Chapter 172

Chapter 167

Before the year, people are like salmon swimming upstream against the current, enduring countless hardships to return to their birthplace.After the year, people are like dandelions blown by the wind, lightly swaying and drifting to the four directions once more.Reunion and warmth are like a piece of sugar held in the mouth that quickly melts away. For the entire year that follows, one savors and recalls that faint sweetness lingering between the lips and teeth.

Every morning after the year, Li Sanjiang will change his habit of sitting on the second-floor terrace and instead sit on the dam.Whenever villagers carrying luggage or riding motorcycles, in various ways, pass through the front village road on their way to faraway places, they will all make a special trip inside to visit Li Sanjiang's home and stay for a while.Some people will bring a small, simple gift, nothing valuable, just to show consideration.Some just offer a cigarette, smoke it with Li Sanjiang, then offer another for Li Sanjiang to clip behind his ear before leaving.Quite a few people don't even come up the dam; they just stand below and chat with Li Sanjiang across the steps, talking about where they're going, their wishes for the year, forcing some idle conversation.In reality, there's fundamentally nothing specific. They're just about to leave home for faraway places, afraid it will be difficult to return during the year, and there are elderly people at home. So, they have to specially come to Li Sanjiang's place to show their faces.Some are urged by the elderly at home to come, while others know to come on their own.The big matters in life are nothing more than birth and death. Birth can be predicted, but death always comes suddenly.If something happens at home and they can't rush back in time, having Li Sanjiang there at least ensures the home won't panic, and they'll have that bit of confidence in their hearts.

Lin Shuyou finished the year here, then set off back to his Fujian hometown.He carried the team's unified backpack and wore a deep green, fitted suit.Walking to the front of Miaojie, he still specifically stopped at the alley mouth for a moment to adjust his expression.He couldn't be as cautious as in the past, yet he couldn't appear too arrogant.Thinking it over, he finally showed a shy smile on his face.No wonder older brother Xiao Yuan liked to use this expression.When your status and confidence are sufficient, appropriate shyness can help you avoid many troubles.

Someone was already standing at the temple door. Upon seeing Lin Shuyou, they immediately went inside to report.Soon, his grandfather and master came out to welcome him.One person on each side, they reached out and gently patted Lin Shuyou's shoulders.Lin Shuyou's chest, with this patting, unconsciously straightened higher and higher.

He returned home already at dusk; it was time for dinner.The elders and fellow disciples in the temple gathered very neatly. According to reason, this should be the busiest time for the temple, with wandering gods, praying for blessings, exorcising evils, and other activities almost fully scheduled.But even so, the master specifically cleared the temple schedule, solely to welcome his disciple's return home.The scale and momentum of today's reunion meal even exceeded the New Year's Eve dinner that had just passed.Others in the temple were baffled by this, unable to understand but still having to obey the arrangement, because the master and grandfather kept their mouths shut.Also because of this, Lin Shuyou didn't get the treatment of opening a new page in the clan genealogy and sitting at the head seat for the reunion dinner.But when offering incense to the yin gods, Lin Shuyou was required to stand between his grandfather and master.When it was time to sit down to eat, his grandfather, who would have sat at the head seat, first raised his hand, signaling for Lin Shuyou to sit first.

At the dinner table, a crowd of elders all wanted to inquire about Lin Shuyou's experiences of the past half year. Lin Shuyou only talked about university life.Occasionally, some elders would deliberately probe with their words, but the master and grandfather would actively divert the conversation to ensure A You didn't get carried away and say something he shouldn't.After dinner, everyone dispersed respectively.Lin Shuyou was invited to sit down and have tea with his master and grandfather.But even with this private chat, they only talked about studying and life.Lin Shuyou said he studied very hard and had made substantial progress, but his exam results couldn't be published yet.For this, both his master and grandfather expressed strong approval. Some new inheritances couldn't be published now either, but no matter what, the child had learned; that knowledge was like meat cooked in the pot, it couldn't be lost.The conversation about life focused on getting along with classmates.From Lin Shuyou's perspective, he had indeed put a lot of effort into integrating into the small group, although he often made mistakes.But in the ears of his master and grandfather, it had another meaning: could he really become partners and friends with that person from the Dragon King family?They had originally been so scared that they fled Jinling, leaving A You behind, thinking it was a great future just to be cattle or horses for the Dragon King family.They truly hadn't expected A You to actually strive and be so ambitious in this way.

