Chapter 12
Li Zhuiyuan raised his head and looked at the desk, lamp and the fifth volume of "The Chronicles of Jianghu" that he had just turned a few pages.
Yes, he fell asleep; but he knew that this was not a dream.
He didn't understand why the old lady chose to "release" herself at the last moment.
He didn't want to use the word "rescue" because it was also her who pulled him into this birthday party.
Perhaps, it is difficult to describe her with simple labels such as "good" and "evil", just as she is the body of a human and a cat, which is a manifestation of complex contradictions.
Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, pressed his fingers on both sides of his temples and slowly kneaded them.
When he was attending school in Jingli, he always felt that he was walking on a one-way street. No matter how crowded the traffic was, all he had to do was walk down this road.
But after returning to his hometown, he discovered that although the roads in his hometown were very narrow, often had potholes, and there were not many cars and people, the ridge roads extending in all directions among the rice fields often made him confused about the choice.
He himself could feel the changes that had taken place in him when he returned to his hometown, especially in the past few days since he met Xiao Huangying.
He is observing harder, pondering more carefully, talking more carefully, dealing with inhuman beings... It is really not easy, because there is no room for error.
In short, I now look less and less like a ten-year-old child.
It was so easy to be a child before.
Suddenly, Li Zhuiyuan opened his eyes, his eyes showing shock.
myself,
Why do you think so?
What does it mean that it was so easy to be a child in the past, but you are obviously a child?
He began to feel flustered and frightened, and he unconsciously wrapped his arms around himself.
At this moment, what came to his mind was the scene when he was a child and watched his mother look in the mirror after getting up every morning.
Mom was taking deep breaths in front of the mirror, trying to suppress something again and again, as if it would burst out of her skin.
Li Zhuiyuan stood up and walked to the closet. There was a mirror in the middle of the closet door.
He looked at himself in the mirror and suddenly felt a little strange.
Raise your hand, touch the mirror, and touch your own face in the mirror.
He began to wonder what kind of person he was underneath this face.
He didn't dare to think about it anymore. He turned around and kept taking deep breaths. In his heart, he told himself over and over again that he was Li Zhuiyuan, that he was ten years old, that his grandfather was called Li Weihan, that his grandmother was called Cui Guiying, and that his grandfather was called Li. Sanjiang.
Finally, he regained his composure, and his face showed the innocence of a child.
Previously, he felt a kind of terror, which was no less terrifying than the moment when he was found by the cat-faced old lady in the kitchen.
Because he had a vague feeling that if he hadn't stopped those thoughts just now and allowed them to continue to spread, it was very likely that when he looked at himself in the mirror next... he would show deep disgust.
Fortunately, he stopped it in time, just like his mother who took a deep breath in the mirror and smiled gently again.
"Huh..."
Li Zhuiyuan shrugged and looked at the time. It was three-thirty in the morning.
Are you considered asleep or not?
I don't feel like sleeping, but I don't feel sleepy. On the contrary, I feel better than when I slept normally before.
Is it because my consciousness is separated from the body, allowing the body to fully devote itself to rest without any distracting thoughts?
Li Zhuiyuan opened the door and walked out. The evening breeze at this point was cool and also carried some moisture from the coming rain and dew in the early morning.
Downstairs, it was already quiet, or rather, there had never been any commotion.
But now he doesn't dare to go downstairs to see alone. The rational sense of security can never be worth the fear of the unknown.
At this time, the master's bedroom window was flashing. Although there was no standard call for help rhythm of three long and three short, Li Zhuiyuan immediately opened the bedroom door and went in.
On the bed in the bedroom, Li Sanjiang was bleeding. His left hand grabbed the light cord on the bedside and kept pulling it.
His neck hurt and he couldn't scream. He was afraid that no one would see him, and he was even more afraid that the light cord would be broken by himself or that the switch would flip up and get stuck.
Fortunately, he saw Li Zhuiyuan pushing in the door.
"Marquis Xiaoyuan..."
Before Li Sanjiang shouted weakly, he stretched out his hand, and then saw his great-grandson standing at the door and ran out without hesitation.
Well, he knew that the child had gone to call someone, but somehow, the fact that Xiao Yuanhou did not run to the bedside to anxiously inquire about the interaction still made him feel a little empty.
As soon as the comforting words "Master is fine" and "Don't cry, Marquis Xiaoyuan" came to his lips, he swallowed them back before he could say them out, feeling a little panicked.
Li Zhuiyuan ran downstairs, ignoring the fear on the first floor. The lights on the first floor were turned off, but through the moonlight he could see that the east side of the place was filled with paper figurines.
Yes, these paper figures were still there, and Li Zhuiyuan even caught a glimpse of the fat master placed against the wall.
Most of the paper figures are customized according to tradition, but on this basis, in order to meet the needs of the diversified market, some special ones will also be made individually according to the needs of the owner.
