The Nine-Dragon Relic Pagoda at the mountaintop was crowded with people, and the large tree beside it was adorned with countless hanging plaques. The incense burner nearby sent wisps of smoke swirling around the tree, giving it a somewhat mystical appearance.
"Won't the tree get overwhelmed with all these plaques hanging on it?"
Looking at the thousands of wooden plaques, Xu Lin wondered if they were eventually removed by staff or if they just naturally fell off due to wind and rain.
"No, the tree can hold about 1,200 plaques at a time. Once it gets close to being full, the staff remove the older ones," Su Qingwan explained with her usual serious and elegant demeanor.
"They keep the newer ones and clear the previous batch when it's full again," she continued.
"Wouldn't that mean the older wishes are just discarded?" Qin Yunhe asked, feeling uneasy about the idea of people's wishes being thrown away.
"No, the staff store these plaques in a small wooden house behind the pagoda. There are almost 100,000 plaques now, and they're planning to expand the storage," Su Qingwan added.
"How do you know so much about this place?" Xu Lin asked, surprised by her knowledge.
"A friend of mine used to work here. The job was easy, but the pay was very low, only 2,000 yuan a month, which is not enough to live on," Su Qingwan replied.
"Factory jobs pay the most here in Linshui now, don't they?"
"Yes, other jobs like working in supermarkets or offices only pay about 3,000 yuan. Factory jobs, although tough, pay around 5,000 yuan a month, and high-intensity jobs can go up to 7,000," Su Qingwan said.
"That's pretty high!"
"But the physical toll is severe," Su Qingwan reminisced about her parents advising her to become a teacher to avoid physically demanding work.
Initially, she was reluctant, but eventually, she understood their good intentions. Many of her classmates, especially those with lower educational qualifications, ended up doing hard labor.
"What's on your mind, Teacher Su?"
"Just thinking about how hard life can be for many people," she sighed.
"Not everyone is born wealthy, but hard work can at least keep you from starving," Xu Lin mused, squinting at the slightly overcast sky and taking in the scent of incense in the air.
He had a wish in mind.
"Let's go make our wishes," he said.
The three of them walked to the pagoda, bought three plaques for 15 yuan, and picked up pens to start writing their wishes.
"What are you going to write?" Su Qingwan asked Qin Yunhe, who seemed to be deep in thought.
"I already have a man and a promotion, what more do I need?"
"Qin Yunhe, you are becoming more and more annoying," Su Qingwan retorted.
"Ha, then you can write 'Qin Yunhe, stop being so annoying.'"
"Fine!"
Xu Lin wrote something on his plaque with a serious expression, then smiled.
"What did you write, Xu Lin? Why are you smiling? Let me see," Su Qingwan demanded, trying to grab his plaque. Xu Lin hid it behind his back, so she circled around him, but he switched it to his right hand.
"Show me yours first, Teacher Su."
"I didn't write anything special," Su Qingwan said, embarrassed, as she tucked her plaque into her pocket.
"Then you don't need to see mine. Qin Yunhe, what did you write?"
"I wrote this. How does it look?"
Qin Yunhe showed her plaque, and Xu Lin and Su Qingwan leaned in to read: "Hope there are fewer bad people and no more colleagues get hurt."
"Your job is really tough," Xu Lin said, understanding deeply.
Without his system, he wouldn't have been able to handle the two thieves from last time.
Despite his caution, he still got stabbed, proving how hard and dangerous police work truly is.
"Alright, I'll show you mine too," Su Qingwan said, taking her plaque out of her pocket. It read, "Everyone can be together."
"What does 'everyone can be together' mean?" Qin Yunhe asked, not understanding if it was a song lyric or a TV show quote.
"It just means what it says, that I hope friends and family can always be together," Su Qingwan explained.
"Oh, I see," Qin Yunhe nodded, while Xu Lin gave Su Qingwan a subtle smile.
Maybe Su Qingwan was starting to get it, or perhaps she genuinely just wanted to be with friends and family.
"So, Xu Lin, what did you write?" Su Qingwan asked.
"Just one sentence," Xu Lin replied, walking over to the tree, tying the red string, and hanging his plaque on a branch. Su Qingwan and Qin Yunhe leaned in to read a simple but powerful sentence: "The sun will rise again!"
"What does that mean?" Qin Yunhe asked.
Xu Lin pointed to the sky. At some point, the clouds had cleared, and sunlight shone down, illuminating the top of the pagoda and the tree. The light filtered through the branches and shone on the wooden plaques, making the red ink of Xu Lin's words seem to sparkle.
After a moment, the three of them followed Xu Lin to a stall selling fans.
"Thinking of buying a fan? These are beautiful, did you paint them yourself?" Su Qingwan and Qin Yunhe asked, noticing the unique, ink-wash style fans. An old man with a big beard was painting, surrounded by onlookers but no buyers.
"I want to buy one, but they're expensive," Xu Lin said, pointing to a sign.
Qin Yunhe saw the price: 900 yuan per fan, and her eyes widened. "Isn't that just a rip-off?"
"Art is valuable, but if you're lucky, you can get one for free," said a nearby couple.
"What do you mean by 'lucky'?" Xu Lin asked.
"If you can guess what he's painting without seeing it, you can get the fan for free," explained the boyfriend. The girlfriend nudged him, thinking he was just interested in the beautiful women.
"That sounds hard, but with everyone guessing, it should be possible," Xu Lin mused.
"Someone just guessed a shrimp and got it. Everyone else has guessed once and failed," the boyfriend added.
Nodding, Su Qingwan stepped forward excitedly and guessed, "An elephant."
"No," the old man replied without looking up, and Su Qingwan stepped back, disappointed.
"That was a bit random. Qin Yunhe, you try," Su Qingwan urged.
"Alright, I'll guess a tiger," Qin Yunhe said, then shook her head after a few seconds. "Failed. Xu Lin, your turn."
"Okay, I'll give it a try," Xu Lin said, thinking it was too difficult with only one guess. He walked up and guessed, "The twelve zodiac animals."
He started to turn away, but the old man stopped him. "Young man, you got it. This fan is yours."
Xu Lin turned back to see the fan with eleven lifelike zodiac animals, missing only the rat.