The night talk stopped shallowly.The next morning, the temple immediately became busy."Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!"In this area of the hometown, there was no lack of people, but there was a lack of gods.Lin Shuyou's return filled this vacancy.

Before the wandering gods began, everyone in the temple lined up in the courtyard.Lin Shuyou was arranged to be first. After all, he was young, and deep down, it was still hard to hide the desire to show off a little.He didn't do an opening ceremony, didn't burn incense, and didn't even kneel down to perform the rites. He just stood so straightforwardly in front of the main temple, facing the crowd inside the temple, with his back to the crowd of god statues;His hands were behind his back, and at the same time, his chin was slightly lifted, and his vertical pupils opened!Outsiders watch the excitement, insiders watch the way.The whole scene immediately erupted in an uproar. Even the master and grandfather couldn't help but widen their eyes, showing shocked expressions.Because only a very few highly virtuous old mediums could invite yin gods to possess them in such a simple way, and even then, it had to be in truly urgent moments where etiquette couldn't be attended to. Afterwards, they still had to apologize and explain.But this boy... just did it to show off.And yet, White Crane Boy still really gave him face.

Besides inviting gods, the demeanor and divine power of the god in the guiding state after successfully inviting the god are also a major important standard for judging the strength of a medium.Vertical pupils with red, qi gathered and spirit condensed. Upon careful observation, one could even see faint yin qi circulating beside him.This was absolutely not as simple as just successfully guiding. White Crane Boy's preferential treatment was very obvious, descending upon his body to a greater extent.Lin Shuyou sat down in a chair, looked at his master and grandfather, and said:"Open the face."His master and grandfather looked at each other, then silently went forward.One was the decision-maker in the temple, and the other had the highest seniority. Some chores they hadn't needed to do personally for a long time. But today, one held the paint tray and the other the brush, and they began to open the face for this young man.After opening the face, they changed his makeup and clothes.Ordinary people truly couldn't do this job, because as soon as they got close, they could feel the majestic pressure emanating from the boy.When everything was done, they presented the trident to the boy's hand. The boy grabbed it, stood up, and held the trident high.In an instant, the temple doors wide opened, the incense fire ignited by itself, and inside and outside were solemn!The wandering gods began.

Originally, White Crane Boy, as the leading boy, led the entire team. In the past, when meeting other wandering god teams or passing other temple entrances, they had a set of rules to follow.But today, with White Crane Boy leading the way, all opposing wandering god teams actively avoided them with a sense of recognition. Every time they passed a temple entrance, the temple doors automatically closed.In short, wandering gods are for clearing away demonic atmosphere and protecting the peace of one side, not for single-handedly fighting and killing specific evils, so it's a small job.But you can't help it when someone treats a small job as a big job and does it with such vigor and seriousness.Those within the sequence will naturally give you this face, and those not within the sequence are also unwilling to stir up trouble with you over this matter.Today's activity in the temple could be said to have put on a big show. Even the onlookers on the roadside felt that today's wandering god team was very different, their spirit energy surging, as if no matter what demons dared to appear and block the way, they would be instantly crushed and torn apart.The onlookers relied on their own senses to vote. Whichever wandering god team was strong, they would go to that temple when they had something to do next.After all, the vast majority of people won't encounter dirty things. What they seek is just emotional comfort.

