Chapter 150 (This volume complete)

“Are you sure you want this made?” Master Ge’s face looked a little troubled as he held the drawing.

There were two sheets of drawings.

The first sheet was within a reasonable size range.

The second sheet was not only exaggerated in size, with exposed veins, but also had a bend at the tip.

“Yes.” Tan Wenbin handed Master Ge a cigarette. “It’s hard work for you.”

The first sheet was for the Lesser Eunuch Wang, and the second was for the Head Eunuch.

Since the two of them would be buried together, they couldn’t have the same style. There needed to be a distinction, just in case one day they had a whim underground and decided to dig up and compare?

Master Ge asked, “This thing, I heard it’s usually made of rubber?”

Tan Wenbin took out an envelope from his pocket, tucked it into Master Ge’s work clothes pocket, and patted it.

“If it were made of rubber, would I still need to come find you?”

Master Ge sighed, “If I make this, and someone sees it, where do I put my old face?”

Tan Wenbin took out a second envelope and put it in the other pocket.

Master Ge nodded, “I’ll do my best. Two drawings, one style, two copies each, right?”

“Exactly, that’s right. Two of each kind.”

Of course, it was impossible for one person to be buried with two, but considering the eunuch ghosts’ attraction to this kind of thing, it was better to be prepared than not, in case a similar situation arose in the future.

Just the remaining set had to be well hidden and not seen by outsiders, otherwise, it would be hard to explain.

“Come pick them up in the afternoon.”

“Okay, thank you for your trouble.”

Tan Wenbin walked out of the factory area, got into his small pickup truck, drove north all the way, and then turned into a familiar entrance.

Familiar village roads, familiar houses, familiar telephone poles, and familiar drive into the fields.

Tan Wenbin got out of the car, carrying bags of various sizes.

“Hey, Zhuangzhuang?”

Li Sanjiang was sitting on a rattan chair on the second-floor terrace, listening to the radio and sunbathing. When he saw someone walking towards him, he stood up first, then kept looking behind the person.

“Uncle Li, don’t look, Brother Xiaoyuan isn’t back.”

Whether Brother Xiaoyuan was awake or not was still unknown.

“Oh, hehe.” Li Sanjiang smiled with some disappointment.

Tan Wenbin pointed behind him and said, “Then I’m leaving?”

“Smelly boy, even if Xiaoyuan Hou isn’t back, won’t Grandpa be happy you’re here?”

“Hehe.”

Tan Wenbin walked into the house and placed all the things he was carrying on the round table.

Then he turned his head and saw a woman on the other side, doing makeup for paper figures.

The woman noticed Tan Wenbin’s gaze, turned sideways to look at him, and smiled faintly.

Tan Wenbin smiled back at her.

He knew who she was, but now, he was no longer afraid.

Li Sanjiang came downstairs and took out a cigarette case from his pocket.

Tan Wenbin was a step ahead, taking out a cigarette and lighting it for Uncle Li, then helping him light it.

“What’s the matter, Zhuangzhuang, why are you suddenly back? Is there something you need?”

“Um, there’s something I need your help with.”

Tan Wenbin opened one of the bags, revealing two antique-looking urns.

Li Sanjiang squinted, took a puff of his cigarette, and asked, “Who are these two guests?”

A person who keeps vigil for fishermen would not be scared by urns, nor would they feel it was bad luck.

“A while ago, I went with my instructor to participate in a project in the mountains. I got lost in the mountains, tired and thirsty, and slept in a rock crevice. I had a dream, and two people appeared in the dream and showed me the way.

I relied on their guidance to find my way back to the team.

After the head brought people back, they dug in the place where I slept and dug up these two skeletons.”

Li Sanjiang exhaled a smoke ring, “Then you really should bury them properly, it’s a matter of reciprocity.”

“That’s right, that’s what I thought. So, I brought them back. Uncle Li, can you help me arrange it?”

Tan Wenbin originally wanted to buy a public cemetery plot to bury them, but firstly, the specifications of the public cemetery were not high enough, and secondly, those two were always buried in a mass grave in the past. It wasn’t appropriate to dig them up and then send them to a rented plot.

He wanted to make a fuss and build an elaborate tomb. This could only be done in the village. Jinling village could also do it, as long as you were willing to spend money, but this also involved later upkeep.

People only collected one payment from you, could they really treat them as family and provide for them?

These days, demolition and development are frequent. In a few years, that place might be developed, and the two eunuchs, as ‘ownerless tombs’, might be dug up again and their corpses exposed. That would truly be worse than continuing to be buried underground.

