Chapter 13

This towel—why does it look so familiar?

Liu Yumei recalled; wasn't this the same one the Li boy had draped over his shoulder today?

"What is the meaning of this?"

Liu Yumei wanted to take the towel down, but she stopped just as her hand was about to touch it.

She turned her head toward the inner room. At the doorway stood the silhouette of a girl.

"Ah Li, weren't you already lying down? Why are you up again?"

The girl did not speak.

"Ah Li, did you put this towel here?"

The girl did not answer.

"Ah Li, this is where the memorial tablets are placed; it is the most sacred place for offerings. You can't just put things here randomly. The towel should go where it belongs. Let Grandma collect it and wash it clean for you, alright?"

The girl's eyelashes began to twitch.

"Then just leave it be, leave it be. It's fine here, hehe, it's quite fine."

The girl returned to a state of calm.

"Ah Li, go to sleep. Grandma won't touch it. Grandma promises that when you wake up tomorrow, you will still see it here."

The girl turned and went inside.

Liu Yumei sighed, but a smile soon surfaced on her face. She had just noticed that this time, when Ah Li was about to get angry, her eyelids only twitched slightly instead of her whole body trembling. This was progress.

For years, they had been trying to avoid Ah Li's episodes. This wasn't just because her state of rage could cause harm to herself and those around her, but because every time an episode occurred, her condition became more severe.

At present, the most important thing was treating Ah Li's illness; everything else was secondary.

Finally, Liu Yumei found her husband behind the memorial tablets of her two brothers.

"I've truly wronged you, making you settle for a while with my two brothers. You two didn't fight, did you?"

Back then, that old fellow had pursued her shamelessly, and he had been dealt with quite a bit by her brothers. Even after she married him, he would almost come to blows with her brothers every time they drank together.

The difference was that before the marriage, her brothers would pick fights to discipline him; after the marriage, he would use his drunkenness as an excuse to provoke them, shamelessly shouting

"Come on, hit me! If you're so capable, just beat me to death! If you kill me, your sister will have to live as a widow!"

Her brothers would grit their teeth in hatred, constantly scolding her for being blind to have been tricked by him.

In truth, aside from being a bit petty and holding grudges, that old fellow was truly good to her.

She gently wiped her husband's tablet with a handkerchief. "You old thing, your granddaughter wants you to make room for her things, so just bear with it for a bit."

With that, Liu Yumei shifted the tablets, placing her husband's and her father's side by side.

"Talk to my father more. A son-in-law is practically a son."

Even though that dirty towel sitting right in the center was a bit of an eyesore, Liu Yumei's tone remained cheerful

"You lot, don't hold a grudge against Ah Li. Isn't it all your fault that she ended up like this? Who told you to die so decisively and heroically all those years, leaving no incense or lineage to protect your descendants?

This Li boy, named Li Zhuiyuan—it's a nice name, and he's quite an interesting person, just exceptionally precocious.

I've seen many smart children, but I've never seen anyone quite like him in my life.

Aside from that lingering childishness, the feeling this boy gives me is that he is deliberately acting like a child.

A pity; people like that often do not live long.

But one can never be sure. Now that he's living here with Li Sanjiang and is a relative of his, sharing in the family's fortune should be much easier for him than for us.

But none of that matters.

I only hope he can help our Ah Li slowly cure her illness. Our Ah Li has suffered too much; this is not what she deserves.

You lot, when you drowned in the river, you were shouting about a 'new world.'

The world is too big, and as a simple woman, my vision is too narrow to contain it. I can only look after my granddaughter, hoping she can laugh happily and speak freely like other young girls.

If your spirits are watching from above..."

At this point, Liu Yumei couldn't help but roll her eyes at the tablets, her tone turning into an angry complaint

"If you had just left some spiritual essence behind according to the old customs before you died, would my granddaughter have ended up like this!"

...

After his bath, Li Zhuiyuan found another towel, scrubbed it clean with soap, and hung it on the clothesline.

