Rushing To
Jinghong Theater.
Creak——
A Shovel pierced into the damp soil, pried forcefully twice, and then a large chunk of soil was lifted up and covered the surface of a simple and plain coffin.
Kong Baosheng wiped his wet cheek with his elbow. He could no longer distinguish whether it was sweat, rainwater, or tears. He just stubbornly held up a pair of red eyes, prying the soil time and time again, burying that coffin under the Theater House.
Li Qingshan stood at the doorway of the backyard, watching this scene with an extremely complex expression.
After parting at the Theater House, Kong Baosheng began to handle his Grandmother's funeral affairs alone. But now the surrounding blocks had all been reduced to ruins, and there wasn't a single funeral home still operating at all. So he could only tear down a few rather old wooden planks from the Theater House himself, using nails and a hammer to earnestly pound and piece them together, and from beginning to end, he didn't let Li Qingshan help.
No one would have thought that the last job this clever and deft teenager did at Jinghong Theater was to personally build a coffin for his own Grandmother... Although crude, it was poured with his painstaking effort and emotions, and a pair of rough palms was worn bloody.
"Hello, may I ask who is Kong Baosheng?" Just as Kong Baosheng was still struggling to bury, a voice came from outside the door.
"It's me." Kong Baosheng held the iron shovel, his brows slightly furrowed.
"We are from the Huang Consortium. Our Miss Huang asked us to deliver flowers to a teenager named Kong Baosheng." After the leader finished speaking, the few people simultaneously put down the bamboo baskets carried on their backs. After the lids were opened, a large number of fresh flowers appeared before Kong Baosheng's eyes.
The varieties of these flowers were similar, but the colors varied. Even though they had been away from the soil for a period of time, they were still fresh and plump, full of vitality.
Kong Baosheng stood frozen in place.
"Our Miss originally wanted to send a whole cart of flowers... but the surrounding blocks are too severely damaged, the cart can't drive in, and there's nowhere to buy flowers now, so we could only deliver these." That person paused, "Please check and accept."
Seeing this, Li Qingshan couldn't help sighing:
"Miss Huang is truly thoughtful... The world says there is no merchant who isn't treacherous, but Miss Huang does business with a 'benevolent heart'. I'm afraid one can never find a second person like this in the world."
Kong Baosheng stared blankly at the room full of fresh flowers, his lips unconsciously pursing. He bowed deeply to the few people:
"Please thank Miss Huang for me. This kindness, I, Kong Baosheng, will definitely repay in the future."
After delivering the flowers, the few people from the Huang Consortium left hurriedly.
Kong Baosheng carried these bamboo baskets to the backyard and spread them over the newly leveled soil. The colorful fresh flowers swayed gently in the wind and rain. The originally bleak and desolate atmosphere instantly became full of vitality.
Because there was nowhere to get a tombstone now, Kong Baosheng could only carve Grandmother's name on a wooden board and finally insert it among the flower-clustered soil.
Rustle rustle rustle——
The wind and rain blew the courtyard full of fresh flowers, making rustling sounds.
Drenched all over, Kong Baosheng stood there, looking down at the inscription amidst the sea of flowers, and said softly:
"Mister Li... You said, my Grandmother did so many good deeds in her life, she will definitely be reincarnated well in her next life and enjoy a peaceful life, right?"
"That's natural," Li Qingshan nodded and said, "Good people will be rewarded."
Kong Baosheng took a deep breath and looked back at Li Qingshan:
"Mister Li, you should go quickly..."
"You have to come with me."
"I don't want to go... This is my home. I have nothing left except this Theater House." Kong Baosheng looked down at the inscription in the sea of flowers, as if seeing Grandmother standing in the Theater House smiling at him. His face was full of reluctance to part.
Li Qingshan knew it was very difficult for him to persuade Kong Baosheng. This child was simply too stubborn... He simply took a light step forward and chopped his palm at the back of Kong Baosheng's head, directly knocking him unconscious.
Kong Baosheng only felt a gust of strong wind strike, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness, falling stiffly into Li Qingshan's arms.
"Sorry, Baosheng." Li Qingshan muttered softly.
Li Qingshan could understand Kong Baosheng's thoughts, but to watch helplessly as this child stayed behind to face danger alone, he couldn't do it... Even if he would be hated by Kong Baosheng in the future, he had to take this child to Willow Town.
Li Qingshan picked up the luggage, carried Kong Baosheng, and walked straight out the door of Jinghong Theater;
The pattering rainwater hit him, moistening the tips of his black hair. He couldn't help but look back. An empty, deserted Theater House stood silently amidst the misty, drizzling rain...
Li Qingshan knew this might be his last time seeing Jinghong Theater.
"...Goodbye." He muttered to himself.
...
Huang Consortium.
"Miss, the assets have been more or less calculated."
In the dim room, Uncle Quan walked over with a dozen bodyguards carrying Leather Suitcases.
Due to the previous large-scale Gray Realm Convergence, the power system of the Red Dust main city was basically paralyzed. Even though the block where the Huang Consortium was located wasn't drawn into the convergence area, it was still affected. Fortunately, the sky wasn't very dark at this time. Even without lights, one could clearly see the surrounding situation.
"Speak."
"The cash on the Consortium's books is already being loaded onto vehicles, and a portion that couldn't fit is all here; besides this, there's no time to liquidate the fixed assets, we'll most likely have to abandon them... including several restaurants, factories, The Theater, residences, and a few undeveloped plots of land."
Uncle Quan flipped through the Notebook and spoke concisely, "Fortunately, our Consortium's focus is on entertainment, and the proportion of fixed assets is not large. Even if we abandon those things, the loss is not unacceptable... As for the other artist contracts, they have all been packed properly and placed in the cars."
"We can head to Willow Town at any time."
Huang Suyue nodded slightly. She picked up the Leather Suitcase packed with clothes and valuables and was about to leave when from the corner of her eye, she suddenly noticed a gold bracelet lying quietly on the corner of the dressing table...
The moment she saw that gold bracelet, a memory surged into Huang Suyue's mind.
Without the slightest hesitation, she solemnly slipped that gold bracelet onto her wrist, picked up the Leather Suitcase, and walked towards the dim doorway.
"Let's go, we're setting off for Willow Town."
"Yes."
Surrounded by over a dozen bodyguards, Huang Suyue walked downstairs where several black cars had been waiting for a long time.
A bodyguard opened the car door for her, and Huang Suyue and Uncle Quan got in successively. As the car door closed, the car started and slowly drove forward amidst vibrations... Through the car window, Uncle Quan took a deep look at the gradually receding building and let out a long sigh.
"Who knows what the Consortium will look like when we come back again... Maybe it will have already turned into ruins."
"Ruins, then let it be ruins."
Huang Suyue sat straight in the back seat of the car, the Leather Suitcase placed on her slender legs, and she spoke firmly,
"...Wherever I am, that is the Huang Consortium."