After thinking about it, Tan Wenbin still felt that burying the two eunuchs back in his hometown was more suitable.

His Tan family had an ancestral grave, but his grandfather’s and great-grandfather’s generation would not be buried there again. As public servants, they needed to respond to the national call, simplify funerals, and it was even more impossible to help him build an elaborate tomb.

So, in the end, he could only come to ask Uncle Li.

Li Sanjiang asked, “Do you want to decorate it?”

“Yes, and the specifications need to be separate. This one’s specifications must be high, for the elder. This one’s specifications are lower, for his son’s generation.”

“Understood, leave it to your Grandpa. They saved our Zhuangzhuang, so we can’t treat them badly. Grandpa guarantees to make it beautiful for them.”

Tan Wenbin was very moved. Everyone knew that Uncle Li loved Brother Xiaoyuan the most, but he was also genuinely good to him. He agreed directly without even mentioning money.

“Thank you, Grandpa.”

“Thank what, I hope you meet more noble people when you go out later.”

“Indeed.”

“Moreover, burying them properly means two more people to protect you in the netherworld, right? With people in the netherworld, everything is easier to talk about.”

“Grandpa, what you say is all true.”

He didn’t know what it felt like to have people in the netherworld, but he had indeed experienced the favor of people underground.

“I already picked an auspicious grave for myself and your Grandpa Shan. That won’t cause trouble. We’ll just bury the two of them in that spot.

Two more people just means two more points of liveliness. I just worry about always chatting with your Grandpa Shan after a hundred years and getting bored. You know, that Shan fool is always so quiet and won’t even fart for half a day.”

“Grandpa, don’t worry, these two will definitely talk, they’ll be very lively.”

“Then is there anything else you need? Since you’re back, you should visit your South and North Grandpas and Grandmas. Oh, and you also need to visit Zhou Xiaoyun’s home.”

“Grandpa, her name is Zhou Yunyun.”

“Hmm, doesn’t sound good. Calling her Xiao Yun Hou is more natural.”

“Then I’ll discuss it with her and let her change her name.”

“Bah, Grandpa was just saying. You boy, you’re teasing Grandpa.”

“No, Grandpa, your blessings are great. The name you give can bring blessings.”

“Ha, laughing to death. Where did this kind of nonsense come from? My blessings are great, how come I don’t know?”

Beside them, the woman who had been silently doing makeup for the paper figures also laughed.

Li Sanjiang said, “Ying Hou, did I say it right? Hahaha.”

The woman nodded and laughed so much her body trembled.

“Grandpa, there’s one more thing. When they were dug up, they also had some gold and silver with them. I exchanged it for money.”

Tan Wenbin opened another bag and spread out stacks of money.

Seeing so much money, Li Sanjiang’s hand holding the cigarette started to tremble.

“Whoa, tsk tsk tsk… so much?”

“Yes.”

Eunuchs loved wealth, and they were buried in a hurry, so they only managed to bring gold and silver jewelry.

Tan Wenbin followed Yin Meng to the place where she last sold books and went to that store to exchange the gold and silver jewelry.

The store owner was quite reliable, checked the goods, paid the money, and was very straightforward.

It seemed he had been scared by Yin Meng before.

Tan Wenbin pushed the money forward with both hands, pushing it all towards Li Sanjiang.

“What do you mean, giving it all to me?”

“Yes.”

“How can I take people’s money? They saved you, so it’s only right that we build a tomb for them.”

“But, this money can’t be returned anyway.”

“Then just donate it.”

“I thought so too, but I still need to go to school after all, so this money still needs you to help me spend it. Use it to repair bridges and roads in the village, help lonely widows and those in need, and help children from difficult families go to school.”

Finding an account and donating it directly would indeed be simple.

But where people were buried, that’s where the money needed to be spent. The two eunuchs had no descendants and were outsiders, so this money could only be used locally to buy favor.

“This method is good, I’ll go tell the village head.”

“You need to make up a reason, for example, Ding Dalin sent money back from overseas again and asked you to help the villagers.”

Although Ding Dalin was dead, his ‘overseas Chinese’ identity was still very useful.

Li Sanjiang rubbed his forehead and said, “So, Zhuangzhuang, selling this is a crime?”

“I didn’t keep any for myself.”

He originally said he would keep one percent, but Tan Wenbin didn’t plan to take it either.

“Zhuangzhuang, we do things legally…”

“Don’t worry, I won’t do it again.”

“…We’ll do it cleanly, without leaving a trace.”

