Dream Guide

The snow has been floating, changing from cotton wool to goose feathers, falling from the sky in a flourishing manner. The street stones, roofs and roofs of cars parked on the roadside of Liuying Lane are all covered with a thick layer of silver.

An umbrella covered with snow moved slowly in the wind and snow, leaving two pairs of footprints on the ground behind it, starting from under the old willow tree and extending to the Ruhua Bar in the distance.

As she walked, Bishenghua told stories from a long time ago that she didn’t know were true or false.

"The paper strips cut from the old willow trees grew into big trees within a few years, and there was no longer a mulberry tree alive in the surrounding land. The name of Mulberry Camp was gradually not mentioned, and people began to call this place Willow Camp. Because the mulberry trees are gone and the willow trees are worthless, the farmers who originally planted mulberry and raised silkworms have lost their income and their lives have become increasingly miserable.

The old housekeeper took the lead in starting a small business. Because the Hua family's connections and prestige were still there, the business was quickly opened, and Liushuying formed a small market based on the original site of the Hua family's old residence. Everyone said that the feng shui of the Hua family's old house was good, some said that Mr. Hua had a spirit in heaven, and some said that the willow tree was blessing everyone.

Some businessmen built new houses next to the market. Of course, the new houses at that time are now old houses. Just like the old houses we see on this street now, they were basically built at that time.

The market gradually became crowded, so Liushuying became Liuying Lane.

The old housekeeper kept in mind what Mr. Hua told him. He thought that Mr. Hua would not ask him to transplant the willow tree to the roots of the mulberry tree for no reason. There must be a reason. Maybe the roots of the mulberry tree are not dead, and one day they will come back to life through the transplanted willow tree. So he vowed to protect this old willow tree for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, the old willow tree is regarded as a sacred tree. Naturally, no one will destroy the sacred tree, and no one will disturb the sacred tree.

At that time, the old housekeeper also made money, so he bought the land on the pond where the old willow tree was located and built a house on it."

When Bi Shenghua said this, she and Aoki walked side by side to the entrance of Ruhua Bar.

She pointed to the bar house and said: "This is the backyard pond of the Hua family. The old willow tree at the entrance of the alley was originally planted here. This house was built by the old housekeeper. It was repaired several times and became what it is today. Look."

Aoki looked up at this familiar house.

Snow hangs from the eaves of the roof, like a white dragon. There are many carving patterns under the eaves. Perhaps because of the repairs, it is no longer possible to see what the carvings are. Traces of the ancient times can still be seen in the blue bricks and mottled white ash on the walls.

Although the first floor has been decorated as a bar, it can be seen that a lifetime of thought has been put into the decoration. The overall exterior wall style does not conflict with the antiquity of the place. The nostalgic and literary style of the bar complements the ancient appearance of the old house.

Only the glass windows on the second floor, the aluminum alloy anti-theft fence outside the windows, and the words "Zhou Gong Interprets Dreams" affixed to the windows are very abrupt and do not match the layout of the place.

It was the first time Aoki looked at the place where he lived so carefully, and he discovered that there were many things here that he had never noticed in the past. But after Bishenghua's story was told, these things became extremely vivid.

The heavy snowfall made his vision blurry. He seemed to see the old mulberry tree slowly turning into ashes in the fire, and all the mulberry trees surrounding it withered away. A cloud of green smoke rose from the old mulberry tree's nest, and a crow flew up from the fire, circled the tree three times, and screamed sadly.

"Is that housekeeper's surname Bi?" he said with his confused eyes retracted.

Bi Shenghua nodded gently: "That's my great-grandfather."

"You have been unwilling to leave Liuying Lane and are firmly opposed to demolition. Is that because of this?"

"That's right. My great-grandfather's last wish was to protect this place and the old willow tree from generation to generation. He didn't know why the Japanese were looking for the old mulberry tree, and why Mr. Hua burned it with fire, but He knew that what the Japanese wanted and what Mr. Hua wanted to protect must not be as simple as a tree. He said that the Hua family lived for that mulberry tree. Had it not been for transplanting the willow tree, he would have died in the fire. It’s here. So our Bi family lives for this willow tree.”

Bishenghua had a short willow branch in her hand at some point. "When I was young, every spring, my grandfather would take us to cut branches of old willow trees and then cut them to the riverside. There were still several trees there. I planted the willow tree."

"But how long are you going to stay like this? Sooner or later this place will be demolished." Aoki said.

Bi Shenghua said: "I asked my grandfather this way when I was a child. He said that everything has its own destiny, and you will know it when the day comes. I also know that it is inappropriate to still maintain such a family tradition, but it is still a good idea. Think about it.”

She gently fiddled with the dead branches in her hands and looked up at Aoki. The two of them were very close to each other, and the cold outside made it feel even warmer under the umbrella.

Aoki also met her gaze and saw that her eyes were filled with soft light. Just like Crow said, the original manly woman has become more and more feminine, although the clothes she wears are still so neutral.

"Um...I'm going to New Zealand this time...not for tourism, so..." Aoki suddenly felt that his words were so pale, and he didn't understand why he said these.

Lifetime Flower burst into laughter.

"Just go and leave me alone. I am telling you this just to tell you that I will not leave Liuying Lane. But you are different. You are not an ordinary person. You cannot stay in Liuying Lane all your life. No matter where you go, just remember that there is an old willow tree here, remember that you once stood under the tree for a day and a night, and remember that there is a person who is willing to guard a piece of wood for a lifetime, that is enough."

"But……"

"Stop it, listen to that dead crow!"

At this time, Aoki suddenly felt the umbrella in his hand sink. There was a bang, and a small black head with a few white snowflakes hung upside down from the edge of the umbrella: "Hey, like - flower -, I'm here Please help me!”

…

In the next few days, Aoki came to the old willow tree again and again, recalling the day and night he stood under the tree.

The scene at that time was vivid in his mind, but he couldn't remember what he was thinking in his heart at that time. As for what happened before that, whenever he thought about it, his head would buzz and his mind would feel like it was filled with paste. .

The stories Bishenghua told were not exhaustive. Many of them were stories she heard told by her grandfather when she was a child. It is difficult to tell the truth from the false. But to Aoki's ears, it felt familiar.

He always felt that he came to this street for no reason. Could this old willow tree, the mulberry roots in the soil, and the stories that happened here have anything to do with me? At first, everyone in the street regarded him as a beggar, but in the end only Lifelong took him in. Is this considered to be God's will?

Qingmu remembered that Bishenghua mentioned the Xia family in Nanzhen, which was the two largest families in Wuzhong together with the Hua family in Mulberry Camp. Then the people of the Xia family, especially the elderly Xia Wenyuan, should have some understanding of what happened back then.

Therefore, he decided to visit Mr. Xia again before going to New Zealand.