For Zhu Jisheng and his pilgrimage, there is not much difference between day and night, anyway, there are almost no customers - not completely absent, in fact, there are still a few old customers in his shop, a few young people who like to hunt for curiosities, whether it is the sculptures of Angkor Wat or the murals of Crete, they all know a little bit about it, they seem to be very knowledgeable, and they always show themselves intentionally or unintentionally to show that they are not bad for money.

But they actually didn't buy anything, every time they came to the store to love all kinds of strange objects, before leaving, they said that they were tight on money for the past two days, and swore that they would buy the objects in the photo next time they came, and asked him to keep them for them, and when they came next time, they seemed to forget the promise cleanly, picked up other objects and praised them, took a wild shot with their mobile phones, and then sent them to the circle of friends, probably disguising themselves as local tyrants who owned these objects.

This is like the recent popular sentence on the Internet - you are still poor and understand life, although you can't afford it, but you understand everything!

He didn't care if they bought it or not, and every time they came, he always talked and laughed with them as usual.

Today they came again, and Pan Heng finally left with satisfaction after a whole afternoon.

The antiquities shop has regained its calm.

He didn't usually talk much, and every time they came, it was as if he had said all the week's worth of words.

The sun is about to set, the alleys are covered in a dark twilight, and the smell of food wafts from the nearby houses.

"It's time to eat. ”

He muttered to himself, turned to the back kitchen, and cooked a small pot of noodles in a small saucepan. At the same time of cooking, he was not idle, cut some minced meat, beat two eggs, put some yellow fungus, fragrant green garlic, thickened with oil, sprinkled some green onion and ginger when out of the pot, and dropped a few drops of sesame oil, a fragrant and extremely authentic marinade was laid.

The weather was a little hot, so he went upstairs to change into a thin shirt, and when he came back, he sat in the shop and enjoyed the delicious taste of lo mein.

Every time he eats lo mein, his eyes seem to be in front of his eyes to see the life when he lived in the capital, nostalgic but not nostalgic, because the life of the old capital is gone forever, and even the old capital itself is overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of modernization, and there is nothing to be attached to.

He eats slowly, chewing and savoring it before picking up the noodles with the next chopsticks and putting them in his mouth.

Something moved behind the screen.

"Come out and play, what you're afraid of is gone. He said.

A snow-white Persian cat with a black top, a black back, and a black tail looked nervously for a few moments before cautiously stepping out from behind the screen, scanning the store like a beacon to make sure there was nothing dangerous.

Seeing it like this, he felt pity and apologies at the same time.

After spending the harsh winter in the warm south, he returned to Marina City with it, and it was the first to notice the evil that enveloped it and warned that perhaps he should leave decisively at that time, so that it would not be frightened for so long.

"Come, you can eat too. He placed a small plate on the ground, and in the plate were sliced beef, each slice as thin as a cicada's wing, which showed the knife work.

He cooked very few noodles, only a small bowl, and even if he ate it slowly, it didn't take long for it to bottom.

His stomach was only half full, but he didn't plan to eat any more, so he happily stood up and put away the dishes and chopsticks.

"Meow. ”

The Persian cat also finished eating the beef, licked its mouth, and stared at him with its eyes, it was also not full, and wanted to eat some more.

"Just eat almost, the ancestors have clouds: diet to get rid of illness, abstinence to prolong life. He laughed, "I want to live a few more years, and you want to live a few more years, right?"

The Persian cat was persuaded by him, stopped begging, jumped on the table and lay down quietly.

He quickly finished washing the dishes, wiped his hands clean, sat back at the table, picked up his phone, and looked at the unread information. Don't look at his age, but his ability to accept new things is still very strong, as evidenced by the many apps installed on his phone.

After a long time, he put down his phone with a solemn face.

The sun had completely set, and it was even darker outside.

There was an expired newspaper on the table, and the headline on the front page was the one he had written, "Ten Batches of Internet Literature", which he had read N times before publication, and had repeatedly considered the wording and tone, but the final draft still did not satisfy him completely.

"It's still a bit rushed, if only there was more time, you say?" he sighed softly, picked up the newspaper, and examined his article N+1.

