"So that's how it was. I kept saying there was a secret, and I've been keeping it safe! But I couldn't figure it out even when you came back," Zheng Mengmeng looked at Lin Yuan with a hint of a pout.
This string of numbers had troubled her for a long time.
"Hahahaha, sorry, sorry. It was an emergency back then, and I didn't explain clearly. My fault, my fault."
After a misunderstanding, Lin Yuan felt a bit embarrassed. Fortunately, the communication code wasn't needed in the end. If it had been, they might have been in a truly desperate situation.
"Then I'll keep this. This thing helped me maintain a focused state of learning for a long time. It'll be nice to keep as a memento."
Pretending not to hear the complaint in Zheng Mengmeng's tone, Lin Yuan quickly gestured for them to start eating.
"Oh, right, what about your new members? Introduce them to me."
"Team Leader Lin, it's me!"
"And me!"
Two unfamiliar faces raised their hands, and the atmosphere at the table became even more lively.
"What's the situation like domestically now..."
"..."
They chatted until almost eight in the evening.
"Team Leader, will you be back later?" Zheng Mengmeng called out loudly from the doorway.
"Of course, but only after my child is born. I'm tired and want to rest. However, I can still come by occasionally to guide you in some things, hahahaha (ಡwಡ)hiahiahia."
Someone let out a few arrogant and narcissistic laughs, waved goodbye, and got into their car to leave.
"Alright Mengmeng, let's go back. Team Leader really needs to rest now, and you want to be a godmother, don't you? Just wait patiently."
"Alright Lao Jiang, it's not that I'm reluctant. I was just asking if the team leader would come back. Didn't the team leader say a few days ago that our investigation team would have a member with an explosive combat power? I heard they also participated in a top-secret mission with Team Leader Lin."
"Yeah, I wonder who it is. They even specifically requested Wan Changfeng to pick her up. Do you think Old Wan got on someone's bad side?" Jiang Hai was also puzzled. They didn't know each other, so why would she target Old Wan?
"Never mind, let Old Wan figure it out himself. I want to sleep. I finally have a night off today, and I need to catch up. My face is getting age spots."
"Hahaha, you're getting vain now."
...
Meanwhile, Lin Yuan, carrying a bottle of white wine, dried rats, and flowers, arrived at the public cemetery. The old groundskeeper recognized him immediately.
"Hey, aren't you the young man who brought three people here earlier today?"
Three people?
This old man had a funny way of speaking.
"Yes, sir. I'm here now to add their names. I was in a hurry due to work earlier. I saw you had an engraving tool and hammer in your room, could I borrow them?"
"No problem, no problem. But you know stone carving?"
"I have to try. Maybe I'm naturally talented and can do it without a teacher, hahahaha."
The old man chuckled heartily, "Then let me do it. I haven't lost my touch with engraving." He turned and went into his room to get the tools. As he was about to enter, he suddenly remembered something and turned back to say.
"Oh, right, this is free of charge. I'm telling you in advance so you don't have any lingering thoughts."
"Hahaha, alright, old man. I'll be admiring your craftsmanship later."
"Just you wait and see."
A moment later, the old groundskeeper came out with the tools.
"Follow me."
Wow, you have a good memory!
He had some doubts, but the old man expertly led Lin Yuan to the tomb where Li Wen was buried.
The three spots Lin Yuan had found were in quite a remote area. This old man looked over 70, and his memory was still this good!
"I must say, your memory is truly amazing!" Lin Yuan gave him a thumbs-up.
The old man waved his hand, chuckling heartily, "Let's engrave their names first. It won't be good if we pass curfew."
"Alright, I'll hold the lantern for you."
Lin Yuan took the night watch lantern and held it up. It was a custom-made night watch lantern for him, emitting a bright yet soft light that wasn't glaring or dim, making it extremely comfortable to look at.
"First name?"
"Li Wen, from Longqi Town, Shuzhou, Huaxia. Passed away on June 7, 2024."
After Lin Yuan finished speaking,
"Dong!"
The groundskeeper's hammer struck down. Without any guiding lines or frames, his hammer and engraving tool were as precise as a computer. He finished engraving all the characters in just 10 minutes.
He even added some extra characters, including the lunar calendar date.
"Passed away in the Jia Chen Year of the Dragon, Geng Wu month, Ren Yin day, the second day of the fifth lunar month."
"Next?"
"Li Wen's wife, Hua Yue, from Tianfu, Shuzhou, Huaxia. Passed away on..."
"Li Wen's daughter, Li Qiufen..."
After engraving these three tombstones, the old groundskeeper showed no signs of fatigue. It was unexpected that this old man not only had a good memory but also great stamina.
Indeed, the old man is always the old man.
"Old man, wait a moment, let's sit down and chat?" Lin Yuan stopped the old man who was about to leave with the lantern and brought out the wine, roasted rats, and flowers.
After placing the flowers, he set down the wine.
"It would be a waste to leave these roasted rats and wine here. We should eat some too. Wasting food isn't good."
"Then wait a moment." The old man didn't refuse, but rather got up and went to a nearby bamboo grove to pick a handful of bamboo leaves.
He took out three leaves, manipulated his fingers a few times, and wove them into small bamboo leaf cups, shaped like funnels. They looked like sticky rice dumplings without an opening. He wove five of them before stopping.
He then dug up some soil nearby and placed it under the tip of the bamboo leaf cups so they could stand upright.
When he was working on the fifth one, he shook his head and threw the cup away.
He murmured to himself, "Children shouldn't drink alcohol." Then he looked at Lin Yuan and raised a cup.
Lin Yuan understood the implication and picked up the wine bottle to pour. He stopped when the cups were full.
"This much is only two cups per person. More than that is breaking discipline," the old man took a sip and nodded slightly, "Not bad. What do you want to talk about?"
Lin Yuan felt the old man's attitude was a bit indifferent, but he didn't mind. He smiled and said, "Just some small talk. These are my friends buried here. Since you're here, it would be nice to chat with three people."
He poured two cups of wine for Li Wen and Hua Yue respectively.
After cupping his fists and bowing, he sat down.
He then asked, "What made you decide to do this job?"
The old man unceremoniously picked up a roasted rat and said while gnawing on it, "All my family is gone. My wife, my son and daughter-in-law, my grandson and granddaughter-in-law, and those children, none of them made it.
After being rescued by the safe zone, I stayed at this public cemetery. Most of these are cenotaphs, and they are buried together. If you didn't have the pass and official documents from the command center, you wouldn't have been able to secure three spots for them."
"Then didn't they complain?"
"Look behind you, what can you see?"
Lin Yuan looked back and was speechless. Before him, various colored starlight twinkled. Under the dark night, it had become a galaxy on the ground.
"Every tombstone has a piece of fluorite, guiding the stars in the sky to find their way home."