The team returned to the temple and thanked the yin gods.It was still Lin Shuyou first.He didn't take the incense, but closed his eyes and said to the god statue of White Crane Boy above:"Thanks, hard work."Then he turned around and went to remove his makeup and clothes.The master instinctively got angry and wanted to stand up and criticize, but was grabbed by his grandfather.Ordinary mediums who dare to disrespect the yin gods will almost cut off their path of guiding. A You wouldn't not understand this principle.Since he dared to do so, he naturally had his confidence.The old man, after all, had a far-sighted vision. His most favored disciple was also Lin Shuyou's master, and he thought about how to maintain the temple's inheritance well. But the old man saw the true future of the Official General Head.After Lin Shuyou removed his makeup, he smiled and took a piece of rice cake from his mother's hand, took a big bite, soft and glutinous and very delicious.His mother smiled and lightly chided him: "Look at you today, putting on airs."Lin Shuyou just smiled and didn't speak.Ever since that day at General Temple, when older brother Xiao Yuan swore and directly told the boy to scram down, the filter of sacred inviolability in his heart for the yin gods was shattered.He gradually began to view the boy as his side-by-side fighting partner, not a god high above.If the boy didn't want this equal relationship...Then he would just go report to older brother Xiao Yuan!Older brother Xiao Yuan would teach Him what true inequality was.

Next, others in the temple successively gave thanks, the rites complete, and the ceremony sufficient.The grandfather walked over and handed Lin Shuyou a towel."Thanks, grandfather."Lin Shuyou used the towel to wipe his face."Our A You has grown up and changed."He emphasized the last two words heavily.If older brother Xiao Yuan were here, he could definitely taste the meaning behind the old man's words, but Lin Shuyou was Lin Shuyou after all.Letting him solve this riddle was really a bit too difficult for him.He only saw him smile and say to his grandfather:"Grandfather, isn't this very normal? You are all old, but I am still young."This response made the grandfather fall into thought.He thought, was this what that person from the Dragon King family meant, wanting himself and his disciple to retire quickly and put A You in their position?But looking at this guy who turned his head and just asked his mother for rice cake to eat, the grandfather again felt that he might be thinking too much.He suddenly felt that side could actually tolerate A You until now; that person from the Dragon King family truly had a good temper.

Night was deep and quiet.Lin Shuyou couldn't sleep. He came to the main temple alone in his pajamas, looking at the row of god statues inside.He touched General Zeng's toe and patted the back of General Sun's foot.As a medium, he really wanted to experience the feeling of inviting Generals Zeng and Sun to possess him."Clang..."A trembling sound came from the god statue at the tail end.This one standing in the last row was White Crane Boy.Lin Shuyou quickly ran over, stood on his tiptoes, and patted the boy's god statue's calf:"Don't be angry, don't be angry, blame me, I shouldn't be of two minds."

...

Xue Liangliang went to Jinling to hand over his work. Xue Dad and Xue Mom naturally left on the same day as their son, returning to their Anhui hometown.The two elders were very reluctant before leaving, saying nonstop that they had caused everyone trouble and so on, and inviting everyone to visit them if they had time.They had never stayed at someone else's home for so long in their entire lives.Tan Yunlong returned to Nantong after the New Year holiday to enjoy his "later years."Tan Wenbin just returned to his Shigan hometown to accompany his parents. He also needed to socialize with his Southern and Northern grandmothers and the Zhou Yunyun family there.After all, Tan Yunlong was the head of the Tan family, at least nominally.So all activities had to revolve around Tan Yunlong as the core.Shan Deye was quiet for the first two days of the New Year.Except for being active at meal times, he spent the rest of the time lying on the haystack sunbathing.No way, his bullets were used up; he couldn't go to the battlefield.He was an old gambler. When Runsheng was young, he didn't go hungry or miss meals any less following him.But he had a good habit, which was to quiet down once he lost everything and never borrow money to gamble.So, do you say he's hateful? He is indeed hateful.But to say you hate him to the point of itching teeth, it's not really to that degree.Because with normal gamblers, the most terrifying thing is their ability to raise money and borrow money.They can, after repeatedly slapping their own face and confessing and swearing, step by step firmly drag the entire family into the abyss.However, after quieting down, Shan Deye's mood wasn't that great either.Li Sanjiang had an idle mouth, just used it to moisten his lips, asking him why he had time today, why he wasn't sitting as the banker today.Facing this old man, Shan Deye really had no temper. Clearly he was much older than himself, yet he himself already had the appearance of an old man, but this old man was still ruddy and full of energy.He used to think his life was good, but after all, he was a widower, at least he had Runsheng to accompany him.The result was that this old man, carefree and moist for a lifetime, could actually pick up a provincial champion great-grandson in his old age.Others had to work hard to save money for their sons to get married, and then strive for their grandsons to marry granddaughters-in-law, coaxing them to continue the family line. He was good, skipped all the twists and turns, took one step into place, like falling from the sky, his household register directly added one person.Comparing oneself to others really makes you mad.Shan Deye felt that after meeting Li Sanjiang in his lifetime, he had suffered so much stress that he was still alive now was quite remarkable.

