"What's 'Lao Si Dao'? Is it a kind of snack?"
"No."
"What is it then?"
"It's just the literal meaning."
"The literal meaning?"
"Someone died, fell into the water, and then they fish him out."
Tan Wenbin: "..."
If he had heard this earlier, Tan Wenbin would have thought it was just the boy's nonsense, but now he felt there might be some truth to it.
"Brother Xiaoyuan, is 'Lao Si Dao' fun?"
"Very fun."
"How fun is it?"
"More fun than studying."
Tan Wenbin imagined two scenes in his mind: one of him buried in homework in a classroom, and the other of standing by the river with a big net fishing out dead bodies.
Even though the latter was creepy, it was indeed more fun than studying!
"Brother Xiaoyuan, do you often fish for them?"
"Not that many people fall into the river and drown every day, and only a tiny chance of those who do drown will turn into 'Lao Si Dao.'"
"Isn't everyone who drowns called 'Lao Si Dao'?"
"We usually refer specifically to those who can still move after drowning."
"Move after dying?" Tan Wenbin's expression became complicated. "Do they move because of the current?"
"They can move by themselves and even walk ashore."
"This..." Now Tan Wenbin couldn't help but start to doubt, "Brother Xiaoyuan, are you trying to scare me with a story?"
"No."
"But I don't believe what you just said."
"Mm."
"Unless you take me to see one of those moving 'Lao Si Dao.'"
"Not taking you."
"Why?" Tan Wenbin was confused. Shouldn't the first reaction after someone doesn't believe you be to prove it?
"Fishing for 'Lao Si Dao' is very dangerous."
"It's fine, I'm not afraid of danger."
"Brother Binbin, you don't know anything. Taking you along would just be a burden and could put me in danger."
"Uh..."
After a brief moment of speechlessness, Tan Wenbin immediately leaned forward and grabbed Li Zhuoyuan's hand. "But the more you say that, the more I want to see it."
Li Zhuoyuan shook his head.
"Please, Brother Xiaoyuan, please!"
"Not possible."
"Brother Xiaoyuan, if you take me to see a 'Lao Si Dao,' I'll do whatever you want me to do in the future!"
"Brother Binbin."
"Did you agree?"
"What can you help me with?"
Tan Wenbin fell silent.
In the living room, Tan Yunlong's voice called out, "Binbin, come out with Xiaoyuan for dinner."
Dinner was quite lavish, with many dishes, some of which clearly came from opened cans.
Zheng Fang apologized, "Xiaoyuan, next time you come, let's eat out. I’m not very good at cooking."
"Auntie, you’ve worked hard. There’s already a lot of food; we can’t finish it."
Tan Yunlong poured soda into Li Zhuoyuan's cup and said, "It's fine, let Binbin eat the leftovers slowly."
The dinner atmosphere was warm and harmonious, a typical family of three with a guest, Tan Wenbin.
As they were finishing up, when everyone was mostly focused on chatting, Tan Yunlong's pager went off. He looked down and immediately got up.
Zheng Fang was already used to this pace of life and quickly went to get her husband’s coat, saying, "Xiaoyuan can sleep at our house tonight, right?"
After putting on his coat, Tan Yunlong shook his head. "I didn’t tell his family we’d be sleeping here. If we don’t go back tonight, they’ll worry."
"Aren't you busy at work?"
"Just happens to be on the way to drop the kid off."
"Alright then, be careful on the road. It’s windy tonight; don’t let the kid catch a cold."
Li Zhuoyuan walked over to Tan Yunlong, and Zheng Fang took out a red envelope she had prepared earlier and handed it to him.
"Xiaoyuan, it’s your first time at our house; go buy some candy."
"Thank you, Auntie."
Li Zhuoyuan took the envelope and put it in his pocket. He knew Tan Yunlong was in a hurry to leave, so he didn’t refuse.
As they went out and down the stairs, Tan Yunlong said, "The hospital called. Someone came to visit those two and has already been caught."
"How many?"
"Just one."
"That shouldn't be all."
