Chapter 34

Runsheng was riding the bicycle happily in front, feeling that the blue sky, white clouds, fields, and irrigation canals were all so beautiful at this moment.

Ever since he could remember, his grandfather would tell him:

“Runsheng Hou, grandpa is going to play cards. If I win some money, I’ll buy you meat to eat tonight!”

At first, Runsheng was genuinely expectant; later, every time he heard these words, he would immediately run to the rice jar to check if there was enough rice left for a watery porridge that could stand chopsticks for grandpa and grandson that evening.

Today, Runsheng finally realized that playing cards… could actually win money.

A long period of ‘family education influence’ had made him almost feel that playing cards was like offering sacrifices to Buddha during the New Year, a form of sacrifice.

In contrast, Li Zhuoyuan, sitting in the back, didn’t look as pleased.

At his feet was a bag of money, with both small and large denominations, new and wrinkled bills. Although the total amount wasn’t exaggerated, considering the current rural prices and labor costs, it was enough for him to set up a small manual workshop behind his Great-grandfather’s house.

Occasionally having good card luck was normal; which family didn’t eat dumplings during the New Year?

Essentially, this was still a probability problem.

But when a series of fortunate events struck intensely, the problem gradually shifted from probability theory to metaphysics.

Connecting this to his memory loss after the luck-turning ceremony last night, Li Zhuoyuan was now almost certain: the ceremony had taken effect.

Taking effect didn’t necessarily mean success; it just meant it had played a role, bringing about changes, even if those changes were good or bad remained to be seen.

Li Zhuoyuan didn’t know exactly how much fortune his Great-grandfather had transferred to him, but judging by the ‘cooperative performance’ of the people at the card table just now, it must have been a significant amount.

Liu Yumei had told him that his Great-grandfather’s fortune wasn’t easy to take; it was more like a transaction.

Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu, earning that meager salary, were working like oxen and horses at Great-grandfather’s house. What they sought wasn’t just the few loose coins Liu Yumei mentioned.

He had suddenly taken so much; what kind of price would he have to pay for it next?

At this moment, there was no joy, only overwhelming fear.

Li Zhuoyuan lowered his head, feeling that his behavior of consuming fortune to gamble was… very foolish.

It was like a shortsighted tomb raider who risked his life and endured countless hardships to finally enter a tomb, but only had eyes for the gold and silver ingots, completely ignoring the clothes, bronze ware, porcelain, and other art pieces.

“Runsheng brother, don’t let go of both hands.”

“Okay, Xiao Yuan.”

“Runsheng brother, ride a bit slower.”

“Okay, Xiao Yuan.”

“Runsheng brother, ride to the side a bit, no, you still ride to the middle a bit.”

“……”

“Forget it, Runsheng brother, just ride normally.”

Just now, a chill suddenly ran through Li Zhuoyuan’s heart. He worried whether an accident would suddenly happen, perhaps a serious car accident?

But after a brief moment of anxiety, he immediately regained his composure.

If the backlash from his Great-grandfather’s fortune was only this, it seemed too cheap, even making people feel they had taken advantage.

But the more it was like this, the more uneasy Li Zhuoyuan felt inside, because it meant that in the ‘road ahead’ not long from now, a big one would be waiting for him.

The tricycle drove into Mountain Great-grandfather’s house. Runsheng scratched his head and asked Li Zhuoyuan:

“Xiao Yuan, can I borrow a little money from you first to buy some things for my grandpa to stock up? When your Great-grandfather pays me my salary, I’ll return it to you.”

Li Zhuoyuan was silent.

Normally, he would have said very nonchalantly: Take whatever you want.

But this money wasn’t won by skill but purely by luck. He felt it was a bit hot to handle. Passing this hot potato to Mountain Great-grandfather seemed a bit unrighteous.

Li Zhuoyuan rummaged through the bag and took out several bills. This amount didn’t exceed his principal, so the problem shouldn’t be big.

“No need for so much, really no need for so much. I just need to buy some rice, flour, and oil for my grandpa. You’re giving too much, Xiao Yuan.”

“It doesn’t matter, buy more.”

“Can’t buy too much. If I buy too much for him, it’ll be easy for him to sell it, and then he might not even eat meals.”

“You think of everything.”

“Hehe.”

“Right, Runsheng brother, keep the matter of me winning money at cards a secret this time, don’t tell anyone.”

“But how do I explain this money…”

“Just say you won it.”

“Um, okay.”

“Runsheng brother, where is your home’s toilet?”

“Over there. Go around the back of the house past the field ridge, it’s the neighbor’s toilet, we share it.”

“Oh, okay.”