For example, if a certain family owner is worried that their relatives will not be able to eat well down there, they will burn a cook down there.
There were also some old men who left earlier. The old ladies were worried that they would burn the young maids and lose their place when they left, so they ordered those old ladies who looked older than themselves.
After running to the dam, Li Zhuiyuan went directly to the West Room. He knocked on the door:
"Aunt Liu, Uncle Qin, open the door. I'm Xiaoyuan. Something happened to the great master!"
The door is opened.
Standing at the door was Uncle Qin. Li Zhuiyuan saw Aunt Liu behind Uncle Qin sweeping the floor with a broom.
"Xiaoyuan, what's wrong?" Uncle Qin asked.
"My great-grandfather was injured and lost a lot of blood. He needs to be sent to the clinic."
"I'll go, I'll stop the bleeding and bandage it." Aunt Liu dropped the broom, took out a cloth bag from the cabinet, and rushed out of the house, followed by Uncle Qin.
Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the paper scraps swept into the dustpan, and then looked at the backs of Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu.
Don't they take off their clothes when they go to bed at night?
Li Zhuiyuan glanced at the east room. She should be awake too.
However, Li Zhuiyuan did not knock on the door in the east room, but ran back. When passing by the pile of paper figures on the first floor again, he walked up to the fat master, stretched out his hand, and touched it.
With just a slight contact, the fat master fell apart and fell into a puddle on the ground.
And this also caused a chain reaction. For a while, all the paper figures began to "collapse", like a Jenga knocking down game.
Soon, the east half of the first floor, which originally seemed crowded, became extremely empty, with only scraps of paper and broken wooden strips scattered all over the floor.
Li Zhuiyuan was not afraid, or even surprised. He stepped on the scraps of paper calmly, ignoring the snapping sound under his feet, and came to the stairs and walked up to the second floor.
When I returned to the bedroom, I saw that Aunt Liu was already bandaging my grandfather.
There is a faint herbal smell in the air, a bit like Guiling jelly, it should be the medicine that was applied first.
Uncle Qin changed the blood-stained quilt and mat, took out clean ones from the cabinet and laid them out, and then carried Li Sanjiang up after the wound had been bandaged.
Seeing Aunt Liu finishing packing the cloth bag, Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward and asked, "Aunt Liu, how is my grandfather doing?"
"There was a lot of blood and the injuries were not minor, but they were all traumatic injuries. They have been treated. There is no need to send him to the clinic. He just needs to rest and recuperate."
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang lying on the bed and found that a lot of color had returned to his face.
Aunt Liu also looked at Li Sanjiang. In fact, she was also very surprised. The old man was obviously very old, but he had plenty of energy and blood. He looked old on the outside, but he was extremely healthy in his bones.
Other old men and women of the same age would be sent away if they accidentally stumbled over. He had so many wounds on his body and shed so much blood, but none of them seemed to have any damage to his vitality.
"Xiaoyuan, if anything happens, call us again." Uncle Qin said to Li Zhuiyuan.
"Well, okay, thank you, Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu."
Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu left. Li Zhuiyuan picked up the teapot, poured some hot water, and walked to Li Sanjiang's bedside.
Li Sanjiang rested his head on the pillow, his right arm drooped on his chest, took the tea vat with his left hand, and drank in small sips.
After finishing the drink, Li Sanjiang sighed: "Marquis Xiaoyuan, let's stop the transfer ceremony today."
"Okay, Master."
"We will continue after the master is well taken care of."
"Yeah." Li Zhuiyuan took the teapot and put it next to him, "Actually, there's no need to continue, Master."
"You are ignorant, don't talk nonsense."
"Okay, I won't say anything anymore."
Li Zhuiyuan took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, came to Li Sanjiang's side, and sat with his back against the bedside rail.
"Go to sleep, Marquis Xiaoyuan, there is nothing wrong with you."
"Didn't Aunt Liu ask you how you ended up like this?"
"I said I was injured in a fall."
Do they believe it?
Li Zhuiyuan had a lot to ask, but he didn't know where to start, and it seemed that Li Sanjiang didn't intend to say it either.
After a long time, Li Zhuiyuan said: "Master, how should I learn?"
If when Xiao Huangying happened, he was still confused for the first time, then tonight, he really felt powerless.
When Li Sanjiang heard this, he thought that this kid had finally enlightened and was going to study hard.
I was still secretly proud of myself. It seemed that this transformation array was working. Didn't you notice that Xiao Yuanhou had already changed his gender?
Okay, that's good. As long as the child is willing to learn and shed some blood, it's worth it.
It's just that Li Sanjiang was a gangster in his early years. Later, even when he went to Shanghai, he only dealt with three religions and nine schools. In this life, he never went to school properly.