Water monkeys usually move in groups. On the surface, two people pretending to be local bosses came to contract the fish pond, but there must be more behind the scenes.
"The main thing is those two are still unconscious and can’t be questioned. Now that we’ve caught one with a loose tongue, we can expect to pry some information out."
Tan Yunlong hopped on his motorcycle, and after Li Zhuoyuan got on, he handed him a helmet.
The earlier conversation felt more like colleagues discussing work. Tan Yunlong didn’t think anything was wrong; the clues for this case had come from the boy himself.
With the roar of the motorcycle, they arrived at the clinic.
Tan Yunlong didn’t avoid anything and led Li Zhuoyuan into the inpatient building. The father and son of the Water Monkey and the pair of fake bosses were both on the first floor, but one was at the east end and the other at the west end.
In the center of the first floor, there was a long bench area with many people. Due to the tight hospital bed situation, many family members of patients chose to stay here overnight.
The security office was in the first room on the west side. After pushing the door open, there were three people inside: two plainclothes officers standing and one handcuffed person sitting.
"Captain Tan."
"Captain Tan."
"Did you get any results?"
"He denies it, saying he was just asked to bring a fruit basket and milk to those two beds."
Tan Yunlong frowned. "How could he get that wrong?"
"This guy has a history of theft. When we asked him to cooperate with the investigation, he tried to run but was caught. He just confessed to two recent thefts but refuses to admit knowing those two who are unconscious."
"Officer, I really don’t know those two. Someone just paid me to help deliver something to that ward."
Tan Yunlong asked, "Who paid you?"
"A woman, wearing a mask, short hair, all bundled up in the summer."
Tan Yunlong said to his colleague beside him, "He must be mistaken. He speaks in Nantong dialect, and that gang is from out of town."
Tomb robbers usually operate in families and rarely include outsiders, let alone people from other provinces. When money is involved, the most feared thing isn’t the dead but black-on-black violence.
"Captain Tan, does this mean we’ve been discovered?"
"Probably. You guys weren’t careful enough; they might have noticed and avoided capture. But it could also be that they’re just testing the waters."
Tan Yunlong suddenly thought of something. When testing the waters, you at least need to see some ripples.
He quickly pushed open the door and walked out of the security office, heading towards the bench area. There were many people here, and his gaze quickly scanned the area.
"Uncle Tan."
Li Zhuoyuan’s voice came, and Tan Yunlong realized the boy had already gone out by himself at some point.
He first looked at him and then followed the direction the boy was secretly pointing at. In the corridor leading to the hot water room on the east side, a person was leaving. From the back, it looked like a woman.
Tan Yunlong immediately jumped over the bench in front of him and quickly chased after her.
It seemed the woman heard the urgent footsteps behind her and immediately switched from walking to running, leading to a chase between the two.
When a few police officers arrived, they didn’t see Captain Tan and didn’t know which direction he went. Li Zhuoyuan walked over to remind them:
"Uncle Tan went that way, chasing a female suspect."
Only then did a few officers run over to provide backup.
Li Zhuoyuan didn’t follow to join the excitement but returned to the security office, where another plainclothes officer was still watching the pickpocket.
After pouring himself a glass of water, Li Zhuoyuan sat down slowly to wait.
He had heard the pickpocket speaking in Nantong dialect earlier and had come out. There were indeed many people in the central bench area, but it wasn’t hard to find.
The two water monkeys were in the far west room. As long as he connected the ward and the security office in a straight line and made a projection onto the bench area, the range would shrink significantly. Only in this small area could one observe both the ward and the security office.
When Li Zhuoyuan went to observe, the woman stood up just in time, and he immediately noticed her because she was empty-handed.
About fifteen minutes later, the door to the security office was pushed open again. Tan Yunlong was helped in, accompanied by a doctor.
Tan Yunlong’s shirt was unbuttoned, and there was a long bruise on his left chest, likely from a kick.
Li Zhuoyuan tilted his head to examine the bruise, trying to think about the posture of the kick, feeling a bit awkward.
As the doctor applied ointment, Tan Yunlong told his colleagues, "I was about to catch her, but she threw me out, and when I got back up, she kicked me again."
