Chickens and dogs fly in chaos and rebirth

Chapter 108

The other person said, "The girl is very pretty, and the boy looks intelligent. Which one is older?"

"My daughter is the eldest child, and her younger brother is a year younger than her."

"One year old? It doesn't look like it. Your daughter seems very sensible. I thought she was at least three or four years older than her brother." A passenger exclaimed, then peered outside and saw Xia Lin and Zhang Hongwei posing like children in the rice paddies, while Shang Lin held a camera, smiling helplessly yet indulgently.

When you come to Wuxi, you can't miss seeing Taihu Lake, and of course, you can't miss buying souvenirs. Zisha teapots, Huishan clay figurines, snacks and clay sculptures in all kinds of packaging—Zhang Hongwei went on a shopping spree, it was like a wholesale market.

They stayed in Wuxi for two days. Qiu Jianguo needed to visit another factory in the suburbs, but Shanglin and Xialin had no interest in it. After discussion, Shanglin and Xialin went to Zhouzhuang and met up in Suzhou a day later.

In the late 1990s, before the tourism boom that followed, Zhouzhuang was not yet the bustling, commercialized tourist hotspot it is today. The drive from Wuxi to Zhouzhuang took only an hour and a half. When the driver learned they were going on a trip, he was surprised but sincerely suggested they go to Suzhou or even south to Yangzhou, because Zhouzhuang was a quiet place with almost no crowds.

Shanglin declined his offer.

She needed to find a quiet place where she could think.

The town is surrounded by water on all sides; even short distances require boats to travel. The vast rivers and lakes have shielded Zhouzhuang from the ravages of war throughout history, allowing it to remain relatively intact. They arrived in the evening, and Zhouzhuang was shrouded in tranquility. Even Qiu Xialin, a carefree boy who only knew how to run and play, was captivated by the charm of the waterways, wharves, stone railings, and arched bridges, and unconsciously quieted down to quietly observe this idyllic paradise.

Exhausted from the past few days, we checked into a guesthouse arranged by the driver; the guesthouse was still in its early stages. The elderly woman who owned the place smiled shyly and helped us put our luggage away, while the elderly man greeted us in broken Mandarin. As dusk fell, after dinner, Shanglin wanted to go for a walk, but was surprised to find that there were hardly any lights on in the entire town. After his initial surprise, he couldn't help but chuckle.

Yes, the neon lights haven't yet reached this paradise.

The plum rain season in Jiangnan had just ended before their arrival. The bedroom was small and filled with a damp smell. The wooden bed was quite old and creaked and groaned with every turn. Qiu Xia Lin didn't sleep well all night, but Shang Lin drifted off to sleep peacefully in the quiet atmosphere, getting the best rest he had in days.

The next morning, before the sun had risen, the town awoke with wisps of smoke rising from chimneys. She quietly closed the door, nodded to the smiling old woman, indicating she wanted to go for a walk. However, as she tiptoed down the stairs, just before closing the door, Qiu Xialin appeared on the stairs, rubbing her eyes:

"I'll go too."

Ten minutes later, the old woman smiled and said goodbye to Shanglin again, and watched as Qiu Xialin, wearing a wrinkled T-shirt, dragged her out the door with a helpless expression.

"Can't you just let me have some peace and quiet?" She was helplessly dragged by Qiu Xialin through the quiet, deserted alleyways and streets in the early morning.

Xia Lin rubbed her eyes, still sleepy: "Mom and Dad told me to keep an eye on you and not let you run around."

She said helplessly, "You're the one who's running around." It's always been the older sister who looks after the younger brother; when did it become the younger brother's turn to discipline the older sister?

Xia Lin chuckled and acted like a rogue: "How about this, you walk slowly in front and I'll follow behind, I promise I won't say a word!" He covered his mouth with his right hand, signaling to keep absolutely quiet.

