Choosing the lesser of two evils, I’m certainly not aiding a corpse in perpetrating evil; I’m clearly protecting national assets.
Turning around to enter the house, the TV was off and Run Sheng wasn’t watching it, but the faint "ding dong" sound coming from behind the wall signaled that Run Sheng was still up late working on his craft.
Not wanting to disturb him, Li Zhiyuan went upstairs and was surprised to see Grandmaster still lying on the wicker chair on the terrace.
"Grandmaster, why haven’t you gone to bed yet?"
"I was waiting for you." Li Sanjiang shifted his position and yawned, "What did Officer Tan say?"
"Yes, he’ll take me to handle the enrollment procedures personally a month from now, before school starts. You can rest assured, Grandmaster."
"That’s great to hear. You’ll be attending school in Shigang, right?"
Li Sanjiang extended his fingers, calculated the ages and grades of Yingzi, Panzi and the others, and asked, "Going directly into sixth grade, won’t that be too fast for you?"
"It’s no problem, Grandmaster. I’m young, and even if I can’t keep up, I can repeat a year and have more time to learn."
"That makes sense." Li Sanjiang nodded, "It’s a good deal."
"Grandmaster, you should go to sleep now, it’s very late."
"Yes, it’s time to sleep. I have to get up early tomorrow, we’re expecting guests at home."
"An old comrade-in-arms of mine."
"Your comrade-in-arms..."
"Yes, also a fellow villager from the same village."
"A businessman from Taiwan?"
"Not quite, he was less fortunate. Originally, we were both taken as strong men: I managed to escape, but he didn’t and ended up retreating all the way to Yunnan and Guizhou, and finally to Burma.
I heard that he had a decent life at first, then our side sent troops that spoiled their situation.
After that, he drifted in Southeast Asia. Reportedly, he made a small fortune, and now that he’s older, he’s thinking of returning to his hometown to invest."
"Grandmaster, was it him who called you?"
"What about the village chief?"
"What does he have to do with this?"
"Usually, when Overseas Chinese return to invest, the town mayor accompanies them."
A realization dawned on Li Sanjiang’s face, even bringing a smile:
"Heh, so this old chap is putting on airs to brag about his wealth, huh?"
"Grandmaster, I’m just guessing."
"Alright, alright, let’s go to bed. You should also wash up and sleep early." Li Sanjiang walked toward his room, still chuckling, "Once summer vacation’s over, our little Yuanhou will be in the sixth grade too, that’s great."
Li Zhiyuan took a bath and upon returning to his room, sat at his desk and started writing in his experience notebook.
Back when he was in school, he never had the habit of taking notes or keeping a wrong-answer book, because it didn’t matter even if he turned in a blank test, but now things were different—one wrong step could be fatal.
He quite liked this feeling; tests should have some psychological pressure, after all.
As for attending middle school rather than elementary—he reasoned Grandmaster would find out once school started.
His age and being in a Youth Class would be hard to explain to outsiders, but high schools probably knew about it, which could make transferring and skipping grades less troublesome.
Flipping through several stacks of books in front of him and according to his memory, Li Zhiyuan looked up specific volumes and pages, selectively excerpting ten "taboos" for dealing with the Corpse.
He certainly wouldn’t use all ten, at most two, so he continued to ponder and filter them based on their practicality and controllability.
After finishing, he went to bed.
Waking up, he felt more refreshed than the last few times; it seemed the issue of overexertion was improving, but he still needed to focus on nourishing his blood and qi, something to discuss with Aunt Liu.
There was nobody at the chair by the door because the girl was sitting at the desk, carving wooden flower rolls with a small knife.
Li Zhiyuan wondered where Alii had found new material for her craft, as his own materials had been moved to the workshop by Run Sheng, where all crafting should take place from now on.
Upon closer inspection, he realized it was the same kind of dark, sandalwood-scented material as last time.
"Alii, did you split the ancestral tablets at home again?"
It wasn’t her doing; her grandmother had enjoyed chopping them, worried that any delay might cause the girl’s illness to flare up again.
Li Zhiyuan then took the last three bottles of Jianlibao from his stockpile; it was time to ask Aunt Liu to restock.
He opened two bottles, one for each of them.
The girl liked the drink initially because she’d never tried a carbonated beverage before, but truth be told, she didn’t enjoy sweet drinks in the morning. Yet, she liked clinking bottles with the boy.
Also, she wanted to fill her first collection box sooner.
After breakfast, Li Zhiyuan returned to the terrace upstairs to read, and Alii sat beside him, continuing her carving.
Occasionally, unused wooden flower rolls picked up by the wind would flutter down, shimmering in the sunlight—a comforting smile from the ancestors.
The guest arrived earlier than expected, with a black sedan driving up the distant village road. An elder in a black suit got out of the sedan, leaning on a cane with his right hand and supported by a young blonde woman with his left.
They walked along the path, arriving at the dam.
"Yo, is that you, Linhou?"
"Hehe, it’s me, Sanjianghou!"
The two elders excitedly shook hands.
Then, they sat down, and Aunt Liu brought over some tea.
Li Zhiyuan excused himself to Alii and went downstairs.
"Is she your granddaughter?" Li Sanjiang inquired.
"No, she’s my secretary, surnamed Jin."
"Oh, good." Li Sanjiang quickly turned and beckoned, "Come, Linhou, this is my great-grandson, Xiao Yuan. Little Yuanhou, come, meet your Grandpa Ding."