Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 8

Grandma Liu said that her granddaughter did not have ordinary autism, and now Li Zhuiyuan believed it.

"Uncle Sanjiang, Uncle Sanjiang!"

Behind him, Niu Fu's voice and footsteps were getting closer and closer, and the girl's eyes were still fixed on his movements.

But you can't just keep staring at it...

Li Zhuiyuan walked towards the girl, stopped four meters in front of the threshold, then moved two steps sideways, using his body to block the girl's view of Niu Fu.

In fact, it would be easier to walk up to the girl and cover her eyes with his hands, but he didn't dare.

Grandma Liu’s previous warning was by no means groundless, not to mention, there was also Li Sanjiang’s bloody lesson.

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that the girl's eyelashes were trembling slightly.

I just don’t know if it was because of the approach of this stranger or because of what she “saw”.

However, the girl did not turn sideways in an attempt to bypass her own obstruction and continue looking. Instead, she returned her neck to its previous position and looked straight ahead.

She was frozen again.

Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that the other party would suddenly rush up and bite him.

However, this was the first time he was so close to her.

The retro outfit she is wearing really suits her and complements her perfectly.

She sat there, as if she was the outsider who had intruded into her era, her villa.

Liu Yumei came over at this time, put her hand gently on Li Zhuiyuan's shoulder, and said softly: "Xiaoyuan, grandma reminded you not to get too close to A'li."

"I remember, grandma." Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the threshold in front of him, "I won't move forward any further."

Perhaps because of their previous encounter, Liu Yumei had a good impression of the boy. She couldn't help but tease him, "How about my Ah Li, isn't she pretty?"

"Well, it looks good. It's up to you."

"Hehehe..."

Liu Yumei was amused and started laughing. She walked into the house and took a look at the six-layer wooden rack on the inner room. It was filled with tablets. Those on the left were all surnamed Liu, and those on the right were surnamed Qin.

She picked up an empty plate, selected a few cakes from the tribute plate below, turned around and walked out, handing the plate to Li Zhuiyuan:
"Come, grandma will treat you to some snacks."

"Thank you, grandma." Li Zhuiyuan reached out and took it.

"What was taken off the tribute plate is clean."

"Ah."

Li Zhuiyuan did not despise it. He picked up a piece of crispy cake and took a bite. It was soft and delicate in the mouth, with a rich aftertaste.

Liu Yumei asked, "Is it sweet?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head: "It's delicious, but not sweet."

Liu Yumei sat down on the doorstep and looked at Li Zhuiyuan: "When will your mother come to pick you up and take you back to Beijing?"

"See when mom is free."

"Do you miss your mother?"

"think."

"Think? Why didn't you hear it?"

"Think about it in your mind."

"He is a calm and steady person. Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I am the only one of my parents."

"Our A'li is also one." Liu Yumei said, looking at the girl, her eyes full of love.

She raised her hand as if she wanted to touch her granddaughter's head, but then she pulled her hand back.

"Grandma Liu, where are you from?"

"My grandmother's ancestors were river boatmen, so they don't have an ancestral home. But if we really want to talk about it, this Yangtze River is the ancestral home of my grandmother and her grandfather."

When Qin Li's grandfather was mentioned, a hint of regret appeared on Liu Yumei's face.

Then, she looked at Li Zhuiyuan with this expression.

Li Zhuiyuan understood and asked:
"Grandma and Grandpa have a good relationship, right?"

"It wasn't good at the beginning. Our two families were considered enemies for generations. Later, that shameless guy fell in love with me and insisted on marrying me. My father and my brothers were so angry that they almost tied him up and threw him into the river. The two families almost fought again."

Seeing that Liu Yumei was still not satisfied, Li Zhuiyuan continued to ask: "What happened next?"

"Later, he tricked me into marrying him and giving birth to his child."

"Has your family accepted Grandpa?"

"Well, I accepted it, and we sank into the river together."

Having said this, Liu Yumei suddenly came to her senses and wondered how she got here.

"By the way, Xiaoyuan, why did your parents divorce?"

