A Sand Sculpture in the Red Dust - Chapter 23

Chapter 23 – A Loving Father and A Filial Son

　　The hired bus arrived on time at four o’clock.

　　In the car, several contestants cast curious glances at Li Anqing from time to time. Someone saw him and Qin Jin had a brief exchange, so no one asked too many questions.

　　Li Xiangfu looked back one last time before getting in the car. Apart from the village chief who had come to see them off, he did not see anyone else.

　　The driver started the car as normal. The trees outside the car window kept receding. After successfully driving for a distance, Li Xiangfu relaxed slightly and leaned back in the chair. A sense of inexplicable regret dissipated along with the scenery passing by the window.

　　For a moment, he hoped that Qin Jiayu would show up, tell the truth, and put an end to the madness of his youth.

　　Unfortunately, it is just a delusion after all.

　　At the back, Judge Fang, relying on his position in the last row, was looking around unscrupulously.

　　Li Xiangfu leaned his arm on the window sill, and rolled up his sleeves, revealing half of his fair wrist. The glass reflected someone’s impudent gaze, and he tilted his head and whispered, “I thought you had told him that I was a rich second-generation.”

　　Li Anqing had been messaging people since he got on the bus. He didn’t even raise his eyelids when he heard this. He asked, “Do you know the characteristics of leeches?”

　　”Bloodsucking?”

　　”They like to live in groups.” Li Anqing said calmly: “Rotten souls always attract each other. There must be illegal money transactions behind him.”

　　Li Xiangfu thought for a moment and said, “Judge Fang’s paintings should have been painted by his father.”

　　Li Anqing probably read the other party’s information: “He has held art exhibitions and published books. It’s a good opportunity to investigate one by one.”

　　Li Xiangfu’s original plan was to bring disgrace to Fang Yuanjian, but the people around him obviously had other ideas.

　　The phone screen lit up, and when Li Anqing saw the new message, his eyes darkened slightly: “Drugging, fighting, hiring someone to hurt someone… It’s better than I thought.”

　　The last two words are pronounced with profound meaning.

　　Judge Fang had been used to being arrogant and had planted many seeds of trouble. In the past, there was limited attention paid to this circle, and there was suppression from his father’s generation behind the scenes. Now, the depth of the hole dug by Li Anqing will be enough to make him shed tears behind bars for several years.

　　After another three-day train ride, everyone was almost ready to go their separate ways when they arrived in Li City.

　　Li Xiangfu was too lazy to change trains. The distance between the two cities was not far, so he and Li Anqing took a taxi back directly.

　　Today is the weekend, and Li Shasha is standing at the door waiting like a little poplar.

　　When Li Anqing saw him, he bent down and stuffed a red envelope into his pocket, his gaze lingering on Li Shasha’s face for more than a second.

　　Aunt Zhang heard some noise at the door and rushed out to see if there was anything she needed help getting. Seeing this, she smiled and asked, “Isn’t he exactly the same as his father when he was a child?”

　　Unexpectedly, Li Anqing actually shook his head: “Not like that.”

　　Aunt Zhang was stunned.

　　After Li Anqing entered the room, he said to Li Xiangfu, “He looks more like you now.”

　　Aunt Zhang tried hard to recall what she heard, and finally nodded hesitantly: “I remember that when Xiangfu was a child, his eyes were not this big, and his face was chubby.”

　　Li Xiangfu was not emotionally disturbed by these words. His second brother has always been sharp-minded and has a critical perspective on issues, which can be seen from the other party’s interpretation of the White Snake’s legend.

　　Li Shasha also nonchalantly put away the red envelope.

　　Li Xiangfu rubbed the child’s head out of habit and asked, “Are you getting along well with your classmates at school?”

　　”Dad, you are much more energetic now than on the news.”

　　They fought with each other and both were injured.

　　Li Xiangfu went upstairs to put his luggage. When he came downstairs, he heard the sound of a transfer notification. He saw that the bonus for the field trip had arrived, so he changed his approach and said, “Let’s go to the mall and get a robot back.”

　　Li Shasha put on his shoes and stood on tiptoe to help him open the door. The loving father and filial son went out shopping.

　　Li Anqing sat on the sofa and glanced towards the kitchen: “Aunt Zhang, do they usually get along like this?”

　　”Yes!” Aunt Zhang said with a smile, “The father and son have a very good relationship.”

　　Li Anqing was still busy dealing with Judge Fang’s affairs, so he temporarily stopped paying attention to the relationship between Li Shasha and Li Xiangfu.

　　•|•

　　What Li Shasha wanted was not a toy to appease children. Li Xiangfu took him to Luoxia Pavilion, which was like an alternative Doraemon’s pocket that could meet the needs of most customers, provided they could afford the price.

　　As always, a service fee is required on the third floor.

　　When Li Xiangfu was about to swipe his card, the elevator door opened. The manager suddenly came over, waved to the waiter, and led them up personally.

　　Li Xiangfu asked: “Is the service fee suspended?”

　　The manager shook his head: “The boss has previously informed that you can enjoy membership benefits, 10% discount, and no service fee.”

　　Li Shasha, who was standing by, raised her head upon hearing this.

　　Before he spoke, Li Xiangfu said, “There are no hidden rules.” After a pause, he added, “Those who want to use hidden rules against me are on their way to Legal News.”

　　For example, Judge Fang.

　　Li Shasha: “That’s good.”

　　The manager stood in the corner, the corners of his mouth twitching silently twice.

　　The third floor has everything, and compared to the last time Li Xiangfu came, a lot of new goods have been purchased.

　　With a special person to introduce him, Li Shasha quickly bought the robot he wanted. When paying, Li Xiangfu glanced at the musical instruments used as decorations on the wall and suddenly remembered the guqin Qin Jin gave him, which was far superior to the one he bought before in terms of both tone and material.

