Corpse Retriever.

Chapter 434 (End of this volume)

Runsheng and the others have been discharged from the hospital.

Although the body has not fully recovered, there are no visible problems on the surface.

Zhao Yi: "That guy surnamed Li is really something. On the day you were discharged from the hospital, he didn't even say he would come to pick you up. He should at least set off some firecrackers to get rid of the bad luck."

Tan Wenbin: "Brother Xiaoyuan said yesterday that he has to accompany Engineer Luo to a meeting in Ji'an city this morning. We need to leave here, but we still need to arrange for the remaining personnel to keep an eye on the construction progress."

Those who can be deployed wherever needed are the field elites, but for most people, being able to stay on the project is also a valuable experience to gain experience in taking on responsibilities independently, especially for projects of this special nature.

Zhao Yi: "I've prepared a grill and meat on my tractor. Let's celebrate by ourselves. Come on, Ayou, come help me carry these things."

Lin Shuyou: "There's a cafeteria here..."

Zhao Yi: "Nothing beats the comfort of grilling your own food in the canteen. Do you trust my skills? I have a local coworker in the transport team who just brought me a hearty, authentic Northeastern dish from his home."

Lin Shuyou: "What a main dish."

Zhao Yi: "The main dish on the menu of the Protection Law."

Before Lin Shuyou could refuse, Zhao Yi forcibly put his arm around his neck and took him to help him move his things.

After walking a short distance, Zhao Yi took a crumpled apple out of his pocket and handed it to Lin Shuyou.

"Quickly, eat this to replenish your energy. Don't let anyone see. I only have one left, and I didn't even eat it myself. I saved it especially for you."

Lin Shuyou: "This apple doesn't seem very fresh..."

Zhao Yi flicked Lin Shuyou on the back of the head and cursed:
"Are you going to eat or not? If you don't, I'll immediately go ask Tan Daban for advice on how to write different love letters to my two wives!"

Lin Shuyou lowered his head and started munching.

As he ate, he heard the soft, pleasurable moans emanating from his body.

"Eek ya ya~ So comfortable~ So comfortable~"

Zhao Yi asked with concern, "Has the skin over there not healed yet?"

Lin Shuyou asked in confusion, "What kind of skin?"

Zhao Yi: "It's okay, it doesn't matter if it grows back. My knife is perfect for cutting this."

……

It was already dark when we returned to the camp after the meeting with Engineer Luo. We could have stayed at the military retirement home in the city, but Engineer Luo insisted on coming back.

The work has been cut up, and the office is empty. Actually, there's not much work to do when I get back.

Engineer Luo said he wanted to have a drink.

Knowing that the camp canteen was definitely closed, Xue Liangliang packed some cooked food, bought two bottles of baijiu (Chinese liquor), and two bottles of soy milk when he passed through a small town on his way back.

The three of them, master and apprentice, ate their delayed dinner in the office.

Xue Liangliang drank some wine with Engineer Luo, while Li Zhuiyuan focused on drinking his milk.

Luo Gong has a decent alcohol tolerance, but he seems to be preoccupied tonight and is prone to getting drunk.

"You guys go back and rest. You've worked hard today, running around and helping me with meetings."

Xue Liangliang and Li Zhuiyuan left.

Luo Gong sat alone in a chair, picked up the first bottle of wine he hadn't drunk much of, and filled his glass.

Silently picking up his wine glass and gazing at the clear liquid inside, Engineer Luo drifted off into thought.

The project is on track. Although there were some setbacks caused by extreme weather conditions in the early stages, no major accidents have occurred.

At least, the scene I had imagined I had experienced did not reappear.

Deep down, I do feel a sense of regret.

After all, this was a knot in my heart that I had been worrying about for so many years.

Luo had been trying to untie the knot for a long time and had done a lot of deductions, but when the knot was untied so easily, he felt a sense of loss.

Forget about confiding in someone, he couldn't even express these emotions to his two closest students.

He felt incredibly guilty for even having such thoughts.

Staring at the wine in his glass, which swayed slightly, Luo Gong's gaze also drifted into a daze.

The sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, and the surrounding area was filled with the sounds of people laughing and chatting.

Everything felt like a return to that nightmare from my youth.

Luo raised his head and saw that the people sitting behind the tables around him were not nobles dressed in Goguryeo clothing, but his colleagues who had joined the first investigation project with him when they were young.

Back then, they were just as young as I was.

