Compared to the last time they met a few years ago, the old woman had aged even more.
But just like before, the old woman was neat and tidy, and her silver-white hair was neat and tidy.
The bamboo chair swayed gently.
Perhaps sensing that someone was coming, the old woman, who had been sunbathing with her eyes closed, opened her eyes when Li Dong and the others arrived.
The old woman's eyesight was much worse than it was a few years ago. It was only when Li Dong called her grandmother that the old woman sat up slowly. She smiled and looked at Li Dong. "Lil 'Dongzi?"
Li Dong answered and squatted down. He raised his voice slightly and said with a smile, "Grandmother, I'm here to see you!"
"Lil 'Dongzi is here. Where's Ah Fang?"
The old woman searched behind Li Dong and did not see Cao Fang. But she was not in a hurry. She turned back and shouted, "Dahai, Lil 'Dongzi is here!"
Li Dong was not in a hurry to exchange pleasantries with his grandmother. He waved at the bodyguards in plain clothes not far away.
Tan Yong turned to them and said, "Let's go sit at the supermarket. There's food there."
They nodded and quickly disappeared in front of everyone.
In a short while, a mountain man in his fifties hurried out of the small building.
Seeing Li Dong, Cao Yunhai was overjoyed and said loudly, "Dongzi is here! You … why didn't you greet us before coming? Come in, come in. Feng's mother, Dongzi is here. Come out! "
Li Dong stood up and said with a smile, "Uncle, I have something to deal with. I've been too busy these few years. I just happened to be here this time, so I came to see Grandmother and Uncle. I didn't have time to greet you …"
"I know you're busy, I know you're busy. Look at this mess. Come in, come in and drink some water …"
Li Dong's uncle was at a loss as to what to do. He kept calling out to them.
Even though he still lived in the mountains, the people now were different from before.
Stonecuton Stockaded Village wasn't really deep in the mountains or ancient forests, and there was electricity here as well.
And when there was electricity, there was television.
With the television, the man who always cared about his nephew could often see his figure in some news programs or economic programs on some channels.
A big shot, a real big shot!
There had never been such a great figure in the Cao Family for generations.
The mountain people who were not related to Li Dong might not care about Li Dong. In addition, people like Li Dong often appeared on the Internet. The mountain people did not know how to surf the Internet, so they did not pay much attention to them. Even Li Dong sometimes appeared on the news.
However, for those who were familiar with Li Dong, especially his own family, every time he saw his nephew in the news, this mountain man would feel like he was looking up at a great mountain.
So when Cao Yunhai saw that Li Dong actually came to his house, he was really excited and at a loss.
As Cao Yunhai shouted, another person walked out of the house.
Cao Feng's mother's expression was similar to Cao Yunhai's. She was even more restrained. After greeting Li Dong for a while, she did not know what to say.
Li Dong could not change this. He could only smile more gently and talk about Cao Feng, Lin Meng, and the children at home. Only then did they gradually calm down.
Then, no matter how Li Dong persuaded, Cao Feng's mother, who was his aunt, hurried out of the house with a basket in her hand. She must have gone to prepare the food.
As for Cao Yunhai, he busied himself with boiling water and making tea. Li Dong couldn't refuse even if he wanted to.
After a while, Li Dong's second uncle and his family, who were also Cao Yu's parents, also rushed over.
In addition to these relatives, the people in the mountain village were related to each other. Soon, everyone in the village knew that the promising child of the Cao family had come!
The son of Cao Fang, who everyone thought was dead or had been kidnapped, had come!
In the past few years, Cao Fang had also come here several times. Many people knew that she had a promising son. The children of the eldest and second children of the Cao family were all working for Cao Fang's son.
Now that the powerful person had come, and the woman who opened the supermarket at the entrance of the village had spread the news, Cao Fang's son had brought many people with him. They might even be bodyguards. Soon, the Cao family's house was surrounded by people who wanted to watch the fun.
As for Li Dong, he could only greet people with a smile. He wanted to talk to his grandmother, but he did not have time.
The people in the village might not know Li Dong. No matter how famous Li Dong was, it was only in the outside world.
People in the mountain village did not pay much attention to these things. In addition, there were some differences between the person in person and the person on TV. Almost no one could recognize that this young man with a stiff smile was the great and capable Li Dong that their children talked about!
There were not many young people in the village. Most of them had gone down the mountain to work. Even if there were some who stayed at home, they would not come out to watch the fun like the old people.
Therefore, even though there were many people, no one recognized Li Dong.
…
After chatting with this group of uncles and aunties for a long time, Li Dong did not even know what he was talking about.