After strolling through the streets of Zhouzhuang, the sun was just rising. One by one, the tightly closed wooden doors were being removed, and shopkeepers watched the two early risers with curiosity, wondering about their identities and purpose. Shanglin was about to turn back for lunch when Xialin suddenly exclaimed excitedly:

"Sis, let's go get our portrait drawn!"

Without saying a word, he grabbed her and ran towards the river.

An easel was set up by the river; it seemed to be art students working part-time, wearing baseball caps and bending over to arrange their paintbrushes.

Xia Lin pulled her to stand in front of the easel: "Paint!"

Shanglin smiled wryly and advised, "I don't want to paint."

She didn't want to sit for half an hour just to wait for a picture that didn't look like anything. After saying that, she turned to leave, but the person behind the easel slowly said, "I don't charge you."

She paused, then turned back and said, "I'm sorry, I just didn't want to..." The rest of her words were cut off as she stared blankly at the other person.

The other person raised their hat brim, slightly lifted their chin, and raised an eyebrow: "Don't want to know what?"

A slight smile appeared on Shang Lin's lips; he could no longer maintain his composed expression and sighed, "You guys..."

Xia Lin blinked, exchanged a sly look with Chang Sheng, and was delighted that she had managed to keep Shang Lin from giving her such a fright.

How could one not meet an old friend in a foreign land? Xia Lin had been urging her to come to the south, and had already made arrangements with Chang Sheng beforehand. Chang Sheng had managed to escape from his summer training program and traveled overnight to Zhouzhuang. His eyes were slightly pale, but he couldn't hide his energetic spirit.

I hadn't seen him for a year, and he had grown even more handsome. He still had a buzz cut and thick, dark eyebrows. Perhaps it was the nourishing water and rice of the South, but he was much fairer than before, and his skin had turned a bronze color, making him even more dashing.

He was often taken by his father to participate in company affairs and interact with adults, and he also made friends who were very different from the people of the North. His broadened horizons directly influenced his temperament. He had a broad face and was exceptionally confident.

He remained seated, not standing up, twirling his paintbrush with an air of elegance, and teasingly said, "Miss, please do me the honor!" His fluent Cantonese accent amused the two of them.

Starting from the dark blue brick ground, clusters of tiny "human" characters, slightly exposed with mud and water mist, can withstand a hundred years of trampling and are easy to repair.

Zhouzhuang's main structure consists of two waterways, with four bridges connecting three streets, resembling two joined "井" (well) characters. A leisurely stroll around from the Twin Bridges, Shen Hall, and Zhang Hall on the west side to Quanfu Temple on the west side takes at most an hour. Since we've reunited with old friends, there's no rush to go back for breakfast. Changsheng said he knows some good restaurants, so we might as well take advantage of the early morning crowds and slowly enjoy the tranquility of this Jiangnan water town.

That's true, but bringing Lin Ping along only added to the surprise.

Like Xia Lin, he never knew how to enjoy life. The two of them were very easy to feed, eating whatever they were given, and they didn't care about beautiful scenery or delicious food. With food and sleep, they were never picky.

Little did he know, her surprised gaze made Changsheng secretly wipe away a cold sweat.

He was also secretly pleased: the sixty-eight tricks for pursuing girls were definitely worth reading!

Breakfast was served in a residential building in an alley. The two-story old building had a small room on the ground floor facing the street, with three or four very narrow tables and chairs. There were very few customers, only their table.

The breakfast shop owner was a middle-aged man who greeted them in somewhat broken Mandarin. Xia Lin wiped his fingers on the table, frowned, and seemed annoyed by the greasy environment. Chang Sheng whispered, "Their layered cake is a specialty of Zhouzhuang. Don't be fooled by the small number of customers; local residents buy it to take home. The old lady gets up early to make the layered cake, and the quantity is limited, so it's sold out quickly."

He didn't say that as soon as he arrived in Zhouzhuang, he knocked on the door and repeatedly asked the owner to save him a serving of layered cake to keep warm in the steamer.