Just as Li Zhuoyuan went out, Mountain Great-grandfather hurried back from outside.

Although the old man was old and not in good health, he was still very energetic.

This seemed contradictory, but in fact, it wasn’t. Such old people often didn’t linger on their sickbeds for too long, but once their time came, they left very quickly.

That’s what the neighbors often said: “I saw he was still quite strong, ah, how did he just leave like that.”

Mountain Great-grandfather hurried back for two reasons. One was because his money was all lost.

He had a habit; if he lost at cards, he lost, but he absolutely wouldn’t borrow money to try and win it back.

The second reason was that he heard his own Runsheng had won a large sum of money at the big hall entrance!

The person who spread the word naturally didn’t give such detailed information. They didn’t recognize Li Zhuoyuan, so they naturally said Runsheng had won money at cards.

“Grandpa, you’re back…”

“Pa!”

Mountain Great-grandfather gave Runsheng a heavy slap across the face.

“I told you not to learn bad habits and go play cards!”

“I’m wrong, Grandpa.”

“Where’s the money?”

“Ah?”

“I’m asking you, where’s the money you won?”

“On the bicycle.”

Mountain Great-grandfather walked to the tricycle, saw the bag of money, and his eyes went straight.

“This… this is all what you won?”

“No, ah, no, yes, I won it.”

“It’s not appropriate for a child like you to hold so much money. I’ll manage it for you.”

“No, that’s not okay.”

“What, you won money and are reluctant to give it to Grandpa?”

“The capital, right, the capital belongs to Xiao Yuan, it’s his pocket money.”

“Oh, is that so…” Mountain Great-grandfather divided the money in the bag in half. “Then I’ll keep your share for you.”

“Grandpa, this, this is not okay, this…”

“Alright, stop talking nonsense, it’s settled. What are you still doing at home?”

“Not eating together? Grandpa, I’ll go to town later and buy some meat. We grandpa and grandson will have a proper meal.”

“Eat what, you and Xiao Yuan Hou eat. Grandpa I’m busy.”

After saying that, Mountain Great-grandfather went back to the battlefield, running while touching the heavy ‘bullets’ in his chest. He was very excited; in his life, he had never fought such a rich battle.

Li Zhuoyuan returned and saw Runsheng standing there with an awkward and embarrassed expression.

“Xiao Yuan, I’m sorry…”

After listening to Runsheng’s narration, Li Zhuoyuan was stunned.

“Xiao Yuan, I’m waiting here for you to come back and ask for your consent. Let’s tell the truth clearly, and I’ll go to the hall and get the money back from my grandpa!”

“No need, Runsheng brother. It was originally something you and I earned together. Giving half to Mountain Great-grandfather is also right.”

“Xiao Yuan, you’re not angry?”

Li Zhuoyuan shook his head. Not only was he not angry, but he was also a little touched.

“Runsheng brother, aren’t you going to buy things for Mountain Great-grandfather? Go quickly.”

“But, my grandpa, he already took so much money…”

“You still have to buy what you’re supposed to buy.”

“Xiao Yuan, you’re really a good person.”

Runsheng rode the bicycle to buy things. Li Zhuoyuan found a small stool and sat down in the yard.

He tapped his forehead lightly, starting to recall the content related to this aspect in the book, specifically, how to use this money.

He found that according to the book’s logic: he could use this money.

But it had to be based on fairness, or himself taking advantage. That is to say, when he bought things, it had to be at a fair price or he had to bargain. He absolutely couldn’t let the people who sold things or provided labor to him feel cheated or feel they had taken advantage at his expense.

Otherwise, the other party would share this cause and effect equally, because you also enjoyed the extra benefits of this money.

“No wonder, in ancient times there was the saying ‘implicating’…”

Although the actual use was to strengthen deterrence against illegal activities, from a legal principle perspective, even a young child in the family shared the benefits brought by the family’s illegal gains.

Li Zhuoyuan stood up and stretched. Just then, Runsheng also came back.

“Xiao Yuan, I bought some ready-made food. Grandpa isn’t here, let’s eat lunch ourselves.”

“Okay.”

Runsheng washed the pot, lit the fire, and cooked. Besides the braised pig liver and cold mixed jellyfish silk he bought, Runsheng also fried an egg and boiled a loofah soup.

However, the egg was burnt, and the soup was sticky and not refreshing at all.

“Xiao Yuan, my cooking skills are just like this.”

Runsheng took a bite of rice, then ate a chopstick of egg, and then drank a mouthful of soup, as if actively testing for poison.

Li Zhuoyuan also understood this. You couldn’t expect someone who usually didn’t even get enough to eat to have high cooking skills.

