Chapter 218

On the second-floor balcony, a radio protected by a thin wooden board and hanging on the wall is playing Dan Tianfang’s ‘Seven Heroes and Five Righteousness’, the twelfth episode:

“Thorough Ground Rat Returns to Hometown to Adopt Foster Son, Thunderclap Ghost Leaves Home to Find Foster Father.”

Li Sanjiang is comfortably lying on a rattan chair, holding a cigarette in his left hand and a large tea mug with dried orange peel in his right.

Summer hasn’t arrived yet, so the weather isn’t hot, and there’s no need to worry about not having a hand to hold a palm-leaf fan.

“Great Grandpa, time to drink your medicine.”

“Ah, okay.”

Li Sanjiang took the bowl of medicine, blew on it, and drank it sip by sip. There was no other way, this medicine was truly too bitter, but it was his great-grandson’s intention, so no matter how bitter, he had to drink it down.

Just as Li Sanjiang finished one-third of his medicine, Li Zhuoyuan, sitting opposite him, had already finished one bowl and picked up a second to continue drinking.

The first bowl was the same as Great Grandpa’s, decocted by himself. The second bowl was prepared for him by Aunt Liu. Both had the effect of calming the mind and spirit, but the spirit they calmed was different.

“Little Yuan Hou, you don’t find it bitter?”

Li Zhuoyuan finished the second bowl, set it down, and shook his head:

“Not bitter, just a bit full.”

Seeing this, Li Sanjiang, unwilling to be outdone by his great-grandson, simply tilted his head back and drank the rest in one go. Then he leaned back in his chair, opening his mouth, feeling as if his limbs and bones were all being flushed by the bitter taste.

After a while, Li Sanjiang lifted his head again, took two drags from his cigarette, and let out a heavy sigh.

The medicine was difficult to drink, but the effect was genuinely good. The past few nights lying in bed, his eyes would close, then open, and hey, the sky would be bright.

After waking up, he felt full of energy, wishing he could immediately grab a hoe and go to the fields.

“Little Yuan Hou, do I still need to keep drinking this medicine?”

“No need, this is the last bowl.”

“It’s really bitter, much more bitter than the coffee Friend Hou brought back.”

“Then why did Great Grandpa say it was good to drink and that you liked it?”

“Anyway, it was someone’s kind intention, how could I say I wasn’t used to it or that it wasn’t good to drink?”

“Next time, Great Grandpa should still tell the truth.”

“What’s wrong?”

“A Friend saw you liked coffee so much, he’s already thinking about opening a coffee shop in the village later. He probably thinks that village people can endure hardship, so they’ll also like drinking coffee.”

Li Sanjiang was stunned for a moment upon hearing this and immediately turned his head to look downstairs.

Lin Shuyou was sitting on a stool with Runsheng, watching TV while making paper offerings.

“Friend Hou!”

Lin Shuyou lifted his head: “What is it, Grandpa Li?”

“I heard you want to open a coffee shop in the village?”

“Ah…” Lin Shuyou scratched his head somewhat awkwardly, “Not opening, not opening. I just had a moment of impulsiveness and didn’t think clearly, hehe.”

At this moment, the TV was playing a triad Hong Kong film, with the protagonist fighting a killer in a gym.

Runsheng said: “Opening a coffee shop in the village is not as good as opening a gym, so everyone can go to your gym to exercise after finishing work in the fields every day.”

Lin Shuyou’s face turned red with embarrassment. He reached out to grab Runsheng’s neck and shook vigorously:

“Ah! Say that again, say that again.”

Li Sanjiang looked at the scene below and smiled. He remembered when Friend Hou first came to his home, how restrained and unfamiliar he was. Now he was even playing with the local kids at home.

At this moment, Li Zhuoyuan’s pager rang. He looked down and saw that Tan Wenbin was paging him.

“Great Grandpa, Zhuangzhuang is looking for me. I’ll go make a call.”

“Okay, go ahead.”

Li Zhuoyuan went to Aunt Zhang’s small store and, according to the pager display, dialed the number.

“Hello, Little Yuan brother?”

