Chapter 34.2: The Cost of Fortune

Although its actual purpose was to enhance the deterrent against illegal acts, from a legal standpoint, even a child in the family enjoyed the benefits of the clan’s illicit gains.

Li Zhuiyuan stood up and stretched just as Runsheng returned.

“Xiaoyuan, I bought some cooked food. Grandpa’s not here, so we’ll eat lunch on our own.”

“Sure.”

Runsheng scrubbed the pot, lit the fire, and cooked. Besides the braised pork liver and chilled jellyfish salad he bought, he also fried an egg and made a loofah soup.

But the egg got burned, and the soup was thick and gooey, not refreshing at all.

“Xiaoyuan, this is as good as my cooking gets.”

Runsheng took a bite first, then sampled the egg and the soup, like he was testing for poison.

Li Zhuiyuan didn’t mind. You couldn’t expect someone who rarely even got a decent meal to have top-notch culinary skills.

After the meal, Runsheng cleaned the house and courtyard, then hopped on his tricycle and took Li Zhuiyuan home.

Turning off the main road into the village path, they saw Panzi and Leizi, filthy from head to toe, pushing a cart full of bricks.

Nowadays, even city kids struggled to find summer jobs, let alone those in the countryside.

With remote areas lacking convenient transport, nearby brickyards were considered decent jobs—tough work, but at least it paid daily.

It suited young men like Panzi and Leizi just fine. They could earn a bit of money during summer break to have some fun.

“Panzi-ge, Leizi-ge!”

“Hey, Yuanzi.”

“Yo, Yuanzi.”

Panzi had a crusted wound at the corner of his mouth; Leizi’s brow was still bruised—traces of paternal affection.

“Yuanzi, lucky you left early that day, haha.”

“Exactly. If you’d stayed, you’d have been sitting in the police station with us, getting your blood drawn.”

“Bro, thanks for not ratting me out.”

“Of course not, we’re brothers. We’d never sell you out.”

“Yeah, you’re our little bro. We always got your back.”

Truth be told, they weren’t being noble—just scared. If their dads and grandpas found out they took Little Yuanhou to watch porn, they’d get beaten even worse.

“You guys heading back to the brickyard?”

“Yep, we’re delivering bricks today,” said Leizi, pulling a cigarette from his pocket. Who knows where he got it. He lit it with a match, took a puff, then passed it to Panzi.

Panzi took a drag and handed it to Runsheng.

It was common for a group of guys to share one cigarette. You could even buy them one stick at a time at the village store.

Runsheng shook his head, lit a stick of incense instead, took a puff, and blew a smoke ring.

Panzi and Leizi were dumbfounded. “What are you smoking?”

“Authentic incense,” Runsheng replied, offering the burning stick.

They both waved their hands, politely refusing.

Then Panzi looked at Li Zhuiyuan. “Xiaoyuan, Four Seas’ family is draining their fishpond tomorrow. We’re helping out. Wanna come? Free meal and you can take home some fish.”

“I’ll pass. Taigong hasn’t let me go out lately. Today was an exception just to help Runsheng-ge deliver stuff.”

“Ah, that’s a shame.”

“We’ll bring you a fish tomorrow night then.”

“No need. You take it home and eat it. Bros, you go on ahead—I’m heading back.”

“Alright, we’ll come find you another day to hang out, Yuanzi.”

After they’d driven a bit, Runsheng asked, “Xiaoyuan, don’t you like playing with your brothers?”

“It’s not that—they’re good to me.”

“Then why…”

“Runsheng-ge, I just don’t plan on going out much for a while.”

Until he resolved the issue with his luck, Li Zhuiyuan decided to stay in unless absolutely necessary—especially avoiding anywhere with water.

Getting invited to a fishpond drainage was already a huge taboo. He feared that if he went, who knew what besides fish might surface.

Back home, he didn’t see Ah Li behind the eastern room’s threshold. He figured she was probably in her own room now.

She’d changed a lot. No longer just sat around blankly—even when he wasn’t home, she’d do things on her own.

Liu Yumei was in a chair by the eastern door, hands folded, eyes closed like she was napping.