This is a fighting essay that has sounded the clarion call for the traditional literary criticism to lash out at online literature. As expected, in just a few days, his protégés published articles one after another, some of which were published in print media, and some were published on new media such as Weibo and personal public accounts, sending the topic to the hot search at a very fast speed.

In these articles, most of them stand on his side clearly, and a small number of them temporarily sit on the wall to watch the situation and say some ambiguous words, probably because they feel that it is inappropriate not to speak, and they do not want to offend any side when they speak. Others are pulling the bias frame, ostensibly playing fifty boards each, but in fact they are still biased towards him.

However, there are also some articles that clearly express their support for online literature, and the authors of these articles are not known to him, and may be young rookies who have emerged in recent years, but their voices are still too weak to be insignificant in the literary world of seniority.

"It's easy to keep the beginning of the festival, but it's difficult to keep the late festival. I can't imagine that I would wade into this troubled water at such an old age. He shook his head, an indescribable dullness in his chest.

He wrote this article too hastily, largely based on the impression of hearsay in online literature, and he knew that he should finish reading the Internet he wanted to criticize before writing it, so that it would be more pertinent and more clear-conscience.

However, he is not only slow to eat, but also slow to read, and likes to figure it out word by word. It is simply impossible to read the Internet with millions of words at such a speed, not to mention that he listed more than a dozen Internet books in the article, adding up to tens of millions of words.

Reading is like eating, chewing calmly, and the taste will be long, and chewing a lot, and eventually not knowing the taste.

Reading slowly, eating slowly, this is a family motto, and it cannot be violated.

Although it was only a superficial taste, he still saw one thing from the Internet, that is, fast food without nutrition and like instant noodles.

Poetry and books must be read, etiquette and righteousness must be known, and children and grandchildren must not be taught.

Today's children read the Internet instead of reading poetry and books, learning etiquette and righteousness, for example, if they eat instant noodles all day long, they will inevitably be malnourished and weak, how can they aspire to be sages and have a monarchy in their hearts?

Therefore, he didn't think that he had done anything wrong, but he was just a little apprehensive because he had tasted it.

He looked outside again, it was already completely dark, the rush hour for getting off work had passed, and the already secluded alley was even more deserted.

"Alright, it's time to close, close the door and go to bed. He put down the newspaper and stood up.

For the vast majority of city dwellers, it is too early to go to bed so early, office workers are still eating dinner, the student party opens their books and starts to write homework, and many people's nightlife has just begun.

"When you faint, shut the door, and you will check it yourself. ”

"Rise at dawn, sprinkle and sweep the court, and keep it clean inside and out. ”

Going to bed at night and getting up to read at dawn is the ancestral motto, and it is also his habit for many years, unless he is entangled in important things, he has never changed.

The Persian cat, who had been napping on his desk while he was reading the newspaper, seemed to suddenly notice something, and his ears moved, and he stood up vigilantly, and his eyes flashed to stare at the darkness outside.

"What's wrong?"

He had already walked to the door, and was about to close the door, and when he found its strange appearance, he couldn't help but feel nervous in his heart, could it be that the previous demonic atmosphere had returned again?

There was a dark shadow swaying on the wall opposite the shop.

"Don't be nervous, it's just a stray cat. ”

By the light of the street lamp, he could see that it was several stray cats of different coat colors.

There was a cold snort from the wall.

He frowned, "Who? Who's there?"

In the next moment, the street lights suddenly went out.

Immediately afterward, darkness spread like a tidal wave, and the street lights of the entire alley were extinguished.

Not only the street lights, but also the nearby houses were unexpectedly powered off.

The situation does not seem right, because the street lights are independently powered by solar energy, how can they be powered off at the same time as ordinary houses?

Suddenly, a long, sonorous groan sounded from the top of the wall.

"The ancestral dragon's soul is still dead, and Zhu's scientific name is Gao Shizhen!"

"Hundreds of generations have practiced Qin politics and law, and "Ten Batches" is not a good article!"

Hearing this, his face changed drastically, his chest staggered back a few steps, and his head buzzed.

"What...... You dare to scold Zhu Xue...... Who are you? What kind of man is it to hide your head and show your tail!" he shouted angrily at the darkness.