After the meal, Runsheng cleaned the room and yard, then rode the bicycle and took Li Zhuoyuan home.

Turning from the road onto the village path, they saw Panszi and Leizi, covered in dirt, pushing a cart of bricks.

Currently, summer jobs were hard to find even in the city, let alone in the countryside.

Going far away was inconvenient for commuting, so the nearby brick kiln was a relatively good place. Although it was quite hard, the good thing was that they could get paid daily.

It was quite suitable for young people like Panszi and Leizi to earn some money to spend during their summer vacation.

“Panszi brother, Leizi brother!”

“Hey, Yuanzi.”

“Hey, Yuanzi.”

Panszi’s mouth corner had a blood scab, and Leizi’s eyebrow still had a bruise. These were all signs of parental love.

“Yuanzi, it’s good you left early that day, haha.”

“Exactly, thanks to you leaving first, otherwise we would have had to squat at the police station with us, and also have to draw blood.”

“Brothers, thanks for not giving me up.”

“How could I, we’re brothers, how could we do something that sells out our brothers?”

“Exactly, you’re our little brother, how could a brother not protect his little brother?”

Actually, it wasn’t that the two of them deliberately wanted to help Xiao Yuan hide, but they were very clear that if they told about this matter and let their dads and grandpas know that they actually dared to take Xiao Yuan Hou to watch yellow films, they would probably be beaten even more severely.

“Brothers, are you still going back to the kiln?”

“Yeah, we’re delivering bricks to the kiln today.” Leizi said, taking out a cigarette from his pocket. He didn’t know who gave it to him. Holding the cigarette, he coolly struck a match and lit it. After taking a puff, he passed it to Panszi.

Panszi took it and took a puff, then passed it to Runsheng.

Sharing one cigarette among several brothers was very common at this time. Small shops could even sell cigarettes by the stick.

Runsheng shook his head, took out a cigarette, lit it with a match, took a puff, and blew out smoke rings.

Panszi and Leizi both looked dumbfounded, asking: “What are you smoking?”

Runsheng replied: “Real cigarette.”

Immediately, Runsheng passed the burning cigarette to them, planning to share.

Panszi and Leizi quickly shook their heads, declining his good intention.

Then, Panszi looked at Li Zhuoyuan: “Xiao Yuan, Sihaiizi’s family is building a fish pond tomorrow, we two are going to help. Do you want to come? They’ll provide a meal, and you can take fish.”

“I’m not going. Great-grandfather hasn’t allowed me to go out recently. Today was an exception because I was accompanying Runsheng brother to deliver things to his grandpa.”

“Oh, is that so, that’s a shame.”

“Then we’ll send you a fish tomorrow evening.”

“No need, take it home and eat. Brothers, you’re busy, I’ll go back first.”

“Okay, we’ll find you to play again another day, Yuanzi.”

After the tricycle had gone some distance, Runsheng asked curiously: “Xiao Yuan, you don’t want to play with that group of brothers?”

“No, they are quite good to me.”

“Then you…”

“Runsheng brother, I just don’t plan to go out recently.”

Before solving the problem of his body’s fortune, Li Zhuoyuan decided not to go out unnecessarily, especially to places involving water. He absolutely wouldn’t go.

Panszi and Leizi asking him to go and see people build a fish pond was already a big taboo. He worried that if he went now, who knew what else would be caught besides fish.

Back home, he didn’t see Arli sitting on the threshold of the east room on the dam. Li Zhuoyuan guessed the girl was probably in her own room now.

She had indeed changed a lot. She no longer just sat there in a daze. Even when he wasn’t there, she would take some initiative.

Liu Yumei sat on a chair in the doorway of the east room, her hands clasped in front, her eyes closed as if napping.

After sensing someone was back, she slowly opened her eyes, then looked at the boy with a seemingly casual gaze. At the same time, the fingers of her left hand, clasped under her right hand, began to pinch.

Then, she had to stop again.

Because the boy had turned his head away, leaving his back to her, while asking Aunt Liu in the west room what they were eating for dinner and how the incense was doing, he maintained this posture and walked into the room.

A doubt arose in Liu Yumei’s heart: Was it a coincidence or intentional?

It should be a coincidence; if it were intentional, that would be too absurd.

To be able to detect her calculations, one’s fortune-telling skills would have to reach the same level as hers. How was that possible?

She knew this child was reading books, and also knew this child had designed and made a batch of practical tools according to the book. After one contact, she knew how smart this child was.

In her heart, she had already placed this child very high and reluctantly admitted that this child was walking on this path, but no matter what, it hadn’t reached that ridiculous degree.

