Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 12

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at the desk, the desk lamp and the fifth volume of Jianghu Zhiguai Lu, which he had just turned a few pages of.

Yes, he was asleep; but he knew that this was not a dream.

He didn't understand why the old lady chose to "release" herself at the last moment.

He didn't want to use the word "save" because it was also her who dragged him into this birthday party.

Perhaps, it is difficult to describe her with simple labels such as "good" and "evil", just as she herself is a combination of the corpses of a human and a cat, which is a manifestation of complex contradictions.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, pressed his fingers on both sides of his temples and rubbed them slowly.

When he was studying in Beijing, he always felt that he was walking on a one-way street. No matter how dense the traffic and crowds were, he just had to keep going down the road.

But when he returned to his hometown, he found that although the roads in his hometown were narrow, often with potholes, and there were not many cars and people, the field roads that connected the rice fields often made him confused about his choices.

He could feel the changes that had taken place in himself since returning to his hometown, especially in the days since he met the little yellow warbler.

He is observing harder, trying to figure things out more seriously, communicating more carefully, and dealing with non-human beings... It's really not easy because there is no room for error.

In short, I now look less and less like a ten-year-old child.

It used to be so simple to be a child.

Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, with shock in his eyes.

Myself,

Why do you have this idea?
What do you mean it was so easy to be a child in the past? You were obviously a child.
He began to feel panic and fear, and his hands unconsciously hugged himself.

At this moment, what emerged in his mind was the scene of his mother looking at the mirror after getting up every morning when he was a child.

Mom was taking deep breaths in front of the mirror, trying again and again to suppress something, as if it would break out of the skin.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked to the wardrobe. There was a mirror in the middle of the door.

He looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt a little strange.

I raised my hand, touched the mirror, and also touched my face in the mirror.

He began to wonder what kind of person was underneath this mask.

He didn't dare to think about it anymore. He turned around, took deep breaths, and told himself over and over again in his heart that he was Li Zhuiyuan, he was ten years old, his grandfather was Li Weihan, his grandmother was Cui Guiying, and his great-grandfather was Li Sanjiang.

Finally, he regained his composure, and a childlike innocence appeared on his face.

Before, he felt a kind of terror, which was no less than the moment when he was found in the kitchen by the cat-faced old lady.

Because he had a vague feeling that if he had not stopped that kind of thought and allowed it to continue to wander, it is very likely that next time he looked at himself in the mirror... he would reveal deep disgust.

Fortunately, he restrained himself in time, just like his mother who took a deep breath in front of the mirror and then smiled gently again.

"call……"

Li Zhuiyuan shrugged and looked at the time. It was 3:30 in the morning.

Did I sleep or not?

I don’t feel like sleeping, but I don’t feel sleepy. On the contrary, I feel better than when I slept normally before.

Is it because my consciousness has left my body, allowing my body to rest completely without any distractions?

Li Zhuiyuan opened the door and walked out. The evening breeze at this time was cool, and also carried some moisture from the early morning rain and dew.

Downstairs, it was already quiet, or rather, it had never been noisy in the first place.

But now he doesn't dare to go downstairs alone to take a look. The rational sense of security can never overcome the fear brought by the unknown.

At this time, the window of the grandfather's bedroom was flashing. Although there was no standard rhythm of three long and three short sounds to call for help, Li Zhuiyuan immediately pushed open the bedroom door and went in.

Li Sanjiang was lying on the bed in the bedroom, bleeding all over. His left hand was grabbing the light cord at the head of the bed and pulling it continuously.

His neck was hurting so much that he couldn't shout. He was afraid that no one saw him. He was even more afraid that the light cord would break or the switch would bounce up and get stuck, and he couldn't get down.

Fortunately, he saw Li Zhuiyuan pushing the door open.

"Little Marquis Yuan..."

Before Li Sanjiang could even utter a weak cry, he stretched out his hand, and then he saw his great-grandson standing at the door run out without hesitation.

Well, he knew that the child had gone to call for help, but how to put it, he still felt a little empty inside that Xiao Yuanhou did not run to the bedside and anxiously ask about the situation.

The words of comfort such as "Grandpa is fine" and "Little Marquis Yuan, don't cry" were on the tip of his tongue, but he swallowed them back before he could say them, feeling a little suffocated.

Li Zhuiyuan ran downstairs, ignoring the fear on the first floor. The lights on the first floor were off, but with the moonlight he could see that the area on the east side was filled with paper people.

Yes, these paper figures were still there. Li Zhuiyuan could even spot the fat master placed against the wall at a glance.

Most paper figurines are custom-made according to tradition, but on this basis, in order to meet the needs of the diversified market, some special ones will also be made according to the needs of the host.