I first learned to read just to read the gossip in Shanghai newspapers.
However, he can still explain the truth behind bad streets.
"Xiao Yuanhou, you must not aim too high. You still have to lay a solid foundation so that you can go further in the future."
In other words, do I still have to continue watching "The Chronicles of Jianghu"?
"I understand, Master."
"Well, once you know it, you have to do it, and do it step by step, so that you can achieve success in the future. Don't imitate your grandfather. When you were young, you did everything with a hammer and a stick. When you get older, you can Regretful.”
"Master, you are also very powerful."
Li Zhuiyuan looked at Li Sanjiang, who had bandage marks all over his body, and wondered if the zombie had something to do with his grandfather?
Firstly, the grandfather was injured at home, and secondly, the key dressing position of the grandfather highly overlapped with the area where the zombie was attacked by the old lady.
So,
Is this some kind of method used by the master?
"Ha, your great-grandfather and I have many powerful abilities, so you have to study hard. I will definitely be able to do better than your great-grandfather in the future."
What Li Sanjiang was talking about was not a side job. What he prided himself on was that he could make a living and live a comfortable life. As for the side business... he himself didn't know whether he was in the industry or not, so he just ignored it.
"Yeah, I know."
Li Zhuiyuan believed that as long as he continued reading the book, he should be able to know what method the master used today.
At this time, Li Sanjiang started snoring. He was bleeding, tired, and fell asleep.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up the thin quilt next to him, gently covered his grandfather's belly, and then closed his eyes.
As if taking another nap, when Li Zhuiyuan woke up, it was dawn outside.
He walked around Li Sanjiang, who was still sleeping, got out of bed, and went out to wash up.
When brushing my teeth, I habitually look up at the east room.
At the back of the east room, there is a little girl sitting. The little girl is wearing a red dress today, with her feet on the threshold.
Next to her, Grandma Liu was combing her hair.
Li Zhuiyuan smiled, feeling a little brighter in his heart, and picked up the washbasin and returned to the house.
When he left the terrace, Qin Li raised her head and looked over.
"Huh?"
Liu Yumei took away the comb and asked, "Grandma, did it hurt you?"
Qin Li took back her head, looked forward, and said nothing.
Liu Yumei continued to comb her hair and said with a smile: "You played for a long time last night. Can you tell grandma if there is anything fun?"
Qin Li didn't answer.
On the dam, Aunt Liu began to set up wooden stools and prepare breakfast.
After washing, Li Zhuiyuan walked down the stairs and saw an empty first floor that had been cleaned.
When he arrived at the dam, Aunt Liu smiled at him: "Xiaoyuan, it's time to have breakfast."
"Okay, Aunt Liu."
Li Zhuiyuan sat down, with a bowl of white porridge and a salted duck egg placed on the wooden bench.
"Why don't you just eat and stay here in a daze?" Aunt Liu put down a bowl of fish jelly.
"I was asleep."
"Young man is better, eat well and sleep well." Aunt Liu smiled and walked away.
Li Zhuiyuan silently picked up the chopsticks. He remembered that at the closing table last night, the cat-faced old lady asked someone to call the owner. The fat master went upstairs, and several paper-figure grandmothers ran out to call the stuff room.
The master was injured and bleeding, but they acted like nothing happened.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up the chopsticks, picked a piece of fish jelly and put it into his mouth. It melted in his mouth. Soybeans and chili were added to it. It tasted very fragrant and was a perfect match for porridge.
At this time, not far away, Grandma Liu took Qin Li's hand and came to the wooden bench. Qin Li sat down, and Grandma Liu squatted next to her and started "praying" before three meals a day.
She didn't wear her hair in a bun today, and her silky hair was draped over her shoulders. Paired with a red skirt, she looked smart and dignified.
Thinking of her silly look in his dream last night, Li Zhuiyuan couldn't help laughing.
Some people do have this special charm. She can know nothing, and she doesn't even need to speak. She just needs to stand there and you will feel happy immediately if you look at her.
Just like the exquisite vase that Li Zhuiyuan had just unearthed when he followed his mother in the cultural relics warehouse.
As if hearing laughter, Qin Li turned her head and looked at Li Zhuiyuan, who was sitting opposite and eating.
Liu Yumei, who was still in the process of persuading, looked over with some confusion.
Li Zhuiyuan was slightly surprised. Why, could the interaction in the dream last night be preserved in the daytime in reality?
Li Zhuiyuan pointed to the porridge bowl in front of him and shouted to her softly: "Eat."
Qin Li lowered his head, picked up the chopsticks, and began to sort the various pickles and cut duck eggs, then paired them with the porridge and started eating.
Liu Yumei's eyes widened, as if she had seen a ghost.
Qin Li ate faster than Li Zhuiyuan. When Li Zhuiyuan put down his chopsticks, Qin Li had already sat back on the threshold.
