Grandma Liu said her granddaughter's autism was not ordinary; now, Li Zhiyuan believed it.
"Uncle Sanjiang, Uncle Sanjiang!"
Behind him, the voice and footsteps of Niu Fu grew closer and closer, while the girl's gaze still fixed on him.
But one can't keep staring...
Li Zhiyuan walked towards the girl, stopping four meters away from the threshold, then sidestepped two steps, using his body to block the girl's view of Niu Fu.
In fact, it would have been easier to walk up to the girl and cover her eyes with both hands, but he dared not.
The prior warning from Grandma Liu was not baseless, especially with the bloody lesson from Li Sanjiang.
Li Zhiyuan noticed the girl's eyelashes trembling slightly.
It was unclear whether it was because of the approach of a stranger like himself or because of something she "saw."
However, the girl did not try to sidestep him to continue her gaze but returned her neck to its original position, looking straight ahead.
She became still again.
Li Zhiyuan sighed with relief in his heart; he had genuinely feared that she might suddenly lash out and bite him.
But now, it was the first time he had been so close to her.
Her retro attire suited her really well, one could say they complemented each other perfectly.
Sitting there, it seemed as if she was the one from another era, and he was the outsider who had intruded on her time, her garden.
At that moment, Liu Yumei came over, placed her hand lightly on Li Zhiyuan's shoulder, and softly said, "Xiao Yuan, Grandma has warned you, don't get too close to Alii."
"I remember, Grandma." Li Zhiyuan pointed at the threshold in front of him, "I won't get any closer."
Perhaps because of their previous interactions, Liu Yumei had a good impression of the boy, she couldn't help teasing, "How about it, isn't my Alii pretty?"
"Yes, she is pretty, just like you."
Liu Yumei was amused to laughter, she entered the house and glanced at a six-tiered wooden rack filled with ancestral tablets—those on the left bore the surname Liu and those on the right, Qin.
She picked up an empty small plate, selected a few pastries from the offering dish below, turned around, and handed the small plate to Li Zhiyuan:
"Here, Grandma offers you some pastries."
"Thank you, Grandma." Li Zhiyuan accepted the plate.
"The pastries from the offering dish are clean."
Li Zhiyuan wasn't fussy, he picked up a crisp pastry, took a bite, the soft and delicate texture had a rich aftertaste.
Liu Yumei asked, "Is it sweet?"
Li Zhiyuan shook his head, "Tasty, but not sweet."
Liu Yumei sat on the threshold, looking at Li Zhiyuan, "When is your mom coming to pick you up to go back to Beijing?"
"Whenever mom has time."
"Do you miss your mom?"
"Miss her? I couldn't tell."
"You are a calm fellow, do you have any siblings?"
"Just me for my parents."
"Our Alii is also an only child," said Liu Yumei, looking at the girl, her eyes filled with tender love.
She made a gesture as if she wanted to touch her granddaughter's head but then drew it back.
"Grandma Liu, where are you from?"
"Grandma's ancestors were boatmen on the river, without a fixed ancestral home. But if we really speak of it, this Yangtze River is the ancestral home of Grandma and her Grandfather."
Mentioning Qin Li's grandfather brought a hue of nostalgia to Liu Yumei's face.
She looked at Li Zhiyuan with such an expression, and he understood, asking,
"Grandma and Grandfather had a good relationship, didn't they?"
"It wasn't at the beginning. Our two families were practically enemies. Later, that shameless man set his heart on me, insisting on marrying me. He enraged my father and my brothers so much they nearly tied him up and sank him in the river, nearly causing another brawl between the families."
Seeing Liu Yumei still had more to say, Li Zhiyuan continued asking, "And then?"
"Then, well, I was deceived by him, married him, and bore his children."
"Did your family accept Grandfather?"
"Yes, they accepted him, and eventually, merged into the river together."
At this point, Liu Yumei suddenly came to her senses, why had she drifted to this topic?
"By the way, Xiao Yuan, why did your parents divorce?"
After asking, Liu Yumei regretted it somewhat—how could she ask such a question to a child.
"Because they couldn't continue living together."
"Was it your father's fault?"
"Dad loved mom very much."
At that moment, Niu Fu's voice came from afar, "Alright, Uncle Sanjiang, that's settled then, I'm leaving, waiting for you at home."
Li Zhiyuan was somewhat surprised, so soon?
He sneakily looked back and saw that Niu Fu, still severely hunchbacked, was near the dam. Li Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief, but he immediately went to find Li Sanjiang.
"Grandmaster, Grandmaster."
Li Sanjiang, hearing the call, didn't stop but walked straight to the toilet, unzipped his pants, and sat on the toilet.
The shorter Li Zhiyuan, standing below, only lacked a whisk.
Actually, the toilets at Li Sanjiang's house were quite decently constructed, located behind the new house, out of sight.
In other houses in the village, many toilets abutted the main house, directly facing the village road. During the day, as people came and went, it was like being observed by a group of officials.
Familiar faces would even have a chat if they stopped by.
"Grandmaster, you agreed to him?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
"He has that... on his back."
"Grandmaster knows, originally had no plans of going, but he increased the hush money twofold, and it was his siblings who added the pressure; I couldn't refuse, hehe, the offer was too generous."
"Little Yuanhou, money can make a ghost turn a millstone, danger is relative to insufficient money, just watch, Liu Xiazi will definitely go too."