Ten Thousand Soul Banner: Deceased, do you have any unfulfilled wishes?
Chapter 112: Goodbye, Dad

Chapter 112: Chapter 112: Goodbye, Dad

After retiring, Uncle Lu opened a small store in the village.

The store wasn’t big, just selling the daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt, mainly for the convenience of the villagers.

Every morning, the first thing he did after getting up was to dust off every corner with a Chicken Feather Duster, a habit formed over many years.

He was dusting off the ash on the cigarette rack with his back to the counter.

In fact, there wasn’t any ash. It was just a habit.

Just then, a little voice said, "Uncle, I’d like to buy something."

Uncle Lu turned around and saw that it was Feifei, a bit surprised.

He knew Feifei. Zhu Xiaolan had brought her to live in the village for so long and often came to his store to buy things, of course he recognized her.

The little girl was dressed prettily today, very cute.

With two little ponytails on top of her head, her round and rosy cheeks, and her watery big eyes, one glance was enough to melt anyone’s heart.

"Where’s your mom?"

Uncle Lu, who was usually loud, unconsciously lowered his volume.

"Mom is at home," Feifei whispered.

"You came to buy something all by yourself? You’re really amazing," Uncle Lu said, somewhat surprised.

Then he asked, "What would you like to buy?"

Upon hearing the question, Feifei tiptoed, lay her clenched little hand on the counter, and then slowly opened it, revealing a beer bottle cap.

Uncle Lu found it amusing, picked up the bottle cap, and said, "This is a bottle cap, not money, you can’t buy things with it."

Feifei looked somewhat puzzled at his words.

Then she spoke softly, "But Uncle (bǎi) said, this can be exchanged for one."

Uncle Lu paused, as if he remembered something.

"Wait a moment."

He put on his reading glasses and examined, then smiled and said, "Indeed, it’s a return for another bottle."

Uncle Lu looked at Feifei, who was still looking up with an expectant face in front of the counter, and asked with a smile, "This is beer; children can’t drink it. Who are you buying it for?"

"For Daddy, Daddy likes to drink beer," Feifei said excitedly.

"Daddy?" Uncle Lu paused again.

The village was so small; he naturally knew about Feifei’s father passing away.

At that moment, Feifei continued excitedly, "Today is my birthday. Uncle Guo said Daddy will come back and celebrate my birthday with me today. I miss him."

Upon hearing this, Uncle Lu swallowed the words that he almost spoke.

Looking at the "Braving the World" on the bottle cap, then at the fridge full of Lijia beer behind the little one.

"Can I not?"

The little one looked disappointed, her watery eyes looking as if she was about to cry.

"Sure, you can."

Uncle Lu smiled, walked out from behind the counter, and opened the fridge. With anticipation on the little one’s face, he handed her a bottle of Lijia beer.

"Hold it carefully, don’t break it," Uncle Lu reminded.

"Okay."

The little one crisply agreed to his words and then ran outside holding the beer.

"See you, Uncle."

"Wait a minute," Uncle Lu stopped her again.

Feifei looked back, not understanding.

Uncle Lu took a lollipop from the counter.

"Feifei can already buy things for Daddy and Mommy; this is a reward for you."

"Hehe~, thank you, Uncle."

Feifei’s face was full of joy, and then with the beer in her arms and the lollipop in her hand, she happily walked out the door.

But just a short way down, she squatted down and carefully set the beer on the ground.

First, it was a bit heavy for her, and second, it was too cold, and she couldn’t stand holding it for long.

Feifei was a bit sad, but looking at the lollipop in her hand and the beer on the ground, she smiled again widely.

For such a short stretch of road, Feifei stopped two or three times.

Watching from afar at the door of the small store, Uncle Lu couldn’t help but want to go forward and lend a hand several times.

Just then, a sound of anxious voice came from a distance.

"Feifei... Feifei... Where are you? Please come out, don’t scare Mommy..."

Feifei, who had been squatting on the ground, immediately stood up excitedly after hearing her mother’s voice.

"Mommy, Mommy, I’m here..."

Zhu Xiaolan, upon hearing her daughter’s voice, was overjoyed, hurriedly ran towards it and indeed saw her daughter standing on the road, waving at her.