For example, if a host is worried that his relatives down there are not eating well, he will send a cook down there.

There were also some old men who passed away early, and the old ladies were worried that if the young maids were burned, there would be no place for them when they passed away themselves, so they ordered old women who looked older than themselves to be replaced.

After running to the dam, Li Zhuiyuan went directly to the west room and knocked on the door:

"Aunt Liu, Uncle Qin, open the door, I'm Xiaoyuan, something happened to Grandpa!"

The door is opened.

Standing at the door was Uncle Qin. Li Zhuiyuan saw Aunt Liu sweeping the floor with a broom behind Uncle Qin.

"Xiaoyuan, what's wrong?" Uncle Qin asked.

"My great grandfather is injured and bleeding a lot. He needs to be taken to the clinic."

"I'll go. I know how to stop the bleeding and bandage it." Aunt Liu dropped the broom, took out a cloth bag from the cupboard, and rushed out of the house. Uncle Qin followed her.

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the paper scraps swept into the dustpan, then looked at the backs of Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu.

Don’t they take off their clothes when they sleep at night?

Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the east room. She should have woken up too.

However, Li Zhuiyuan did not go to the east room to knock on the door, but ran back. When he passed by the pile of paper figures on the first floor again, he walked up to the fat master, stretched out his hand, and touched it.

With just a slight contact, the fat master fell apart and fell to the ground in a puddle.

This also caused a chain reaction. All of a sudden, all the paper figures began to "collapse", like a game of toy blocks.

Soon, the eastern half of the first floor, which had seemed very crowded, became extremely spacious, with only scraps of paper and broken wood all over the floor.

Li Zhuiyuan was not afraid, nor was he surprised. He calmly stepped on the scraps of paper, ignoring the crisp "click" sound coming from under his feet, walked to the stairs and went up to the second floor.

When I returned to the bedroom, I saw Aunt Liu was already bandaging Grandpa's wound.

There was a faint herbal smell in the air, a bit like tortoise jelly, probably because the medicine was applied first.

Uncle Qin changed the quilt and mat that were stained with blood, took out clean ones from the cabinet and laid them out, then carried Li Sanjiang, whose wound had been bandaged, up.

Seeing Aunt Liu busy packing up the cloth bags, Li Zhuiyuan walked up and asked, "Aunt Liu, how is my great grandfather?"

"He lost a lot of blood and his injuries are not light, but they are all external injuries. They have been treated. There is no need to send him to the clinic. He just needs to rest."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang lying on the bed and found that his grandfather's face had regained a lot of color.

Aunt Liu also looked at Li Sanjiang. In fact, she was also very surprised. The old man was obviously very old, but he had sufficient energy and blood. Although he looked old on the outside, he was extremely healthy at heart.

Other old men and women of the same age might be killed if they fell down accidentally, but he had so many cuts on his body and bled so much, but he seemed to be unharmed.

"Xiaoyuan, call us if you have any problem." Uncle Qin said to Li Zhuiyuan.

"Well, okay, thank you Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu."

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu left. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the teacup, poured some hot water, and walked to Li Sanjiang's bed.

Li Sanjiang leaned his head against the pillow, his right arm hanging in front of his chest. He took the teacup with his left hand and drank from it in small sips.

After drinking, Li Sanjiang sighed: "Little Marquis Yuan, from today on, let's stop the luck-changing ceremony."

"Okay, Master."

"Wait until Grandpa recovers, then we'll continue."

"Yeah." Li Zhuiyuan took the teacup and placed it aside. "Actually, there's no need to continue, Grandpa."

"You are a young boy, don't talk nonsense."

"Okay, I won't say anything anymore."

Li Zhuiyuan took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, came to Li Sanjiang's side, and sat with his back against the headboard.

"Go to sleep, Xiao Yuanhou, the master is fine now."

"Didn't Aunt Liu ask you how you got into this state?"

"I said I fell and got hurt."

Did they believe it?

Li Zhuiyuan had a lot of questions in his mind, but he didn't know where to start, and it seemed that Li Sanjiang didn't intend to say anything.

After a long while, Li Zhuiyuan said, "Grandpa, how should I learn?"

If he was just ignorant as it was his first time encountering the little yellow bird, then he really felt powerless after what happened tonight.

When Li Sanjiang heard this, he thought that the boy had finally come to his senses and was going to study hard.

I was secretly proud of myself. It seemed that this luck-changing formation was effective. Didn’t you see that Xiao Yuanhou had changed his personality?
Okay, this is great. As long as the child is willing to study hard, it’s worth it even if you shed some blood.

However, Li Sanjiang was a scoundrel in his early years. Even when he went to Shanghai later, he had to deal with all kinds of people. He never went to school properly in his life.

