"I also wish you, Grandpa Monk, good health."

The old monk bowed again, and amidst a chant of "Amitabha Buddha," they parted ways.

After Li Zhiyuan left, the old monk suddenly slumped, and the two little monks sent away by Yuan, along with the two elderly security guards sitting by the gate, immediately rushed over to help the old monk up.

Amidst concerned inquiries, the old monk slowly opened his eyes, looked at the surroundings, then at his kasaya and the staff in his hand, and wondered:

"I just took a nap, how did I end up here?"

...

By the time they returned from Gaoyou to Si Yuan Village, it was near dusk.

Xiao Yingying held the child, sitting on the yard, facing the sunset.

Lihua took the child from Xiao Yingying's arms, comforted him a bit, then handed him to her husband.

Xiong Shan played with the child before handing him back to Lihua. Lihua gently pinched the child's butt, and the child cried out.

Lihua smoothly placed the child back into Xiao Yingying's arms.

The child immediately stopped crying.

Lihua: "See, the child prefers you."

Xiao Yingying held the child, her gaze calm and cold.

Li Zhiyuan asked: "Where is my Grandmaster?"

Xiao Yingying: "Went to the blind man's house."

Li Sanjiang went to Liu Jinxia's house, likely for some discussion. As the only two funeral people in Si Yuan Village, they sometimes introduce business to each other, or team up to earn money from services.

Lihua went to prepare dinner, while Xiong Shan first picked up the hoe, but seeing it was getting late, he put down the hoe, then brought out both the tricycle and cart, and cleaned them with well water.

Li Zhiyuan glanced at Xue Liangliang, then pointed at the taxi.

Xue Liangliang: "Let's not go today."

"Oh."

Li Zhiyuan went to make a phone call, and Xue Liangliang along with Liu Changping tagged along.

At Aunt Zhang's small shop, Li Zhiyuan picked up the receiver and dialed the number for the affordable store.

Lu Yi answered, and Li Zhiyuan asked him to call for Yin Meng.

"Hey, Brother Xiao Yuan, it's me."

"Get ready, drive them back together."

"Okay, Brother Xiao Yuan."

"Also help me tell Grandma Liu that my Grandmaster invites them to come back for New Year's."

"Got it."

Li Zhiyuan hung up the phone.

Xue Liangliang picked it up to make another call, he needed to call Min'an Town and hung up after asking them to call his parents.

After waiting for five minutes, Xue Liangliang called again and began a conversation with his father.

The call was a bit long, but everything went smoothly, and after hanging up, Xue Liangliang smiled and said: "My parents have agreed to come over for New Year's. I'll arrange for them to stay at a hotel in town."

"No need, Big Beard's house is still empty. I'll have Xiong Shan and his family stay there, freeing up the west room for your parents."

"Is that appropriate?"

"It's appropriate."

Big Beard's house is not exactly suitable for most people to live in, as it's considered to be haunted.

But Xiong Shan and his wife going there, spending New Year's with the one below the Peach Forest, should be agreeable to them, and it helps to foster relations.

Liu Changping glanced at the pager on his waist, then picked up the phone to make a call, chatting for a while about the dowry issue.

After he hung up, Xue Liangliang handed him a cigarette and asked with concern:

"What's the matter?"

Liu Changping took out a lighter, first helping Xue Liangliang light his cigarette, then his own, and said: "My brother-in-law just returned from the army and found out his sister is getting married. He threw a fit at home, firmly refusing to take his sister's dowry money."

Xue Liangliang: "Congratulations, the pressure is reduced, though you'll have to give even more in the future."

Liu Changping nodded, laughed: "But I'll gladly give it."

At this moment, Li Sanjiang walked over from the village path, wearing new clothes that Little Yuanhou bought for him, with the pen still clipped to the front pocket.

Seeing the people standing in front of the small shop, Li Sanjiang deliberately puffed out his chest, hands behind his back, raising his head.

Xue Liangliang clapped his hands and said: "Oh, isn't that the village chief!"

Li Sanjiang: "Let's go, let's go home for dinner."

At dinner, Xue Liangliang proactively discussed his work arrangements with Li Sanjiang, also mentioning that Little Yuan will be traveling around with him next year.

Upon hearing this, Li Sanjiang looked at Li Zhiyuan, somewhat sympathetically, and said:

"Traveling more is good, it's a way to train oneself. I can tell this is an opportunity your teacher is giving you."

After a pause, Li Sanjiang patted Xue Liangliang's hand and said: "Lianghou, when you're on the road, you have to take care, you know."

Xue Liangliang immediately nodded in agreement, fully aware that taking Little Yuan out with him meant he would be the one receiving the care.

Later, Xue Liangliang told Li Sanjiang about bringing his parents over for the New Year.

"It's good if they come. During New Year's, it's better to have more people, makes it lively, gives it the real sense of celebration."

Late at night, all was silent.

Xue Liangliang sat up from the bed, stealthily got off the bed, and dressed.

After he walked out of the room, Li Zhiyuan opened his eyes, looked at the clock on the wall: three minutes past midnight.

Brother Liangliang said he wouldn't visit her today, but now it's already a new day.

Li Zhiyuan walked out of his room to the terrace, saw the village road ahead with a car parked there, the red sign clearly showing it was a taxi.

Xue Liangliang got into the car.

Liu Changping asked: "Still going there?"

Xue Liangliang nodded: "Yes, I still miss them."

Liu Changping sighed, started the car, and while driving said: "Buddy, you need to ease up a bit and think more about your parents. Life is long, you know."

"Exactly what I'm worried about, just thinking about how I'll deal with my parents in the future."

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