Volume 5: Qingming Chapter 17 Attractions
After eating and drinking, Jiang You took Fang Wensong back to the insect house.
The drizzle fell on the bluestone road , and the red and yellow flowers in the flowerbeds were washed by the rain, and they bloomed even brighter and more intensely. "Your yard is great." Fang Wensong said with emotion.
Jiang You closed the door to the yard.
He turned around and said, "All the money I earned in the past two years was spent on this."
"Just these flowers must have taken a lot of thought, right?"
"that is."
Jiang You took Fang Wensong for a walk in the yard.
Flower beds are strategically scattered throughout the yard.
A small pond, a lively greenhouse, and three pomegranate trees with small buds sprouting...
A fresh fragrance mixed with the smell of rain entered Fang Wensong's nose. He looked up and saw the camphor tree beside the building.
"Come into the store and sit down." Jiang You said.
Fang Wensong followed Jiang You up the stairs. He looked up and saw two large golden characters on the plaque above the store door - Bug House.
"Bug house," Fang Wensong read out, "Does this word have any meaning?"
Jiang You put down his umbrella, found the key, opened the door, and said, "It's the insect house."
Fang Wensong followed Jiang You into the store.
Clean.
The long tables, chairs and shelves were not neatly arranged, but the store was very close and there seemed to be no dust at all. He subconsciously walked to the shelf and looked at the postcards on it.
"Take a few if you like." Jiang You put his bag on the long table and asked, "What would you like to drink?"
"I'll just drink some water."
"Then I'll just make some tea."
Jiang You walked into the kitchen. A few minutes later, when he walked to the long table with a cup of tea, Fang Wensong had already picked out three postcards and sat down.
After Jiang You sat down, he pulled the box containing pens and seals in front of Fang Wensong and asked, "Do you want to write something on it?"
“Do you still need to write?”
"People who buy postcards from me write a paragraph, most of which are written to their future selves," Jiang You reached out and picked up a postcard. On the back of the postcard was a watercolor painting of a spring scene. "These written words record some emotions, expectations, resolutions, memories, etc."
Fang Wensong took a sip of tea.
"These words written to myself are very secretive, and they contain codes and secret codes that only I can recognize. These emotions are like little bugs, living and multiplying in places that people cannot see. Most of the time they are not seen, but they do exist and have their important meanings. I will put these emotions away properly, and then return them to their owners on the agreed day."
"So it's called the Bug House?" Fang Wensong asked.
"I guess so."
"I didn't realize you were so artistic."
"The shops on Wenhua Street sell this kind of petty bourgeoisie style," Jiang You took the postcard out of the packaging bag and placed it face up in front of Fang Wensong. Then he took out a black fountain pen from the storage box and pressed it on the postcard. "Write something now that you are here."
"Why does this sound like a tourist attraction?"
"I'm not saying that ordinary tourist attractions can't compare to this place."
Fang Wensong picked up the pen, hesitated for a moment, and finally wrote nothing. He just drew a little girl with a bright smile on it.
Jiang You took a look and said, "Hey, your painting looks very professional. Have you studied it?"
"No, I just drew it randomly."
He put the postcard into the envelope and was about to put it back into the bag when Jiang You said, "I'll get you a stamp."
As he spoke, Jiang You stood up and took a stamp from the counter.
After Fang Wensong
"It's upstairs," Jiang You pointed at the stairs, "You'll see it when you go up."
"OK."
Fang Wensong's footsteps gradually became quieter.
Wisps of black smoke floated out of the satchel, gradually changing into a human shape, and sat down where Fang Wensong had sat before.
Gu Yao reached out to take the envelope, but her hand passed through. She couldn't get anything, couldn't touch anything . She wasn't even sitting, she was just floating in the air in a sitting posture.
Gu Yao lowered her head and asked, "Are you going to let us meet now?"
"Wait a moment," Jiang You reached out from his bag, took out a cigarette and lit it, "I like to take things slow. I do every business in a down-to-earth manner. I can't sleep on the bus and take pictures when I get off."
"We are just scenery to you?"
"That's about the same."
"You didn't have this attitude yesterday."
"It depends on the situation," Jiang You leaned over the table and looked at Gu Yao. "It's like you've been busy for a year and finally got a day off. You took a seven- or eight-hour flight in economy class with a sore back and finally arrived on the island. You then took another hour or two to get to the hotel and check in. You can finally lie on the beach, drink a drink, look at the blue sky and sea, listen to the sound of the waves and daydream. At this time, a phone call comes in telling you that you have work to do and you have to start right away. What would you think?"
Gu Yao was convinced and said, "I'm sorry."
At this time Fang Wensong walked down the stairs, walked to the opposite side of Jiang You, pulled out a chair and sat down.
Gu Yao floated to the side.
Fang Wensong took a sip of the half-warm tea and looked at the yard outside the store. "You really have your own world here. I used to grow spider plants, roses, chrysanthemums, and a lot of them on the balcony. I also had a few pots of succulents, but I couldn't take care of them. I didn't water them for a whole summer and they all died."
"Get an automatic watering device, connect it to the faucet, and set a certain number of times to water each day."
"Is there such a device?"
“It’s available on Taobao, not expensive.”
Fang Wensong took out his phone and searched it. "Sure enough, it is there. Good stuff."
"yes."
Gu Yao looked at Fang Wensong. She reached out to touch his face. She had done this many times before. Every time... when she touched it, it was hot...
Fang Wensong turned his head in surprise and saw Gu Yao who was equally surprised.
Jiang You stood up and walked out slowly. The shop door closed behind him.
He sat down on the steps and smoked a cigarette.
Through the smoke, the rain becomes more hazy.
…
More than twenty minutes later, the shop door was pushed open and Gu Yao walked out, then she carefully closed the door again.
Jiang You asked: "Are you done?"
Gu Yao walked over to him and sat down hugging her knees, "He's still sleeping."
"Let him sleep for a while." Jiang You turned his head and looked at her. "Has anything happened since you died?"
"What?"
"For four years, you have remained rational and have not turned into a fierce ghost. You are not afraid of sunlight. The bead seems to have some sensitivity to you."
"It's a little girl."
"What kind?"
"At first, I was so confused that I didn't even know I was dead, and I couldn't remember who I was," Gu Yao recalled. "Then I saw a little girl. She pulled me and asked me to play with her. I don't know how long it took, but she said she wanted to give me something. Then I suddenly remembered who I was."
"Where is that little girl?" Jiang You asked.
"I didn't see it anymore. It's just that I would lose consciousness from time to time. I might fall into a deep sleep, and then it would take a long time for me to wake up again..."