Passing by Li Sanjiang's bedroom door, he hesitated for a moment before finally pushing the door open and entering.

On the bed, Li Sanjiang was propped up with one leg crossed, a cigarette held between his fingers, humming a little tune as he prepared for sleep.

"Great-grandfather, there's something I've been thinking about, and I need to tell you again."

"Oh? What is it? Go ahead."

"Last night, Niu Fu's mother came to our house. Using the tables, chairs, bowls, and paper effigies from the first floor, she held a birthday banquet for herself. It was very lively, and I was even pulled in to participate."

Li Sanjiang's brow furrowed slightly, and he instinctively sat up. "Continue."

"Near the end of the banquet, a zombie appeared and fought with Niu Fu's mother. She couldn't win, and at the last moment, she sent me away."

"Sent you away? Sent you where?"

"I woke up."

"Oh." Li Sanjiang nodded. Remembering how he had been chased by a crowd of zombies in his own dream, he understood. The boy must have had a dream about zombies just like him. He comforted him, "Little Zhuiyuan, just treat it as a dream. Don't worry, nothing will happen tonight."

Since they weren't performing the luck-changing ritual tonight, he could get a good night's sleep.

"But, Great-grandfather..."

"It's fine, don't take it to heart. I understand, I understand."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. As expected, Great-grandfather understood.

"Great-grandfather, one more thing. Have you noticed the issue of Grandma Liu and the others living here to work for you?"

"Of course I noticed long ago, hehe."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded again. As expected, Great-grandfather knew.

Li Sanjiang chuckled inwardly: This family helps him farm, makes paper effigies for him, helps deliver tables and dishes for banquets, and even handles the cooking and cleaning... yet they only ask for a tiny bit of wages.

Heh, if that's not a mental deficiency, what is?

In this day and age, it's hard to find long-term laborers who do so much for so little; he had to cherish them.

"Anything else, Little Zhuiyuan? If not, go back to sleep. I'm sleepy too."

"One last thing. Actually, every time, it's me helping Sister Yingzi with her studies. Her comprehension is somewhat average, so she learns quite slowly."

Li Zhuiyuan noticed that after he finished speaking, Li Sanjiang's lips pressed together, and the sides of his face puffed out more and more, as if he were struggling to hold something in.

After ten seconds of silence, finally

"Hahahahahahahahaha!"

Li Sanjiang laughed so hard it pulled at his wounds, causing him to gasp for air repeatedly, but he still couldn't help but laughingly scold

"You little rascal! If you don't want to study, just say so. Using such a lame excuse—do you think your Great-grandfather is a fool?

Alright, alright, no more nonsense. Go back to sleep. Yinghou will definitely come tomorrow. If you keep playing around, you won't be able to dodge your studies!"

"Goodnight, Great-grandfather."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't argue. Even a Great-grandfather wasn't omniscient; it was normal to have a few things he didn't understand.

Returning to his bedroom, lying on the bed, and pulling up the covers, Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes and slept.

He slept very soundly, without any dreams.

As the sky began to dawn, Li Zhuiyuan woke up. He sat by the bed for a while, sensing that his sleep quality was far inferior to when he had dreams.

He got out of bed and picked up the washbasin. Just as he opened the door, he saw a girl standing there—it was Qin Li.

She had styled her hair today, wearing a wooden hairpin. Her upper body was dressed in white, and her lower body in a black horse-skirt, looking exquisite and elegant.

A beautiful person needs beautiful clothes to complement them.

Li Zhuiyuan knew that Qin Li's clothes were not something one could buy in a shop. Firstly, the current trend favored new, foreign styles, while traditional retro styles were considered outdated and unrefined. Secondly, Qin Li's clothes were meticulously designed and crafted; they were likely custom-made in a small workshop with a long heritage, making them quite expensive.

However, judging by Grandma Liu's style of casually gifting a jade thumb ring worth a three-bedroom apartment in the capital as a meeting gift, her family certainly wasn't short on money.

The tips of the girl's hair were damp with dew. Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help but reach out to touch her hair, feeling a slight moisture.