Liu Yumei was now truly integrating more and more into the life of a rural old lady.Gossip could only be used as a seasoning. Once you pulled too much, even if the gossip basket didn't have a bottom, your teeth would start to ache from cracking too many melon seeds.She simply set up a small card table at home. Mahjong wasn't popular here in Nantong, so she just played long cards with Liu Jinxia and Xue Mom.At first, when there weren't enough people to take turns, Li Zhuoyuan was also pulled up to the card table to make up the numbers.Playing and playing, they just didn't let Li Zhuoyuan on the table anymore.Playing cards, ah, it's only meaningful if there's winning and losing. If one person always wins money, it's like the other three families are rushing to give offerings, then what's the point of playing?Most importantly, Liu Yumei was clear that with Xiao Yuan's brain, he could control winning and losing, and control it very naturally and in place.But this boy was stubbornly not doing that.Because when he played cards, A Li would sit beside him, helping him count and organize the money, stacking it high.This boy was just to make A Li happy, completely not considering the moods of the three old ladies.

Today, Li Zhuoyuan didn't need to be on the card table. He let Xiong Shan ride the tricycle and take him to Shigan.Not to stroll around and buy things, but to come to a graveyard.That copper coin finally needed to be dealt with.Once, it had made him extremely fearful, not even daring to take it away, only able to bury it deeply in place.Now, he could instead view it normally.Runsheng and Yin Meng went to Xiting Town to repair the dilapidated house wall for Shan Deye and conveniently prepare some rice, flour, grain, and oil.Lihua had to be on the card table, accompanying Liu Yumei in playing cards.The only person he could spare was Xiong Shan.After getting his prior reminder, Xiong Shan dug very carefully. He specifically put several Chenzhou talismans on himself and the shovel as protection.The copper coin was still in its original place and was dug out.Li Zhuoyuan signaled Xiong Shan to walk a bit farther away. He himself rolled up his sleeves and began to wave his hands around, changing and guiding the feng shui pattern.Xiong Shan, standing far away, watched this scene and forcefully swallowed a mouthful of saliva.Before, the teenager had told him he wouldn't use talismans, and he hadn't believed it. Now looking at it, indeed... how could a person who could guide the feng shui pattern with bare hands possibly not use talismans?This was simply a master of the talisman path, not needing talisman paper as a medium, directly drawing talismans in the void.

Li Zhuoyuan at this moment had no time to care what Xiong Shan was thinking. His full attention was on that copper coin.From the perspective of its evil nature, this copper coin was far less significant than his own gasping 《Evil Book》.But its power was more direct.It disdained manipulating your spirit, just buried its head in changing your body.In the place where it was dug out, several large and small lingzhi were also dug out together.They should have been transformed by underground earthworms or mice. Clues could be seen from their color and fur.But this kind of lingzhi not only had no tonic effect at all, but if eaten, major problems would also appear in the body.After straightening out the surrounding feng shui pattern, Li Zhuoyuan took out array flags and began to set up the array.After the array was laid out, Li Zhuoyuan breathed a sigh of relief.Next was the crucial moment.Whether he could turn this copper coin to his own use depended on whether this seal hit perfectly.If the seal didn't hit well, he would absolutely not risk bringing it with him. He would only reselect a place and seal it back into the ground, waiting for his strength to improve next time before returning.If the seal hit well, then it could be embedded into his newly made compass and act as the compass core.The operating principle of the copper coin itself was to bring its own yin and evil feng shui bureau. All flesh and blood things that got close to it would scatter and grow yin in this pattern.With it as the compass core, when encountering special environments later, the probability of the compass failing would be greatly reduced.Many miasmas or arrays, the first step is to confuse your sense of direction. Having it in hand is equivalent to mindlessly reducing most low and middle-level miasmas or arrays.