After asking this question, Liu Yumei felt a little regretful. How could she ask this to her child?

"Because we can't live together anymore."

"Your dad's problem?"

"Dad loves Mom very much."

At this time, Niu Fu's voice came from behind in the distance: "Okay, Uncle Sanjiang, it's settled. I'm leaving and will wait for you at home."

Li Zhuiyuan was a little surprised. Was it so fast?
He secretly looked back and found that Niu Fu was still severely hunched over when he walked to the edge of the dam. Li Zhuiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he still went to find Li Sanjiang immediately.

"Grandpa, Grandpa."

"What's wrong?"

Li Sanjiang did not stop when he heard the call, but walked straight to the toilet, unbuttoned his trouser pockets, and sat on the dragon throne.

The short Li Zhuiyuan stood below, all he needed was a whisk.

In fact, the toilet in Li Sanjiang's house was well built. It was located at the back of the new house, away from people.

Many of the other toilets in the village are next to the main house, facing the village road. People sit there and come and go during the day, as if they are receiving an audience with all the officials.

When meeting someone familiar, they will take the initiative to say hello and stop to chat.

"Master, did you promise him?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?"

"He has that on his back..."

"Grandpa knows. I didn't intend to go, but he doubled the interest, and he doubled it for all three brothers and sisters. So I had to go. Hehe, it was really too much."

"But it's dangerous..."

"Little Marquis Yuan, money makes the world go round. Danger is relative to not having enough money. Just wait and see. Blind Liu will definitely go there too."

"Master..."

"Little Marquis Yuan, this is what your great grandfather does for a living. Besides, it's okay. I've seen a lot of storms and waves, but I've never had my boat capsize."

"when to go?"

"It depends on Blind Liu to set the date, but it's probably going to be soon. We have to bring it forward. When your grandfather Han Hou came to deliver your clothes, he said that he would soon organize everyone to go to the river to fetch water."

"Choose a river?"

"Yes, it's about digging a river. It's a decades-old tradition. Almost all the able-bodied laborers in the surrounding villages... no, almost all the able-bodied laborers in the rural areas of Jiangsu have to go.

So, we have to hold the funeral before the river crossing."

……

"We have to hold the funeral before the river crossing, otherwise the family will not be at peace."

Not far from Li Sanjiang's house, Niu Fu stood under a tree beside the creek, leaning against the tree with one hand and unbuttoning his belt with the other, ready to release the water.

When he was tying his belt after the performance, he inexplicably felt as if his back had straightened a little, and he even jumped a little.

Looking back at Li Sanjiang's house not far away, Niu Fu couldn't help but sigh:

"It seems that Uncle Sanjiang is just as good as Aunt Liu!"

……

Li Zhuiyuan walked into the room and saw Aunt Liu coloring the paper figurines. Aunt Liu smiled and waved to him:

"Xiaoyuan, do you want to come play?"

"No, Aunt Liu, I'm busy now."

"Okay, you should take care of your business first." Aunt Liu smiled. She thought the child's serious look was really cute.

Li Zhuiyuan carefully moved a paper house blocking the stairs, walked down, and saw a rusty iron door.

There was a pair of cloth shoes on the ground in front of the door. Li Zhuiyuan bent down and found a key inside. He inserted the key into the door, opened the door lock, and pushed it in. A dusty and musty smell immediately came out.

It was pitch black inside. Li Zhuiyuan reached out and groped along the wall near the door. Finally, he found a rope and pulled it downwards.

"Tick."

no response.

He pulled twice more.

"Snapped!"

The light didn't come on and the rope was broken.

There was no choice but for Li Zhuiyuan to run back upstairs and find a flashlight in the drawer of the cabinet at the door.

I unscrewed the back cover and it was empty inside. Fortunately, the batteries were also in the drawer. I threw two big-butt batteries in, turned the cover back, tried it, and it lit up.

I went back to the basement and looked inside. The space was not big. It was not dug down from the original area of ​​the first floor. However, there were a lot of things, and they were arranged in categories and in an orderly manner.

