"Lord Marquis Runsheng, stop at the intersection up ahead."
Run Sheng stopped the three-wheeler, bent over, and lifted the brake handle with his hand.
Li Sanjiang took out money from his pocket, didn’t bother counting it, and handed it to Run Sheng: "Go there and buy so stead buns, and then get a bottle of liquor from the next store."
"What, drinking so early in the morning?"
"Just do as you’re told, why all the useless chatter?"
"Alright then."
Run Sheng returned with the buns and liquor.
Li Sanjiang bit the bottle cap open, tossed his head to spit it out, and then took the liquor bottle and gulped down a big mouthful.
"Ah...eh...huff..."
The swig he took so early packed a punch; he had to bite into several buns consecutively to suppress the burning sensation.
"Aren’t you eating?"
"Boss, I hustled out early in the morning and didn’t bring any incense."
"Then why did you buy so many buns? They’ll be cold by the ti you take them back."
"Even cold, they’re still delicious—these are at-filled buns!"
"Let’s go, let’s head ho, head ho."
"Then please sit tight. Don’t get too tipsy and fall off."
Li Sanjiang gave him an annoyed glance, then raised the liquor bottle for another swig.
Just as he was about to take another bite of the bun, he burped from the alcohol; his deanor turned desolate all of a sudden, tears welling in his eyes. He had to turn his head away and reach over to pull Run Sheng’s vest closer to wipe them off.
Run Sheng turned his head and asked, "Boss, shouldn’t you be happy? Why the tears again?"
"Happy, what’s there to be happy about?"
"Isn’t Xiao Yuan not registered under your household? Isn’t that sothing to be happy about?"
"What good is my household registration? Can it compare to the city’s, or to Beijing’s?"
"What about Beijing’s registration?"
"What about it? It’s like finally, a carp jumps over the dragon’s gate only to freaking jump back down from the dragon’s gate and revert to being a carp."
"It’s good to be a carp too. That way, Xiao Yuan won’t need to leave."
Li Sanjiang sighed deeply and smacked his own cheeks twice.
He was called by the village chief to the civil affairs office first thing in the morning. As soon as he entered, he was surrounded by several staff mbers, and papers were laid before him. It was requested by Little Yuanhou’s mother to transfer the child’s household registration to her.
At that ti, he felt puzzled. Although he truly liked the child, he would never do such a thing that would sabotage the child’s future!
But it seed like Little Yuanhou’s mother may have encountered so issue, and the child’s household registration problem had to be settled. If he did not sign today, the docunts would be returned, and Little Yuanhou would end up unregistered, unable to even attend school in the future.
With push and rush from these coercive civil servants, Li Sanjiang dazedly signed his na.
Now, although he’s had so alcohol, the breeze had cleared his mind sowhat. Even if Grandpa Bei didn’t want the child, if he had to be registered elsewhere, it should be under Li Weihan’s na. What was the aning of registering under his own na?
Although the child was now living at his place, what did that have to do with him?
But now, there was a connection.
Li Sanjiang looked down at the bag at his feet, which contained household registration books and other docunts.
"Damn it, why is the governnt departnt’s efficiency so high today?"
He pulled out the household register, flipped it open, and stared at the new na added under his own in the register.
Li Sanjiang felt a mixture of emotions. The Li family had finally managed to have a golden phoenix fly to Beijing and even lay an egg there, but now the egg had been sent back to the countryside:
"Alas, decades of hard work and it’s back to square one overnight."
...
"Look, just one night, and it’s all gone back to how it was."
Liu Yui held a teacup in her hands; the tea was cold and left untouched.
Watching her granddaughter who sat motionless behind the door, she tasted bitterness in her mouth. When the bitter tea hit her tongue, it got even worse.
Just last night she had cried tears of joy. If she had known, she would have saved so tears. Now she couldn’t even cry if she wanted to.
Lifting her gaze to the second-floor balcony, she saw the boy sitting in a rattan chair, seriously engrossed in a book, occasionally glancing down at Alii while turning a page.
Liu Yui really felt like swearing: You, boy, shouldn’t just sit and watch!
If it were an ordinary quarrel between children, where they might shout at each other: "Hmph, I will never play with you again!"
And then, as if holding a grudge, they would ignore each other—but that seed quite normal.
However, Liu Yui knew that this would never happen to her granddaughter, nor to that boy. That child was too intelligent and steady; he wouldn’t do such childish things.
So, what exactly happened between the two of them?
After much hesitation, Liu Yui stood up and walked into the main house.
Usually, she wouldn’t enter this place, let alone go upstairs, but today, she had to make an exception.
Seeing Alii making steady progress and then suddenly reverting to her initial state, her heart felt as if a hot stone had been quenched with cold water, close to splitting with pain.
She had to ask what had happened. It wasn’t about favoring one over the other; had she been able to get a word out of Alii, would she even need to live here?
As she approached, the boy stood up with the book in hand.
"Xiao Yuan, Grandma has co to talk to you."
"Grandma, please take a seat."
Liu Yui sat down in the rattan chair that Alii used to occupy; out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the book in the boy’s hand, finding it to be a complete enigma—she could not understand a word of it.
"Reading, huh?"
"Yes."
Li Zhiyuan politely placed the book by his side and shifted to attentively face Liu Yui, ready to listen. Yes, he was just reading "Liu’s Qi Observation Technique".
"What’s going on with you and Alii?"
"Grandma, it was my mistake."
He had been greatly upset the night before because of what Li Lan had said on the phone.
Li Zhiyuan lowered his head to look at the palm he had bandaged himself.
He was Alii’s balcony, where she had bravely stepped out of the darkness to observe and cautiously engage with the world.
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