"Yes, Uncle."
"What?"
Li Sanjiang looked at the old man in surprise, what did he just say?
The old man said, "Just like a character in a book."
Li Sanjiang laughed, "Oh, that's it, well of course, just like the storytellers say."
Li Sanjiang loved listening to storytellers. They would start by vividly describing how handso and elegant the heroes were, and when Li Sanjiang heard these words, he imagined his own Little Yuanhou growing up like that.
Imagining his own Little Yuanhou traveling the Jianghu, upholding justice, vanquishing demons, and defending the way, Li Sanjiang felt a strong sense of involvent.
The old man's eyes revealed a hint of longing. Seeing the boy, he was reminded of his youngest son.
Half a year ago, the family received a photo forwarded by his youngest son's work unit. The photo was taken by the geological survey team to celebrate the success of a mission.
He and his wife had to look at the photo three tis before they found their youngest son; he had changed so much.
Li Zhiyuan saw the old man.
In such a big city as Beijing, the boy didn't expect to et his Grandpa Bei here, and Grandpa Bei actually seed to be quite familiar with his own Grandmaster.
At the sa ti, the boy also heard Grandpa Bei addressing Li Sanjiang as "Uncle."
Grandpa Bei and Li Weihan were once related by marriage, in the sa generation. Li Sanjiang was a generation above Li Weihan, so it was correct for Grandpa Bei to call Li Sanjiang "Uncle."
However, Grandpa Bei just called him once, then quickly covered it up and changed the subject.
Li Zhiyuan knew that this was because Li Lan had once made an agreent with Grandpa Bei, asking them not to make any further contact to disturb their "mother-son" relationship.
Grandpa Bei was a very principled person. Once he promised sothing, he would never go back on his word or fail to keep it.
That's why, for such a long ti, his family from the north never formally reached out to him.
This did not disappoint Li Zhiyuan at all.
Because all this ti, he had never actively contacted the family from the north either.
After all, deep down, the boy inherited the sa indifference as Li Lan, and he didn't need the broad sense of "family warmth," nor did he intend to leverage any "family benefits."
If there's no need in a relationship, naturally there won't be any initiative.
Holding the report card in his hand, Li Zhiyuan walked up to Li Sanjiang, smiling, "Grandmaster, the health check report is out. You're in good health, no problems at all."
Li Sanjiang took the report card, made a show of looking it over, and said, "I told you, didn't I? I'm in good health. There's no need to waste money here."
With that, Li Sanjiang tapped the report card with his hand and said to the old man beside him:
"Old buddy, see, wasn't I right?"
Li Sanjiang intended to have this old buddy say a few words like "the kid is filial" or "the kid ans well," but this old buddy just stood there, dazed.
"Old buddy, old buddy?"
"Old brother, let's have a al together."
"Well..." Li Sanjiang was about to refuse politely. He knew this "old buddy" had an unusual status, and the more that was true, the less he liked getting entangled beyond a chance eting.
He was aware that in a different setting, he might not even dare to call him "old buddy."
However, before Li Sanjiang could organize his words, the old man continued:
"There's a noodle shop on the street ahead. Let's go there for a bowl of noodles. You ca to the hospital for a check-up early in the morning; you must've been fasting and haven't eaten anything, right? You might not be hungry, but the kid must be."
The old man looked at Li Zhiyuan.
Li Zhiyuan stood there, calm, not actively saying he was hungry to push for this al.
Li Sanjiang frowned. He could accept going to a noodle shop to eat, but...
"Old buddy, I really can't get used to your Beijing-style noodles with fried sauce."
The old man said, "It's a Henan stewed noodle place."
Li Sanjiang's frown disappeared, and he said, "Okay, let's go eat noodles, but I must treat you."
The old man nodded, "Sure."
Li Sanjiang turned to Li Zhiyuan, "Little Yuanhou, want to go for noodles?"
Li Zhiyuan said, "Sure."
Li Sanjiang said to the old man, "Old buddy, why don't you go first? We'll walk our way there."
Li Sanjiang rembered that this old buddy drove a small car.
The old man said, "Let's walk there together. It's not far."
"Alright then, let's walk. Co on, Little Yuanhou, get on!"
"Grandmaster, I can walk on my own."
"Didn't the doctor's report say the Grandmaster's body is in good condition? Besides, you were running around for the Grandmaster in the hospital just now; you must be tired. Co on!"
Li Zhiyuan had no choice but to climb onto his Grandmaster's back.
Li Sanjiang supported the boy with both hands on his back and smiled at the old man beside him, "While we're still strong enough, let's carry the kids as much as we can. The bigger they grow, the older we get. Later on, even if we want to carry them, we won't be able to."
The old man watched the boy carried by Li Sanjiang, his face showing undisguised envy, and he agreed, "Yes, that's true."
The three of them walked toward the hospital entrance.
"By the way, old buddy, you ntioned you have quite a few children. So, there must be quite a few in your grandchild generation too, right?"
"Yes, there are quite a few."
"Are they noisy?"
"Not really noisy, they only find ti to gather during the New Year or festivals. Usually, they're busy with their own things. Didn't I tell you, my kids aren't that close to ."
Li Zhiyuan knew that what Grandpa Bei said was true.
He was too strict, and the atmosphere at ho was too oppressive. He often issued harsh criticisms of the uncles, aunts, and their work and lifestyle issues, and he never tolerated many laid-back or inappropriate behaviors from the younger generation.
The uncles and aunts had been working for a long ti and were well-known figures outside, but each ti they went ho, they had to ntally prepare themselves to face the old man's scolding.
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