The night fell, and Yan Shouyi and Lin Zitong returned to the Folklore Research Institute one after another.
The two lay on the bed and briefly exchanged what they had seen and heard that day. Before long, Yan Shouyi interrupted their conversation with the excuse that "Mom needs good sleep for the baby to develop healthily," and they fell asleep in each other's arms.
Even though the baby had not yet resumed development, Yan Shouyi was already treating Lin Zitong as a pregnant woman.
As for when the baby would resume development, Lin Zitong had clearly stated that at the time, Lü Jing had taken her to Penglai in the East Sea to find a senior. That senior had given the method to break the seal to Lü Jing.
Therefore, only upon meeting Lü Jing could the baby's development be resumed.
As for why it was given to Lü Jing and not to Lin Zitong herself, the senior's words were that he was worried that Lin Zitong, in her capacity as a mother, might be overwhelmed and make irrational decisions.
Yan Shouyi agreed with this point, not because Lin Zitong was not rational, but because any woman would do crazy things for her child.
The next morning, the two woke up and washed. Lin Yu and Lin Yin had already transformed into little chefs and brought them a hearty breakfast.
On the table were freshly made sandwiches, a few fried eggs, and fresh milk.
However, after a few light bites, Yan Shouyi said uncomfortably, "Although these things are highly nutritious, I'm still used to eating steamed buns and mantou. It would be even better if they were served with fried dough sticks and soy milk."
Upon hearing this, Lin Yu and Lin Yin immediately took off their aprons and prepared to go out to buy steamed buns and mantou for Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi quickly stopped them, not yet so pretentious.
However, he noticed something: the food Lin Yu and Lin Yin prepared for Lin Zitong was all homemade, while the food prepared for him was bought from outside.
In other words, the one who was truly being taken care of was Lin Zitong, and he, the "son-in-law," was just an afterthought.
Knowing the truth, Yan Shouyi's tears flowed.
From a financial perspective, Yan Shouyi was indeed a son-in-law. However, in terms of ability, the Lin family's rise was truly dependent on the Yan family. Therefore, Yan Shouyi was very clear about his position within the family hierarchy.
"What are your plans for today?"
Yan Shouyi glanced at the metal fork, then quietly picked up his chopsticks and took a fried egg for himself.
The chopsticks pierced the tender white fried egg, and the yellow yolk flowed out. The fresh aroma of the egg filled the air, and Yan Shouyi decided to retract his preference for steamed buns and mantou.
Lin Zitong drank the hot milk in small sips, her beautiful legs crossed and swaying back and forth under the chair. "I plan to visit a few more sects."
Yan Shouyi thought for a moment and said, "That would be too troublesome. The news of your actions against the Lü Yun Sect last night will surely spread quickly. Instead of you visiting them one by one, why not directly notify their sect leaders to come to us? We can clarify everything at once."
He paused and added, "Those who intend to continue supporting you will naturally pledge their allegiance. Even those who are undecided will at least call you to get a sense of things. As for the rest who completely ignore you, we'll go find trouble... no, reason with them."
He had accidentally spoken his mind.
Yan Shouyi had zero tolerance for sects that betrayed Lin Zitong, especially after Xia Zhi sent him a text message this morning mentioning that the number of ordinary people who had died in Rongcheng due to the proliferation of talismans had exceeded double digits.
Indulging those sects was cruel to ordinary people. From Yan Shouyi's position as a successor of folk sects, he naturally stood with the common people.
Lin Zitong nodded, her eyes sparkling. "You're right, let's do as you say!"
Even the decisive and formidable Lin Zitong showed a more girlish side in front of Yan Shouyi, not sparing her praise.
Praising her man was also praising her own judgment.
So, after breakfast, Lin Zitong had her two assistants, Lin Yu and Lin Yin, contact the leaders of the minor sects.
Of course, Lin Zitong wouldn't make the calls herself, as it would seem undignified for her as the heir apparent. So, the calls were made by the assistants.
Yan Shouyi couldn't help with these matters, so he decided to take a stroll around the research institute while the sun was shining.
Everyone had moved into the research institute yesterday. The scenery was beautiful, there were no idle people around, and it was a blessed land. Especially for Luo Ning, the corpse raiser, who wished she could dig a hole in her corpse-raising ground and live there, so that the first thing she saw when she closed her eyes and opened them would be the corpses she raised.
In Luo Ning's words, raising corpses was like growing flowers. Watching the flowers she planted grow day by day and finally bloom was a very pleasant feeling.
Long Feicheng said, "Regarding growing flowers, I agree completely. But replacing the flowers with corpses is really a bit twisted."
At that time, A Gong nodded in agreement with Long Feicheng, then pointed to his yard full of lifelike paper figures and said, "Corpses are the most twisted thing. How can they compare to my paper figures?"
Come on, both of you are twisted, so don't be a one-upping!
The internal roads of the research institute were lined with willow trees. As the summer wind blew, the willow branches swayed gently.
Yan Shouyi walked along the path. He couldn't see many people because the research institute occupied a vast area, and only his few companions had moved in.
According to Yan Shouyi's estimation, the research institute could accommodate up to a thousand people for activities. If personal living space was compressed, it could even accommodate three thousand people.
However, in this era, it was almost impossible to gather three thousand successors of folk sects. After all, the list provided by Weng Qianxiang only had a little over two hundred people, and a small portion of these people had already passed away, while half of the remaining ones were unaccounted for.
It was possible that a portion of the remaining small group was taken away by Li Genmiao.
Thinking of Li Genmiao, Yan Shouyi felt relieved.
Because his father and others had destroyed several of Li Genmiao's strongholds, and the New Xuan Mountain Sect had suffered heavy losses, coupled with his near annihilation of the Twenty-Eight Mansions in Chang'an, Li Genmiao should be lying low for a while and not cause trouble.
This also gave Yan Shouyi time to grow and accumulate experience.
As he was thinking, he suddenly saw Long Feicheng, Old Jin, and Weng Qianxiang sitting together under a willow tree not far ahead, their faces full of worry, as if they had encountered some difficulty.
What good could come of these three together?
Yan Shouyi frowned and stepped forward to greet them. "Little Long, my son, why the long face!"
Long Feicheng was furious. "Shouyi, my son, do not be disrespectful to your father!"
Yan Shouyi snorted, "Caiwei was chatting with that brat last night and secretly told her how she felt about you. Coincidentally, that brat told me about it. I don't know if someone wants to hear it and has sincerity."
Upon hearing this, Long Feicheng's expression immediately changed, and he said with a smile,
"Godfather, please don't joke. This is a major event in my life, please tell me in detail!"