We've all had these kinds of gatherings before, under strict regulations. Back then, conditions were nowhere near what they are now. It was already difficult enough to get a little wine to wet everyone's lips, and we had to rely on stories told in different accents of Mandarin from different regions as snacks to accompany the drinks.

Engineer Luo's gaze swept across their faces one by one. These young faces had all failed to survive the first accident investigation back then.

At this point, many people joined in, raising their glasses; they were generally older.

Some of them came out alive, but suffered mental health problems, and many committed suicide. Others, like myself, came out relatively intact and normal, and continued to work. In recent years, they passed away for various reasons. Engineer Luo visited them in the hospital, and without exception, even though they were afflicted with illness, they all held his hand and recounted the investigation from back then. This was a hurdle that everyone buried deep in their hearts and could never overcome.

Failure itself is not worth commemorating; what is truly hard to let go of are the comrades who remain forever in that defeat.

Right now, everyone is raising their glasses and celebrating, as if they are having a victory celebration party.

Engineer Luo smiled.

Yes, everything should go smoothly and peacefully. Nothing bad should happen. Everyone should be well.

Raising his glass, Luo Gong joined them in the celebration.

Li Zhuiyuan, who had returned, stood not far away.

The reason he returned was that he sensed a ghostly aura here.

The boy didn't panic because the ghostly aura was very pure and orthodox, giving people the feeling that it was part of a formal organization.

Indeed, Li Zhuiyuan saw Old Zhai standing in the shadows at the tent entrance, with what appeared to be a door behind him.

The ghost in Engineer Luo's office was one that he personally released from the gates of hell.

After a very long time, the shadow of the door behind Elder Zhai disappeared, and he walked into the tent.

Looking at Engineer Luo, who was lying unconscious on the table, Old Zhai raised the bag he was carrying:
"Knowing you were leaving, I knew you'd be upset tonight, so I specially prepared some wine to have a drink with you. I didn't expect you to sneak away and get drunk."

“Teacher.” Li Zhuiyuan walked into the tent.

"Xiao Yuan, come here, help me move this drunk teacher to the bed."

With the combined efforts of the elderly and the young, Engineer Luo was settled into bed.

He opened his eyes, glanced at Old Zhai, still somewhat drunk, and spoke with a slight tremor in his voice:

“I just saw them…they’re still here…they said they’re leaving…they’re leaving after tonight…”

Old Zhai sat by the bed, like a kind elder, gently patting Engineer Luo's hand:
"It's good that you're gone, it's good that you're gone. Being able to leave means you've let go."

Engineer Luo: "They said that our current construction conditions are much better than before, much better..."

Old Zhai laughed and said, "This is nothing. When these children grow up, you will say the same thing to them."

Engineer Luo nodded, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Old Zhai covered Engineer Luo with a blanket and then walked out of the tent with Li Zhuiyuan.

"Xiao Yuan, you're leaving tomorrow?"

"Um, and you, teacher?"

"I need to stay a little longer to continue my research in this area. In a while, I'll have to make a trip to Changbai Mountain Tianchi."

You need to take care of your health.

"I'm old, and I'm like this whether I pay attention or not. But you need to take good care of your health. You're still young, so remember, health is the foundation of everything."

"I will, teacher."

"Hehe, it gets cool and windy at night, remember to close the tent flap before you sleep."

"Yes, I understand, Master."

……

Zhao Yi and his men continued to work on the construction site.

Except for the team that stayed behind, all other members of the project team were arranged to return to Nanjing.

Li Zhuiyuan didn't plan to fly from a nearby big city. Instead, he rented a car and planned to return the way he came. There were some things he still needed to finish up.

Xue Liangliang, missing his wife and children dearly, returned to Nantong on his own. Tan Wenbin drove away from Ji'an city and arrived at a house in the suburbs.

When we passed by Lu Yi's maternal grandmother's house, we didn't plan to stop and wanted to drive straight there. Besides, Lu Yi had already returned to school.

Unexpectedly, Lu Yi's grandmother happened to be taking a walk by the roadside with her cane. Although the old lady was old, her eyesight was very good, and she recognized Li Zhuiyuan and the others sitting in the car at a glance.

After the car drove past, the old man raised his cane several times, but could no longer wave it, so he could only swing it up and down a few times. Tan Wenbin reversed the car back and called out sweetly:
"grandmother."

And so, everyone was forced to stay by Grandma and were only allowed to leave after lunch.

The lively scenes of her birthday celebration were gone; her other children had all gone home, and the grandmother lived with her eldest son and daughter-in-law.