There were actually not many people in the older generation who could speak Mandarin. It was fine for the young people. Almost everyone could speak Mandarin. The woman who opened the supermarket also knew it because she wanted to do business with outsiders. However, the others mostly talked in the local language.
Everyone could understand Mandarin. They could understand what Li Dong said, but when it came to what they said, Li Dong mostly had to guess.
However, Li Dong still had some ability to speak in a human's language.
Although the language of both parties was not very smooth, after Li Dong's conversation, it still made everyone feel that Cao Fang's son was really a capable person!
After watching the fun, the uncles and aunties quickly dispersed. Old Cao's family was going to cook. If they stayed any longer, they would be suspected of freeloading.
When everyone left, Li Dong let out a sigh of relief.
Only then did Li Dong have time to continue talking to his grandmother.
The old woman was still the same as before. She continued to sit outside the door and bask in the sun.
Even though her grandson was here, the old woman always had this peaceful look. Li Dong did not find it strange.
He found a small stool that he got himself and sat down next to the old woman.
After chatting for a while about his parents and a few things about his wife and daughter, Li Dong took out his phone and showed some photos and videos to the old woman.
The old woman had a smile on her face. It was rare for her to praise a few words like "the child is cute".
After chatting for a while, Li Dong waited for his uncle and the others to go to work before he said softly, "Grandmother, do you remember what you said to me back then?"
The old woman looked at him with a hint of doubt in her eyes.
Li Dong said softly, "You asked me if I had a good life in my previous life. You also said that I would have a big tribulation every ten years and would pray for me for ten years. I have been thinking about this for the past few years. Can you tell me in detail? "
The old woman seemed to have forgotten. After a while, she said with a smile, "Yes, my mother-in-law remembers this. Every year, she prays for you to be safe and sound …"
The old woman seemed to be a little long-winded at this moment, but she could not answer the main point of Li Dong's question.
Li Dong could not help but say again, "Grandmother, then you asked me about my previous life …"
At this time, the old woman looked at Li Dong with some surprise. After a while, she grinned and said, "The cause of the previous life, the effect of the next life, the good in the previous life, the evil in the current life, the poor in the previous life, the rich in the current life. When you were young, my mother-in-law read your physiognomy. When you were young, the imprint of your previous life had not yet disappeared. At that time, my mother-in-law saw that your physiognomy was harsh … "
According to the old woman's nagging, she had read Li Dong's physiognomy when he was young. Li Dong was not a rich person. To put it bluntly, he was not much different from a jinx. He had the fate of cursing his parents.
Therefore, when he was young, the old woman asked Cao Fang and Li Chengyuan to give this child away.
It was also because of this that Cao Fang and her mother were not on good terms. She was not willing to go back for many years.
The last time the old woman went to Pingchuan and looked at Li Dong again, she found that Li Dong's forehead was full and round, very different from when he was young.
According to the old woman, a person's physiognomy usually did not change, but Li Dong had grown up and was different from when he was young.
Therefore, the old woman suspected that Li Dong's fate in his previous life had changed.
The mysterious saying could be explained as, in the old woman's understanding, a person's previous life, present life, and future all existed in a dimensional space.
If the fate of the previous life changed, the fate of the current life would also change.
According to the old woman, Li Dong's fate had suddenly changed in this life. Could it be that he had suffered a great sin in his previous life and something had suddenly happened? Therefore, she subconsciously asked that question.
In the old woman's opinion, this kind of sudden change in fate would not last long, so she said that it was a calamity.
Enjoying wealth that one should not have would definitely shorten one's lifespan.
The saying of one in ten years was just a general statement. However, the old woman said that after ten years, this life of wealth would be fixed, so she wanted to pray for Li Dong for ten years so that this life of wealth would remain …
Some of the words were said by the old woman, and some were analyzed by Li Dong himself through the old woman's vague words.
When the old woman finished speaking, Li Dong was already in a state of confusion.
So, when she asked me if I had a good life in my previous life, she felt that I should not enjoy wealth in this life, and felt that I had suddenly suffered a great sin in my previous life?
What full forehead? Wasn't this what the fortune-tellers said on the streets said?
When he was young, his family was poor, and his mother did not have enough milk. Li Dong had heard from his mother that he was frighteningly thin when he was young. His grandmother said that he had high eyebrows, deep eye sockets, and a thin forehead … Could it be that he was starved?
The next time Grandma saw him, Li Dong was rich, had good food and drinks, and had a slightly rounder face. Did he become a full-bodied man?