Tan Wenbin: “…”

“Pa!” Li Sanjiang slapped his forehead, “I almost forgot what your boy’s family does. You’re a professional.”

Tan Wenbin couldn’t help but laugh and cry. If his dad heard this, he’d probably untie his belt and start beating him out of anger.

“Zhuangzhuang, staying for a meal?”

“No, I need to go to Zhou Xiaoyun’s place.”

“Ah?” Li Sanjiang pointed at the gifts on the table, “Didn’t you bring everything to me?”

“You have half, I need to take the other half to visit. She didn’t come back last holiday, so this time I just brought her back with me conveniently. She’s at home now and said she’ll eat lunch at her place.”

“Then wait, Ying Hou brought me several jars of homemade wine last time, the taste is really good. Take one jar… no, you need double, take two jars.

Ying Hou, can you go get them?”

“Yes, okay.”

The woman put down her paintbrush, went into the inner room, and soon carried out two jars of wine.

They were small jars, and the seal was very exquisite.

Li Sanjiang introduced, “This wine is good to drink, it doesn’t get you drunk, and you sleep very comfortably at night.”

Tan Wenbin reached out to take the wine jar and then softly asked the woman, “Can we drink this?”

This was wine brought by the dead.

Uncle Li had great blessings and a long life. Even if he just tasted a little, or even drank rat poison mixed with water to whet his appetite, it might not matter.

But ordinary people… they might already be stiff.

The woman nodded at Tan Wenbin.

Tan Wenbin was reassured and said, “Thank you.”

Immediately, he said to Li Sanjiang again, “Thank you, Grandpa.”

“Smelly boy, thank what thank. Right, since you’re back, just take this money to Xiaoyuan Hou conveniently. Save me from having to run to the post office again.”

Li Sanjiang ignored the money piled on the table, took some out of his own pocket, dipped his fingertip in a little saliva, counted out all the large bills, and put the small bills back in his pocket.

“Here, this half is for Xiaoyuan Hou, this half is for you.”

“Hmm, me and Brother Xiaoyuan half and half, isn’t that not good?”

“Mainly you’re standing right in front of me, Grandpa feels uncomfortable giving Xiaoyuan Hou too much.”

“Then okay, I’ll divide it myself, the bigger share for Brother Xiaoyuan.”

“Grandpa is fair, fair.”

“Understand, understand.”

Tan Wenbin took the money.

Li Sanjiang touched the other side of his now empty pocket again and asked, “You’re going to visit, you need to take some money too, right?”

“I’m not going to propose marriage and collect dowry, bringing some gifts is enough.”

Li Sanjiang continued to touch his empty pocket and said, “How can you not have money in your pocket? You need to make a good impression on your first visit.”

Li Sanjiang did want to take money, but mainly his recent accounts hadn’t been settled yet, and this batch of paper effigies hadn’t been shipped out. The money he just gave out was all he had.

“Hey, I still have my South and North Grandpas and Grandmas. They have a lot of retirement money and can’t spend it all. I’ll go there to beg for some.

When the day truly comes for marriage, I’ll find you again and ask for a big red envelope.”

“Then… okay.”

Li Sanjiang took out the money that had been rubbed until it was almost hot in his pocket.

“Grandpa, I’ll trouble you with these matters.”

“Doing good deeds to accumulate virtue, what’s the trouble.”

“Oh, right, Uncle Li, these two are quite old, the tomb…”

“Do you still need to tell me this? I know, I’ll build them a small siheyuan.”

“Indeed, you’re a professional.”

These days, villagers who are alive are popular in saving money to build two or three-story buildings, and the dead are no longer simply buried. They also have elaborate small two or three-story houses, complete with doors, windows, and glass.

He remembered walking on the road once, Runsheng asked how Ultraman was filmed to be so big?

Brother Xiaoyuan pointed at the dense modern exquisite mini small houses on the side of the road: You are standing in Ultraman.

Leaving Uncle Li’s home, Tan Wenbin drove to Shigang.

Zhou Yunyun’s home was not in Shigang town, but in a village below. After driving into the village, just as he was about to find someone to ask for directions, he heard someone shouting from a distance:

“Here, here!”

Knowing their daughter wanted to bring her boyfriend home for a meal, Zhou Yunyun’s parents took leave from the textile factory today. They even brought grandpa and grandma, plus a group of close relatives, and waited on the dam early.

The houses in the village were scattered, and the view was good. When they saw a small pickup truck drive in, they immediately recognized it as the future son-in-law’s visit.

Actually, Tan Wenbin was a little late. Who comes for the first time right at mealtime? But there was no other way, he had to take care of the urgent matters first.

