I rode a green train for a day and a night before arriving in Hongcheng.
When I first saw the city, I loved it.
After years of baptism, it was full of vicissitudes and exuded an air of mystery. The green stone paved streets and green brick and black tile buildings gave off a simple feeling without any oppression.
"Big brother, I'm going to No. 36 on Lapis Street!" I stopped a motorcycle.
No. 36 Lapis Lazuli Street, that was the house left to me by my grandfather, and it was also the place I would be living in for the next two years.
"Greenstone Street? That's the oldest street in Hongcheng, how can you live there?" Mo's brother looked at me in surprise.
When I reached that place, I knew why Mo's brother looked at me with that look.
The place was really old. It looked like our village. It was very shabby and it was 200 meters away from the place. The moto brother didn't want to continue because the road was so bad.
I dragged my suitcase and found number 36. It was a three-story building with badly peeling stone skin. A black wooden sign was nailed to the wall of the entrance on the first floor. Though the writing on the wooden sign was faded, the four words on it could be vaguely distinguished: a store.
"A store." I read those four words, such a white-as-boiling-water name fitting Grandpa's character.
There were a few aunts playing cards under the eaves next to me, when all eyes fell on me.
An enthusiastic aunt came over and looked at me with a surprised face, "Young man, are you the owner of this place?"
I nodded, it used to be grandpa's, now it's mine.
"Ten years ago, when I moved here, I heard from the old people here that a very powerful uncle lived in this building. Surprisingly, I didn't wait for the uncle to arrive, but for a handsome boy." The aunts laughed, with goodwill on their faces.
The aunts sitting under the roof also gathered around and talked about various legends about the owner of this store.
An old lady who was cooking in the next room heard that the owner of one of the stores had returned and excitedly left her work program and ran over.
The old lady looked at me excitedly, "Young man, are you the grandson of the Ninth Master?"
I smiled and nodded as if everyone here knew Grandpa.
"When Master Nine left 18 years ago, he said his grandson would come 18 years later. Surprisingly, he really came. Is Master Nine in good health?" The old lady wiped her tears. In her eyes, I could see the gratitude she felt for her grandfather.
"My grandfather died five days ago." My eyes darkened.
"Ah, what a good man Master Nine is, how could he ..." The old lady lost her voice and exclaimed, then burst into tears.
The shopkeeper came back, and the news seemed to have grown wings, and instantly spread through this verdant street.
Many people came to see it, most of them gray haired old men. They were all in tears and sighs when they heard that my grandfather had died.
I was stuck at the door for an hour before I opened it and entered the house.
Although this house hadn't been lived in for 18 years, because of my grandfather's yellow talisman suppression, it was clean, not a bit of dust, and there were no cobwebs in the corners.
The layout of the first floor was simple, three rows of wooden shelves, a table, and a chair.
On the wooden shelves were yellow paper, long incense, candles and tied paper figures.
On the table were a pile of yellow paper, a brush and an ink stone.
At the back was a small yard where the kitchen and toilet were.
There were only two rooms on the second floor, one bedroom and one empty, nothing. On the wall was written the word "Dao", which was supposed to be the place where Grandpa practiced.
The third floor was a utility room, the roof had not been repaired for a long time and was leaking badly.
I took a look around the three floors, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Next would be my home.
Just as I sat down, a group of gray-haired old men came, holding fruits and vegetables and rice, firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy, vinegar, and tea and so on were all ready for me.
"Tian Ming, from now on we'll be neighbors, you mustn't be polite to us, tell us if you have any difficulties."
I knew that these people had been favored by Grandpa before, but now they had come to repay the favor.
With this food, I can go without spending money for some time, which is good for me, I only have 300 dollars left in my pocket now.
I started a new life. I woke up before dawn, made a fire and cooked, practiced martial arts for an hour, then practiced brushes for half an hour, and finally started practicing the Heavenly Jade Sutra.
What I didn't know was that the Jianghu had already exploded when I arrived.
Two pieces of news, the first, the Divine Master is dead. The second, the grandson of the Divine Master had come out and a store had a new owner.
My peaceful life lasted only three days, and on the fourth day when I was practicing my brush, a few uninvited guests came.
They were dressed in suits and I saw purple spray on their heads, I knew they were either rich or expensive, a wealthy owner.
Their purpose was simple, to ask me to work for them and promise heavy money.
I shook my head and declined, telling them to come back in two years. It was a rule given to me by my grandfather.
This was just the beginning, every day countless people came from all over the world with the same purpose, to ask me to do something.
It's no exaggeration to say that the cold verdant stone street was brought to life by my arrival, bustling with strangers who came every day, the uneven verdant stone street smoothed by their feet.
No matter how much those people paid me, how many favors they gave me, I always had the word, come back in two years.
More than half a year passed like this before my door was quiet, and only occasionally people came.
At least 10,000 people came to invite me.
I knew that these people had wanted to invite Grandpa, who was gone, and now they could only invite me.
I had a new problem. The $1,000 my mom gave me has completely run out. Now I couldn't buy snacks. I have to find a way to make money.
I can't use the abilities my grandfather taught me, what other money making abilities do I have? I came up with this question.
Pick up rags?
No, it's too humiliating.
Running a motorcycle hustler?
I don't even have the money to buy a car.
Work for someone?
That's a waste of time.
...
Finally, I came up with a suitable one, I write for people.
Grandpa's brush writing was top notch. He told me that if I wanted to draw a symbol, I had to get my brushwork right, so my brushwork is pretty good.
Writing for people doesn't go against Grandpa's rules.
When I said this, many people immediately came to the door.
I can write all the red and white ceremonies. With this job, my pockets slowly bulged. I also bought myself a second-hand cell phone and a motorcycle.
I went out on the motorcycle in my spare time, chatted on the Internet on my cell phone, swiped small videos to watch live broadcasts, and read joke novels.
Such a life is also very good, two years have passed, today my twentieth birthday.
I have learned the Heavenly Jade Scripture and can use those techniques that my grandfather taught me.
I took off the wooden sign on the wall and made another one, which reads:A store.
Starting tomorrow, a store is officially open.
Before I went to bed I thought of a question, will there be customers tomorrow?