It seems that my grandfather did take great care to tidy it up, but he hasn't been there for a few years, and there is a thick layer of dust on the things.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to a shelf. His eyes were first attracted by a peach wood sword. He picked it up, blew on it, and dust flew away.

"Cough...cough..."

After coughing, Li Zhuiyuan took a flashlight and carefully observed the sword.

There are all kinds of incomprehensible patterns carved on it, and some reflective metal sheets are attached to it, as well as some seal characters.

In short, the shape is very simple and the content is very rich.

Li Zhuiyuan admired it very carefully and attentively, until he shone the flashlight on the lower end of the hilt of the peach wood sword and read out the words on it:
"Linyi Furniture Factory, Shandong."

Li Zhuiyuan: “…”

Putting down the peach wood sword, Li Zhuiyuan picked up a copper coin sword next to him.

This time he learned his lesson and looked at the hilt first, then the side of the sword, and after confirming that there was no factory declaration, he carefully observed the blade.

"Kangxi Tongbao, Qianlong Tongbao, Jiaqing Tongbao..."

Although the copper coin is not very old, it should be real.

However, when Li Zhuiyuan continued to shine the flashlight carefully, he suddenly discovered that there was something mixed in it, and the size was very different from the copper coins.

He tried to pick it out with his fingers, but couldn't get it off. He could only continue to look for it in other places on the sword. Soon he found another one of the same size. This time he could see it clearly...

There were actually a lot of 1-cent and 5-cent coins!
The sword was made of copper coins on the outside, but was filled with coins inside, and not even a dime could be found.

Although cents are also currency... they can't be considered fake, but when mixed together like this, Li Zhuiyuan always feels weird.

After putting the copper coin sword back, Li Zhuiyuan continued to search.

He saw two large flags; no, looking at their long shapes, they would be more appropriately called banners.

These two banners took up a large space on the table, one was black and the other was purple.

The black one has many skulls and dragons embroidered on it, which looks evil.
The purple one has many flowers, birds and golden dragons embroidered on it, and looks very righteous.

Li Zhuiyuan tried to take one of the sides down, but found that he couldn't lift it with one hand. He could only lean closer to the table, put the flashlight closer, and continue to flip it carefully.

He didn't know what he was looking for, but he felt that he should be able to find it.

Sure enough, on the wooden handle of the black flag, Li Zhuiyuan found a line of crooked brush calligraphy: Li’s Funeral Team.

It is not even traditional Chinese characters, but simplified Chinese characters.

Li Zhuiyuan recalled that when the funeral was held at Big Beard's house, the funeral team that Little Yellow Ying was a part of also took out a lot of ritual instruments and props. Those things were counted by bundles, and after the funeral was over, they were all packed up and thrown onto the truck.

Soon, Li Zhuiyuan also found words on the purple banner, but this time they were traditional Chinese characters, but there was an extra sentence:
"Xue Ji's funeral class, the wrong son was born without an eye."

"Ugh."

Li Zhuiyuan sighed and pulled the banner back.

The anticipation and excitement he had felt when he first came in had gradually faded away, and now he felt more peaceful.

The grandfather did not lie to himself, he indeed collected a bunch of...junk.

When I was a child, my mother often took me to her workplace. At that time, the protection of cultural relics was not as strict as it is now. Many cultural relics did not even have a glass cover and could even be touched up close.

Therefore, Li Zhuiyuan had observed many Buddhist instruments up close, the solemnity of Buddhism, the simplicity of Taoism, and the mystery of Lamaism.

When I watched them before, they were too large and filling, even a little greasy, but no matter what, they are incomparable to what I see now, at least... they don't have labels.

Yes, Li Zhuiyuan saw labels on the next few Taoist robes, and they also marked the sizes.

There was a note on the back of the bright yellow Taoist robe that read: For crew use only.

Li Zhuiyuan also found three large baskets of talisman paper. He picked them up and looked at them carefully. They felt smooth to the touch and he couldn't understand the patterns on them, but he could tell that they were written in one go and were very beautiful.

This made him feel interesting, and he flipped through other talismans and found that there were quite a lot of types.

