After all, neither us nor the village chief were immediately skinned upon arriving at the dam.
If they just wanted to lure people here to kill them, they could have done it just now.
The fact that we can sit here and have a conversation, and even discuss the details of land contracting, proves that they have their own objectives and plans.
Therefore, as long as we don’t break their rules, Grandmaster, Binbin, and I might still be able to return safely.
The village chief spoke with some difficulty at this time: "But, contracting the land for thirty years in one go, isn’t that too long? It’s not easy to explain to the village."
Ding Dalin said: "The contracting fee can increase yearly, just give me a final concrete number."
Li Sanjiang was very proactive on this matter; he thought Ding Dalin wouldn’t live that long, and neither would he, so wouldn’t the contracted land still end up with Little Yuanhou?
"I say, if they want thirty years, let’s give them thirty years. At worst, we can make the contract public in the village. Once everyone knows, there won’t be idle gossip anymore."
Secretary Jin had returned to the house by now, probably to prepare lunch. With only her and Ding Dalin at home, she was the only one busy with chores.
Meanwhile, Ding Dalin shifted his attention away from Li Zhiyuan, who found himself feeling a lot more relaxed.
He dared not leave this place on his own; any out-of-line action would be extremely dangerous at this moment.
If they really pushed them to desperation, they could just skin everyone on the spot, since they could bring the theater troupe back to life, reviving the village chief should also be easy and wouldn’t delay the land contracting.
While making sure he remained within their line of sight, Li Zhiyuan stepped down from the dam and started walking in circles in the open space in front of the fish pond.
He knew he couldn’t keep walking in circles forever, or else he would appear very foolish.
At this time, the best thing to do would be to play a game, but the issue was, he would never carry the things that children played with in his pockets.
But fortunately, what he didn’t have, someone else did.
Tan Wenbin seemed to understand Brother Xiao Yuan’s intentions; he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of colorful marbles.
"Xiao Yuan, let’s play with this."
For the first time, Li Zhiyuan discovered that being childish could also become angelic.
A boy about to enter his senior year of high school actually carried marbles in his pocket; no wonder your dad buys you jelly to eat.
The two of them bent down and started playing marbles.
Originally, Li Zhiyuan just wanted to take the opportunity to observe the fish pond up close, as he believed that no matter how perfect the restoration was, there must be traces left after only half a day.
However, as they played, Tan Wenbin gradually got into the spirit, hitting his target every time and clapping his hands in glee for his own success.
This commotion occasionally drew the attention of a group of old people on the dam.
They pointed and talked, each wearing smiles.
Most children have similar experiences; when they play with their friends, there are often adults standing by, just watching for a long time.
What they are actually watching is their own childhood.
But Li Zhiyuan didn’t want to create such a warm atmosphere, and finally, he couldn’t help it and shot a marble onto Binbin’s nose.
Binbin felt pain and covered his nose, then his eyes showed understanding, followed by shame; he had gotten too into the game.
Li Zhiyuan intentionally began shooting marbles toward the direction of the fish pond, Tan Wenbin cooperated and shot that way too, and they chased the marbles to the side of the fish pond.
Seizing the moment, his gaze swiftly swept over the area.
He noticed that the edge of the fish pond was topped with freshly turned mud.
The fish pond had indeed been refilled!
Not daring to linger at this sensitive spot, Li Zhiyuan immediately shot another marble, moving away from the fish pond.
"Ha-ha, Brother Binbin, I won this time."
"Xiao Yuan, you’re really amazing."
Binbin showed a big brother’s smiling face.
As Li Zhiyuan leaped up with joy, his eyes glanced at the dam and caught Ding Dalin turning back.
Was it his earlier approach to the fish pond that made him sensitive?
Next, Li Zhiyuan and Tan Binbin played closer and closer to the dam.
"Brother Binbin, I’m tired. Let’s rest for a bit."
Without caring about the dirt and stones on the ground, Li Zhiyuan just sat down.
His shoe sole scraped over the stones, overturning a few and revealing red underneath; it was a bloodstain.
Li Zhiyuan quickly withdrew his foot and flipped the stones back with his shoe sole.
His mind quickly recalled the details of last night; the place he was at now was precisely where Ding Dalin was pecked by the chicken, right?
He remembered that at the time, Ding Dalin’s palm was pierced by the rooster.
Li Zhiyuan ran up the dam and came to Li Sanjiang’s side.
The land contracting issues had been mostly discussed by now, and the topic of conversation was the drafting of a will, with the village chief writing with paper and pen.
One old person next to them asked, "Grandmaster Sanjiang, is it really appropriate to give it directly to the child? You should have someone to take care of you in your old age."
"I have arranged for my retirement care."
"Can they be trusted?"
"They can be trusted."
They were all of an advanced age, and there was no need to avoid such topics.
Li Sanjiang absolutely trusted Li Weihan’s character, but Li Weihan had many sons and even more grandchildren. If he gave his inheritance to Li Weihan, it would likely end up being partly split by those ingrates, which he did not want to see.
The village chief finished writing and said, "Since all the parties and witnesses are here, let’s press the handprints now. Do you have any ink at home?"
Ding Dalin replied, "It’s in the drawer by the bedside on the second floor; I’ll go get it."