Li Zhuoyuan took out red mud and drew curses on his palm, the back of his hand, and his wrist, finally gathering the seal.When he pressed down with his thumb, the feng shui pattern and the array were simultaneously activated.Xiong Shan only felt that the teenager's location suddenly became very blurry in his vision.But he didn't dare go forward to help, afraid of accidentally breaking the array or disturbing the feng shui pattern, which would be counterproductive.Finally, the blurry feeling dissipated, and the teenager's figure became clear again.That copper coin also fell into the teenager's hand and was tossed up and down very casually by the teenager.Perfect seal.Li Zhuoyuan really enjoyed this feeling of problems that had troubled him before being easily solved by himself.This was his growth.Of course, if he hadn't gotten further inheritance from Wei Zhengdao in the ghost's dream, he would still have no better method for this copper coin now.Another point is that although Wei Zhengdao's name contains the words "right way," the things he taught were often more effective for evil things.

He took out a small compass from his bag, about the size of the teenager's palm.Inside, there was only a scale and a needle.Because Li Zhuoyuan omitted many useless things that he could calculate with his own brain, he made a concentrated essence version only suitable for his own use.The great-grandfather's house's small workshop behind the house was still there. During the period before and after the New Year, Li Zhuoyuan and A Li often stayed inside. He was responsible for the design, and A Li was responsible for the making.The two of them worked together and made it.Originally, Li Zhuoyuan thought that if he didn't actually work on it himself, he could ensure no errors, but this thing seemed to have a fixed number. Even if he just designed it, when testing it after it was made, he discovered that there was still a fixed error value.This error value, just like how he couldn't draw talismans, was too smooth and too perfect, always leaving a flaw.The flaw here was instead a good thing. If the flaw were in other aspects, it would instead be a big trouble.A fixed error was not considered an error anyway. When using it, it relied on his brain to operate; it was nothing more than an extra calculation, a small problem.Moreover, it also had an anti-theft effect. In case it was lost or stolen, others still couldn't use it.

There was a small groove in the middle of the compass. Li Zhuoyuan inserted the copper coin into it, a tight fit."Our A Li's craftsmanship is really beyond words."He tried using the compass again, pinching the seal and activating it. The compass needle fluctuated continuously. Li Zhuoyuan looked at it while operating his brain. In just a moment, he deduced the feng shui pattern of this place.At the same time, the copper coin inside would also emit a trembling sound. Li Zhuoyuan captured it with his ears. Inside, there was actually another layer of new information: the form below is auspicious.Even graves in the village and town had been seen by a feng shui master before. Graves with auspicious formations below were considered not bad in the countryside.If he really measured out an auspicious formation above or a better location, he could call the cultural relics protection unit in Nantong.Don't think this good place will be empty for you; the ancients were not fools.This new compass, which could both measure feng shui and had a self-contained auspicious divination effect, currently seemed to be the most practical tool in his hand.This also added a big help for when he would go out with older brother Liangliang next.