The main reason was to take advantage of the weekend to drive home. He couldn’t delay, in case Brother Xiaoyuan woke up, he also needed to be by his side.

Tan Wenbin drove the car over. He originally wanted to stop below the dam, but Zhou Yunyun’s father was very enthusiastic and acted as a commander in front.

There was no other way, he could only drive up the dam and park the car properly.

Zhou Yunyun was wearing a white sweater and jeans, standing in the crowd. Her figure was prominent and she looked fresh and beautiful.

After Tan Wenbin got out of the car, he smiled at her, then immediately started distributing cigarettes to the men on the scene. At the same time, he actively reached out and patted Zhou Yunyun’s father, who was experiencing this situation for the first time and was inexperienced:

“Uncle, quickly teach me how to address everyone.”

Zhou Yunyun’s father was stunned for a moment, then immediately started introducing.

Tan Wenbin always asked about their unit or factory after addressing them, even if they were just bricklaying temporary workers, he could still chat a little about whether the recent construction sites were busy or not.

They were all pointless small talks, but to some people, it could make them feel very valued, not neglecting anyone.

Zhou Yunyun’s father was setting the stage on the side, as if he was the one visiting his future son-in-law for the first time today.

Everyone took their seats and started eating.

Zhou Yunyun was arranged to sit next to Tan Wenbin. Tan Wenbin chatted with others at the large round table while also making sure to help Zhou Yunyun with food.

Zhou Yunyun was shy and didn’t talk much most of the time, just sat there quietly eating small bites.

This scene looked like she had come to the man’s family’s home.

“Drink, drink well, come.”

Tan Wenbin not only came but also actively attacked.

After one meal, he had drunk down Zhou Yunyun’s father, his grandfather, his uncle, and his uncle, in short, all the adult males except the cousin who was still in elementary school.

He himself was still relaxed. In the end, he asked Zhou’s mother to add rice twice, once with meat soup and once with chicken soup, and ate a full meal.

Actually, Tan Wenbin’s alcohol tolerance wasn’t that good before, but now he had two kids on his shoulders, which was equivalent to two extra brains. Even if he drank to alcohol poisoning, he could still remain clear-minded.

After finishing the meal, the women helped their men into the house to sleep.

Tan Wenbin walked to the dam alone and felt the breeze.

A small black dog passed by on the dam, looked at Tan Wenbin, and Tan Wenbin also looked at it. They looked at each other and passed by.

That little cousin in elementary school wanted to go home to do homework, shyly waved at Tan Wenbin, and Tan Wenbin also smiled at him.

It was obvious that Tan Wenbin didn’t need the small black dog and the little cousin to distract him and ease the awkwardness.

Zhou Yunyun walked out while taking out a pack of cigarettes, pulled one out, and put it in Tan Wenbin’s mouth.

“Smoke a little less.”

“Mm-hmm.”

Tan Wenbin answered while flicking the cigarette in his mouth towards Zhou Yunyun. He saw that the monitor still held a matchbox in her hand.

Zhou Yunyun drew out a match, lit it for him, and glared at him.

“Your mom’s cooking is not bad, the dishes are really good.”

“Your mom’s cooking is also very good.”

Tan Wenbin exhaled a smoke ring, “How can you say something like that against your heart?”

His mom’s cooking could only be called edible.

He was used to being fed before and didn’t feel it. Later, during the third year of high school, he lived at Uncle Li’s house, and Aunt Liu’s cooking made him realize what real food was.

It was a pity that Aunt Liu’s apprentice Mengmeng didn’t inherit Aunt Liu’s cooking skills. Of course, you could also say she inherited it, but she was more poisonous than Aunt Liu.

“Do you still have things to do this afternoon?” Zhou Yunyun asked.

“I still need to go out this afternoon, but it’s still early, the factory hasn’t finished yet.”

“Then your dinner…”

“Didn’t your family prepare dinner?”

“My mom asked me to ask, she was afraid you had something to do this afternoon and wanted to leave.”

Tan Wenbin immediately turned his head and shouted towards the kitchen, “Auntie, I’ll eat dinner here tonight! I still want to eat that braised fish and stewed pork!”

“Okay, okay!”

Zhou Yunyun was a little amused.

“Come on, accompany me for a walk, digest. I ate too much.”

“Who told you to eat so much.”

“I’m not like you, too embarrassed to eat at home.”

Zhou Yunyun lightly hit Tan Wenbin’s shoulder a few times.

Then, the two walked side by side in the village.

They needed to walk around and make their presence known, lest the aunts and sisters-in-law in the village start worrying about arranging blind dates.