Li Dong was still in a daze when Cao Yunhai, who had walked over, said casually, "Dongzi, your grandmother's fortune telling isn't accurate. How many people has she seen over the years? A few years ago, she said that Xiao Sanzi would live a life of wealth, but in the end, Xiao Sanzi got into a car accident last year and passed away at such a young age. Sigh, all these years, your grandmother's fortune telling has never been correct. Only when we were young did we take it seriously … "
Cao Yunhai nagged for a while before he couldn't help but talk about his mother's past. When she was young, her family was considered wealthy, and she was educated and literate.
He didn't know where she got a few ancient books from, but they were probably hidden by someone during the Four Olds era and were found by her.
From then on, the old man liked to flip through books when he had nothing to do. Eventually, he started to read people's fortunes.
He didn't know what religion the old woman believed in. She didn't seem like Buddhism or Taoism. According to the old woman, she was a deity. Anyway, Cao Yunhai didn't understand what fortune-telling had to do with deities.
When she was young, she probably guessed a few correctly, but the old woman became more and more convinced of this stuff, and she became more and more talkative.
Her family couldn't control her, and even when they tried to persuade her, she wouldn't listen.
Thankfully, most of the old woman stayed in the village. Everyone in the village knew about this, so they didn't take her words seriously. Furthermore, the old woman didn't charge money for fortune-telling, so no one came to find fault with her. Her family allowed her to do as she pleased.
Back then, because of the matter of fortune-telling, she had fallen out with her daughter. Cao Yunhai and his siblings often blamed his mother.
However, the old woman was bewitched and took it seriously. It was useless to blame her.
Apart from this, the old woman was pretty good in other aspects. Therefore, Cao Yunhai and company ignored her talkative words and got along well with the old woman.
Towards the end, Cao Yunhai said helplessly, "A few years ago, your grandmother said that I would have a calamity in three years. I didn't believe it, but your aunt believed it. That year, she refused to let me leave the house. She didn't even allow me to work in the county. In the end, there really was a calamity. My entire family nearly starved to death … "
Cao Yunhai said so much in front of the old woman, but the old woman didn't mind at all. She continued talkative, "That was a blessing from the gods!"
Cao Yunhai smiled bitterly and turned to Li Dong. "Dongzi, that's just how your grandmother is. Don't take anything she says to heart. Let's eat. Let's have a few drinks in the afternoon … "
At that moment, Li Dong's face had already turned green. He couldn't help but ask, "Uncle, did Grandmother also say that you would have a calamity?"
Cao Yunhai looked at him curiously and nodded without a word.
Li Dong gritted his teeth again. "Then, did Grandmother ever ask anyone if they had a good life in their previous life?"
Cao Yunhai said with a silly smile, "That's an old saying. If you had a good life in your previous life, you will have a bad life in this life. If you had a bad life in your previous life, you will have a good life in this life. Everyone in the village knows that when your grandmother asks you this, you just say that you had a bad life in your previous life. Then, you will have a good life in this life … "
Li Dong was too deep for tears!
So this was a catchphrase that was constantly on her lips?
Why did she have to encounter a weirdo like him who took it seriously because of him?
Li Dong rubbed his cheeks hard and couldn't help but look at the old woman again. He said, "Grandmother, do you think people can return to the past from the future?"
The old woman said calmly, "Karma in this life will be repaid in the future."
Li Dong didn't really understand, but he understood the gist of it. The old woman said that one could only go back and not go forward.
In other words, the old woman asking you how you were in your previous life was probably a catchphrase.
Li Dong felt a little tired. I, Li Dong, am not afraid of anything, but I've been frightened by a single sentence from the old woman for many years!
But who am I supposed to reason with?
Settle the score with the old woman?
Li Dong glanced at his grandmother and thought about the consequences. His mother would probably strangle him to death.
At the thought of this, Li Dong felt even more like crying. However, he heaved a sigh of relief in his heart. It turned out that scaring oneself was the most terrifying thing!
At this time, Li Dong didn't want to delve into where those memories came from.
He couldn't be bothered to think about these useless things. Maybe it was really a dream, or maybe there really were immortals in this world.
No matter what, even if there were immortals, they were still very far away from him. At least there were no such messy things in the secular world.
The old woman that he had always been afraid of was actually just an ordinary person.
When fear came from the unknown around you, you would feel afraid.
But when these unknown things were pushed to immortals who didn't exist, it would not make people afraid.
At this moment, Li Dong finally put down the doubts and worries that he had suppressed in the depths of his heart for many years.
Without asking the old woman again, Li Dong let out a long sigh. It was enough. This trip was not in vain.
His grandmother wasn't an immortal, a witch, or a mysterious person. That was enough.
In the future, if anyone asked him if he had a good life in his previous life, other than the old woman in front of him, everyone else would break their mouths full of dog teeth. Then, they would know whether he had a good life or not.
After figuring this out, Li Dong stretched and his mood suddenly improved.
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