But soon, Li Zhuiyuan discovered something was wrong. When he placed two similar talismans in front of him, he could not tell the difference between them. Even the gap at the bottom corner was exactly the same.

So… this is printed?

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes, which were a little sore from seeing so many things. He even suspected that his grandfather had stockpiled so many things here, and he might have originally intended to set up a funeral team. Together with the tables, chairs, bowls, and paper figurines, he could put together a complete funeral industry chain.

Without looking at the objects anymore, Li Zhuiyuan walked to the innermost part, where there were more than a dozen boxes.

I remember my great grandfather said that these were things that someone else had deposited with him, and they were all books.

"Ok?"

Li Zhuiyuan bent down and shone a flashlight on the box to examine it carefully. The material... was almost exactly the same as the one in Grandpa Zhou's home, which he loved to collect in the family compound.

That time, Grandpa Zhou received a box and was so excited that he immediately called his old friends over to show off, and he was also called over to make tea.

There are three boxes like this in front of me.

Although the materials and colors of the other boxes were different, Li Zhuiyuan observed that the quality was not bad.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation rising in his heart. Such a valuable box should not contain books from the publishing house, right?
Furthermore, it was impossible for state-owned publishing houses in the past to publish a book like the Jinsha Luo Wen Jing, after all, it was feudal and superstitious.

There were traces of a seal on the box, which must have been torn off long ago. There was originally a lock, but it was also pried off.

Li Zhuiyuan felt that it must have been done by his great grandfather, so was it really someone else who left it with his great grandfather?

Even though it was not locked, it took Li Zhuiyuan a lot of effort to push open the lid. After opening it and shining the flashlight inside, Li Zhuiyuan took a deep breath.

Books, books, books, all books!
And it's not printed, you can tell from the cover that it's handwritten.

When he was in school, the class would go through several sets of textbooks every semester, but he only found them interesting when he read them for the first time.

Now, he finally experienced the happiness of being wrapped in books.

He picked up several books in succession, looked at the cover, and found that they were all "Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu", divided into many volumes.

The "jianghu" here does not refer to martial arts, but real rivers and lakes.

Li Zhuiyuan held a flashlight and opened the first volume. He found that there were not only texts but also illustrations. One of the illustrations was of a person standing and walking in the water.

There is actually a description of death in this book?
This is not a place to read books. After closing the book, Li Zhuiyuan searched in the box for a long time and finally found all the books.

"Records of Strange Tales from the Jianghu" has a total of forty-two volumes.

There are a lot of volumes, but that’s no wonder, after all, they are handwritten with a brush and the font is relatively large.

Li Zhuiyuan decided to finish reading this set first. It should be similar to an encyclopedia that specifically describes the strange existences in rivers and lakes, and can be regarded as an introductory reading.

Li Zhuiyuan did not open the other boxes as he wanted to keep some anticipation.

Next, Li Zhuiyuan started working as a book porter. It took him three trips to finally move the entire set of Jianghu Zhiguai Lu to his room on the second floor.

He also locked the basement door again and carried the key with him instead of putting it in his cloth shoes.

"Little Marquis Yuan." Li Sanjiang's voice came from outside, "Little Marquis Yuan, come out quickly."

Li Zhuiyuan opened the door and walked out.

"Wow... did you just go rolling in the mud?"

"Grandpa, I'm going to take a shower and change clothes now."

"Don't be impatient, take a look at this first, haha. Come on, Li Hou, put it here, let's put the grandfather and grandson side by side."

"Okay." Uncle Qin came up carrying a rattan chair.

Li Zhuiyuan felt a warm feeling in his heart. He had just told his great grandfather yesterday that he wanted a rattan chair, and his great grandfather actually bought it for him today.

"Grandpa, I also want a desk lamp."

The light bulb in the house was not bright enough. It was enough to provide some light at night, but it was difficult to read. Li Zhuiyuan saw that there was a kerosene lamp at home, but there was no need to endure the hardship.

"You need a desk lamp to read?"

"Ah."