"Captain, was that person really that skilled?"
"Not really. I’m not trying to save face; it’s embarrassing to get hurt without catching anyone.
When I got close to her, whether she threw me or kicked me, I was actually prepared to counter and subdue her.
But her strength was so strange that I didn’t expect it, and I was thrown out."
Li Zhuoyuan understood after hearing this because the woman used techniques meant for dealing with the dead.
This kind of technique might not be effective against the living, but Tan Yunlong was holding back when trying to subdue her. He was caught off guard and suffered an unfamiliar loss.
Before long, several police officers returned, looking a bit downcast. Clearly, they hadn’t caught up and had let her escape.
"Send more people to guard here. Didn’t the doctor say those two are waking up soon? We can dig up clues from them."
After giving the orders, Tan Yunlong put on his clothes and took Li Zhuoyuan's hand as they left.
"Uncle Tan, can you still drive?"
Seeing Tan Yunlong holding his chest, Li Zhuoyuan couldn’t help but ask with concern.
"It’s not a big problem. Get in the car."
This time, Tan Yunlong drove the motorcycle very slowly.
"Xiaoyuan, next time you go out, you need to tell me in advance."
"Okay."
"I think you’re quite suited to being a police officer. Have you thought about applying to the police academy?"
"No."
"What university do you want to apply to?"
"Haihe University."
Hearing this answer, Tan Yunlong’s mouth twitched because he seemed to guess the reason the boy wanted to apply to this university.
After dropping him off at home, Tan Yunlong handed Li Zhuoyuan a note: "Xiaoyuan, just call me if you need anything."
"Okay, Uncle Tan."
Watching the motorcycle drive away, Li Zhuoyuan turned his gaze back towards the direction of the bearded man’s house.
A practitioner who specifically dealt with the dead was no longer just a simple water monkey.
However, since they could be tricked by bait, this water monkey, no matter how complicated, was still limited in complexity.
So, for safety's sake, should he prepare something in advance?
The books talked about various methods to eliminate the dead but wouldn’t teach you how to help them. However, the books also listed many taboos when dealing with the dead...
So, he could just reverse those taboos and use them.
That way, even if a tough opponent appeared among the water monkeys, he could still provide a safety net for the little yellow oriole.
Clenching his fist, Li Zhuoyuan gently tapped his forehead and suddenly realized:
What kind of twisted thinking is this?
But he quickly reassured himself. He had been exposed to archaeology since childhood and had seen many national treasures destroyed by tomb raiders, witnessing the heartbreak of many old archaeology experts.
Choosing the lesser of two evils, he wasn’t helping the dead; he was clearly protecting national treasures.
Turning around and entering the house, the TV was off, and Runsheng wasn’t watching it, but he could vaguely hear the sound of "ding-dong" coming from the back wall, indicating that Runsheng was still working late.
Not wanting to disturb him, Li Zhuoyuan went upstairs and found that his great-grandfather was still lying on the rattan chair on the terrace.
"Great-grandpa, why aren’t you asleep yet?"
"Waiting for you." Li Sanjiang shifted a bit and yawned. "What did Officer Tan say?"
"He agreed."
"Really?"
"Mm. A month later, before school starts, he will personally take me to handle the enrollment procedures. You can rest assured."
"That’s good, that’s good. Is it in Shigang?"
"Mm."
"What grade?"
"Sixth grade."
Li Sanjiang extended his finger, calculating the ages and grades of Yingzi, Panzi, and the others, and asked, "Isn’t it too fast for you to go to sixth grade now?"
"It’s fine, great-grandpa. I’m young. Even if I can’t keep up, I can repeat a year and learn more."
"That makes sense." Li Sanjiang nodded. "That’s a good deal."
"Great-grandpa, you should go to sleep now; it’s late."
"Mm, it’s time to sleep. I need to get up early tomorrow; we have guests coming."
"Who?"
"It’s an old comrade of mine."
"Your comrade..."
"Also a fellow villager, from the same village."
"A Taiwanese businessman?"