I learned to read in order to read the gossip in Shanghai newspapers.

However, he can still talk about some common principles.

"Little Marquis Yuan, you must not aim too high. You still need to lay a solid foundation so that you can go further in the future."

In other words, do I still have to start from "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu"?

"I understand, Master."

"Well, once you know it, you have to do it, do it step by step, steadily, so that you can achieve success in the future. Don't be like your great grandfather, who did everything in a haphazard manner when he was young, and then regretted it when he was old."

"Grandpa, you are also very powerful."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang, whose body was covered with bandages, and wondered in his mind, could that zombie be related to his grandfather?

First, the great grandfather was the one who was injured in the family, and second, the key area where the great grandfather was bandaged was highly consistent with the area where the zombie was attacked by the old lady.

Therefore,
Is this some method used by the Grandpa?
"Ha, your great grandfather has many amazing abilities, so you have to study hard, and you will definitely be better off than your great grandfather in the future."

Li Sanjiang was not talking about side jobs. What he was proud of was that he could manage his business and live a comfortable life. As for side jobs... he himself didn't even know whether he could be considered as entering the industry, so he simply ignored it.

"Well, I know."

Li Zhuiyuan believed that as long as he continued reading the book, he would be able to understand what method his grandfather used today.

At this time, Li Sanjiang was snoring. He was bleeding, tired, and fell asleep.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the thin blanket beside him, gently covered his grandfather's belly with it, and then closed his eyes.

It was as if he had taken another nap. When Li Zhuiyuan woke up, it was already daybreak outside.

He walked around Li Sanjiang who was still sleeping, got out of bed, and went out to wash up.

While brushing my teeth, I habitually looked up towards the east room.

At the back of the east room, there was a little girl sitting. She was wearing a red skirt today and her feet were on the threshold.

Next to her, Grandma Liu was combing her hair.

Li Zhuiyuan smiled, and felt a little more cheerful. He picked up the washbasin and went back to the house.

When he left the terrace, Qin Li raised his head and looked over.

"Ok?"

Liu Yumei took away the comb and asked, "Did grandma hurt you?"

Qin Li retracted his head, looked straight ahead, and said nothing.

Liu Yumei continued combing her hair and said with a smile, "You played for a long time last night. Can you tell grandma what was so fun?"

Qin Li didn't answer.

On the dam, Aunt Liu began to place wooden stools and prepare breakfast.

After washing up, Li Zhuiyuan walked down the stairs and saw the empty first floor that had been cleaned.

When he reached the dam, Aunt Liu smiled at him and said, "Xiaoyuan, it's time for breakfast."

"Okay, Aunt Liu."

Li Zhuiyuan sat down. On the wooden stool was a bowl of white porridge and a salted duck egg.

"Why aren't you eating instead of just sitting here in a daze?" Aunt Liu put down a bowl of fish jelly.

"I was confused in my sleep."

"Young men are better. They eat well and sleep well." Aunt Liu smiled and walked away.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the chopsticks silently. He remembered that at the closing ceremony last night, the old lady with a cat face asked someone to call the host, the fat chef went upstairs, and a few paper-made grandmas ran out to call the stuffing room.

The grandfather was injured and bleeding, but they acted as if nothing had happened.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the chopsticks, picked up a piece of fish jelly and put it into his mouth. It melted in his mouth. Soybeans and chili were added to it, and it tasted very fragrant. It was a perfect match for porridge.

At this time, not far away, Grandma Liu came to the wooden bench holding Qin Li's hand. Qin Li sat down, and Grandma Liu squatted beside her and began to "pray" before the three meals every day.

She didn't wear her hair in a bun today. Her smooth hair fell on her shoulders, and paired with her red skirt, she looked both smart and dignified.

Thinking of her silly look in his dream last night, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Some people do have this special charm. They don't need to know anything and don't even need to speak. They just need to stand there and you will feel happy immediately when you look at them.

It was just like the exquisite vase that had just been unearthed and that Li Zhuiyuan saw in the cultural relics warehouse with his mother.

As if hearing laughter, Qin Li turned her head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan who was sitting opposite her eating.

Liu Yumei, who was still in the process of persuading others, also looked over with some confusion.

Li Zhuiyuan was slightly surprised. How could the interaction in last night’s dream be preserved in the real daytime?

Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the bowl of porridge in front of him and called to her softly, "Eat."

Qin Li lowered his head, picked up the chopsticks, and began to sort the various pickles and chopped duck eggs, then started to eat with the porridge.

Liu Yumei's eyes were wide open, as if she had seen a ghost.