Layered cake, Qingming cake, glutinous rice dough sticks, and two small wontons were served. Neither the siblings liked sweets, and they especially disliked the sticky texture of glutinous rice. However, with the table full of glutinous rice products, Xia Lin couldn't refuse his brother's kindness, but he was also afraid of ruining the atmosphere of finally reuniting with his sister. So, he first put a piece of layered cake in his mouth, thinking, "I'll just have to swallow it." But then his eyes lit up, and he was completely captivated by it.

The Qingming rice cake is translucent green, resembling jade, and has a wonderful aroma. Shanglin, curious, inquired about the recipe. The owner chuckled and explained that it's made by picking tender green rice stalks from the wild around Qingming Festival, washing and blanching them, rinsing them in water, chopping and grinding them into a paste, adding a mixture of glutinous and regular rice flour, frying out sugar syrup, and then pouring it into the rice flour paste and stirring well. The consistency must be just right for the cake to be soft, chewy, and not sticky. It needs to be steamed in boiling water over high heat for two to three hours before being taken out of the steamer. This is a food I only occasionally make during Qingming Festival; you're lucky to have it today.

When we asked for more, the owner waved his hand, saying there wasn't any left. My child came back from out of town and wanted to eat it, so the old lady specially made it for him. Because of the young man's sincerity, we specially saved a portion for you. If you want more, you might as well wait until next year's Qingming Festival.

Shanglin asked for the recipe for layered cake again, vowing to make it for Xialin when she got home. The boss watched them with amusement, but the young girl had no patience to stand in the kitchen adding the batter layer by layer.

Emerging from the breakfast shop, I stood on Fuchun Bridge, watching the native residents of Zhouzhuang slowly carrying their loads, while several wooden boats glided gently across the seven- or eight-meter-wide waterway, their oars propelling them through the bridge arches. Inside the shop, Shanglin watched the women weaving homespun cloth, buying three finished pieces to lay on his bedside table, where a bouquet of pure white lilies would complement them beautifully.

A visit to Zhouzhuang is incomplete without a trip to Shen Hall. The thrill of peeping always gets the blood pumping. Shen Wansan probably never imagined he would become a public figure. The Shen Hall is still relatively quiet now, with only a few tourists here and there. In later generations, thousands of people would visit his bedroom and kitchen every day.

Shen Wansan was said to be incredibly wealthy, but the Shen Hall was not commensurate with his legendary assets. The hall was dark, the thresholds, passageways, and stairs were all narrow and cramped, and the furniture was so simple that it made one almost doubt whether the incredibly wealthy Shen Wansan really lived here, or if it was just a facade and there was another mansion nearby.

Qiu Xialin couldn't understand the way the first and second types of businessmen made their fortunes through diligence and thrift.

As far back as he could remember, no matter how poor the family was, his sister always kept the room incredibly comfortable, making life pleasant for them.

Changsheng acted as a tour guide, explaining that Shen Hall had six courtyards, but the women could only move around in the last three courtyards and upstairs. Upstairs was called the "walking horse building," and the rooms around the courtyard resembled a set of mahjong tiles that were all the rage at the time. One end was a bed, and the other end was a window. Outside the window was the window opposite. The people inside the window faced a patch of roof tiles and a corner of the sky. Perhaps they could even count the peacock feathers on the opposite window. It was a life so monotonous that it would frighten modern people.

It's no surprise that Li Changsheng knows the stories and anecdotes of every place in Zhouzhuang like the back of his hand. Qiu Shanglin had been talking about Zhouzhuang, Wuzhen, Lijiang, Shangri-La since he was a child... When he finally had the opportunity to travel, he didn't hesitate to abandon the bustling Shanghai and choose several little-known towns in Jiangnan. He paid attention to the scenery, anecdotes, and local delicacies, and finally, at this moment, he used his knowledge to successfully bridge the gap that had been created by the accident and the passage of time.