He sat on the tricycle and went home.As soon as he rode into Siyuan Village's village road, he saw Aunt Zhang running towards him."Xiao Yuan, looking for you, Liang Hou called."Aunt Zhang really liked coming to Li Sanjiang's home to call people to answer the phone. She ran diligently, and her voice was loud, because no matter whether it was Li Zhuoyuan or Tan Wenbin, they were all very polite. Every time they answered a call, they would conveniently buy a lot of things, unlike some people in the village who just laughed it off after using the phone, wishing they could even account the phone fee to you.Li Zhuoyuan came to the small shop, too lazy to wait, and called back."Hello, Xiao Yuan, is that you?""It's me, older brother Liangliang.""There's a job. If you have time...""I have time."Calculating the time, although it was still a bit early, they could get started.Most importantly, everyone's injuries had recovered seven or eight parts. It was time to go and explore the next wave.Compared to passively waiting, Li Zhuoyuan still preferred to actively attack."We need to go on a long trip to a county below Guizhou. There was originally a problem with a hydropower station under construction, so we need to go conduct an auxiliary investigation. The earlier we go, the better, to try not to delay the construction period after the year.""Okay, when do we set off?""The day after tomorrow. Should we rendezvous in Jinling?""Okay.""Also, I'll conveniently help you handle the procedures at school. Do you want to handle Tan Wenbin and Lin Shuyou's together?""Yes.""Then it's settled. Anyway, I'm responsible for handling the school matters. I'll also arrange tickets and so on. The day after tomorrow, we'll eat lunch together at noon and formally set off in the afternoon.""No problem.""It's hard on you, Xiao Yuan.""This is your work, and also my work.""Hehe, with you, my heart is at ease, really. They all say I'm taking care of you, but in my heart, I know it's always you who's taking care of me.""Older brother Liangliang, you are indispensable. You might not know how important you are."Just as important as the police station sign."Haha, you're making me embarrassed. Right, can your car fit so many people?"Our car is a small pickup truck, you know."It can't fit, so I'll still have to trouble older brother Liangliang to work hard and drive to Nantong to pick us up and go to Jinling.""It's not hard, this is what I should do."Hanging up the phone, Li Zhuoyuan finally knew how older brother Liangliang could still frequently return to Nantong amidst such busy work. He was simply seizing every opportunity, even if there was no opportunity, he would force one.

Li Zhuoyuan dialed the phone again, this time to the affordable store.Lu Yi answered the phone.He had gone home for the New Year this year, and because he had become a "factory second generation," the number of blind dates arranged for him this year was really too many. Lu Yi couldn't stand it and just took the train back to school early.He preferred to be in the store, familiar and busy with his own business.Li Zhuoyuan was too lazy to call the paging station and call them one by one again. Anyway, their team had its own "central station.""Aunt Zhang, I want this, this, and this..."Li Zhuoyuan chose a lot of snacks, paid the money, and said: "Put them here at your place, Aunt. When Hu Zi and the others come over, give them to them.""Xiao Yuan Hou, ah, you really have the appearance of an older brother."Li Zhuoyuan smiled shyly.Mainly, Aunt Zhang's small shop didn't have many varieties of goods. During the New Year period, Tan Wenbin and the others frequently called and took away a lot of small snacks and goods from home early. Those things were put at home and no one ate them, so he was too lazy to take them home again.

Back home, Liu Yumei and the others were still playing cards.Even after getting along for so many days, Lihua's hand holding the cards was still trembling.Their husband and wife were still relatively good. Xiao Yingying, since Liu Yumei and the others returned, she had always stayed at Big Beard's house and hadn't shown her face here again.The paper figures were made at her place, and then Xiong Shan transported them back with a cart."Hu!"Liu Yumei slapped down a card and began to calculate points.Li Zhuoyuan walked to Liu Yumei's side and softly said: "Grandma, I have to go out the day after tomorrow.""Going back to school?""Not back to school.""Then you won't be staying at school much next semester?""Should be."Liu Yumei sighed: "What a shame, the vegetables I planted in the courtyard are doing well.""You can ask Uncle Qin to spare some time to go to Jinling and harvest the vegetables.""Heh." Liu Yumei was amused, "Forget it, there are more fields here.""Are you planning to continue living here?""Otherwise, what? Follow you everywhere?""That's not what I meant.""Anyway, where doesn't one live?" This hand turned to Liu Yumei's empty turn. She stood up and led Li Zhuoyuan to the edge of the dam. "You'll have to let your great-grandfather package some more fields, otherwise, it won't be enough for A Li and that bear to plant together.""Thanks, grandma.""Grandma often blames herself too, wanting to do some things for you, but again, there's no way to start. To put it plainly, it's still because you, Xiao Yuan, are too capable.Actually, I used to be quite curious. People navigate, a thousand sails competing, wandering the rivers and lakes. How did you manage to basically just stay at school and wait for jobs for the past half year?But these things aren't convenient to ask now. I know you're all deliberately hiding things from me. Every time Zhuangzhuang chats with me, I also hear that he's holding back.We are ultimately old, and you are all young. This river and lake will belong to you all in the future.Um, and one more point. Since you are all following that boy Liangliang around, I believe in that boy's frequency of return. When he wants to find a way back to Nantong, you won't not follow.No matter how busy you are outside, remember to come home more often.A Li misses you.""I will, grandma."So, he was really benefiting from older brother Liangliang this time.