“Yes, it’s me. Binbin brother, how is everything on your side?”

“I found Xinles Dao, but this island only appears on the sea for two months each year, one month in the first half and one month in the second half. There are still ten days until this island appears.”

Ten days… Li Zhuoyuan pondered this timing in his heart.

“Little Yuan brother, when I went to book a fishing boat, I found that several people had already booked. I also connected with two of them. Those two don’t know each other, but they seem to know what each other is going to do, and they’ve incidentally included me with the same identity and purpose as them.

I plan to stay here and continue to contact them for a while, trying to find out more information about Xinles Dao and Qiu Zhuang.”

“Pay attention to your safety.”

“No danger. Those two… are quite upright.”

Li Zhuoyuan thought of Xin Jiyue. Although she had obvious utilitarianism and a somewhat extreme style, it was undeniable that she did have a simple creed of punishing evil and promoting good in her heart. This was also why Li Zhuoyuan had let her go in the beginning.

Tan Wenbin now knew those two. They should be similar to Xin Jiyue, but those two should have already accumulated karma and were preparing to go to Qiu Zhuang on Xinles Dao to ‘deliver goods’.

“Do you need me to send people to support you?”

“No need, Little Yuan brother. More people would be inconvenient. Also, there are at least ten days until we go out to sea and land on the island. If you come, you can only accompany me fishing.”

“Then my time is free. I need to go to Beijing once.”

“Go to Beijing, are you?”

“A private matter. It just happens that Liangliang brother organized an event in Beijing, and Great Grandpa won a lottery ticket for a solo luxury tour of Beijing.”

“Oh… then it’s not a waste. Grandpa Li is such a lucky person, the waves won’t drag him in.”

“Yes, so currently I still think that the place you are in is the starting point for our next wave.”

“Don’t worry, I will set up this advance post well.”

“Hard work.”

“Hey, this isn’t what the Dragon King at the bow should be doing, stepping on the venue in advance.”

“Contact me if anything comes up.”

“Understood.”

After hanging up the phone, Li Zhuoyuan dialed again and called Xue Liangliang, informing him that he agreed to go to Beijing for the exchange meeting and asked him to make arrangements according to his schedule.

After hanging up again, Li Zhuoyuan hesitated for a moment, but in the end, he didn’t dial that number. It was better to wait until he arrived in Beijing to call. Perhaps the person was still at the old place.

Actually, Li Sanjiang had originally thought about giving up the travel opportunity, just like the last time he won a prize. However, after Li Zhuoyuan informed him that Xue Liangliang would arrange for him to go to Beijing for the exchange meeting and that they could go together, Li Sanjiang finally nodded and agreed.

On the way home, Li Zhuoyuan met Aunt Xianghou riding a tricycle with Liu Jinxia sitting in the back.

Aunt Xianghou: “Little Yuan Hou, are your Great Grandpa’s things packed? When are you leaving?”

Li Zhuoyuan: “You all know?”

Liu Jinxia, sitting in the back, said impatiently: “Sanjiang Hou is very proud, oh. He wishes he could tell everyone. Even if you talk to him about bird nests in a tree, he can turn it into sparrows in Beijing.”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Grandma Liu can go together. The travel agency can arrange it.”

Liu Jinxia: “Not going. Even if I go, my eyes can’t see anything. It’s a waste of money.”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Wait until Cui Cui gets into a Beijing university later. You can send her to Beijing then.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Jinxia’s wrinkled old face immediately broke into a smile like a chrysanthemum.

Aunt Xianghou said: “Cui Cui said you and Sister A Li helped her with tutoring. That was hard on you, Little Yuan Hou.”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Cui Cui is no problem.”

Children with difficult fates often mature earlier than their peers. Being able to understand things two or three years earlier than children of the same age is already a huge advantage.

After parting ways with Liu Jinxia and her daughter, Li Zhuoyuan returned home.

Aunt Liu had brought out the table and turned on the light bulb extended from a pole. Liu Yumei picked up a brush and began designing A Li’s new clothes.

Seeing the young man return, Liu Yumei waved her hand.