"Not really. He was quite unfortunate. He was conscripted with me, but I escaped, and he didn’t. He ended up retreating all the way to Yunnan and then to Myanmar.
I heard he was doing quite well at first, but then our side sent troops and crushed them.
After that, he wandered in Southeast Asia and reportedly made a bit of money. Now that he’s older, he wants to come back and invest."
"Great-grandpa, did he call you?"
"Yes."
"What about the village head?"
"What does the village head have to do with it?"
"If a Chinese overseas returns to invest, the town head usually accompanies them."
Li Sanjiang’s face immediately showed an "I see" expression, even revealing a smile:
"Hehe, so this old fellow is coming back to show off and deceive the rich?"
"Great-grandpa, I’m just guessing."
"Alright, alright, sleep now. You should wash up and sleep early." Li Sanjiang said while shaking a fan, heading towards his room, still smiling, "After the summer vacation, our Xiaoyuan will be in sixth grade. That’s great."
Li Zhuoyuan took a shower and, after returning to his room, sat at his desk and began writing his experience notes.
He didn’t have the habit of taking notes or making mistake collections when he was in school because it didn’t matter even if he submitted a blank paper in exams. Now it was different; one wrong step could lead to death.
He quite liked this feeling; after all, exams should have some psychological pressure.
As for being in sixth grade of middle school instead of elementary school, Li Zhuoyuan felt that great-grandpa would figure it out once school started.
At his age and in the youth class, it was indeed hard to explain to outsiders, but the high school side should know, which would reduce a lot of trouble for transferring and skipping grades.
He opened several stacks of books in front of him, flipped to the relevant volume and page based on his memory, and selectively noted down ten "taboos" for dealing with the dead.
He definitely wouldn’t use all ten; at most, he would take two. Therefore, he still needed to consider practicality and controllability and continue to refine his selection.
After doing all this, he went to bed.
After waking up, he felt much more energetic than before. It seemed his exhaustion issue had improved, but he still needed to pay attention to eating more blood-nourishing and energy-boosting foods; he had to mention this to Aunt Liu.
There was no one on the chair by the door because the girl was sitting at the desk, carving wooden flowers with a small carving knife.
Li Zhuoyuan was a bit puzzled. All the materials in his room had been moved to the workshop by Runsheng, and any future tools would be made there. Where did A Li get her raw materials?
As he got closer, he realized they were still the same kind of dark material that emitted sandalwood fragrance.
"A Li, did you chop up the family tablets again?"
A Li shook her head.
It wasn’t her who did it; it was her grandmother who did it.
Liu Yumei was very happy to chop them up, fearing that if she didn’t do it in time, her granddaughter’s condition would worsen again.
Li Zhuoyuan went to grab three bottles of sports drink; these were the last three bottles, and he would have to ask Aunt Liu to restock.
He opened two bottles, one for each of them.
The girl liked drinking it early on because she had never had carbonated drinks before, but she didn’t like sweet things in the morning. However, she enjoyed clinking glasses with the boy.
Also, she wanted to fill her first treasure box as soon as possible.
After breakfast, Li Zhuoyuan returned to the terrace on the second floor to read, while A Li sat next to him carving.
From time to time, a few unused wooden flowers would be blown up by the wind and fall, shining in the sunlight, representing the ancestors' satisfied smiles.
The guests arrived earlier than expected, as a black car drove along the village road from a distance. An elderly man in a black suit got out, leaning on a cane with a young blonde woman supporting him.
The two walked along the path and arrived at the yard.
"Hey, is that you, Lin Hou?"
"Hehe, it’s me, Sanjiang Hou!"
The two old men excitedly shook hands.
Then, they sat down, and Aunt Liu brought tea.
Li Zhuoyuan said goodbye to A Li and went downstairs.
"Is she your granddaughter?" Li Sanjiang asked.
"No, she’s my secretary, her last name is Jin."
"Oh, that’s good." Li Sanjiang immediately turned and waved, "Come, Lin Hou, this is my great-grandson, Xiaoyuan. Xiaoyuan, come meet your Grandpa Ding."
"Hello, Grandpa Ding."