Li Zhuoyuan went and told Li Sanjiang. After listening, Li Sanjiang asked: "Will expenses be higher outside?""The unit will reimburse, great-grandfather.""Not everything can be reimbursed. A poor family has a rich journey. You are still growing. Don't mistreat your body to save money.""I won't. Anyway, you give me money every month, great-grandfather.""That's right!"Li Sanjiang touched Li Zhuoyuan's head, sighing and proudly saying: "Our Xiao Yuan is also going out to build a career now, hehe.""Right, great-grandfather, Grandma Liu and the others should continue to live here.""Won't Li Hou and Ting Hou also stay here?""Um.""Hey, that's just right. I'll buy some more tables, chairs, stools, pots, bowls, and ladles. Big Beard's place can use them too. We'll double the business."Good mules suddenly increased; the millstone wasn't enough to pull.

Originally, Li Zhuoyuan's intention conveyed to Lin Shuyou through Lu Yi was that he could go from Fujian to Guizhou first. Lin Shuyou carefully inquired whether this was a command or a suggestion. Knowing it was the latter, he firmly expressed that he still wanted to act with the main group and would go to Jinling to wait for everyone to gather.The pressure on the vanguard pioneer opening the way was very high. If something happened to him accidentally, it would easily cause the team's rhythm to collapse and turn into a mission to save Lin Shuyou.

The night before departure, everyone ate a meal together.In the evening, Li Zhuoyuan went for a walk at Big Beard's house. Before leaving home, according to the rules, everyone had to inform the gatekeeper.Xiong Shan and his wife set up a cradle in the peach forest. A windmill was placed on the cradle's stand. As long as it was sunny, they would put their clumsy daughter in the cradle and let the wind in the peach forest sway it gently.This way of building connections was really hard enough.But it was also quite consistent with their couple's usual level.

After burning some paper money and saying that he was going on a long trip, Li Zhuoyuan went back to sleep.The next morning, he woke up from bed and turned his head.On the chair by the door sat a delicate figure.On the terrace in the early morning, Li Zhuoyuan and A Li played chess.They always played until Aunt Liu downstairs shouted: "Time for breakfast!"In a trance, it was as if time had reversed, and he seemed to be back in the past, everything unchanged.But the girl in front of him had grown taller and become more exquisite and dignified.When she was initially sitting in the east room, with her feet on the threshold, she still retained that touch of girlish charm.Meanwhile, he himself was also gradually approaching the threshold where he couldn't act cute with a boy's image anymore.Life was also a river. In youth, one paddled desperately, but later, one would cry out wanting to go back, yet be unable to find the way.On this river, the happiest thing was instead to muddle along. Understanding too early would instead lead to unhappiness too early.

Two square stools were spliced together to make a small breakfast table. Li Zhuoyuan helped A Li serve small pickles, and A Li helped Li Zhuoyuan peel salted duck eggs.As soon as breakfast was finished, Xue Liangliang's car arrived.This meant that he had actually come to Nantong last night and stayed overnight in Jiangli.He should have been spurred on by riding the tricycle to the riverside every day during the New Year period. After the year, he went and bought a brand new Santana.But this sedan could only carry people after loading things, so the small pickup truck still had to be driven to Jinling.Because they were going on a long trip directly after going to Jinling, Li Sanjiang didn't stuff too many things this time, only money.

Liu Yumei stood on the dam, looking at the group of children about to leave.Her gaze seemed to pass through the years, returning to her childhood, standing at the door of the ancestral home, looking at her departing little uncle.Her little uncle was her elder, yet very young. In childhood, he loved to carry her and play, and he also pampered her the most. The adults at home often said that half of her bad temper was spoiled by this little uncle.When her little uncle took the people beside him to navigate the rivers, it was also such a scene.Rather than saying they were going to face those dangerous waves, it was better to say they were going to welcome the wonderful scenery in life.Once, the Liu family elders could say to their little uncle: When you are tired, just light a lamp at home.She also said the same words to Xiao Yuan.But when she said it, she actually didn't have that much confidence. She herself felt like she was just farting.Right now, all she could do was merge this child's two homes into one place, so that when this child returned from wandering the rivers and lakes, he could safely return to a good home.Cracking melon seeds and chatting about gossip, playing cards seriously, she also deliberately paved the way for this in advance.In her bones, she was still that proud young lady of the Liu family, but when the child was so young and went to wander the rivers and lakes, what could this old woman change?