While walking, Zhou Yunyun took out a red envelope from her pocket and handed it to Tan Wenbin, “My dad and mom gave it to you.”

This made Tan Wenbin laugh, “Why, I can also get a red envelope?”

“I don’t know, my dad and mom gave it.”

Tan Wenbin didn’t take it, “Then you keep it.”

“Your mom gave it to me, if you don’t take it, how do I explain to my dad and mom?”

“Just show it to them, and explain it like this.” Zhou Yunyun reached out and hugged Tan Wenbin’s arm, “Do you know? I still feel unreal, are we really dating?”

“You’re dreaming, wake up quickly, it’s time for class, monitor.”

Zhou Yunyun lifted her head, kissed Tan Wenbin’s face, then hugged him, and continued walking forward.

After digesting, it was afternoon. Due to the wine, although drunk driving wasn’t checked much back then, Tan Wenbin still didn’t drive. He borrowed Zhou Yunyun’s father’s bicycle and rode to the factory.

Opened the seal and checked the goods.

Very lifelike, majestic like a dragon and tiger!

“Master Ge, you’re really amazing, why don’t you change careers? Open a factory yourself and just do this, you’ll definitely make a fortune!”

“What nonsense are you talking about? Who would buy this kind of thing except you?”

“Master Ge, later everyone’s life will be better, and the demand for this kind of thing will definitely increase. I heard that people in Lianyungang are already doing this.”

“Ha, I don’t believe it.”

“Then there’s no other way, let’s go, Master, see you later.”

Tan Wenbin rode his bicycle back to Uncle Li’s home again.

No one was wrong, first one, then one, one sending, one inner, one content, in one, one looking!

Uncle Li went to the village head to talk about the matter. Only Xiao Yingying was at home.

Tan Wenbin found the two urns, opened them. The normal size went into Lesser Eunuch Wang, and the super large size went into Dry Dad.

He turned around and saw the woman looking at him, or rather, at the remaining set of things in his hand.

Tan Wenbin didn’t explain but asked, “Are Brother Xiaoyuan’s grandpa and grandma not here?”

“Relatives are visiting, they’re helping out these days.”

“Oh, I see. Then, perhaps in a while, a couple with a child will come over. They are good helpers.”

“Hmm?”

“But their identities are a bit special, can you… forget it, I’ll come back again then and arrange it myself.”

The woman returned to her work position and continued making paper figures.

Tan Wenbin shrugged, rode his bicycle again, and returned to Zhou Yunyun’s home.

By now, the group of men who had been drinking had just woken up, each feeling dizzy.

Seeing Tan Wenbin still in good spirits, everyone was a little afraid.

For dinner, they just had a shallow taste, and everyone tacitly raised their wine cups.

However, even without competing in drinking, with Tan Wenbin there, it was impossible for the atmosphere to be dull.

Of course, even if Tan Wenbin didn’t have this personality, he wouldn’t be neglected, because his family background was better.

Logically, there is a blood relationship between relatives, which should make it easier to avoid such worldly things. However, within the social circle of ordinary people, the worldly side is often only reflected among relatives.

Therefore, Tan Wenbin, who had a good family background and could actively get along with everyone, was doubly welcome.

After dinner, Tan Wenbin didn’t stay overnight here. He drove back to his old home. He didn’t drink wine in the evening.

His dad and mom were both in Jinling. He was alone back, tasting the place where he once lived, then took a bath and went back to his room to sleep.

The next morning, he drove to Zhou Yunyun’s home, had breakfast there, then took Zhou Yunyun to his South and North Grandpas and Grandmas’ home to introduce her and received two thick red envelopes.

“Too much…”

“Keep it, you can borrow some from me when the dowry is not enough.”

“Where is there any dowry?”

Both sides were only children. After marriage, they needed to manage both families. There was indeed no talk of dowry. The local term ‘South and North Grandpas and Grandmas’ was used partly because no one wanted to be the one who wasn’t the grandpa or grandma.

“You sleep for a while, I’ll call you when we get to Jinling…”

“Beep beep… beep beep… beep beep…”

The pager rang. Tan Wenbin pulled over and stopped the car. How surprising, it was actually his dad calling him.

In his memory, his dad seldom called him, but would appear unexpectedly at the most inappropriate times.

He drove a short distance forward, found a public phone in town, and called back.

“Hello, this is Tan Yunlong.”

“Officer Tan, hello, I am Tan Wenbin.”

“How did it go?”

