelous to come into money first thing in the morning.
Indeed, how could he keep running into rotten jobs?
As Liu Jinxia had said, this line of work inevitably involved bluffing and deception; most of the time, it was just putting on a show. But it depended on whom you dealt with. For folks with a mess on their hands, cajoling them and taking their money was simply taking their money—call it spending wealth to ward off disaster, which was still helping them.
Returning home, Li Sanjiang didn't do any preparation. He lay down on the wicker chair on the second-floor terrace, turned on the radio, and intended to doze until it was time to leave in the afternoon.
As he adjusted his posture, he noticed the two children in the northeast corner, each lying on a small recliner side by side. What's more, those recliners had been crafted so that one lacked a right armrest and the other lacked a left. Pushed together, they formed a matching pair without any barrier between them.
"Little rascal certainly knows how to enjoy life."
Near noon, a bare-chested youth pushing a cart climbed up to the courtyard flat. It was Runsheng.
He had accompanied Grandpa Shan to get dentures fitted and tended to his injuries for two days. After buying a batch of rice, flour, grain, and cooking oil with the money earned from the Niu family last time, he had been booted out the door by Grandpa Shan.
Auntie Liu greeted him with polite hospitality. "Runsheng, you're here! Hungry? Food will be ready in a bit, heh heh."
Runsheng nodded vigorously. "Starving! Granddad wouldn't let me eat since the day before yesterday, told me to save my stomach to eat here."
"That works out fine. I just made a new batch of incense. When dinner's served, you can taste the flavor and see if it's right."
"Great, I'll wait."
As Runsheng spoke, he wiped a drop of drool from the corner of his mouth.
Up on the second floor, Li Sanjiang ground his teeth in irritation. He had thought that old codger had forgotten the matter, but here he was, driving his mule to graze on Li family feed after all. Still, he had arrived right on time; this afternoon, Runsheng could push the cart and take him there. Though the lad had a bottomless appetite, once he was fed, he was handier than an ox.
"Runsheng Hou, you've arrived."
Runsheng looked up at Li Sanjiang and nodded hard. "Yes, I'm here, Uncle! I missed you!"
"I missed you too, good boy. This afternoon, take me over to the Niu family for a job."
"Right away, Uncle!"
Hearing the commotion and his great-grandpa's words, Li Zhuiyuan knew the Cat-Faced Old Woman had already done the preliminary work.
"Brother Runsheng."
"Hey, Xiao Yuan."
After a quick greeting, Runsheng squatted before the batch of fresh incense Auntie Liu was drying. He was far too hungry to care about anything else for the moment.
Li Zhuiyuan walked up to Li Sanjiang, putting on an obedient smile. "Great-Grandpa."
"Mm, what is it?"
"This afternoon, I'd like to go to Shigang Town to buy some stationery."
"Sure, come along with Great-Grandpa this afternoon."
Li Sanjiang agreed readily. He didn't think there was any danger at the Niu household; after all, that dead-flipper had already been slain by his peach wood sword.
"Thank you, Great-Grandpa."
Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward, wrapped his arms around Li Sanjiang's neck, pressed his cheek against his chest, and gave him a hug.
Li Sanjiang chuckled and patted the boy's head. "Oho, haha! Small matter, small matter! Whatever you want to buy, Great-Grandpa will buy it for you. Great-Grandpa has money—plenty of money!"
This kind of affection from a youngster delighted Li Sanjiang. Upon reflection, he realized it wasn't that he liked youngsters in general; he simply liked Xiao Yuanhou. Even if the boy didn't apply himself to his studies, he was genuinely endearing.
Having settled things with his great-grandpa, Li Zhuiyuan returned to his recliner and continued reading.
As he read, he felt two hands gently reach over, their movements slow and clumsy. Gradually, they wound around his neck, and a small face pressed against his chest.
Li Zhuiyuan immediately understood that A-Li was imitating what he had just done to please his great-grandpa.
Then, he noticed a flicker of puzzlement in the girl's eyes.
Understanding, Li Zhuiyuan reached out and gently patted her head. "Whatever you want to buy, I'll buy it for you. I have money—plenty of money!"
The girl looked content. Releasing her hold, she returned to her normal posture, her eyes bright enough, in this quiet corner, to outshine the blazing sun.
Downstairs, Liu Yumei, who was sipping tea by herself, held her teacup with trembling hands. In her heart, she cursed with jealous irritation, *You have money? You little snot-nosed brat don't have a fart's worth of money!*
Yet amidst the jealousy lay immense gratification, and glistening tears welled at the corners of her eyes.
Ever since her granddaughter had fallen ill, when had she ever made a gesture like that? Sometimes the hardest step was breaking through from zero to one. She was already imagining a day in the future when her granddaughter would wrap her arms around her neck too, letting her gently pat her head.
Lowering her head, she took another sip of tea, then frowned slightly.
Had the tea leaves spoiled? Why did it taste both sour and sweet?
***
After leaving Siyuan Village, Xue Liangliang took a bus to the municipal People's Hospital to visit Zhao Hequan.
Zhao Hequan's condition was dire. Since his admission, his symptoms had worsened steadily; now, he looked as though he had been dyed from head to toe, coated in a bruised purplish-black.
As it happened, Luo Tingrui arrived for a visit as well. After a perfunctory glance at Zhao Hequan, he gestured for Xue Liangliang to step outside with him.
He truly disliked Zhao Hequan. As department head, he frequently took students out for on-site practicums. Zhao Hequan had always been fond of showing off his opinions; even riding in a car, if he saw a dog peeing on a utility pole by the road, he would make some cynical remark. Luo Tingrui was a man of practical action. Though he had once been a student himself and understood the prevailing social climate, he still looked down on such armchair intellectual whining—people who did nothing but moan and complain.
Xue Liangliang, on the other hand, had always met his approval. If not for the fact that the young man seemed determined to head to the Great Southwest after graduation, Luo Tingrui would have introduced his daughter to him.
"Liangliang, are you heading back to campus?"
"Yes, Director. I'll head to the station shortly."
"Come with me instead. Comrades from above just arrived, and along with some local officials, we're going down to the river for a survey. Once the survey is done, we'll head back to university together."
"Yes, Director."
Though assembled on short notice, the survey team was sizable. Three cars and a bus were completely full. Leaving the city proper, they drove south toward the banks of the Yangtze River, into an area governed by one of Nantong's subordinate counties.
After disembarking and exchanging pleasantries, the local officials gave briefings while periodically seeking Luo Tingrui's input.
Following behind, Xue Liangliang understood what was happening: they were formulating the master plan for a future cross-river bridge. The authorities intended to build a bridge here connecting Nantong with Shanghai. At present, it was merely in the planning and conceptual stage, far from ready for actual construction. Still, that was enough to thrill Xue Liangliang. After all, every monumental project began with this very step.
A designated boat arrived to take everyone aboard, sailing out onto the river so they could observe the conditions firsthand.
"While car ferries currently manage the transportation issue, the lack of a proper bridge remains a severe bottleneck for local economic development..."
As the local official described the situation, Xue Liangliang listened while leaning against the railing, gazing across the water, admiring the vast horizon where river and sky met.
Then, he frowned. Lowering his head, he stared at the river below.
According to the mislabeled coordinate in the local gazetteer, it seemed Baijia Town...
at this very moment...
lay directly beneath his feet.
Chapter 21