Aunt Liu's figure quickly appeared. This time, she put away the bowls and chopsticks before Li Zhuiyuan.
"Thank you Aunt Liu."
"Next time you finish eating, put it here and I'll collect it. You don't want your Aunt Liu to lose her job, do you?"
"I understand, Aunt Liu."
"Xiaoyuan, come here and make tea for grandma." Liu Yumei called.
She was sitting on a bamboo armchair, and there was a tea set on the coffee table next to her.
Li Zhuiyuan walked over. During this process, Qin Li, who was sitting on the threshold, followed him with her eyes.
Liu Yumei noticed it and raised her hand to signal Li Zhuiyuan to stop.
Li Zhuiyuan stopped and looked towards Qin Li. He started to back away, but Qin Li still followed him with her eyes.
Liu Yumei stared at Li Zhuiyuan with a scrutinizing gaze.
"Grandma, do you still want to make tea?"
"Bubble."
Li Zhuiyuan came over and started making tea.
Liu Yumei paid attention to her granddaughter, who was looking here. Hey, it had been a long time since she was being watched by her granddaughter, and she still had to take advantage of the kid next to her.
"Xiaoyuan..."
"Grandma..."
They both spoke at the same time and paused for a moment. Just when Liu Yumei was not about to humbly continue speaking, she heard Li Zhuiyuan speak faster:
"Grandma, why do you want to live with my grandpa?"
Liu Yumei smiled: "Just making a living."
"But you are not lacking in life. You are very rich. With this tea set and the jade ring you said you wanted to give me yesterday, you can already buy an apartment in Beijing."
Then, Li Zhuiyuan added: "But the big antique market has not yet arrived. It will be more cost-effective to wait ten years to sell."
Grandparents and grandparents who love collecting in the family home have started asking for information about collecting old items in the alleys as early as ten years ago. However, they only collect them and do not sell them. They say that they are antiques from the prosperous times and they will have to sell them after a few years or leave them to their children and grandchildren. .
"Xiao Yuan, do you even know about antiques?" Immediately, Liu Yumei sat up slightly and straightened her face, "Did your grandfather tell you?"
The antique business relies on one's eyesight and knowledge. Liu Yumei didn't believe that he could tell how old the child in front of her was.
Li Zhuiyuan shook his head.
Not to mention the collections that the grandparents in the family courtyard like to show off. When he followed his mother to various museum units in Beijing, the most common things he saw were antiques, and there were also many real treasures that were not displayed to the public.
"Xiaoyuan, grandma lives here because the air and climate here are good, which is good for Ali's disease."
"Oh, I see, grandma, what did you just want to ask?"
Liu Yumei was a little surprised. Did this child believe it now?
She asked: "Why is Ali looking at you?"
Li Zhuiyuan said a little shyly: "Maybe I watched her too many times in the past few days. She feels that she has suffered a loss and wants to pay it back."
Liu Yumei: "..."
Sure enough, the child didn't believe what he just said.
"Grandma, drink tea."
"Yeah."
An old man and a young man were drinking tea each, and the luster flowing in the tea soup was all about their own tricks.
After drinking tea, Li Zhuiyuan was going to read a book. He first went to the toilet behind the house for convenience. When he passed the east room back and forth, he said hello to Qin Li, who paid him attention.
Before entering the main room, I heard the master’s hoarse roar coming from the first floor:
"What happened? What happened? Where is my paper? Where did it go?"
Li Zhuiyuan almost jumped up when he saw his grandfather, and kept stamping his feet after landing.
Aunt Liu came over and said, "It rained a little last night. The rain came in and everything was ruined."
Li Sanjiang frowned: "What?"
Li Zhuiyuan said: "Master, can you get out of bed?"
"Of course, Master, my body and bones are fine... No, now we are talking about paper-tying. How did it happen?"
Li Zhuiyuan: "Aunt Liu is right, the rain is coming."
"This..." Li Sanjiang opened his mouth, "This, this, this..."
Aunt Liu said: "Uncle, it's okay. Ali and I will just stay up late and do it. It won't affect the delivery."
"This is a matter of delivery. This material..." Li Sanjiang felt suffocated for a while, feeling that the loss of the paper was more painful than his own hole.
He has money, this house, these tables, chairs and dishes, this paper-making workshop... but he doesn't save money and lives a leisurely life. Suddenly, the goods in the warehouse are gone, and money will become tight.
"Marquis Xiaoyuan, help me go to Blind Man Liu's place and ask her if the date of Niu Fu's birthday has been calculated. If not, tell her to hurry up."
"Ah?" Li Zhuiyuan was stunned for a moment. After seeing that Aunt Liu had left to get the raw materials, he walked up to Li Sanjiang and said, "Master, you are like this, and you still want to go to the underworld?"