“Smoothly.” Tan Wenbin leaned against the counter. Zhou Yunyun was in the car and didn’t follow him over. “Thanks to your hard work, your son is very popular at his future father-in-law’s house.”

“There’s something I want to tell you.”

“Dad, we are father and son, no need to be so polite.”

“Do you know a girl named Chen Xiaojuan?”

“Dad, you’re wrong. I don’t fool around outside. I don’t know any flowery or beautiful Juan.”

“She’s only four years old.”

“Don’t know her.”

“She said she knows me.”

“Dad, was it you who made a mistake?”

A heavy breath came from the other end of the phone, as if regretting that the phone line didn’t have a whip.

“She said I and a brother look very similar. She is from Zhangjiajie. Didn’t you go there a while ago? Didn’t you bring some local products for your mom?”

“Ah?”

“Didn’t you buy her a lot of cherries?”

“I remember that, yes. But I don’t know her name.”

“She remembers you very well, she even remembers to come to me.”

Chen Xiaojuan and her brother sold cherries together at the train station. The competition was fierce, and they often had to sell for a long time. One day, a big brother generously threw out a lot of big unity, buying all the cherries from their brother and sister in one go, allowing them to go home and play early.

In Chen Xiaojuan’s eyes, Tan Wenbin at that time simply shone.

Although her own brother said they were doing business, not begging, and even threw the extra money back, it didn’t affect Tan Wenbin’s image in the little girl’s heart.

“She was abducted.”

“Ah?” Tan Wenbin’s face immediately became serious.

Next, during Tan Yunlong’s narration, the whole story unfolded.

Chen Xiaojuan and Chen Xiaolei’s family conditions were average. Their father died early due to illness, and their mother worked to support the family. The brother and sister relied on selling cherries at the train station to supplement the household income.

Their home had a room which they rented to a woman. The woman didn’t work and usually didn’t go out, but she ate and drank quite well, and often gave the brother and sister some food.

Originally, they rented a room to her because she seemed like a female tenant, and the children’s mother was willing to rent a room in their home to her, although it was a countryside house, the rent wasn’t much.

As a result, that day, when brother Chen Xiaolei came back with good cherries, he didn’t see his sister Chen Xiaojuan, who should have been at home. The woman who rented the house was also gone, and her luggage was packed away.

He knew something bad had happened, immediately went to find his mom, and then immediately reported it to the police.

The female tenant left without a word and also abducted the child from their home.

This kind of case was very difficult for the police to find because there was no direction.

Tan Yunlong’s unit was preparing for the upcoming Spring Festival travel season. Several departments were conducting joint drills. Tan Yunlong led a team to patrol and inspect the train.

When they passed by a seat, a little girl sitting in her ‘mom’s’ arms happily drinking soda suddenly looked up at him and said:

“Eh, brother, how did you get old?”

It was originally a very simple sentence, but it made Tan Yunlong take a second look at the girl and conveniently glance at the mom holding the girl.

The girl’s mom lowered her head, her face buried in the girl’s shoulder. This was a very normal action.

But the girl was talking to him, and the mom wasn’t sleeping, yet she didn’t lift her head to look at him, which was a bit strange.

An old criminal policeman’s intuition is sometimes that sensitive.

“Little sister, where have you seen me?”

While chatting, the girl’s mom finally lifted her head and smiled, motioning for the girl not to disturb the uncle’s work.

Tan Yunlong immediately recognized her: it was the wanted criminal, Tian Meihong!

The fugitive who had organized a gang that robbed taxi drivers in Jinling before and was still on the run. She also had a human life on her hands!

Actually, the photo on the wanted poster was blurry, and it was also her previous photo. Tian Meihong had also disguised herself, and her appearance was not the same as before.

Under normal circumstances, she only needed to use a fake ID, and the wanted poster would have little effect on her, after all, so many years had passed.

But the problem was, his son had just flashed this wanted poster in front of him a while ago, and he was very familiar with the facial features and details of this face.

Moreover, Tan Yunlong always had a premonition that when his son started inexplicably focusing on that wanted poster, he might catch her not long after.

In short, under many coincidences, Tian Meihong was caught just like this.

She had been on the run for these years, thinking the heat had died down. The most important thing was that she had run out of money, so she wanted to ‘re-emerge’ and chose Jinling, the old place where she had once created her ‘glory’.

As for abducting Chen Xiaojuan, it was just a side benefit. She planned to sell the child after abducting her and use the money as startup funds for a new gang.

Tan Wenbin: “This is a good thing, Dad.”

Hearing that the girl was rescued, Tan Wenbin also breathed a sigh of relief.