Around noon, we found a riverside tavern and ordered river snails the size of golf balls, stir-fried with garlic, red chili peppers, ginger, and wine—a delicious dish. We also had river clam meat, plump with roe, chopped and stir-fried with pickled vegetables—supposedly the owner's specialty. The proprietress brought out her secret stash of yellow wine and proudly told the out-of-towner about the pleasures of drinking. After a few cups, the proprietress, a woman in her forties with a long ponytail tied with a red ribbon, became slightly tipsy. She gracefully raised her pinky finger and, oblivious to everyone else, began to sing softly, "Spring arrives, willow branches grow long..."

Shanglin clapped his hands and laughed. Yes, this is the Zhouzhuang of my dreams, the Zhouzhuang with rapeseed fields, the Zhouzhuang deserted after the rain, the Zhouzhuang with a single oar rowing across the water, the Zhouzhuang in Wu Guanzhong's sketches...

At this moment, she was incredibly grateful that she had arrived ten years earlier due to her rebirth. Smiling, she looked out the window, where tiny floating objects drifted in the light through the open wooden window, creating a tranquil and serene atmosphere that filled her with a sense of peace and tranquility.

Li Changsheng sat opposite her, seemingly casually, yet greedily gazing at her face. You admire the scenery on the bridge, while I watch you from the building.

Negotiations were inevitable. From the moment they reunited, though they feigned casualness, their awkwardness was palpable. Changsheng remained outwardly composed, but inwardly he was filled with unease, worried that she was still angry, yet unable to resist the urge to be close to her. He used to laugh at the lovesickness depicted in books and on television, but now that it was his own experience, he understood the profound and heart-wrenching nature of lovesickness.

Shanglin was filled with sorrow. She had initially thought he was just confused for a moment and would understand once they separated. But seeing his actions today, she felt he hadn't recovered at all; in fact, he seemed worse. Xialin casually flipped through Changsheng's sketchbook; half of it was filled with sketches of her.

Side profile, front view, smiling, angry...

Shanglin was both moved and troubled. Pretending not to have seen anything, she remained calm and pondered how to persuade him again.

It only takes two hours to get from Zhouzhuang to Suzhou. We traveled in silence until we arrived at the hotel we had booked. My parents hadn't arrived yet, so the three of us put down our luggage and strolled around the neighborhood.

There was a tiny park near the hotel, and they went in to sit after walking for a while. Shang Lin looked around, recalling the almost terrifying accident she had experienced last year. Xia Lin ran to the elementary school playground across the street and played soccer with some people. The two sat facing each other, and she hesitated about how to start a conversation.

"Are you adjusting well?" After thinking for a long time, not knowing where to start, I hesitated and chose a safe topic.

Chang Sheng smiled and said sarcastically, "I ate well, drank well, and slept well. At first, they rejected me, but after I gave them a good beating, they all obeyed."

Shanglin knew, however, that it was by no means as easy as he described.

Moving from the north to the south meant adapting to different environments and coping with different school life and customs. Everything he had built up over the years was disrupted, and readjusting to the new environment was not as easy as he had imagined.

"Is there a girl you like?" What's meant to happen will happen. If you keep it to yourself, the wound will only fester and never heal.

She disliked lingering, ambiguous relationships. Friends were friends, and lovers were lovers; life needed to be clear and straightforward. Especially with her long-standing relationship with Li Changsheng, which was almost like family, she didn't want a moment of ambiguity to cause a complete break.

Changsheng glanced at her, his expression quite meaningful.

He said calmly, "I know what you want to say, and you know what I'm going to say."

Shanglin was speechless; his carefully prepared draft was shut down by Shanglin's attitude.

After holding it in for a while, he couldn't help but say, "Chang Sheng, you're still young, you might be confusing your feelings..."

Without even thinking, Li Changsheng asked, "Do you know how old I am this year?"

Shang Lin was stunned: "Huh?" Counting on her fingers, she realized he was nine years old when she met him...

Chang Sheng scoffed: "I'm twenty years old by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. Qiu Shanglin, I'm an adult, both legally and mentally." Whether you admit it or not, I'm no longer a clueless nine-year-old child.

Shang Lin was stunned, and cursed in his heart: Damn it, you're already twenty without my permission?