“Grandma Liu.”

“You’re going to Beijing?”

“Yes.”

“Private matter?”

“Yes.”

Liu Yumei nodded. She guessed that this trip to Beijing wasn’t about “walking the rivers.” This child wouldn’t take Li Sanjiang on an adventure.

“Stay at home. It just so happens we have a place to stay in Beijing.”

“Thank you, Grandma, but I’m not sure where the exchange meeting is specifically held.”

“It doesn’t matter. Our courtyard is not the only one.”

“Still no need. I won’t be staying long, and temporary packing is troublesome.”

Liu Yumei didn’t insist. She pointed to the already drawn design and asked: “How about this?”

“A Li will definitely look good wearing it.”

“Hehe, you go do your thing.”

Li Zhuoyuan went upstairs.

Liu Yumei glanced slightly at Aunt Liu who was standing nearby.

Aunt Liu: “All recovered.”

Liu Yumei: “Looks like your medicinal soup was effective.”

Aunt Liu: “I think it should be that he himself consciously took care of his health.”

Liu Yumei: “This is the most reassuring thing about this child. He not only knows what he wants to do but also knows how to do it. Unlike our A…”

Just as she said this, Liu Yumei lifted her head and saw Qin Li, barefooted and holding a hoe, walking up to the dam.

Qin Li paused for a moment, then very naturally walked over and scooped up water from the well to wash his feet. He had already gotten used to being compared to the ‘family’s child’.

Liu Yumei sighed and said: “Now it’s good, his skin has thickened. If he had had this thick skin at the beginning, how would he have ended up like that?”

Qin Li: “…”

When Li Zhuoyuan returned to the balcony, the old rattan chair was already empty of Great Grandpa.

He walked to the door of Great Grandpa’s room and pushed it open. He found Great Grandpa facing the wardrobe, trying on clothes. There were several sets of clothes and several pairs of new shoes on the bed.

Elders who experienced the era of material scarcity all had the habit of hoarding things. New clothes had to be at the bottom of the box and were usually not worn.

Li Sanjiang didn’t have this habit. He had lived quite freely his whole life, but he indeed didn’t have the habit of wearing new clothes. After all, he often had to salvage corpses and come into contact with and carry back corpses. That smell was too dirty for clothes, and they often couldn’t be washed clean no matter how much they were washed.

Seeing his great-grandson witness his trying on clothes, Li Sanjiang was a little embarrassed.

No matter how much he said things like “lazy to bother,” “travel what tour,” or “at home is good,” his heart had already flown to Beijing.

“Great Grandpa, I’ll help you choose.”

Li Zhuoyuan walked in and very naturally helped Great Grandpa match clothes.

Most of Great Grandpa’s new clothes were bought for him by Li Zhuoyuan, so matching them was easier.

Finally, they selected a set of somewhat formal clothes, with a bit of a Zhongshan suit feel and a bias towards factory work clothes, then clipped a pen in the front pocket.

Li Zhuoyuan nodded: “Looks like a cadre going to Beijing.”

Li Sanjiang: “Hahaha!”

Great Grandpa wasn’t used to wearing leather shoes, so they simply chose two pairs of thick-soled new cloth shoes, also considering that walking around Beijing’s attractions generally tired the feet.

After returning to his own room, Li Zhuoyuan accompanied A Li to admire the newly completed painting.

The painting combined auspicious clouds and a heavenly realm with an apocalyptic scene, which was extremely contradictory and impactful. It instantly reminded Li Zhuoyuan of the feeling of witnessing the scene on the spot at that time.

Excellent paintings should have excellent stories.

A Li put this painting into her own painting book frame. Li Zhuoyuan reminded her to “hide it well.”

He was mainly afraid that the old lady with strong curiosity would peek and then vomit blood.

Then, Li Zhuoyuan opened the blank book. It was time to fulfill the agreement.

Li Zhuoyuan was not polite and directly extracted three times the amount of deduction. After the deduction, the red thread in the young man’s palm’s blood mist had solidified, but it was relatively short.