"A very smart child."
"Of course, he’s a child of the Li family; he’s been living with me now." Li Sanjiang continued to pat Li Zhuoyuan’s head, showing no intention of sending the child away.
This was quite obvious.
Ding Dalin smiled awkwardly, touched his suit pocket, and said awkwardly, "Look at me, having been outside for so long, I’ve forgotten these customs."
The young woman beside him took out some money and handed it to Ding Dalin, who then passed it to Li Zhuoyuan:
"Here, Grandpa is buying you candy."
"Thank you, Grandpa."
Li Zhuoyuan took the money; it was quite thick.
However, he also noticed Ding Dalin's earlier words. The overseas Chinese circle was more focused on these old customs, so how could he say he forgot them unless he hadn’t been living in normal society all along?
Moreover, Ding Dalin's suit wasn’t a foreign brand; although the label was in English, it was clearly southern-made. It was quite expensive but definitely not something he brought back when he returned.
As for the blonde secretary, her hair seemed freshly dyed, but the technique was rough, with dye stains on her collar and shoulders.
Looking at the woman’s figure, he felt she looked a bit familiar.
"Great-grandpa, I’ll go help Aunt Liu with the sunflower seeds." Li Zhuoyuan made an excuse to walk around, coming up behind the woman and seeing her back.
He confirmed it was the woman who escaped from the hospital last night.
The woman turned her head at this moment, glancing at Li Zhuoyuan from the corner of her eye.
Hmm? Did you recognize me too?
When he came out of the security office, the woman stood up and walked away with her back to him, but she should have seen him when he entered the inpatient building with Tan Yunlong.
Then, Ding Dalin’s identity became clear.
They were the water monkeys!
Li Zhuoyuan placed the sunflower seeds down and then found an excuse to go to the bathroom, heading to the back of the house.
He opened the workshop door, and Runsheng was still busy working.
"Runsheng, stop for now. Two guests have come outside; go stand by great-grandpa."
"Okay!"
Runsheng picked up the black and white towel hanging nearby to wipe his sweat.
Then he put on a short sleeve and went out.
Not telling Runsheng about the two guests' identities was to avoid him not performing well and not being able to handle them.
Li Zhuoyuan planned to take a detour through the fields to call Tan Yunlong from Aunt Zhang’s small shop.
But as he walked, Li Zhuoyuan suddenly sensed something was off. At the field path's entrance, someone was squatting and smoking.
The person was on tiptoe, leaning sideways, smoking while observing the surroundings.
This was a collective movement of water monkeys; someone was on lookout here.
He couldn’t get out, so Li Zhuoyuan quietly turned back in the rice field.
In rural areas, the spaces between self-built houses are quite large, and great-grandpa’s place happened to have no neighbors in front or behind. Since there was someone at this entrance, there must be others at the other exits.
It was safer to return home, especially since Runsheng was there.
He also silently prayed that Aunt Liu was another hidden expert like Uncle Qin, but Li Zhuoyuan was very skeptical; Aunt Liu was good at cooking and medicine.
As for Grandma Liu, she was too old, so he couldn’t place his hopes on her.
When Li Zhuoyuan returned, he saw Li Sanjiang patting Runsheng’s arm and talking to Ding Dalin:
"This is also my grandson, Runsheng. You’ve met your Grandpa Dalin, sweeten your mouth a bit. Your Grandpa Dalin just gave Xiaoyuan a very thick red envelope."
"Hehe, Grandpa Dalin."
Li Zhuoyuan didn’t approach but went into the kitchen, where Aunt Liu was cooking. Since guests had come, they would definitely stay for lunch.
"Aunt Liu."
"What’s up, Xiaoyuan?"
"Do you have poison?"
"What kind of medicine?"
"Two dirty people came outside."
Aunt Liu was shocked. This child actually wanted to poison someone directly.
She quickly stabilized her expression and said:
"Don’t worry, Xiaoyuan. Since the dirty people are wearing clean clothes, they’re not here to do dirty things."
This sounded reasonable, but the problem was that the blonde secretary recognized him.
