Chapter 46
Chapter 46
As they ate breakfast, Hua Jiunan told Deaf Granny everything that had just happened.
Deaf Granny listened, both startled and overjoyed.
Startled, because after Old Fourth Tian’s Corpse Rising, he had actually run into the village.
If they didn’t find him quickly, something would definitely happen-someone would get hurt.
Overjoyed, because Hua Jiunan had actually spoken and granted a Gray Immortal its Fengzheng-bestowing recognition and a proper title.
Her grandson really was extraordinary.
“Now that our village temple has Immortal Spirits watching over it,” Deaf Granny said, “we should find a way to renovate it.”
“If we don’t fix it up soon, it’s going to collapse.”
Wang San cut in.
“Mother, renovating a temple costs a lot of money.”
“Our village folks aren’t well-off. It won’t be easy to scrape together.”
Money really was the problem.
Deaf Granny had lived frugally her whole life, and she did have some savings.
But she’d been keeping that money for Hua Jiunan and Wang Qianyue to study.
Chief Zhou could see the hesitation in her heart and took the initiative.
“Old Auntie, don’t worry about the money. I’ve saved a bit over the years. I’ll withdraw it and bring it to you.”
Deaf Granny hurriedly waved her hands, stopping him.
She knew Chief Zhou was a clean, upright official. The little money he’d managed to save was all pinched out of daily expenses.
Chen Daji finally found his chance to show off.
“Grandma, if you need money, go to my dad.”
“He’s so poor he’s got nothing left but money!”
“If you feel awkward asking, I’ll talk to him.”
That afternoon, Chen Fu arrived on time to pick up Hua Jiunan and Chen Daji and take them back to school.
Of course, he showed up with his arms full again-big bags and little bags of gifts for Deaf Granny.
Rice, flour, oil, salt-everything.
Clothes and shoes, too-nothing missing.
Deaf Granny refused no matter what.
Chen Fu, on the other hand, immediately turned unhappy.
“Old Auntie, what’s this supposed to mean-are you refusing to acknowledge me as your nephew?”
“Besides, I’m planning to have Daji live here long-term in the future, so he can learn properly with Jiunan.”
“This little bit of stuff doesn’t even count as his food money!”
When Chen Daji brought up the temple renovation funds, Chen Fu agreed without hesitation.
“That’s a good deed-one that builds hidden merit. We have to do it!”
He pulled out his phone and wandered all over the courtyard hunting for a signal.
In the end, after Chen Daji reminded him, he climbed up a ladder onto the roof to make the call.
Chen Fu was simply too heavy. By the time he climbed back down, he was already wheezing.
“Old Auntie, it’s all arranged. The crew will be here tomorrow.”
“However you want it fixed, they’ll do it that way.”
“Good lord, making a call here is a real pain!”
“Later I’ll have someone install a landline for you.”
Even though Hua Jiunan was worried about Old Fourth Tian’s Corpse Rising, he also knew staying home wouldn’t help.
So he could only return to school with Chen Daji.
In the car, Chen Fu took off his outer coat.
That was when a jade piece hanging from his neck was exposed.
The jade was shaped strangely.
Like a tapered plug-thicker on one end, thinner on the other.
White, with a faint yellowish tint showing through.
Chen Daji asked, “Dad, what’s that you’re wearing? How much did it cost?”
Mentioning it made Chen Fu look even more pleased with himself.
He lifted the jade to his lips and kissed it.
“This is good stuff!”
“I went into the county and had someone take a look-Han Dynasty ancient jade!”
“But I didn’t buy it. We dug it out of our own mine!”
“Your old man struck it rich this time-I got myself one hell of a bargain!”
In truth, it wasn’t just “a plug.”
It looked exactly like the kind of funerary jade orifice plug used in burials-meant for sealing the body’s openings.
And Chen Fu was wearing it around his neck like a prized pendant.
Chen Daji wasn’t interested in jade jewelry to begin with-he’d only asked casually.
He answered with a vague “Mm,” said nothing more, and soon slumped against the seat and fell asleep.
After all, he’d stayed up all night and was already dead tired.
Seeing that, Chen Fu chuckled softly as he scolded under his breath, and covered Chen Daji with his own coat.
“Good-for-nothing. All you do is sleep!”
“Look at Jiunan-he uses even this little time to read and preview lessons!”
Hua Jiunan was holding a textbook, but he wasn’t actually reading.
His attention was fixed on the jade hanging from Chen Fu’s neck.
For some reason, it gave him a chilly, damp feeling-an unpleasant kind of cold that sank into the bones.
After Hua Jiunan and Chen Daji returned to the dorm, their two roommates who’d passed out had already woken up.
They didn’t remember anything at all about what happened the night they got drunk.
From the looks of it, Hu Wa and Zhang Shun hadn’t told them either.
The two roommates kept swearing up and down that they’d never drink again.
Drinking too much didn’t just make their heads hurt.
Their whole bodies hurt-especially their asses.
At one point, they even suspected that after they blacked out, Chen Daji had done something… unspeakable to them.
That disgusting guess nearly made Chen Daji throw up.
He started waving his fists, ready to teach the two of them a lesson.
Hua Jiunan laughed to himself.
While I was carrying you back, I don’t even know how many times I fell-of course you’re sore.
After Labor Week ended, classes officially began.
Chen Daji shamelessly latched onto the homeroom teacher and pestered him until he finally got his way-being assigned as Hua Jiunan’s desk-mate.
Both of them were over 1.8 meters tall, so they were placed in the last row.