When the two cars drove away, Li Zhuoyuan first waved goodbye to the crowd nearby, then shifted his gaze upwards.He saw that red figure on the second-floor terrace, sending him off.A Li had deliberately worn red clothes today so that even from a great distance, he could still see her figure.Li Zhuoyuan kept looking like this until that red figure became smaller and smaller and blurrier and blurrier, finally merging with the red sun in the sky.

...

"My tailbone feels like it's been shaken to the point of an old injury relapse."Tan Wenbin supported the edge of the tractor with both hands, so that his buttocks were suspended.He had also been to many places and walked mountain roads, but this section of mountain road was so bumpy and rugged that it simply exceeded his imagination.His first reaction was, does such a difficult road actually exist in this world?His second reaction was, can people actually live behind such a difficult road?Xue Liangliang laughed and said: "You people who grew up on the big plains from childhood are just so delicate."Yin Meng: "Exactly."Lin Shuyou softly echoed: "Exactly, exactly."Tan Wenbin: "What the hell, I've heard of regional discrimination, this is the first time I've discovered there's also terrain discrimination!"Xue Liangliang: "Actually, people who grew up in mountain areas will also not adapt to your plains. Right, A You?"Lin Shuyou nodded: "When I first came out, seeing the ground so flat, my heart was indeed a bit unsteady."Xue Liangliang: "You'll get used to it slowly. Later, as long as people's feet can walk past places, they can all be repaired into smooth roads."Tan Wenbin: "Tell me, how do you repair roads here?"Xue Liangliang pointed upwards; there was just the space between two mountains: "Repair them in the sky."Tan Wenbin: "You earn money, you're right."The big uncle driving the tractor said with an apologetic face: "Sorry, I've made you suffer."Xue Liangliang: "Master Ran, we're just chatting casually, don't take it to heart."Master Ran: "We're almost there. You'll stay in our village tonight. The construction team also rented houses in our village before. You can rest, eat, and drink there, and then I'll send you over.""Trouble you.""What trouble, ah, I just do procurement for the construction team, hehe."Upon arriving at the village, Ran Dachen took out a key to open the door lock and led everyone into an earth building.The space inside was very large. The rooms looked like temporary offices for a construction site.Xue Liangliang asked: "Even after the year, aren't people arranged to stay?"Ran Dachen replied: "Originally, two people were left here, but they disappeared before the year. I was originally planning to call them to my home for the New Year. I estimate they secretly went home."Xue Liangliang shook his head, thinking this was too irresponsible.Ran Dachen sent some more food and left after saying he would take them to the construction site tomorrow.Everyone tidied up the earth house. The first floor was all temporary offices, and the second floor was accommodation rooms, all changed into large dormitories.Because the handover personnel were not there, it made it very difficult for everyone to unfold their work, because many real problems were very difficult to present in written or phone reports.

Li Zhuoyuan was on the second floor helping to tidy up everyone's bedroom for the night when he discovered a blue hardcover diary. A fountain pen was still clipped to the cover.Three-quarters of the thick diary was already used, showing how much the original owner loved writing diaries.But such a cherished item was left here when leaving.However, after the construction team returned, the original owner should also be able to get it back.Arbitrarily peeking at someone else's diary was a very immoral thing.Li Zhuoyuan opened the diary.He flipped to the last page. The writing was very scribbled. The date marked above showed it was December 28th, two days before the New Year.Weather: Overcast.Content:"Didn't they all already go back for the New Year? Then who exactly are those people holding a meeting on the first floor now?Why,From the gap in the second-floor window, I saw that I 'myself' was also sitting below holding the meeting?"()