Zhu Xiaolan ran over and hugged her tightly in her arms.

"Where did you run off to? You scared me to death." Zhu Xiaolan choked up as she spoke.

Then she flipped the little girl over onto her lap and raised her hand to "pia~pia~" lightly slap her little bottom twice.

The little girl immediately felt wronged and burst into loud crying.

At her cry, Zhu Xiaolan could no longer hold back and started crying as well.

Uncle Lu, who had been standing at the entrance of the small store watching, turned around and went back inside.

"Mommy wasn’t trying to hit you; Mommy was just worried about you. What if you got lost, or met bad people? Why didn’t you listen? Why did you run out here alone?"

"Mommy, I went to find Uncle and buy beer for Daddy to drink," Feifei said pitifully.

"Beer?"

Only then did Zhu Xiaolan notice the bottle of beer placed on the ground beside them.

"Where did you get the money to buy it?"

"I traded with Uncle using a bottle cap."

Although Feifei’s voice was choked with sobs, she was no longer sad, looking expectantly for praise. That’s just how children are; they recover as quickly as they cry.

Hearing this, Zhu Xiaolan recalled that her daughter did indeed collect a bottle cap and had boasted about it before.

Zhu Xiaolan’s expression became complex.

She had never hidden the death of her husband Sun Yunyou from Feifei; as cruel as it was, lies inevitably faced being exposed one day.

Moreover, Feifei had been very attached to her father since she was young and would incessantly ask where her father had gone if she didn’t see him for a day, so it would have been impossible to keep it a secret for long.

But Feifei always believed that Daddy would come back.

"Uncle said I was very clever and even rewarded me with a lollipop." Feifei beamed with pride.

Seeing her daughter looking like this, Zhu Xiaolan opened her mouth but found herself unable to say a word.

Ultimately, she sighed deeply, picked up her daughter, and grabbed the beer.

"Baby, today is your birthday. Mommy prepared a big meal for you at home in the morning, and in the afternoon I’ll take you to the old street and the amusement park..."

Zhu Xiaolan was about to turn around and head back with her daughter, but suddenly she saw two people approaching.

She stared, wide-eyed, at the person in the lead, her face showing shock and disbelief.

Because that person was her husband Sun Yunyou, wearing a blue work uniform that unmistakably belonged to the anchor chain factory, a sight she knew all too well.

He also saw her and cheerfully waved his hand.

"Xiaolan, Feifei..."

Then he ran over to them quickly.

"Husband...?" Zhu Xiaolan’s voice rumbled in her throat, struggling to utter these three words, the appearance of a man thought dead, so unbelievable that even now her mind was in disarray.

Feifei, who had been hugging her mother’s neck, turned her head at the sound, and when she saw Sun Yunyou, her eyes widened with joy.

"Daddy."

She opened her arms, ready to embrace him.

Sun Yunyou reached out and took his daughter from Zhu Xiaolan’s arms.

"Husband, what... how... how is this?" Zhu Xiaolan stammered, trying to understand what was happening.

"Let’s go home and talk about it."

Sun Yunyou reached out to gently wipe away the teardrops on Zhu Xiaolan’s cheeks.

"Yes, let’s go home, back home..."

Zhu Xiaolan clung to Sun Yunyou’s hand, pressing it tightly against her face to feel the touch of his palm.

Just then, a small voice suddenly said: "You’ve only got one day’s time, remember."

"Sister Xiao Yue."

Feifei, held in her father’s arms, also noticed the other person and excitedly waved her little hands.

Yin Xingyue waved back: "Feifei, happy birthday."

After she spoke, she transformed into a whistling Yin Wind and disappeared in front of the three.

"Wow, Sister is so amazing." Feifei exclaimed with excitement.

"This... this..." Zhu Xiaolan was too shocked to speak.

"Let’s go, we can talk more at home," Sun Yunyou said.

"Oh, okay~" Zhu Xiaolan mechanically responded.

Zhu Xiaolan carried the beer, arm in arm with her husband, and the family of three walked home together.

"You even bought beer?"

"Feifei ’bought’ it for you."

"Daddy likes to drink, I traded it with Uncle using a bottle cap..."

"Wow, I never imagined... I would still get to drink beer that my daughter bought for me..."