Qin Li ate faster than Li Zhuiyuan. When Li Zhuiyuan put down his chopsticks, Qin Li had already sat back in the doorway.

Aunt Liu appeared quickly, and this time, she put away the dishes and chopsticks before Li Zhuiyuan.

"Thank you Aunt Liu."

"Next time, put it here after you finish eating, and I'll collect it. You don't want to cause your Aunt Liu to lose her job, do you?"

"I understand, Aunt Liu."

"Xiaoyuan, come and make tea for grandma." Liu Yumei called.

She was sitting on a bamboo chair, with a set of tea sets on the coffee table next to her.

Li Zhuiyuan walked over, and during this time, Qin Li, who was sitting on the doorstep, followed his gaze.

Liu Yumei noticed it, she raised her hand and signaled Li Zhuiyuan to stop.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped and looked towards Qin Li. He began to retreat, and Qin Li continued to follow him with his eyes.

Liu Yumei stared at Li Zhuiyuan with a scrutinizing look.

"Grandma, are you still making tea?"

"Bubble."

Li Zhuiyuan came over and started making tea.

Liu Yumei was paying attention to her granddaughter, who was looking over here. Ha, it had been a long time since she could be looked after by her granddaughter, and it was all thanks to the boy next to her.

"Xiaoyuan..."

"grandmother……"

The two spoke at the same time and paused. Just when Liu Yumei was about to continue speaking without giving in, she heard Li Zhuiyuan speaking even faster:
"Grandma, why do you want to live with my great grandfather?"

Liu Yumei smiled and said, "Just trying to make a living."

"But you have enough to live on. You are very rich. This tea set and the jade ring you said you would give me yesterday are enough to buy me an apartment in Beijing."

Then, Li Zhuiyuan added: "But the antique market is not yet in full swing. It will be more cost-effective to sell it in ten years."

The grandparents in the family compound who love collecting started to inquire about and collect old items in the alleys as early as ten years ago, but they only collect and do not sell them, saying that they are antiques from great times and will have to wait a few years before selling them or leaving them to their descendants.

"Xiaoyuan, you even know about antiques?" Then, Liu Yumei sat up straighter and said, "Did your grandfather tell you that?"

The antique business relies on vision and experience. How old is the kid in front of her? Liu Yumei doesn't believe he can figure it out on his own.

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.

Not to mention the collections that the grandparents in the family compound like to show off, when he followed his mother to various museums in Beijing, what he saw most were antiques, and there were many real treasures that were not on display to the public.

"Xiaoyuan, grandma lives here because the air and climate here are good, which is good for A-li's illness."

"Oh, I see. What did you want to ask, grandma?"

Liu Yumei was a little surprised. Did this child believe it so easily?
She asked, "Why is A-Li looking at you?"

Li Zhuiyuan said shyly, "Maybe I looked at her too many times in the past few days, and she felt that she was at a disadvantage, so she wants to return it."

Liu Yumei: “…”

Sure enough, the child didn't believe what he just said.

"Grandma, have some tea."

"Ah."

One old and one young, each drinking tea, the luster flowing in the tea soup is all the thoughts and ideas.

After drinking tea, Li Zhuiyuan was going to read a book. He went to the toilet at the back of the house first. When passing by the east room, he greeted Qin Li, and Qin Li saluted him.

Before entering the main house, I heard the hoarse and angry shout of the master from the first floor:

"What's going on? What's going on? Where is my paper-cutting?"

Li Zhuiyuan was so angry at his grandfather that he almost jumped up, and after landing he kept stomping his feet.

Aunt Liu came over and said, "It rained a little last night, and the rain came in, ruining everything."

Li Sanjiang frowned: "What?"

Li Zhuiyuan said, "Grandpa, can you get out of bed?"

"Of course, I'm in good health... No, now I'm talking about paper-cutting. How is it done?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Aunt Liu is right. The rain is coming in."

"This..." Li Sanjiang opened his mouth, "This, this, this..."

Aunt Liu said, "Uncle, it's okay. Ali and I will just stay up late to finish it. It won't affect the delivery."

"This is a matter of delivery, and the materials..." Li Sanjiang felt depressed. He felt that the loss of the paper-made items was more painful than the hole in his body.

He has money, he has this house, these tables, chairs, dishes, this paper-making workshop... but he doesn't save money, he lives a carefree life, and suddenly the goods in a warehouse are gone, so he must be short of money.

"Little Marquis Yuan, please help Grandpa go to Blind Liu and ask her if she has figured out the date of Niu Fu's mother's death. If she hasn't, tell her to hurry up."

"Ah?" Li Zhuiyuan was stunned for a moment. After seeing Aunt Liu had left to get the raw materials, he walked up to Li Sanjiang and said, "Grandpa, you are in this state, and you still want to hold a funeral?"