Liu Yumei had always been in this home, so she was sure the boy had no teacher. Uncle Qin only taught him a little horse stance. If he could reach that height by just reading a book, wouldn’t she have lived for nothing all these years?

Just this matter today was a bit off. Li Sanjiang’s body’s fortune, how could it suddenly become so empty?

She still needed to observe again tomorrow. If Li Sanjiang’s body’s emptiness could be slowly supplemented, then everything would be as usual. But if it just kept emptying like this, then things might be troublesome.

Annoyed in her heart, Liu Yumei stood up. She wanted to go back to her room and chat with the ‘big guy’.

Sitting in front of the offering table, she picked up a piece of pastry. Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly looked at the spirit tablets on the offering table with suspicion:

“How do I feel like there are a few missing?”

……

Li Zhuoyuan went upstairs and saw Li Sanjiang washing his hair with washing powder by the water jar.

“Great-grandfather, didn’t you wash it this morning?”

“Just lay there sleeping my noon nap, didn’t know where a dead bird came from and pooped on my head again. Don’t know what’s wrong today, I can get bird droppings on my head twice a day, really unlucky.”

Li Zhuoyuan probably guessed why.

“Xiao Yuan Hou, why are you back so early? Didn’t Mountain Cannon keep you for dinner before leaving?”

“Mountain Great-grandfather is busy playing cards.”

“Heh, that old thing, it’s just this one bad habit, right, did you buy the things?”

“Bought them, rice, flour, and oil are all added. Great-grandfather, you really care about Mountain Great-grandfather.”

“Maybe not, if he starves to death, and there’s a big job again, I just can’t find a helper. Although Mountain Cannon has a stinky temper, he has the skill and can always help out during busy times.”

Li Zhuoyuan nodded, indeed.

“Xiao Yuan Hou, what’s in the black bag you’re holding?”

Li Zhuoyuan held up a bag of money: “To buy some candy for Arli. Great-grandfather, do you want to try some?”

Just like last time, Li Zhuoyuan still planned to ask Aunt Liu to be responsible for helping him purchase and bargain. With Aunt Liu’s professionalism, the money could definitely be spent effectively.

If he went himself, being unfamiliar and not often buying things, it would be easy to be taken advantage of.

Businesses quoting prices based on people, Li Zhuoyuan could also understand, so he wouldn’t go himself. He wasn’t a jinx, and those small vendors didn’t deserve that.

Actually, downstairs, Li Zhuoyuan originally planned to give this money to Aunt Liu, but who called Grandma Liu secretly watching him.

Really, she looked in the morning and still looked in the afternoon, she wasn’t tired.

“I don’t eat that. Get me another handkerchief.”

“Um.”

After getting a handkerchief for Li Sanjiang, Li Zhuoyuan walked towards his room.

Midway, he pushed open Li Sanjiang’s bedroom door, originally wanting to check the array on the tile again, but discovered it had already been erased.

He still didn’t understand how this array could still take effect even though he had clearly modified it yesterday.

He stepped back a few steps, stood sideways, and looked at Great-grandfather, who was still washing his hair.

The most helpless thing was that he couldn’t discuss this kind of matter with his Great-grandfather, even though his Great-grandfather was the most important party.

Because Li Zhuoyuan knew that even if he asked his Great-grandfather to reproduce the array diagram he drew last night, his Great-grandfather would definitely draw a new one.

Coming to the door of his room, he pushed it open and saw Arli sitting on a small stool, holding a carving knife and carving a wooden scroll.

He hadn’t actually told Arli that the black canvas was bad, but the girl had discovered it herself and actively helped him re-add the wooden scrolls.

Li Zhuoyuan walked to the girl’s opposite side and watched the girl carve seriously.

This scene was very similar to when the girl seriously watched him read.

The girl carved and carved, also looking up at him from time to time, again very similar to his response to the girl when he was reading at that time.

Li Zhuoyuan felt that this should be the most comfortable way for friends to get along. No accommodation, everyone enjoying themselves.

Just quietly watching for a while like this, Li Zhuoyuan’s originally anxious heart seemed to have completely calmed down.

He stood up, walked to the desk, and planned to put the money he had won this time in first.

He opened the drawer and saw not only four stacks of new money but also six small gold bars.

No need to guess, he knew who put them there.

Although he definitely didn’t want this money and gold bars and planned to return them to Grandma Liu later.

But no matter what, it didn’t affect the inner corrosion at this moment, especially after looking at the black bag in his hand again…

Originally, he didn’t have to be so hard.