The white bones in the painting had already turned into a pile of ashes, like they had just been put into a crematorium furnace and burned.

However, since this painting did not disappear from the blank book, it proved that the ‘Evil Book’ still existed and had not perished. It had just been marrow-sucked like bones had been knocked and extracted.

After thinking about it, Li Zhuoyuan still put the blank book into his backpack. This way, going to Beijing wouldn’t delay the deduction progress. Moreover, using it as a brick was also reassuring.

When they were about to set off for Beijing, an accident happened. Yin Meng fumigated herself unconscious while debugging a new toxin.

Because Li Zhuoyuan had arranged an isolation array in the west room where she lived, it wasn’t until the next morning, when she still hadn’t come out for breakfast, that she was discovered.

When they entered the room to check, they found Yin Meng lying on the ground. She was awake, but her limbs were numb, and she couldn’t exert any force.

On the table where she was debugging the toxin, there were many cosmetics sent by Lin Shuyou, all opened.

Obviously, she had fancifully tried to mix cosmetics into the toxin, which had backfired.

Runsheng said while carrying her back to bed: “You need to take good care of your body. Next time, poison your brain.”

Yin Meng said aggrievedly: “I didn’t expect cosmetics to have such a high toxin content.”

Aunt Liu came to check and said there was no major problem. She would recover after resting for a few days.

Thus, Yin Meng could only stay at home and was unable to go to Beijing with them.

On the day of departure, Uncle Qin and Xiong Shan each rode a tricycle, carrying Li Zhuoyuan, Runsheng, Lin Shuyou, and Li Sanjiang to Xingdong Airport to take the plane.

Li Sanjiang, who was taking a plane for the first time, appeared very calm, but when the plane was accelerating for takeoff, Li Zhuoyuan noticed Great Grandpa’s body trembling. However, Great Grandpa still grabbed his hand and comforted him:

“It’s okay, Little Yuan Hou, I’m not afraid.”

After the plane flew steadily, Li Sanjiang looked at the white clouds below through the window, laughing like an old child:

“Haha, there’s such a large piece of cotton candy down there, oh.”

But not long after, Li Zhuoyuan noticed that Great Grandpa was a little uncomfortable because smoking was not allowed on the plane.

After the plane landed, as soon as they exited the airport, Li Sanjiang impatiently took out matches and lit one for himself.

Runsheng took out a ‘cigar’ and joined him.

The travel agency where Great Grandpa won the prize, under Li Zhuoyuan’s prior arrangement, only kept the round-trip ticket portion. Finally, the four of them took the car arranged by Xue Liangliang and checked into a hotel.

In the evening, Xue Liangliang also came over and took everyone to eat roast duck.

After eating, Xue Liangliang asked if they needed him to arrange a guide, then looked at Li Zhuoyuan, patted his forehead, and laughed: “I forgot, with you here, what guide do we need.”

That night back at the hotel, Li Zhuoyuan took Runsheng and Lin Shuyou out for a walk again. However, the place he remembered was gone, and he couldn’t smell that sesame oil smell inside.

Li Zhuoyuan had to turn back to the hotel.

For the next three days, Li Zhuoyuan took Great Grandpa to tour Beijing’s attractions.

For Li Sanjiang, the most boring attraction was the Forbidden City.

Because Li Zhuoyuan had a good memory since childhood and his dreams had a high degree of restoration, Li Sanjiang had already brought the zombies to run all over the inside and outside of the palace in his dreams long ago.

Moreover, in reality, the major halls all had ropes placed inside the doors, and tourists could only step over the threshold a little, unable to truly wander inside. This made Li Sanjiang even more dissatisfied. He thought it was still not as good as in his dreams, where he had even climbed the dragon throne.

Great Grandpa really liked stir-fried liver and stew. Li Zhuoyuan also ordered three bowls of soybean milk, purely to enrich the travel memory.

Li Sanjiang took a sip of soybean milk and praised: “Really fresh!”

Runsheng and Lin Shuyou heard this and immediately picked up their bowls and drank a large gulp like soybean milk.

Lin Shuyou: “Ugh!”

Runsheng: “It’s good to drink.”