Although some raw materials in his workshop were toxic, that stuff was clearly detectable when eaten.
"Then Aunt Liu, will you, like Uncle Qin, go back to take care of the sick uncle?"
Aunt Liu paused for a moment and nodded.
Li Zhuoyuan smiled, feeling relieved. Although it would be a problem to eat without Aunt Liu in the house, it was better than not eating at all in the future.
Li Zhuoyuan walked out of the kitchen and stood next to Runsheng, wanting to hear Ding Dalin’s purpose for coming today.
Noticing Runsheng poking him with his hand, Li Zhuoyuan turned his head and found that Runsheng was handing him the red envelope money he had just received.
"Runsheng, keep it for yourself; you don’t need to give it to me."
"Material costs for the tools."
"Keep it with you."
"Okay."
At this moment, Li Zhuoyuan saw the blonde secretary approaching him, taking out a chocolate wrapped in foil from her pocket and walking over to hand it to him.
"Little brother, here, have some."
"Thank you, sister."
Li Zhuoyuan reached out to take it; it was a bit sticky, probably because the chocolate had melted.
"Why aren’t you eating, little brother?"
"I don’t want to eat it now; I want to slowly savor it before bed."
"Hehe, it’s fine. I still have plenty; I’ll bring you some next time."
As she spoke, the blonde secretary reached out to touch Li Zhuoyuan’s face.
Li Zhuoyuan sensed the calloused skin on her fingertips and the thick calluses in her palm.
The boy showed a shy smile and took half a step back.
Then, Li Zhuoyuan pulled Runsheng over, and Runsheng bent down so the boy could whisper in his ear:
"Runsheng, it’s a good thing you left me at the market yesterday. I got sent to the police station where the uncles and aunties gave me a lot of snacks, and in the end, an uncle rode a motorcycle to take me home. Hehe."
Runsheng was confused by this,
But he instinctively responded:
"Mm, yes."
The blonde secretary covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes revealing a hint of teasing and relief.
Hmm, she thought she was very clever and confirmed that the boy didn’t recognize her, especially since she was wearing a mask last night.
Li Zhuoyuan was waiting to hear Ding Dalin’s purpose, but the two old men began reminiscing about their wartime friendship.
These two old men were conscripted after the Japanese surrendered, and there weren’t any moving stories to tell.
His great-grandfather fought his way from the Northeast into the interior, capturing Pingjin and breaking through Huaihai.
Ding Dalin, on the other hand, advanced westward and ultimately entrenched himself in Southeast Asia, but he was good at giving himself a high hat, actually claiming to be a veteran of the expeditionary force.
It was clear that great-grandpa was very interested in chatting, as most of his peers in the village had either died or were slow to respond, and it was rare to meet another old-timer with a clear mind.
But Ding Dalin seemed a bit disinterested. Li Zhuoyuan noticed that he tried to change the subject several times but was pulled back by great-grandpa’s enthusiasm.
Finally, as lunchtime approached, Ding Dalin had to reveal his true intentions:
"I heard someone died at the bearded man’s house recently, two people?"
Li Sanjiang immediately frowned and asked, "Why do you ask this?"
Seeing Li Sanjiang’s reaction, Ding Dalin turned his face and briefly made eye contact with the blonde secretary before continuing to ask:
"Sanjiang Hou, can you tell me how those two died?"
The deaths of the bearded father and son were a taboo for Li Sanjiang, and he immediately waved dismissively, saying:
"They say the father and son drank at night, boasting about who could swim better, and went to the fish pond to compete, drowning."
"Is that true? I heard that you were the one who fished them out, Sanjiang Hou?"
"Ah, yes, what about it?"
"I also heard that when the two bodies were fished out, they were very swollen. Is that true?"
"Well, bodies swell after being soaked in water."
"But just overnight, how could they swell so much? It’s not like soaking dried wood ear mushrooms."
"Well... I don’t know."
"Can you think about it more specifically?"
"It’s almost lunchtime; why think about those things? Don’t bring it up; we shouldn’t spoil our appetite during the meal."
"It’s fine."