Li Sanjiang said as a matter of course: "That's why I have to go!"

"You are in poor health now. If you encounter any danger in the Niu family..."

"If I have no money to spend, what's the point of having this body?"

Li Zhuiyuan didn't know how to respond for a moment.

"Little Marquis Yuan, this is the kind of life that my grandfather has lived. I have lived a miserable life for a long time and I don't want to be short of money. Be good and listen to me. Go and help my grandfather pass on the message.

Also, I'll tell you, this time it's not just me and Blind Liu who are going, I've also invited someone to go with me. Hehe, I estimate that he will be here tomorrow. That old guy and his kid are very powerful.

Remember, don't tell Blind Liu about my current state. She's timid and will probably retreat if she finds out! "

Li Zhuiyuan nodded and had no choice but to go to Liu Jinxia's house.

Cuicui's grandmother Bei, Cuicui's father's mother, was ill and hospitalized. Li Juxiang took Cuicui to the health center to visit her, so she was not at home.

Liu Jinxia had already set up the bridge table in the morning, and she was having a great time when Li Zhuiyuan came. After hearing Li Zhuiyuan's message, Liu Jinxia shook off her cigarette ash and said, "The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow morning, let's go to Niu Fu's house in Shigang together."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandma Liu, isn't it too fast?"

"What's the hurry? Just get the job done and collect the money as soon as possible, haha. Besides, your grandfather is here, so there's nothing to worry about."

If you knew what your grandfather is like now, you wouldn't think so.

Li Zhuiyuan returned home and reported the date to Li Sanjiang.

"Okay, okay, okay."

Li Sanjiang, lying on a rattan chair on the second-floor terrace, clapped his legs happily and reached out to pull the rope on the wall next to him. At the end of the rope was a black wooden box nailed to the wall.

First there were some snowflake sounds, and after pulling it a bit, the sound of a storyteller came out.

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes, lit a cigarette, and listened to a book while smoking. Even though his body was covered with scars, he still exuded a carefree and unrestrained spirit.

As if noticing that Li Zhuiyuan was still standing beside him, Li Sanjiang said:
"Little Marquis Yuan, this is the life your great grandfather chose. I do whatever job is dangerous. Why? Because this job is not tiring and is lucrative.

This is your grandfather's fate."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded, took out the fifth volume of Jianghu Zhiguai Lu, walked to the southeast corner of the terrace, sat down, and began to study.

As before, every time he turned the page, he would look up at the girl below.

He noticed that the girl was also looking up at him.

Very good, the feeling of looking into each other's eyes is more pleasing to the eyes.

However, as he looked, Li Zhuiyuan found that every time he looked up, he would meet their eyes again.

Even Grandma Liu downstairs was looking upwards in the direction her granddaughter was looking.

This meant that every time Li Zhuiyuan wanted to enjoy his eyes, he had to take a look at Grandma Liu at the same time, which made his eyes look weird.

Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan did not look up until he finished reading the fifth volume.

After entering the room and taking out the sixth volume, Li Zhuiyuan sat down and looked down. Grandma Liu was already sitting on the chair next to him reading the newspaper, but Qin Li still kept looking up at him.

She won't keep her head raised like this forever, right?
This made Li Zhuiyuan feel a little guilty, and he felt a little irritated and couldn't calm down completely when reading.

Grandma Liu, who was reading a newspaper downstairs, had actually been staring at the terrace out of the corner of her eye. Seeing the child sticking his head out from time to time, the frequency was getting more and more chaotic, and she couldn't help but sneer in her heart:

This is what men are like. They feel at ease when they come and go freely, but they become upset once they are bound by responsibilities.

But soon, Liu Yumei put down the newspaper in surprise, because she saw Li Zhuiyuan running down from upstairs, smiled as he passed by her, and then walked straight towards her granddaughter.

"you……"

Before Liu Yumei could finish her words, she saw the boy actually bend down and try to hold her granddaughter's hand.

"Danger……"

Liu Yumei knew what kind of terrible reaction her granddaughter would have when being contacted by outsiders. The boy in front of her would be scratched until his head was bleeding, so even she, as a grandmother, did not dare to be overly intimate.

Immediately, Liu Yumei stood up with a "swoosh". He actually saw that after the boy held his granddaughter's hand, his granddaughter also stood up.

How is this going?

When her granddaughter was staring at the boy in the morning, she took the opportunity to take a closer look while making tea to see if there was anything dirty on the boy that would attract her granddaughter's attention.

But at the moment, this kind of interaction is beyond Liu Yumei's understanding.

Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Li's hand. Her hand was warm and soft.

