Chapter 30 Meeting Liu Jian

Not far away, in the small alley between two houses.

Sun Jinzhong held a lit cigarette in his hand as he chatted and cracked jokes with two young guys.

Seeing Chen Hai, he quickly waved him over.

"Hai, aren't you about to take your high school exam? How come you have time to stop by my place today?" Sun Jinzhong said warmly, patting Chen Hai on the shoulder.

"The exam's tomorrow, and they assigned my test center to Nineth Middle School here, so I had no choice but to stay at your place for the night, Brother Zhong. You wouldn't mind, would you?"

Chen Hai shrugged, jokingly responding.

"How could I mind? We're practically family. I'm thrilled you could come!"

Sun Jinzhong burst into laughter as he said this.

While talking, he took out a pack of cigarettes and offered one to Chen Hai. "These are from Boss Li from Tai Island. Big Red Flower, top-grade stuff. Want one?"

At his age, he felt that having a cigarette in his mouth gave him some style.

Back in the day, when Chen Hai hung out with him and he smoked, he would often offer one to Chen Hai.

However, Chen Hai sometimes accepted, but most of the time, he refused outright.

Because of that, Sun Jinzhong teased him a few times, saying he didn't act like a real man.

The so-called Big Red Flower referred to the locally manufactured Golden Hibiscus cigarettes.

At two yuan a pack, they were indeed considered high-end cigarettes in those times.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Hai took the cigarette from Sun Jinzhong's hand and borrowed his lighter to light it up for himself.

"Brother Zhong, go ahead and look after your cousin. We have to get going!"

The two young guys chatting with Sun Jinzhong glanced at each other, nodded, and left after saying goodbye.

"Let's go, Hai. We'll head to my place first."

"Okay," Chen Hai nodded.

"By the way, Brother Zhong, what were you and those guys talking about? You all seemed so animated."

Chen Hai casually asked as they walked along.

"What else could it be about? It's about that graveyard search for Boss Li from Tai Island."

"The reward is three thousand yuan. If I can find it, I'd make a killing."

"I'll ask my old man about it when I get back, though I think he probably won't know much."

"He was just born the year Old Mrs. Li died."

"It's a shame my grandpa isn't around anymore, or he would definitely know something about it."

...

Sun Jinzhong explained, sounding a bit disheartened.

Hearing this, Chen Hai's eyes lit up.

When he had arrived, Little Four Eyes was already shouting about it, but without context, Chen Hai had no idea what was going on and hadn't listened closely.

But now, after hearing his cousin briefly recount the whole story, his interest was clearly piqued.

"Cousin, is the grave easy to find?" After a moment's hesitation, Chen Hai tentatively asked.

"Easy my ass. A grave from forty or fifty years ago, unattended for so many years, probably has been trampled flat by now!"

"Even if some old folks can vaguely remember the rough burial site of Old Mrs. Li, it'll be nearly impossible to find it now."

Sun Jinzhong responded, swearing under his breath.

Hearing this, Chen Hai felt reassured.

With Geomancy Inspection Skill and Divination Skill at his disposal, he felt that finding a tomb that others couldn't should not be too difficult for him.

As for feeling weak after casting, to Chen Hai, that hardly counted as an issue.

After all, the reward for this task was a full three thousand yuan!

"After the college entrance exams are over, if Boss Li still hasn't found any clues about the tomb, I'll be kind-hearted and give him a hand!"

"After all, maintaining good relations between the two shores is a responsibility I should fulfill as a citizen of the Yanhuang Empire!" Chen Hai thought to himself.

After returning to Sun Jinzhong's house and having dinner, Chen Hai merely glanced over the review materials briefly. Not even nine o'clock yet, he was already lying in bed.

Cousin Sun Jinzhong was indeed keen on taking Chen Hai out to have some fun in the county town.

However, he also knew the importance of the college entrance exams and didn't want to disturb Chen Hai unnecessarily.

Chen Hai decided to put off helping Boss Li find the tomb for the time being.

As the saying goes, 'a youth without a whisker, never accomplished a matter,' so at his current age if he rashly sought out Boss Li, the latter might not even spare him a glance.

If he waited a few days until Boss Li became anxious after failing to find any clues, Chen Hai's chances of success would be much greater when approaching him then.

For Chen Hai, his immediate priority was still the college entrance exams.

Lying in bed, he even decided to temporarily halt the Cultivation that he performed daily.

When he couldn't sleep, he'd start counting sheep.

He wanted to count to ten thousand, but unfortunately, he didn't even know at what number he fell deeply asleep.

The next morning, after eating a little, Chen Hai hurried to the gate of Ninth Middle School.

The exams were to start at nine o'clock and the school gates would open at half-past eight. There was still half an hour left until then.

At the school gate, many students and parents were already waiting.

Of course, there were also some students without parents, just like Chen Hai.

"Hai, over here..." Not far away, someone waved at Chen Hai.

The one greeting him was his roommate, Liu Jian.

Although the two weren't particularly close, seeing a familiar face in such a place naturally brought them a bit closer together.

"Brother Jian, the morning test is in Chinese, how's your review going?" Chen Hai asked with a smile as he approached Liu Jian.

"It's just a college entrance exam, extremely simple, nothing really to review!" Liu Jian responded with a meaningful smile.

'Brother Jian, the exam supervisors are very strict, it's not like the tests at Wuyang Town Middle School!"

'We've seen what the exam room looks like yesterday. The seats are so far apart, it seems nearly impossible to cheat, doesn't it?" Chen Hai was taken aback; he glanced around and then whispered in Liu Jian's ear.

He had no other intention with this gesture, but was purely curious.

"Chen Hai, cheating in the exam room with such a low-level tactic is something I simply disdain!"

"Don't think our academic performances are similar on normal days. I am different from you, don't compare yourself with me!" Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Liu Jian lowered his voice even further.

He leaned towards Chen Hai's ear, with a hint of show-off he added, "To tell you the truth, my family has already cleared the way for me between heaven and earth, no matter how many from Wuyang Town Middle School get into college this year, I will definitely be one of them!"

After saying this, he was clearly a bit proud of himself.