"Have you been waiting here for a long time?"

The girl didn't speak, she only looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

"Next time, when I wake up, I'll go to the east room and call you to read together. That way, you won't have to stand here waiting, alright?"

The light in the girl's eyes dimmed slightly.

"Then I'll try to wake up earlier in the future. If I'm not up when you arrive, just come in and wait on a chair. The door isn't locked anyway."

The brightness in the girl's eyes returned.

Li Zhuiyuan walked to the clothesline and took down the towel he had washed last night. Since it had been hung overnight, it wasn't completely dry, but it was usable.

He walked to the bench from yesterday, wiped it down, and then placed the towel on the wooden stool. "You sit first; I'll go wash up."

Qin Li sat down.

Li Zhuiyuan went to wash up.

Sitting on the stool, Qin Li's gaze fell upon the still-clean towel. She reached out to grab it, but after a moment's thought, she withdrew her hand.

After brushing his teeth and while wiping his face, Li Zhuiyuan was startled to see Grandma Liu standing before him just as he put down his facecloth.

"Little Yuan, hehe, I'm so sorry for causing you trouble."

This was the first time Li Zhuiyuan had seen Grandma Liu enter the main house and go up to the second floor. He imagined that however long Qin Li had been waiting for him here, Grandma Liu had been here accompanying her.

"Grandma, I like playing with Ah Li."

"Then you two play well. If you need anything, just call Grandma." Grandma Liu descended the stairs with a smile.

Li Zhuiyuan put the washbasin back in the room. It was still too early; the sun hadn't risen, and he didn't feel like reading.

Scanning the room, he picked up a small wooden box and walked out.

"Ah Li, shall I teach you how to play chess?"

Qin Li didn't speak, she only stared at the small wooden box.

Li Zhuiyuan opened the box. This was something Uncle Qin had bought along with snacks and school supplies when Great-grandfather asked him to.

It was a Go set; the board was printed on translucent oil paper, and the pieces were plastic circles the size of ladybugs. In short, it was very small and crude.

But it was low-cost and cheap. A stationery store in Shinan Town certainly wouldn't stock a formal Go set; who would buy one?

"First, let me explain the rules of Go..."

Before Li Zhuiyuan could finish, Ah Li picked up a black piece with her fingers and placed it on the board.

Li Zhuiyuan stopped talking and placed a white piece.

After several moves, Li Zhuiyuan confirmed it: the girl knew how to play Go.

He couldn't help but smile and immersed himself in the game.

The two were playing a fast game, neither thinking much.

Gradually, Li Zhuiyuan began to feel overwhelmed, and finally...

"I lost."

Li Zhuiyuan hadn't held back; he had truly lost.

Although he hadn't formally studied the game, his mental processing power was high, and Go heavily relied on that. So, while he couldn't compete with professionals, his skill wasn't bad at a casual amateur level.

But the girl was clearly more skilled. She must have studied it formally; her play was not only fast but also very methodical.

Li Zhuiyuan felt no sense of frustration. He knew he was a fast learner, but he couldn't skip the process of "learning."

In many fields, having a good brain isn't enough; one also needs massive accumulation, refinement, and the support of a proper platform.

"Ah Li is really amazing. Want to play more?"

The girl's fingertips circled a piece as she looked up at Li Zhuiyuan, her meaning clear: she wanted to keep playing.

Li Zhuiyuan packed up the board. Noticing a morning breeze starting to blow, he found four pieces of fallen cement from the western corner of the terrace to weigh down the paper board.

The second round began.

The speed of the moves remained fast, but as Li Zhuiyuan played, the corners of his mouth couldn't help to curl up slightly.

He felt it—the girl was letting him win.

He didn't feel insulted; instead, he was quite happy. Then, he began to intentionally make poor moves.

This time, the girl's speed slowed down, and her brow gradually furrowed.

Li Zhuiyuan couldn't bear to tease her any longer and eventually won.

The girl looked up at Li Zhuiyuan.