Li Sanjiang said matter-of-factly: "Isn't it just because of this that I have to go!"
"If you are in good health now, if you encounter any danger at Niu's house..."
"If you don't have any money to spend, what's the use of this body?"
Li Zhuiyuan didn't know how to answer the call.
"Xiao Yuanhou, I am living a life like this, my lord. If I die, I will already have enough to survive, but I don't want to be short of money. Be good, be obedient, and help my lord spread the word.
Also, let me tell you, this time it’s not just Liu Xiazi and I who are going there. I also invited a companion to go with me. Hehe, I guess he will be here tomorrow, and that old guy will take his family with him. You'er, you're so powerful.
Remember, you can’t tell Blind Liu that I’m like this. She’s timid and she might have to shrink back if she finds out! ”
Li Zhuiyuan nodded and could only go to Liu Jinxia's house.
Cuicui's grandma Bei, who is Cuicui's father's mother, was sick and hospitalized. Li Juxiang took Cuicui to the health center to visit her, so she was not at home.
Liu Jinxia had already set up the bridge court in the morning, and she was having fun when Li Zhuiyuan came. After hearing Li Zhuiyuan's message, Liu Jinxia shook off the ashes and said, "The day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow. Let's go to Niu Fu's house in Shigang in the morning."
Li Zhuiyuan: "Grandma Liu, is it too fast?"
"Hurry up, finish things earlier and collect the money earlier, hahaha. Besides, your grandfather is here, there is nothing to worry about."
If you knew what Grandpa was like now, you wouldn't think so.
Li Zhuiyuan returned home and reported the date to Li Sanjiang.
"Sure, good, good."
Li Sanjiang, who was lying on a wicker chair on the second floor terrace, clapped his legs happily and reached out to pull the rope on the wall next to him. The top of the rope was a black wooden box nailed to the wall.
First there were some snowflake sounds, and after a few more pulls, the sound of a storyteller came out.
Li Sanjiang closed his eyes, lit a cigarette, and listened to a book while smoking. Even though his body was scarred, he still showed an informal and carefree spirit.
As if aware that Li Zhuiyuan was still standing beside him, Li Sanjiang said:
"Xiao Yuanhou, this is the life you and I have chosen. We will do whatever work is dangerous. Why? Because this work is not tiring and provides enough fuel and water.
This is your grandfather's life. ”
Li Zhuiyuan nodded. He took out the fifth volume of "Jianghu Zhiguailu", walked to the southeast corner of the terrace, sat down, and started studying.
As before, every time he turned the page, he would look up at the girl below.
He noticed that the girl was looking up at him too.
Very good, the feeling of looking at each other is more eye-catching.
However, as he watched, Li Zhuiyuan found that every time he looked up, he would meet someone's gaze.
Even Grandma Liu downstairs followed her granddaughter's gaze and looked upward.
This made Li Zhuiyuan have to take a look at Grandma Liu every time he wanted to look good, which was weird.
Therefore, until he finished the fifth volume, Li Zhuiyuan did not look up again.
After entering the room and taking out the sixth volume, Li Zhuiyuan sat down and looked down. Grandma Liu was already sitting on the chair next to her, reading the newspaper, but Qin Li still kept looking up at herself.
She won't keep her head raised like this forever, right?
This made Li Zhuiyuan feel a little guilty, and he felt a little irritable while reading and couldn't completely calm down.
Grandma Liu, who was reading the newspaper downstairs, had actually been staring at the terrace with her peripheral vision, watching the child poke his head out from time to time, and the frequency was getting more and more chaotic, and she couldn't help but sneer in her heart:
This is a man. He feels at ease when he comes and goes as he pleases, but becomes upset once he is bound by responsibilities.
But soon, Liu Yumei put down the newspaper in surprise, because she saw Li Zhuiyuan running down the stairs, smiled when he passed her, and then walked straight to her granddaughter.
"You..."
Before Liu Yumei could say anything, she saw the boy bending down to hold her granddaughter's hand.
"Danger..."
Liu Yumei knew what kind of terrible reaction her granddaughter would have when being touched by outsiders. The boy in front of her would be scratched to pieces. Even she, a grandmother, did not dare to be overly intimate.
Immediately, Liu Yumei stood up with a "squeak" sound. He actually saw that after the boy held her granddaughter's hand, his granddaughter also stood up.
What's going on?
When her granddaughter stared at the boy in the morning, she took a closer look while making tea to see if there was anything dirty hanging on the boy's body that would attract her granddaughter's attention.
But now this interaction is beyond Liu Yumei's understanding.
Li Zhuiyuan held Qin Li's hand. Her hand was warm and soft.
"Your neck will be tired if you raise your head like this. How about you go up and read with me?"
Qin Li looked at Li Zhuiyuan and said nothing.
