Chapter 21: Grandfather and Grandson
The old man's residence was at the edge of Lin'an County. Li Fan and Li Hongyi followed him for a long time.
Judging by the old man's pace, he must have left for the City God Temple around midnight to pray for his granddaughter's blessing.
In the old alley, the houses were dilapidated, seemingly ready to collapse at any moment, and there were puddles everywhere on the road. In a narrow, rundown courtyard, the old man sat on the rotting floor outside a door, muttering, "Xiao He, I've gone to the City God Temple to pray for you again today."
"You haven't recovered; it must be that the offerings aren't plentiful enough. Grandpa doesn't have the means, so he can only save bit by bit. Once there's enough merit, you'll surely get better."
"Today at the City God Temple, Grandpa met two polite young people who even called me grandpa. That young lady, although she was veiled, had truly beautiful eyes, just like yours, full of spiritual energy and very healthy. If you get better, you could be like her."
"There was a young man with her, likely her husband. He's really good-looking. When you get better, Grandpa will find someone like that for you. Wouldn't that be nice?"
Talking about this, the old man had a look of anticipation in his eyes and even managed to smile.
What a wonderful picture that fantasy was.
The old man kept talking to himself, saying, "Xiao He, you must be hungry. Grandpa will cook for you."
He struggled to get up, went to the side to pick up the firewood, counted the rice grains into the pot one by one, and finally got the fire going. The old man was already sweating profusely. He moved to the side, picked up some bark, and started gnawing on it.
However, since he was old and his teeth weren't good, he had to chew and swallow with difficulty.