Lin Shuyou thought his bowl was bad, so he picked up the bowl in front of Li Sanjiang and took another sip, then: “Ugh!”

There was one attraction that was very small, but the line was very long. When lining up, people hoped those in front would walk faster, but after going in, they wished their steps could be as slow as possible. After coming out, many people started crying.

Great Grandpa said he was tired today and wanted to go back to the hotel alone to rest for a while. He told Li Zhuoyuan to continue the afternoon itinerary with Runsheng and Lin Shuyou.

Li Zhuoyuan agreed but still decided to send Great Grandpa back to the hotel first.

After getting into the taxi, Li Sanjiang’s head leaned against the car window, and he seemed very low in spirits.

Li Zhuoyuan sniffed. He smelled a familiar sesame oil smell in the car.

He had recently recalled this smell in his dream, and the memory was fresh. It was definitely not wrong.

“Master, did you pick up a monk today?”

“Yes, a young monk.”

“Where did you take him?”

“A small temple in Tongzhou.”

Li Zhuoyuan nodded. It seemed there was no need to call that number.

The young man’s gaze fell on Great Grandpa sitting in the passenger seat.

Upon arriving at the hotel entrance, Li Zhuoyuan signaled Lin Shuyou to stay in the car. He got out to send Great Grandpa back to the room.

After entering the room, Li Sanjiang waved his hand, urging Li Zhuoyuan to continue taking Runsheng and the others to play and not to worry about him.

Li Zhuoyuan made a pot of tea for Great Grandpa, then left the hotel and got back into the taxi. He said to the driver:

“Master, go to that temple.”

…

Li Sanjiang sat in the hotel room for a while, feeling stuffy in his chest, so he left the room and walked out of the hotel, starting to wander aimlessly.

Although he was old, his legs and feet were good, and he remembered the way. It was just that his Little Yuan Hou was too worried about him. How could he get lost?

The hotel was not far from Shichahai. Li Sanjiang walked and walked until he reached this area. Of course, he didn’t know what this place was called.

A rickshaw driver came to solicit customers, saying he could take him on a tour here and provide explanations, but Li Sanjiang refused them all. He preferred to wander alone and was unwilling to spend the money.

Besides, through these days of touring, he had also discovered that when it came to guiding and explaining, his own Little Yuan Hou was unbeatable. No matter which attraction, he could explain its past and present thoroughly. Since he had free guidance at home, why spend money to listen outside?

He wandered and wandered, getting a little tired. He reached into his pocket. Oh, the matches were left in the hotel.

Li Sanjiang saw a long chair ahead, on which sat a white-haired old man with a cane and an extraordinary demeanor. So, he took the initiative to walk up and ask:

“Old brother, could I borrow a light?”

The old man turned his head to look at Li Sanjiang and nodded.

At this moment, a young man in formal attire appeared out of nowhere with a lighter in his hand.

The old man reached out first, took the lighter from the young man’s hand, and then handed it to Li Sanjiang: “Here, old brother.”

“Hey, you want one too?”

Li Sanjiang pulled out two cigarettes and offered one to the other person.

The young man saw this and was about to speak but was stopped by the old man’s look.

The old man took a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

Li Sanjiang lit his own first, then went to light the old man’s. The old man lowered his head to shield the wind with his hand.

Soon, smoke enveloped the chests of the two very old men, making their long lives even more difficult.

Li Sanjiang: “Are you used to this cigarette you’re smoking?”

The old man looked at the cigarette in his hand and said: “Before, I even rolled up grass leaves to smoke. How could I not be used to it?”

“Really tough times. I’ve never stopped smoking in my life.”

“Then old brother, you are blessed.”

“Not really blessed, but it’s been pretty smooth.”

Li Sanjiang remembered the most difficult time, on the battlefield, where he could still find cigarettes in the pockets of corpses.

However, when he smoked, he would also put one in the corpse’s mouth and light it.

“Listening to old brother’s accent, you’re not from around here?”

“No, I’m from Jiangsu. My great-grandson brought me to Beijing for tourism.”

