Corpse Recovery Diver

In the village, there are professionals for building houses, so Xue Liangliang volunteered to help, and adjusted some details in the house design.

After all, every place has its own traditional style for self-built houses. Xue Liangliang hoped to preserve some architectural details from where the immigrants came from, to offer them a sense of home.

After modifying the design, Xue Liangliang also joined in as a laborer.

Seeing this, Xiong Shan came to help, and Lihua even helped with cooking.

Every day during his walks, Li Zhiyuan would accompany his Grandmaster to the house construction site to look around.

Li Sanjiang, being older, understands how difficult it is to settle down in a new place.

In the countryside, apart from school-going children, most people can't speak Mandarin, and the Nantong dialect is especially hard to learn and understand. Immigrants here can only guess through gestures when trying to chat with locals.

While houses and land can be subsidized by the state, some things cannot be compensated for.

This afternoon, Li Sanjiang rode a tricycle loaded with goods and took Li Zhiyuan to the town's post office.

The items were all pre-packed at home. Li Sanjiang took out a small notebook and had Li Zhiyuan write the mailing addresses.

Each package contained New Year goods and a note with New Year blessings and gratitude penned by Li Zhiyuan under Li Sanjiang's instructions.

The destination was Shanghai.

During the time when Li Sanjiang took Li Zhiyuan to Shanghai for an eye check-up, they received help from many people. This was a return gesture; a similar package was sent before last New Year too.

The items weren't many or expensive. As Li Sanjiang put it, people who helped without reason clearly don't do it for gain, so they value these gestures more.

After returning from the post office, Li Sanjiang rode the tricycle again, taking Li Zhiyuan to Shigang Town to buy New Year goods, not for their home, but for Li Weihan and Cui Guiying.

After shopping, he took Li Zhiyuan along to deliver the items.

After all the running around, by the time they returned home, it was already dark.

Lihua was preparing dinner, while Xue Liangliang, after a day's work, was showering upstairs.

Li Zhiyuan and Grandmaster sat in the courtyard, watching TV.

Li Sanjiang somehow procured a bag of walnuts, holding a cigarette in his mouth while shelling them for his great-grandson.

Grandmaster shelled one, and Li Zhiyuan ate one, as Grandmaster believed walnuts could boost brain function.

On television, the provincial channel was broadcasting news. With the Spring Festival approaching, reporters went to department stores for interviews, posing classic questions.

The responses were:

"The New Year feels increasingly mundane; you can eat and buy whatever whenever these days, so there's nothing special about the New Year anymore."

"Compared to before, the festive spirit has truly diminished."

Li Sanjiang handed the freshly shelled walnuts to Li Zhiyuan and glanced up, cursing in dialect:

"Pointlessly showy sorts."

Li Zhiyuan was now well-versed in the Nantong dialect, understanding this was calling someone pretentious.

Just then, Xue Liangliang had finished showering and came downstairs, smiling as he said:

"They come from the provincial capital and were interviewed in a department store. Clearly, their families are well-off.

Once folks in rural areas also say the New Year is losing its charm, that's when everyone's truly living well."

Currently, Li Sanjiang's household was likely the best off in the village, because he earned well and was willing to spend.

While staying at home, Li Zhiyuan had unlimited snacks and drinks, envied by kids from most dual-income urban households.

Li Zhiyuan glanced at Xue Liangliang: "Is the house finished?"

Xue Liangliang nodded: "Yes, it's done."

Sure enough, before dawn the next day, Xue Liangliang rode out on the tricycle again.

Another day later, Xue Liangliang stayed at home instead of going out.

Because Mrs. and Mr. Xue had arrived.

Li Zhiyuan and Xue Liangliang stood on the village road to welcome them. As soon as Mr. and Mrs. Xue got out of the taxi with their belongings barely unpacked, they began scolding Xue Liangliang for letting them take a taxi from the bus station, worrying about the expense!

Initially, Xue Liangliang planned to rent a car to pick them up from their hometown, but they insisted on buying bus tickets and coming themselves.

But upon reaching Nantong Bus Station, they couldn't figure it out and had to take a taxi as their son told them.

All the way, the couple watched the meter's numbers climb, feeling their blood pressure rise.

Xue Liangliang smiled patiently, helping them with their luggage.

The couple kept scolding nonstop until they saw Li Sanjiang in the courtyard, whereupon they smiled and warmly greeted and chatted with him.

Xue Liangliang took the chance to tell his parents he had taken only a half-day leave to wait for them and had to return to the project site.

Then, he rode away on the tricycle again.

Watching Brother Liangliang's carefree departing back, Li Zhiyuan felt he was a valiant warrior.

Meanwhile, Xiong Shan and his wife joyfully moved into the western room of Big Beard's house.

Since the night they named their son "Xiong Yu," the couple would go to Big Beard's house courtyard every night to set up an offering table and burn paper.

For most of the day, the child was with Xiao Yingying, only when burning paper did the couple bring him over. Afterward, they put him back in the coffin where Xiao Yingying lay.

But occasionally, Li Zhiyuan overheard the couple whispering.

They were wondering why Lihua still wasn't showing signs of pregnancy.

Their last child was due to a lack of precautions during an accident. After all, they weren't crazy enough to have kids just to take on a drift adventure.