Chapter 1857 - 333:

When he escaped back from Huaihai, there was a fellow villager with him, and he helped the man all the way back to Nantong.

In that man's eyes, Li Sanjiang was his lifesaver. While he was still alive, he often came to visit Li Sanjiang; later, after he passed away, his son followed his instructions and would bring something over every year.

Only, starting two years ago, his son's health went downhill, he could hardly leave the house, so he could only ask his grandson to make the trip once a year to deliver a small gift.

After arriving in Rugao, Tan Wenbin bought some gifts and went with Li Sanjiang to the family's home.

A simple self-built house, the family's circumstances were quite ordinary. The grandson was at home; he was the one who had phoned Aunt Zhang's snack shop to notify Li Sanjiang.

"Grandpa Li."

"How's your dad now?"

"The doctor said, it's these few days. My dad wants to go at home, so he asked to be discharged."

"Ai."

Li Sanjiang went into the inner room.

The person lying on the bed was skin and bones, but there was no foul smell in the room, and the bed was clean and neat.

After he saw Li Sanjiang, the old man's originally cloudy eyes immediately cleared; he mumbled vaguely:

"Uncle Li… Uncle Li."

Li Sanjiang sat down by the bed, held his hand, and said with a smile:

"You're doing fine, relax, it's dignified."

"The kids… taking care of me… they're taking good care…"

"Yes, I can see that."

"It's better if I go… saves me from dragging down… the kids…"

"All of this is good."

Outside, Tan Wenbin and the young man were smoking; the young man's surname was Liang, called Liang Jun, he worked at Longxing Tools Factory in Xingren Town.

"Then do you know Pan Hou and Lei Hou? Those two are cousins, they entered the factory together."

"Of course I know them, they're in my team. I'm their team leader, that really is a coincidence, haha."

"Yeah, quite a coincidence."

"And you're what to them?"

"Sort of relatives."

"Those two brothers work really hard, not afraid of hardship. We're in the casting workshop, you know, the toughest and dirtiest place. Since those two joined my team, they've never complained about being tired even once."

"So when you go to work, you commute between home and the factory every day?"

"My in-laws live in Xingren, I usually stay at their place, only come back when we have time off. After my dad was discharged, I asked the factory for a long leave to keep him company."

Just then, a couple came back from the fields.

Liang Jun called out, "Sis, brother-in-law."

Seeing there were guests, the woman went to cook, and the man rode a bicycle to town to buy prepared dishes.

"Most of the time my dad is taken care of by my sister and brother-in-law. My brother-in-law married into our family."

"And you?"

"I didn't marry in, my son takes my surname. It was just that back when I entered the factory, getting a spot wasn't easy, plus the woman I found was in Xingren Town, so of course I spend more time living at her place.

We agreed beforehand, I'm not taking any of the stuff at home. My dad's been bedridden for almost two years, what my sis and brother-in-law get, they deserve."

Originally, Li Sanjiang hadn't wanted to stay for a meal, but since they'd already bought and cooked the dishes, he had no choice but to stay.

The bedridden old man's spirits kept lifting; he had originally only been able to drink a little sugar water, but today he actually wanted to eat some dishes and even asked for liquor.

Holding his own bowl, eating, Li Sanjiang also fed the old man from time to time; in the end he even clinked glasses with him, letting him sip a mouthful of baijiu.

"Ah~"

A pleased, bubbling sound came from the old man's throat.

Li Sanjiang laughed and said, "Back then you were still little. Your dad brought you to my place—when you saw me and your dad drinking, you clamored to drink too. I let you have two sips, and you fell asleep right on my straw pile. Your dad and I searched for you forever."

Hearing this, the old man also laughed; his gaze shifted up to the framed memorial portraits of his parents hanging on the wall.

"Uncle Li… my dad… is coming to take me away…"

"Mm."

"Uncle Li… thank you… you're a good man…"

As a child, the old man had followed his father to Li Sanjiang's house; back then every household's days were hard, but at Uncle Li's there was always a good meal.

Each time his father went, he would bring a little something along.

And each time they came back, they'd be loaded with even more things stuffed on them by Li Sanjiang.

His father said he owed Uncle Li a life and owed him his care in return.

His father also said Uncle Li had never married and had no children, so in the future he should be the one to smash the basin and send Uncle Li off at his funeral.

The old man looked at Li Sanjiang sitting in front of him, then looked at his father's memorial portrait.

Dad, Uncle Li's health is too good—turns out it's Uncle Li who's come to send me off.

Li Sanjiang said, "Get some sleep."

He rose and left the bed.

Outside the room, Liang Jun and his sister and brother-in-law all had reddened eyes; obviously everyone could tell the old man was having his last rally before death.

Li Sanjiang asked, "Have you prepared everything?"

The sister said, "No, not yet…"

Li Sanjiang said, "Then do as I said and get the things ready first, so you won't be flustered, and he can go more at ease."

The old man passed away in the afternoon. After lunch he fell asleep, and as he slept, he could no longer be woken.

Organizing the funeral hadn't been what Li Sanjiang meant to come for, but since he'd happened to run into it, he naturally took charge of the white affair. At night he stayed alone to keep vigil, letting Tan Wenbin go back first, and early the next morning he told Tan Wenbin to bring Run Sheng and You Hou over to help.

By the time Tan Wenbin drove home it was already night. When he went into the main room, he saw there was no one in the coffin.

"Huh…"

Tan Wenbin went to the rice field behind the house; facing the restriction entrance, he silently recited the multiplication tables, and the restriction opened on its own. From inside came the sounds of a beating.

When he walked in, he saw Ah You being scorched and battered miserably by a wooden man using skill, while Run Sheng was being lifted up by a bunch of wooden men and then slammed down hard.