Corpse Recovery Diver

Xiong Shan and his wife set up a cradle in the Peach Forest, with a windmill mounted on it. As long as the skies were clear and sunny, they would place Beng Beng in the cradle, letting the gentle wind from the Peach Forest gently sway it.

This way of connecting really is quite strong.

But it also aligns with the couple's usual standards.

After burning a few sheets of paper and saying he'd be going far away, Li Zhiyuan went back to sleep.

The next morning, waking up in bed, he turned his head.

On the chair by the door sat an exquisite silhouette.

On the morning terrace, Li Zhiyuan played chess with Alii.

They played until Aunt Liu's voice called from downstairs: "Breakfast is ready!"

In a trance, it felt like time had flowed backward, as if he had returned to the past, with nothing having changed.

But the girl before him had grown taller, becoming more refined and dignified.

Back then, when she sat in the eastern room with her feet on the threshold, she still retained a youthful innocence.

And now, he himself was gradually reaching an age where being cute as a boy was no longer possible.

Life is also a river, rowing desperately when young, and later crying to return yet finding it out of reach.

On this river, the happiest are actually those who live in ignorance, understanding too early leads to early unhappiness.

Two square wooden stools joined to form a breakfast table. Li Zhiyuan helped Alii distribute pickles, while Alii peeled salted duck eggs for Li Zhiyuan.

Just as breakfast was finished, Xue Liangliang's car arrived.

This meant he had actually reached Nantong last night, staying by the river the whole night.

Perhaps stimulated by riding his tricycle to the riverbank every day during the New Year period, he picked up a brand-new Santana after the holiday.

But this sedan couldn't hold people after loading goods, so the small pickup still had to be driven to Jinling.

Since he would be heading abroad from Jinling directly, Li Sanjiang this time didn't pack too much, only packed money.

Liu Yumei stood on the dam, watching the group of soon-to-leave kids.

Her gaze seemed to traverse through the years back to her childhood, standing at the ancestral home's gate, watching her uncle leave.

Her uncle, despite being her elder, was quite young and loved carrying her around, spoiling her. The adults in the family often said, half of her bad temper was nurtured by this uncle.

When her uncle brought people along to traverse the river, it was the same scene.

Rather than saying facing the dangerous waves, it was more to welcome the exciting scenery life offers.

The Liu family elders could once say to the uncle: If you're tired, light a lamp and come home.

She had said the same words to Xiao Yuan.

But when she said it, in truth, she lacked the confidence, feeling she was talking nonsense.

Right now, the only thing she could do was combine the child's two homes into one place, so the child could safely come home when returning amid travel.

Chatting over sunflower seeds, playing cards seriously, were intentional early preparations for this. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

At heart, she was still that proud eldest daughter of the Liu family, but after the child at a young age set out to traverse the rivers and the Jianghu, what changes couldn't this old thing make?

As the two cars departed, Li Zhiyuan first waved goodbye to the crowd close by, then lifted his gaze.

He saw on the second-floor terrace, a stretch of red, bidding him farewell.

Alii deliberately wore red clothes today, so even from a distance, he could see her silhouette.

Li Zhiyuan continued to watch until the red became smaller and more blurred, finally merging with the fiery sun in the sky.

...

"My tailbone feels like it's about to have an old injury flare-up."

Tan Wenbin grasped the edge of the tractor with both hands, lifting his butt off the seat.

He had been to many places, traversed mountain roads, but this stretch of mountain road was unbelievably bumpy and rough beyond his imagination.

The first reaction was, how could such difficult roads exist in the world?

The second reaction was, despite such difficult roads, people still lived beyond them?

Xue Liangliang laughed and said: "Those of you who grew up on the Great Plains are just soft."

Yin Meng: "Exactly."

Lin Shuyou mumbled in agreement: "Exactly, exactly."

Tan Wenbin: "Damn, I've heard of geographical discrimination before, but this is the first time I'm discovering there's terrain discrimination!"

Xue Liangliang: "Actually, those who grew up in the mountains would also be uncomfortable going to your plains, right, Ah You?"

Lin Shuyou nodded: "When I first ventured out, seeing the earth so flat made my heart somewhat unsettled."

Xue Liangliang: "You gradually get used to it. In the future, as long as it's a place a person can walk through, it can be paved into a smooth road."

Tan Wenbin: "Tell me, how do you pave roads here?"

Xue Liangliang pointed overhead, where two mountains met: "Pave it in the sky."

Tan Wenbin: "You made money, and you're right."

The uncle driving the tractor looked apologetic: "Sorry for the inconvenience."

Xue Liangliang: "Master Ran, we're just chatting arbitrarily, don't take it to heart."

Master Ran: "We're almost there, tonight you all will stay in our village. Before, the construction team rented houses in our village, so you can rest there, and I'll bring you food and drink when the time comes."

"Thank you for your trouble."

"What trouble? I just do purchasing for the construction team, haha."

Upon reaching the village, Ran Dacheng took out a key to unlock the door, leading everyone into an earthen building.

The interior space was large, the room layout clearly that of a construction site office.

Xue Liangliang asked: "Even during New Year's, there's no one assigned to stay?"

Ran Dacheng answered: "Initially, two people were left here, but they disappeared before the year's end. I planned to invite them to my house for the New Year but estimate they secretly returned home."

Xue Liangliang shook his head, thinking to himself how irresponsible that was.

Ran Dacheng brought in some food, mentioned he'd take them to the construction site tomorrow, and then returned home.

Everyone tidied up inside the earthen house, the ground floor filled with temporary offices, the second floor converted into dormitory rooms, all turned into communal bedding.

With no personnel left for guard transition, their tasks were postponed since issues in reality are hard to present in written or phone report forms.

Li Zhiyuan helped organize the upstairs dormitory, discovering a diary with a blue hardcover and a pen wedged into the cover.

The thick diary had three-fourths of the pages used, illustrating just how much the owner loved writing diary.

Yet such a treasured item was left behind when they left.

When the construction team returned, its original owner would likely retrieve it.

It would be highly unethical to read someone else's diary means.

Li Zhiyuan opened the diary.

Turning to the last page, the writing was very sloppy; the date showed it was the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, two days before New Year's.

Weather: Overcast.

Content:

"Haven't they all returned home for New Year? Then the group currently having a meeting on the first floor – who actually are they?

Why,

did I see myself also sitting below holding a meeting through the gap in the second-floor window?"