"Grandmaster, that’s not so important."
"You, you’re just a young lad, what do you know? Wait till you grow up, you’ll be so frustrated and regretful. Listen to Grandmaster, try to get in touch with your Grandpa Bei, let them get you back."
"Grandmaster, my surname is Li now."
"Ah, you tell me, what kind of nonsense is your mother up to, you aren’t hurt, but it pains Grandmaster. I feel like I’ve let you down, it’s such a shame, my boy’s future, just like that, ruined."
"Grandmaster, it’s alright, worst comes to worst I’ll... I’ll follow my mom’s steps, get into a university in a big city, that’s all."
"Right, about attending school, nearly forgot!"
Li Sanjiang leaped up from the bed like a carp and quickly ran to the stool, opening the bag containing the household register and other documents.
"I still need to ask someone to find a school for you. Is Shinan Primary School okay? Forget it, Shigang is bigger, we’re going to Shigang for primary school."
"I’m telling you, Little Yuanhou, you can play however you want during the summer vacation, but once the school term starts officially, you mustn’t fall behind. You need to focus on your studies."
"Grandmaster, do you know anyone in the schools?"
"If I don’t know them, can’t I still find them? Even if I can’t find a direct contact, as long as we can find an indirect one who can reliably take the money, that’s enough.
I’ve heard that schools also divide classes into good and bad ones, we’ve got to try our hardest to get you into a good class. By the way, Xiao Yuan, what grade are you in?"
"Grandmaster, Uncle Tan last time was quite nice."
"Uncle Tan? Which Uncle Tan?"
"The Captain Tan from the police station."
"We’ve only met twice, not close at all, and besides, he’s not from the school."
"Shigang Town is only so big, it would definitely be more convenient with his help. He invited me to his house last time, I’ll take my file over in a bit and ask him."
"Okay, then Grandmaster will go with you when the time comes."
"No need, if he can’t get it done, it would be more embarrassing if you went too. It’s more appropriate for a kid like me to ask."
"Then let’s settle on that for now, you go ask when you visit his house, and I’ll also look for someone on my part."
Seeing that Li Sanjiang had agreed, Li Zhiyuan also felt a sigh of relief in his heart.
He didn’t want to leave here now, but he didn’t want Grandmaster to send him to primary school all of a sudden.
Although he hadn’t had many contacts with Captain Tan, the man owed him a favor last time, so he should be willing to help, mainly to skip grades, preferably to senior year.
That way, he could take the college entrance examination in a year.
To shorten the time, he could also participate in the national Math Olympiad held every winter to secure a direct admission slot.
But where should he go for university?
Since Li Lan didn’t want to see him, he wouldn’t go where she was.
An idea of a university suddenly came to Li Zhiyuan, its name and majors both very suitable for his current situation... Haihe University.
At that thought, Li Zhiyuan couldn’t help but smile to himself:
Brother Liangliang, looks like we’re really going to be schoolmates in the future.
Grandmaster scratched his head and thought of his network of relationships, while Li Zhiyuan walked out to continue reading his book.
He didn’t come down to eat until Aunt Liu called for lunch.
Sitting on his little stool, seeing the spot beside him empty and the girl’s small plate not on the table, he indeed felt a sense of emptiness.
Turning his head, he saw Alii’s small dining table moved inside the eastern room, Liu Yumei sorted her food while persuading her.
Finally, Alii picked up her chopsticks and began to eat.
Liu Yumei nodded in satisfaction, and when she stood up, she felt a bit of a sore back. Before, a single word from the boy was enough to get Alii to eat, no need for her to persuade .
Suddenly, she felt an urgency in her heart, she was getting older, if she were to leave one day, and Alii’s condition hadn’t improved, then who would take care of Alii?
Li Sanjiang also came down to eat. After sitting down, he saw Li Zhiyuan sitting there alone, looked around, and noticed the girl had moved to eat inside the house, which made him slam his chopsticks down discontentedly:
"I mean, does it have to be this pragmatic? Our Little Yuanhou is just without a Beijing hukou, and that’s it, she doesn’t want to eat at the same table?"
Just as his words fell, Panzi and Leizi came running over, soaked in sweat.
"Grandmaster, Grandmaster, something bad happened. Something went wrong in Sihai’s fish pond. When they started to harvest the pond, lots of red water, like blood, suddenly appeared, and Sihai and the others who were laying nets in the pond, they all got sores on them!"
"Grandmaster, they asked us to come and get you to have a look."
"What?" Li Sanjiang jumped to his feet, "Run Sheng, let’s go have a look!"
Upon hearing the description, Li Zhiyuan internally pondered: Could it be ’Earth Yin Red Sha’?
Liu Yumei stroked her temples, also puzzled, how could there be ’Earth Yin Red Sha’ in this area?
Reluctant to part, Run Sheng put down his rice bowl and followed Li Sanjiang.
Li Zhiyuan didn’t go; he wouldn’t approach any bodies of water until he was certain the Luck on him was resolved.
Back on the second floor, Li Zhiyuan reopened his book and continued reading.
But if it was indeed ’Earth Yin Red Sha’, then Grandmaster shouldn’t be in any danger, since this kind of Feng Shui trap would only appear at the spot of the bait.
From ancient times to the present, it wasn’t only auspicious sites such as famous mountains and rivers where things were buried. In fact, many ancients chose to bury things in riverbeds, such as tombs, temples, treasures, and so on.
With silt accumulation and river changes being very rapid, it becomes easier to form dramatic changes of landscapes, making it harder for others to find.
’Earth Yin Red Sha’ is a more traditional kind of Feng Shui trap layout. Once it is breached, whatever is inside can quickly spread with the water and harm those who pry.