The corners of her mouth had a faint, almost imperceptible pout; she was likely angry.

But her eyelashes didn't twitch, and her body didn't tremble.

"Alright, alright, it's my fault. I was wrong." He looked up and saw that it was already light out, and from below, Auntie Liu's voice calling for breakfast could be heard.

Li Zhuiyuan packed the board and took Qin Li down for breakfast.

In a tacit understanding, the original single-person breakfast became a small table with two wooden stools.

As usual, Li Zuiyuan portioned out some pickles into a small dish for the girl. Once she began eating, he followed his habit of prying open a duck egg shell, peeling it, and eating it with chopsticks.

Suddenly, noticing the girl beside him had stopped eating, Li Zhuiyuan looked over and found her staring at the duck egg in his hand.

"Shall I crack one for you? But it might be hard to control the portion that way."

Qin Li continued to stare.

Li Zhuiyuan could only crack a duck egg for her as well, carefully peeling a bit of the shell and handing it to her.

Qin Li took it with both hands, cradling it in her arms, and looked down intently at the broken egg.

At that moment, Li Sanjiang came swaggering downstairs.

Looking at the two-person table for Little Zhuiyuan and the girl, and then at the family table for Liu Yumei, Qin Li, and Liu Ting, he silently walked toward his own solitary old man's table.

Just as he was about to start eating, he saw figures appearing on the path in front of the courtyard.

A dark-skinned youth of about fourteen or fifteen was pushing a wheelbarrow, with an old man sitting on top.

The youth wore only a pair of blue shorts with patches, his upper body bare, and on his feet were plastic sandals that were clearly too large.

The old man had a patchy head of hair, and his frame had visibly shrunk with age. He wore plastic slippers and held a water pipe.

Seeing this, Li Sanjiang helplessly put down his chopsticks and said, "Great, the beggars are here."

Once the pair reached the courtyard, Li Sanjiang stepped forward warmly to greet them: "Oh! I knew you'd be coming today, but I didn't expect you to arrive so early."

The old man took a puff of smoke and said, "We hurried through the dark specifically so we could save a breakfast at your place."

"Tinghou, is there any porridge left in the pot?" Li Sanjiang asked.

The old man snorted coldly and said disdainfully, "If I come here just to drink watery stuff, then I've come for nothing. We want something solid."

"Alright, alright, Tinghou, go cook."

"Coming!"

Auntie Liu went to the kitchen to cook.

"Little Zhuiyuan, come here." Li Sanjiang called Li Zhuiyuan over and pointed at the old man to introduce him, "This is your Uncle Old Shan."

"Bullshit! Why the hell should I be a generation below you!"

"Fine then, just call him Grandpa Shan."

"Hello, Grandpa Shan."

"Ah, yes, a very handsome, delicate boy. Such smooth skin, very well-behaved."

Li Sanjiang smiled and patted Li Zhuiyuan's head, saying, "Little Zhuiyuan..."

"Great-grandfather?"

Hearing this, the old man's face immediately flushed red, and he said exasperatedly, "You're something else, Li Sanjiang! You're intentionally taking advantage of me!"

"Heh, I'm too lazy to take advantage of you. Aren't you about the same age as Boy Grandpa Hanhou?"

Li Zhuiyuan was somewhat surprised. This meant the old man was much younger than his Great-grandfather, yet his Great-grandfather looked younger than him.

In the distance, Liu Yumei, who was drinking porridge, put down her utensils and used a handkerchief to lightly cover her nose.

That old man smelled of the stench of corpses from the water; it was truly nauseating.

Looking at his appearance, he had the look of a corpse diver; in contrast, Li Sanjiang... eating well, living well, and being well-nurtured made him a true exception.

To put it bluntly, as long as one had a proper background and a legitimate profession, who would choose the corpse-diving trade? This inherently determined the economic status of corpse divers in the village, and when combined with the various taboos associated with the job... there was rarely any peace in their later years.