"If you don't say anything, I'll treat it as if you agreed."
Li Zhuiyuan bent down and picked up the bench Qin Li was sitting on, and then pulled her towards the room.
Liu Yumei didn't say anything to stop him. On the contrary, after the initial shock, when she looked at the boy and girl holding hands and walking together, her eyes were immediately moistened with tears.
She covered her mouth with her hands, fearing that she would cry.
She even bit the back of her hand with her teeth to confirm that she was not dreaming.
"Bang!"
On the first floor, Aunt Liu, who was busy making paper figures, dropped the pot of paste in her hand and splashed all over the floor. Fortunately, Li Sanjiang was on the second floor, otherwise she would have jumped with heartache.
"Crunch..."
Uncle Qin, who was building the frame of the house, directly tore off the beams of the paper house.
They looked at each other and thought they were dazzled. What did they see just now? Ali was held by an outsider and walked up the stairs together?
The two immediately dropped their work and ran out to the dam. They didn't see Liu Yumei. They went to the east room again and saw Liu Yumei standing in front of the memorial tablet. They cried with joy and said:
"Have you seen it? Have you seen it? Our Ah Li, our Ah Li..."
……
Li Sanjiang was listening to the radio storyteller and humming a tune. He turned aside to get the teapot and took a sip of water when he saw Li Zhuiyuan coming out of the stairs hand in hand with Qin Li.
"Poof!"
The water in Li Sanjiang's mouth spurted out directly.
"Master, do you want me to give you some water?"
Seeing Li Zhuiyuan pulling Qin Li towards him, Li Sanjiang immediately waved his hand:
"No, no, no, no, no, you take her away and stay away from me! No, you too..."
Li Zhuiyuan led Qin Li to the southeast corner and put down the bench.
"Sit down."
Qin Li sat down.
Li Zhuiyuan sat back on the wicker chair and picked up the book. As soon as he turned a page, he felt something was wrong, so he stood up again: "Stand up."
Qin Li stood up, and Li Zhuiyuan moved her small bench away, replaced it with a taller bench that sister Yingzi brought yesterday, and placed it next to her.
"Sit down."
Qin Li looked at the new bench and didn't sit down.
Li Zhuiyuan was a little confused, but he immediately thought of something and wiped his sleeves on the bench:
"Sit down, it's clean."
Qin Li sat down.
Li Zhuiyuan put the book on the wooden bench again, no longer holding it and lying down to read.
The two were very close, heads touching.
Qin Li's eyes kept falling on him, and he was able to bring the girl's face into his sight while reading.
The girl's hair was blown by the wind from time to time and hit her face; her fragrance also lingered on the tip of her nose.
This feeling is very strange.
Reading and eye-catching at the same time,
Li Zhuiyuan felt that he had found the highest efficiency in reading.
In the distance, Li Sanjiang went from panic to fear to worry to bewilderment...
After watching for a long time and confirming that the girl was just sitting there obediently staring at his great-grandson without causing any danger, his eyes... showed appreciation!
This Xiao Yuanhou is really different from his mother when she was a child.
That girl Li Lan often received love letters when she was in school. As a result, the girl sent all the love letters she received directly to the desk in the principal's office.
That day, I don’t know how many boys were invited by their parents, and the principal’s office was filled with the sound of whips and slaps.
"Okay, very good. It seems that our Xiao Yuanhou has been smarter and more clever than his mother since he was a child, hehe."
Li Sanjiang closed his eyes and continued listening to the book.
When noon was approaching, Li Zhuiyuan felt a slight urge to urinate. He must have had tea with Grandma Liu in the morning. He asked Qin Li:
"Do you want to go to the toilet?"
Qin Li said nothing.
"Then you sit here, I'll go to the toilet and come back."
Qin Li didn't respond.
Li Zhuiyuan got up, ran downstairs, and went around to the back of the house. Originally, the huge vegetable patch behind the house was a place that could be marked. As soon as he stood still, he heard footsteps coming from behind. When he turned around, he found that it was Qin Li. .
She followed.
"Um..."
Li Zhuiyuan could only betray the teachings of Pan Zileizi's brothers, turned around, opened the curtain, and walked into the toilet.
Standing still again, the curtain was opened and she came in again.
Li Zhuiyuan had no choice but to lead her out of the toilet and said, "I'm here for my convenience. You come in with me. If it's not convenient for me, just stand here and wait for me to come out, okay?"
Qin Li didn't respond.
Li Zhuiyuan opened the curtain again and entered the toilet. After waiting for a while, he didn't hear the sound of the curtain being opened, and then he unfastened his belt.
There was a water tank next to the toilet. After picking up a ladle of water and washing his hands, Li Zhuiyuan walked out and saw Qin Li who was standing there obediently this time.
"Do you need to go to the toilet? Otherwise, go to the toilet."