Tan Yunlong: “I just feel it’s a bit coincidental.”

Tan Wenbin: “That’s because you have eagle eyes.”

Tan Yunlong: “Ha.”

Tan Wenbin: “Ha.”

“Her brother came out to find her. By coincidence, he also came on the Jinling train. He’s already at the police station at the station. Their mom fainted from anxiety at home, but luckily she’s awake now. We’ve also notified her mom.”

“That’s really good, everything is resolved.”

“Zhangjiajie cherries, are they good?”

“Quite good.”

“I didn’t see you bring any back home.”

“I bought quite a lot to bring back, but A You ate it all.”

“What time are you coming back?”

“Already on the way. I just stopped to call you back.”

“Drive carefully.”

“Yes, sir!”

…

Li Zhuoyuan completely woke up. This time it wasn’t in the form of wandering in the underworld, and his vision had returned to normal, but his brain was still a little groggy.

The first person he saw when he opened his eyes was A Li.

A Li stood up, walked out of the room, and soon came back with a bowl of very thick soup.

Li Zhuoyuan didn’t let the girl feed him. He took the spoon and obediently drank the medicine.

This bowl looked very similar to hot and sour soup.

Except the ingredients inside were much more precious than those in hot and sour soup.

He only ate a few mouthfuls and felt warm throughout his body. This was indeed a tonic.

After drinking a bowl of the medicine, his stomach was full and he wasn’t hungry at all.

Li Zhuoyuan first went to the second floor to find Grandma Liu.

“Awake?”

“Um, awake.”

Liu Yumei no longer blamed the teenager for not taking care of himself, because she knew very well that the price paid for overdrafting oneself while walking the river was not a big deal, and it could even be considered lucky.

“Next time, let Mengmeng carry some medicine materials with her and have her boil them for you to drink directly.”

“Okay.”

He could bring the medicine materials, but she didn’t need to boil the medicine, right?

With Yin Meng’s current understanding of poison, Li Zhuoyuan was very worried that if he drank the medicine she boiled after falling into a coma, he might not wake up again.

“Rest well.”

“Yes, Grandma.”

He went downstairs to the kitchen to greet Aunt Liu.

Aunt Liu was washing the medicine pot, and Uncle Qin was sitting there grinding a vegetable knife.

“Hungry?” Aunt Liu asked with a mischievous smile.

“Not hungry.”

Uncle Qin put down the knife, reached out and pinched Li Zhuoyuan’s arm and leg, and said with some regret, “It’s not time yet, but…”

Li Zhuoyuan: “Then just wait until it’s time.”

Practicing martial arts prematurely would lead to unhealthy physical development, especially the Qin family’s martial arts, which emphasized squeezing the body’s potential.

Li Zhuoyuan didn’t want to drink poison to quench his thirst. Since the river water had already pulled him into the field with the meaning of strangulation, he just wanted to grow in the most perfect way.

Leaving the kitchen, he walked to A Li’s study.

A few musical instruments had been added inside, a guzheng and a guqin.

The musical instruments were transported here early, but A Li was afraid of disturbing the teenager’s rest and never played them.

Even now, the qin and zither were still covered with two pieces of cloth, one red and one white.

“A Li, I want to go back first. There are still some things I need to wrap up. I’ll come and chat with you tomorrow. Can you teach me how to play this?”

The girl nodded.

Li Zhuoyuan reached out and rubbed his temples, turned to leave, but then suddenly thought of something, turned back, and said:

“Almost forgot, I need to say hello to them first.”

Li Zhuoyuan walked to the girl’s front and took her hand.

The girl didn’t close her eyes. She felt the teenager had just woken up and wasn’t suitable for walking in the underworld. He should rest.

Li Zhuoyuan reached out and gently stroked the girl’s eyes, making them close.

The next moment, Li Zhuoyuan appeared in that flat house.

It was still the row of cracked ancestor tablets from the first time he saw them.

Looking at these tablets again now, he had a completely different experience than before.

Grandma Liu had told him to think of himself as a child of the family.

Grandma Liu had said similar words before, but he was surnamed Li after all, not Qin or Liu.

Although he had gone through the initiation ritual, he hadn’t truly entered the heart of this door, there was always a layer of separation.

When looking at these tablets before, the connection in the middle was more with A Li.

This experience of the general tomb helped him break this barrier.

He was still Li Zhuoyuan, and had no blood relation with the Qin and Liu families, but the concept of inheritance sometimes outweighed blood relation.

The same path, the same road, the same river.

Before, they were like portraits hung in the school’s hall of fame. Now, Li Zhuoyuan felt they were his elders.