"Okay, Li Hou, go to town again and buy the boy's desk lamp, and buy some more pens and notebooks. I see that other boys have stationery boxes... Forget it, just buy whatever you think is enough."

"Okay, I'll go after dinner."

"Don't do it in the afternoon. There's still some time before lunch. You should go now."

"it is good."

Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhuiyuan again and said seriously, "When your grandfather came here earlier, I told him to ask Ying Hou to come over this afternoon to tutor you."

After saying that, Li Sanjiang's old face actually revealed a joking expression of "Ha, you didn't expect that?"

"what?"

Li Zhuiyuan showed disappointment on his face. He planned to concentrate on reading and didn't want to help his sister with her studies.

When my sister was doing her summer homework for her freshman year in high school, there weren’t actually that many questions she didn’t understand. Now that she’s already preparing for her sophomore year courses in advance, she doesn’t understand that many questions anymore.

Li Sanjiang reached out and rubbed Li Zhuiyuan's head, and said earnestly: "You, kid, take after your mother. Isn't it a pity not to use such a smart brain to study?"

"But, Master..."

"No buts. Study hard and get into a good university like your mother. That's the right path. Do you understand?"

"But Grandpa, I'm already taking classes at the university."

"Hey, you still dare to fool me, your great grandfather. I may have eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run. Listen, this is it!
Oh, by the way, Lihou, when you go to town later, buy some snacks for the children. Buy whatever is available, and buy some for your daughter as well."

"Okay, uncle."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Uncle Qin, pointed to the southeast corner of the terrace, and said, "Uncle, can you help me put the rattan chair over there?"

Uncle Qin: “Okay.”

"Why put it there?" Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan was unwilling to sit side by side with his rattan chair, Li Sanjiang walked to the southeast corner curiously. Wow, when he looked down, he saw the little girl sitting on the threshold of the east room.

"Hey, Xiao Yuanhou, what are you doing here?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandpa, I think this place has good feng shui."

"Bah!" Li Sanjiang cursed with a smile, "Do you think I don't know what you are thinking? You just want to look at the pretty girl."

Qin Li, that girl, is indeed pretty, otherwise Li Sanjiang would not have taken the initiative to hand her the candy, but that girl is the real murderer.

Uncle Qin moved the rattan chair over, then said hello to Li Sanjiang. He was going to the town to buy things next.

After Uncle Qin left, Li Sanjiang pulled Li Zhuiyuan and pointed at him, warning:

"I'm telling you, Xiao Yuanhou, just look at this girl, don't even think about getting close to her or playing with her, or she'll scratch your face. Look at your face, it's so white and tender. It would be such a pity if you scratched it, how are you going to find a wife in the future?"

"Okay, Master, I understand."

"Besides, you can like any girl, but liking a mentally ill girl won't help no matter how pretty she is. Do you really want to take care of her for the rest of your life?"

Li Sanjiang was not in a position to say these words when Qin Li was around.

"I understand, Master."

"Forget it, you are still young, why should I tell you all this? You are still too early to get married. Well, I am going to go out for a while, and I will not be back for lunch, you can eat alone."

"Ah."

Li Sanjiang walked down the stairs with his hands behind his back, humming a little tune. He walked to the dam, turned his head, looked at the terrace above, and a smile appeared on his face.

When Xiao Yuanhou asked him for something, he didn't feel sorry for the money because he had money!
He suddenly felt that giving the money he earned to his children was also a kind of happiness.

In the past, he thought it was a shame for the Marquis of Han to be a slave to his sons, especially since those sons were not very filial. But now, he suddenly understood some things.

What if raising children is not for the purpose of providing for oneself in old age, but simply because one feels that it would be interesting and would make one's life more fulfilling?

I gave birth to you and raised you, but I don't ask you to be grateful to me. Anyway, I am doing this for the sake of making my life complete.

Hey, this feels pretty good.

Li Sanjiang shook his head and thought, forget it, what’s the point of thinking about these things now? I am almost old enough to be buried, and I am destined to be childless in this life.

After his grandfather left, Li Zhuiyuan took a bath, changed his clothes, and could not wait to pick up the first volume of "Jianghu Zhiguai Lu". He sat on the rattan chair, opened the page and began to read.