"It’s not fine! How long has it been since you went home? Let’s have a good drink together at noon, and you can try our hometown dishes."
"Actually, Sanjiang Hou, I have a reason for asking this. I’m getting old and thinking of returning to my roots, so I plan to buy a house in the village.
Isn’t the bearded man’s house for sale? I think the price is quite reasonable."
"That won’t be easy. Although you were from this village, your household registration isn’t here anymore, and the land belongs to the village collective. Only villagers can buy and sell."
"That’s simple. I’ll give you the money, and you can buy it for me."
"That won’t work."
"There’s nothing wrong with it. How much longer can I live? Money is just an external thing; I’ve long since let it go. After I die, that house can be left to your great-grandson."
Li Sanjiang specifically turned to look at Li Zhuoyuan, who was standing by. To be honest, he was tempted.
Ever since Xiaoyuan’s household registration was removed from the capital, he had felt guilty. Shouldn’t he prepare some property for Xiaoyuan? Even if the village houses weren’t worth much, at least it was a piece of land.
"If you trust me, I can help you handle it, but you’d better buy a different house."
"What’s wrong?" Ding Dalin’s tone became excited as he pressed, "Is there something wrong with the bearded man’s house?"
"Well, it’s a bit unclean."
Li Sanjiang had seen the little yellow oriole walk into the fish pond. When he fished out the bodies last time, he didn’t dare go too deep, fearing that hands would reach out from below and pull him down.
If the house was passed on to Xiaoyuan, wouldn’t that make Xiaoyuan neighbors with the dead?
"Unclean? Can you be more specific? Is it the house that has issues, or is it something else? Sanjiang Hou, don’t blame me for asking too much; after all, it’s a house for retirement, so we must be careful.
I’ve been in Southeast Asia for a long time, and people there are actually more superstitious and cautious than we are."
"That pond has had deaths. Think about it; if you live there, every time you walk to the yard, you’ll be facing that pond. How unsettling is that?"
"That doesn’t matter unless there’s really something wrong with that pond. Just give me a clear answer. If you say there is, I won’t buy it and will look for another."
"There is!"
"Alright, then I’ll look for another!"
"Okay."
"I’ll ask in your name at the village head’s place to see which family in our village is still interested in selling."
"No problem."
"Alright, I’m leaving."
"Hey, stay for lunch." Li Sanjiang’s invitation was sincere; after all, he had given the younger generation two sums of money and should treat them to a meal.
"No, I have a lunch appointment; I’m going to eat with the town head."
"Alright then, I won’t keep you. Come again another day."
"Definitely."
The blonde secretary supported Ding Dalin as they walked down the yard. After getting in the car, Ding Dalin’s expression darkened:
"It seems I was right. The pond in front of the bearded man’s house is the main burial site."
"Boss, that boy named Xiaoyuan..."
"What about the boy?"
"Nothing, just that he’s quite good-looking."
Since she had already figured out the reason the boy was with the police last night, the blonde secretary didn’t bother to mention it again.
"Hehe, why are you paying attention to that kid? You could almost be his mother.
Now, let’s get to business.
The next step is to buy the bearded man’s house and then have our people dress up as a theater troupe to celebrate the housewarming by performing. At night, we’ll dig.
Since we’ve even used bait, the person buried in the main site must be someone significant, and there must be good stuff in the tomb.
Once this deal is done, I can really retire and enjoy my old age."
...
Li Zhuoyuan stood on the yard, holding a coin, watching the car leave in the distance.
This group of water monkeys had actually found the location of the main burial site. Ding Dalin and the others were heading for the bearded man’s pond.
So, should he call the police now or help the little yellow oriole?
Li Zhuoyuan looked down at the coin in his hand and quietly said, "Leave it to fate. If it’s heads, I’ll call the police; if it’s tails, I’ll help the little yellow oriole."
"Bang!"
The coin was tossed, landing and trembling before finally settling.
It was heads.
Li Zhuoyuan nodded, picked up the coin, blew on it, and said:
"Fate has decided; I’ll help the little yellow oriole first, then call the police."
(End of Chapter)