When she sensed someone return, she opened her eyes and looked at the boy as if nothing had happened. Her left fingers, under her right hand, began calculating.

But she had to stop.

Because the boy turned his head, giving her the back of it, and asked Aunt Liu what was for dinner while commenting on the incense, maintaining that posture as he entered the house.

A seed of doubt grew in Liu Yumei’s heart—was it coincidence or deliberate?

It must’ve been coincidence. If it were intentional, that would be too absurd.

To sense her calculations, he’d need to be at her level of fate manipulation—impossible, right?

She knew he read a lot and had crafted tools based on his reading. She acknowledged his smarts, even begrudgingly admitted he’d started down this path. But still—not that far.

Liu Yumei had lived in this house a long time. She knew for sure the boy had no teacher. Qin Li only taught him a basic stance. If just reading books could get you that far, then she might as well have lived all these years as a dog.

Even today’s matter felt off. Why had Li Sanjiang’s fortune depleted so drastically all of a sudden?

She’d have to watch again tomorrow. If his fortune slowly recovered, all was well. But if it kept draining like this—it’d be a real problem.

Feeling uneasy, Liu Yumei stood up. She wanted to talk to the “big one” in her room.

At the altar, she picked up a piece of shortbread, ready to start chatting—only to suddenly notice something strange.

“Why does it feel… sparse?”

…

Upstairs, Li Zhuiyuan saw Li Sanjiang by the water jar, washing his hair with laundry detergent.

“Taigong, didn’t you wash it this morning?”

“I was napping, and some damn dead bird shat on my head again. Twice in one day—what rotten luck.”

Li Zhuiyuan had a good guess why.

“Little Yuanhou, why’re you back so early? Old Shan didn’t keep you for dinner?”

“Gramps was busy playing cards.”

“Hmph, that old bastard—typical. So, did you buy the stuff?”

“Yes, restocked the rice, flour, and oil. Taigong, you really care about Old Shan, huh?”

“Of course. If he starves, I’ll have no helper for big jobs. Grumpy as he is, he’s got skills—always comes through.”

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. True.

“Little Yuanhou, what’s in that black bag of yours?”

He held it up. “Bought some candy for Ah Li. Want one, Taigong?”

Just like last time, he planned to ask Aunt Liu to help buy things and negotiate prices—her expertise ensured every cent was well spent.

He wasn’t familiar with the market and could easily get overcharged.

Merchants sized up the buyer before naming a price—Li Zhuiyuan got that. That’s why he avoided going himself. He wasn’t some bad luck magnet, and petty vendors didn’t deserve to suffer.

He had meant to give the money to Aunt Liu downstairs, but Granny Liu had been sneakily watching again.

Morning and afternoon—didn’t she ever get tired?

“I don’t want candy. Get me another handkerchief.”

“Okay.”

After bringing Li Sanjiang a handkerchief, Li Zhuiyuan headed to his room.

On the way, he pushed open Li Sanjiang’s bedroom door to check on the sigil array on the tiles—only to find it wiped clean.

He couldn’t understand it. He’d altered the array yesterday—how had it still activated?

He stepped back and looked toward his great-grandfather still washing his hair.

Most frustratingly, he couldn’t even talk to Taigong about it, even though he was the main participant.

Because even if he asked Taigong to redraw the array from memory, the old man would definitely produce a completely different one.

At his room door, he opened it to find Ah Li sitting on a stool, carving a wooden rosette with a small knife.

He hadn’t told her the black satchel was broken, but she’d noticed and started replacing the wooden ornament herself.

Li Zhuiyuan sat across from her, watching her carve intently.

It reminded him so much of when she used to watch him read with the same focus.

Now she occasionally glanced up at him, just like he used to peek at her.

He felt this must be what real friendship was—no pretense, just enjoyment.

He watched quietly for a while. His earlier anxiety seemed to completely dissolve.

Standing up, he walked to the desk to stash the winnings.

Opening the drawer, he saw not just four stacks of fresh bills, but also six small gold bars.

No need to guess who left them.

Of course, he wouldn’t keep the money or gold bars—he’d return them to Granny Liu later.

But still… he couldn't help the twinge of temptation, especially after glancing at the black bag in his hand again…

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