"You'll get tired of looking up like that. Can you come up and read with me?"

Qin Li looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said nothing.

"If you don't say anything, I'll take that as your agreement."

Li Zhuiyuan bent down, picked up the bench Qin Li was sitting on, and then pulled her into the house.

Liu Yumei did not say anything to stop them. On the contrary, after the initial shock, when she looked at the backs of the boy and girl walking hand in hand, her eyes were immediately filled with tears.

She covered her mouth with her hands, afraid that she would cry.

She even bit the back of her hand with her teeth to make sure she was not dreaming.

"boom!"

On the first floor, Aunt Liu, who was busy making paper figures, dropped the basin of paste in her hand directly to the ground, splattering all over the floor. Fortunately, Li Sanjiang was on the second floor, otherwise he would have been heartbroken again.

"crunch..."

Uncle Qin, who was assembling the frame of the house, directly tore off the beams of the paper house.

They looked at each other and thought they were dazzled. What did they just see? A'li was holding the hand of a stranger and walking up the stairs?

The two men immediately dropped their work, ran out to the dam, and didn't see Liu Yumei, so they went to the east room again, and saw Liu Yumei standing in front of the tablet, crying with joy and saying:
"Did you see it? Did you see it? Our A-Li, our A-Li..."

……

Li Sanjiang was listening to storytelling on the radio and humming a little tune. He turned sideways to get the teacup and just took a sip of water when he saw Li Zhuiyuan walking out of the stairs hand in hand with Qin Li.

"puff!"

The water in Li Sanjiang's mouth spurted out directly.

"Master, do you want me to add some water for you?"

Seeing Li Zhuiyuan pulling Qin Li towards him, Li Sanjiang immediately waved his hand:

"No, no, no, no, take her away, stay away from me! No, you too..."

Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li to the southeast corner and put down the bench.

"You sit."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan sat back in the rattan chair, picked up the book, and just after turning a page, he felt something was wrong, so he stood up again: "Stand up for a moment."

Qin Li stood up, and Li Zhuiyuan moved her small stool away, replaced it with a taller stool that Sister Yingzi brought yesterday, and then placed it beside him.

"sit down."

Qin Li looked at the new bench but didn't sit on it.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little confused, but he immediately seemed to have thought of something and wiped his sleeves on the bench:

"Sit down, it's clean."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan put the book on the wooden stool again and stopped lying down to read with the book in his arms.

The two were very close, with their heads touching.

Qin Li's eyes were always on him, and he could also keep the girl's face within his sight while reading.

The girl's hair was blown by the wind from time to time, hitting his face; her fragrance lingered around his nose.

This feeling is very strange.

Reading books and keeping your eyes open at the same time,

Li Zhuiyuan felt that he had found the highest efficiency in reading.

In the distance, Li Sanjiang went from being terrified at first to being scared, worried, and finally incredulous...

After watching for a long time and confirming that the girl was just sitting there staring at her great-grandson and posed no danger, his eyes... showed admiration!

This little Yuanhou is really different from his mother when she was a child.

Li Lan often received love letters when she was in school. What she did was to deliver all the love letters she received directly to the desk in the principal's office.

That day, countless boys’ parents were called in, and the principal’s office was filled with the sounds of whips and slaps.

"Okay, very good. It seems that our little Yuan Hou has been smarter and more clever than his mother since he was a child, hehe."

Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and continued listening to the book.

Near noon, Li Zhuiyuan felt a little urge to urinate, probably because he drank tea with Grandma Liu in the morning. He asked Qin Li:

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?"

Qin Li didn't say anything.

"Then sit here. I'll go to the bathroom and be back."

Qin Li didn't respond.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up, ran downstairs, and went around to the back of the house. The large vegetable garden behind the house was a place that could be marked. As soon as he stood still, he heard footsteps behind him. He turned around and found that it was Qin Li.

She followed.

"Forehead……"

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to betray the teachings of Pan Zilei's brothers, turned around, lifted the curtain, and walked into the bathroom.

She stopped again, the curtain was opened, and she came in again.

Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to lead her out of the toilet and said, "I'm here to relieve myself, you come in with me. If I can't, you can just stand here and wait for me to come out, okay?"

Qin Li didn't respond.

Li Zhuiyuan lifted the curtain again and entered the bathroom. He waited for a while, but did not hear the sound of the curtain being lifted, so he untied his belt.

There was a water tank next to the toilet. After picking up the ladle to scoop water and washing his hands, Li Zhuiyuan walked out and saw Qin Li, who was standing obediently this time.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom? If not, go ahead."

Qin Li walked towards the bathroom and lifted the curtain, but her hand was grabbed. She stopped and looked back at Li Zhuiyuan with confusion in her eyes.