Liu Yumei didn't intend to continue eating. Seeing that her granddaughter had also left the table, she thought perhaps Little Yuan had been called over to meet someone, but her granddaughter hadn't gone to the second floor to wait and read; instead, she had walked straight back to the east room.

Hmm?

Curious, Liu Yumei slowly walked back to the east room. Just as she was about to step over the threshold, she saw her granddaughter come back out again.

"Still going to find Little Yuan?"

The girl didn't speak. She crossed the courtyard, went up to the second floor, and sat in the northeast corner, waiting for Li Zhuiyuan to finish his business so they could read together.

Although she was happy about her granddaughter's changes and improvement, after the initial excitement had faded yesterday, Liu Yumei's heart had begun to feel a bit sour.

This was a little girl she had worked so hard and carefully to raise, yet now, her eyes were only on that Little Yuan.

Fortunately, they were both young and had no such concerns.

But on second thought, if they were like this as children, what would happen when they grew up?

Luckily, this Little Yuan was returning to the capital after the summer break.

But what if her granddaughter's illness wasn't cured by the time he left?

Entering the east room, Liu Yumei prepared to light some incense to drive away the smell and steady her cluttered mind. Her gaze naturally swept over the memorial tablet table.

Then, she immediately turned back to look again.

"This..."

She saw that the position where her father's tablet used to be was gone, replaced by...

A cracked salted duck egg.

...

The old man's surname was Lu, his name was Lu Shan. He was from Xiting Town and was a corpse diver in the village.

The youth was named Lu Runsheng, whom Lu Shan had picked up by the river. Although he was an adopted son, the age difference was too great, so he had the boy call him Grandpa.

"Little Zhuiyuan, your Great-grandfather and your Grandpa Shan have a friendship that's been through life and death."

Lu Shan sneered, "Heh, yeah. Every time, I'm the one risking my life in the water, and you're the one collecting the money."

"Hey, it's because I trust your skills. Besides, that kind of work isn't much to you; there's no need for me to step in."

"You old thing, the older you get, the thicker your skin becomes."

Some jobs were more complex, and a single corpse diver couldn't handle them alone, so they would call friends to do them together. Lu Shan was a partner Li Sanjiang had worked with many times.

The two were extremely close; whenever there was dangerous work, Li Sanjiang would think of him first.

Like this time, for the Niu family's memorial birthday.

Li Zhuiyuan could also sense it—Grandpa Shan had a lot of dissatisfaction with his Great-grandfather. But this was normal; looking at Grandpa Shan's grandson's clothes, it was clear their lives were quite meager, whereas his Great-grandfather... likely had better daily meals than the village chief's family.

Being in the same trade, but having lives that were worlds apart, it was bound to cause an imbalance in his heart.

Auntie Liu brought out the dishes. Since time was tight, she only had time to stir-fry two dishes: sausage with garlic sprouts and eggplant with salted meat. The portions were large, with more meat than vegetables.

The freshly steamed rice was served in an aluminum basin, steaming hot.

Upon seeing the meat, Runsheng began to swallow instinctively.

To Li Zhuiyuan's surprise, Auntie Liu, while serving the dishes, also brought a handful of incense.

"Sister, bring me another rice basin."

"Alright, I forgot."

Clearly, the pair had not visited Great-grandfather's house for the first time; Auntie Liu had hosted them before.

Auntie Liu brought another large basin. Grandpa Shan scooped the rice into it and then placed the dishes on top.

Afterward, he lit the incense and stuck it into the rice and the dishes respectively.

Having finished this, he began to eat the rice bowl with toppings voraciously.

Li Sanjiang brought out some white liquor and poured a cup for Grandpa Shan. He would take a quick gulp between bites, then look at the table, signaling Li Sanjiang to keep pouring.

As for Runsheng, he just sat there, watching the burning incense, without touching his chopsticks.

Yet he was clearly hungry and impatient.

Auntie Liu brought over the soup—tomato and egg drop soup, with quite a bit of fragrant vinegar.

Grandpa Shan picked up the soup bowl, poured it directly into his basin, and continued eating.