He turned around and faced the threshold.

The teenager was still very tired now. When he stepped over the threshold, he still needed to use his hand to support the door frame.

Then, he sat down on the threshold.

Far ahead was a dense fog, so dense it couldn’t be denser.

The teenager leaned his head against the door frame and listlessly swept his gaze towards them. After looking for a few moments, he closed his eyes. He was still tired. He could endure in reality, but when walking in the underworld, he felt sleepy.

The teenager with closed eyes faced the dense fog.

In the dense fog, it was quiet, as if not daring to disturb him at this moment.

The corpse driver actively appeared. Its appearance was not a prominent feature in itself.

The main point was that everyone felt that at that time, the teenager was actively in control.

The situation had actually changed.

They were no longer bullying him, but the teenager was actively collecting debts from them.

Although Li Zhuoyuan’s purpose in doing so last time was to conduct an experiment.

But this behavior gave people the feeling of a domineering Dragon King.

Similar temperament occasionally appeared in Liu Yumei, and now, the teenager also had it.

He opened his dazed eyes, and Li Zhuoyuan stood up.

The thick fog ahead, along with the teenager’s actions, began to retreat.

The teenager took one last look at them, turned around, and walked back inside the threshold.

Those outside,

were the rotten mud splashed under the feet of the predecessors as they walked the path in the past, and also the direction guide for his future path forward, Li Zhuoyuan.

But in the end, some things could not be discussed openly.

When he opened his eyes again, he was back in the reality study.

A Li opened her eyes and looked at him.

He felt that the girl’s eyes were more lively, especially her eyelashes, which seemed much more cheerful than before.

She was willing to pick up the musical instrument again for this reason, because music requires a mood. If she just played her own fear and misery, it would be meaningless, and would only make the people at home sad with her.

Li Zhuoyuan: “I did learn piano.”

In childhood, Li Lan did take him to learn many things.

At that time, he was silly and thought as long as he learned fast, his mom would be happy.

Looking back now, this should have been Li Lan’s experiment.

She wanted to give birth to a normal child, and after giving birth, she would try various ways to prove he was not normal.

After leaving Grandma Liu’s home, Li Zhuoyuan first came to the convenience store.

But he didn’t find anyone.

Lu Yi said that Yin Meng wanted to buy several sets of daily clothes for Runsheng, so she took him shopping.

He was at Grandma Liu’s house, lying in A Li’s room. They really had nothing to worry about, and it wasn’t very convenient to visit. His companions could live a normal life now.

Besides, Lu Yi also told Li Zhuoyuan that Tan Wenbin had just called and said that Tian Meihong was caught by his dad.

Lu Yi didn’t know who Tian Meihong was, he just relayed the information normally.

Tan Wenbin was still on his way back to Jinling at the moment. Even when he got back to Jinling, he needed to take Zhou Yunyun to her audit first. He was afraid of delaying for too long on the road, and Brother Xiaoyuan might wake up, so he just reported this information first.

Lu Yi sat behind the counter, now acting like an intelligence transfer station for the team, a human answering machine.

Li Zhuoyuan returned to the dormitory and saw an envelope on his desk.

After opening it, there was a stack of photos inside.

The photos were taken on a mountain with beautiful scenery, with a small town in the foreground.

This was not Mei Ling Town. The sky in Mei Ling Town was not so sunny.

In the next photo, there was a photo of Grandma Zhu and a painting of her hometown.

He himself was also in the photo, being carried by Runsheng. From the angle of the shot, it looked like they were looking at the distant scenery together.

Although he was in a coma at that time, his companions still took him to Grandma Zhu’s hometown before leaving Zhangjiajie.

He only needed to hand this envelope to Professor Zhu, and Grandma Zhu’s last wish would be considered fulfilled.

Brother Hu and those three scums should still be buried in that water, unknown whether they were alive or dead. The high probability was that they were dead. Even if they were alive, they couldn’t get out.

They did find the ‘Jie Family Old House’ and went there.

There was gold in that ancient tomb for them to dig. Tan Wenbin had told him that his dry dad had been buried with gold and silver.

Tian Meihong was also caught.

Li Zhuoyuan looked at the envelope in his hand.

The three lines of cause and effect he had created were all fulfilled in the end. They dug the ditch well in advance, and the river water flowed in obediently.

This field experiment was successful.

Li Zhuoyuan sat listlessly in front of the desk, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips. Although his face still showed tiredness, the light in the teenager’s eyes flowed:

“Let’s go, we’ll continue.”

(End of this volume)