Qin Li walked to the toilet and opened the curtain, but her hand was grabbed. She stopped and looked back at Li Zhuiyuan with doubts in her eyes.
This confusion was the same as when she was sitting at the dining table last night and Li Zhuiyuan asked her to eat but refused to allow her to eat.
Li Zhuiyuan was a little worried whether she would go to the toilet by herself, seeing how she was taken care of by Grandma Liu...
All in all, he knew very little about Qin Li, he only knew... that she was good-looking.
Li Zhuiyuan was about to ask Grandma Liu, but when he looked up at the aisle, he saw Liu Yumei's head sticking out.
"Grandma Liu..."
"We Ali can eat by ourselves, go to the toilet by ourselves, and bathe by ourselves. We Ali are just like normal people."
"Okay." Li Zhuiyuan nodded and let go.
Qin Li walked into the toilet.
Li Zhuiyuan stayed where he was, feeling Liu Yumei's fiery eyes sweeping over him.
"Xiaoyuan."
"Grandma Liu."
"Just play with our Ali and play with her."
"Okay, Grandma Liu."
There was the sound of washing hands in the toilet, and then Qin Li walked out, spreading her hands in front of her.
Grandma Liu quickly reminded: "Wipe your hands, wipe your hands."
"Oh."
Li Zhuiyuan stepped forward, took Qin Li's hand and wiped it on his shirt.
"Okay, clean."
Qin Li withdrew his hand.
Li Zhuiyuan took her back to the second floor and got a clean towel and put it on his shoulders.
Returning to the northeast corner of the terrace, Li Zhuiyuan sat down to read a book. When Qin Li sat down, that beautiful face came into his sight.
Finished the sixth volume.
Li Zhuiyuan stretched, then stood up, walked to an open space, and seriously started the national middle school student radio gymnastics.
As soon as I finished finishing and took out the seventh volume, I heard Aunt Liu downstairs calling for lunch.
Li Zhuiyuan and Qin Li went down.
Li Sanjiang ate separately from them, and this time was no exception. Qin Li was led there by Grandma Liu.
After Li Sanjiang sat down, he took out a bottle of liquor.
"Master, you are injured and cannot drink."
"Bah, half of your body is about to be buried. Every extra drink is worth it."
Ignoring the advice from his great-grandson, Li Sanjiang poured himself a full cup and just took a sip. When he picked up his chopsticks and prepared to pick up some food, he saw a figure suddenly walking over, it was Qin Li.
Behind them were Liu Yumei and Aunt Liu who were following.
"Sorry, we were all ready over there and were about to eat when Ali left the table and ran over."
"Come, Ali, go back to eat with grandma first. After you have eaten, go play with Xiaoyuan."
Qin Li was not pulled, she just stood there and looked at Li Zhuiyuan.
And as Liu Yumei pulled, her eyelashes began to twitch slightly, and her body gradually began to tremble.
Liu Yumei could only let go of her hand and did not dare to pull anymore.
In addition to his objections to the four white-eyed wolves in Li Weihan's family, Li Sanjiang was not a stingy master. He waved his hand and said: "Let the girl eat here, and add a pair of chopsticks."
"Thank you then." Liu Yumei thanked her quickly, "I'm sorry for causing you any trouble."
Li Sanjiang waved his hand: "It would be great if the two young children can play together somewhere. They both have a playmate, so they don't feel lonely."
Aunt Liu brought bowls, chopsticks and a small bench.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up the towel on his shoulder and wiped the bench for her: "Sit down and eat together."
Qin Li didn't move.
Liu Yumei: "Ali, sit down and eat together."
Qin Li still didn't sit down, but she turned sideways to face Li Sanjiang. Although she didn't look at him, her meaning was very clear.
She didn't want to eat with Li Sanjiang.
Li Sanjiang was holding a wine glass and preparing to drink. When he saw this posture, he was a little confused and said:
"Then...shall I go?"
Liu Yumei didn't say anything, but she was happy in her heart that her granddaughter was actually showing her emotions, not through being crazy.
Li Zhuiyuan didn't answer and silently wiped the small bench again.
Li Sanjiang smashed the bar and mouthed: "Hehe, hehehe. Forget it, Tinghou, divide the dishes for me, I'll sit there."
"Hey, okay, okay, I'm sorry for causing trouble to you, uncle."
Aunt Liu immediately divided the dishes and set up a separate table for Li Sanjiang in another place.
Qin Li finally sat down.
Liu Yumei said to Li Zhuiyuan expectantly: "Xiaoyuan, let Ali eat."
Yes, in the morning. Every time I had to persuade him earnestly for a long time, but with just one word from the boy, my Ali started eating.
"Wait a moment." Li Zhuiyuan stood up and ran to the kitchen.
Qin Li also wanted to stand up, but saw Li Zhuiyuan coming back with four small plates and a small bowl.