Li Zhuoyuan found an empty box, put the money and gold bars from the drawer inside, then walked to the girl, sat down again, and said very seriously:

“Arli, thank you, seeing you send me these makes me very happy, but I can’t take them.”

Arli stopped carving with the knife, raised her head, and looked at the boy.

Her eyes revealed a look of incomprehension. She didn’t understand. In the morning, she saw the boy smiling as he looked at the money in his hand, so why didn’t he want it when she gave it to him?

Moreover, every time Li Sanjiang gave him pocket money, he would accept it and smile very happily.

Clearly, her family had many, many such things.

“Arli, gifts also depend on their weight and appropriateness. Next time you want to give me something, you can ask me first. If it’s appropriate, I’ll accept it, okay?”

Arli’s eyes showed thought, then she nodded.

Li Zhuoyuan was stunned. He just saw the girl nod, and the amplitude was very large, not the imperceptible kind before.

“Arli, do you really understand?”

The girl nodded again, indicating she understood.

“Then if you don’t understand, how will you indicate?”

The girl shook her head, with the same amplitude as a normal person.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuoyuan’s face. This meant that the girl’s condition had taken a big step forward today.

Although he didn’t know why.

Li Zhuoyuan’s smile suddenly stiffened a bit. Could it be… because of him today?

He tried hard to dismiss the worry in his heart and decided to talk about something happy:

“Aunt Liu said she bought some wood-smoked ham today, it seems to be produced in Jinhua, Zhejiang. We can try it tonight. Arli, have you eaten wood-smoked things before?”

Arli shook her head.

“It’s just smoked with this kind of smoke after lighting it, it makes a special flavor… Hmm?”

Li Zhuoyuan casually picked up a piece of wooden scroll beside him.

The last time he made the black canvas, the wooden scrolls inside were made from a piece of wood he took from the woodshed and then planed out with a small plane.

This time Arli was doing it herself, meaning the wooden scrolls were planed out by her.

But why were the wooden scrolls this time not yellow and white, but black and shiny with a special fragrance, quite pleasant to smell.

“Arli, what wood did you use to plane?”

Arli pointed below the small table.

Li Zhuoyuan lowered his head to look, then his eyes widened directly, because what was placed below the table were three spirit tablets!

……

“Grandma Liu, this is for you.”

Inside the east room, Li Zhuoyuan placed the box containing the money and gold bars on the table beside Liu Yumei.

Liu Yumei opened the box and glanced inside, then closed it.

“Grandma, aren’t you counting?”

“They’re all sent back, what’s there to count.”

“Alright then.”

Li Zhuoyuan placed a fertilizer bag on the table as well.

Liu Yumei opened the bag and looked inside, then immediately stood up, took out the three spirit tablets inside, wiped them, and placed them on the offering table.

“Arli, Grandma will give you whatever you want to play with, but what’s good about playing with spirit tablets? Don’t move them next time.”

Liu Yumei’s voice was still gentle, not reprimanding her granddaughter.

Then, she began to count the spirit tablets one by one with her fingers.

She seemed to have forgotten what she had just said: they’re all sent back, what’s there to count.

“Hmm, how are there still a few missing?”

Li Zhuoyuan didn’t answer, because those few missing had already become wooden scrolls.

“Xiao Yuan, have you searched again? Maybe Arli took them out and they fell somewhere?”

“Grandma, I’ve searched, there are only these three.”

Li Zhuoyuan wasn’t deliberately shirking responsibility, but he felt that for Liu Yumei, it would definitely be more acceptable to lose the spirit tablets than to have the spirit tablets dismembered.

“Ai.”

Liu Yumei sighed and looked at Qin Li somewhat resentfully.

The good news was that her granddaughter, who used to be interested in nothing, was now clearly livelier and even gave the money from home to the boy outside.

But it was okay to take money and gold bars, what did you take spirit tablets for?

“Grandma Liu, I told Arli not to touch the spirit tablets again in the future, right? Arli?”

Arli nodded.

Liu Yumei could only helplessly stroke her forehead. Immediately, her whole person suddenly trembled, and she looked at Arli in disbelief.

Li Zhuoyuan: “Arli, Grandma wants to confirm that you understand. Quickly tell Grandma that you understand.”

Arli nodded again.

Tears immediately flowed from Liu Yumei’s eyes. She turned to look at the offering table and said in a crying voice:

“Ancestors show their power, ancestors bless us!”

……

Walking out of the east room and helping to close the door, Liu Yumei was leading Arli in thanking the ancestors at the offering table inside.

Li Zhuoyuan let out a long breath. This matter, he had managed to muddle through.