The characters in this book are written in the Slender Gold style, which makes it much more comfortable to read. In comparison, the characters in the Jinsha Luowen Sutra look like dog crawling.

I made a silent wish in my heart: I hope that all the other books in the box have good handwriting.

Li Zhuiyuan quickly immersed himself in the reading atmosphere, but every time he turned the page, he would glance down at the girl sitting there with her feet on the doorstep.

He didn't have any distracting thoughts in his mind. He simply felt that looking at beautiful things could please the eyes and make people feel happier.

However, apart from turning her head to look at Niu Fu's back in the morning, the girl did not make any other movements.

The reading time passed quickly. Uncle Qin came back in the middle of the reading and brought me a desk lamp, a set of stationery, and a lot of snacks.

After watching for a while, Aunt Liu's voice came from below: "Xiao Yuanhou, it's time to eat!"

"Okay, I'm coming down."

Putting down the book, Li Zhuiyuan went downstairs and still had lunch on the dam, but he sat at a table alone.

On the square wooden stool were placed a plate of chicken nuggets and edamame, a plate of scrambled eggs with leeks, and a bowl of crucian carp soup.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but sigh that the living conditions in his great-grandfather's family were indeed good.

At grandpa’s house, Brother Pan Zi and Brother Lei Zi should still be drinking porridge now.

However, he didn't think about bringing food back to share, as he knew that was inappropriate.

On the dam, Grandma Liu squatted beside Qin Li and persuaded him softly.

Finally, Qin Li lowered his head and started eating.

It is still the same way of eating breakfast, with dishes and rice coming in at a regular frequency and the rhythm is definitely not disrupted.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished eating, he put away the dishes and sent them to the kitchen before Aunt Liu showed up. Then he washed his hands and went back to the second floor to continue reading.

The first volume of this book starts with talking about deadfalls. There are really many types of deadfalls. Those like the little yellow warbler that can walk upright are only considered moderately dangerous in this book, or even slightly below that.

But the more brutal the death, the vaguer the recorded years and locations, and the more abstract the pictures, gradually making it feel a bit like reading the Classic of Mountains and Seas.

Li Zhuiyuan thought this was normal. It was so ferocious that not many people who saw it could come back alive, so naturally the records were vague.

"Touko."

Yingzi came over holding a wooden stool and a small bench.

Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at Yingzi: "Sister."

"I'm here, haha, come, have some candy." Yingzi took out candy from her pocket and handed it over.

"Thank you, sister." Li Zhuiyuan peeled a piece of candy, put it in his mouth, and then walked into his bedroom.

Yingzi opened the cloth bag and placed the book and the questions on it. She curiously reached out and flipped through the book that Li Zhuiyuan had left on the rattan chair. She frowned slightly because she couldn't understand the words.

At this time, Li Zhuiyuan came out with some snacks and placed them next to Yingzi: "Sister, eat."

"This is too much. How can I eat so much?"

"Take it back to everyone, don't let grandpa and grandma see it."

Li Zhuiyuan took out the snacks that Li Weihan had brought him in the morning. They were bought by his great grandfather, so he didn't touch them.

"You're my younger brother, I feel embarrassed to eat your food."

Seeing that Li Zhuiyuan had already picked up the book and continued reading, Yingzi had no choice but to continue:
"Yuanzi, when I start working and earn money, I will buy you more delicious food."

Li Zhuiyuan raised her head and responded with a smile: "Okay, sister."

Then he lowered his head and continued reading.

Seeing that he was absorbed in what she was reading, Yingzi also lowered her head to prepare for her own homework. However, this time she did not ask Li Zhuiyuan whenever she encountered something she did in the past. Instead, she wrote it down and waited to ask him all at the end so as not to disturb him.

After finishing the first volume, Li Zhuiyuan stood up, walked to an open space in front, and carefully performed a set of national radio gymnastics for middle school students.

A lot of the content in this book is written in an obscure and vague way, and I have to think about it while reading. This is the first time that I have found reading a book so tiring.