Actually, he won the plane ticket himself, but his great-grandson was indeed the guide. Li Sanjiang deliberately said it vaguely like this because he wanted to show off his descendants’ filial piety.

“Then your great-grandson is filial.”

“Yes, very filial. He’s well-behaved, smart, a university student.”

“Then does he have a partner?”

“Yes, she lives in my home. As soon as he’s back, the two stick together and play, inseparable. They get along very well.”

“A child bride?”

“No, not that. Her family is also there, especially her grandma, who is a bit worldly. It might be a little difficult to handle when they get married later.”

“That’s true.”

“But it doesn’t matter. I’ll slowly save up. When the time comes, don’t look at me being old. But like you, no, like that young man, I can carry one and run two li, easily!”

“Yes, I see old brother, your body is really good.”

“Old brother, your body looks good too, ah.” Li Sanjiang patted the other man’s chest.

The old man’s face tightened.

“Eh, what?”

“Just had surgery.”

“Oh.” Li Sanjiang quickly withdrew his hand, wiped it on his pants, “Sorry, sorry.”

“It’s okay. In the past, such a small cut wasn’t even considered an injury.”

“Then you suffered a lot.”

“No, I’m lucky. I can live until now and see today.”

“Yes, ah, big change, really big change.”

“Old brother, have you been to Beijing before?”

“Never been, but I’ve passed through this area many years ago. That time, I came in from outside the pass and passed through this area.”

“Old brother, you also went outside the pass, oh?”

“No, not that. That time we were fighting, and it was fierce, oh. Later, we entered the pass, then went south, tsk.”

Li Sanjiang puffed on his cigarette, slowly exhaling, as if recalling the past.

The old man asked somewhat excitedly: “Old brother, are you also from the Fourth Field Army?”

Li Sanjiang: “Cough cough cough…”

Li Sanjiang choked on the smoke and coughed violently.

The old man reached out to pat his back.

But the more he patted, the redder Li Sanjiang’s face became, feeling like he was in a predicament.

Seeing that Li Sanjiang had finally stopped coughing, the old man smiled and asked: “Old brother, which part of the Fourth Field Army?”

Seeing that he really couldn’t avoid it, Li Sanjiang could only mumble his lips a few times and softly said:

“Well, I was on the opposite side of the Fourth Field Army.”

The old man’s eyes showed thought. The opposite of the Fourth Field Army, which part?

Seeing the other person genuinely thinking, Li Sanjiang simply threw caution to the wind, slapped his thigh, and said:

“Ah, I’m unlucky. I was always caught as a conscript, caught once, escaped once, caught again, escaped again. I escaped from the Northeast to here, then escaped to Xuzhou there.”

The old man finally understood. After the route map appeared in his mind, he slightly opened his mouth and it was a long time before he said: “Old brother, do you call this unlucky?”

Li Sanjiang explained: “I never shot at the other side. Each time, I shot a few rounds into the sky and then slipped away. Not only did I slip away myself, but I also brought the people around me to slip away. Each time I brought more people than the last.”

The old man first laughed, then with a serious face, he reached out and covered Li Sanjiang’s hand on his back, seriously saying: “Then old brother, you also made a great contribution.”

Li Sanjiang’s old face flushed. He hurriedly waved his hand: “It’s not good to say that, you can’t say that.”

Thinking of quickly changing the subject, Li Sanjiang pointed at the young man and asked: “Is that your grandson?”

The old man shook his head: “No.”

Li Sanjiang: “Then a nephew.”

The old man replied: “Almost.”

“Then is your family a daughter?”

“I do have several sons, but they are all busy with work and I usually can’t see them. Well, they also don’t like to see me because I have many rules and a bad temper, and I always like to scold them.

Also because I was busy with work before, and when they were young, I didn’t have much time to accompany them. Later, I had the youngest son…”

“Youngest is good, ah.”

“Yes, youngest is good, the most obedient and sensible. It’s just a pity that after he got married and had a child, they divorced, and he’s not at home now either.”

“If he’s not at home, then the child?”

“The child was given to the mother and the surname was changed.”