Li Zhuiyuan was seen placing the portions of vegetables into small plates, and then ladling soup into small bowls.
Qin Li's eyes seemed to be a little brighter.
Liu Yumei looked at this scene with a little curiosity.
Li Zhuiyuan: "Okay, let's eat."
Qin Li picked up the chopsticks and started eating.
She would put vegetables on one plate once, take a mouthful of rice, and move on. After finishing a row of plates, she would take a sip of soup, and then continue to repeat.
Liu Yumei was surprised that she actually felt that her granddaughter ate very easily this time, even with a little girlish joy.
"Can this still happen?"
Li Zhuiyuan smiled, and the rest of the dishes on the plate belonged to him, and he started to eat.
Thanks to the fact that his deskmate is a patient with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder, he naturally knows how to get along with similar people.
Qin Li ate very quickly. In the last round, all the dishes on the plate were finished, the soup was finished with the last mouthful, and the rice was just finished.
She put down her chopsticks.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up the towel, folded it, and helped her wipe the corners of her mouth and hands. The towel was large and could be divided into many functional areas.
After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan took Qin Li to the terrace to read.
He also read the "Story of Jianghu Zhiguai" faster and faster. By dusk, he had already read the twelfth volume.
He felt that this speed could still be mentioned tomorrow. In a few days, he would be able to read the introductory encyclopedia, and then go hunting for treasures in the boxes in the basement.
During this time, when he drank water, he also gave Qin Li water; when he went to the toilet, he also took Qin Li to the toilet.
He didn't eat snacks very much, so he opened a few bags of snacks and shared them with her out of fear that she would be hungry.
Every time afterward, he had to wipe her hands, and the towel became increasingly dirty because he used it himself.
Li Sanjiang muttered with some dissatisfaction and asked why Yingzi didn't come to make up lessons for him today.
Li Zhuiyuan felt that his sister should be at home digesting the questions he helped her answer yesterday.
But Li Sanjiang thought that Yingzi felt that Li Zhuiyuan was too difficult to tutor and was unwilling to come.
For dinner, Li Sanjiang was still at the table alone.
This time, Liu Yumei helped her granddaughter get the plates and divide the dishes in advance, but when Qin Li sat down, she didn't take the chopsticks.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up his chopsticks and fine-tuned the amount of food on each plate.
Qin Li picked up the chopsticks and started eating.
Liu Yumei: "Ali, grandma was negligent and didn't control the amount."
In fact, the old lady was thinking: Humph, I can’t remember how much you ate in one mouthful, this girl did it on purpose!
But the old man is not dissatisfied, only happy, because these are good trends. He is not afraid of her losing her temper, but is afraid of her being like before, completely closing herself off like a piece of wood. That is the real despair.
Liu Yumei turned to look at Li Sanjiang, who was sitting alone drinking wine, and then looked at Li Zhuiyuan in front of her, feeling in her heart:
After living here for so long, are you finally getting lucky?
After dinner, Li Zhuiyuan no longer planned to read with a desk lamp at night. He had read too much today and felt tired, so he planned to go back and take a shower before going to bed.
Looking at Qin Li who still wanted to follow him, he said seriously:
"Ali, you go back and wash up and go to bed. I'm going to bed too. Let's read together tomorrow, okay?"
Qin Li said nothing.
Li Zhuiyuan turned around and walked towards the stairs, then stopped and looked back. He found that she had not followed but followed Liu Yumei obediently to the east room. Then he felt relieved and went upstairs to take a shower.
After taking a shower, Li Zhuiyuan thought about taking out the dirty towel and giving it a good scrub, but found that the towel that had been hanging on his shoulder was missing.
"Did you fall somewhere?"
……
In the east room, Liu Yumei was very relieved to see her granddaughter lying on bed after washing.
With a smile on her face, she walked out of the inner bedroom and came to the place where the memorial tablet was enshrined.
She had a lot to say today and wanted to have a good talk with Ali's grandfather, Ali's grandparents, and Ali's parents.
I have protected her for so long, and now she finally has hope of recovery. I believe they and their ancestors will be happy.
After all, Ah Li is the only descendant of the Qin and Liu families.
Sitting down in front of the memorial tablet, Liu Yumei was about to start talking when she suddenly noticed something was wrong with the six-story tablet shelf.
Logically speaking, it was impossible for anyone to touch this place. There were only so many people in the house, and Qin Li and Liu Ting would never dare to touch it when they were cleaning the house.
But what is wrong?
Liu Yumei looked up and down carefully several times, and finally found the dark place under the lamp.
That is in the middle of the third floor of the tablets. The tablet that originally belonged to Grandpa Ali, his husband, has disappeared!
Instead,
It was a dirty towel folded into a small square and placed there.
(End of chapter)