But it’s really fulfilling and I feel a sense of achievement.

Li Zhuiyuan was very happy because he could finally empathize with his classmates who were poor academic performers. It turned out that they had been living such a happy and fulfilling life.

After finishing his exercises, Li Zhuiyuan went to the toilet. He didn't use the spittoon during the day. He went downstairs and ran to the back of the house. On the way, he saw the girl sitting behind the door and stopped to say hello:

"good afternoon."

Of course, the girl didn't respond, not even glancing at him.

After returning to the second floor, he put the first volume back, took out the second volume and continued reading.

With the adaptation of the first volume as a foundation, Li Zhuiyuan was able to gradually understand the author's writing habits and even resonate with some of his mentalities, so he finished the second volume in only half the time of the first volume.

He immediately changed to the third volume, and by the time he finished reading it, it was almost dusk.

Li Zhuiyuan put down the book and looked at Sister Yingzi next to him.

"Sister, is there anything you don't understand?"

"Yes, this, this, this, this, this, and these..."

Li Zhuiyuan took over his sister's pen and began to write down the process of solving the problem. He wrote as detailed as possible so that his sister could read it slowly by herself. At least, it was much more efficient than explaining it orally.

Looking at her younger brother writing quickly on the notebook, Yingzi felt envious.

Sure enough, if the Li family eliminated the younger sister-in-law and younger brother, so many people in the family might not be able to put together a brain.

She also really felt that she was very lucky. Although her parents gave her money to buy teaching materials, the tutoring books of that era were very rough. Many real questions and explanations were only available in some key and prestigious schools. It was difficult to get them even if she was willing to spend money.

Not to mention that the role of her younger brother has long surpassed the tutoring books. He is simply her own private tutor. Even if her parents are open-minded, they can't hire a school teacher to give her private lessons, and they can't afford it.

After Li Zhuiyuan finished writing, he breathed a sigh of relief, rubbed his sore wrist, and said, "Sister, I suggest that you should first understand the concepts thoroughly, and then use simple questions to deepen your understanding, so that your learning efficiency can be improved."

Yingzi: But, that’s what I did?

Yingzi lowered her head and began to look at the solution process given by her brother. She could feel that it was very detailed, but when she looked at it step by step, she still felt a little difficult.

It was as if my brain was being forcibly ripped open, and knowledge was being stuffed into it bit by bit with great difficulty, and then only a little at a time.

At this time, Li Sanjiang came back. He walked to the dam and looked up to see Li Zhuiyuan and Yingzi sitting in the southeast corner of the second floor.

He saw Li Zhuiyuan with a smile on his face and a relaxed look, and he also saw Yingzi with a sad and hopeless look on her face.

"Humph, this brat doesn't study hard and is giving me a headache!"

……

Yingzi did not stay here for dinner. Li Weihan had already instructed her to do so when she came.

This time, Li Sanjiang really tried to keep her, but when he saw that she insisted on refusing, he gave up.

In the past, Li Sanjiang had always looked down upon Li Weihan's four sons, and even ignored their own children. But who told him to ask Yingzi to tutor Xiao Yuanhou today?

"Xiao Yuanhou, give some snacks to your sister tomorrow."

Li Zhuiyuan, who was eating, responded, "Grandpa, I divided it."

"Ah."

Li Sanjiang then felt relieved, but he couldn't let the girl get angry, so he wouldn't come to tutor her tomorrow.

After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan went to take a shower first as usual. When he came out of the shower, he saw Li Sanjiang standing on the north edge of the terrace, holding a cigarette in his left hand and a cigarette handle in his right hand. In front of him, a parabolic column of water appeared in the moonlight.

"Xiao Yuanhou, are you done washing?"

"It's done, Grandpa, go wash it now."

"Well, go to the room and wait for me."

Li Sanjiang shook his shoulders, straightened his chest, and then shook his thighs back and forth.

Li Zhuiyuan then realized that he didn't actually need a spittoon at night.

Walking into the grandfather's bedroom, the formation was still there, but it was newly painted.

