Me at two years old, a queen!

When she woke up again, she found herself being carried by a man on the road. There was a parking lot in front of their small courtyard. She asked in confusion, "Daddy, are we here yet?"

Lu Junxing only realized when he heard the sound that the troublesome little devil had woken up sometime earlier. Thinking of the warning from the person in the alley, he didn't say anything, but simply pulled the person into his arms.

"Listen to me, don't move, we'll be there soon!"

Qin Yanzhou, who was being carried by Lu Jing, was older and no one was covering his eyes. He saw the boy leading the group, dressed in white, holding a jar, his expression unreadable.

A well-dressed gentleman was chanting scriptures, followed by a group carrying white sails, another group carrying varying amounts of the deceased's clothes, and still others carrying paper offerings. Small groups of women were also present, wailing and lamenting.

The group, including Lu Junxing, stood by the roadside. The old man even took off his crimson patterned jacket, leaving him in only a shirt and a cane, and bowed his head in silent farewell to the elderly.

They then silently followed the group a few steps until they reached the foot of the mountain. Only then did the group, along with the other villagers, quietly watch the group ascend the mountain.

Even if a person's life is filled with unforgettable experiences, or perhaps years have passed by in a whirlwind, at this moment, they feel a pang of sadness, realizing that those years were ultimately nothing more than this.

You can't fight against the passage of time, you can't resist the vicissitudes of life, and you can't hold onto those who are meant to leave...

The old man sighed deeply, turned around, and started walking back with his cane: "Let's go! Back!"

No one spoke along the way; even Ms. Song Yuan didn't urge the old man to put on his clothes. The group simply walked back in silence.

Sensing the silence around them, An'an quietly nestled in the man's arms, gently touching his face with her small hand, and murmured, "I'm not sad..."

The man paused, gently patting her back. He couldn't explain the concepts of birth, aging, sickness, and death to a child just over two years old, nor could he tell her that he would also say goodbye to those around her in the same way in the future.

After dinner, the group decided to head back to Haicheng the next day. They had bought quite a few things during their time there, especially various ornaments and toys for An'an when they went out shopping.

Just as we were getting ready, the old man came over with a photo album: "These are some candid photos they took of us at that banquet last night."

"They asked me if I wanted them; they said they could be printed out as souvenirs, 15 yuan a sheet. I picked out a few suitable ones before I came down the mountain yesterday; you can all take a look."

Lu Junxing glanced at it casually and saw that it was full of photos of troublemakers twisting and turning, grinning with their tiny teeth showing, while the others were just a few pictures here and there, watching the show.

There's another picture of Lu Junxing holding An'an, the little girl nestled in his arms, as if she's secretly whispering something to him. He remembers this picture was taken when she chose to stay with him instead of playing.

"Looks like they make quite a bit from this banquet. The photos alone cost several hundred yuan, and each person who gives a gift also pays several hundred yuan. They even charge for experiencing an activity or picking out a rope!"

"These days, it seems like you can make money from anything in the tourism industry. But once you're in there, you realize there are so many intricacies involved in the spending."

Lu Jing didn't want his two children, An'an and Lu Jing, to just play around like that. With the keen eye of a businessman, he was quite averse to the feeling of trying to sell things behind closed doors.

"Oh well, what's the big deal? People still need to eat, you know?"

The old man didn't seem to mind at all and was quite happy. However, Ms. Song Yuan was somewhat moved, noting the stark contrast between the funerals held on the same day and the lively celebrations on the other side, separated only by a mountain.

"In this place, just last night, that village alone generated hundreds of thousands in revenue. The people in this small place really don't stand out."

"The people here are so much more honest and simple. They're down-to-earth, unlike us who're so restless and only care about money!"

The old man had always been dissatisfied with his son's obsession with business and profits, and now he seized the opportunity to give him a warning, so that he wouldn't have any worries after he passed away.

In the afternoon, the outside was as bustling as ever. The white paper scattered on the alleyway in the morning had been cleaned up perfectly at some point, as if nothing had happened.

Several families also had young people carrying luggage, followed by their parents and relatives carrying large and small bags. They were leaving home again to start a new year, and when they returned, another year would have passed.

Seeing the scene outside, Ms. Song Yuan and Lu Junmin felt relieved and took the child out for a stroll. An'an held the hungry child she hadn't seen for almost a day and cuddled him again and again.

"An'an~, put the glutton down and let it walk around by itself so it can go to the toilet!"

Junmin, holding Ms. Song Yuan's hand, recalled the golden retriever that the Qin family's granddaughter had once impulsively kept, which she had cared for for a while, and reminded the little girl...

"Go on, you glutton! Go poop, good luck!"

"Little sister, don't stare at it like that, it'll get nervous and won't be able to poop!"

An'an put the gluttonous creature on the ground, grabbed it with both hands, and cheered it on by looking at its rear end. Qin Yanzhou, seeing the amused expressions of the people around him, quickly stepped forward and rescued the gluttonous creature.

"It will poop by itself, you don't need to hold it!"

"Brother, how does it wipe poop? I don't know how, what should I do?"

"Brother, can you do it?"

Qin Yanzhou looked at his grandmother and mother, who were already sitting under the big tree chatting with a group of people. He wasn't sure if the dog needed its bottom wiped, but he figured it probably did. Looking at the gluttonous dog's bottom, he hesitated for a moment, then shook his head.

He couldn't bring himself to do it, but then he looked at his younger sister, thinking he couldn't very well have the lady and his youngest sister do it: "Little sister~, did you bring any tissues?"

An'an shook her head, seeing that the gluttonous boy hadn't started pooping yet, and decided to go back to get some tissues, leaving her brother to watch him. Qin Yanzhou glanced at them, noticing they were at the alley entrance, from where they could see his little courtyard, and nodded.

An'an then ran off happily, and seeing this, Ms. Song Yuan asked, "Grandma~, I'll go back and get some tissues~"

Ms. Song Yuan had never raised her son, and she adopted the same approach with her granddaughter, letting go of small matters while taking charge of important ones.

Qin Yanzhou, who had been watching her intently, saw her enter the courtyard. Less than two minutes later, a small figure in a pink long-sleeved dress came running out, carrying a white... well, it looked like a piece of clothing.

He walked in and saw the white shirt, which looked like his uncle's: "An'an~, where are the tissues?"

"Hmm...it's too high, I can't reach the tissue, so I grabbed this instead, hehe~"

She rubbed her face against it; she'd tested it, and this felt more comfortable wiping her bottom.