He quickly went upstairs, took the bag of money down, and gave it to Aunt Liu, who was busy in the kitchen.

“Xiao Yuan, where did you get so much money?”

Just then, Runsheng was also in the kitchen, eating incense and smelling the fragrance in the pot waiting for the meal. He immediately replied:

“I won at cards!”

Aunt Liu looked at Runsheng with a doubtful gaze. Obviously, she didn’t believe him.

Li Zhuoyuan said: “Aunt Liu, here’s a list. Please help me buy another batch of things, and then, please find two bricklayers to help me build a small workshop behind the house next to the back wall. It doesn’t need to be too big, about the same size as the woodshed.”

Runsheng said: “No need to hire people, I can do it myself, I can build walls. The wall around the house was built by me.”

Li Zhuoyuan ignored Runsheng’s offer. He had seen the state of the wall around Mountain Great-grandfather’s house today.

He might not want the house to collapse and bury him inside while he was busy in the workshop later.

“Okay, Aunt understands.”

“Also, Aunt, please be careful.”

“Careful about what?”

“This money is not clean, don’t dirty your hands.”

“Huh?” Aunt Liu touched the bag, her eyes showed understanding, and she nodded. “Don’t worry, I understand.”

Runsheng said doubtfully: “Does this money still need to be cared for if it’s dirty or not?”

“Yes, Runsheng brother. Paper money passes through many people’s hands during circulation, there will definitely be many bacteria on it.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

There was still some time until dinner, Li Zhuoyuan didn’t go upstairs again, but went to the basement.

In “Zhengdao Fumo Lu”, whether it was tools or kung fu, they all required a lot of time and energy, almost impossible to achieve overnight. So Li Zhuoyuan decided to choose another set of books to read in his spare time.

“Pa!”

The flashlight turned on, and Li Zhuoyuan walked towards those boxes.

Suddenly, at the edge of the flashlight beam, there seemed to be a wriggling black shadow.

Li Zhuoyuan was startled, subconsciously aiming the flashlight at it. That long black shadow also seemed startled and started to move quickly.

It was a small snake!

“Hu…”

Li Zhuoyuan pursed his lips. He was really afraid just now that something terrible had gotten into the basement.

However, after moving left and right, the small snake turned and swam towards Li Zhuoyuan.

Li Zhuoyuan wasn’t very afraid of snakes. Before, when he went to some excavation sites with his mom, there were many snakes there.

However, he wasn’t so professional and brave as to dare to ignore the snake, even though it was very small, so he still retreated. When he hit the box behind him, the copper lock on the box made a crisp sound.

This sound should have scared the snake. It quickly changed direction. Li Zhuoyuan’s flashlight beam kept shining on it until it drilled into the corner of the wall and disappeared. There was a finger-thick crack there.

After the snake was gone, Li Zhuoyuan turned around and looked at the box he had just hit.

This box was located at the very edge of the group of boxes, so he had never opened it before.

Then this time, it’s you.

He put the flashlight on the ground, supported the box lid with both hands, stood in a horse stance, and exerted force.

“Zhi ya!”

The box lid opened and flipped back.

Li Zhuoyuan patted his hands. He felt that since he had been practicing the horse stance taught by Uncle Qin, his strength had increased a lot. Unlike the increase in strength brought by his body development, this should be biased towards the use and control of his own strength.

He picked up the flashlight and shone it on the books inside the box, finding a lot of dust on them. It wasn’t dust that had settled down, but the books were just full of dust when they were packed.

He turned his head and blew a few times. The covers of the top row of books barely showed.

According to past experience, the books placed on top in each box were relatively ordinary. The good books had to be dug further down.

Li Zhuoyuan was originally planning to do this, until he saw the names of the two sets of books placed in the middle of the top row.

“Liu Shi Wang Qi Jue”, “Qin Shi Guan Jiao Fa”.

Liu Shi, Qin Shi?

Li Zhuoyuan’s mind involuntarily conjured up the offering table in the east room, full of spirit tablets of the two families, Qin and Liu.

“It won’t be such a coincidence?”

Li Zhuoyuan took out these two sets of books. They were very simple, without covers.

“Liu Shi Wang Qi Jue” had three books, all quite thick; “Qin Shi Guan Jiao Fa” had four books, also relatively thick, and they weren’t divided into volumes.

“Could it be that Grandma Liu put them here at Great-grandfather’s place?”

Li Zhuoyuan quickly shook his head. No, Great-grandfather said the books in the basement had been stored here for many years, and Liu Yumei’s family hadn’t been at Great-grandfather’s place for too long.