The voice in the darkness said: "Hide your head and show your tail? Then what kind of hero are you hiding in the shadows and insinuating? You are familiar with Zhu Xue, haven't you heard Zhu Xi say that hiding grievances and using dark arrows will bring disaster to your descendants?"

He heard the threat in his words, and he also heard that the other party came because of the "Ten Batches of Internet Literature" published by himself, but his residence was only told to a few relatives and friends, how did the other party know?

"You don't have to threaten me, the articles I publish have a clear conscience, the Internet has no nutrition at all, I, Zhu Jisheng, want to set things right, let young people read Confucian classics, learn the words of sages, establish hearts for heaven and earth, and establish lives for the people!" he straightened his chest and said calmly.

"Hehe, that's a nice thing to say. The voice in the darkness ridiculed: "You are just saddened by the decline of traditional literature, and you are not used to the vigorous development of online literature - what the people like to see, you don't like it, how old are you?"

He was about to retort with anger in his chest, but the voice spoke again.

"Oh, you don't have to answer. ”

He was stunned, and said in his heart that he didn't need to answer anything?

The voice grew colder, like biting ice, "I know you're the oldest—you're the ninth!"

Although it was just a very ordinary sentence, Zhu Jisheng's heart suddenly beat heavily, and his entire chest hurt.

His pupils dilated, sweat rained down, and the most painful memory of decades ago came back to life, pressing on his shoulders like the Marble Mountains, threatening to crush him to powder at any moment.

After a cold sweat, the body is like falling into an ice cave.

He thought that he had long forgotten that memory, but in fact, that memory had always been hidden in the deepest part of his heart, and every fragment was like yesterday, almost shattering all his dignity and glory.

"Meow!"

The simple words not only dealt a heavy blow to his spirit, but even his Persian cat trembled with fright, curled up in the corner, staring in horror at the darkness outside. It has never been so afraid of even the most terrible evils.

"For the sake of your essence is not too bad, I won't embarrass you too much this time, but you have to do it yourself, put aside your prejudices and read online articles, don't return to King Wen from Zihou! Don't think about reversing history all day long, otherwise the next time we meet, Zhu Xue will end up with you!"

The voice in the darkness said this, and then disappeared silently.

Moments later, the street lights came back on, and the surrounding homes were powered back.

There was no one at the head of the wall, and he only saw a few stray cats flick their tails and leave calmly.

He could no longer support his almost collapsed body, his trembling legs went limp, and he sat down on the ground, sweaty and thin, his mouth wide open, and he struggled to breathe.

"Hey, old man, what's wrong with you?"

After the call, a neighbor happened to pass by, casually glanced into the store, and found that this old man, who was usually always gentle and elegant, had a face as pale as paper, hesitated and ran in, did not dare to move him rashly, but asked anxiously: "Do you want to call an ambulance for you?"

"No...... No need ......"

He waved his hand weakly, "I...... There was a sudden power outage just now, and I just accidentally slipped and fell. ”

"Really?" the neighbor's eyes looked up and down his legs, and he didn't look like he had fallen, but the sudden power outage just now was also a fact.

"Really, you go and get busy, I'm fine, just take a break. He barely managed to squeeze out a smile.

When the neighbor saw that his face had regained some blood, he nodded and admonished: "Then if you feel unwell, call an ambulance quickly, don't stand up! Get up after resting, the ground is too cold." ”

"I see, thanks. ”

The neighbor was walking out of the store step by step, and he suddenly asked in the back, "By the way, did you hear anyone speak before you came in just now?"

The neighbor pointed at him, "I only heard you talking to yourself loudly in the store, and I wondered in my heart, and when I passed by, I saw you sitting on the ground." ”

As if he understood something, he asked, "Did you only hear me?"

The neighbor nodded and said embarrassedly, "That...... Don't always be you, you, I'm not used to it. ”

"Okay, I got it...... By the way, I have one more question, ...... Do you usually look at the Internet?" he asked.

"Occasionally, but I'm looking at piracy. The neighbor smiled, "Then I'll go first." ”

Silence returned to the store.

He stared gloomily at the street lamps in the alley, and suddenly laughed self-deprecatingly: "The world is so big, where can I hide from stray cats?"