　　Li Shasha got what he wanted: “Are we going back?”

　　Li Xiangfu shook his head: “I still have some things to buy.”

　　The manager quickly asked him what he needed.

　　Li Xiangfu smiled and said, “I’m afraid what I want to buy is not available here.”

　　The manager said confidently: “You tell me, I will definitely find it.”

　　”Embroidery requires needle and thread.”

　　“…”

　　Five minutes later, the manager saw the man at the door with only one thought in his mind: he didn’t understand the world of rich people.

　　Li Xiangfu, who had already walked far away, could not hear the other party’s voice, otherwise he would have opened his mouth to emphasize that he didn’t understand it either.

　　There is a place in the local area that specializes in selling embroidery thread. As time is tight, Li Xiangfu decided to embroider a small screen that would only be used for display as a decorative item.

　　Li Shasha wondered: “Why buy so much embroidery thread?”

　　In the past, Li Xiangfu embroidered mostly flowers and birds, and some of the exaggerated colors were not used.

　　“Double-sided embroidery in different colors.”

　　Li Shasha immediately said, “I want one too.”

　　”Okay, don’t play with robots anymore, play with Barbie dolls anymore,” Li Xiangfu smiled, “I’ll buy all its clothes.”

　　“…”

　　Since he was already out, he planned to buy two more shirts on the way. The one Li Xiangfu brought to the ancient village was stained with paint.

　　On the way, he shared with Li Shasha the interesting stories of the field trip, and that he planned to do embroidery because he was going to attend a birthday party and wanted to save money on gifts.

　　It really proved the saying that enemies often meet on a narrow road. When they arrived, Luo An happened to park his car at the door.

　　The two had met in this clothing store more than once. This time, Luo An skipped the basic disguise and just sneered.

　　Li Xiangfu took the initiative to speak: “I saw your circle of friends, it’s very interesting.”

　　Luo An: “When you have time, pay more attention to the child’s education. I wonder who his biological mother is on the family member form?”

　　As he spoke, he glanced at Li Shasha sarcastically.

　　Li Xiangfu’s eyes darkened, and no one knew what he was thinking. After a moment, he took Li Shasha inside.

　　Luo An did not follow him in, but stared at the two figures, one big and one small, through the glass window.

　　Recently, the Li family had been putting pressure on him, and his business had been suppressed. The original intention of the circle of friends was to please Qin Jin and see if there was a way out. Unexpectedly, Li Xiangfu immediately sent a photo to fight back.

　　Because of this, Luo An was really anxious for several days. He kept asking for information and finally found out that Li Xiangfu had participated in a competition and Qin Jin happened to be the sponsor.

　　It sounds funny that Qin Jin made friends with Li Xiangfu.

　　Luo An was relieved only after confirming again and again that Qin Jin and the Li family were not cooperating. He didn’t believe that the other party could really let go of old grudges and pretend to be friends forever with a rich second-generation man who had accomplished nothing.

　　At this time, Li Shasha suddenly let go of Li Xiangfu’s hand and ran out, trying to make a face, but unfortunately he was not proficient in changing his facial expressions, and finally stuck out his tongue expressionlessly: “Dad is going to attend a beautiful sister’s birthday party, and he will personally give her handmade textiles. I will definitely have a beautiful mother in the future.”

　　After saying this, he ran back. Li Xiangfu couldn’t help laughing when he saw the whole process: “When did this kind of low-level fun come into being?”

　　It also deliberately makes people associate it with knitwear.

　　Li Shasha: “The previous idiot ended the nudity syndrome. I don’t think his IQ is high either. Maybe he can heal you at some unexpected moment.”

　　Li Xiangfu walked around the shirt area and shook his head, saying, “Under normal circumstances, Luo An would infer that it was Bian Shiqin’s birthday party and exaggerate what happened today.”

　　He picked a white shirt and continued to analyze while looking at the size: “Then when I take out the gift at the birthday party, they’ll think that it was not an ordinary handmade product. The situation would turn around and Luo An was embarrassed.”

　　How much fun can there be in something that is expected?

　　Li Shasha: “You can do it in a double way. Most people don’t believe you can embroider, but Dad insists that he embroidered it himself, which leads to ridicule and disdain. At this time…”

　　”At this time, I took out my mobile phone and played the recorded video?” Li Xiangfu laughed.

　　”Doing it on purpose is a bad idea.” Li Shasha: “We can find a TV station to shoot a documentary in advance and cooperate with them for a long time to showcase the intangible cultural heritage. We can first suppress it and then highlight your nobleness in the end.”

　　Fearing that he would hear a more outrageous triple slap in the face, Li Xiangfu pressed his eyebrows and said, “Let’s go home.”

　　Li Shasha’s expression became serious: “House fighting is different from other skills. If you don’t use it for a long time, it will degenerate.”

　　He stopped and reminded him word by word: “Dad, diligence brings success, while laziness brings failure!”

　　“…”

　　•|•

　　Things did not develop as expected. No sarcastic rumors were heard in the next few days. For this reason, Li Xiangfu specifically asked Liu Yu, the news envoy, and confirmed it.

　　After outlining the pattern, he began to embroider silently in the room.

　　Li Shasha finished his math homework in 30 seconds, looked up and asked, “No news today?”

　　Li Xiangfu nodded, stretched his stiff cervical vertebrae and felt strange. Luo An was not a man who could keep calm.

　　Li Shasha moved his fingers, adjusted the swivel chair under him, and raised the corners of his mouth slowly: “Dad, things are becoming more and more interesting.”

　　“…”

　　The author has something to say:

Li Xiangfu: It can be seen how bored you are at school.

　　Li Shasha: …