However, a couple of relatives happened to come to visit today.

With Tan Wenbin around, there was never an awkward silence. Before the meal, Tan Wenbin and the other person sat in the courtyard, exchanging cigarettes and chatting.

The man was preoccupied, but as he chatted with Tan Wenbin, his interest gradually rose. Soon, Tan Wenbin was calling him Brother Tan, and Tan Wenbin also called him Brother Li.

That's right, the man and my brother Xiaoyuan are from the same clan, also surnamed Li, and he is of Korean ethnicity, named Li Taizheng.

Lee Tae-jung was a judo athlete, and now he and his wife are both physical education teachers at a school.

I'm currently planning to quit my teaching job and take advantage of my youth to try my luck in Shanghai.

At a turning point in life, it's inevitable to feel a little lost and uneasy.

Tan Wenbin didn't offer him any advice, but just went along with his thoughts. In fact, the man had already made up his mind. What he needed now was psychological comfort, something Tan Wenbin was particularly good at.

Li Taizheng was enjoying the massage immensely. During dinner, while pulling Tan Wenbin aside for drinks, he excitedly outlined his grand business plan for him. Well, his plan was to go to Shanghai... and sell slippers.

Tan Wenbin assured him that he would definitely order slippers from him in the future to support his business.

Li Taizheng patted his chest and said, "They're all my brothers, I'll buy all the slippers for Old Tan's family from now on!"
At this point, he remembered to ask Tan Wenbin where he was from. Upon learning that he was from Nantong, he waved his hand and said:
"Nantong is not far from Shanghai, it's very close. I can personally drive and deliver the slippers to your door!"

After the meal, Tan Wenbin was about to leave, and Li Taizheng was very reluctant to see him go.

The main problem is that this kind of companionship is hard to find in the vast sea of ​​people. In the past, this was a privilege reserved for the elderly ladies in the family.

Li Taizheng put his arm around Tan Wenbin's shoulder and saw them into the car. On the way, a soda can was blown by the wind. He kicked it, and the can flew away and hit a small tree in front of him.

Tan Wenbin: "Hey, Brother Li, you've trained before?"

Li Taizheng said somewhat embarrassedly, "I used to want to join the city's football team, but I didn't pass the test and was rejected."

At that time, professional football leagues in China were just emerging, and the football heritage of the three northeastern provinces was second to none.

Tan Wenbin: "If you become a big boss in the future, Brother Li, you can learn from that guy in Dalian and start a football team for fun?"

Li Taizheng: "Hahaha, that thing is a complete money-loser, only a fool would do it!"

Tan Wenbin had been drinking, and Lin Shuyou was in charge of driving.

Li Taizheng stood at the road crossing, watching their car leave before turning to call out to his wife.

They are also preparing to leave their homeland, or rather, to find a new homeland for the next stage of their lives.

Tan Wenbin dozed off in the car. When he woke up, he reminded Lin Shuyou to drive slowly ahead so as not to miss the fellow villager's house, since his own twin-engine luxury car was still parked there.

When we arrived at the villager's house, the luxury car was parked in the yard, its fur gleaming and its body noticeably larger.

The rented vehicle was temporarily stored here, and everyone boarded the two-horse cart and continued on their way.

It snowed after nightfall, marking the first snowfall of the year in Northeast China.

Due to icy roads and a car accident ahead, traffic was blocked. Some vehicles that did not have snow chains were afraid to continue driving and had to stop on the side of the road.

The eight-hoof donkey wheel perfectly solved this problem, and the big guy once again passed by amidst the envious gazes of the drivers on both sides.

Once you reach that location, leave the main road, enter the mountains, and ascend the mountain path until you arrive at the Five Immortals Temple late at night.

Li Zhuiyuan went into the temple to offer incense to the five immortals and perform the rituals; Tan Wenbin went to a side hall with a group of elders to have a detailed discussion about worldly matters.

From then on, in this old forest, Li, the corpse retriever from Nantong, also had a subordinate force.

After resolving the issues within the mountain stream, the Five Immortals Temple will enter a period of external development and will need a mysterious backer. Li Zhuiyuan, on the other hand, needs them to collect and supply him with some materials for formations and spells, so everyone can get what they need.

Compared to Baijia Town, Li Zhuiyuan prefers this kind of time-tested and clean tradition.

Lu Yu repaired and serviced everyone's yellow pickup truck. Tan Wenbin told Lu Yu where the rental car was stored and asked him to return it. He also muttered a complaint under his breath about how shady the rental company was.

