in the alleys.

The doors of the two ancient houses open opposite each other.

From time to time, a cool breeze overflowed from the courtyard and blew to the ends of the hair, causing the weeds on the ancient stone path to shake.

"Young man, what's your name? I don't seem to remember it again. The woman turned back, and the water in the barrel rippled.

"Holy North!" Standing with his back to each other, his voice is leisurely.

The woman replied softly, "Oh! ”

Ye Bei was silent.

Soon, the woman seemed to remember something, and her voice trembled slightly: "Young man, I probably remember that no one has come to your courtyard for almost eighty years, and the people who lived in it at the beginning looked very similar to you, are you his descendant?" ”

"You think it is, that is, you think it is not, then it is not." Ye Bei's voice was faint.

The woman's eyes were vicissitudes, as if she was silent, and the water in the wood splashed out a lot, and after a long time, she spoke: "If that person is still alive, young man, please help me tell him, I have been watching his ancient courtyard, no thieves have come over the years, and there should be no shortage of things inside." ”

"Good!"

Ye Bei replied lightly.

Then the woman turned, slumped, and walked towards her inner courtyard, where the water from the barrel had soaked the ground in large areas.

And Ye Bei was wearing a white shirt, still standing in front of the gate of the No. 99 Ancient Courtyard.

The gaze was faint, without the slightest wave.

In sight......

The ancient courtyard is extremely desolate, in the gap between the ancient stones, there is grass nearly half a meter deep, in the courtyard, a peach tree has already withered, the branches are broken from the middle, but at the bottom of the peach tree, there is a new shoot less than the thickness of the thumb, growing three taels of green leaves, swaying in the wind.

Directly opposite, is a corridor.

There are two wooden benches on it, and the chairs are deeply cracked and white, as if they fall apart immediately when touched by hand.

Next to the chair, there are a few withered vines, which look very strange, and from time to time a few black ants emerge from the cracks of the vines, poking out their tentacles, and moving cautiously, after making sure that there is no danger outside, they are looking around for food.

At the back of the corridor is a large wooden door on eight sides.

The windows made of paper on it were all broken, and when you stood in Ye Bei's position, it was pitch black inside.

The large wooden door is unlocked.

A yellowed bamboo flute hangs from the door.

Ye Bei watched quietly, with a faint expression.

"The most can't be kept in the world, and the face is a flower."

An hour later, Ye Bei muttered softly, and then he took a step and stepped into the courtyard.

When he took the first step......

When stepping on the grass in this inner courtyard, the extremely dense weeds, as if blown by a gust of wind, tilted their bodies one after another, starting from the soles of Ye Bei's feet, and quickly spread in all directions.

Then, at a rate visible to the naked eye, it withered and turned into dust, and when the breeze passed, it disappeared completely, revealing a bare courtyard of ancient stones, which were also severely weathered.

When he took the second step.

In the courtyard, those weathered ancient stones quickly regained their cyan appearance, gathering from all directions, towards Ye Bei's feet, and finally all of them regained their vitality, as if they were when they left.

Step 3.

The wooden chairs in front of the hallway were restored, and the withered vines seemed to have just been unearthed.

……

Step 7.

In the ancient courtyard, the paper window in front of the big wooden door reappeared, clean and thorough, without the slightest dust.

When Ye Bei stood in front of the big wooden door, the entire ancient courtyard had been revitalized, as if it was just healthy...... It's just that in the courtyard, the withered peach tree is still withered, and the courtyard gate is still rotten, as if it is a witness to the passage of time.

Ye Bei stretched out his hand and was about to push the big wooden door open.

A faint smell of rice wafted from the ancient courtyard opposite.

Ye Bei stopped.

I looked up at the bamboo flute.

Outside the wooden door, the woman's vicissitudes of life came from the voice: "Young man, the meal is ready, let's eat first and then get busy!" The woman still didn't remember Ye Bei's name, she leaned over, tilted her head sideways, looked at the No. 99 courtyard, and when she found that it was extremely tidy, a smile appeared on her face: "After so many years, this place is still so clean, the same as before!" ”

"yes."

Ye Bei turned around and whispered in his mouth.

"I'm old, my hands and feet are not good, this meal has been cooked for more than an hour, and I don't know if it suits your appetite." The woman spoke again.

"Hmm."

Ye Bei nodded, and followed the woman into Courtyard 98 with a faint expression.

The layout of the No. 98 courtyard is exactly the same as the No. 99 courtyard, and the people who built these ancient courtyards were the same construction team, but the details inside are completely different.

When Ye Bei entered this courtyard, the first thing he saw was two peach trees.

The peach trees were planted on both sides of the courtyard, with pink flowers hanging on them, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance, and next to the peach trees, a small piece of wasteland was cultivated, on which vegetables and melons were grown.

In the courtyard, there is a straight line of ancient stone road, which is very smooth, indicating that people have walked here all year round.

Passing through the courtyard, you will be able to see the lobby facing the ancient courtyard.

Eight gates, all open, with an unobstructed view of the situation inside.

In the middle of the lobby, there is a square wooden table.

In front of and behind the wooden table, a bamboo chair is placed......

On the wooden table, there are three plates of side dishes, two bowls of rice, two pairs of chopsticks, a wine jug, and a wine glass.

On the wall facing the outside of the lobby, there is a portrait of a person, the painting has been painted for some years, the character in the painting, the hairline is slightly higher, but the eyes are full of wisdom, no matter where you stand in this lobby, he seems to be watching you closely.

The woman's body was rickety, and when Ye Bei entered the lobby, she stretched out her hand, wiped the oil stains on her clothes, wiped the oil stains on it, stepped forward quickly, and pulled away the chair outside the door, and her voice was enthusiastic: "There are not many dishes, they are all grown by myself, young man, you sit first, you are welcome, just eat as you like." ”

"Okay."

Ye Bei was not polite at all, took a step, flicked his white shirt, and sat elegantly on the wooden chair.

Seeing this, the woman sat down on the opposite side slowly.

Ye Bei picked up the chopsticks and looked at the dishes on the table, a plate of stir-fried Chinese cabbage, a plate of diced radish, and a plate of pickles.

The dish for the dishes is very ordinary, but it is wiped cleanly.

In these dishes, there is very little oil, and the color is whitish, which looks shabby, but it exudes an attractive aroma.

Ye Bei poured himself a glass of wine.

The wine glass is a wooden cup with a peach blossom carved on it, which is very delicate.

The wine is clear and full of aromas......

Put the wine glass to his mouth, and drank the wine in one gulp, the unknown wine, exuding a mellow fragrance, flowing between his lips and teeth, Ye Bei's eyes were deep, and he looked at the woman in front of him lightly, for a long time, he spoke, his voice was vicissitudes, but there was no wave: "Over the years, are you okay?" ”