It was even less likely that Liu Yumei knew there were books in Great-grandfather’s basement, so she secretly put her family’s secret knowledge in here as well.

Firstly, Liu Yumei had no reason to do so. Secondly, the dust on the books also silently indicated how long they had been sealed in dust.

Li Zhuoyuan opened the first book of “Liu Shi Wang Qi Jue”. Just as he flipped a page, he frowned. These characters were too sloppy and ugly.

It wasn’t that kind of cursive or connected style, more like the person who wrote the book was in a hurry, wrote very fast, and originally had no calligraphy foundation, so it was purely ugly, like ghost scribbles.

Many characters on it, Li Zhuoyuan even needed to combine the context to guess what they were.

He quickly flipped through more than ten pages, discovering that the layout of the text on each page had no fixed number. The volume name and chapter name were not at the beginning of the main page, but mixed in the content.

In Li Zhuoyuan’s mind, such a scene emerged: a person, with one hand on a set of exquisite books continuously flipping pages, and the other hand quickly copying into an empty book in front of them.

While writing, they kept looking around, afraid someone would come.

So, this should be a copied book.

Li Zhuoyuan again opened “Qin Shi Guan Jiao Fa” and roughly flipped through it. Indeed, it was the same style, also a copied book.

That almost confirmed that these two sets of books had nothing to do with Liu Yumei.

Li Zhuoyuan remembered that Liu Yumei told him she knew he was reading some books, but judging by her tone and meaning, she probably only thought he was reading some metaphysics books, and didn’t know he was reading precious handwritten rare books.

In addition, Liu Yumei should not have entered the basement. Whether it was Liu Yumei or Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu, they were all very discreet and didn’t deeply touch Great-grandfather’s matters and things.

If Liu Yumei came to the basement and flipped through these boxes, it would be impossible to leave these two sets of books here. This was stealing the inheritance of their two families, committing a great taboo.

“Okay, just these two sets.”

Li Zhuoyuan himself didn’t know whether he was curious about the content of these two sets of books or the matters of the Qin and Liu families.

He closed the box again, held the two sets of books and walked out of the basement. After going upstairs, he put the books on the desk, tore off the covers of each book, rolled them up and lit them, then put them one by one into his water cup.

He still needed to cover them up a bit.

These two sets had a total of seven books. The best and clearest characters were just on the book names.

Li Zhuoyuan liked to sit on the second-floor balcony and read, but he couldn’t carelessly let Liu Yumei lift her head and see the book names.

As for Arli, who liked to sit beside him and accompany him while he read, this didn’t matter, no need to hide, anyway Arli wouldn’t tell on him.

Aunt Liu’s voice came from the dam:

“Dinner’s ready!”

Li Zhuoyuan went downstairs and sat at his small table. Arli was already sitting there waiting for him.

“Hungry?”

Arli nodded.

A smile appeared on Li Zhuoyuan’s face again. He felt that if she could continue to improve, the girl should also be close to speaking.

But, if it continued…

“Ah-choo! Ah-choo! Ah-choo!”

Li Sanjiang continuously sneezed three times. He had washed his hair before dawn, so he had caught a cold.

“Great-grandfather, after dinner, I’ll go with you to Dr. Zheng to get some medicine or an injection.”

“Don’t go, this little illness will be fine after sleeping.”

Aunt Liu brought the soup and put it down, laughing: “There’s such a type of person in this world who is very diligent in advising others to see a doctor, but when they themselves are sick, they stubbornly refuse to go.”

Li Zhuoyuan said again: “Great-grandfather, it’s settled, I’ll go with you later.”

This time he emphasized his tone, because he was worried that Great-grandfather’s current condition might not withstand being sick.

“Okay, okay, okay, go, go, go!”

Li Sanjiang waved his hand and picked up his chopsticks to start eating the dishes.

Aunt Liu laughed again: “In the end, it’s still the great-grandson’s words that are effective, hehe.”

Li Zhuoyuan had just finished dividing the small dish for Arli when he heard Aunt Zhang shouting from the village path across a piece of rice field:

“Xiao Yuan Hou, Xiao Yuan Hou, telephone, from Beijing!”

Li Sanjiang quickly urged: “Go quickly, Xiao Yuan Hou, it must be your mom calling.”

“Then Great-grandfather, I’m going. Runsheng brother, come with me.”

“Ah? Oh, okay.”

Runsheng had just waited for the meal and was about to light the incense, but since it was Xiao Yuan’s request, he immediately nodded, stood up, and followed Li Zhuoyuan outside.

From a distance, Li Zhuoyuan saw Li Weihan and Cui Guiying standing outside the small shop.