Li Sanjiang took out a cigarette pack, pulled out two, flicked one to him, and lit his own, cursing, "Damn it, did you come here on an empty stomach yesterday?"

Grandpa Shan continued to gulp down his food, finally picking up the basin and swallowing all the soup. Only then did he wipe his mouth with the back of his hand, set the basin down, picked up his cigarette, tapped it on the table, and said

"When I received your message, I stopped eating. I've been hungry for almost three days."

"I say, if you starve to death, we'll just wrap you in a straw mat and bury you. Making the boy suffer along with you is truly a sin."

Grandpa Shan lit his cigarette and said indifferently, "I picked him up, so he has to suffer with me. It's only right. I've also told Little Zhuiyuan that when I die, he should come find you. He'll work for you, and you'll provide his meals."

"Don't talk such nonsense. I'm older than you; I'll definitely go before you."

Grandpa Shan exhaled a smoke ring, ran his tongue over his teeth, spat under the table, and said, "Forget it. You're a 'calamity that lasts a thousand years.' I have no confidence in outliving you. Comparing lifespans with you feels like a taboo."

Finally, the incense on the food burned out, leaving quite a bit of ash on the dishes and rice.

But Runsheng didn't care at all. He pulled the aluminum rice basin in front of him and began to eat.

Li Zhuiyuan was somewhat puzzled but didn't have the courage to ask.

Sitting opposite him, Grandpa Shan saw this and said with a smile, "When Runsheng was little, he ate 'dirty meat,' which made it so that now, if he eats clean food from the living, he vomits. Usually, even if he's having a bowl of corn porridge, he has to stick an incense stick in first."

As he spoke, Grandpa Shan suddenly leaned toward Li Zhuiyuan as if playing a prank, asking teasingly

"Little Zhuiyuan, is it? Do you know what 'dirty meat' is?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Dead people's flesh?"

Grandpa Shan's expression froze. He truly hadn't expected this little boy to ask back so calmly. He had originally intended to tease the child without giving the answer, but now he was the one being caught off guard by the boy.

Li Sanjiang said dissatisfiedly, "What kind of nonsense are you talking to the kid about, you old thing?"

Grandpa Shan pointed at Li Zhuiyuan: "Sanjiang, this great-grandson of yours is quite interesting. He's good material for our trade."

"Bullshit! My great-grandson is going back to the capital to go to university. How could he ever walk our broken path?"

"Li Sanjiang, I despise people like you most—those who look down on our trade while still making money from corpse diving. Heaven must be blind; why didn't it just drop a 'dead fall' for you to swallow!"

"Heh, not convinced? Then just hold it in."

"Great-grandfather, I'm going to read."

"Go on, go on."

Li Zhuiyuan left the table and went to the second floor. The morning sun was bright, shining on Qin Li's hair and skirt, making her look like an exquisite statue.

Taking out his book and sitting down, Li Zhuiyuan said apologetically, "Guests arrived, so I had to accompany them. Sorry for making you wait."

Qin Li didn't speak.

Li Zhuiyuan opened his book and began to enjoy his beautiful reading time.

Just as he finished the volume in his hand and was preparing to change books, Qin Li suddenly stood up and looked behind her.

Li Zhuiyuan also looked back and saw Runsheng standing there, looking somewhat shy.

He was very awkward because he was only wearing a pair of shorts. Normally, this kind of dress was common in the village—in the heat of summer, bare-chested boys and men were everywhere in the fields and courtyards.

But this attire felt too starkly contrasting in front of the teenage boy and girl.

Li Zhuiyuan's clothes and shoes had been sent from the capital. Although he wasn't particular about his clothing, he wasn't used to being bare-chested. As for Qin Li, she was even more refined.

Although Runsheng was older than them, in front of them, he felt both inferior and eager to come and play.

Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li's hand: "Brother Runsheng is a guest in our house, it's fine."

Hearing this, Qin Li stopped looking at him.

Li Zhuiyuan wasn't surprised