This kind of doubt was the same as when she was sitting at the dining table last night and Li Zhuiyuan asked her to eat but didn't allow her to.

Li Zhuiyuan was a little worried. Would she go to the toilet by herself? Seeing how she was usually taken care of by Grandma Liu...

All in all, he knew very little about Qin Li, only that... she was pretty.

Li Zhuiyuan was about to go find Grandma Liu to ask, but when he looked up at the aisle, he saw Liu Yumei's head sticking out.

"Grandma Liu..."

"Our A-li can eat by ourselves, go to the toilet by ourselves, and take a bath by ourselves. Our A-li is just like a normal person."

"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and let go of his hand.

Qin Li walked into the bathroom.

Li Zhuiyuan stayed where he was, feeling Liu Yumei's burning gaze sweeping over him.

"Xiao Yuan."

"Grandma Liu."

"Just play with our Ah Li, play with her."

"Okay, Grandma Liu."

The sound of hand washing came from the bathroom, and then Qin Li came out with her hands spread in front of her.

Grandma Liu quickly reminded: "Wipe your hands, wipe your hands."

"Oh."

Li Zhuiyuan walked forward, took Qin Li's hand, and wiped it on his shirt.

"Okay, clean."

Qin Li withdrew his hand.

Li Zhuiyuan took her back to the second floor and took a clean towel and put it on his shoulders.

Returning to the northeast corner of the terrace, Li Zhuiyuan sat down to read a book. After Qin Li sat down, that beautiful face also came into his sight.

Finished reading volume 6.

Li Zhuiyuan stretched, then stood up, walked to an open space, and seriously did the national radio gymnastics for middle school students.

Just as I finished and took out the seventh volume, I heard Aunt Liu downstairs calling for lunch.

Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li went down.

Li Sanjiang always ate separately from them, and this time was no exception. Qin Li was taken there by Grandma Liu.

After Li Sanjiang sat down, he took out the bottle of white wine.

"Master, you are injured and cannot drink."

"Pah, your great grandfather is almost half buried in the ground, every extra drink I have is a profit."

Ignoring the advice from his great-grandson, Li Sanjiang poured himself a full glass. Just as he took a sip and picked up the chopsticks to pick up some food to calm the stomach, he saw a figure suddenly walking towards him. It was Qin Li.

Behind them came Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu.

"I'm sorry, we were all ready and were about to eat when Ah Li left the table and ran over."

"Come on, A-Li, go back with grandma to eat first, then go play with Xiaoyuan after dinner."

Qin Li was not pulled away. She just stood there and looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

As Liu Yumei pulled, her eyelashes began to twitch slightly and her body began to tremble gradually.

Liu Yumei could only let go and dared not pull anymore.

Li Sanjiang was not a stingy person, except that he had some complaints about the four ungrateful people in Li Weihan's family. He waved his hand and said, "Let the girl eat here. Bring me another pair of chopsticks."

"Thank you very much." Liu Yumei thanked him quickly, "I'm sorry to trouble you."

Li Sanjiang waved his hand: "No way, it's good for two kids to play together, they both have a playmate and don't get lonely."

Aunt Liu brought bowls, chopsticks and a small stool.

Li Zhuiyuan took the towel from his shoulder and helped her wipe the bench: "Sit down and eat together."

Qin Li didn't move.

Liu Yumei: "Ari, please sit down and eat with us."

Qin Li still didn't sit down, but she turned sideways to face Li Sanjiang. Although she didn't look at him, her meaning was very clear.

She didn't want to have dinner with Li Sanjiang.

Li Sanjiang was holding a glass of wine and preparing to drink. Seeing this, he said in confusion:

"Then...shall I go?"

Liu Yumei didn't say anything, but she was happy in her heart that her granddaughter was actually showing her emotions and not by going crazy.

Li Zhuiyuan did not respond and silently wiped the small bench again.

Li Sanjiang smacked his lips and said, "Haha, haha. Forget it, Ting Hou, divide the food for me, I'll sit over there."

"Oh, okay, okay, I'm sorry to have caused you trouble."

Aunt Liu immediately divided the dishes and set up a separate table for Li Sanjiang in another place.

Qin Li finally sat down.

Liu Yumei said to Li Zhuiyuan expectantly, "Xiaoyuan, please let A-Li eat."

It was like this in the morning. Every time I had to persuade him for a long time, but in the end, the boy just said one word and my Ah Li started eating.

"Wait a moment." Li Zhuiyuan stood up and ran to the kitchen.

Qin Li also wanted to stand up, but saw Li Zhuiyuan coming back with four small plates and a small bowl.

Li Zhuiyuan was seen placing the dishes into small plates and scooping soup into small bowls.