After looking at the formation carefully, Li Zhuiyuan blinked in confusion. It can be seen that the formation tonight is the same as last night, but it is still different from the one drawn in the "Jinsha Luowen Sutra".

It’s understandable that it’s different from what’s in the book, after all, that’s what happened last night.

"But why is it a little different from what you drew last night?"

Li Zhuiyuan could only suspect that this was a minor adjustment made by his grandfather based on the effectiveness of last night's formation.

First, he was still reading an introductory book and hadn’t seen the formation diagram;
The second is that his world is full of rigor, and he is temporarily unable to break away from the inertia of rigorous thinking to consider another possibility.

Li Zhuiyuan sat in his seat.

After a while, Li Sanjiang came in after taking a shower. He was wearing a pair of white shorts with a hole in it.

Just like yesterday, he tied himself and Li Zhuiyuan up with a black rope, still in the same position, then lit the candles, and finally he sat in the circle.

This time, Li Zhuiyuan looked carefully and found that his grandfather's talisman paper was taken out from his underpants, which had no pockets.

Light it, chant the sutra, and then hurry before it burns your hands.
"Snapped!"

Slap it on the ground.

The candles didn't go out and the light bulbs didn't flicker.

"Are you all right, Grandpa?"

"No, wait a moment."

After saying that, Li Sanjiang took out another talisman, lit it, and repeated the action, but this time he used greater force to slam the talisman to the ground.

"Snapped!!!"

The sound of the crisp flesh made Li Sanjiang's mouth twitch in pain.

But great effort will produce results.

With a "swish", all the candles went out, and the light bulb above the head also flickered twice for the sake of face.

"It's done!"

Li Sanjiang breathed a sigh of relief and said calmly: "Xiao Yuanhou, go to sleep. Remember, don't remove the rope."

"I understand, Master."

After Li Zhuiyuan left, Li Sanjiang immediately blew air into his palm:
“Hoohoo…hiss…it hurts.”

After blowing, he looked at the bed again, and his face immediately showed a bitter expression:

"Damn it, isn't it going to be another zombie meeting tonight?"

……

After Li Zhuiyuan returned to the bedroom, he did not go to bed. Instead, he turned on the desk lamp, took out the fourth volume and continued reading.

After finishing the fourth volume, he took out the fifth volume, but before he had read a few pages of the fifth volume, he rested his forehead on the table and fell asleep.

……

An old lady appeared in the rice field. If Li Zhuiyuan saw her at this time, he would be able to recognize her as the one carried on Niu Fu's hunchback.

She was hunched over, with a green glow in her eyes, and tufts of fine hair were slowly growing on her face, which was originally full of wrinkles.

Her figure disappeared from the spot, and the next moment, appeared on the dam, then disappeared again, and this time, appeared in the house on the first floor.

She stopped among the paper piles and looked at the many paper figures, paper horses, paper houses... She tilted her head and a strange smile appeared on her face.

……

Li Zhuiyuan rubbed his eyes and raised his head, realizing that he had actually fallen asleep while reading.

He planned to go to the bathroom before going to bed, just as his grandfather had shown him.

He stood up, walked to the bedroom door, pushed it open, and walked out. Li Zhuiyuan didn't notice that he was still sleeping soundly behind the small desk with his head resting on the desk.

When he came outside, Li Zhuiyuan felt refreshed by the cool evening breeze.

But soon, he heard loud noises coming from downstairs.

Who is making a fuss at this late hour?
No... My grandfather's house is very quiet even during the day.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the edge of the terrace and listened attentively.

He heard men and women talking and singing, the neighing of horses, the barking of cats and dogs, all kinds of sounds, as if a carnival party was going on on the first floor.

But there is only a pile of paper-cuts on the first floor, is that possible?
Li Zhuiyuan was shocked at first, but then he realized: Oh, I must be dreaming.

At this moment, Li Zhuiyuan glanced down and was shocked to see a figure wearing a purple cheongsam standing on the dam. It was Qin Li!
Hey, how did you walk out from the threshold by yourself?

Do not,
No,

Why do you appear in my dream!
(End of this chapter)