That’s right, since Aunt Zhang notified him, how could she not notify his grandparents? Moreover, from his mom’s perspective, he should now be living at his grandparents’ house, not his Great-grandfather’s house.

Behind his grandparents was another group of Li family children, all happily sharing snacks. Seeing Li Zhuoyuan come, Shitou and Huzi immediately held out snacks:

“Yuanzi brother, come, eat, Grandma bought them for us, hehe.”

Li Zhuoyuan knew that Cui Guiying usually might be reluctant to actively buy snacks for the children at home. After all, there were many children at home now, and how much money would all these snacks cost?

Why was she willing to buy them today? It was because she was too happy that her daughter had finally called back.

To know, the last time his daughter came back, she even brought her ex-son-in-law with her. At that time, the two hadn’t even married, let alone had Xiao Yuan. Since then, his daughter hadn’t been back for so many years.

In the early years, his daughter would occasionally send telegrams or letters, but later, she gradually stopped.

Although the gifts for every New Year and festival were mailed on time, and the alimony was remitted every quarter, never interrupted;

Reasonably speaking, his daughter was already doing much better than the children of the same generation in the whole village, but as parents, sometimes they actually just wanted to hear their daughter’s voice and chat with her.

This wish had been suppressed for too long, yet it gradually became a luxury.

“Xiao Yuan Hou, hurry, your mom called, Grandma just finished talking to your mom.”

Cui Guiying’s face was beaming with a brilliant smile, then she reached out and patted Li Weihan’s back, “Quick, Xiao Yuan Hou is here, give the telephone to Xiao Yuan Hou.”

Although Li Weihan was very reluctant, he still shouted into the telephone: “Okay, okay, okay, Lan Hou, I’ll let Xiao Yuan Hou answer the phone first. Don’t hang up after you finish talking, I’ll continue talking to you later.”

Li Zhuoyuan was very doubtful that his mom would actually call proactively, and even more unbelievable was that his mom would actually chat with his grandparents for so long.

Li Weihan solemnly handed the receiver to his grandson: “Quick, your mom misses you, Lan Hou, let your son answer the phone.”

Li Zhuoyuan still couldn’t believe it was true. Although he very much looked forward to his mom calling, he was very clear that looking forward was not a wish.

He put the receiver to his ear and heard a woman’s voice coming from the receiver: “Hello, is that Xiao Yuan?”

Li Zhuoyuan’s mouth corner twitched a bit. The voice on the other end was not his mom’s, but his mom’s secretary, Aunt Xu. He remembered Aunt Xu’s hometown was also Nantong.

So, the person who talked to his grandparents earlier was not his mom, Li Lan, but Aunt Xu.

His grandparents, because they hadn’t seen their daughter for too many years and hadn’t talked to their daughter on the phone, had already blurred their daughter’s current voice. In addition, Aunt Xu also understood the Nantong dialect, so it was fundamentally impossible for them to distinguish that this was not their daughter herself.

At this moment, looking at his grandparents who were smiling happier than during the New Year, Li Zhuoyuan felt a strong sense of disgust towards his mom’s behavior.

Li Weihan: “Xiao Yuan Hou, quickly call Mom, quickly call. Your mom says she misses you very much. You quickly tell Mom that you miss her too.”

Cui Guiying: “Xiao Yuan Hou is probably shy, maybe he just cried after hearing his mom’s voice, oh, then he will cry and shout for mom in the evening, making Uncle Sanjiang have a headache, hehe.”

It could be seen that his grandparents were very much looking forward to him shouting “Mom” now for his daughter on the other end of the phone to hear, because they still hadn’t seen the interaction between their daughter and grandson. The surrounding brothers and sisters all laughed and joined in the fun.

Although he knew it was Aunt Xu on the other end, Li Zhuoyuan’s face still showed shyness. He firmly grabbed the receiver with both hands, and shouted with full of longing and excitement:

“Mom, I miss you so much!”

The speaker on the other end should have been on. Two kinds of footsteps were heard from far to near and from near to far.

Li Zhuoyuan could imagine that when his grandparents treated Aunt Xu as their daughter and talked to her, the owner of the footsteps disliked the noise and deliberately walked away to a position where they couldn’t hear.

Now, that person far away walked back, and Aunt Xu then walked out.

So, the next person to speak would be his mom.

An expectation arose in Li Zhuoyuan’s heart. Although this thought shouldn’t be there, and it wasn’t right, he couldn’t control himself from thinking like this: Look, Mom still treats him and his grandparents differently.

The receiver finally transmitted Li Lan’s voice:

“Li Zhuoyuan, you’ve become even more disgusting now.”

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