There seemed to be a little more brilliance in Qin Li's eyes.

Liu Yumei looked at this scene with a bit of curiosity.

Li Zhuiyuan: "Okay, let's eat."

Qin Li picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

She picked up a dish from each plate, took a bite of rice, and then picked up the next dish. After finishing a row of plates, she took a sip of soup and then repeated the process.

Liu Yumei was surprised that she felt her granddaughter ate very easily this time, and even had a little bit of girlish joy.

"Can this still happen?"

Li Zhuiyuan smiled. The remaining food on the plate was his, so he started eating.

Thanks to the fact that his deskmate is a severe obsessive-compulsive disorder patient, he naturally knows how to get along with people of the same kind.

Qin Li ate very quickly. In the last round, she had picked up all the dishes on the plate, drank the soup to the last sip, and finished the rice.

She put down her chopsticks.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the towel, folded it, and helped her wipe the corners of her mouth and hands. The towel was very large and could be divided into many functional areas.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li to the terrace to read again.

He read this book "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu" faster and faster, and by dusk, he had already read the twelfth volume.

He felt that he could increase his pace tomorrow. In a few days, he would be able to finish reading the introductory encyclopedia, and then he could go treasure hunting in the boxes in the basement again.

During this time, when he drank water, he also gave water to Qin Li; when he went to the toilet, he also took Qin Li with him.

He didn't eat snacks much, but he was afraid that she would be hungry, so he opened a few bags of snacks and shared them with her.

After each incident, he had to wipe her hands, and the towel became increasingly dirty because he also used it himself.

Li Sanjiang grumbled a little dissatisfiedly and asked why Yingzi didn't come to give him extra lessons today.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that his sister should be at home digesting the questions he helped her solve yesterday.

But Li Sanjiang thought that Yingzi felt that Li Zhuiyuan was too difficult to tutor and was unwilling to come.

At dinner, Li Sanjiang still sat alone at the table.

This time, Liu Yumei helped her granddaughter get the plates and portion the dishes in advance, but when Qin Li sat down, she didn't take the chopsticks.

Li Zhuiyuan picked up his chopsticks and slightly adjusted the amount of food on each plate.

Qin Li picked up the chopsticks and started eating.

Liu Yumei: "Ali, it was grandma's fault for not controlling the dosage."

In fact, the old lady was thinking: Humph, don’t I remember how much you eat in one bite? This girl did it on purpose!

But the old lady had no dissatisfaction in her heart, only happiness, because these were all good trends. She was not afraid that she would lose her temper, but she was afraid that she would be like before, completely closing herself off like a piece of wood. That would be real despair.

Liu Yumei turned her head to look at Li Sanjiang who was sitting there drinking alone, then looked at Li Zhuiyuan in front of her, and sighed:
Having lived here for so long, is this finally the time for good fortune?
After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t plan to read with a desk lamp at night. He had read too much today and felt tired, so he prepared to go back home, take a shower and go to bed.

Looking at Qin Li who still wanted to continue following him, he said seriously:
"Ari, go back and wash up and go to bed. I want to go to bed too. Let's read together tomorrow, okay?"

Qin Li didn't say anything.

Li Zhuiyuan turned around and walked towards the stairs, then stopped and looked back, only to find that she did not follow him but followed Liu Yumei to the east room obediently. Only then did he feel relieved and went upstairs to take a shower.

After taking a shower, Li Zhuiyuan wanted to take out the dirty towel and scrub it thoroughly, but he found that the towel that he had been hanging on his shoulder was missing.

"Where did it fall?"

……

In the east room, Liu Yumei felt very relieved when she saw her granddaughter washing up and lying down on the bed to go to sleep.

With a smile on her face, she walked out of the inner bedroom and came to the place where the tablet was enshrined.

She has a lot to say today and wants to have a good chat with A'li's grandfather, A'li's grandparents, and A'li's parents.

I have protected her for so long, and now she finally has hope of recovery. I believe they and their ancestors will be happy.

After all, A'li is the only descendant of the Qin and Liu families.

Sitting down in front of the tablet, Liu Yumei was about to start a conversation when she suddenly discovered that there seemed to be something wrong with the six-layer tablet stand.

Logically speaking, it is impossible for anyone to touch this place. There are only so many people in the house, and Qin Li and Liu Ting would never dare to touch here when cleaning the house.

But what exactly is wrong?

Liu Yumei looked up and down carefully several times and finally found the dark place under the light.

That is the tablet in the middle of the third layer of tablets. It originally belonged to Grandpa A'ri, her husband, but it was gone!
Instead,

It was a dirty towel folded into a small square and placed there.

(End of this chapter)