Li Sanjiang suddenly paused, turned his head, and looked at the child behind him:
"Did your Grandpa Bei, fight in the war?"
"Did he fight the Japanese first?"
"What's wrong, Grandmaster?"
"Little Yuanhou, are you close with your Grandpa Bei?"
"During the holidays, I'll go back with my mom and dad to eat."
"What about usually?"
"Ah, so you don't visit?"
"Grandma Bei doesn't get along with Mom."
Li Sanjiang said, "..."
"My uncle and his family live with Grandpa and Grandma Bei, while my mom, dad, and I live outside. Mom doesn't allow me to go to Grandpa's place. Even when Dad occasionally goes home, he does it secretly, not daring to let Mom know."
"What's Lan thinking about?"
Li Sanjiang couldn't understand. He was, of course, aware that conflicts between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were nothing unusual. Still, it depended on the mother-in-law!
*With in-laws like these, if you don't curry favor and serve them well, what else are you thinking of?*
But then it occurred to him, and Li Sanjiang suddenly felt was exactly something Li Lan would do.
*In a family of all honest and simple "mud puppies," out of nowhere emerged a golden phoenix.*
*If it wasn't for the fact that Li Weihan's ancestral grave was next to his, he would have suspected that Li Weihan's family had some unusual luck, the kind that wasn't just smoke rising from a grave.*
*As a girl, she was sweet-talking and lovable. When she grew up a bit, she could make her four brothers afraid of her. The idlers in the village, no matter how careless, and the gossipy women wouldn't dare make inappropriate jokes about her. She'd just give a look, smiling, yet enough to make people shiver inside.*
*He remembered the year she brought her fiancé home. Her parents, Yuanhou and Guiying, were so shy and embarrassed to meet him. As for Li Sanjiang, having seen more of the world, he stared and looked over for a long time and even took the initiative to chat.*
*He noticed that man under Lan's guidance, only ever nodding like a chicken pecking rice, as if—if you didn't know better—you'd think he was some poor newly-arrived bride picked up by a trafficker.*
*Li Sanjiang was also already aware of Lan's divorce; otherwise, Little Yuanhou wouldn't temporarily be staying here. In the past, when couples divorced, most people's sentiments would lean towards the woman. But Lan's divorce... Li Sanjiang felt a bit of sympathy for the man. To bear it for over ten years, it wasn't easy.*
"Little Yuanhou, you changed your surname, didn't you?"
Li Sanjiang sighed. Since they divorced, fine, but you even changed the child's surname back. If you didn't change the surname, then even if they divorced, Little Yuanhou would still be considered that family's child.
"Little Yuanhou, listen to your Grandmaster. When you return to Beijing, seize the opportunity to get closer to your Grandpa and Grandma Bei, understand?"
"You should listen, child. Grandmaster wouldn't harm you."
"Can't go. If I go, Mom would get upset."
"If Mom gets upset, she won't want Xiao Yuan anymore."
"Sigh... What are you saying? You two are mother and son. No matter what, your mom will always love you."
"No, she won't." Li Zhiyuan's voice was low but firm, "If Mom's unhappy, she won't want me. I understand her."
Li Sanjiang had no choice but to change the topic, "Little Yuanhou, did you bring your homework? Tomorrow, let your grandma bring your homework and books back."
"I didn't bring them back."
"Ha, you're a clever little one, not bringing books home on purpose so you can play all summer in the countryside, right?"
"But you still have to study well and go to school, so you can have a better life in the future. After these few days, let your sister Yinghou come and tutor you, study well with her."
The grandfather and grandson chatted all the way and walked to a riverbank where there were fields. Following a small path along the river, they walked a bit and suddenly the view opened up.
Li Sanjiang's yard was several times more spacious than Li Weihan's.
There were three houses, the middle one facing south, newly built with two floors. But unlike Cui Cui's house, which was squarely designed, Li Weihan's new house was wide, extending from east to west, like a long block.
Although there was a second floor, the second floor only had a few separate rooms, like blocks scattered on a large platform.
On both sides of the new house were two single-story building, each facing each other.
"Grandmaster, your house is so big."
"Of course," Li Sanjiang replied with pride in his voice.
Besides recovering corpses, he also ran a paper crafts business, which required a lot of space for storing materials and finished products. In addition, he also rented out tables, chairs, and plates.
Anyone in the area who needed to hold a wedding or funeral ceremony had to rent from him, and although the fees weren't high, he had already recouped his costs long ago. Now it's like a hen steadily laying eggs.
So, the first floor of his new house was like a big warehouse, and the second floor only had three rooms, spacious like a rooftop. For him, it didn't matter, being single, it was plenty.
Li Sanjiang put Li Zhiyuan down from his back, held his hand, and walked into the middle house. From inside, the space felt even larger, like a small factory.
The entire west side was stacked neatly with tables and chairs, with large baskets full of various dishes and bowls;
The east side stood with paper figures, paper houses, paper horses... Li Zhiyuan even spotted a paper-made Santana car.
A woman, dressed simply and about the same age as his mother, was painting. She held a palette in her left hand and a brush in her right, painting swiftly and fluently.
The woman noticed someone arrived, turned around to take a look at Li Zhiyuan, and asked: