Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?-Chapter 919 - 915: Lying

Dou Dou blinked her big round eyes, her little eyebrows slightly furrowed, and her tone was full of childlike curiosity: "Grandma, don’t you know what a telephone is?"

Upon hearing this, Grandma’s cloudy eyes brightened, and she hurriedly waved her hand, her voice carrying a hint of urgency as she defended herself: "Of course I know, I’ve even made phone calls before!"

Dou Dou was still a bit puzzled, she tilted her little head and continued to inquire: "Then why don’t you call your daughter? Tell her you miss her and have her come back to see you."

As she spoke, her little hand was unconsciously tugging at the corner of Grandma’s clothes, her eyes filled with pure wonder.

Grandma’s gaze dimmed, she sighed lightly, her tone carrying a hint of helplessness: "Telephones are expensive, you know."

She paused, as if recalling the difficult days of the past, and added, "Only rich families can afford to install a telephone. My daughter’s family isn’t well-off; they don’t have extra money for a phone."

Dou Dou scratched the back of her head; she didn’t quite understand the term "not well-off," but she understood the latter part, "no money, poor," perfectly clearly.

Then she thought Grandma seemed to have a point; her father was a big boss, so her parents could afford to use mobile phones.

Once she thought about it, there seemed to be many rich people indeed.

Grandma seemed to have opened a box of memories, her gaze drifting to the distance as she slowly began to talk about the past: "Back then, the small shop in our town had a phone. If I wanted to call someone from the phone booth here, I had to trouble the shop owner to help call them over; waiting for them to run over and answer was quite a hassle, and the phone charges were very expensive. Just one call would make my heart ache for several days."

"It is very troublesome,"

Dou Dou listened and nodded vigorously, her little face full of agreement.

Dou Dou thought about it and also felt it was very troublesome.

"Later on, the small shop in town closed down, and there was nowhere to make phone calls. Plus, my health got worse, walking became difficult, so I went to town less and less, and gradually had even fewer opportunities to make calls."

Dou Dou felt increasingly uneasy as she listened; she knew about telephones, they often appeared in cartoons—not to mention, they frequently appeared in Tom and Jerry.

However, the phone she had in mind was actually the kind her parents used—the mobile phone you can hold in your hand—not the kind Grandma mentioned being fixed in shops.

So she directly asked the question she was pondering.

"A mobile phone? Is it that tiny, square thing?"

"Yes, that’s it," Dou Dou said.

"Isn’t that used to watch TV and listen to the radio? When Jiang Yuan comes home on vacation, he often uses that thing to show me TV, there are operas in it, very nice to watch..." Grandma said with a nostalgic smile.

"Then he must be tricking you," Dou Dou stated confidently.

"No way, Jiang Yuan has been well-behaved and sensible since he was little, he wouldn’t trick me," Grandma immediately refuted.

Grandma quickly waved her hand, her tone very firm as she refuted: "No way, no way, Jiang Yuan has always been well-behaved and sensible since he was little, especially filial to me, how could he trick me!"

In her heart, her grandson was always an honest child, he would never deceive her.

Dou Dou tilted her head curiously and asked: "Who is Jiang Yuan?"

"Jiang Yuan is my grandson, I am his real grandma, how could he trick me?" Grandma answered with a smile, talking about her grandson, her eyes filled with fondness, as if her grandson was right in front of her.

"Why not? My dad often tricks me!"

Dou Dou blurted out without thinking, for instance, her dad promised to take her to the amusement park but ended up not going several times because of work.

That statement seemed somewhat off; is that how you make comparisons?

However, Grandma didn’t mind much; after all, Dou Dou was still a child and didn’t bother with nuances when speaking.

Along the way, Grandma talked a lot, from her experiences in youth to the interesting stories in the village nowadays, chattering non-stop.

Though Dou Dou didn’t quite understand much of it, like Grandma talking about "earning work credits" and "collective labor," she had never heard about them, she still responded seriously, with repeated "Uh-huh" and "Ah-ah," her little face trying hard to put on a listening expression.

But in reality, her thoughts had long flown far away.

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After watching the solemn flag-raising ceremony, the crowd in the square gradually dispersed, but Grandma’s enthusiasm showed no decline, her gaze full of excitement, and she kept muttering: "Why does it feel different when that flag is raised."

Held in Shen Siyuan’s arms, Tang Tang waved a small red flag, her little face rosy.

During the flag-raising, she was still drowsy, but now she was fully awake, looking lively, humming a tuneless song from her little mouth.

Grandma reached out and took the flag from her hand, then smoothed the flag surface, her movements gentle and earnest.

She took a deep breath, feeling emotional as she said: "Coming here this time, my whole life is worthwhile, there are no regrets anymore!"

"There are still many days ahead, you shouldn’t say that. By the way, we have property in Xiajing. If you like, you can stay in Xiajing for a while..." Shen Siyuan said.

This wasn’t something Shen Siyuan casually mentioned; last time, when he married Ruan Hongzhuang, those long-time big clients cooperated and sent a big gift, most of which was actually contributed by the Song Family.

The large gift included quite a few properties located in major cities across the country, and Xiajing was naturally no exception, with more than one.

However, these properties are now registered under Ruan Hongzhuang and Taozi’s names, though they have never personally visited these houses, considering the clients’ intentions and the Song Family’s strength, the locations and decor of these properties shouldn’t be too shabby.

When Grandma heard about staying in Xiajing, a hint of temptation flashed in her eyes, she glanced around at the square that had become spacious due to the dispersing crowd, and felt the solemn and majestic atmosphere here, whispered: "Living here... seems nice?"

But she reconsidered, shook her head lightly, her tone carrying a bit of hesitation: "Better not, Xiajing is so cold, staying short-term is fine, but if I stay for long, these old bones of mine can’t take it..."

Indeed, even though it’s already March, Xiajing’s weather still carries a hint of chilliness, wind blowing on one’s face felt cool, people had to wear thick clothes.

Grandma always lived in Bin Hai, a place with a tropical monsoon climate, warm and humid all year, winters were seldom this cold. She was long accustomed to warm environments, suddenly coming to such a cold place, a short stay was manageable, but over time, her body surely couldn’t adapt.

Shen Siyuan also understood Grandma’s concerns, so he smiled and said: "Grandma, don’t rush to decide, take your time to think it over."

After speaking, he held Grandma’s hand and walked toward the square exit.

At this moment, Mao Sanmei came over and took Tang Tang from Shen Siyuan’s arms.

Just now, to let Tang Tang see the flag-raising ceremony more clearly, Shen Siyuan had made her ride on his shoulders unless Tang Tang, being so small, even standing at the front of the square, probably couldn’t clearly see the whole flag-raising process.

As they walked, Grandma curiously asked: "Where are we going now?"

Shen Siyuan teased her with a grin: "Don’t worry; follow me and you’ll see. Would I sell you or something?"

Grandma gently slapped Shen Siyuan’s arm, pretended to be angry, and said: "You rascal, if selling, I’d sell you instead; I’m old, I’m worth barely anything."

"Grandma, if you sell him, I’ll buy!" Taozi, hearing their conversation from the side, quickly chimed in with a laughing remark.

Grandma was amused by Taozi’s words, laughed and asked: "What would you do with him if you bought him?"

Taozi blinked and deliberately said seriously: "Buy him to use as a beast of burden, let him plow the land."

Upon hearing this, Grandma couldn’t help but burst into laughter, the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes squeezing together, the square echoed with her hearty laugh.