Lu Yu smiled and nodded: "Since they're black, let's help them clear their name."

Driving his own yellow pickup truck, he went straight to Dandong and stayed at the bathhouse owned by Ran Yarou.

Tan Wenbin put the wristband on Lin Shuyou's wrist and led him up to the second floor, then the third floor, and finally the fourth floor, as the waiter called out "Two VIPs".

Unfortunately, Ah You's skin had just grown back and was very tender, so it couldn't withstand soaking or rubbing. Most of the time, he could only watch as Brother Bin enjoyed all the services at the club. He had five rounds of back massages in various forms. After that, Tan Wenbin felt that his skin had been beaten down to be as thin as Ah You's now.

After resting, it was time for the traditional "people rest, vehicles don't stop" approach, driving straight from Dandong back to Nantong.

Midway through, Li Zhuiyuan took out his mobile phone and called Aunt Zhang's convenience store to let his great-grandfather know when he and the others would arrive home.

As usual, hang up after you get through, and Aunt Zhang will go call someone.

After a while, Li Zhuiyuan dialed back, and the call was quickly answered.

There was no answer from the other end of the phone for a long time, but Aunt Zhang could be heard chatting with other people, indicating that the call was working normally.

"Ali?"

Two tapping sounds came from the other end of the phone, the sound of fingertips tapping on the edge of the microphone.

A scene instantly flashed through Li Zhuiyuan's mind: Ah Li holding a microphone, standing in front of the convenience store counter, surrounded by a group of aunties gossiping.

The old lady would only look out from the courtyard at home; she wouldn't come over, nor would she let Uncle Qin and Aunt Liu come along.

Cui Cui, who occasionally goes out with A Li, is not here at this time, otherwise he would definitely have heard Cui Cui call him "Brother Xiao Yuan".

So, Ah Li is alone now.

Aunt Zhang called out across the rice paddies, "Xiao Yuanhou is calling! Grandpa shouldn't be home." Ah Li walked out of the house to answer the call.

"Ah Li, I'll be home tomorrow morning. Ask Aunt Liu to prepare breakfast for Binbin and the others. I want to eat poached eggs with brown sugar."

Two clear tapping sounds came from the other end of the microphone.

"Oh, is this the little girl who lives at Uncle Sanjiang's house? Goodness, she's so pretty."

"Absolutely, she's just like a fairy."

"Tsk tsk, what a pity. I heard she can't speak. Sigh, what a lovely little girl."

Li Zhuiyuan knew that A Li must be in great pain and discomfort when facing the gaze and comments of everyone.

The breathing on the other end of the phone became rapid.

Li Zhuiyuan originally intended to hang up the phone so that A Li could leave as soon as possible and end this torment.

But soon, the breathing returned to normal.

Li Zhuiyuan realized that he had overlooked something: while he was going out to walk across the river time and time again, the girl was at home, also trying her best to walk across the river on her own.

Every time Aunt Zhang answered the phone and called out, it was a test for the girl. She retreated and failed time and time again, but she persisted and never gave up.

Finally, today, I was able to step out alone and answer the phone under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

Others can talk about taking things step by step when they light a lamp to cross the river, but Ah Li's first step is to face hell head-on.

"Ah Li, wait for me to come back."

"Duo duo."

Li Zhuiyuan relaxed his body, leaned back in his seat, and turned his head to look at the scenery rushing past outside the car window.

The boy thought he would need to think about it for a long time, but in fact, the decision was much easier to make than he had imagined.

When each other's progress is enough to offset and cover up the remaining objective disadvantages and problems, everything will just fall into place naturally.

The caller didn't hang up because the boy hadn't said goodbye yet.

At the entrance of Aunt Zhang's convenience store, Ah Li held a microphone to her ear with her right hand, while her left hand was clenched tightly, the banknotes inside already soaked with her sweat.

This money was for phone bills, and as was the boy's habit, he would always buy his great-grandfather a pack of cigarettes at Aunt Zhang's convenience store as a form of spending.

Ah Li's eyes were fixed on the pack of cigarettes on the shelf. After hearing "goodbye," she would hang up the phone, immediately point to the pack of cigarettes, and then put the money on the counter while Aunt Zhang turned to get the cigarettes, waiting for Aunt Zhang to give her change.

These processes had been rehearsed countless times in the girl's mind.

However, she didn't get to hear the "goodbye, I'm hanging up" that she had planned to hear.
But:

"Ah Li, I'll take you with me on the next wave."

(End of this chapter)