“Did your youngest mess around outside?”

“No, he loved her to death. That daughter-in-law of mine was indeed excellent, really. It’s just that my son had thin blessings, didn’t have that fate.”

“You’re capable, too. The child’s surname was changed, and you still say she’s good.”

“One thing is one thing. Private feelings can’t be mixed with work. Alas, it’s already been more than a year, almost two years, and I haven’t seen my grandson.”

“The child’s mother isn’t letting you see him?”

“Yes.”

“Old brother, you’re foolish. If she’s not letting you see him, why not secretly see him? Give the child some pocket money, buy some toys. Children, ah, what do they understand? They’ll be close to whoever gives them fun things and delicious food.”

“My grandson… doesn’t like these.”

“Hey, what are you saying? Which child doesn’t like these?”

“Mainly, I promised my ex-daughter-in-law not to see him, and I also don’t allow my family to see him. His grandma has argued with me several times these past two years, saying she wants to see her grandson. I haven’t relented.

I’m the kind of person whose word is gold.”

“Then has your grandson not looked for you in these two years?”

“No.”

“Did they move somewhere else?”

“He remembers the phone number and address.”

“If the child is young, forgetting is normal.”

“My grandson has a good memory, he won’t forget.”

Li Sanjiang comforted: “Then he’s a little heartless. Gone is gone.”

The old man laughed: “Haha, but my grandson is smart, ah, really smart.”

While blowing smoke rings, Li Sanjiang silently opened and closed his mouth several times: Heh, smart? That’s because you haven’t seen my Little Yuan Hou, who is truly smart.

Ever since bringing Little Yuan Hou home, whenever Li Sanjiang hears someone boast about how smart their child is like a brag, he will involuntarily roll his eyes in his heart. Smart, is it? Then bring back the top scholar.

“Old brother, are your family relationships good?”

“My family, our relationships are very good.”

“My old partner regrets it very much. She says that at the beginning, she should have gotten along well with her daughter-in-law. Now, as a result, she can’t see her son, and she can’t see her grandson either.”

“Hey, there’s no mother-in-law and daughter-in-law conflict in my home.”

After all, he had no mother and no daughter-in-law. The household register only listed the names of grandfather and grandson, which was clean and simple.

“Really good, ah.”

The old man sighed. Actually, every time his old partner regretted it on the bed at night, he couldn’t help but want to comfort her aloud that it wasn’t her fault.

But he also didn’t allow himself to speak ill of his ex-daughter-in-law. After all, she was a comrade who had dared to take on multiple tasks with high mortality rates.

The two old men sat on the long chair and chatted for quite a while.

Until that young man came forward for the third time with body language to urge him, the old man reluctantly said: “Old brother, I have to go to the hospital for a check-up.”

“Ah, then you should go quickly. Seeing a doctor is important, you can’t delay.”

“Where do you live? I’ll have someone send you back to the hotel.”

“No need. I live nearby. It’s just a few steps away. You see, I’ve been sitting for so long, I really want to walk more. It’s no trouble.”

“Okay.” The old man took a business card from the young man and solemnly handed it to Li Sanjiang, “If you’re free, you can call and come to my home for tea as a guest.”

“You’re too kind, too kind.” Li Sanjiang put the business card away.

At this moment, a small car drove over. The young man went forward to open the door, and the old man got in.

Watching the car gradually drive away, Li Sanjiang casually put the business card into his pocket. Fate was fate, and he didn’t plan to bother people again.

On this long chair, everyone could chat casually. But if he went to their home, there wouldn’t be this long chair to sit on.

Li Sanjiang hummed a tune and continued to wander and enjoy the scenery:

“This Beijing is really as sung in the opera. You can casually smash down a signboard and hit a big figure, hehe.”

…

The taxi took the three of them to a small temple. It wasn’t desolate here, but it also wasn’t connected front and back. It could be called quiet.

The temple door was very small, and the courtyard wall was also very low. A wisp of thick incense smoke rose from inside and then upwards.

Li Zhuoyuan glanced at the plaque on the temple door and softly said:

“Old monk, I have come to visit.”

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