"Master Wei, where is my uncle?"
Seeing that the old blacksmith, Mr. Wei, was still in good health, Shen Cheng felt relieved.
After all, the old carpenter in the village, Mr. Chen, passed away first and didn’t even make it to the New Year.
The industrial atmosphere in the town is very light, and most of people's daily necessities are handmade, replaced by a deep sense of human touch.
Mr. Chen's status is similar to that of Mr. Wei. Most of the tables, chairs and even the beams of the townspeople's houses were sawed by Mr. Chen's ancestors.
Unfortunately, Mr. Chen did not have as strong a physique as Mr. Wei, so he passed away first.
"Xiao Cheng is back! I heard you're doing pretty well out there!"
Wei the blacksmith only noticed Shen Cheng at this moment. He laughed heartily and greeted him, then said, "Cao Jie is planning to build a square in the town. My son went to his place and wanted to see if my Wei family could help. Oh, and Xiao Yangzi went too."
When Xiao Yangzi was mentioned, Wei the blacksmith's expression became visibly lonely for a moment.
Xiao Yangzi is the grandson of Carpenter Chen and also his only relative. After Carpenter Chen passed away, Xiao Yangzi has been practicing his craft desperately in order to prevent his ancestral craft from being interrupted.
Among my peers, many old guys have passed away one after another. I should be there soon, right?
Then, the town will be entrusted to the next generation.
Looking at Shen Cheng, Wei the blacksmith couldn't help but feel a little emotional, thinking of his carefree time in the town when he was a child.
Now, times have passed and the town has not changed much, but things and people are no longer the same.
It is impossible for young people in the future to stay in the town forever. There is no future for them. They still have to work hard outside the town. If they succeed, they will basically cut off ties with the town.
Under such circumstances, how long can the town's current state last as time goes by?
Uncle Cao wants to build a square?
Shen Cheng was stunned for a moment. The Cao Jie that Chen the blacksmith mentioned was naturally the one who wanted to demolish his house yesterday.
Building a square in a town is no small matter. I guess it must be very lively there, right?
Following the instructions of Wei the Blacksmith, Shen Cheng and Xi Ming said goodbye to Wei the Blacksmith and walked towards Cao Jie.
As soon as we arrived at the destination, we saw Cao Jie had set up several tables there. A group of old men and women surrounded Cao Jie, fanning themselves with palm-leaf fans under the scorching sun. It was really lively.
"Brother Xiaocheng!"
Xiao Yangzi, who was on the periphery of the crowd, noticed Shen Cheng the first time and greeted him with a shy smile.
As she spoke, Xiao Yangzi turned to look at Xi Ming, nodded and smiled, "Hello, sister-in-law."
"Well……"
Hearing Xiao Yangzi call Xi Ming sister-in-law, Shen Cheng's expression became a little stiff, but soon relaxed.
It doesn’t matter, I’m used to it.
Xi Ming, however, smiled, wagged her tail, nodded, and looked very pleased, holding Chen Cheng's arm even tighter.
The last time they met, Xiao Yangzi gave Chen Cheng a wooden sculpture of a little rabbit, which is still on display at the booth of Guangdian Cat Cafe.
Xiao Yoko is still as shy as she was then, but her exposed arms are no longer so thin, but have shown well-developed muscles.
It can be seen that after Carpenter Chen left, Xiao Yangzi has been working very hard.
Next to Xiao Yangzi, there was a middle-aged man as tall and strong as an iron tower. His appearance was 70% similar to Wei the blacksmith that Shen Cheng had just met.
This is Wei the blacksmith's son, Wei Gangshan, who is of the same generation as Shen Wei. He is considered quite young in their generation, but he looks more familiar and should call Cao Jie "brother".
"Little Yoko."
After greeting Xiao Yangzi with a smile, Shen Cheng turned to look at Wei Gangshan and nodded, "Uncle Wei."
Wei Gangshan grinned and laughed heartily, "Unknowingly, Xiao Cheng has grown up so much. He is really handsome. I envy Brother Wei!"
"Look, Captain Shen is almost having a grandchild, and you're still single. How dare you say that!"
A few old men on the side joked, making Wei Gangshan's face darken.
"Xiao Cheng brought back a bunch of girls all at once, what a sight!"
"The little girl next to Xiao Cheng and in his arms seems to be... Huanya, right? I saw her on my granddaughter's phone some time ago."
"Yes! The Shen family kid is really promising!"
The old men and women gathered together praised him one after another, but the direction of their praise really made Shen Cheng not proud.
Cao Jie had a pencil stuck to his ear. When he heard the noise, he shifted his gaze from the drawings on the table to Shen Cheng and quickly waved.
"Xiao Cheng, come here! I'm planning to build a square in town. Take a look at this place!"
Upon hearing this, Shen Cheng walked over and saw that the place Cao Jie chose was very close to the Shen family mansion. It seemed that he had greeted Shen Yu in advance.
Build a square to make it convenient for people in the town to gather together for morning exercises or take a walk and chat. Given Chen Yu's personality, he will definitely come every morning to lead everyone in practicing martial arts.
This way, the old man wouldn't be stuck in the martial arts gym all day long, so Shen Cheng naturally agreed with it.
He also took Xiao Yangzi to make some changes to the design drawings, and the plan for the square was officially finalized. Cao Jie began to organize and mobilize everyone.
It was not Shen Cheng's turn to get involved in the rest of the matters, and no one had the intention of disturbing Shen Cheng and Xi Ming's date, and everyone went about their own business.
Chen Cheng and Xi Ming continued walking on the street and bought three popsicles at a small shop.
The owner of the convenience store said he didn't want Shen Cheng's money at all, but Shen Cheng still forced it into his pocket.
Licking the sweet old popsicle, Xi Ming shook his fox tail and narrowed his eyes.
"This town is full of good people. The atmosphere here is incomparable to what I experienced when I was at the Institute of Biological Sciences."
The more Xi Ming got to know this town, the more he felt that this was the legendary paradise.
"Yeah, after all, there are only so many people in this town, and everyone knows each other. It's hard to forget, and..."
Looking at the streets on both sides of the town, Shen Cheng sighed: "You can no longer see children in the town now."
Without children, it means that the town is about to enter a state of collapse.
I remember when I was a child, the streets were full of children playing and fighting, and the old men sat on the side of the road smoking opium, not playing chess, but just watching the children.
Unfortunately, such a scene is no longer seen now. Young people of the same generation as Shen Cheng have left this town through study. Most of them have started families and careers outside. After their careers are stable, they will bring their elderly parents over and rarely return to this town.
There are only a handful of people of Shen Cheng's generation left in the town.
When Chen Cheng grows up to be the same age as Shen Wei, this town will probably become deserted, right?
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